SOC 1100 Lecture 2: Soc Chapter 2

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1100
• Professor: Deanna Behnke- Cook

Document Summary

Basics of sociological investigation: apply the sociological perspective, be curious and ask questions. In order to answer our questions, there are many forms of truth : belief or faith, expert testimony, simple agreement, science. Science as one form of truth: logical system that bases knowledge on direct systematic observation, stands apart from fat, belief, or conventional wisdom, rests on empirical evidence, information we can verify with our senses. Three ways to do sociology: scienti c sociology: based on systematic observation of social behaviour on the basis of empirical evidence. Concept: a mental construct that represents some part of the world in a simpli ed form. Variable: a concept whose values change from case to case. Measurement: a procedure for determining the value of a variable in a speci c case. Operationalizing a variable: specifying what one intends to measure in assigning a value to a variable. Validity: actually measuring exactly what one intends to measure.