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Sociology

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Sociology

Sociology and Research

Conducting a scientific research, sociologists use scientific method. Basic steps in scientific method are as: problem has to be defined, literature review and hypothesis formulation, research design selection and data analysis and findings of research are developed. While conducting a research, researchers understand and learn few terminologies in the beginning. Hypothesis is meant as the statement which can be tested, variables are the one which keep changes according to the situations, causal logic can be understood as the relation between a variable and an event, independent variable is the one which changes the variable and dependent variable is the one which gets changed by variable. For hypothesis assessment, data has to be collected and scientific method is about validity and invalidity of data. There has to be a targeted population, or it may be a random sampling which include a population. The method used for scientific data collection is the research design whether it is quantitative study or qualitative research study. Quantitative research study of the data which is in the numeric like mean, midpoint and mode. Qualitative research study relies on the observations, ethnography, and experiments. While conducting a research a researcher has to take care of research ethics which is called code of ethics which includes the confidentiality of participants volunteered. Their confidentiality is important because they cannot be exploited. Code of ethics is the standard for all whether they are volunteers for a research study or the researchers. According to Max Weber there should be a value neutrality used by researchers. Feminist researchers are more intended towards the work and family relationships and this has greater impact on the recent researcher in the sociology.

Discussion

Defining sociology and research is an important part to create an understanding of the whole terminologies in the research studies. A researcher has to follow scientific method to deduce or to reach to a result which can be called as theory and it contributes in the academic literature. Without scientific studies and research, the research is considered incomplete. This literature helps other researchers to conduct other studies, literature review is about the deep studies of different resources. The main and important thing in the research is the anonymity of the participants or the sample being concluded and non-biased research studies. The two methodologies include qualitative and quantitative methodology. Any decision made by an individual should not have an impact on the overall studies because of biasness and biasness in the research study should be managed in order to have reliable and valid results and outcomes. Code of ethics should be made equal for all and biased behaviors should not affect the research analysis and conclusion. Max Weber suggested that feelings of an individual should not leave an influence on the data analysis and conclusion. For this purpose, sociologists have to work in order to overcome biasness in the work and research. The new researchers in the field of sociology are being impressed by the feminist perspectives. Feminist theories and perspectives deny this thinking of considering work and family as two different. The feminist perspectives suggest that there is a relationship between the work place and family. Family and work place are interrelated and interconnected. Sometimes it becomes harder to keep a balance in family and workplace. A research data shows that men are the providers and mostly women stay in the house to take care of children. Keeping a balance between family and work is not being an easy task to perform like a mummy. (Shah, 2018). This has become a challenge to work on by the current researcher. Their role is to work on these gaps so that they contribute in raising public awareness and become the change makers in the sociology and society.

Theories and Methods in Sociology

The two main topics of discussion are theories and methods being used by sociologists to study about the social world. Research methodologies are the instruments and techniques used to conduct a research. Meaning for the term research is to investigate which will unveil new facts and truths and another meaning of research is to search again for something and uncover the meaning and gain knowledge about it which is already in existence. Correct methodologies in the research will lead you to a good research. The right methodologies will be helpful in convincing people and it will show validity in the conclusion of a research study. In a research a researcher can compare two things, philosophies, theories and phenomena, a researcher can evaluate, explain, describe, create a correlation, do predictions and get control over the situations. while conducting a research study there comes different aspects of questioning and reasoning about certain situations like the behavior of the OSU students over parking. For every explanation there is a theory for it, one cannot go for explanations without any knowledge and theories. In social sciences, natural sciences and physics it is believed that theory has an importance in creating a proper framework which allows and individual to understand different processes going around. And theories are important to explain things. Sociology has three main perspectives based on theories: structural functionalism, conflict perspective and symbolic interactionism.

Discussion

Research is about gaining knowledge about facts and their interpretation to create a new picture of the nature and inner nature of an individual. The research problem is the central point on which information collection and analyzing the data depends upon. To proceed a research there has to be a research problem which will be further studied and analyzed. Problem identification in research methodology will create a subject, aims and objectives of research. Then identification of data collection for investigation of issues being raised and what is the suitable way to analyze it. On the basis of theoretical studies an argument can also be generated. There are different perspectives in sociology (Walliman, 2017).

There are three main sociological theories. First one is functionalism, which focuses in the macro levels of societal structures, and it does not focus on the micro levels of daily life. this theory is about how a society can contribute in the stability of overall society. Parts of society in a functionalist theory are the social institutions and institutions are the ones which are in existence and plays important role in the functioning of the society. The second theory is the conflict theory which mentions that unequal distributions power, resources and status are the reasons for the political and social conflicts in the society. Conflict theory is considered as the ongoing conflict between the existing societies. Conflicts between people and different social groups will results in the change. The third one is the symbolic interactionism. This theory concentrates and gives focus on individuals and groups rather than looking on the larger scale of societal structures. This theory studies about the individuals and their relationships between the societies. Human actions and interactions can be understood by developing a communication. To understand the societal structures, it is important to understand the symbols which exist, and individuals are the ones who can create self-identities by interacting with societies.

References

Shah, V., & Shah, P. (2016). Work-Family Balance–A Challenge For A Women. In InternationalConference: Women in Science and Technology-Creating Sustainable Career. RetrievedMarch (Vol. 18, p. 2019).

Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.