Exam 2 Ch 3 4 HCC SPRING 2015 Ritzer W O Answers Essay

Common sense is the knowledge of opinions and belief that people have in everyday life. However, it is something with no evidence to back it up. Common sense ideas are found through the struggles that people have lived through and so directly impact their opinions on certain subjects. Common sense ideas can be personal as everyone has a different outlook and opinion depending on background and experience. Taking the example of someone who is homeless. A common sensical thinker would think that they had become homeless due to not having a job or money. Common sense thinkers may also think that the reason for their homelessness comes from lifestyle, blaming alcohol and drug misuse or family for their predicament.

4. What are the limitations of the survey method, and how would you overcome the limitations of this research method, or any research approach?

What is the research method (i.e.: survey, participant observation, experiment, secondary sources) used by the researchers?

4. Typical surveys involve about 500 people to 2000 people. When author Shere Hite wrote Woman and Love: A Cultural Revolution in Progress, she based conclusions on a relatively large sample of 4500 replies that she received after mailing 100,000 questionnaires to various woman’s groups. Are her conclusions likely to be valid in the sense that they can be applied to the general population of all women? Why or why not.

Surveys and Polls can be used as a way to obtain facts on a certain subject, but they may not all be as reliable as they

It ensures that every person in the sample represents a specific racial, gender, or religious group.

Firstly, however, it is important to make clear the difference between common sense and sociological explanations. These are often argued to be the same thing, though this is not the case. Common sense is something which occurs from a shared belief system of norms and values of a majority of people, based upon only their life experience and assumptions. Sociology is something which requires evidence-based explanations, and this is what distances it from being simply a commentary on society.

Explanation of common sense and sociological approaches to the study of Human Societies, with examples.

This research requires scientific observation, social and interpersonal; skills, and ability to convey complex ideas clearly. I have prepared dozens of pieces

A wide range of people all over the world inaccurately come to the conclusion that sociology is merely, ‘the study of the obvious’ and the application of common sense, this statement could not be further from the truth. Common sense derives from statements such as, ‘opposites attract’, however the Sociological sense takes this belief and carries out numerous tests to discover whether it is fact, or fiction.

The Advantages and Limitations of Social Surveys in Sociological Research To survey something, is to carry out a systematic overview so that a researcher can produce a comprehensive general report on it. Survey method is often used by positivist sociologists seeking to test their hypotheses, and to investigate causes and examine variables. As with every other sociological research, survey has its own advantages and limitations. Positivist research, which is in the scientific tradition, begins with a hypothesis that can be either confirmed or rejected according to the data collected. One of the significant advantages of survey method is that, it can be used to collect data that is a representative

Barbara Ehrenreich an American author and political activist conducted a field research in 1998. Ehrenreich wanted to find out whether welfare reforms back-to-work programs really have the ability to lift poor woman out of poverty. While she conducted the research, she was surprise how low wageworkers were being treated. When Ehrenreich was looking for jobs, she noticed hotels would run ads continually. Hotels do this because they build applicants to replace current workers who are drifting away from their job. At her first job interview, Ehrenreich got hired on the spot. She was going to start working at a wage of $2.43. While she worked at this restaurant she noticed how workers were treated poorly. Workers had no privacy and managers would be able to search their personal products, if anything was stolen.

“Research is a process of gathering data in a strictly organised manner. The end product of the data-gathering process may vary along a continuum from simple description to reflection and interpretation. The emphasis is on structured investigation, exploration or discovery.

4. Employ a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to collect data for primary research.

“The study of man contains a greater variety of intellectual styles than any other area of cultural endeavor. How different social scientists go about their work, and what they aim t accomplish by it, often do not seem to have a common denominator ... Let us admit the case of our critics from the humanities and from the experimental sciences: Social science as a whole is both intellectually and morally confused. And what is called sociology is very much in the middle of this confusion.”