Key term
WJEC A-Level Sociology 601-5237-0
Culture and the Social Construction of Culture
Topic overviewCulture as a way of lifeNorms, values and beliefsRoles, status and role conflictAspects of culture: dress, language, food and musicHeritage and cultural tradition in WalesHigh culture, popular culture and global cultureNature, nurture and the social construction of cultureCultural diversity and sub-cultures
Socialisation and Its Agencies
Topic overviewPrimary and secondary socialisationRole models, imitation and sanctionsFamilies and primary cultural transmissionPeer groups as an agency of socialisationEducation as an agency of socialisationReligion as an agency of socialisationThe media as an agency of socialisationWork, resocialisation and total institutionsFormal and informal social control
Socialisation and Identity
Topic overviewPersonal and social identityTheories of identity: structural, interactionist and postmodernGender socialisation and gender identityMasculinity, femininity and change in gender identitiesSocial class and identityClass change, mobility and the underclassEthnicity and identityNationality, national identity and BritishnessWelsh identity and the Welsh language
Families and HouseholdsAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewDefining families and householdsFamily forms and family diversity in England and WalesEthnic, cultural and religious diversity in family lifeMarriage, cohabitation and singlehoodDivorce and separationFertility, birth rates and family sizeLife expectancy, ageing and the beanpole familyThe domestic division of labourPower, decision-making and domestic violenceChildhood and parent–child relationshipsFunctionalist and New Right theories of the familyMarxist and feminist theories of the familyPostmodernism, the life course and personal life
Youth CulturesAcquiring Culture
Topic overviewYouth and the social construction of adolescenceThe media and the formation of youth cultureEconomic change, consumption and the youth marketGlobalisation and youth cultureSocial class and youth subculturesGender and youth cultureEthnicity and youth cultureNational identity, Welshness and youth cultureNeo-tribes and the changing nature of youth cultureYouth deviance, delinquency and crimeAnti-school subcultures and the labelling of youthFunctionalist and Marxist theories of youth cultureFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of youth culture
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
Topic overviewQuestionnairesStructured interviewsUnstructured and semi-structured interviewsFocus groupsParticipant observationNon-participant and structured observationThe social surveyEthnographic methodsLongitudinal studiesExisting sociological research as secondary dataOfficial statistics and Welsh Government dataPersonal and public documents
Sampling, Ethics and Practical Issues
Topic overviewTarget populations, sampling frames and accessSimple random and systematic random samplingStratified random samplingQuota samplingSnowball and volunteer samplingPurposive and opportunity samplingInformed consent, deception and the right to withdrawAnonymity, confidentiality and privacySensitivity, vulnerability and protection from harmPractical constraints: operationalisation, time and cost
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
Topic overviewValidity in sociological researchReliability and replicationRepresentativeness and generalisabilityObjectivity, value freedom and biasEthics as a criterion for judging researchPositivism and the scientific study of societyInterpretivism and verstehenRealism and the critical realist approachChoosing an approach: theory and method in practice
EducationUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of education in societySocial class and differential attainmentGender and differential attainmentEthnicity and differential attainmentParticipation, choice and the marketisation of educationEducation policy in England and Wales since 1944Welsh-medium education and the Curriculum for WalesMaterial factors and educational attainmentCultural capital and cultural deprivationLabelling, streaming and pupil subculturesFunctionalist and New Right theories of educationMarxist theories of educationFeminist, interactionist and postmodernist theories of education
MediaUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of the media in contemporary societyModels of media effects: the hypodermic syringe and cultural effectsActive audiences: uses and gratifications and reception theoryMoral panics and folk devilsNew media, globalisation and the digital divideOwnership and control of the mediaMedia professionals, news values and agenda settingRepresentations of social class and ageRepresentations of genderRepresentations of ethnicity, nationality and disabilityMedia policy and regulation in Wales and EnglandPluralist and Marxist theories of the mediaFunctionalist, feminist and postmodernist theories of the media
ReligionUnderstanding Society
Topic overviewThe role and function of religion in contemporary societyReligion in Wales: chapel, nonconformity and the Welsh languageReligion as a conservative force and as a force for changePatterns of religious participation by social class and ageGender and religiosityEthnicity and religiosity in England and WalesChurches, denominations, sects and cultsNew religious movements and new age movementsFundamentalism and religion in a globalised worldSecularisation in England and WalesReligion and social policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and neo-Marxist theories of religionWeberian, feminist and postmodernist theories of religion
Crime and DeviancePower and Control
Topic overviewDefining crime, deviance and social controlCrime and deviance as social constructsThe media, moral panics and the fear of crimeSocial class and crimeGender and feminist explanations of crimeEthnicity, policing and the criminal justice systemAge and crimePolice recorded crime and the dark figureVictim surveys and self-report studiesCrime, policing and social policy in WalesFunctionalist and subcultural theories of crimeMarxist and neo-Marxist theories of crimeInteractionism, labelling and postmodernist theories of crimeLeft realism, right realism and crime control policy
Health and DisabilityPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining health, illness and diseaseThe biomedical model and the social model of healthThe social construction of disabilityOfficial statistics and the measurement of healthSocial class and health inequalitiesGender and healthEthnicity and healthAge and healthArtefact, selection, cultural and material explanationsAccess to and provision of health care in England and WalesMedicalisation and the role of health professionalsHealth policy in England and WalesFunctionalist, Marxist and interactionist theories of healthFeminist and postmodernist views of health and disability
World SociologyPower and Control
Topic overviewDefining and measuring developmentGlobal inequalities in health and educationEmployment, poverty and the global division of labourPatterns of inequality in England and WalesPopulation, demographic change and developmentUrbanisation and marginalisationAid, debt and non-governmental organisationsGlobalisation and developmentTransnational corporations and world tradeModernisation theory and its criticsMarxist, dependency and world systems theoriesFeminist explanations of development
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research
Topic overviewChoosing a research topic and framing the aimHypotheses, operationalisation and indicatorsJustifying the chosen methodAnticipating problems with the chosen method and their impactSelecting and justifying a sampleAnticipating problems with the sample and their impactEthical issues in a research designPractical issues in a research designPresenting collected data
Social Inequality: Evidence and Patterns
Topic overviewMeasuring social class in BritainThe distribution of income and wealthWork and pay: occupational inequalityClass inequality: the evidenceGender inequality: the evidenceEthnic inequality: the evidenceAge inequality: the evidenceDisability and inequalityPower and political inequalityPoverty and social exclusionInequality in Wales: the evidence base
Theories and Explanations of Inequality and Stratification
Topic overviewSocial stratification: the core conceptsFunctionalist explanations of inequalityMarxist explanations of inequalityNeo-Marxist explanations of inequalityWeberian explanations of inequalityNeo-Weberian explanations of inequalityFeminist explanations of inequalityPostmodernist explanations of inequalityNew Right explanations of inequalityComparing and evaluating theories of stratification
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research
- 9 subtopics
- 27 things to know
- A2 Unit 4
What Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research covers
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research is examined in Unit 4 Section A, Applied Methods of Sociological Enquiry — compulsory for every student. It covers choosing a research topic and framing the aim, hypotheses, operationalisation and indicators, justifying the chosen method, anticipating problems with the chosen method and their impact, selecting and justifying a sample, anticipating problems with the sample and their impact, ethical issues in a research design, practical issues in a research design and presenting collected data.
Where it is assessed
A2 Unit 4
Social Inequality and Applied Methods of Sociological Enquiry.
Check the WJEC specification ↗The 9 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Choosing a research topic and framing the aimResearch aim, literature review and value-laden topic.Open →
- Hypotheses, operationalisation and indicatorsRecall questions on framing a testable hypothesis, dependent and independent variables, choosing indicators, measuring class and deprivation, and why interpretivists distrust the whole exercise.Open →
- Justifying the chosen methodRecall questions on the grounds a choice of method rests on, matching design to theory and to the group studied, triangulation, case studies, and accounting for the methods rejected.Open →
- Anticipating problems with the chosen method and their impactInterviewer effect, social desirability bias and hawthorne effect.Open →
- Selecting and justifying a sampleOpportunity sampling and systematic sampling.Open →
- Anticipating problems with the sample and their impactSampling bias, under-covered group and sampling error.Open →
- Ethical issues in a research designRecall questions on obtaining consent, the right to withdraw, protecting identities in publication, covert methods, disclosure of risk to a child, debriefing, and the researcher's own safety.Open →
- Practical issues in a research designRecall questions on time and cost, negotiating access, the researcher's own characteristics, transcription, working in both Welsh and English, and what a pilot study saves later.Open →
- Presenting collected dataFrequency table and scatter graph used to show.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Set out how collected data are presented and the caution a percentage needs.
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Why do sensitive topics require extra ethical safeguards?
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What is a research aim?
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Define a hypothesis.
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How does the time available shape the justification of a method?
Process
Why should problems be anticipated at the design stage?
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Why is a sampling frame necessary for random sampling?
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Why is time a practical constraint on a research design?
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Distinguish a research aim from a hypothesis.
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Distinguish a dependent from an independent variable.
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Why is a secondary source sometimes the better choice in a design?
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What is non-response, and what impact does it have?
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Give two sampling frames a sociologist might realistically use.
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Define sampling bias.
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What must a participant be told before informed consent can be given?
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How does cost shape the choice of method?
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Why does a researcher present data rather than simply list raw figures?
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Give three factors that influence a sociologist's choice of research topic.
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Define operationalisation.
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Why does a mixed design need each method justified separately?
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Define the interviewer effect.
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When is quota sampling the sensible choice in a design?
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How does an incomplete sampling frame bias a study?
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Whose consent is needed when the participants are children?
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How can the researcher's own characteristics create a practical problem?
Key term
Which form of presentation best suits a comparison of totals between categories?
Take Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Operationalisation vs Indicator
Operationalisation: the process of making a concept measurable. Indicator: the particular measure that process settles on.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a research aim?
Model answer
A research aim is a statement of what a piece of research sets out to find out or to understand.
- 2
Distinguish a research aim from a hypothesis.
Model answer
An aim states broadly what the researcher wants to investigate, while a hypothesis states a specific relationship that the research will test.
- 3
Give three factors that influence a sociologist's choice of research topic.
Model answer
The researcher's own theoretical position and interests, the funding available and what the funder wants investigated, and how far the subject is currently regarded as socially important.
- 4
How can the source of funding shape a research design?
Model answer
A funder can set the questions, the timescale and even the method, and may expect findings in a form useful to policy rather than to theory.
- 5
Why does a researcher's theoretical position shape the design?
Model answer
A positivist designs for measurement and comparison while an interpretivist designs to uncover meaning, so the same topic produces two very different studies.
- 6
Why must a research aim be narrow enough to be answerable?
Model answer
A broad aim cannot be turned into measurable questions or completed with the time and money available, so the study produces nothing usable.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research revision questions
- What does Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 9 subtopics: choosing a research topic and framing the aim, hypotheses, operationalisation and indicators, justifying the chosen method, anticipating problems with the chosen method and their impact, selecting and justifying a sample, anticipating problems with the sample and their impact, ethical issues in a research design, practical issues in a research design and presenting collected data. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Applied Methods: Designing Sociological Research, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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