Content Analysis

Researchers can learn a vast amount about a society by analyzing cultural artifacts such as newspapers, magazines, TV programs, or popular music. Content analysis is a way of measuring by the cultural artifacts of what people write, say, see and hear. The researcher studies not people but the communications the people produce as a way of creating a picture of their society.

Content analysis is frequently used to measure cultural change and to study different aspects of culture. Sociologists also use content analysis as an indirect way to determine how social groups are perceived – they might, for example, how Asian Americans are depicted in television dramas or how women are depicted in advertisements.

Content analysis has the advantage of being unobtrusive. The research has no effect on the person being studied. Content analysis is limited in what it can study, however, because it is based only on mass communication – either visual, oral or written. It cannot tell us what people really think about these images or whether they affect people’s behaviour.

Historical Research

Historical research examines sociological themes over time. It is commonly done in historical archives such as official records, church records, town archives, private diaries, or oral histories. Handled properly, comparative and historical research is rich with the ability to capture long-term social changes and is the perfect tool for sociologists who want to ground their studies in historical or comparative perspectives.

Evaluation Research

Evaluation research evaluates the effect of policies and programs on people in society.

Suppose you want to know if an educational program is actually improving student performance. You could design a study that measured the academic performance of two groups of students, one that participates in the program and one that does not. If the academic performance of students in the program is better, and the groups are alike in other ways, you would conclude that the program was effective.

^{Task 6 (individually)}

^{Find the sociological terms that correspond to the following definitions:}

1. ^{a research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions;}

2. ^{a series of written questions a researcher supplies to subjects requesting their responses;}

3. ^{a series of questions a researcher administers personally to respondents;}

4. a method in which researchers systematically observe people while joining in their routine activities;

5. a type of secondary analysis which supposes counting or coding of the content of written, aural, or visual materials, such as television and radio programming, novels, magazines, and advertisements.

^{Task 7} Decide is the following statements are advantages or disadvantages and what technique they describe (the survey: polls, questionnaires or interviews; participant observation, controlled experiment, content analysis, historical research or evaluation research):

1) saves time in data collection, takes into account differences over time;

2) is very time-consuming;

3) permits the study of a large number of variables;

4) studies actual behaviour in its home setting;

5) difficult to measure nuances in people’s attitudes;

6) limited by studying only cultural products or artifacts;

7) a way of measuring “culture”, is unobtrusive;

8) focuses on only two or three variables; can study cause and effect;

9) data often reflects biases of the original researcher and reflect cultural norms that were in effect when the data were collected;

10) evaluates the actual results of a program or strategy; often has direct policy application.

Task 8 (in groups of 3-4) Work with your groupmates and make a list of factors that, in your opinion, would lead a sociologist to select one method of research over another?

Module 10.

^{Task 1 Read the following passages about careers in sociology. Range them as:}

^{*** - most appealing to you as a future Sociology graduate;}

^{** - rather appealing;}

^{* - not appealing at all.}

^{Share your opinion with the group to find out what are the most appealing areas, in which your groupmates would like to find their employment.}

¹⁾ Sociologists may specialize in families or children; the urban community; education; health and medicine; ageing and the life course; the environment, science, and technology; economics, social inequality, and social class; sex and gender; sports; culture and the arts; politics; crime, delinquency, law, and justice; social change and social movements; and any other areas of human organization.

²⁾ For many persons, teaching seems a desirable occupation which provides considerable job security and the satisfaction of providing knowledge and stimulation to students who respond with respect and appreciation.

³⁾ Clinical sociologists may carry out interventions at the individual, group, organizational, community and/or societal levels and they are experts in counseling, social and environmental impact assessment, evaluation, facilitation, and mediation and techniques of conflict resolution (between couples, ethnic groups, communities, even nation-states).

⁴⁾ Some sociologists are employed in business organizations and social services where they use their sociological training to address issues such as poverty, crime and delinquency.

⁵⁾ Sociologists are frequently called upon as experts for the governmental institutions, by the media, by state and federal agencies, and by private organizations to consult on a variety of subjects.

^{Now read the text and fill in the gaps with the passages given above.}

Text 1. Careers in Sociology

Most students who take sociology courses do not become professional sociologists, but the skills acquired prepare them for a variety of careers. Sociology is a rewarding field to convey to others. It combines the importance of social relevance with the rigor of a scientific discipline. It includes a broad range of subject matter, since all forms of social behavior are potential objects of sociological study. Sociology is not only being taught to future sociologists and to undergraduate students as part of their liberal arts or vocational education, but it is also included in the programs of many professions, such as law, education, business, medicine, engineering, social work, and nursing. In addition to the standard college and university courses, sociology courses are frequently offered in adult and continuing education programs and are increasingly prominent in the nation's high schools. Still, there are three major areas in which sociologists can find employment: teaching, research and sociological practice.

A substantial majority of sociologists teach in one setting or another-high schools, two-year colleges, four-year colleges, or university graduate departments.____________________________ __________________________ .

Research is second to teaching as the most common career option within sociology. Note, however, that there is not necessarily a choice between teaching and research. Many teaching positions, particularly in universities, require research activities. This is the basis for the academic cliché: “publish or perish." Sociologists develop their scientific interests in different ways. They pursue diverse specialty subjects within the field as a whole. ______________________________ _______________________________________ .

Sociological practice refers to positions that involve "applied" or "clinical" sociology. Applied sociology is knowledge directed to understanding immediate problems and their solutions. Clinical sociology extends into involvement in the world by intervening in social settings using a wide range of techniques to help guide the process of change. _________________________ _____________________________________________ . These approaches all have one thing in common they help citizens, groups, organizations or government to identify problems and their deeper causes and to suggest possible strategies for solutions.

In addition to their work as teachers or researchers, sociologists have become more active in the formation of public policy. Their research and theory are often the basis for changes in public policy. ____________________________________________________________________ ________________ .

Other examples of the impact of sociological on social policy are numerous. Sociologists use their sociological imagination to affect change in a variety of areas. Some sociologists hold positions of political officers. Other sociologists have worked in their communities to deliver more effective social services. ________________________________________________________ .

^{Task 2 . Find in the texts the words and word combinations that can be translated as:}

^{- приобретенные навыки;}

^{- наиболее распространенный вариант карьеры;}

^{- требовать исследовательскую деятельность;}

^{- оказывать влияние на процесс изменения;}

^{- выявлять проблемы и их глубинные причины;}

^{- социальное неравенство;}

^{- уважение и высокая оценка;}

^{- оценка влияния общества и окружающей среды;}

^{- иметь отношение к проблемам.}

^{Task 3 . Using the vocabulary and the information about career paths, write down a paragraph describing your future priorities in the area of sociological employment.}

Text 2. Careers in Sociology: Talking with Graduates

^{Task 1 (individually, then in pairs) What do you know about possible careers in sociology? Imagine you have a chance to talk to a Sociology graduate, what questions would you ask him/her about his/her current occupation? Write down possible questions}

1. ^{__________________________________________________________________ ?}

2. ^{__________________________________________________________________ ?}

3. ^{__________________________________________________________________ ?}

4. ^{__________________________________________________________________ ?}

5. ^{__________________________________________________________________ ?}

^{Now read the scripts of the interviews with BSU Sociology graduates.}

^{Group A reads about Iryne and Group B reads about Anna.}

^{See if you can find any answers to your questions. Share with the class the answers you have found.}