SOC 1100 Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Notes .docx
Document Summary
Sociological investigation starts with two simple requirements: (1) applying the sociological perspective (this point of view reveals curious patterns of behaviour all around us and can further the study) and (2) to be curious and ask questions. Seeing the world sociologically and asking questions are fundamental to sociological investigation. In order to understand the kind of insights that sociology has to over we must understand that there are various kinds of truth". Three kinds of truth: (1) knowing or belief, (2) pronouncement of some recognized expert, (3) simple agreement among ordinary people. Three ways to do research include: scientific sociology, interpretive sociology and critical sociology. Scientific sociology is the study of society based on systematic observation and social behavior. The scientific orientation to know is called positivism which assumes that an objective reality exists out there . The job of the scientist is to discover this reality by gathering empirical evidence.
