CHAPTER 1 SUMMARY

 

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE AND RESEARCH PROCESS

This chapter introduces sociology as social science. It surveys the emergence of sociology first in Europe and then in America. Some of the founding fathers of sociology are introduced and three dominant sociological theories are examined. This chapter also discusses about the characteristics of the scientific approach and the research process. Finally, this chapter emphasizes the sociological perspective involving "sociological imagination."

WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?

Sociology is the systematic study of human society and social interaction. Sociology enables us to see how individual behavior is largely formed by the groups to which we belong and the society in which we live. The sociological imagination helps us to understand how seemingly personal troubles, such as suicide, actually are related to larger social forces including those that are related to global interdependence.

THE EMERGENCE OF SOCIOLOGY IN EUROPE

Sociology emerged out of the social upheaval produced by industrialization and urbanization in the late eighteenth century. Some early social thinkers such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim emphasized social order and stability. Others such as Karl Marx and Max Weber focused on conflict and social change. Augste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber made many significant contributions to the development of sociology. Comte is introduced a the founder of positivism in sociology, establishing the discipline's scientific emphasis. Emile Durkheim is discussed as the originator of functionalism, as is seen in his concern with social factors and structural effects. Karl Marx, the source of social conflict theory, analyzed the limitations of capitalism, arguing that conflict between social classes accounts for social change. Max Weber emphasized the importance of interpretive understanding, while providing detailed historical examination of the rise of rational forms of social organization, including bureaucracy. Each felt that human social life and social change could be studied in an objective, scientific manner and that a new science of society, which Comte called sociology, as both possible and necessary.

SOCIOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES

From its origins in Europe, sociology spread to the United States in the 1890s when departments of sociology were established at the University of Chicago and Atlanta University. Sociology began in Europe in the 1800s but largely matured in America in the 1900s partly in response to the social problems associated with the rapid industrialization and urbanization occurring at the time. Sociologists have not agreed about whether sociology should actively stimulate social change and social reform. American sociology has made impressive strides in developing research methods and theories that have yielded a better understanding of human society and social behavior. W. E. B. DuBois, Robert Ezra Park, Ernest Burgess, Charles Horton Cooley, George Mead, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton are all singled out for their contributions.

THREE DOMINANT SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES

Sociologists use three primary theoretical perspectives to examine social life:

    1. functionalist perspectives assume that society is a stable, orderly system
    2. conflict perspectives assume that society is a continuous power struggle among competing groups, often based on class, race, ethnicity, or gender; a
    3. interactionist perspectives focus on how people make sense of their everyday social interactions.

Functionalist and conflict perspectives currently prevail in the study of macro-level social phenomena. Symbolic interactionist perspective is the principal paradigm for studying micro-level social phenomena.

THE SOCOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROCESS

The sociologist research process is part of the sociological imagination. Sociologists conduct research to gain a more accurate understanding of society and provide a factual and objective counterpoint to commonsense knowledge and ill-informed sources of information. Sociological research is based on a approach that answers questions through a direct, systematic collection and analysis of data.

Theory and research form a continuous cycle that encompasses both deductive and inductive approaches. Many sociologists engage in quantitative research, which focuses on data that can be measured numerically. Other research is qualitative, based on interpretive description rather than statistics. Research Models are tailored to the specific problem being investigated and the focus of the researcher and may be quantitative or qualitative.

The following are steps in the conventional quantitative research:

    1. select and define the research problem
    2. review previous research
    3. formulate the hypothesis
    4. develop the research design
    5. collect and analyze the data
    6. draw conclusions and report the findings

Researchers taking the qualitative approach might

    1. formulate the problem to be studied instead of creating a hypothesis
    2. collect and analyze the data
    3. report the results

Research methods as systematic techniques for conducting research include experiments, surveys, secondary analysis, field research, case studies, unstructured interviews, and ethnography. Many sociologists use multiple methods in order to gain a wider scope of data and points of view. Studying human behavior raises important ethnical issues for sociologists.

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