Exam 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process

Researchers in one study systematically analyzed the contents of the notes of suicide victims to determine recurring themes, such as feelings of despair or failure. They hoped to determine if any patterns could be found that would help in understanding why people might kill themselves. This is an example of __________.

Age is a factor that can change and varies from person to person. Age is an example of a __________.

__________ is the systematic examination of cultural artifacts or various forms of communication to extract thematic data and draw conclusions about social life.

In a research design, the __________ is presumed to be caused by another variable.

During the __________, massive social changes occurred as technological innovations shifted the economic base of countries in Europe, and later the United States, from agriculture to manufacturing.

State the major assumptions of the conflict perspectives.

According to Durkheim, social facts can only be explained by other social facts.

__________ is a socially constructed concept used by many people to specify groups of people based on physical characteristics such as skin color.

Explain the process of conducting an experiment, along with its advantages and disadvantages.

C. Wright Mills used the term __________ in referring to a small clique composed of the top corporate, political, and military officials who hold the most power in society.

In an experiment, the __________ contains the subjects who are exposed to an independent variable to study its effect on them.

A significant difference between high-income and low-income countries is that low-income countries tend to be __________.

According to the __________ perspective, society is the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups.

Explain Durkheim's concept of anomie.

Which of these sociologists is not considered a founder of sociological study within the United States?

Discuss the competing perspectives on social life-stability and social change. Explain each perspective and give an example of a theorist and how he or she contributed to that approach.

The term __________ refers to the biological and anatomical differences between females and males.

People throughout the world share the same biosphere; environmental pollution in one area may have an adverse effect on people in other places. This makes environmental problems an example of __________.

A __________ analysis focuses on small groups rather than large-scale social structures.

All of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology focus analysis at the macrolevel, examining whole societies, large-scale social structures, and social systems.