Sociology

Sociology is studying a society's social problems or behavior, which includes the growth, origin, organization, institutions, and networks. It is a social science that uses a variety of empirical investigative approaches and critical analysis to create a body of information about the transition, social order, and disorder (Schaefer, R, & Haaland, B., 2014).
C. Wright Mills coined the term "sociological imagination" to describe a person's ability to think about himself outside of the familiar routines of daily life and see them from a different viewpoint. Often known as the mental attribute responsible for one's ability to comprehend and relate to history and biography within the society.Sociological theories are developed by sociologists to explain social phenomena. A theory; is a proposed relationship existing between concepts, is an explanation as to why and how a phenomenon occurs. The basic purpose of sociological theory is to propose the relationship between two or more concepts. Sociological theories are specific to certain situations and are dependent on the context. Theories guide researchers on their findings and practitioners also depend on the theories in their strategy intervention. In understanding culture and society, the sociological theories provide the human with the basic understanding and the ability to see the larger picture of the society in one’s own perspective. The relation of how society and culture can be explained described and predicted using the theories. Sociological theories are concepts that are inter-related, scientifically tested and combined to enhance our understanding of people cultural behavior and the societies.How does sociology help us to study and understand a given social or cultural phenomenon?Through sociology, we acquire the power and the ability to predict trends in the society and during the process of consistent and accumulated data evaluation, the existence of societal patterns can be approved and differentiated from the phenomena that are isolated.1. Research Question – Do the elderly in the society need to be taken care of by the younger members of the society?2. Hypothesis Statement – taking care of the elderly in the society is necessary especially by the young members of the society who are strong enough to provide for themselves and the aged.3. Methods of Data Collection –the functionalist sociological theory can be applied to this hypothesis. The theory states that the society is like a system of interconnected parts that depend on each other to work together harmoniously to maintain a state of equilibrium and social balance for the entire society. Everybody in the society strives to live till they see their old days and like the elderly in the current society; they will also grow old and frail and will need to be taken care of. It is a societal norm for example in the North America to expect one's one’s grandparents and parents to be a part of one’s older adult life and without taking care of them, this will not be possible.4. Research Design –in the evaluation of this hypothesis, observation, surveys, and interviews will be used to gather data. Observation would be used to note the current trend in the societies we live in and the conditions in which the old are living in. surveys would be employed to establish the current population of the elderly living in the society, how many have passed in the last two years and the cause and state they were in at their time of demise. The immediate families of the elderly members of the community would be interviewed. Government surveys will be used to get quantitative data relevant to the research. The information gathered would be used in the evaluation of whether the elderly should be taken care of and it from the sources of data that the conclusion would be drawn on whether the elderly should be cared for or not.ReferenceSchaefer, R, & Haaland, B. (2014). Sociology: A Brief Introduction. Retrieved 28 Jan, 2014 Paperback