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
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary
- 12 subtopics
- 36 things to know
- AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4
What Research Methods: Primary and Secondary covers
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary is examined in Unit 2 Section A, Methods of Sociological Enquiry, and drawn on again in Unit 4. It covers questionnaires, structured interviews, unstructured and semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observation, non-participant and structured observation, the social survey, ethnographic methods, longitudinal studies, existing sociological research as secondary data, official statistics and Welsh Government data and personal and public documents.
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 12 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- QuestionnairesClosed and an open question, why questionnaires are popular with positivists and two practical advantages of a postal questionnaire.Open →
- Structured interviewsStructured interview, interview schedule and interviewer bias.Open →
- Unstructured and semi-structured interviewsUnstructured interview, semi-structured interview and group interview.Open →
- Focus groupsFocus group and role of the moderator.Open →
- Participant observationParticipant observation, main ethical objection to covert observation and gaining access to a group.Open →
- Non-participant and structured observationNon-participant observation, structured observation and observation schedule.Open →
- The social surveySocial survey, largest regular survey of the population of England and Wales and cross-sectional survey.Open →
- Ethnographic methodsTwo techniques an ethnographer typically combines, why ethnography usually requires a long period in the field and thick description.Open →
- Longitudinal studiesLongitudinal study, cohort study and sample attrition.Open →
- Existing sociological research as secondary dataSecondary data, secondary sources a sociologist might use and one practical advantage of using existing sociological research.Open →
- Official statistics and Welsh Government dataRecall questions on what official figures cover, devolved Welsh sources, why positivists value them, how a change in recording shifts a trend, and the Marxist and interpretivist objections.Open →
- Personal and public documentsPersonal document in sociological research, personal and a public document and content analysis.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Set out the problems an ethnographer faces in relying on insiders and in publishing.
Key term
What is a questionnaire?
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What is a structured interview?
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Why do interpretivists favour unstructured interviews?
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What is a focus group?
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What is participant observation?
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What is non-participant observation?
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What is a social survey?
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What is a longitudinal study?
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What is secondary data?
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What is a personal document in sociological research?
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Distinguish between a closed and an open question.
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How does a structured interview differ from a postal questionnaire?
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Give one reason unstructured interviews are low in reliability.
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How large is a typical focus group?
Evaluation
Give one advantage of overt participant observation.
Key term
What is structured observation?
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How often is the census of England and Wales carried out?
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What is ethnography?
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What is a cohort study?
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Give two examples of secondary sources a sociologist might use.
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What are official statistics?
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Give three examples of documents a sociologist might analyse.
Evaluation
Give one advantage of closed questions.
Evaluation
Give one advantage a structured interview has over a postal questionnaire.
Key term
State two practical drawbacks of unstructured interviewing.
Evaluation
Explain the main advantage of a focus group over individual interviews.
Evaluation
Give one advantage of covert participant observation.
Key term
What is an observation schedule?
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What is a cross-sectional survey?
Key term
Which theoretical tradition is ethnography most associated with?
Key term
Explain how a longitudinal study can distinguish an age effect from a generational effect.
Evaluation
State one practical advantage of using existing sociological research.
Key term
Name three areas of social life covered by official statistics.
Key term
Distinguish between a personal and a public document.
Take Research Methods: Primary and Secondary further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Content analysis vs Thick description
Content analysis: the counting of defined categories in a document or media text. Thick description: an account that records the context and meanings which make an action intelligible.
Primary data vs Secondary data
Primary data: information gathered first-hand by the researcher for the current study. Secondary data: information that already exists, collected by others for another purpose.
Structured interview vs Unstructured interview
Structured interview: an interview that follows a fixed schedule of questions in a fixed order. Unstructured interview: an interview that follows wherever the respondent takes it.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a questionnaire?
Model answer
A set of written questions given to respondents to complete, usually with the same wording for everyone.
- 2
Distinguish between a closed and an open question.
Model answer
A closed question offers fixed answer options to choose from; an open question lets the respondent answer in their own words.
- 3
Give one advantage of closed questions.
Model answer
The answers are pre-coded, so large numbers of responses can be counted and compared quickly.
- 4
Give one advantage of open questions in a questionnaire.
Model answer
They allow respondents to raise things the researcher had not thought of, producing richer and more valid detail.
- 5
Why are questionnaires described as a detached method?
Model answer
The researcher is not present when the questions are answered, so there is no personal interaction to influence the reply.
- 6
Explain why questionnaires are popular with positivists.
Model answer
They are standardised, easily repeated and generate quantitative data from large representative samples, which allows patterns to be tested.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Research Methods: Primary and Secondary revision questions
- What does Research Methods: Primary and Secondary cover in WJEC A-Level Sociology?
- 12 subtopics: questionnaires, structured interviews, unstructured and semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participant observation, non-participant and structured observation, the social survey, ethnographic methods, longitudinal studies, existing sociological research as secondary data, official statistics and welsh government data and personal and public documents. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Research Methods: Primary and Secondary organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5237-0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Research Methods: Primary and Secondary, 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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