- Is the quality of the mind essential to grasp the interplay of men and society, of biography and history, and of self.

-Is a distinctive point of view that the social world guides our actions, thinking, and life choices.

Maciones(1997)

A. Seeing the general in the Particular:There are general patterns in the behavior of particular individuals. Society acts differently on various categories of people – e.g., children vs. adults; women vs. men; educated vs. illiterate; rich vs. poor. The general categories into which we happen to fall shape our particular life experiences.

B. Seeing the strange in the familiar:Society guides our thoughts and deeds. Human behavior is not just simply a matter of what people decide to do. E.g., when a society becomes industrialized, a peasant becomes a laborer, factory worker, etc.; when war happens, a store clerk becomes a rocket launcher; a wife lives alone; a child grows up with a father.

C. Human behavior is not as individualistic as we think, but rather social forces affect human behavior:

Ex. Durkheim’s study on suicide showed that some categories of people were more likely than others to choose to take their own lives. He found: “Men, Protestants, wealthy people, and the unmarried had significantly higher suicide rates compared to women, Catholics and Jews, the poor and the married people. He deduced that these differences corresponded to people’s degree of social integration. Low suicide rates characterized categories of people with strong social ties; high suicide rates were found among those who were socially isolated and individualistic.

D. Sociological perspective has a global perspective, the study of the larger world and our society’s place in it:

Global awareness, seeing the world as a global village, is a logical extension of the sociological perspective. Where we are placed in our society profoundly affects our individual experience. Our global village indicates that people the world over are far from equal in their quality of life.

1. High-income countries are industrialized nations in which most people enjoy material abundance (e.g. USA, Canada, Western Europe, Israel, Japan, Australia, and other first world countries)

2. Middle-income countries are nations characterized by limited industrialization and moderate personal income- e.g. second world countries-Eastern Europe and Latin American.

3. Low-income countries are nations with little industrialization and with severe poverty is the rule-e.g., in Africa and Asia.

- Refers to scientific investigation or intellectual and rigorous research in particular issue, problem, concern, event or situation for a better understanding of the same.

- It is concerned with the repetitive patterns in human behavior, presented according to logically related hypotheses and supported by empirical evidence. To be meaningful, these facts have to be ordered according to a conceptual scheme or theoretical framework.

(Panopio, 2004)

- Refers to a person with professional knowledge and skills in studying the facts of society and social behavior through rigorous scientific inquiry in order to arrive at certain generalizations and truths about social life and society.

- The main task of the sociologists is to study human groups and furnish the specialized sciences with the scientific data they need to carry on their work successfully.

The Basic Goal of Sociological Inquiry is:

- Obtain a better understanding of society and the interactions, social relations, social phenomena, social behavior, and social processes taking place within it.

- It seeks to discover social reality as it is supported by verifiable facts and data as empirical evidence

Defining the problem

Reviewing the Literature

Forming a hypothesis

Choosing a research design

Selecting a topic for research and defining key concepts

Familiarizing oneself with the existing theory and research on the topic

Defining the relationship between measurable variables so that they can be measured and the hypothesis tested

Selecting a method for study

Communicating the results of the study

Drawing conclusions

Analyzing the data

Collecting the dataCollecting the information that will test the hypothesis

Working with and examining the data to shed light on the hypothesis

Summarizing the outcome of the study, indicating its significance, relating the findings to existing theory and research, and identifying problems for future

research

A. Experiment:- Exposes subjects to a specially designed situation.

Offers the most effective technique for establishing a cause-and-effect relationship.

B. Survey:- Uses either questionnaires or interviews, or both, to

learn how people think, feel, or act. Procedure for gathering information from a large number of people.

C. Case Study:- Intensive study and examination of a person or a

specific group , organization or institution is carried out. It enables one to examine a particular subject in depth for it involves examination of subject over a long period of time.

D. Field Observation or Participant Observation:- Researchers deliberately involve themselves in the

activity, group, or community they are studying in order to get an insider’s view. In non-participant observation, the researcher enters the situation as a third party as he observes and records what he is studying. E. Interviewing:

- The researcher may interview subjects face-to-face or by telephone.

1. Structured/Directive:- carefully phased standard questions or schedule often with multiple choice answers- are asked in a fixed order to provide systematic and comparable data hence facilitates analysis.

2. Unstructured/Nondirective:- neither questions nor answers are pre determined, instead, the researcher let the interviewee or respondent guide the flow of the interview.

3. Historical Approach:- historical materials are analyzed. The aim is to gain insight and understanding of present social realities in the context of what took place in the past.

QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUE:- involves the examination of data from

observations, interviews and publications which are not statistical in nature.

- tools used include historical records, biographies, autobiographies, autobiographies, diaries, speeches, editorials and video tapes.

QUANTITATIVE TECHNIQUES:- involves the use of statistics which deal

with a mass of data and permit more precise statements of their relationships.

- tools used include census and vital statistics, local, national, and international reports, sampling measures, of central tendencies, measures of variability .

a. Ethical neutrality or value-free positionb. Adherence to positivism and verstehen or empathic

understandingc. Ability to discern repetitive patterns of human behavior

from a variety of social experiencesd. Sociological imagination and perspectivee. Skeptical receptivity or ‘doubting attitude’f. A persistent critical spirit. (critical mindedness)g. Skills in applying the methods, techniques and tools of

scientific inquiryh. Honesty, cooperation and industryi. Liberalism and open-mindednessj. Sensitivity to social issues and problemsk. Deep involvement and commitment in the

resolution of social problems.