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
Key Concepts and Theories of Research
- 9 subtopics
- 27 things to know
- AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4
What Key Concepts and Theories of Research covers
Key Concepts and Theories of Research is examined in Unit 2 Section A, Methods of Sociological Enquiry, and drawn on again in Unit 4. It covers validity in sociological research, reliability and replication, representativeness and generalisability, objectivity, value freedom and bias, ethics as a criterion for judging research, positivism and the scientific study of society, interpretivism and verstehen, realism and the critical realist approach and choosing an approach: theory and method in practice.
Where it is assessed
AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4
Methods of Sociological Enquiry, and again in the applied methods question.
Check the WJEC specification ↗The 9 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Validity in sociological researchValidity and the reliability of a research method, imposition problem in questionnaire design and how the Hawthorne effect threatens validity.Open →
- Reliability and replicationReliability as it is used in sociological research, why structured questionnaires are considered highly reliable and inter-observer reliability.Open →
- Representativeness and generalisabilityRelationship between representativeness and generalisability, target population and case study in sociology.Open →
- Objectivity, value freedom and biasObjectivity in sociological research, distinction Weber drew between value relevance and value judgement and researcher bias.Open →
- Ethics as a criterion for judging researchCentral principle underlying professional ethical guidance for sociologists, ethical tension in covert research and ethics committee.Open →
- Positivism and the scientific study of societyPositivism in sociology, data do positivists prefer and social fact as Durkheim used the term.Open →
- Interpretivism and verstehenInterpretivism in sociology, data do interpretivists prefer and three methods typically favoured by interpretivists.Open →
- Realism and the critical realist approachRealism as an approach to sociological research, closed system and an open system in realist terms and how a realist can accept unobservable causes.Open →
- Choosing an approach: theory and method in practiceTheoretical position leading directly to a method, practical factors in the choice of method and methodological pluralism.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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Key term
Explain why findings from one place or one small group may not carry beyond it.
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Define reliability as it is used in sociological research.
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Define objectivity in sociological research.
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Why is ethics treated as a key concept for evaluating sociological research and not only as a practical hurdle?
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What kind of data do positivists prefer, and why?
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Define verstehen.
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What is realism as an approach to sociological research?
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Explain what is meant by saying that a sociologist's theoretical position shapes their choice of method.
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Distinguish between the validity and the reliability of a research method.
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Explain why structured questionnaires are considered highly reliable.
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Define generalisability.
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What did Weber mean by value freedom in the collection of data?
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Which professional body issues the main ethical guidance for sociologists in Britain?
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Define a social fact as Durkheim used the term.
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What kind of data do interpretivists prefer, and why?
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How does realism differ from positivism in its account of what science does?
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Give an example of a theoretical position leading directly to a method.
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Why do interpretivists argue that unstructured interviews produce more valid data than questionnaires?
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Why are unstructured interviews usually low in reliability?
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Explain the relationship between representativeness and generalisability.
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Explain the distinction Weber drew between value relevance and value judgement.
Evaluation
Give one argument in favour of covert research despite its ethical cost.
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What is a correlation?
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Name three methods typically favoured by interpretivists.
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Distinguish between a closed system and an open system in realist terms.
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What are practical factors in the choice of method?
Take Key Concepts and Theories of Research further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Validity vs Reliability
Validity: a study's truth to reality. Reliability: it means consistency on repetition.
Value relevance vs A value judgement
Value relevance: values guiding a researcher's choice of topic. A value judgement: it means pronouncing on what ought to be.
Correlation vs Causation
Correlation: variables moving together. Causation: one producing the other.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What does it mean to say that a piece of sociological research is valid?
Model answer
It means the research genuinely measures what it claims to measure, giving a true picture of the thing being studied.
- 2
Distinguish between the validity and the reliability of a research method.
Model answer
Validity is whether the data are true to reality; reliability is whether the same method would produce the same data if repeated.
- 3
Why do interpretivists argue that unstructured interviews produce more valid data than questionnaires?
Model answer
Because the respondent answers in their own words and can be probed, so the data reflect their real meanings rather than the categories the researcher imposed.
- 4
What is the imposition problem in questionnaire design?
Model answer
The researcher's pre-set questions and answer options force respondents into categories that may not match how they actually think.
- 5
Explain how the Hawthorne effect threatens validity.
Model answer
People who know they are being studied change their behaviour, so the researcher records the behaviour of subjects being observed rather than normal behaviour.
- 6
Why is covert participant observation often defended on grounds of validity?
Model answer
Because the group does not know a researcher is present, so behaviour is unaffected by observation and the data record what people really do.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Key Concepts and Theories of Research revision questions
- What does Key Concepts and Theories of Research cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 9 subtopics: validity in sociological research, reliability and replication, representativeness and generalisability, objectivity, value freedom and bias, ethics as a criterion for judging research, positivism and the scientific study of society, interpretivism and verstehen, realism and the critical realist approach and choosing an approach: theory and method in practice. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Key Concepts and Theories of 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 Key Concepts and Theories of 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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