Sociological Perspectives and Methods
Three Lenses
Sociology offers competing frameworks for explaining the same fact. Functionalism (Durkheim) treats social parts as interdependent and asks what a practice does for stability - manifest functions are intended, latent functions are unintended, and dysfunctions destabilize. Conflict theory (Marx, later Weberian and feminist variants) asks who benefits and how scarce resources and power are distributed. Symbolic interactionism (Mead, Goffman) works at the micro level, examining how people interpret symbols and construct meaning in face-to-face settings. A fourth, rational choice/exchange, models actors weighing costs and rewards.
Methods
Know the difference between quantitative designs (surveys, experiments, secondary data - testing hypotheses with numbers) and qualitative designs (interviews, ethnography, case studies - building meaning-rich accounts). Key vocabulary: operationalization (turning a concept into measurable variables), reliability (consistency across repeats) versus validity (measuring what you claim), correlation versus causation, spurious relationships produced by a third variable, sampling (random, stratified, convenience) and generalizability. Ethnography requires immersion; surveys trade depth for breadth.
Traps
Questions love to swap reliability with validity, or to attribute a micro-interactionist claim to a macro conflict theorist. Watch for ecological fallacy (inferring individual traits from group data), Hawthorne effects (subjects changing because they are observed), and value neutrality debates (Weber urged objectivity in analysis, not indifference).
Rule of Thumb
Ask: Is this question about stability, power, or meaning? Stability signals functionalism, power signals conflict, meaning signals interactionism - then check whether the level is macro or micro.