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S S M I T H @ M O R E C A M . B E
[Yr12]Methods EducationFamilies ResearchCulture
Socialisation
Yr12 Sociology
Revision Booklet
“A teacher may open the door, but you must
enter by yourself”
Morecambe Community High School
Contents
Full list of topics to be revised
Revision timetable (guide)
Writing Essay Responses
SY1: Structures& Exam Techniques
SY1: Culture, Socialisation, Families & Households
SY2: Research Methods & Education
List of Case Studies
Glossary
Websites:
 www.mchssociologyks5.blogspot.com
 www.sociologyguide.com/questions/index.php
www.sociologyguide.com/questions/culture.php
www.s-cool.co.uk
www.revisiontime.com/aSoc.htm
www.collinseducation.com/Secondary/Sociology/Sociology

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SY1 – Checklist: Culture and Socialisation & Families and Households
Tick each topic as you have revised it:
Topic Revised Unsure Know it
thoroughly
Culture, high culture, popular culture, mass culture, low culture,
global culture, folk culture,
How culture is transmitted: RISE, VMCD
Socialisation, agents of socialisation, formal and informal social
control
Definitions and examples of: Norms, Values, Status, Roles, Mores
Definitions of Family, Household, Singlehood
Definitions of and examples of family diversity: Nuclear, Extended,
Beanpole, Reconstituted, Single-Parent, Same Sex, Neo-
Conventional
Changing marriage, divorce and cohabitation rates
Reasons for changing family forms: Women’s movement,
secularisation, demographic changes, social attitudes, social policies
Functions of the family
Gender (conjugal) roles within the family; power relationships;
domestic divisions, decision making
Social and government incentives and policies affecting family
Dark side of the family: Domestic Violence, Child abuse
Social Construction of ‘childhood’; the disappearance of childhood
Functionalism, and New Right and family
Marxism and family
Feminisms and family (Liberal, Marxist, Radical)

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SY2 – Checklist: Research Methods & Education Tick each topic as you have revised it:
Topic Revised Unsure Know it
thoroughly
Positivism and Interpretivism
Ethnography
Reliability and validity
Ethic Issues: Deceit, sensitivity and bias
Confidentiality, invasion of privacy and informed consent.
Qualitative and quantitative data
Primary and secondary data
Generalisation and representativeness,
Operationalisation of concepts
Objectivity and subjectivity
Survey, questionnaire, observation and interview
Case study and experiments
Longitudinal studies.
Documents, official statistics and personal data
Pilot Study
Sampling Frame
Sampling Techniques: Random, Stratified, Systematic, Cluster,
Snowball, Quota
Triangulation
Methodological plurality
Verstahen
History of social policy within education system
Differential attainment – gender and equality of opportunity
Differential attainment – ethnicity and equality of opportunity

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Differential attainment –Social class and equality of opportunity
Differential attainment – Locality and equality of opportunity
Formal socialisation
Social control
Social selection
Marketisation of education
Vocationalism and vocational education
Formal and hidden curricula
Meritocracy
Anti-school subculture
Cultural deprivation, material deprivation and cultural capital
Labelling and Self-fulfilling prophecy
School Factors: Setting of students and teachers’ expectations
More recent notions of the effective school community
Underclass
Marxist theories of education
Functionalist theories of education
Interactive theories of education

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Revision Timetable (Example and guide)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
8.00am
9.00am
10.00am
11.00am
12.00am
1.00pm
2.00pm
3.00pm
4.00pm
5.00pm
6.00pm
7.00pm
8.00pm
9.00pm

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WRITING ESSAY RESPONSES
Lots of marks are for the skills of analysis and evaluation. Even fairly limited or thin sociological
knowledge and understanding can result in a reasonably good mark IF it is used to test claims and
theories.
MAXIMISE the marks available
Reading the question
The question is a stimulus, using:
Commands
 Triggers
Decoding is necessary as it allows you to move from a knowledge list in your mind to a more focused
response as you hone in on concepts and ideas specific to the trigger in the question.
A good opening paragraph could illustrate your decode.
Understanding the question
Command words: A, E, I, O
Assess
Examine/ Evaluate
Identify
Outline
EXAMINER
Sets the
question
Marks the
answer
Reads Understands Selects Constructs
STUDENT
DECODE
Common Problem
Many students put more emphasis on the context reference
and deliver a very knowledge-based essay.
Many marks are for application and evaluation.

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Specialist words – TRICKY!
Vocabulary check – GLOSSARY You need to learn new vocabulary!!!!
Selecting relevant material
This is about triggers and possibilities –
You need to identify the trigger in the question and think of the possibilities that you could refer to in
your response.
Constructing a response
PREPARATION Know what points can be made
Use the mats
Revise them, so you learn them
Recall them with speed
STRUCTURE
Challenging images????
How????
The decode paragraph (intro)
Definition, general outline; refer to the command word; refer to the question focus
The argument/ discussion (main)
Depending on whether it is a short or longer response, aim to include 4 – 6 PETE (point, evidence/
examples, theory/ theorists, explore/evaluate)
The final evaluation paragraph (conclusion)
In conclusion, ……
Sum up with direct reference to the question focus and trigger

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SY1 Checklist STRUCTURES & EXAM TECHNIQUES
Culture (compulsory)
1a 5 marks 5 minutes
This will ask for the definition of a term. So use this structure:
a)Define the term in the question; specifically mention it in relation to ‘norms’, ‘values’ and
‘socialisation’.
b)Expand on definition by explain it in more detail or provide an example or two of it in context.
c)REFER to Item: With reference to the Item, which illustrates ………., we can see how […] is
transmitted, works, functions, contextualised.
d)Link term with Item – elaboration.
1b 10 marks 10 minutes
This will ask about two agents of socialisation: discuss FAMILY and EDUCATION. It will ask you to
explain how these agents influence behaviour: generally or by gender; or use social control; or transmit
culture. Either way, your response can be the same for all, with slight differences according to the triggers in
the question.
a)Socialisation is the process of learning norms, values and behaviour, and transmitting culture. It is
divided into primary and secondary: parents and family being a primary socialisation agent and
education (media, religion, workplace, peers) as secondary agent(s) of socialisation. The main ways
in which behaviour, norms and values are transmitted are through role models, imitation, sanctions
and expectations.
b)Firstly, children learn culture and social roles by looking at their parents and what they do and how
they act. Parents act as role models for children, and they are looked up to.
They also learn by imitation, by copying the behaviour of adults. Basic norms like how to eat, use
the toilet are learned through imitation.
Socialisation is reinforced with the use of social control, demonstrated by parents using various
positive and negative sanctions to encourage and discourage certain behaviours. For example,
praising a child if they have done something well, pocket money or a treat as a reward encourages
the same behaviour to be repeated. If children are rude, a toy may be removed or they are ‘told off’,
in order to discourage unacceptable behaviour.
Parents’ expectations also influence children’s behaviour, as they are encouraged or discouraged to
do things behaviourally or academically.
c)Secondly, children learn culture and social roles in education, from their teachers and peers. Both of
these can act as role models for children, as they admire behaviours and attitudes. But also subject
material may illustrate key figures in history that encourage children to develop specific values.
This may then be followed by imitation, in that they then copy or adopt similar behaviours and
attitudes. Children are also keen to ‘fit in’ and so will copy their peers.
Sanctions are also used in schools, informally and formally. Good behaviour and talents can be
rewarded with praise, trips, prizes, whereas bad behaviour and disobeying school rules can result in
detentions, and even expulsion.

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Because of the formality of schools, there are rules and regulations, and therefore teachers have
certain expectations of students. Children are aware of what is expected of them in the classroom
and within the school, and are required to behave accordingly.
d)To conclude, all agents of socialisation overlap in their transmission of culture and socialisation.
Family and education are very influential, yet not all parents are successful agents in socialising their
children. Some critics argue that childhood socialisation is not as effective as it used to be. Not all
educators are successful in socialising children either; Marxists would argue that education is
dominated by a hidden curriculum that reinforces ruling class ideology.
Should the question include a gender reference, you must be able to talk about Verbal
Appellation, Manipulation, Canalisation, and Different Activities.
You also need to remember to discuss what’s in the Item.
Family Option
2a 15 marks 15 minutes
This will ask you to outline and explain a term or concept within family. Read it very carefully, as you do
not want to misinterpret it and lose these marks! Often it wants you to elaborate on reasons for it. Use
PETE in every section.
a)INTRO
Define the term/ concept indicated in the question. What do you know and what is relevant?
b)P1
POINT Reason 1, relate it to the term or concept in question.
EVIDENCE If possible, have a statistic you can use to support your POINT and link to
contextualising it.
THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,
Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
EXPLORE Discuss the point/ reason, but make it applicable to the question.
c)P2 Everything as above.
d)P3 Everything as above.
e)CONC Return to the question and answer it directly, drawing on what you have discussed in
your response.
Don’t keep repeating the same reason; select 3 different ones, if possible.
Reasons for many issues to do with Family:
Changes in social policy
More independent and personal choice
Secularisation
Changing role and status of women
Changing social attitudes

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2b 30 marks 30 minutes
This is likely to present a debate or ask you to discuss an argument/ trends/ or relationship. It is vital you
provide evaluation all the way through your response, not just at the end!
This is really difficult to give more specific preparation for, as it depends on the trigger words in the
question. BUT YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU RESPOND SUFFICIENTLY TO ALL TRIGGERS –
ADDRESS THE NATURE OF THE ARGUMENT PRESENTED IN THE QUESTION.
Use the same structure for 2a, but double your explanation and discussion, to incorporate more analysis of
evidence and more evaluation – address both sides of argument, by drawing on alternate perspectives:
Functionalist, New Right, Feminist, Marxist, Postmodernist.
a) INTRO □Start by briefly defining the triggers in the question.
□Then in your own words explain what the argument is presented in the question.
b) P1 □POINT 1, relate it to the term or concept in question.
□EVIDENCE Use a statistic to support your POINT
□Now explain what that shows.
□THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,
Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
□EXPLORE Discuss the point, but make it applicable to the question.
c) P2 □POINT 2 Follow with a supporting point: Similarly, …..Relate it to the question.
□EVIDENCE Use another statistic, or context example to support POINT.
□Now explain what that shows.
□THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,
Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
□EXPLORE Discuss the point, but make it applicable to the question.
d) P3 □POINT 3 Follow with a contrasting point: However, …../ On the other hand, …. Relate it to
the question.
□EVIDENCE Use another statistic, or context example to support POINT.
□Now explain what that shows.
□THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,
Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
□EXPLORE Discuss the point, but make it applicable to the question.
e) P4 □POINT 3 Follow with another contrasting point: In addition, ….. Relate it to the question.
□EVIDENCE Use another statistic, or context example to support POINT.
□Now explain what that shows.
□THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,

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Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
□EXPLORE Discuss the point, but make it applicable to the question.
f) CONC □Return to the question and answer it directly, drawing on what you have discussed in your
response. BE EVALUATIVE!
Key Findings
In 2012, 38 per cent of married couple families had dependent children, compared with 39 per
cent of opposite sex cohabiting couple families.
There were nearly 2.0 million lone parents with dependent children in the UK in 2012, a figure
which has grown steadily but significantly from 1.6 million in 1996.
There were 26.4 million households in the UK in 2012. Of these, 29 per cent consisted of only
one person and almost 20 per cent consisted of four or more people.
 The number of marriages taking place in England and Wales per year has been in decline since the
early 70s, decreasing from 404,734 in 1971 to just 232,443 in 2009. (Source: Office for National
Statistics, 2012)
 Despite this drop, marriage remains popular in England and Wales and it is still the most common
form of partnership. About two thirds of people aged over 20 were thought to be living as a married
couple in 2007. (Source: ONS, 2011)
In 2012 there were 18.2 million families in the UK. Of these, 12.2 million consisted of
a married couple with or without children.
The number of opposite sex cohabiting couple families has increased significantly,
from 1.5 million in 1996 to 2.9 million in 2012.
The number of dependent children living in opposite sex cohabiting couple families
doubled from 0.9 million to 1.8 million over the same period.

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People are waiting until later in life to get married. In 1970 in England and Wales, on average
women married at the age of 22.0, and men at 24.1. This had risen to 30.8 for women and 33.4
for men by 2009. (Source: ONS, 2011)
This delay in marriage may be due to couples choosing to cohabit rather than marry. The
number of couples cohabiting has nearly doubled over the past seven years. In 2004, there were
approximately 142,300 cohabiting couples in England and Wales. This had risen to
approximately 285,300 in 2011. (Source: ONS, 2011)
Many couples who cohabit still eventually marry in the long-term however. After 10 years of
living together, half have married, 40% have split up, and only 10% continue to cohabit.
(Source: Centre for Population Change, 2011)

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The Definition of Culture
Culture refers to the things that are shared by members of a society. It includes behaviour, norms, values,
mores, status, and roles.
Key concepts in the formation of culture
Norms
These are the unwritten/unspoken rules of everyday life, referring to specific situation for example, wearing
black at a funeral or stopping at a red light when driving.
Values
These lie behind norms and are belief/morals views that are deeply held by individuals or by most people in
society for example, a value in the sanctity of the human life or order and fairness.
Mores (pronounced ‘more-rays’)
These are stronger than norms, referring to ways of behaving which most people in a society believe are
essential to maintain standards of decency. There is a moral aspect to mores, which is often more commonly
referred to when discussing ‘values’.
Status
This is based on out social position of the social standing within society. There are two different types of
statuses and these are ascribed status which is based on our position within family, sex, race and ethnicity.
There is also achieved status for example the status of a professor, doctor, or lawyer.
Roles
Within each status there are a set of expectations or norms that a person is expected to follow. These are
different roles. Roles do not always fit together well; there may be clashes between the different roles we are
expected to play. This leads to role conflict
Types of Culture
High Culture- Refers to cultural creations that have a particularly high
status. E.g. opera, classical music and literature. Seen as superior.
Folk Culture- Refers to culture of ordinary people. E.g. traditional folk
songs and stories handed down from generation to generation.
Mass Culture- Seen as less worthy than high or folk culture. It's a product of mass media including
popular feature films, TV soaps and pop music.
Popular Culture- Similar to mass culture. Features any cultural products appreciated by ordinary
people; TV programmes, mass-market films and popular fiction.
Culture is a way of life of a group of people. It is learned through the process of socialisation, and
shared with others. People who never come to have a culture, through being isolated from other
people when they are young, are not able to fully acquire a culture.

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Subculture- Applied to a wide range of groups; those who live close together and have a shared
lifestyle, youth groups who share interests and ethnic groups who share the same beliefs.
Global Culture- Implies an all-embracing culture common to people all over the world.
Nature versus nurture
This debate is very important to the study of sociology and
socialisation. This is because sociologists are trying to explain
social behaviour in humans. The debate focuses on whether our
behaviour is determined by our genes or by the society and culture in which live.
Nature
When sociologists talk about nature they are referring to what a person inherits through their genes
Each individual inherits 50% of their genes from her/his mother and 50% from his/her father.
Genes determine such things as what sex we will be and the colour of our eyes.
Biologists have also argued that genetic influence can explain social behaviour.
For example, some have argued that aggression or male and female behaviour are inherited.
If we use the term instinct we mean that behaviour is passed on through the genes from parents to
children.
Nurture
When sociologists talk about nurture they are referring to all the social behaviours we learn through the
socialisation process.
This means the things we do are a result of what we have learned.
This means that our experiences and our environment play a large part in shaping our behaviour.
Our social behaviours come from the expectations and guidelines found within each society or culture.
Nature or nurture?
There are four main areas to consider when trying to answer the question – ‘which has most influence in
shaping social behaviour?’
1. We often say behaviour is natural or instinctive because we do things without thinking, or have done
this for such a long time it seems natural.
However, what we consider natural may in fact be behaviour that is learned, but because we are
socialised from an early age it seems natural.
2. Recent research into genetics has made a strong case for the nature argument.
However, there are huge variations in social behaviour between different cultures that cannot be
explained by genetic inheritance.
3. Sociologists admit that we have basic drives for food, shelter, comfort, and so on, but this does not
explain the way we go about getting these things.
Each society/culture does things in different ways. This is because we are socialised into accepting and
demonstrating the behaviours that are seen as important and normal in our society.
4. Biologists also acknowledge that the environment is important.
We may inherit the gene for a physical characteristic or a specific behaviour but the gene may only
express itself in a particular environment.

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One example of this is if we look at the genetic influence on height. We may inherit the gene for
tallness, but we would need protein in our diet for the gene to express itself and actually make us tall.
One way to test the influence of nature or nurture would be to study the ways in which people develop
without human/social contact. However, researchers cannot do this as it would not be ethical. However,
there are some case studies of wild children who seem to have gone without social contact.
Examples of the nature versus nurture debate
Given below are examples of different kinds of social behaviour. Each can be explained through nature or
nurture.
Female and male behaviour
Most of us would agree that in many situations we expect male and female behaviour to differ. Consider the
following questions designed to test whether males and females behave differently:
• In your experience, is a man or a woman more likely to cry at a sad film?
• Is a firefighter more likely to be a man or a woman?
• Is a man or a woman more likely to wear make-up?
• When a heterosexual couple are in a car together, is the man or the woman more likely to be driving?
The nature versus nurture debate considers whether such behavioural differences are genetic or learned.
The nature side of the debate emphasises that males and females do have genetic differences that influence
both physical and behavioural characteristics. These biological differences mean that males and females are,
therefore, suited to different behaviours and roles. Some people who adhere to this side of the debate have
argued that biological differences make females more suited to raising children.
The nurture side of the debate emphasises that there is a whole range of social institutions (work, family,
religion, mass media, and education) that teach children their gender roles. Within the family males and
females are treated differently from the moment they are born. Baby boys are often dressed in blue and baby
girls in pink. When talking to a young child people often refer to the girl’s prettiness and clothing, while
they refer to a boy’s size and mischievousness. Adults tend to speak to girls in a softer, more nurturing
voice. Boys are given more active and technical toys that encourage competitiveness while girls’ toys are
more passive. Teachers as well as carers also expect boys and girls to behave differently. It is perceived to
be less acceptable for girls to be fighting in the playground than it is for boys. Teenage boys achieve status
among their peer group for sexual promiscuity while teenage girls are condemned for the same behaviour. In
adulthood, the media judge women on their appearance, while they judge men on their power and success.
Socialisation and Social Control
Children learn about social norms from imitating their parents, as they grow up they use their parents as
role models. Parents try to teach social norms by telling them how to behave and setting examples. They use
sanctions (rewards and punishments) to guide and control this process.
What is socialisation?
Giddens (2006) defines socialisation as the process through which culture is passed from generation
to generation. It initially takes place in the family; later education, religion, the media and peer
groups are important.
Why does this happen?

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Socialisation is the process in which we learn culture and the social aspects of behaviour. It includes the
way we think and behave. Socialisation is lifelong. It starts at birth and continues until death.
Socialisation – The process by which we learn the culture of our society.
Primary socialisation – Intimate and influential socialisation in the early years of life (usually from
parents)
Secondary socialisation – Socialisation that occurs later in life from various different sources.
Re-socialisation – When a person has to learn new ways when their role changes.
Anticipatory socialisation – The process by which knowledge and skills are learned for future roles
Internalising – Is the process that norms and values shared by society become part of a person’s own
personal set of values.
Primary Socialisation FAMILY
Sociologists refer to early socialisation as primary socialisation. This takes place in the home, with parents
and family. Children learn the most basic norms, values and roles of their culture.
How?
Children are constantly watching their parents, and learn a lot by copying. What they do will be praised or
corrected by parents, and thus will be modified. Socialisation is not just a one-way process: children will try
out different behaviours to see what reactions will be; they work out themselves, also, from past experience.
They also reject some of what they are taught, behaving at times in ways that are disapproved of.
Secondary Socialisation EDUCATION, PEERS, MEDIA, RELIGION, WORK
This process is continued from primary to include institutions beyond the family. These institutions continue
to reinforce hegemonic ideologies about behaviour, gender, norms and values.
How?
Images, literature, attitudes, social policies, other people portray hegemonic constructions of what is
acceptable, normal and appropriate, often rooted in traditional and stereotyped ideologies.
Formal socialisation
Some of our learning takes place in a particular way. For
example, we learn the skills of reading, writing and
counting in school.
These types of skills are seen as necessary in our society
because they help us communicate and get a
job.
This type of socialisation is known as
formal socialisation.
Informal socialisation
Informal socialisation
Many of the things we learn are picked up from
copying others, listening to things we are told by
our friends or through the media.
This type of socialisation is going on all the time
and is known as informal socialisation.

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Gender Socialisation
Anne Oakley
Vicious Monkeys Can Dance
VERBAL APELLATION
The words and names that parents use
when speaking to their children to teach
them society’s expectations. For example:
girls are more likely to be called pretty and
princess, whereas boys are more likely to
be told that they are a brave soldier.
MANIPULATION
The way in parents encourage and reward
behaviour that they think is appropriate or
discourage that which they think is
inappropriate. For example: parents may encourage their daughters to pay a lot of attention to their
appearance and whereas sons need to concentrate on their muscles.
CANALISATION
This comprises of parents channeling the child's interests into activities and toys that are considered the
norm for their gender e.g. encouraging girls to do ballet and encouraging boys to play football; girls playing
house with dolls and princesses and boys playing adventure with their action and super heroes.
DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES
Parents provide children with a whole range of activities, toys and games, through which they learn about
their wider culture and behaviour appropriate to their gender. For example: girls staying inside to help their
mothers cook and boys are more likely to be given permission to roam outdoors.

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Wild children – case studies
One way of studying the process of socialisation is to look at a
number of cases of ‘wild children’.
These are children who, for one reason or another, have been
deprived of normal human contact.
The following examples are taken from different sociological and
anthropological studies.
They describe what the children were like
when found and how they developed after
normal social contact.
Kamala and Amala
The case of Amala and Kamala was
recorded in the 1920s in India. They were
found living ‘wild’and were looked after
by a minister and his wife who ran an orphanage.
Amala was about two years old and Kamala was eight when they were found. Amala died soon
after she was found. Kamala lived until she was about seventeen.
The children were reported to have had an acute sense of smell, would howl at night and eat
directly out of a bowl. Kamala was not toilet trained and hated clothes.
Although they did play with one of the smaller children they ended up biting him so he became
afraid.
Kamala did form bonds of affection with the minister's wife and Kamala was obedient and
listened to what she said, although not to others.
Kamala also learned to speak, but only in a very limited way. She also learned to walk and use her
hands when eating.
Genie
Genie was found in 1970 when she was 13 years old. Her father had died and her mother was
almost totally blind. Social workers discovered she had spent most of her life tied to a chair in
one room. She had very little contact with other members of the family. Genie was discouraged
from making any sounds.
She had not been fed properly and could not stand up straight.
Genie could not talk. She did not understand language. She used the toilet where she liked and
hit and scratched herself. She often used touch and smell to find out about objects. She could not
walk properly when she was found but developed this through time.
Although she did learn some words, she never learned to speak fully. She found grammar
difficult although she had words for colours and shapes which surprised her carers. She did learn
social habits and appeared to form affectionate bonds with her carers.
She is still alive but her development is unknown.

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The Process of Socialisation and Social Control RISE
Family Education Peers Media Workplace Religion
ROLE
MODELS
Children learn what is
expected of them by
looking at role models
within the family unit.
They will watch their
parents’ behaviour and
learn the social norms
associated with these
roles.
Teachers, lessons
involving historical
figures, or people of
significance, peers
encourage children to
aspire to certain
norms and values.
Links closely with
school here, in that
children will meet
and interact with their
peers mostly at
school.
The media provides us
with role models, which
may help to reinforce
socially acceptable ways
of behaving. In young
children’s TV
programmes and books,
fictional characters are
often portrayed as
making morally right
decisions and actions.
Links very closely
with peers and
education. We
meet and interact
with people of
differing
authorities, having
different statuses.
There is a set of
moral values, which
over time have
become part of the
wider culture within
many different
societies.
IMITAT-
ION
By copying their parents’
behaviour, children are
learning about role taking.
Activities, such as playing
‘house’ or ‘mummies and
daddies’ develop skills of
empathy. Basic norms
such as how to eat use the
toilet, dress appropriately
and manners are learned
through imitation.
Children are keen to
‘fit in’ at school and
will often copy the
behaviour of other
students to ensure that
they do so. They may
also imitate teachers’
behaviours as they
admire their teacher.
Again, there is a close
link here with
Peer pressure is
powerful – belonging
to and being accepted
by a peer group can
encourage children to
conform to group
behaviour.
There are numerous
examples of individuals
being influenced by the
media so much that they
copy what they have
seen, heard or read. Emo
music has been accused
of encouraging young
people to self-harm,
violent films and games
have long been debated
about and their influence
on violent behaviour.
We are keen to ‘fit
in’ at work, and be
accepted and
praised for the job
that we do.
Good examples are
presented to
workers to illustrate
what is acceptable
and valued.
A continuation of
above.
SANCT-
IONS
These, positively and
negatively, reinforce
behaviour. Parents may
praise a child when they
behave appropriately – get
pocket money or a reward.
Formally, schools
have their own rules
that must be complied
with – failure to do so
results in negative
consequences:
This pressure can be
positive and negative.
Positive sanctions are
the acceptance and
status within the peer
group. Failure to
Deviant behaviour is
often a target for media
coverage, and is
highlighted as being
stupid, crass or criminal
– this suggest that if you
Formally,
management set the
norms and rules
about appearance,
attitudes and
behaviour. These
Moral codes are
prescribed. Religious
codes of conduct can
affect all areas of a
person’s life, from
what they eat and

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Negative sanctions are
used to discourage
inappropriate behaviour –
if a child is rude, they may
be banned from watching
television.
detention, letter
home, exclusion.
Positively, teachers
and schools can
praise children for
good work and
behaviour,
reinforcing what is
acceptable.
conform to the
group’s norms and
values can lead to
negative sanctions
like rejection and
isolation.
act outside of what is
appropriate, you are
deemed deviant.
may be controlled
by official codes of
conduct, and
disciplinary acts if
they are not abided.
Positively, firms
may try to win the
loyalty and
motivation of their
staff by
encouraging them
to identify with the
company and
having promotional
opportunities.
what they wear to
what they can do and
can’t do on sacred
days.
EXPECT-
ATIONS
Parent’s hopes for their
children can influence
their expectations of them.
Certain expectations
influence sanctions and
different activities parents
provide for their children.
Teachers and schools
have certain
expectations of their
students – appropriate
behaviour, standards
of work. But
expectations may also
be based on
‘labelling’, and thus
the ‘self-fulfilling
prophecy’ is played
out.
The groups’
expectations of
conformity are strong.
Peer groups often
consist of individuals
who have a higher
status and who act as
role models to others;
they would expect
others to share similar
interests and norms.
Not applicable. Managers and
bosses have certain
expectations of
their staff – very
much like school.
To abide by moral
guides.
RISE = Role Models, Imitation, Sanctions, Expectations
How culture is transmitted and how socialisation works

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Theories of Society
High-level theories such as Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism, Interactionism, and Postmodernism focus
on trying to explain how and why society is ordered. High-level theories can be known as ‘Sociological
Perspectives’.
Functionalism – Consensus Theory
Functionalism has a positive view of
society.
This theory views society as a system that is based on cooperation.
Each part of the social structure has a function and contributes to society as a whole.
Criticism of Functionalism
It presents a deterministic view of human behaviour – humans are pictured and shaped by society.
Functionalism plays down all the conflict that exists in society.
Marxism – Conflict Theory
Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)
argues that it is a capitalist society
A capitalist society generates conflict between the rich ruling class and the exploited workers. These
groups will always be locked in conflict as they have opposing interests.
Formal social control- the ruling class use the police and military to threaten ‘rebels’ with force
A second strategy is to win the hearts and minds or people. Conflict theorists argue that the powerful
groups use the education system and media to ‘brainwash’ and manipulate the rest of the population
into accepting the values that prop up the system.
Criticism of Marxism
Marxism portrays people as puppets of the social system, unable to resist idea of capitalism.
Feminisms – Liberal,
Marxist, Radical
Feminists see the gender system as the main cause of conflict within society. The social divisions
between men and women
Gender inequality can be found in:
Occupations – there are men’s jobs and women’s jobs, in most cases men’s jobs bring
higher rewards in terms of status, power and pay.
Religious beliefs – which see men as superior to women
Marriage vows – state that the duty of a wife is to serve her husband.
Education
Family life
Criticism of Feminism
Feminists are preoccupied with gender inequality and tend to ignore other aspects of society.
Interactionism
Interactionists do not see
society as a ridged structure; they place a lot of emphasis on human action and freedom.
Interactionists point out that we make roles as well as simply take them.
Interactionists say people are not controlled by society.
‘Everything works together for the good of everyone’
‘The ruling class are screwing the working class’ –
economics.
‘Men dominate over women’ – ‘There is no gender equality’
‘There is no society, only individuals and small groups.’

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Interactionists view society as a process of social interaction and constant human activity.
Criticism of Interactionism
Interactionists focus on small-scaled situations and tend to ignore the wider society.
Critics say they underestimate the extent to which our actions are controlled by society.
Postmodernism
Postmodernists argue that traditional ways of
behaving are becoming outdated and irrelevant.
Postmodernists believe that what we consume says something about who we are.
They believe that instead of dominant or mainstream culture there is a wide diversity of
lifestyles. They believe people choose their own cultural values and lifestyles rather than simply
following the cultural traditions of their society.
Postmodernists believe that a person’s identity is also based / determined on choice rather than
tradition or birth.
Criticism of Postmodernism
Many sociologists believe postmodernists have overstated the sociological changes.
Although sociologists accept the uncertainty and breaking down of traditional norms and values but
believe there are still strong links with previous societies.
‘The idea of choice’ - ‘Consumerism’
Bad Boy Bubby was warned by his mother never to open the cellar door or he would see
things that he was not meant to see. One day while his mother was out he did open the cellar
door. What did he see?
Solution:
When Bad Boy Bubby opened the cellar door he
saw the living room and, through its windows, the
garden. He had never seen these before because his
mother had kept him all his life in the cellar.
LATERAL THINKING
One of the first things that students new to Sociology have to do is to look at the things they have taken
for granted in their life in a new and perhaps different way - to look, as it were, "beneath the surface"
of things.
The main reason for this is that the social world in which we live is multi-faceted (in other words, it
has many faces) and we need to examine information from all possible angles if we are to arrive at a
sociological explanation for events.

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Key Perspectives on the Family
It is important to keep track of what each perspective says about the family, so you can draw on their theories when you discuss arguments.
This table just gives an overview of what the main perspectives argue about families.
FUNCTIONALISM MARXISM FEMINISMS
Functionalists always ask about the purpose or
function of an institution. They are interested in
positive function of the family.
Two Key functionalist writers on the family are
George Peter Murdock and Talcott Parsons.
Murdock (49) argues that all families fulfil four vital
functions:
• Sexual - married adults enjoy a healthy sex life
which prevents them having affairs and ensures
children are raised by their natural parents.
• Reproductive - Making the next generation.
• Economic - By this Murdock means providing
food and shelter. Ideally the man will go out and
work and the woman will look after the house and
children.
• Education – Teaching of skills and appropriate
behaviours.
Talcott Parsons (1959). He argues the family has two
key functions.
• Primary Socialisation
• Stabilisation of the adult personality.
The family is warm, friendly place where adults can
relax. Sometimes called the 'warm bath' theory of the
family.
Functionalists favour the nuclear family. Children
are provided with a male and female role and
socialisation from two parents.
Functionalists do not like single parent or gay
families.
Functionalists prefer marriage to co-habitation as it
Marxism always assumes a class divide that is unfair,
exploitative and oppressive. If this is applied to the
Family then families exist in order to:
• provide workers for capitalist industry
• socialise new generations into capitalist ideology
• provide a consumer market purchasing basic needs
and leisure items.
The profits from these purchases go to wealthy
capitalists and business owners. A trip to Alton
Towers or Disneyland is not really about ‘family fun’
but about getting people to buy things they do not
really need so that they continue working in jobs that
give them no real satisfaction.
When looking at the family most feminists take
a critical view, and see the family as an
institution that benefits men more than women
and children.
Liberal Feminism
They tend to have an optimistic view on the
family. They focus on increased equality that
exists between men and women, and the fact
many couples see their relationship as an equal
partnership. They look at the emergence of the
'new man', a man who will take active role in
housework and childcare and in touch with his
'feminine side'.
Marxist Feminism
Look at the family in a negative and critical
way. Argue main cause of women's oppression
is not patriarchy but capitalism - the economic
system that exists in most countries of the
world.
Women serve capitalism in these ways...
• Margaret Benston (1972) argued that women
are 'the slaves of wage slaves' (men are the
wage slaves). Women satisfy their physical,
emotional and sexual needs and 'service' men.
• When men have a bad day at work, they take
out their anger, frustration or aggression on
their wives and children. Fran Ansley (1972)
argues women are 'takers of shit'.
• Women give birth to the next generation of

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is seen as more stable, and dislike divorce. workers.
• Women are used in the job market at 'reserve
army of labour' - useful when there are plenty of
jobs to fill, but when there isn't they are 'sent
back' to be housewives.
Radical Feminism
Tend to look at the family in a more critical and
negative way than liberal feminists. They argue
men benefit more from family life than women.
In concluded research into housework and
childcare, and argue men do very little
compared to women. They often see family as a
type of prison for women, and argue men use
violence towards women to get their own way.
They support family diversity, especially single-
parent and gay families, and disagree with
functionalists and New Right that the nuclear
family is always the best family type. They are
supportive of divorce because they argue it
allows women to escape marriage.
Only two-thirds of British
children live with both parents
OECD survey reveals UK has
one of lowest rates of children
living in traditional nuclear
family in western world.
'Hidden army' of grandparents
helping families priced out of
childcare
Some 2 million have cut working
hours and upped spending to help
grandchildren as work pressures
increase, say charities.
Rise of the single-parent family
THE changing face of family life in
Britain was laid bare yesterday with
the number of single parents having
almost tripled over the past 40
years, official figures reveal.
Divorce rates data, 1858
to now: how has it
changed? The
number of divorces in
England and Wales has
risen slightly according to
official figures, with
118,140 divorces recorded
in 2012 .

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Over the last 70 years, the 2 child family has consistently been the most common family size and the
proportion of mothers with 3 or more children has remained fairly constant.
ince 2000. Total fertility rates have risen for
UK born women, while remaining stable for non-UK born women.
-born women in the UK, their relative contribution has
increased. A quarter of all births in 2010 were to mothers born outside the UK, up from 13.2 % in 1980.
th to older ages. In 2010, nearly half of all babies were born to
mothers aged 30 and over.
-economic class does not seem to impact on family size: the proportion of families with 3 or more
children is fairly evenly distributed across all socio-economic categories.
white and Chinese ones.
What is family life like in Britain?
Changing Values and Norms of the British Family
The family in Britain is changing. The once typical British family headed by two parents has undergone
substantial changes during the twentieth century.
In particular there has been a rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to
29 per cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be
more single people than married people. Fifty years ago this would have been socially unacceptable in
Britain.
In the past, people got married and stayed married. Divorce was very difficult, expensive and took a long
time. Today, people's views on marriage are changing. Many couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties,
live together (cohabit) without getting married. Only about 60% of these couples will eventually get
married.
In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of children in Britain are born to
unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around a quarter of unmarried people between the ages of 16 and
59 were cohabiting in Great Britain. Cohabiting couples are also starting families without first being
married. Before 1960 this was very unusual, but in 2001 around 23 per cent of births in the UK were to
cohabiting couples.
People are generally getting married at a later age now and many women do not want to have children
immediately. They prefer to concentrate on their jobs and put off having a baby until late thirties.
The number of single-parent families is increasing. This is mainly due to more marriages ending in
divorce, but some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married.
Family Size
On average 2.4 people live as a family in one home Britain. This is smaller than most other European
countries.

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What is the family?
“The family are a close group of people, usually related not always. Who support each other and at some
point in their lives tend to live in the same household.”
There is no correct definition on the family; Sociologists do not agree on a definition.
The Cereal Packet Family
A popular image of the family in Britain in the late twentieth century has been described as the cereal
packet family. The ‘happy family’ image gives the impression that most people live in a typical family and
these images reinforce the dominant ideology of the traditional nuclear family.
Marriage and Divorce
What is happening to Marriage?
There is a decline in first marriages
But there has been an increase in remarriages
The average age at which people get married is increasing
Cohabitation
Living together is no longer seen as ‘living in sin’
Two thirds (67%) of the British public now regard cohabitation as acceptable, even when the couple
have no intention in getting married.
Divorce Patterns
There has been an increase in divorce rates
From 1971 to 1996 the number of divorces has more than doubled.
Patterns in Marriage and Divorce
Feminist sociologists see the trends as a sign of the lack of satisfaction
provided by traditional patriarchal marriage, with individuals seeking
alternative types of relationships and living arrangements.
New Right thinkers have seen the trends as a sign of the breakdown of
the family and have argued for a return to ‘traditional values’. They
suggest that because of the easy availability of divorce, people are no
longer as committed to the family as they were in the past.
Changes in legislation which have made divorce easier but also social
changes in which the law reflect are seen as the main causes of the
increase in divorce rates.

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Have Women Broken up the Family?
The position of women has changed in a number of ways, such as the wife does not have to put up with an
unsatisfactory marriage. Women now have more independence and are in a better financial position if they
were to want a divorce; they are no longer totally reliant on their husbands.
Growing Secularisation
Secularisation refers to the declining influence of religious beliefs and institutions. Goode and Gibson
argued that secularisation has resulted in marriage becoming less o a sacred, spiritual union and more a
personal and practical commitment.
Changing Social Attitudes
Divorce has become more socially acceptable and there is less social disapproval and stigma attached to
divorces. As a result of this people are less afraid of the consequences of divorce and are more likely to end
an unhappy marriage.
Functionalists such as Talcott Parsons and Ronald Fletcher argue that the increased value of marriage may
have caused a rise in marital breakdown. As people expect and demand more from a marriage and expect it
to be perfect. Fletcher argues that a relatively high divorce rate may be indicative not of lower but of higher
standards of marriage in society.
Privatised Marriages
Allan argues that the family has become increasingly defined as a private institution. The wider family, and
society at large, do not have the right to interfere in family life and therefore the family unit is not supported
by its integration into a wider social network, which means family problems cannot be so easily shared.
Love and Marriage - Why are Arranged Marriages Stronger?
Within an arranged marriage people have more realistic expectations than those who marry for love
Births and The Ageing Population
Births
One of the strongest trends has been the rise in illegitimacy. Illegitimacy rates are rising, as more people
have children without being married. Some of the stigma associated with illegitimacy no longer exists. This
is countered by the New Right’s assault on unmarried mothers, who have been the scapegoat to a certain
extent by the media who blame them for the modern failings of society.
Unmarried mothers may not be that different to nuclear families as some of these children born outside of a
marriage are born to a couple who cohabit or are in a stable relationship, so will therefore have the same
advantages / life as a nuclear family child. It is just that the mother and father / couple are not legally
married.
More and more women are deciding not to have children, as they’d rather focus on / have a career. Having a
career may also be the reason for women having children later on in their lives.
The Ageing Population

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The population as a whole are getting older as people are now living longer.
According to the negative view this gives a greater dependence ratio whereby the working population have a
greater burden to take care of those not working. Increased pressure on hospitals, social services and
pensions will lead to a greater tax burden. On the positive side, it can be argued that since older people are
now more likely to stay fit and healthy they may become an important part of our families (childcare for
grandchildren) and as part of the voluntary workforce.
Social Policy and The Family
Most government policies gave tried to protect the individuals within the family and some have been aimed
at maintaining the traditional nuclear family.
‘Feuding Parents Better for Children than Separation’
A study of 152 children in Exeter found that children being brought up by both parents experienced fewer
health, school and social problems than those whose parents had split. It was also found that children from
reconstituted families were at least twice as likely to have problems with health, behaviour, schoolwork and
social life and also to have a low opinion of themselves.
Political Consequences – The CSA
The Child Support Agency (CSA) was set up in 1993 to make
divorced fathers more financially liable for their children. From 10 December 2012 a new system of child
maintenance began operation, initially for specific applicants. It is known as the 'Child Maintenance
Service', and operates within the legislation provided under the Welfare Reform Act 2012. Existing cases
continue under previous legislation at present.
From 25 November 2013 all new applications for child maintenance should be made through the 'Child
Maintenance Service' using the new statutory scheme and associated legislation. No new applications will be
accepted by the Child Support Agency, although they will continue to administer existing cases.
The New Right disapprove of easy divorce and are in favour of strengthening marriages and family life for
the sake of a healthier society. Although if marriages do break down they are in favour of the CSA, so that
the state and taxpayers have less of a financial burden.
Some Feminists also initially support the principle behind the CSA, focusing the poverty of former ex wives
compared to the ex husbands who generally recover financially from divorce in a few years and in the long
term are no worse off.
Government Influence on the Family
Government policies have always had an impact on family life. Taxation, welfare, housing, medical and
educational policies all influence the way people live their domestic lives. The policies can encourage and
discourage people to live certain ways and in certain types of households.
The Ideology of the Nuclear Family
Feminists and other radical critics of government policies believe that they are biased in favour of the
traditional nuclear family. For example It is argued that the state encourages families to take responsibility
for their elderly members, either in practical or financial terms.

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Diversity in the Family Structure
Cohabitation
For most people cohabitation is part of the
process of getting married and is not a
substitute. It has become more acceptable to
live together without ever getting married and
also to raise children in this arrangement.
The New Right criticises cohabitation as they
say that relationships can be more abusive as
there is no respect, they argue that people are
more likely to be unfaithful, depressed and a
relationship like this is generally more
stressful.
Reconstituted Families
Step families can be a result of things such as divorce or if someone is widowed. Such families are on the
increase as a result of the rise in divorce rates.
De’Ath and Slater’s study of step parenting identified a number of challenges facing reconstituted families.
As children may find themselves being pulled in two directions, especially if the relationship between the
two parents is strained. Tension may also arise if the new couple decide to have children, as this may result
in the existing child feeling envious.
Single-Parent Families
The number of one parent families is increasing; approximately about 25% of all families in Britain are one-
parent families.
Some characteristics of Single-Parent Families
A great majority of single parents are working class women.
Single mothers are less likely to work than married mothers and if they do, it is likely to be part time work.
The lack of free nursery care makes it difficult for single mothers to work.
New Right thinkers see a connection between one-parent families, educational underachievement and
delinquency. They argue that the lack of discipline is because there is a lack of a stable foundation within the
family.
However Feminists maintain that the real problem lies with the nuclear family ideal itself. This leads to
negative labelling of one parent families by teachers, social workers, housing departments, police and the
courts. It is also suggested that single parents are scapegoated fro
inner-city crime and educational underachievement that are actually a
result of factors such as unemployment and poverty. The New Right
also rarely consider that single parenthood may be far from
preferable to the domestic violence, nor that the majority of single
parent families bring up their children successfully.
Single Person Households
As a result of people marrying at a later age, increasing divorce rates,
and people wanting a career first, single person households have

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increased. Some reasons for this may be due to more focus on career’s and overall freedom and
independence.
The Continuing Strength of Kinship
Functionalist sociologists have argued that the nuclear families have little need for contact with wider kin.
However McGlone discovered that unemployment, and poverty community care for the elderly, the
increasing number of young people electing to live at home for longer periods and women going back to
work create a greater need for family mutual support systems. Other sociologists note that relatively self-
sufficient nuclear families still feel a strong sense of obligation in times of a family crisis despite distance.
The Neo-Conventional Family
Chester argues that most people are now brought up in what he calls neo conventional families this is where
there are two parents, a small number of children and a long-term commitment. The main difference
between this and a traditional nuclear family is that married women are now economically active outside the
home, although often only working part time while the children are young.
Dual Career Families
Another changed linked to family diversity is that there has been a growth in the paid employment of
married women. In 1991 67% of married women were employed outside the home, nearly half of them
working part time.
Dimensions of Diversity:
Organisational, Cultural, Class, Regional, and Sexuality
Functionalists argue that the nuclear family is still the most common or has been replaced by a similar type
of reconstituted family structure. The New Right are in great favour of a return of traditional family values,
where as feminists and post-modernists welcome and celebrate the diversity of family structures
Cultural Diversity
Cultural diversity refers to the way groups in society have different lifestyles or cultures and one aspect of
this is the way they construct families.
Richard Berthoud argues that the families of Caribbean’s, Whites and South Asians can be placed on a
continuum, with those characterised by ‘old fashioned values’ (OFV) on one end and those characterised by
‘modern individualism’ (MI) on the other end. He argues that family relationships are moving from OFV to
MI.
Caribbean
Some statistics about Caribbean families / relationships:
Low rate of marriage.
If married they are more likely to separate/divorce.
Half of Caribbean mothers are single.
One half of the lone parent families depend on income support.
Only a quarter of Caribbean children live with two black parents.

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South Asian
This group consists of Indians, African Asians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Family relationships are
characterised by:
A high rate of marriage for all ethnic groups compared to Whites and Caribbean’s
There is a low divorce rate amongst these groups
This group as a whole is less likely to have white partners, although mixed marriages are not
uncommon amongst Hindus/Indian Christians, especially men.
Pakistani and Bangladeshi women mainly look after the home and family full-time but this trend is
less common if they have good educational qualifications.
Traditionally they have high fertility rates but recently there has been a reduction.
Class Diversity
Rapoports suggest that there may be differences between middle class and working class families in terms
of the relationship between husband and wife and the way in which children are socialised and disciplined.
Some sociologists argue that middle class parents are more child-centred than working class parents.
However critical sociologists argue that working class parents are just as child-centred, but that maternal
deprivation limits how much help they can give their children. Therefore the working class child’s
experience is likely to be less satisfactory because of family poverty, poor schools, lack of material support,
greater risks of accidents both in home and in the street, and so on.
Regional Diversity
Eversley and Bonnerjea argue that there are distinctive patterns of family life in different areas of Great
Britain. The area in which a family live can affect / determine their family structure. For example extended
family networks are more common in rural areas, and the inner cities have a higher proportion of families in
poverty and lone-parent families.
Sexual Diversity
There have been a number of studies of homosexual couples and children. It is generally found that there is
more equality between partners. It is also suggested that same sex couples work harder at relationships in
terms of commitment because they face so many external pressures and criticisms. However research also
indicates that they may face the same problems as heterosexual couples, i.e. in terms of domestic violence.
Dunne argues that children brought up by homosexual are more likely to be tolerant and see sharing and
equality as important features of their relationships with others.
Postmodernism and Family Diversity
Postmodernists argue that post-modern family life is characterised by diversity, variation and instability. For
example both men and women’s roles have changed; there are now acceptable variations of ways to live.
Beck-Gernsheim argued that diversity has led to the recognition of family relationships as people attempt to
find a middle ground between individualization and commitment to another person and/or children. Others
disagree with this view. They argue that family diversity is exaggerated and the basic features of family life
have remained largely unchanged for the majority of the population.

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Power, Inequality and Family Policy
One of the key social changes has been the change in the roles of men and women. Women, particularly
married women, have taken a much greater role in paid employment and increasingly challenged their
‘traditional’ role in society.
Demographic Changes and Women’s Roles
There have been a number of important demographic changes that have affected the family:
Family Size – On average the size of families has declined
Marriage – Has become less popular and the age at
which people are getting married has increased.
Life Expectancy – People are now living longer
which means that many women have a long period
of life ahead of them after completing their families.
Female Employment and the Family
A further important change, linked to family size, is
the growth in paid employment of married women.
Willmott and Young claimed that the traditional
segregated division of labour in the home is now
breaking down. They believe that this trend towards
equality within the marriage was caused by the
decline in the extended family and its replacement of the privatised nuclear family, as wells as a result of
increasing opportunities in paid employment for women.
Functionalists such as Parsons argue that the modern family was characterised by joint conjugal roles
compared with the segregated roles of earlier times. Although functionalist’s arguments assume that it
makes sense for each partner to specialise in those particular functions, which relate to the biological
differences between men and women. They argue that because women give birth to the children it is natural
for them to be the one’s who look after them.
Gershuny studied men and women’s roles through detailed dairies kept by the participants on a day-to-day
and weekly basis. He found that there was a clear trend towards men carrying out more domestic activities
than in previous years. However when women total their working hours, including domestic activities, it still
worked out to be greater than the number of hours men did. Therefore undermining the notion that there has
been a significant shift towards equality between men and women.
Fatherhood
Changes in the roles of fathers were also looked at. In
the 1990’s men were more likely to attend the birth of
their babies and play a greater role within childcare than
men in the 1960’s.
Burghes found that fathers are taking an increasingly
active role in the emotional development of their
children. One reason for this was argue by Beck, he
notes that in the post-modern age, fathers can no longer

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rely on jobs to provide a sense of identity and fulfilment, so they look to their children to give them a sense
of identity and purpose. However he does state that it is important not to exaggerate their role in childcare.
The Feminists Contribution – A Move Towards Equality?
The question of who does the housework has been a focus within sociology and is an argument that has been
going on for some time. At times it is argued that the ‘New Man’ has emerged, who shares the household
shores equally, or that there are a growing number of ‘house husbands’ who have done ‘role swaps’ with
their partners.
However, the bulk of evidence continues to show that women (and sometimes children) do the bulk of the
cooking, caring, shopping and washing that goes on in families. Furthermore, it seems that, while more
women have taken on ‘male’ roles of the breadwinner, they still do more housework than men.
Housework in Dual Career Families
A Legal and General survey in April 2000 found that full time working mothers spent 56 hours a week on
housework and childcare compared with men who spend 31 hours a week. The number of hours spent by the
mother increased to 84 hours if they had children aged 3 and under.
The Future Foundation survey in October 2000 found that women are receiving more help in the home from
husbands and boyfriends. Two thirds of men said that they did more around the house than their fathers.
Evidence from studies indicates that women are still likely to have a ‘dual burden’
Decision Making – A Move Towards Equality?
Stephen Edgell in his study of middle class couples interviewed both husbands and wives from a sample of
38 professional couples. Edgell asked them about who made decisions and took into account how frequently
they were made and their importance. He found that women controlled decision-making in a number of
areas, e.g. food purchases, children’s clothing and household decoration, these decisions were not seen as
important. Husbands had the main say in what were regarded as serious decisions like moving house and
buying expensive items such as cars etc.
Jan Pahl’s study Money and Marriage examines the control of finances in marriage. Pahl found a variety of
patterns ranging from total control by the husbands to arrangements of a joint bank account. Pahl argues that
while there are a variety of financial arrangements, in most cases men are the main beneficiaries.
Dependency
Graham Allen suggests that wives are not only economically dependent on their husbands but socially
dependent as well. Married women tend to be restricted to the domestic sphere and are therefore more reliant
on their husbands for social contacts. Similarly it is difficult for women to participate in many leisure
activities outside the home without being accompanied by men.
Emotional Work and the ‘Triple Shift’
Duncombe and Marsden have studied the emotional side of marriages. According to many women it is
them and not their husbands that that are responsible for the emotional work. A study based on interviews
with 40 couples found that most of the women complained of men’s emotional distance, their partners had

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problems expressing intimate emotions. Women did more of this work, thinking and talking about the
relationship.
Duncombe and Marsden argue that women are in fact being exhausted by the ‘triple shift’ of paid labour,
domestic and emotional labour.
The Dark Side of the Family
Whilst many of the functionalist theorists point out the positive aspects of the family, some theorists believe
that the family is destructive.
Domestic Violence
Most researchers have analysed domestic violence as the
ultimate form of control that men exercise over women in a
patriarchal society. Husbands often resort to violence as a way
of regaining dominance when they feel their authority is
threatened.
Women in the family serve these interests in a number of
ways:
As mothers within families, women bear children who if male
will become the next generation of capitalist ‘wage slaves’.
As wives, women serve and service their husbands by doing
the housework, cooking meals and satisfying their sexual
needs. Their husbands ate thereby refreshed and restored,
ready to return to the world of exploitative work under
capitalism
The family has an ideological role in teaching children to
accept an authoritarian and exploitative society. For example
by learning to accept authority from parents children also learn
to accept authority from schools, employers and the capitalist state.
Theoretical Explanations
Liberal Feminists argue that women have made real progress in terms of equality within the family and
particularly in education and the economy. They believe that men are adapting to change and the future is
likely to bring further movement towards domestic and economy equality. Liberal Feminists believe that
change is slowly occurring and through persuasion women are slowly getting men to become more involved
in sharing household and childrearing tasks. This view is echoed in the concept of the symmetrical family.
Marxist Feminists argue that the housewife role serves the needs of capitalism in that it maintains the
present workforce and reproduces labour-power. Marxists feminists focus on the oppression of women,
rooted in the family and linked to capitalism. For Marxists-feminists the family meets the needs of
capitalism by socialising children into ruling class norms and values (the ruling class ideology), leading to a
submissive and obedient workforce, with false consciousness and stability for capitalism. DV is a source of
social control, ensuring that women understand their position, ‘takers of shit’.

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The family is an oppressive institution that
stunts the development of human
personalities and individuality. There is a
‘dark side’ to family life that functionalists
play down.
Like functionalists, both Marxists and
radical forms of feminism see women’s
exploitation and oppression as rooted in their
biological role as mothers.
Feminists suggest that domestic violence is a problem of
patriarchy. They suggest that domestic violence arises from
two sources:
Different gender role socialisation – Boys are socialised
into masculine values, which revolve around risk-taking,
toughness, aggression and so on. Many boys / men are
brought up to believe that they should have economic and
social power as breadwinners. Socialisation into
femininity, involves learning to be passive and subordinate,
which may be one reason why women tolerate violence.
A crisis in masculinity – Men’s traditional source of identity, i.e. work, is
no longer guaranteed. Working women and unemployment have challenged
men’s status as heads of households. Women may be demanding more
authority in the home and insisting that unemployed men play a greater
domestic role – some men see this as threatening their masculinity.
Therefore, violence may be an aspect of the anxiety men are feeling about
their economic and domestic role. Feminists argue that as long as men have
the capacity to commit such violence, there can never be inequality within a
marriage/cohabiting couple.
Radical Feminists believe that the housewife role is
a role created by patriarchy and geared to the
service of men and their interests. Some radical
feminists argue that it is the family itself, and its
associated patriarchal structures benefiting men,
that are the root cause of women’s oppression. The
sexual division of labour in the family exploits
women, since their responsibilities for domestic
labour and childcare are unpaid, undermines their
position in paid employment and increases their
dependency on men. Men often control key areas of
decision-making.
Men sometimes use force to maintain control. Domestic violence is widespread and the majority of those on
the receiving end are women. Around 570 000 cases are reported each year in the UK and probably a far
larger number go unreported. True liberation for women can only result from the abolition of the family and
patriarchy, some wish to create a society without families and men.
Postmodern Feminists
All the feminists’ approaches above
can be criticised for failing to
acknowledge the variety of domestic
arrangements produced by different
groups. Postmodern Feminists
highlight the differences between
groups of women in different family
situations.
What are the Criticisms of the
Marxists and Feminists?
They see the nature of the family as determined by the needs of the economic system and/or patriarchy.
They tend to ignore the diversity of family forms both within and between capitalist’s societies. They tend to
focus on the negative aspects of family life and ignore the real satisfaction it gives to many individuals.
According to Brigitte
and Peter Berger
despite its
disadvantages, the
nuclear family
represents the best
environment in
which a child’s
individuality can
develop. They
suggest that
collective
childrearing systems

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The Psychology of Family Life.
R.D. Laing argued that many so-called ‘mental illnesses’ are normal responses to the pressures of
family life. However, many psychiatrists rejected his view, arguing that there is a lot more to the
cause of mental disorders than family relationships. Others argue that Laing has overstated hid case,
but agree that the family can play a major part in the development of certain mental disorders.
(as in the kibbutz) create more conformist and less creative people than those raised in a nuclear family.
Feminists arguing from the post-modern approach have been criticised for losing sight of the inequalities
between men and women in families by stressing the range of choices open to people when they are forming
families. By stressing the different experiences of women, difference feminists, tend to neglect the common
experiences shared by most women in families.
Domestic Violence is very difficult to measure and document because it takes place behind closed doors. It
is also difficult to define.
Measuring Domestic Violence – Elisabeth Stanko
She provides the following estimates of the extend of domestic violence in the UK.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men report a physical assault by a partner during their lifetime.
Around 10% of women experience domestic violence in any given year.
The form of violence is largely male offenders against female victims
1 incidence of domestic violence is reported by women to the police every minute in the UK
Domestic violence is still largely a hidden crime: those who have experienced abuse from a partner or ex-
partner will often try to keep it from families, friends, or authorities.
They may be ashamed of what has happened
They may feel they were to some extent to blame
They may love their partner and not want him to be criticised or punished for what he did
They may think it was a one-off event and won’t happen again
They may be frightened that if they tell anyone about it, their partner will find out and they will be in
danger of further and perhaps more severe violence
from him.
For all these reasons, and others, victims of abuse are likely
to experience repeated attacks before they report the abuse
to anyone – and statistics can only be based on known data.
On average, 35 assaults happen before the police are called.
(Jaffe 1982).
Violence against men
Some sociologists have reported increases in female

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Physical
Neglect
Emotional
Sexual
violence against men, but it is estimated that this only constitutes 5% of all domestic violence. Nazroo
found that wives often live in fear of men’s potential violence of threats, whilst husbands rarely feel
frightened or intimidated by their wives potential for violence.
February 2014 - Produced by the ManKind Initiative
38% of domestic abuse victims are male: for every five victims, three will be female, two will be
male.
7.1% of women and 4.4% of men were estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the last year,
equivalent to an estimated 1.15 million female and 720,000 male victims.
Male victims (29%) are nearly twice as likely than women (17%) to not tell anyone about the
partner abuse. Only 10% of male victims will tell the police (27% women), only 22% will tell a
person in an official position (38% women) and only 10% (15% women) will tell a health
professional.
Child Abuse
Sociologists have identified four categories of abuse:
Taylor is critical of the research methods used to collect information on child
abuse. All these methods are flawed for several reasons.
There is a disproportionate number of working class or poor families featured in the official statistics as
they have more regular contact with social workers or police for reasons other than child abuse. Child abuse
may be just as common in middle class families but is less likely to be detected as they have less or no
contact with these authorities.
Moral panics in the media may distort the statistics by over sensitising society to the problem.
Victims may not realise they have been abused or may not be believed.
Abuse involving physical injury or neglect may be more likely to arouse suspicion than sexual or emotional
abuse which tend to have no outward signs.
Response rates to victim surveys are very poor. There may be problems arising from the respondent’s
willingness and ability to recall things that happened long ago.
What counts as abuse changes over time and varies
between cultures.
Explanations of Child Abuse
The Disease Model
This model assumes that child abuse is the product of
illness or abnormality – a defect in the
personality/character of parents. This approach is similar
to the media images of child abusers. It sees child abuse
as the product of unusual family circumstances.

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The Functionalist / New Right Theory
Vogel and Bell maintain that the dysfunction of child abuse may be a lesser evil than the breakdown of the
family. They are focussing on emotional abuse where the child is used as an emotional weapon by the
feuding parents. From this perspective, such emotional abuse may be preferable to divorce, with all its
attendant problems.
Structural Theories
Parton is critical of both the above models as they suggest that child abuse is only found in extreme cases.
He argues that it is more routine than society likes to admit. The models above give the impression that only
certain sections of society – one parent families and those in poverty – are likely to commit child abuse. He
argues that they fail to consider that affluence may disguise child abuse – it may be just as common in
middle class households.
Parton argues that structural circumstances in which people live can put great strain on personal
relationships. For example at the lower end of the economic scale, it may be the stress of poverty,
unemployment, debts and marital problems that may lead to abuse. Middle-class abuse may be due to lack
of job satisfaction, financial anxieties and fear of redundancy.
Feminist Theories
This perspective mainly focuses on sexual child abuse, which is mainly seen as a symptom of male power in
a patriarchal society. Feminists suggest that sexual abuse is the product of society where males are
socialised into seeing themselves as sexually dominant and into sexually objectifying females. Some men in
the family may sexually objectify both wife and daughters and view them as sexual property to be exploited.
They do acknowledge that women too can abuse children, but point
out that this is very rarely sexual abuse. They suggest that female
physical abuse and neglect of children may be the product of their
experience of childcare in a patriarchal society. Women’s anger and
frustration, expressed through physical abuse, may be the product of
the fact that childcare in the UK is regarded as low status work, is
often carried out in isolation and may be stressful, boring and
unrewarding. Male abuse on the other hand, is simply an expression
of masculinity and of men’s need, learned though the socialisation
process, to be powerful and dominant.

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Up until the 20th
century, children as young as 7 or 8 years old
were put to work. (There are many countries in the world
today in which this still happens) The 20th
century saw the
emergence of a child centred society. This was probably the
result of improved standards of living and nutrition in the late
19th
century, which led to a major decline in the infant
mortality rate. The increased availability and efficiency of
contraception allowed people to choose to have fewer children
so they were able to invest more in them in terms of love,
socialisation and protection.
“Childhood should be carefree, playing in
the sun; not living a nightmare in the
darkness of the soul” – Dave Pelzer
The Relationship between
Parents and Children
The period of time that we call
childhood is a Social Construction;
it is shaped and given a meaning
by culture and society.
Childhood from the Past to the
Present Day
Historical Views of Childhood
In traditional cultures, the young
moved directly from a lengthy
infancy into working roles within the
community. Philippe Aries has argued that childhood, as a separate phase of development did not exist in
medieval times. Children were portrayed as ‘little adults’ they had the same style of dress and took part in
the same work as adults.
Legislation – Children and the State
Parents’ rearing of children is now monitored through various pieces of legislation, such as the 1989
Children’s Act and the 1991 Child Support Act. Increasingly children have become more recognised as
individuals with rights. The Children’s Act 1989 allows children to have a say in which parent they live
with following a divorce. The Child Support Act 1991 requires absent parents to contribute to the financial
cost of providing for the child and the parent with immediate parental responsibility is required to cooperate
with the Child Support Agency to assist in this process.
Theoretical Approaches to Childhood
The Conventional Approach
Many Functionalists and New Right thinkers tend to see children as a vulnerable group. This approach
suggests that successful child rearing requires two parents of the opposite sex, and that there is a ‘right’ ay to
bring up a child.
Melanie Phillips argues that the culture of parenting in the UK has broken down and the ‘innocence’ of
childhood has been undermined by two trends. Firstly, the concept of parenting has been distorted by liberal
ideas, which have given too many rights and powers to children. She argues that children should be
socialised into a healthy respect for parental authority, and that these children’s rights have undermined this
process. Secondly she believes that the media and the peer group have become more influential than parents.
She argues that many children do not have the emotional maturity to cope with the rights and choices that
they have today.
An Alternative View
Morrow found that children can be constructive and
reflective contributors to family life. Most of the
children in Marrow’s study had a pragmatic view of their family role, they did not want to make decisions
for themselves but they did want a say in what happened to them.
Conventional approaches are also criticised because they tend to generalise about children and childhood.
This is dangerous because childhood is not a fixed universal experience. Historical period, locality, culture,

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CULTUREHISTORY SOCIAL CLASS
GENDER
LOCALITY
ETHNICITY
social class, gender and ethnicity all have an influence on the character and quality of childhood. This can be
shown in a number of ways:
In many less developed nations, the experience of childhood is extremely different from that in the industrial
world. Children in such countries are continuously at risk of early death because of poverty and lack of basic
health care. They are unlikely to have access to education, and many find themselves occupying adult roles
as workers or soldiers.
The experience of childhood may differ across ethnic
and religious groups. There is evidence that Muslim,
Hindu and Sikh children generally feel a stronger sense
of obligation and duty to their parents that white
children.
Experiences of childhood in Britain may vary
according to social class. Upper-class children may
find that they spend most of their formative years in
boarding schools. Middle class children may be
encouraged from an early age to aim for university and
a professional career, and they are likely to receive considerable economic and cultural support from their
parents. Working class childhood may be made more difficult by the experience of poverty. For example
research by Jefferies found that children from middle class backgrounds in terms of maths, reading and other
ability tests by the age of 7.
Experiences of childhood may differ according to
gender. Boys and girls may be socialised into a set of
behaviour based on expectations about masculinity
and femininity. For example there is some evidence
that girls are subjected to stricter social controls from
parents compared with boys when they reach
adolescence.
The End of Childhood?
According to Postman childhood is coming to an
end. He argues that childhood is only possible if children can be separated and protected from the adult
world. The mass media and television has brought the adult world into the lives of children. For example the
growth of TV means that there are no more secrets from children, they are exposed to the real world of sex,
disaster, death and suffering. He also states that children no longer seem like children they dress, speak and
behave in adult ways. While also adults have enjoyed looking more like kids and youth generally. As a
result the boundaries between the world of children and the world of adults are breaking down. Postman
believes that in the long run this means the end of childhood.

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However, other sociologist have criticised Postman for overstating his case. David Brooks argues that
parents today are obsessed with safety and ever more concerned with defining boundaries for their kids and
widening their control and safety net around them. (Also linked to Furedi’s paranoid parent’s argument).
Lee argues that childhood has become more complex and ambiguous. Children are dependent
on their parents, but in another sense are independent. For example there is a mass children’s
market that children influence – they make choices, they decide which products succeed and
fail – but are still dependent on their parent’s purchasing power.

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SY2 Checklist STRUCTURES & EXAM TECHNIQUES
Research Methods (compulsory)
1a 10 marks 10 minutes
This will ask for the definition of a term. So use this structure:
a)Define the term in the question, the trigger; specifically mention it in relation to key terms, like:
- Positivist, Interpretivist
-Qualitative/ Quantitative
-Representative
-Primary/ Secondary
-Top down/ Bottom up
Expand on definition by explaining it in more detail or provide an example or two of it in context.
b) REFER to Item: With reference to the Item, which illustrates ………., we can see how –
contextualise it.
Also make reference to a case study or two, where the trigger word is relevant.
c)Link term with Item – elaboration, providing TWO strengths/ advantages in using the trigger term.
1b 20 marks 20 minutes
With reference to the Item and sociological studies and research, explain* the strengths and weaknesses of
…………….
-Unstructured interviews
-Secondary data (various sources)
-Structured interviews
-Questionnaires
-Different forms of sampling
-Importance of ethical issues
-Participant observation
Although it asks you to ‘explain’, it really is asking you to identify and assess in this response. Try to follow
this structure:
a) Define the trigger term, and again refer to it in relation to key terms. Expand on the definition by
outlining more context.
b) Refer to the Item and again make reference to case studies, where applicable.
c) You must, then, discuss, at least, two strengths of the trigger term, but you MUST also discuss the
limitations of the term, as a way of evaluating/ assessing.
Please note – it could be any word from the glossary, so make sure you know the
definitions of everything!!!!
*explain = identify and assess

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Things to consider in Education:
 Key terms
 Key patterns: Social Class; Gender; Ethnicity
Home and School factors
 Cultural and Material factors
 Linked theorists and theories
 Relevant case studies
 Social Policy changes
Education Option
2a 20 marks 20 minutes
This will ask you to outline and explain a term or concept within education. Read it very carefully, as you
do not want to misinterpret it and lose these marks! Often it wants you to elaborate on reasons for it. Use
PETE in every section.
a)INTRO - DECODE
Define the term/ concept and argument indicated in the question. What do you know and what is
relevant?
b)P1 POINT Reason 1, relate it to the term or concept in question.
EVIDENCE If possible, have a statistic you can use to support your POINT and link to
contextualising it.
THEORY Make reference to what Functionalists, Marxists, Interactionists, Feminists,
Postmodernists (whichever ones are suitable) argue or believe.
It may also be better, here, to have a case study, or theorist you could refer to.
EXPLORE & EVALUATE Discuss the point/ reason, but make it applicable to the question.
Critique with another theorist.
c)P2 Everything as above.
d)P3 Everything as above.
e)CONC Return to the question and answer it directly, drawing on what you have discussed in your
response.
2b 30 marks 30 minutes
This is a much longer response, likely to be about a debate or ask you to discuss an argument/ trends/ or
relationship. It is vital you provide evaluation all the way through your response, not just at the end!
This is really difficult to give more specific preparation for, as it depends on the trigger words in the
question. BUT YOU MUST MAKE SURE YOU RESPOND SUFFICIENTLY TO ALL TRIGGERS –
ADDRESS THE NATURE OF THE ARGUMENT PRESENTED IN THE QUESTION.
Use the same structure for 2a, but
double your explanation and
discussion, to incorporate more
analysis of evidence and more
evaluation – address both sides of
argument, by drawing on alternate
perspectives: Functionalist, New
Right, Feminist, Marxist,
Postmodernist.

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Almost anything that involves people
is of interest to sociologists.
Positivist is a top down approach, looking for
factual information, using a rather more
objective route.
Interpretivist is a bottom up approach, looking
for rich, personal detail, using a more subjective
route.
Use the ‘factsheets’ supplement to
help you with understanding more
information on Research Methods.
Research Methods in Sociology
Research Methods: The Basics
Sociological descriptions of aspects of social life, such as the family, education, crime, culture did not just
suddenly appear. They are based on the findings of sociological research projects spanning many years.
Research refers to the process of finding out information and analysing and evaluating it. Sociology uses
many different ways of researching. Sometimes, as with experiments, these are similar to methods used in
sciences; at other times, sociologists use documents, like historians; other ways include questionnaires and
interviews, as in market research and opinion polls.
Most people have 'common sense' theories about things
sociologists study. This is only the starting point. Sociologists need to take such theories and examine them
thoroughly, using appropriate methods to see whether they are in fact accurate descriptions of reality.
There are, then, several factors that need to be
addressed in sociological research.
Theoretically, sociological research can be
taken from two different directions: positivist and interpretivist.
Sociological research can produce two different kinds of findings or data. Quantitative data refers to
numbers and statistics, often presented in the form of graphs and tables. Qualitative data is descriptive, in
the form of words rather than numbers, offering people's feelings and opinions. Many research projects
produce both types of data, and both are useful.
Other theoretical terms to know are:
Validity
Refers to whether the findings accurately reflect the reality they are describing. Findings may be invalid if,
for example, in a questionnaire someone gives the answer he or she thinks the researcher would like to get
rather than the most truthful one, or if people have differently because they know they are being observed.
Reliability
Refers to whether the findings can be checked by another researcher. Can someone else, doing the research
in the same way, get the same results?
Triangulation
Refers to using more than one method, of both quantitative and qualitative, in order to counteract the
disadvantages of one with the advantages of the other.
Methodological Pluralism
Refers to the practice of using more than one method.

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Research Methods Table
The exam questions will ask you for advantages and disadvantages of something specific: an approach, a method, a sampling technique.
Definition Strengths Limitations Case study
reference
Approach Other*
Qualitative Interpretivist
Quantitative Positivist
Primary data
Secondary
data
Ethnography
Experiments
Questionnaires
Representative, Ethical issues, Validity, Reliability

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Definition Strengths Limitations Case study
Reference
Approach Other*
Interviews
Participant
Observation
Covert
Observation
Pilot study
Diaries
Historical
Documents
Official Statistics
Longitudinal
Studies

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Definition Strengths Limitations Case study
Reference
Approach Other*
Random
Sampling
Stratified
Sampling
Systematic
Sampling
Cluster Sampling
Quota Sampling
Snowball
Sampling

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Research Methods Glossary
Autobiographies
Bias
Case Study
Closed questions
Cluster sampling
Cohort analysis
Comparative
Method
Content Analysis
Control group
Correlation
Covert
Cross-sectional
studies
Demography
Diaries
Documents
Written accounts of people’s lives. Useful source of secondary information.
A deviation from the assumed ‘truth’.
A detailed in-depth study of one group or event
Questions which only allow the respondent to answer ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘don’t know’.
A form of sampling in which the sample frame is divided into smaller groups. It is
usually used when both the population and desired sample size are particularly large.
The investigation of a group who share a similar demographic characteristic, usually
age. Cohort analysis is useful for the comparative method, where two cohorts may be
contrasted and compared.
Sometimes used as an alternative to an experiment, the CM analyses two or more
different groups or institutions in terms of their similarities and differences.
Comparative Studies can be interesting, but there is a problem with validity, as there
are so many different variables involved.
A method associated with the study of media. Used to study frequency and coverage of
different areas: crime, race, gender.
A group within an experiment matched as closely as possible to another group, the
experimental group. The difference is that the control group is not exposed to the
independent variable being investigated.
A relationship between two or more variables.
Research in which those being studied are unaware of it. Frequently used in
observation methods.
Studies of a varied population which divide that population into representative sub-
groups with different characteristics to get an overall picture. For example – a study of
a multi-racial inner city area might divide to population into different ethnic groups,
different age groups, different types of family structure and so on. The aim is to make it
as representative as possible.
The study of populations, with particular reference to their size and structure, and how
and why these change over time.
Written accounts of events as experienced and interpreted by the author. They are a
well-known source of secondary data, but they are subjective documents. Yet they
provide a rich source of qualitative information.
An important source of secondary data. Appraisal criteria:
Authenticity – are they genuine?
Credibility – is it accurate?
Representativeness – is it typical of its kind?
Meaning – is it clear?

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Empirical
studies/Empiricism
Ethical issues
Ethnography
Experiments
(Laboratory)
Going native
Halo Effect
Hawthorne Effect
Interview
Longitudinal
Studies
Methodology
Methodological
Pluralism
Multi-stage
sampling
Objectivity
Observation
Official statistics
Open-ended
questions
Sociological knowledge and understanding supported with tested evidence, not just
theorising.
The moral dimension to studies. Factors which prevent a particular method or research
being used because of a belief or action that would be morally wrong.
The study of culture and way of life of a group of people by direct observation.
Participant observation studies form the most common type of ethnographic study in
sociology.
Classic method of research in natural sciences. Seldom used by sociologists due to
practical and ethical constraints.
A state sometimes experienced by researchers carrying out participant observation,
particularly covert, in which they identify with the group under study that they lose
their detachment and objectivity.
Where the respondent gives the answer that he or she thinks that the researcher wants
to hear rather than what he or she really thinks.
The altered behaviour or responses of a sample group or individuals where they are
aware of the researcher’s presence or that they are under study.
A series of oral questions put by an interviewer to the respondent. Widely used in
social research, surveys and are of two main types: structured and unstructured, also
known as formal and informal. Questions can be open and/or closed, producing both
qualitative and/ or quantitative data.
A research study of a sample of people who are investigated, usually by questionnaires
or interviews over a period of time: months, years, decades. There are huge advantages
to these ‘snapshots’, but also have major disadvantages.
Types of methods used by researcher.
The practice of using more than one method, often to complement the advantages and
disadvantages of the others.
Sampling technique in which an initial (usually random) sample is selected, and then a
further sample is drawn. For example: a secondary school, and then a group of students
within that school.
A lack of bias, preconceptions or prejudice.
See participant and non-participant.
Statistical data produced by central and local governments and government agencies.
They are produced in vast quantities, and provide a rich source of information for
researchers, particularly if they refer to whole/ mass population trends. There are
advantages and disadvantages to official statistics.
Questions which allow the respondent to reply freely rather than providing a set of
answers from which to choose. They are rich qualitative data, but do have
disadvantages in that it is often difficult to analyse the amount of information given.