©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sociology 122 Queens Final Exam Study
Guide.
Sociological research - Answers✔Research strategy: the general orientation or approach a sociologist
takes in conducting research (first step)
Qualitative approach - Answers✔Information that can be measured in terms of quality rather than
quantity
Ex. A persons place of birth, religious affiliation, views on same sex marriage
Quantitative approach - Answers✔Information that can be measured in terms of quantity rather than
quality
Ex. A person's height, age, weight
Inductive approach - Answers✔Denoting a theory is the outcome, rather than the starting point, of
research
Deductive approach - Answers✔Denoting research informed by a quantitative research strategy, in
which a theory is used to generate a hypothesis and guide the collection of data needed to confirm or
reject it
Epistemology - Answers✔A theory of knowledge; it is the branch of philosophy that deals with the
nature, scope, and limitations of knowledge
Positivism and Interpretivism
Interpretivism - Answers✔An epistemological position associated with qualitative research, which
requires that social scientists learn meaning of the actions of people they study
Positivism - Answers✔The epistemological orientation that supports the view that research methods
used in the natural sciences can be applied equally to the study of society
Rationalism and empiricism - Answers✔Twin pillars of positivist epistemology
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Rationalism: I think I am - an approach to reality that can be best characterized by the statement "what
is, is, what is not, is not"
Empiricism: an approach to reality that holds that the only valid knowledge is knowledge gained through
the sense, by directly observing, recording or monitoring social and natural phenomena
Ontology - Answers✔the study of what there is "out there" in other words, the study if what is said to
constitute reality or the nature of being
o objectivism
o constructivism
Objectivism - Answers✔an ontological position that asserts that the meaning attached to social
phenomena are independent of the will or ideas of individuals involved in them
Constructivism - Answers✔an ontological position that asserts that the meaning attached to social
phenomena are constructed out of the acts and perceptions of social actors involved in them
Value relevance - Answers✔Weber: the extent to which a social scientist's values affect her approach to
investigating a social problem. It is all but impossible for a social scientist to prevent her values from
affecting her choice of research topic
Standpoint epistemology - the view that all research and knowledge production is directly related to the
vantage point of social location of the researcher
Value neutrality - Answers✔as far as reasonably possible, a researcher should strive to achieve value
neutrality when conducting and analyzing the results of quantitative research
Weber: an approach to investigating a research problem that is unaffected by the social scientist's
values. Social researchers must not allow their personal values to influence the collection and analysis of
data or the dissemination of research findings
Verstehen - Answers✔Weber: term for interpretive understanding, an approach to sociological research
in which researcher uses empathy to imagine what it would be like to receive the experiences of her
research subjects
Case study - Answers✔A type of research design that focuses on a detailed analysis of single case or
situation, usually a community or organization, in a specific location
Longitudinal study - Answers✔A research design in which data is collected on the same unit of analysis,
on at least two separate occasions
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Sociology 122 Queens Final Exam Study
Guide.
Sociological research - Answers✔Research strategy: the general orientation or approach a sociologist
takes in conducting research (first step)
Qualitative approach - Answers✔Information that can be measured in terms of quality rather than
quantity
Ex. A persons place of birth, religious affiliation, views on same sex marriage
Quantitative approach - Answers✔Information that can be measured in terms of quantity rather than
quality
Ex. A person's height, age, weight
Inductive approach - Answers✔Denoting a theory is the outcome, rather than the starting point, of
research
Deductive approach - Answers✔Denoting research informed by a quantitative research strategy, in
which a theory is used to generate a hypothesis and guide the collection of data needed to confirm or
reject it
Epistemology - Answers✔A theory of knowledge; it is the branch of philosophy that deals with the
nature, scope, and limitations of knowledge
Positivism and Interpretivism
Interpretivism - Answers✔An epistemological position associated with qualitative research, which
requires that social scientists learn meaning of the actions of people they study
Positivism - Answers✔The epistemological orientation that supports the view that research methods
used in the natural sciences can be applied equally to the study of society
Rationalism and empiricism - Answers✔Twin pillars of positivist epistemology
, ©SIRJOEL EXAM SOLUTIONS 2024/2025
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Rationalism: I think I am - an approach to reality that can be best characterized by the statement "what
is, is, what is not, is not"
Empiricism: an approach to reality that holds that the only valid knowledge is knowledge gained through
the sense, by directly observing, recording or monitoring social and natural phenomena
Ontology - Answers✔the study of what there is "out there" in other words, the study if what is said to
constitute reality or the nature of being
o objectivism
o constructivism
Objectivism - Answers✔an ontological position that asserts that the meaning attached to social
phenomena are independent of the will or ideas of individuals involved in them
Constructivism - Answers✔an ontological position that asserts that the meaning attached to social
phenomena are constructed out of the acts and perceptions of social actors involved in them
Value relevance - Answers✔Weber: the extent to which a social scientist's values affect her approach to
investigating a social problem. It is all but impossible for a social scientist to prevent her values from
affecting her choice of research topic
Standpoint epistemology - the view that all research and knowledge production is directly related to the
vantage point of social location of the researcher
Value neutrality - Answers✔as far as reasonably possible, a researcher should strive to achieve value
neutrality when conducting and analyzing the results of quantitative research
Weber: an approach to investigating a research problem that is unaffected by the social scientist's
values. Social researchers must not allow their personal values to influence the collection and analysis of
data or the dissemination of research findings
Verstehen - Answers✔Weber: term for interpretive understanding, an approach to sociological research
in which researcher uses empathy to imagine what it would be like to receive the experiences of her
research subjects
Case study - Answers✔A type of research design that focuses on a detailed analysis of single case or
situation, usually a community or organization, in a specific location
Longitudinal study - Answers✔A research design in which data is collected on the same unit of analysis,
on at least two separate occasions
