¶ … Sociology and Anthropology
Because sociology and anthropology are both social sciences, one might assume that the same research methods would be utilized in the different fields. However, while some of the same approaches can be used in both fields, it is important to realize that the differences in the fields make different approaches possible for each discipline. Sociology specifically examines social life, social change, and the social factors that contribute to individual behavior. Sociologists use surveys, interviews, experiments, observation, and secondary analysis (Sociology.com, 2013). Cultural anthropology examines human culture. Anthropologists employ the following research methods: participant observation, cross-cultural comparison, survey research, interviews, archival research, media analysis, and historical analysis (Donahue-Lynch, 2000). Clearly, the disciplines are related; however, they are not the same. As a result, some approaches that are appropriate for one discipline would not be appropriate for the other discipline. This paper will investigate the different research methods used in both disciplines.
One of the most popular research methods used in sociology is the survey (Sociology.com, 2014). This is because the survey can be used to collect a variety of different types of information and can be utilized in a variety of different manners. Surveys involve asking people questions. Surveys can utilize open-ended responses or fixed responses. They can be administered orally, in writing, or via the internet. In other words, surveys are flexible. The survey is not an experimental research method, but, instead, a descriptive research method (Palmquist, 2001). As a result, while surveys may be able to identify correlations, they cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect. In sociology, this limitation is acceptable, since social conditions may focus on factors that co-occur, rather than examining whether variables cause other variables to occur.
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Sociology and Cultural Anthropology Research Methods used in Sociology Closed or Structured Questionnaires and Participant Observation are among the many research methods used in sociological studies. Structured questionnaire is a quantitative research method that was postulated by Emile Durkheim. It is positivist in nature and is comprised of low researcher involvement and high respondents' participation. A questionnaire is, in fact, a series of questions posed to individuals for obtaining statistically useful information about
Anthropology: The Fundamental Social Science Anthropology is, according the American Anthropological Association, "the study of humans, past and present" (AAA, 2011). Anthropology looks at what it means to be human; it is "a field of inquiry that studies human culture and evolutionary aspects of human biology, including cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, and biological anthropology" (Jurmain, Kilgore, & Trevathan 2006: 6). It, therefore, is the fundamental social (and behavioral) science discipline that
Anthropology Career: Anthropology can broadly be defined as the study of humanity based on its evolutionary origins in the past millions of years and its current global diversity. Unlike other disciplines that focus on one or another aspect of humanity, anthropology focuses on how people plan their lives and relate to each other in interacting, interconnected groups or societies with similar beliefs and practices. Anthropologists share many interests with other disciplines
Sociology: Changing Societies in a Diverse World (Fourth Edition) George J. Bryjak & Michael P. Soroka Chapter One Summary of Key Concepts Sociology is the field of study which seeks to "describe, explain, and predict human social patterns" from a scientific perspective. And though Sociology is part of the social sciences (such as psychology and anthropology), it is quite set apart from the other disciplines in social science; that is because it emphasizes
Sociology Cooley and Mead's theories on the process of socialization as opposed to that of Freud Charles Cooley and George Herbert Mead are proponents of a similar theory of socialization. Cooley uses the metaphor of the looking glass to explain how a child uses others' perception of himself to understand himself and develop an identity. According to Cooley, each of us closely monitors how others react to us and adjust our behavior
Safety standards are highly ignored in order to save the overall costs and produce cheap goods and products (Collier, Dollar & World Bank, 2002). The globalization has also intensified and elevated the level of competition due to which job insecurity, in particular has become one of the major determinants of globalization. While comparing the results of the previous and recent researches, one can easily enlighten that few decades back, employment
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