The Sociological Detectives: Trial: And Error

The latest addition to the burgeoning Sociological Detectives™ Universe is a role-playing simulation of the Research Process – and Popper’s Hypothetico-Deductive Model of Scientific Research in particular – that uses the analogy of a criminal investigation to help students understand and experience how and why the research process is structured. The simulation takes the students […]

A Science of Falling in Love?

Poets, historians and philosophers have, for centuries, provided answers to age-old questions like: Why do we fall in love? What makes us fall in love? And what happens to love once the first fiery spike of attraction fades? But more-recently scientists have joined the debate to explore “the brain in love” and this short film, […]

Sociological Stories: Sociology and Science

The next Presentation in the Sociological Stories season is built around the relationship between Sociology and Science and covers four main areas: What is science? Is sociology a science? Value-freedom Types of data Included in these 4 sections are stories about various sociological methodologies (Positivism, Neo-Positivism, Interpretivism, Realism), types of data (primary, secondary, quantitative, qualitative) […]

Gender and Subject Choice: Archer et al (2013)

The relationship between gender and subject choice in post-16 UK education is both persistent and well-known and has produced a range of explanations – some sociological, some not (Skelton et al (2007), for example, note the widespread belief  ‘natural’ differences – babies are born with an inbuilt biological and / or genetic predilection – “push […]

Sociology Now: another free sociology text

Sociology Now is an American textbook currently on its 3rd edition of which this, probably-needless-to-say-but-I-will-anyway, isn’t it. Instead we have what may or may not be the 2nd edition hailing from 2012. I say “may or may not” because it describes itself as the “2010 Census edition”. And while this, in the words of the […]

Year 13 Sociology

A previous post (Year 12 Sociology) outlined a range of resources created by Stephanie Parsons to support AQA Paper 1 topics (Introduction to Sociology, Family, Education) and this post points you in the general direction of her 2nd year A-level site, Year 13 Sociology. The landing page has a mix of posts on a range […]

Of Methods and Methodology: 2. Interpretivism

A methodology is a framework for research that focuses on how it is possible to collect reliable and valid data about, in this instance, the social world. It’s shaped by two main considerations: 1. Our beliefs about the fundamental nature of the social world (ontological concerns). 2. How we believe is possible to construct knowledge […]

Of Methods and Methodology: 1. Positivism

A methodology is a framework for research that focuses on how it is possible to collect reliable and valid data about, in this instance, the social world. It’s shaped by two main considerations: 1. Our beliefs about the fundamental nature of the social world (ontological concerns). 2. How we believe is possible to construct knowledge […]

Sociology in Focus for A2: Beliefs in Society Resources

Having completed the resources for the free AS Textbook it now leaves me free to focus on the last couple of resource sets for the equally-free A2 Textbook. Having posted resources for Media, Crime and Methodology (which sounds like an interesting module but is, in reality, just three different sets of resources), the penultimate set […]

Sociology Revision Booklets: 2. Theory and Methods

The second batch of a-level revision booklets covers that ever-popular topic, theory and methods. As with previous offerings, both design and content can, at times, be a little variable and for this I take no responsibility whatsoever. Because I neither designed nor wrote any of the content. I am technically distributing it for your revision […]