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CH 1 - 4 (soc midterm 1)
N/A
102
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
09/11/2013

Additional Sociology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Social Network
Definition
the ties between people, groups, and organizations
Term
Society
Definition
a large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common culture
Term
Sociology
Definition
the study of societies and the social worlds that individuals inhabit within them
Term
Globalization
Definition
the increased flow of good, money ideas, and people across national borders
Term
Sociological Imagination
Definition
the capacity to think systematically about how many things we experience as personal problems (think beyond the individual)
Term
Stereotypes
Definition

beliefs about members of a group that are usually false or at least exaggerated, but are the basis of assumptions made about individual members of the group 

Term
Discrimination
Definition

any behavior, practice, or policy that harms, excludes, or disadvantages individuals on the basis of their group membership 

Term
Social Theories
Definition

overarching frameworks that suggest certain assumptions and assertions about the way the world works 

Term
Research Methods
Definition

ways of systematically studying sociological questions 

Term
Social Context
Definition
the influence of society on individuals
Term
Social Interaction
Definition

the way people act together, including how they modify and alter their behavior in response to the presence of others

Term
Norms
Definition

the basic rules of society that help us know what is and is not appropriate to do in any situation (guidelines for our behavior)

Term
Social Structure
Definition

the flip side of social interaction; the external forces, most notably in the social hierarchies and institutions of a society 

Term
Social Hierarchy
Definition

a set of important social relationships that provide individuals and groups with different kinds of status 

Term
Institutions of Society
Definition

the longstanding and important practices as well as the organizations that regulate those practices (ex. economic markets/government)

Term
Role
Definition

position within an institution or organization that comes with specific rules or expectations about how to behave 

Term
Social Statics
Definition
the study of societies as they are
Term
Social Dynamics
Definition
the process of social change
Term
Industrialization
Definition
the growth of factories and large-scale goods production
Term
Urbanization
Definition
the growth of cities
Term
Urban Areas
Definition

areas with a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile and all surrounding areas that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square miles 

Term
Unions
Definition

organized associations of workers created in order to protect and fight for their rights 

Term
Social Movements
Definition

collective action aimed at bringing about some kind of change in society (action aimed at change)

Term
Units of Analysis
Definition

pieces of a topic that a researcher bites off when she or he studies it 

Term
Interdisciplinary Research
Definition
an increasingly central part of learning about any topic in the social sciences
Term

Ethnographers

Definition
sociologists who enter the everyday lives of those they study in the hopes of understanding how they navigate and give meaning to their worlds
Term
Quantitative Research
Definition
research the relies on statistical analysis of data
Term
Qualitative Research
Definition
research that relies on words, observations or pictures as data
Term
Narrowing
Definition
a way of creating a manageable bite of a larger topic so that you can more readily transmit its significance to others
Term
Hypothesis
Definition
the tentative prediction we have about what we are going to discover before we begin the research
Term
Causality
Definition
the belief that one factor or phenomenon is leading to changes in another, that can’t be substantiated with the data accessible to us
Term
Epistemology
Definition
what we think we can know about the world and what we believe counts as evidence
Term
Positivism
Definition
sociological belief that the only true way to gain knowledge about the world is to use the logic of the natural sciences
Term
Interpretivism
Definition
sociological goal of understanding how people give meaning to social life, objects, and processes
Term
Theoretical Traditions
Definition
those conceptual frameworks that sociologists use to imagine and make sense of the world
Term
Values
Definition
the belief systems that shape sociologists’ views of and perspectives on the world we study
Term
Code of Ethics
Definition
a set of guidelines that outline what is considered moral and acceptable behavior
Term
Informed Consent
Definition
making participants decision to participate voluntary and based on a full understanding of possible risks and benefits involved
Term
Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Definition
boards that review researchers proposals before any work can begin in order to assess their potential harm and benefits of the research for participants
Term
Operationalize
Definition
when we spell out the operations and techniques to be used to assess our key concepts
Term
Dependent Variable
Definition
the aspects of our research that we predict will fluctuate in relation to other variables
Term
Independent Variable
Definition
the aspects of our research that we predict exist separate from other variables
Term
Scientific Method
Definition

1.Formulate research hypothesis based on the existing scholarship

2.Operationalize the variables key to the hypothesis and predict relationships among those variables

3.Collect data on the variables using a random sample

4.Hold other variables constant to determine if the relationship hypothesized between the key variables holds true

5.Draw empirical and conceptual generalizations from the data

 
Term
Reliability
Definition

when, in using the same measurement technique in additional studies, there are similar results 

Term
Validity
Definition
when the measurement a researcher uses is actually accurate
Term
Probability Sampling
Definition
sampling selected to mirror a larger population and to reflect its characteristics or dynamics
Term
Random Sampling
Definition
when everyone or everything being studied has an equal chance of being selected for study
Term
Representative Sampling
Definition
the characteristics of the sample reflect those of the total population being studied
Term
Respondent
Definition
person participating in the study
Term
Demographic Data
Definition
information on the size, structure, or distribution of the population
Term

Comparative-Historical Perspective 

Definition

a method of analysis examining a social phenomenon over time or in different places (across time and place)

Term
Cross-National Comparison
Definition
explanation of the differences between countries
Term
Correlation
Definition
when two social phenomenons appear together
Term
Causal Inference
Definition
the process of drawing the conclusion that one thing is caused by another
Term
Spurious Relationship
Definition
the apparent relationship between the first two factors when two factors seem to move in the same direction but both are themselves causes by something else (the outlying factor)
Term
Cross-Sectional Data
Definition
data collected at one point in time
Term
Longitudinal Data
Definition
data collected over a long period of time
Term
Fieldwork
Definition
work carried out in foreign cultures
Term
Thick Description
Definition
rich and detailed descriptions of the ways they make sense of their lives, written from the perspective of those people themselves
Term
Extended Case Method
Definition
a way of doing ethnography that emphasizes its contribution to social theory
Term
Data Analysis
Definition
when we interpret the data we’ve collected and look for patterns across it
Term
Front Heavy
Definition
when a great deal of a researchers work occurs before data are collected
Term
Back Heavy
Definition
a lot of the analytical work is saved for the post-data collection phase
Term
Data Coding
Definition
organizing data according to key categories and concepts
Term
Primary-Source Data
Definition
a researcher’s own data
Term
Data Displays
Definition
visual images of the patterns forming in the data
Term
Research Memos
Definition
extended versions of research notes, usually organized analytically, that allow researchers work through their findings and the evidence they have to support them, as well as to make sure the analytical forest is not lost amid all the tress of data
Term
Generalization
Definition
general claim about the issues posed by a research question
Term
Empirical Generalizability
Definition
applying a conclusion from findings to a larger population
Term
Theoretical Generalizability
Definition
applying a conclusion from findings to a larger sociological process
Term
Social Structure
Definition
the external forces, most notably social hierarchies, norms, and institutions, that provide the context for individual and group action
Term
Social Hierarchy
Definition
a set of important social relationships that provides individuals and groups with different kinds of status
Term
Inequality
Definition
the differences in endowments and valued goods held by individuals or families, such as income, wealth, status, or well-being
Term
Life Chances
Definition
individuals’ long-term possibilities and potential
Term
Intergenerational Social Mobility
Definition
the movement of individuals from the social position of their parents into their own social position as adults
Term
Glass Ceiling
Definition
metaphor used to describe the lack of progress women have made moving into valued executive positions
Term
Power
Definition
the ability to influence the behavior of others
Term
Privilege
Definition
the ability or right to have special access to opportunities or claims on rewards
Term
Discrimination
Definition
where a dominant group uses either legal or informal means to control opportunities and reduce or eliminate challenges from subordinate groups
Term
Social Movement
Definition
collective action aimed at bringing about some kind of change
Term
Stereotypes
Definition
faulty generalizations about a subordinate group applied to all members of the group
Term
Demography
Definition
the study of population size
Term
Critical Mass
Definition
a point where everyone becomes aware of changes and they are large enough to sustain some kind of important activity
Term
Immigration
Definition
when individuals and families move to take up residence in a new country
Term
Apartheid
Definition
period when explicit racial laws and rules relegated the large African majority to second-class citizenship until they were undone in peaceful revolution in the early 1990s
Term
Institutions
Definition

enduring customs of social life

Term
Institutionalized
Definition
formalized
Term
Curriculum
Definition
the structure of coursework and content of a sequence of courses making up a program of study in a school or school system
Term
Organizations
Definition
social networks that are unified by a common purpose, including government agencies
Term
State
Definition

all of the agencies and offices of government, the legal system, the military, and the constitution that provides the basis for their respective roles

 

Term
Welfare State
Definition
the bundle of programs that provide social insurance and social assistance for people falling into one or another category of attributes (such as old age, disability, or poverty)
Term
Role
Definition
refers to what specific things an individual is expected to do
Term
Life Course
Definition
the shift from one stage of life to another
Term
Norm
Definition
basic rule of society that helps us know what is and is not appropriate to do in any situation
Term
Habitus
Definition

the development of a set of specific habits

Term
Classes
Definition
different economic and social groups
Term
Structuralism
Definition
the view that emphasizes the ways in which social structure primarily determines our individual lives and behavior
Term
Agency
Definition
individual’s capacity to make free choices and exert their own wills
Term
Path Dependency
Definition
the ways in which outcomes of the past impact actors and organizations in the present, making some choices or outcomes logical and others illogical
Term
Interest Groups
Definition
organizations established to promote the concerns of a group or business corporation
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