Chapter 1 Outline

This chapter begins by introducing you to the origin of the term sociology coined by Auguste Comte. It also discusses the formation of this subject as a discipline with a particular focus on the systematic study of human society. In this instance, it highlights the important distinction between society, the largest human group to share institutions and territory, and culture, a system of behaviour, beliefs, knowledge, practices, values, and materials.

The chapter explains C. Wright Mills’ conceptualization of the sociological imagination. You will learn how seeing individual troubles as public issues remains at the heart of this conceptualization and sociological research generally.

Sociological research occurs within three core foci: social inequality, social institutions, and social change. These foci are supplemented by the three core aims of sociology, which are (1) to define general themes in everyday life, (2) to critically determine what constitutes common sense and why, and (3) to look at how individuals are shaped by society and, in turn, shape it.

You also learn in this chapter about the sociological research undertaken by one of the first sociologists, Émile Durkheim, who systematically studied suicide in European countries. Durkheim noted how different sociology was from philosophy, a popular academic discipline in his day, due to its reliance on empirical research. Sociology was also unique because it focused on social facts, or the external social structures, norms, and values that shape the actions of individuals. These social facts proved suicide was not merely an individual’s decision as many scholars initially thought. Rather, suicide patterns were affected by the social context in which they took place.

Finally, in this chapter you learn more about quantitative and qualitative sociology and the research methods of both approaches. Quantitative sociology is based on surveys and experiments whereas qualitative sociology is based on interviews and observation.