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EnglandSociology

Theory and Methods

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do the major structural theories explain how society works and holds together?

Consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories, including functionalism, Marxism and feminism, and their explanations of order, conflict and social structure.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on the structural theories, covering functionalism (consensus), Marxism (conflict and class) and feminism (patriarchy), and how each explains order and inequality.
12 min answer →

Can sociology be a science, and what does being scientific even mean?

The nature of science and the extent to which sociology can be regarded as scientific, including positivism, Popper's falsificationism, Kuhn's paradigms and the realist view of science.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on whether sociology is a science, covering positivism, Popper's falsificationism, Kuhn's paradigms, the realist view and the interpretivist objection.
12 min answer →

What can sociologists learn from observing people and from data that already exists?

Observation (participant and non-participant, overt and covert) and the use of secondary sources, including official statistics, documents and other existing data, and their strengths and limitations.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on observation and secondary sources, covering participant and non-participant observation, overt and covert roles, official statistics and documents, and their strengths and limitations.
11 min answer →

Should sociology measure social facts like a science, or interpret the meanings behind human action?

The distinction between primary and secondary data and quantitative and qualitative data, and the theoretical positions of positivism and interpretivism on how society should be studied.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on positivism and interpretivism, covering quantitative versus qualitative data, social facts, verstehen, reliability and validity, and the methods each approach favours.
12 min answer →

How do sociologists use experiments, questionnaires and interviews, and what shapes their choice of method?

Quantitative and qualitative methods of research, including experiments, social surveys, questionnaires and interviews, and the practical, ethical and theoretical factors influencing the choice of method and topic.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on primary methods, covering laboratory and field experiments, the comparative method, questionnaires and interviews, and the practical, ethical and theoretical factors affecting choice of method.
12 min answer →

How do small-scale interactions and individual meanings build up the social world?

Social action and interactionist theories and postmodernism, including symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, ethnomethodology, Weber's social action theory and the structure-action debate.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on social action theories, covering Weber, symbolic interactionism, phenomenology, ethnomethodology, the structure-action debate and postmodernism.
12 min answer →

Can and should sociology be free of the researcher's values?

The relationship between theory and methods, and debates about objectivity, values and value freedom in sociological research, including the views of Weber, the positivists and committed sociology.
A focused answer to the AQA A-Level Sociology Theory and Methods topic on value freedom, covering positivist and Weberian views, committed and relativist positions, and how values enter research at every stage.
12 min answer →