Sociology 2206A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Critical Race Theory, Gender Role, Spurious Relationship
11 Apr 2016
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Researchers interweave a story about the operation of the social world (the theory) with what they observe when they examine it systematically (the data) Theory and methods are the backbone of the social sciences: one cannot practice the social sciences without a mastery of both. Three things about how social scientific theories work: 1. Social theories explain recurring patterns, not unique or one-time events e. g. they are not good at explaining why terrorists decided to attack nyc"s on. 9/11, but they can explain patterns such as the conditions that generally lead to increased levels of fear and spin-off terrorist groups: 2. Social theories are explanations for aggregates, not particular individuals. Aggregates collections of many individuals, cases of other units e. g. businesses, schools, families, clubs, cities, nations. A social theory can"t explain why your sister decided to get a degree in nursing over engineering, but it can explain why generally more females than males choose nursing over engineering: 3.
