Through generalisation, one gains the advantage of being able to see the whole picture and being able to carry out comparisons with ease whilst a focus on individual cases allows complexity and detailed analysis. The conduct of social science relates more to measurement and the academic use of knowledge. In contrast, the use of social science is based more on the policy making implications of social science research. By ignoring the whole picture and only focusing on individual cases, the conduct of social science research can be negatively affected. However, in the case of using research in the social sciences, it is more useful to consider individual cases rather than generalise. This is beneficial for policy making since it is important to identify and understand the causes of things before a detailed plan can be created.
A focus on individual cases can lead to poor conduct of social science research. The study of the Soviet Union provides a good example for this. In general, social scientists failed to predict the fall of the Soviet system, this was a consequence of a variety of factors. Arguably, the specialisation of social scientists has led to a failure to see the “big picture” . There is an emphasis on specialisation among academics as it is important for them to publish in specific journals and progress their careers by focusing on one discipline only. The downside to specialisation is that there is a lack of communication between the social scientists focusing on different areas of the Soviet system. This meant that all the individual knowledge related to the different aspects of the Soviet Union (such as foreign trade, demographics, agriculture and different statistics related to the economy) was not brought togethe...
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...in predicting great events such as the fall of the Soviet Union. It is a consequence of academics being too engaged in their own discipline to take notice of others and thus failing to see the entire picture. Collective thinking amongst social scientists also leads to the failure in making a correct prediction. However, specificity is valuable in policy making as solutions to a problem can only be found when its root cause is identified. Generalisation in the case of measuring poverty may give a clear overall view but it will not provide a full explanation for why certain individuals live in poverty. As the “complexity of measurement mirrors the complexity of definition” , it is tempting to resort to simplified approaches to poverty. However, this will not solve the problem of poverty since effective policies can only be implemented if the root cause is identified.
One of the sociological theories is conflict theory. The conflict theory deals with people's level on wealth, or class. The conflict theory says that social change is beneficial, contrary to focuses on social order. In the story of the woman and her children, the conflict theory plays a big role on the situation. Police of higher class are threatening the homeless woman. The conflict theory is a constant struggle of people of higher class over powering people of lower class, or the weaker. The police are trying to over power the woman by telling her to leave. Even though the woman and her children were doing nothing wrong, the police used their power to tell her to leave. Also the people of the area showed their conflict theory by telling the police officers to come. They must have felt embarrassed to have a woman of such lower class to be around them. They used their power of class to have the woman removed from their community. The woman wants to be there because she has no home and it is a good community to be in, but the people look at it as an embarrassment to them because it makes their area look bad for someone of such lower class to be around them. The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. Their status is the element that categorizes them, weather it is class, race, or gender. The conflict theory do not always use class, race, and gender all at once. In this situation race and gender is not a main issue, although gender could be a reason, but it would fall under the feminist theory. This story is mainly dealing with class. Through all this conflict the woman feels over powered and domina...
Blakeley, G., Bromley, G., Clarke, J., Raghurham, P., Silva, E. and Taylor, S. (2009) ‘Introducing the Social Sciences’ Learning Companion 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University
In chapter three Isbister explains that social scientists wrestled to justify conditions in the third world, as a result, a mixture of indefinite theories developed. A point often overlooked, by social scientists is that the struggle and growth of Asia, Africa, and Latin America cannot be measured “in statistics, nor in treatises of social scientists and historians.” After reading the chapter, an obvious conclusion stood out poverty is tangible for most of the world’s people and nations. Why is this and who is to blame? Are the poor people to be blamed for their own poverty? The answers are arranged into three different groups: mod¬ernization, dependency, and Marxism.
For social sciences majors, reading this book can provide a look at exactly what biases there are in the field we are hoping to enter, and what mistakes are commonly made. It provides a long list of examples of ways in which numbers can be messed up, and is a good warning to those of us wanting to be social scientists.
Although poverty has minimized, it is still significant poverty which is characterized by a numerous amount of things. There are two types of poverty case and insular. “Case poverty is the farm family with the junk-filled yard and the dirty children playing in the bare dirt” (Galbraith 236)Case poverty is not irretraceable and usually caused if someone in the household experiences “ mental deficiency, bad health, inability to adapt to the discipline of industrial life, uncontrollable procreation, alcohol, some educational handicap unrelated to community shortcomings” (Galbraith 236).Case poverty is often blamed on the people for their shortcomings but on some levels can be to pinpoint one person's shortcomings that caused this poverty. Most modern poverty is insular and is caused by things people in this community cannot control. “The most important characteristic of insular poverty is forces, common to all members of the community, that restrain or prevent participation in economic life and increase rates of return.
...d determinations of the truth. The mechanisms that result in “one story” truth may also affect the way poverty manifests itself and why so many solutions have proved to be ineffectual.
This essay will be explaining the definition of sociology, the sociological factors of obesity using Symbolic Interactionism Theory and the Functionalism Theory and a description of the medical condition obesity and how it may affect individuals suffering from it.
...on, to measure poverty in the United States, the measure requires four components: the scale of resources, the unit of analysis, the poverty threshold, and the depth of poverty. The current U.S. measure has all these components but the problem is that it is too strict and does not explain much about the situation in the U.S. My proposal is more flexible explaining why the poor are poor because it is sensitive to the times and cultures of the society, accounts for the majority of available resources to the poor, and shows where they are in the poverty spectrum.
Most people of the society still blame the poor for their own predicament. They believe that "if there is a will there is a way". However, they do not think about their government that might had made bad decisions and policies that could actually harm successful development. This causes of poverty and inequality are usually less discussed and often neglected. We must recognize the effects poverty could have on the society and seek ways to create better understanding and resolve the issue before it is too late.
Social science helps society bond our personal situations with our everyday life. This is shown through many topics such as sociological imagination and politics. Sociological Imagination is all about knowing the connection between personal experiences and society. Politics is what creates society. Studying these topics had brought a better idea of what social science is and how it impacts on me as a member of
At first I didn’t know what to really expect from taking an online sociology class for class. To be completely honest, I thought I would be reading a lot of boring articles and then writing about them. It turned out that I was wrong. I was able to see what sociology pertains to and how it relates to our lives. It’s funny to think that almost everything in your life is controlled by someone else. Your interests, hobbies, and even clothes aren’t really solely your decision. You may be thinking “no way I am being influenced and I make all of my decisions consciously” but in fact that is not the case.
Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.
To most, it’s very easy to imagine how it would feel to grow up without much of anything in life. Hell...I can tell you first hand what it feels like to not have a decent pair of shoes or pants without holes in them, or old “hand-me-down” toys while most of the kids you know have “state-of-the-art” toys. To many children in this kind of situation, it seems like a very bleak world to live in. No child should ever have to experience this kind of life. However, due to ignorant parents and an even more jacked-up government, there are many children that will always be in this predicament.
Often, scientists are tasked with the role of providing evidence to support theories or to predict future outcomes based on scientific research. This methods or research are usually accepted in natural sciences like chemistry and physics. This is because unlike social science, they usually use formulas, well laid out structures and methods (Guttin, 2012). However, when it comes to social science, researchers usually work using theories by formulating hypothesis, and researching to prove or disapprove the theories. When doing this, social science researchers usually become advocates in certain circumstances. This paper highlights some of the pros and cons of scientists becoming advocates, and gives examples of when social scientists become advocates and situations where they observe objectivity.
When it comes to comprehending or understanding any concept to why individuals may do some of the things they do, there are social theories out there to help better explain those actions. Sociological theories help to focus more on the aspect of social life, as well as explain behaviors that can be driven by passion, tradition, self-interest, religion, and the laws we have set out today in stone. “Unlike scientific theories, social theories tend to be more evaluative and critical than the theories in the natural sciences” (Appelrouth A. S.; Edles D. L 2012) Today, an analytical frame is used to help guide the comparing and contrasting of the several theoretical perspectives and traditions. In simpler terms, this four way frame is basically used to help compare and contrast theorist better. There are four main cells that make up this analytical frame which include, individual-rational, individual-nonrational, collective-rational, and collective-nonrational. Also included into this basic theoretical orientation or framework, are the core classical theorists. Those influential theorists included into the framework are Mead, who falls into the individual-nonrational side, Durkheim whom falls into the collective-nonrational side, Weber whom falls into the collective-rational side, and Marx who is also included into the collective-rational side.