FRHD 3070 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Mahatma Gandhi, Social Reality, Structural Functionalism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Family Relations and Human Development
• Course: FRHD 3070
• Professor: John Dwyer

Document Summary

Researchers weave a story about the operation of the social world (theory) with what they observe when examined systematically (data) Social theory: a system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge about the social world. Be careful not to confuse a hunch with theory. The media and politicians often use unstated social theories. Empirical generalizations: quasi-theoretical statement that summarizes findings or regularities in empirical evidence. It uses few to no abstract concepts and makes a simple statement only about a recurring pattern that researchers observe: derived from theories, tries to bridge the micro-macro divide. I. e. , more men than women choose engineering as a major . Middle-range theory: focuses on specific aspects of social life and sociological topics that can be tested with empirical hypotheses: slightly more abstract, but still specific. Assumption: part of social theory that is not tested but acts as a starting point or basic belief about the world (nature of things).