Eduqas GCSE Sociology key terms

Withholding some information about a study. This is not necessarily deception, but becomes deceptive when it intentionally misleads participants about an important aspect of the research.

A fee-paying school independent of government funding, also commonly called a private school.

Racist attitudes or discriminatory actions by a person towards others.

Unpaid help and support provided by relatives or other people outside professional care services.

A person who provides unpaid support to someone who needs help because of illness, disability or age.

Power based on influence within everyday social relationships rather than an official position.

The regulation of behaviour through everyday interactions, social pressure and approval or disapproval, usually based on unwritten expectations.

Agreement to participate in research based on an understanding of what participation involves.

The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service because of people's colour, culture or ethnic origin. It can operate through routine procedures, attitudes and behaviour, including unwitting prejudice.

The breadwinning role of providing financial support through paid work, assigned mainly to men in Parsons’ model.

A sociological approach that examines how people create meanings and identities through social interaction, including how behaviour comes to be defined as deviant.

Relationships between different generations, such as parents and their adult children.

The process of accepting norms and values as one's own, so that they guide behaviour even without supervision.

An approach to sociology that seeks to understand the meanings people attach to their actions and experiences, usually through qualitative evidence.

The way different forms of inequality, such as class, gender and ethnicity, overlap and shape people's experiences together.

The influence of an interviewer's characteristics or behaviour on a participant's answers.

Crime that is difficult to see or recognise and may therefore remain undetected, unreported or unrecorded, such as concealed workplace fraud.

Poverty experienced by someone living in a household where at least one person is in paid employment.

An arrangement in which partners share domestic responsibilities, decision-making and leisure rather than maintaining a rigid separation of roles.

An Israeli communal settlement whose members traditionally shared work, resources and aspects of childcare.

The network of social relationships based on blood ties, marriage or adoption.

A network of family relationships connecting people through descent, marriage or adoption, including relatives beyond the immediate household.

The process of attaching a social description, such as ‘criminal’ or ‘troublemaker’, to a person or group, influencing how others respond to them.

The belief that someone’s power or right to rule is rightful and should be accepted.

A socially approved way of pursuing a goal, such as gaining qualifications and obtaining paid employment.

A feminist approach which seeks greater gender equality through legal reform, education and changes in attitudes.

A person's opportunities to obtain valued outcomes, such as good health, educational qualifications and secure employment.