Sociology

This multi-segment program focuses on the world of education as it addresses aspects of how to conduct sociological research. After defining what exactly constitutes research, the video defines the concepts of reliability, validity, and representativeness through a study of social interaction in schools; sheds light on essential ideas in survey research via a study of educational inequalities; considers decision-making and social capital in education while presenting the use of interviews in sociological research; and illustrates ethnography in action as it tracks a study of surveillance in schools using observational methods. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Understanding Sociology. (37 minutes)

Sociology, in a nutshell, is about why people behave in the ways that they do, and the key premise is that behavior is shaped by the contexts in which people live. Filmed in Britain and New Guinea, this multi-segment program introduces the sociological concepts of personal, social, and role identity; of primary and secondary socialization; and of culture, with its associated concepts of learned norms and values, ethnocentrism, cultural diversity, and cultural change. Contains nudity associated with indigenous cultures. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Understanding Sociology. (37 minutes)

This program is geared to students just starting out in sociology and sets out to make the subject more accessible by illustrating what's meant by a sociological problem, culture, socialization and identity. It looks at how societies not only shape how we behave but also how we see the world and takes apart the age old accusation that sociology is just ‘common sense.’

Adam suspects that most hairy dogs have balding owners. Testing his “pet” theory at a local park, he quickly finds flaws in his own experiment. This video demonstrates Adam’s second test, involving better preparation, more rigorous analysis, and an exciting pasta cook-off. Showing how Adam can effectively determine the best spaghetti recipe, the program illustrates concepts that are central to the scientific method—including null, alternative, and two-tailed hypotheses; field and lab settings; sampling; primacy/recency effects; constant/random errors; and other testing principles. Graphic screens reinforce each concept and enable students to fully absorb the testing process. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. (23 minutes)

This multi-section program explains the role of sociological theory, distinguishes between structure and action, and sheds light on three major perspectives in sociology—societies as organic structures, societies as economic structures, and societies as social action—by looking at their origins and key ideas and then showing how they can be applied. The video concludes by using a case study on the medicalization of life problems in contemporary societies as an opportunity to consider how Durkheimian, Marxist, and interactionist theories might explain that phenomenon. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Understanding Sociology. (57 minutes)

This program examines the scientific method, looking at the process from reviewing the literature to formulating a hypothesis, designing an experiment, collecting data, and analyzing results. It discusses types of research design; mean, median, and mode; correlation; and reliability and validity. It also considers research ethics.

This multi-section program addresses classical social theory, examining the origins of sociology through the efforts of Marx and Comte to build a holistic science of society; positivism, through a case study of students using surveys to do research on education; interpretivism, through a parallel case study in which students use interviews to carry out their research; and realism, comparing it to classical, positivist, and interpretivist approaches. The video also draws upon a case study of suicide to illustrate how positivist and interpretivist approaches lead researchers to ask very different questions about this key sociological topic. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. A part of the series Understanding Sociology. (41 minutes)