3. Subcultures in Russia. Unit 10. Sociology and science

Warm up

Exercise 1. Match the English words on the left with their Russian equivalents on the right. Learn the words by heart.

1. a scientific method	а) причина, мотив;
2. a researcher	b) точность;
3. accuracy	c) законность, справедливость;
4. to verify	d) научный метод;
5. to indicate	e) здравый смысл;
6. cause	f) проверять, устанавливать истинность;
7. view	g) внимательное изучение;
8. common sense	h) указывать;
9. validity	i) исследователь, научный работник;
10. scrutiny	j) взгляд, точка зрения.

READING

Exercise 2. Read and translate the following text. Use the dictionary when necessary.

Science, Sociology, and Common Sense

The scientific method began to emerge in the seventeenth century, the age of Galileo and Newton. Sociology was created as part of the development and expansion of science that followed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Fundamental to the scientific method is the careful collection of data (facts, statistics, study results, and other pieces of observable information). These data are recorded and made available to other researchers so that their accuracy can be verified. Data are the raw materials of science. It is from data that scientific theories are built.

A theory is a systematic and formal explanation of how two or more phenomena are related to each other. Scientific theories usually try to indicate cause and effect. They say which factors are causing others and which of the various causes are most important. Some sociological theories are very narrow; they focus on only one small aspect of social life, often exploring the relationship between just two factors in a fairly specific setting. These are called local theories. An example is the theory that intergroup prejudice is caused by intense competition for scarce and valuable rewards (land, jobs, income, prestige, and so forth). At the other extreme are sociological theories that try to explain how a number of social factors all fit together. The most comprehensive of these are called general theories, while those that are less comprehensive are called middle-range theories. All theories, however, regardless of their scope, must be systematically tested before they can be tentatively accepted. Such testing involves conducting studies and seeing if the results are consistent with the theory’s predictions. In this way, unsubstantiated theories can be revised or discarded.

Because it is created using systematic, scientific procedures, sociological knowledge differs from knowledge based on common sense. Common-sense views about society and social relationships derive from people’s personal experiences. As such, they are always deeply biased by the limits of that experience, for most people personally encounter only some of the social conditions and forces that actually exist. Common-sense views are also limited in the sense that they are never organized into systematic theories and so are never checked for accuracy against all the known facts. Science, in contrast, goes beyond common sense by methodically amassing a large quantity of data and rigorously testing all plausible explanations of the observed information.

This is not to say that common-sense ideas are always incorrect. Sometimes our intuitive notions about how society works turn out to be quite accurate. Other times, however, our common-sense judgments are wrong, or they contain only a measure of truth. The problem is that, without scientific methods, we cannot tell when we are right and when we are wrong.

Although millions of Americans believe that some statements are true, scientific research shows them to be false. For instance, contrary to popular belief that most people on welfare could support themselves if they had to, nearly all of those receiving welfare are either mothers with young children, the young children themselves, or elderly people. Most of these individuals are not able to take jobs outside the home.

Similarly, although many people assume that poverty is almost always a permanent condition, this is often not the case. There is indeed a category of hard-core poor, but there are also families that fall into poverty temporarily (because of a prolonged job layoff, for instance, or a serious illness). Thus, each year about 10 million families drop below the official poverty line, while another 10 million move above it.

Such findings clearly show the value of scientific methods for testing the validity of common-sense views and accumulating a body of reliable data. Common-sense ideas can provide valuable hunches about how society works, but those hunches must then be put to scientific scrutiny. The methods of science are therefore a vital part of sociology.

Exercise 3. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Fundamental to the scientific method is the careful collection of data.

2. The most comprehensive of sociological theories are local theories.

3. Common-sense views are always deeply biased by the limits of the experience.

4. Science coincides with common sense by deriving much from people’s experience.

5. Common-sense ideas never provide valuable hunches about how society works.

Exercise 4. Answer the following questions.

1. When did the scientific method appear?

2. What are the scientific theories built on?

3. What is meant by social theories?

4. What should be done with all theories?

5. What does testing involve?

6. What do common-sense views derive from?

7. Why are common-sense views limited?

8. Can we always rely on our common-sense judgments?

9. Are there any contradictions between common sense and scientific views? Prove your answer.

10. What scientific methods in sociology do you know?

Exercise 5. Match each definition with the correct word. Translate the words into Russian and learn them by heart.

1. raw material	a) to organize a particular activity in order to find out or prove facts;
2. reward (вознаграждение)	b) to make changes to a plan, system, or law in order to improve it;
3. to conduct (руководить)	c) to accept something to be true without question or proof;
4. to revise	d) an advantage, for example more money or a better job, that someone receives if they are successful, work hard, etc.;
5. to discard	e) to gradually increase in number or amount;
6. poverty	f) to throw something away or get rid of it because you no longer want or need it;
7. to accumulate	g) a substance in its natural state that will be used to make smth. else;
8. vital	h) to get something from something else;
9. to assume	i) the condition of being extremely poor;
10. to derive from	j) necessary for the success or continued existence of something; extremely important.

Exercise 6. Now read and translate the text on Levels of Sociological Analysis. Use the dictionary when necessary.