Sociology Research Methods: Crash Course Sociology #4

Today we’re talking about how we actually DO sociology. Nicole explains the research method: form a question and a hypothesis, collect data, and analyze that data to contribute to our theories about society.

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Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?

[jvgama]

This is my favorite "Crash Course" so far. It is not only because the subject is interesting (almost "crash course" series have interesting topics), and not because this is my area (which is not: I majored in physics and am doing a PhD in economics).

What I am loving in this Crash Course is that the presenter doesn't feel the need to "force a joke" every 40s to maintain the viewer's attention (as it is the case in almost all the other courses). Instead she prefers to address complex topics using simple and succinct sentences, and express her own enthusiasm by the topic. Then, what keeps our attention is the material itself.

Congratulations!!

[steampunkerella]

i dunno i think ice cream being The Main Instigator is worth consideration

[pirate]

In an analysis of 38 comments on this video, 9 explicitly argued that sociology is not a science. Based on this, I have concluded that 23.7% of Crash Course Sociology viewers are wasting their time for the sake of being annoying (for the purposes of this study, "edgy" is synonymous with "annoying"). Is that "hard" enough science for you?

[ycordero]

I laughed and then proceeded to high five the screen when you said "That doesn't make you a sociologist. Sorry." - thank you Crash Course team! You're killing it with this subject too.

[Ermude]

4:32 That I - vi - ii - V chord progression though!

[JohanWinqvistTesseract]

Someone I heard once pointed out that sociology isn't rocket science. In rocket science the variables are easy enough to comprehend that most of the time the scientist can understand all of them and get the result exactly right. Sociology is a much more complex field of science than that.

[dineshsaimenon]

Hi CrashCourse,
She is great. She really makes sociology interesting.

She talks too fast tho. 4 videos in and I get a splitting headache just to keep up.

She is great thought. Love this. Please maybe slow down a little.

Btw, Don't forget to be awesome.

[hedgehog]

I'm really loving the detailed explanation of the underlying method, logic and philosophy in this series. Partly because I can relate it to stuff I already have learned in other fields.

[taniapandia]

The research method explanation in this crash course sociology series is much more comprehensive than the one in psychology. I'm majoring in psychology, and I'm surprised that there are lots of stuff I've studied in psychology that have intersection with sociology (especially the research method). So this series actually helps me a lot to comprehend my field of study and to construct a bigger and broader concept of humanity in my head.

Also, I really like the host! I think you're my favorite one so far, beside Hank.

[rizkaherdiani]

I'm self-taught in studying sociology and this series definitely helps me in understanding more of the subject (even though i'm obligated to be more focused on studying maths and science since i'm currently a high school student majoring in mathematics and sciences)

[marvinedwards]

I think its great you guys finally got around to Sociology. I think that most people who went to college in the good ol' days got introductory sociology and psychology courses in the first two years. Everyone needs the basics for the sake of general intelligence.

[uglyroboticscot]

I’m going to use this to help me pass my first year of my degree you explain it so easy it’s so vague in my academic course books

[sheharyaralimirza]

Watch the video in 0.75x speed
Thank me later

[MB-towf]

I am a sociologist. I am currently writing a thesis in sociology. And, I can tell you, it is *NOT* a science in the same way biology, physics and chemistry is a science. *HOWEVER*, the hard sciences can not predict things that the sociological research methods can. It can not predict SOCIAL and HUMAN behaviour. For example, I did a research report last year on how a new disability policy in Australia may potentially impact people living with a disability who are from Middle Eastern backgrounds. I conducted interviews and listened to their stories.

The results were telling. Most literature tells us that Middle Eastern migrants with a disability tend to segregate themselves from mainstream society and keep to themselves and not want help from our services. My research discovered that these people actively yearn for help and want it but have no idea how to access it because of language impediments and cultural shocks. Long story short, through sociological research, the organisation changed its disability outreaching policy and ultimately bettered the lives of those people.

This is what sociology is for, ladies and gentlemen. Traditional hard sciences can not tell us how people could potentially be impacted by a new public policy, nor can it tell us how people living with a mental illness personally understand and make sense of their conditions, nor can it tell us when the next revolution or civil war may happen.

Human behaviour is *UNPREDICTABLE*, and we just can not reply on the hard sciences for this. This is why we have *SOCIAL SCIENCES*.

Unfortunately, SJWs have hijacked sociology and completely ruined its reputation. This attack against sociology must stop. I am considering starting a YouTube channel on it. Would anyone be interested?

[CrazyRachel]

Wow I totally get all this sociology stuff?! ...and I don't "get" anything!
I love the thought of blowing the top off of social concepts and stigmas. May have found my calling

[kamykasedu]

Really an amazing job that you're doing here with this course ! I finished my bachelor degree in Sociology last year, and it's a real pleasure to watch your videos and get a reminder of all that I've learned :)
But there's one thing that tickled me : what about the bias that comes from your subject knowing that you're observing ?
Plus, there are some fields that you can't get access to, or you won't be able to conduct your study properly if you show yourself as a researcher (take for example the study of work conditions in an Amazon warehouse). Sociology as it intends to unveil how society works, which often means dealing with systemic oppression and concrete agents that benefit from that oppression, sometimes has to work hidden when collecting data.

[tasheemhargrove]

Last week I suggested Sociologists should approach observation the way other scientists approach the observation of other animals, such as lions, wolves etc. I had no idea there is an "institutional review board" which forces Sociologists to receive consent from their subjects.

I can only imagine this makes the sociologist's job harder when trying to find objective facts about communities, a culture, or society. Like I've said before, observation without your subject's consent is the best way to figure out what's really going on. If I'm not mistaken, research (I don't remember what field) has been done revealing the difference between human behavior when the human knowns he/she is being watched, and when the human doesn't know he/she is being watched. It turns out, people act differently when they know they have an audience. If other scientists needed a lion's or a shark's informed consent for observation, we'd know nothing about sharks and lions.

This was a good episode, though. I learned some things. I'm glad Crash Course decided to create this course.

[lorenzoblanco]

Bravo, Nicole Sweeney! I'm an economist and I LOVE this series and recommending it to my students. Thanks for your work! Keep it up!

[Hunter]

Managed to get here before the "sociology isn't a science" comments.

[Helmutt]

Great work on these videos! looking forward to the next one!