Introduction To Sociology ~ THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER SUMMARY

Sociology offers a perspective—a view of the world—that stresses the social experiences of people as the underlying cause of their behavior.

Sociology emerged in the mid-1800s in Western Europe, during the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Early sociologists who focused on the changes that were then occurring in Europe were Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber. In the early years, few women received the advanced education required to become a sociologist, and women like Harriet Martineau who did become sociologists were largely ignored.

Sociology became established in North America by the end of the nineteenth century. Within U.S. sociology, there has always been a tension between basic sociology and attempts to reform society. Two early sociologists who combined sociology with social reform were Jane Addams and W. E. B. Du Bois.

A theory is a statement about how facts are related to one another. Because no one theory encompasses all of reality, sociologists use three primary theoretical frameworks:

(1) symbolic interactionism—which concentrates on the meanings that underlie people’s lives—usually focuses on the micro level;
(2) functional analysis—which stresses that society is made up of various parts that, when working properly, contribute to the stability of society—focuses on the macro level; and
(3) conflict theory—which stresses inequalities and sees the basis of social life as a competitive struggle to gain control over scarce resources—also focuses on the macro level.

Research and theory must work together because without theory, research is of little value, and if theory is unconnected to research, it is unlikely to represent the way life really is.

Sociological research is needed because common sense is highly limited and often incorrect. Eight basic steps are included in scientific research:

(1) selecting a topic, (2) defining the problem, (3) reviewing the literature, (4) formulating a hypothesis, (5) choosing a research method, (6) collecting the data, (7) analyzing the results, and (8) sharing the results.

Sociologists use six research methods (or research designs) for gathering data:

(1) surveys, (2) participant observations, (3) secondary analysis, (4) documents, (5) experiments, and (6) unobtrusive measures.

Ethics are of concern to sociologists, who are committed to openness, honesty, truth, and protecting subjects. Sociologists agree that social research should be value free but recognize that at any point in time, sociologists are members of a particular society and are infused with values of all sorts. One of the dilemmas for sociologists is deciding whether the goal of research should be only to advance understanding of human behavior or also to reform harmful social arrangements.