Chapter 2 : Asking and Answering Sociological Questions

1. Name the five theoretical approaches the book says are theoretical approaches we could use to ask questions about behavior.

2. What are two things sociologist do when asking question that set their inquiry apart from the common sense or mere speculation of the average non-sociologist?

3. Provide an example other than the one in the book of a causal relationship. Try to use an example from the social world rather than from physics.

4. In your own words, what is an independent variable?

5. For a number of years, researchers have noticed a correlation between students' ethnicity and students' grades. Generally, white students outscore African American and Hispanic students. One possible explanation for these data is that white are smarter than non-whites. But there might be a different explanation for this correlation. Try to briefly sketch out an alternative explanation for why data on student grades look the way they do.

6. Which measure of central tendency (mean? median? mode?) would be most appropriate to characterize "typical" income in the U.S. Explain why.

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