Explain The Ways In Which Sociologists Use Scientific Methods

In conclusion, it is clear that there are a lot of reasons as to why some sociologists choose not to use questionnaires when carrying out research. Some of the main

The sociologist imagination takes general concepts and makes them connect to the bigger picture of reality and society. One of the ways in which I utilize these methods of thinking relates to the Conflict Theory: competing interests and ideas are what make the world go round due to the push and pull of communication. My mom likes to believe in the possibility of everyone believing the same thing and working towards the same goal,

In Neil Postman’s short essay, “Social Science as Moral Theology,” he describes the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, not as sciences, but rather as “moral theology” and as “storytelling.” The authors of the textbook Sociology the Essentials would dispute these claims by arguing that social scientists are doing science with their work. In the third chapter labeled, “Doing Sociological Research” there is a section called “The Tools of Sociological Research” that goes into detail of all the different ways sociologists can gather research.

Sociologists develop theories to explain and analyze society at different levels and from different perspectives. Sociologists study everything from the micro level of analysis of small social patterns to the “big picture” which is the macro level of analysis of large social patterns.

Sociology is the research and analysis of the human society; meaning sociologist examine why we behave the way we behave, what affects our behavior, and if ordinary things are more complex than they seem. When developing a sociological perspective it makes the “familiar strange” (Conley, 3). When someone is trying to think as a sociologist it is encouraged to question aspects in your life that you thought were normal, which conveniently can make you feel unsure about what lifestyle you are comfortable living in.  A sociological perspective is gained when you learn to think through a “sociological lense” that challenges your mind to new levels of thought (Godwin, Lecture). When in rhythm with your sociological mind you reflect on new personal

Life is strange, and comes with many questions. Questions that do not have many answers. We create our own answers, with the help of sociologist and other scientist that study human behavior. Sociologist study humans and use different concepts and methods to get further knowledge of society, and helps us relate to other people in our society. Sociologist use many different tools, and resources to gain knowledge and date to help us understand ourselves better.

The method has 5 phases: asking the question, researching existing sources, formulating a hypothesis, designing and conducting the study, and drawing conclusions. There are a few ways sociologist could gather information about the education system. One too could be surveying students and faculty. Sociologists also could use field research or participant observation to observe first hand in classrooms and schools. Ethnography could be used to observe the school system in a county or

According to Seidman there is three types of styles of theorizing scientific social theory, philosophical approaches, and moral vision of social theory. The reason scientific social theory is important is because of the word scientific. Which is based on methods and principles of science. When you are trying to make, a theory using the scientific social theory you relay on science as the only way to achieve the collected body of knowledge. When using this method, you cannot use common sense, science is the only way to find out what is real. When using common sense to talk about social theory and behavior for a sociologist you become subjective and bias to other groups and cultures different from your own. For instance, in sociocultural

What stuck out to me in this entire chapter was the value neutrality that Max Weber suggested that every sociologists should practice so that they do not allow their personal emotions to interfere with the results of data. Allowing the sociologist to use their personal feelings in the process of the experimental process, will ruin the experiment, making the experiment not reliable or valid. I agree with that you should not permit things, emotion or beliefs come into any aspect during the investigation because letting that happen will just make the finds of the experiment be about what you believe. That would be unethical because in order for something to be right, you must be able to back it up with evidence to prove it accurate. Even “though that some sociologists believe that neutrality is impossible, ignoring the issue would be irresponsible” (Richard T Schaefer 51). It is hard not to add your own thoughts and opinions to things. The problem of neutrality does not indicate that sociologists can not have their own opinions, but they have to make sure that they are not biases in any matter. This connects to situations in the the real world because in any job you are not permitted to let your

The first of the three assigned readings describes how sociologists conduct, collect, and apply their research. During this section the readers is introduced to a general research model that sociologists use. However before going in depth on the research model the applications of common sense while doing sociological research must be established. During this paragraph James M. Henslin uses an example of rape to portray the importance of sociological research and that one should not assume or use common sense for everything. Henslin then begins to explain the research model. This model has eight steps starting with selecting a topic all the way to sharing the results. He highlights the six research methods and explains when and how one should use a particular method. The

Sociologists use many different designs and methods to study society and social behavior. Most sociological research involves ethnography, or “field work” designed to depict the characteristics of a population as fully as possible.

On page 3, Sudhir says that he finds it interesting that most of the researchers in the U of C Sociology department are not interested in meeting the subject of their research. Mostly their disinterest comes from a belief that actually communicating on a personal level with the people being studied is unscientific (Venkatesh, 2008). I find this extremely interesting that most of these researchers would not like to go down onto the streets and actually find out what the people themselves believe is wrong with their community or group. Scientific data provides a basis for who, what, and where events take place for sociologists. I personally do not believe that scientific

The scientific method can be applied to many fields of work in life and not just in sociology. It encourages positive and critical thinking which is very helpful as I move through life. Also, its research methods can be helpful. In sociology, you learn how study things from afar without disturbing it and being as open minded as possible in order to come to the correct outcome. This can be helpful in most scientific fields as well as other fields were it might require a objective view on things.

As stated in chapter two and lesson two it's fascinating how sociology has helped changed the lives of many people, and how they make life decisions based on pre-existing facts. As mentioned in the lesson, one of the primary keys that stuck to me was the empirical evidence which is based on direct experience or observation. As a matter of fact, many high school students often have a hard time choosing a career, because they often believe that what they chose is what they will end up doing for the rest of their lives. However, one of the ways school boards helps these students is by allowing them to see through other people life experiences such as surveys, how many people graduated

Sociologists are concerned with the different social behaviors in our society. To investigate the causes of such changes in behavior sociologists use two different methods to gather data and deeply understand the causes of change. The first method is Quantitative Research. Sociologist uses quantitative research because allows them to generalize their findings beyond the participant group. For example, in The Compassion Gap In American Poverty Policy by Fred Black, Anna Karteweg (2008) provided solid statistics on how farther and farther the American Dream has become for most Americans. According to their findings, in 1973, the “Dream Line” was under $10,000 and close to two-parent income with a minimum wage job and the “Poverty Line”. The year