Sociological Theories, Research Methods, and Ethics - Task Report

This report provides an overview of sociological theories and research methods. It evaluates functionalism and feminism perspectives, focusing on reducing inequalities and improving living standards. The report also examines qualitative and quantitative research methods used to study immigration in the UK, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Furthermore, it identifies and explains the ethical considerations required of sociologists when conducting research on subcultural and vulnerable groups, emphasizing the importance of protecting their rights and cultural values. Desklib offers a platform for students to access this and other valuable study resources.

Introduction to Sociological Theories and Research Methods
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................4
Drawing on two Sociological Perspectives (Functionalism, Marxism, New Right, Feminism,
Post- Modernism), evaluate the view that differences between in life chances between social
group result of various social factors. Discuss the impact of social factor may have in
individuals and the implications it has on society......................................................................4
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................6
Drawing on the knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, evaluate the
claims and highlight the strengths and weakness of each research method...............................6
Task 3.........................................................................................................................................9
Identify and explain the ethical considerations that are required of sociologists when
conducting research into (a) Subcultural group (b) Vulnerable group......................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Numerous theories have been given by the people in the sociology so to improve the
practices and lead to effective utilisation of resources. The report will explain the theory of
functionalism and Feminism that gives it major focus on reducing the gender gap, poverty,
regional difference etc. to improve the living standard of people in the UK. The qualitative
and quantitative methods will also be demonstrated in the report that has been adopted to
identify the rate of immigration and the reasons for immigration that take place in the UK.
The ethical standard required by the sociologist in vulnerable and subcultural will also be
discussed in the further report.
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Task 1
Drawing on two Sociological Perspectives (Functionalism, Marxism, New Right,
Feminism, Post- Modernism), evaluate the view that differences between in life chances
between social group result of various social factors. Discuss the impact of social factor
may have in individuals and the implications it has on society.
Introduction
Sociology can be referred as the study of social facts. It also involves many patterns of social
relationship, culture and social interaction. Also, it is considered as social science which takes
help of different methods of empirical research as well as critical analysis to increase the
knowledge of the social order, change and acceptance. There are various perspectives of
sociology such as Marxism, feminism, new right and functionalism. All sociological
perspective is different from each other and focuses on some different topic as well as issues.
This essay is based on two most significant sociological theories which are feminism and
functionalism.
There are many sociologists in the world that developed different theories for describing the
social phenomena. Mainly this type of theory focuses on that how a particular phenomenon
occurs. Sociological theories can be ranged from grand to highly contextualized as well as
particular micro range theories. There are many theories and perspective in sociology which
are different from each other. Sociological theories are considered as highly prominent
because they help a lot in understanding and evaluating the social life. The concepts and
theories of sociology can be cited and used precisely because they endured great criticism
deals. There are various popular sociological perspectives like New Right, Marxism, Post-
Modernism, Feminism and Functionalism (Benjamin, 2013).
The functionalist perspective of sociology is also known as functionalism which is a most
significant aspect of society and contributes a lot to society’s functioning system. The most
important role of legal authority is to provide education to children whose family pay taxes to
the government. The legal bodies charge tax so that it can run its daily functions in most
effective as well as in a systematic manner. Different families pay small and big taxes to
consider that it will provide good job opportunities to their children in future. When this
process operates in a systematic manner then it supports the states and also social groups
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increase their stability as well as productivity (Fuss, 2013). But in case, all does not go well
social groups should adopt new orders and production methods.
For substance, in case of recession period rate of inflation, unemployment and social program
get decreased. In this type of situation, families minimise their budget and also rate of school
programs also get decreased. According to functionalism perspective, there are two social
consensuses which are organic and mechanical solidarity. The organic solidarity is that form
of social cohesion which takes place when the social group are independent but holds their
beliefs and values and engages in a different kind of work. Mainly, it occurs in complex and
industrialized societies. Apart from this, mechanical solidarity is that social cohesion when
general public maintains their same beliefs as well as values and also do the same type of
work (Isajiw, 2013). Mainly it occurs in simple and traditional societies where most of the
people herd cattle and farm.
There are many limitations of this functionalism perspective because it gets criticized for
being powerless to justify social change. This perspective gives core attention to social order
and society’s equilibrium. This sociological theory mainly focuses on values, behaviour and
social class of people. There are some other philosophical problems with functionalism
perspective. The biggest issues with this theory are that societies do not have any needs like
human. Even if societies will show their needs they cannot fulfil it. The other criticism is that
it supports the status quo. Functionalism perspective increases the chances of challenge and
conflict in status quo which is very much harmful for society. This is the main reason which
increases the level of conservative thinkers.
Apart from functionalism perspective, feminism perspective is another theory of sociology
which is similar to conflict perspective. This theory helps a lot in understanding the nature of
inequalities, gender and examining women’s social experience, interest and experience.
According to this theory, social groups should give core attention to women’s interest and
also should organise many programs to promote them (Mulkay, 2014). The major function of
feminist theory is to determine the reinforcement of gender inequalities ad roles. In modern
time, all social groups are encouraging women right and empowerment so that they can also
have right to say their problems and issues. Feminism perspective is also divided into
subparts which are cultural, liberal, socialist, radical, womanism and anarcha-feminism. This
sociological perspective gives core attention to gender and inequalities. Also, it helps in
promoting the right and interest of women in front of general public.
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Conclusion
Functionalism and feminism play a most essential role in sociology. Both are the major
perspective of sociology where feminism talks about gender, inequalities and promoting
women’s interest. On the other side, functionalisms which make a huge difference in social
groups and their life chances. In upcoming future, societies should focus on the interest of
women and also should develop same beliefs so that they can easily work with each other.
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Task 2
Drawing on the knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods, evaluate
the claims and highlight the strengths and weakness of each research method
Research Methodology
A research method can be defined as systematically planning for conducting the planned
research. The research is carried out to describe, determine, and predict a phenomena and
these research contribute in enhancing the knowledge regarding a particular research. The
research can be broadly divided into two main categories, qualitative and quantitative
methods.
Qualitative Methods
This method is considered as the logical strategy to conducting the research since it compares
the particular part and identifies the components that are risky and admirable. There are
positive and negative opinions that are identified and the research explores the opportunities
that can be utilised to resolve the issues related to the authenticity of the claims made by the
newspapers regarding the flow of migrants into the UK region. Qualitative techniques can be
used by the following ways:
Sampling: Under this method, the people are selected by the pre-defined criteria and various
questions related to migrants are asked. This enables to collect correct information and
accurate analysis can be made by analysing this data.
Observation: This method is used to analyse the people’s perception regarding the migrants
and the ways in which the inflow of migrants can be controlled. This can be analysed by the
information that the people are attracted towards the region looking for the job and enhancing
their career prospects (BBC News, 2017). One more reason for the increase is to study in the
UK institutions which are highly-valued for providing quality education to the students.
Interviews: The interviews are conducted to ascertain the validity of the facts and people
with different background are selected for conducting interviews. The professionals and
experts are also interviewed to analyse their opinion related to the incoming migrant
population. The UK government has asked panel of experts to examine the current situation
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and analyse the impact of migrants. Experts have provided a positive opinion about the
incoming migrant population and they raise no concern about the rising number of migrant
students (Elgot, 2017). Hence, by analysing the views and opinions, the data is collected and
an appropriate conclusion will be drawn.
Quantitative Methods
In this method, graphs and numbers are used to indicate the data which helps to understand
the data easily. The data is converted to the numbers by using mathematical formulae and
shortened to arrive at a quick conclusion related to the validity of the issue. The data is
collected by:
Surveys: The government conducts regular surveys to ascertain the number of people
entering the UK region for a particular period. As per the report submitted by Office for
National Statistics (2016), the latest migration to the UK is estimated at 244,000 and it is
indicated by using the following graph:
Figure 1: Migration Statistics
Source: (Office for National Statistics, 2016).
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The graphs and diagrams also help to compare the data with the previous years and hence, the
sudden increase and decrease in the migrant population can also be identified. Hence, these
data is used by the government to implement various strategies to resolve the issues.
The origin of the migrant population can also be ascertained by using the diagrams which can
be indicated as:
Figure 2: The Immigration Bill, Migrants and Benefits
Source: (Full Fact, 2013).
Hence, it can be stated that there is an increase in the migrant population in the region and
there are various reasons for this increase. Primary reasons are education and work and
government has provided various facilities for the students and job-seekers. The experts
opine that the region has been able to gain from the outside countries and which is a positive
sign for the region.
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Task 3
Identify and explain the ethical considerations that are required of sociologists when
conducting research into (a) Subcultural group (b) Vulnerable group
Subcultural Group- The culture of the people that makes them different from the parent
culture. They have their own values, culture, norms that are different from the others. The
sociologist for conducting the research needs to adopt the professional code so that it can
protect the values of the people in the society and make them to participate in the decision
making of the organisation. They need to be honest, loyal and respectful of the searching or
teaching the other people knowing their culture and cultural values. The respect needs to be
made to each to every individual in the group so that they can make their effective
contribution to the decision-making process (Ballantine and Hammack, 2015).
Vulnerable group- these are the group of people who are vulnerable to disaster or strike and
they are the people who are suffered the most from the disaster. The sociologist needs to
protect the rights of the people in the group so that they can be made to be provided with the
basic needs to sustain in life. The equality needs to be provided to every individual those
who participate in vulnerable groups and its welfare. The equality needs to be provided with
integrity to children to old people so that they can respect the culture of each other (Harriss
and Atkinson, 2015).
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Conclusion
The report gives its major focus on the two major theories that have been adopted by the
sociologist that is feminism and functionalism so that it can reduce the poverty and lead to
provide the equal right to people in the country. The qualitative and quantitative methods
have also been explained in the above report that demonstrates about the immigration and the
reasons for the rate of increasing the rate of people in migrating from one place to another.
The ethical standard that needs to be adopted by the sociologist for the research in the
subcultural and vulnerable group has also been discussed in the above report.
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References
 Ballantine, J. and Hammack, F.M., 2015. The sociology of education: A systematic
analysis. Routledge.
 BBC News, 2017. Reality Check: Migration to the UK, [Online] BBC News, Available
at: http://www.bbc.com/news/election-2017-40015269, [Accessed: 22 March 2018]
 Benjamin, J., 2013. The bonds of love: Psychoanalysis, feminism, & the problem of
domination. Pantheon.
 Elgot, J., 2017. Expert panel to assess impact of international students on UK jobs,
[Online] The Guardian, Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/24/expert-panel-impact-international-
students-uk-jobs-migration-advisory-committee, [Accessed: 22 March 2018]
 Full Facts, 2013. The Immigration Bill, migrants and benefits, [Online] Full Facts,
Available at: https://fullfact.org/immigration/immigration-bill-migrants-and-benefits/,
[Accessed: 22 March 2018]
 Fuss, D., 2013. Essentially speaking: Feminism, nature and difference. Routledge.
 Harriss, D.J. and Atkinson, G., 2015. Ethical standards in sport and exercise science
research: 2016 update. Int J Sports Med, vol. 36(14), pp.1121-1124.
 Isajiw, W.W., 2013. Causation and functionalism in sociology. Routledge.
 Mulkay, M., 2014. Functionalism, Exchange and Theoretical Strategy (RLE Social
Theory). Routledge.
 Office for National Statistics, 2016. Migration Statistics Quarterly Report: February
2016, [Online] Office for National Statistics, Available at:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/
internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/february2016,
[Accessed: 22 March 2018]
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