SOCI 2001 Study Guide - Verstehen, Intersubjectivity, Arson
Document Summary
Soci 2001 - chapter one: general research orientations. Theory is an explanation of observed regularities or patterns. For example, the finding that schizophrenia is more common in the working class then in the middle class, or that more men than women are alcoholics. Theories are composed of interrelated and verifiable statements or propositions. To assess the adequacy of a particular social theory. To gather information to create social theory. Rational forms could be either deterministic or probabilistic. Theories that represent attempts to understand and explain a limited aspect of social life. Example of this would be durkheim"s theory of suicide, which maintains that suicide is the function of the level of social integration. Another example is mertons anomie theory, which suggests that crime is more common when a society instils a desire for wealth in everyone but provides insufficient means for all to achieve it. It is limited in scope and could be tested directly.
