2-1 Define what theories are and explain why they are important in understanding social phenomena.

2-2 Identify the most important classical sociologists, particularly Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, and their major contributions to the field.

2-3 Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of structural/functional, conflict/critical, and inter/actionist theories.

2-4 Describe the scientific method.

2-5 Describe the various methods of sociological research and the types of questions each one can help us answer.

2-6 Describe how sociologists engage in secondary data analysis.

2-7 Identify the key issues in social research, including reliability, validity, trust, legality, and objectivity.

The most important early sociologists were Auguste Comte, inventor of the term sociology; Harriet Martineau; and Herbert Spencer. However, the main theorists of classical sociology are Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Émile Durkheim. Marx focused the majority of his attention on macro issues, particularly the struc­ture of capitalist society. Weber did not focus exclusively on the economy but considered the importance of other social struc­tures, particularly religion. Durkheim believed social structures and cultural norms and values exert control over individuals that is not only necessary but also desirable. Other early sociological theorists include Georg Simmel, who focused on interactions among individuals; W. E. B. Du Bois, who emphasized the impor­tance of race; and Thorstein Veblen, who examined consumption.

Structural/functional, conflict/critical, and inter/actionist theo­ries are the main types of contemporary sociological theories. Two influential structural/functional theories are structural-functionalism, which is concerned with both social structures and the functions and dysfunctions they perform, and structuralism, which uncovers the social impact of hidden or underlying struc­tures. There are several conflict/critical theories: Conflict theory stresses the ways in which society is held together by power and coercion, critical theory critically analyzes culture, feminist theory critiques patriarchy, queer theory suggests that there are no fixed and stable identities that determine who we are, critical theories of race and racism argue that race continues to mat­ter and intersects with other social statuses, and postmodern theory is concerned that society is coming to be dominated by simulations. Inter/actionist theories deal with micro-level interac­tions among people and, to a degree, individual action. Symbolic interactionism studies the effect of symbols on the interaction between two or more people, ethnomethodology focuses on what people do rather than on what they think, exchange theory analyzes people’s behavior based on rewards and costs, and rational choice theory considers how the rational evaluations of goals and the means to achieve them influence behavior.

Sociologists use the scientific method to study society system­atically. First, the sociologist finds a question that needs to be answered and then reviews the literature to see what has already been found. Next, the sociologist develops a hypothesis, chooses a research method, and collects data that can confirm, or fail to confirm, the hypothesis. Finally, the researcher analyzes the data in relation to the initial hypothesis.

Sociologists use different research methods depending on the issues being studied. Quantitative methods yield data in the form of numbers, while qualitative methods yield verbal descriptions. Research methods used by sociologists to collect data include observations, ethnographies, interviews, surveys, and experiments. Sociologists also use historical-comparative methodology, in which they engage in secondary data analysis to reanalyze data collected by others.

When conducting research, sociologists strive for reliability, the degree to which a given measure produces the same results time after time, and validity, the degree to which a question gets an accurate response. They should also try to conduct their research ethically and to be objective even though it is impos­sible to avoid all bias.