Nature of

Sociology
Prepared by:
Jonathan B. Sarmiento, MATM
 Sociology
 The word sociology derives from the French word, sociologie, a hybrid
coined in 1830 by French philosopher Isidore Auguste Comte (1798-1857),
from the Latin: socius, meaning "companion"; and the suffix -ology,
meaning "the study of", from the Greek λόγος, lógos, "knowledge".
 Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions.
 It is the study of social life, social change, social causes and consequences of
human behaviour
 Sociology, a social science that studies human societies, their interactions,
and the processes that preserve and change them
Characteristics of Sociology

 Sociology is an independent science – It is not treated and studies as

a branch of any other science like philosophy, history, etc. It has its
own field of study, boundary and method.
 It is abstract not concrete. Sociology is not interested in concrete. It
is more concerned with the form of human events and their patterns.
 Sociology is a social science not a physical science. It is focused on
society and social institution.
Characteristics of Sociology

 Sociology is rational and empirical. Being ration it stresses on

reason. Theories are built on the basis of logical inference. It is
empirical because it emphasizes experience and the fact that result
from observation and experimentation.
 Sociology can be a pure science and applied science. It is a
discipline of science that utilizes scientific information to develop
practical solutions. It is a pure science because it focuses on
theories of science and predictions that help understand the world
better.
Characteristics of Sociology

 Sociology is a general science not a special science. It exercises

those features of social action and the social structure which are to
some extent, persistent. The topics of study from the actions of
individuals to global issues.
 Sociology is generalizing not individualizing. It is a general
statements regarding trends among various dimension of social life.
Characteristics of Sociology

 Sociology is categorical not a normative. This means that

sociologists never pass value judgements. Nothing in sociology is
characterized as “moral” or “immoral” everything is “amoral”
The Sociological Perspective

 One of the major goals of this perspective is to identify underlying,

recurring patterns of influences on social behaviour. The
sociological perspective goes beyond identifying patterns of social
behaviour; it also attempts to provide explanations for such patterns.
Distinctive Characteristics of Sociology
 Pure Science. As a pure science, it aims to provide knowledge
about human society, not the utilization of that knowledge.
 Categorical discipline. As categorical discipline is a body of
knowledge about human society, and not a system of ideas and
values.
 Synthesizing science. As synthesizing science, it trends to come up
with certain generalizations about human interaction and
association, about the nature, form, contents and structure of human
groups and societies.
Sociological Approaches, Methods and
Research
 Sociology started when people first began to make observations
about each other’s behaviour.
 As a science it is a body of organized, verified knowledge which has
been secure through scientific investigation.
 It rejects myth, hearsay, folklore, and wishful thinking and bases its
inclusion on empirical evidence.
 All natural phenomena can be studied scientifically, it we use the
scientific approaches.
Sociological Approaches, Methods and
Research

 Any kind of behaviour affecting the environment can be a subject

for scientific approaches.
 Evolutionary Approach. The earliest theoretical approach was based
on the work of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer. This approach
seemed to offer a satisfying explanation of how human groups come
to exist, grow, and develop. Sociologist using this approach as a
frame of reference look for patters of change.
Sociological Approaches, Methods and
Research
 The Interactionist Approach – suggest no grand theories of society
since society and social and political institutions are conceptual
abstractions, and only people and their interactions can be studied
directly.

 The Functionalist Approach – views society as an organized

network of cooperating groups operating orderly according to
generally accepted norms.
Sociological Approaches, Methods and
Research
 The Conflict Approach – view society as one that is held together
through the power of dominant groups. These theorist claim that
the “share values” of functionalists do not really exist, and artificial
consensus in which dominant groups or classes impose these values
and rules upon the rest of the people.
Understanding Research as Process

 To ensure maximum consistency and efficiency, there are certain

steps that must be observed in researching on a problem
1. The researcher selects a problem area and specifies research
questions.
2. The researcher examines and researches data bases to review
existing results and define terms.
3. The researcher selects a research design.
Understanding Research as a Process

4. The researcher determines the research method. This stage includes

the three common aspects the researcher must determine and these are:
a. Where and when the research will occur;
b. With whom specifically the research will be done;
c. How they will analyse the information and data collected.
5. The researcher describes and selects the respondents to be used in
the study.
Understanding Research as a Process

6. The researcher selects and test to score the pupil’s writing.

7. The researcher conducts the study.
8. The researcher analyses the data and determines the implications of
researchers.
9. The researcher publishes the results of his study.
The Scientific Method of Investigation

 The Steps in a scientific research are:

1. Define the problem. A Problem is needed and is worthy of being
studied and undertaken through the methods of science.
2. Review the related literature. It would be a waste of time to
investigate a certain problem which has already been undertaken.
3. Formulate Hypothesis. The hypothesis is an account defining a
particular relationship between two or more variables.
The Scientific Method of Investigation

4. Develop a research design. A research design is a plan that must be

carefully developed in order to prove hypothesis. It is an outline of
what should be undertaken, what data will be sought, where and how
they will be collected, processed, and systemically analysed.
5. Collect the data. The data to be collected should be in line with the
research design.
6. Analyze the data. After collating the data, we classify, synthesize,
tabulate, and compare the data, making whatever tests and
computations are necessary to help find the result.
The Scientific Method of Investigation

7. Draw conclusions. The conclusions will reflect back to the

hypothesis and, on the basis of the conclusions, we either accept or
reject the hypothesis
The Case Study Method

 A case study is defined as an intensive study of a person, group,

organization, institution, or problem.
 It enables us to examine a situation in depth.
 This method has one limitation, though, and that is the difficulty of
making valid generalizations (on the basis of one case) which is an
important part of the scientific method.
 The case study is also know as the scientific biography, the case
history, case work or diary of development.
The Survey Method

 The schedule is a list of questions that the sociologist asks a person

being surveyed is an interview situation.
 With this, the sociologist can obtain more accurate answers because
he can interpret facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures.
 Furthermore, he can ask the individual to repeat the answers to
explain them more fully.
 The disadvantage of the schedule is that interviewers are so time
consuming that a large sample is difficult to obtain.
The Survey Method

 The questionnaire is a list of questions that is filled out by the

person being surveyed.
 Sociologist sometimes use both tools – the schedule, to get more
accurate answers from a small sample and the questionnaire, to get
less accurate and less specific answers from a large sample.
 The most frequently used method to obtain information about the
social world is the survey research.
The Survey Method

 This quantitative technique involves systematically asking people

about their attitudes, feelings, ideas, opinions, values, or behaviour
by using a survey.
Problems with Surveys

 If the questions concern personal information about age, income,

and sex life, for example the respondents may not answer honestly.
 If the questions or responses are highly structured, the results of the
survey may not reflect the actual belief of people being questioned.
 The difficulty of the respondents to interpret the questions correctly.
Reference:

 https://www.slideshare.net/12mzrica/nature-of-sociology
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