Sociology key terms

Research that combines quantitative and qualitative methods in one study.

An extended family whose relatives live separately but maintain regular contact and mutual support.

A system with a king or queen as head of state.

Being married to only one person at a time.

A disproportionate reaction, fuelled by media coverage, that presents a group or behaviour as a threat to society.

The view that different cultural groups' cultures and identities should be respected and maintained.

A business that operates in more than one country.

Bowles and Gintis’s argument that the belief that everyone succeeds through ability and effort disguises unequal opportunities and makes class inequality appear deserved.

A government-set framework specifying subjects taught in primary and secondary schools and the standards pupils should reach, in the schools to which it applies. In England, academies and private schools do not have to follow it.

A sovereign state associated with a shared sense of national identity.

Inherited genetic and biological influences on a person's characteristics and behaviour.

A penalty or expression of disapproval in response to behaviour that breaks a group’s rules or expectations.

A political view that stresses preserving traditional values within society's norms and values.

A political approach favouring free-market capitalism, fewer government restrictions on business and reduced government spending.

A man who rejects traditional masculine expectations and actively shares domestic work and childcare.

A political perspective favouring a smaller role for the state and a larger role for markets, alongside traditional values and criticism of reliance on welfare benefits.

A loosely organised movement seeking social change, often around issues such as the environment, animal rights or gay rights.

A judgement used by media professionals to decide what is newsworthy and which stories should receive prominence.

The criteria used by journalists and editors to decide which events are worth reporting.

A less serious criminal offence heard in a magistrates’ court rather than the Crown Court.

Numerical information produced by organisations outside government, such as charities, banks and market research organisations.

Research in which the researcher watches people’s activities without taking part in them.

A sampling approach in which members of the population do not have known chances of selection.

Failure by people contacted for a study to provide a response or take part.

Rule-breaking that does not produce material or financial gain, such as damaging property for peer approval.

A socially expected rule or pattern of behaviour in a particular situation.

Conventionally, a mother and father who are married or cohabiting and their child or children, forming a two-generation family unit.

The influence of upbringing, social interaction and the environment on a person's development.

A research method involving watching and recording people’s behaviour.

A recording framework containing pre-set categories of behaviour for a researcher to observe.