Sociology key terms

The proportion of a population who experienced something, such as being a victim of crime, during a specified period.

Information collected directly by a researcher for their own study.

The early learning of norms and values, usually within the family.

The head of the UK government, who selects government ministers.

The theory that patterns of behaviour found at the top of the social stratification system will later spread downwards to other social classes.

The part of the criminal justice system that detains offenders in secure institutions.

A person’s ability to control access to their personal life and information.

Male domination based mainly on the direct control of women by husbands or fathers within the household.

A school outside the state-funded system that normally charges fees.

The transfer of ownership of a government asset or service to the private sector.

The idea that workers’ social lives become centred on the home and that they treat work, including cooperation with colleagues, mainly as a means of improving their own material circumstances.

A nuclear family separated from its extended relatives, whose life centres on its own home.

A sampling approach in which each member of the sampling frame has a known chance of selection.

The part of the criminal justice system responsible for supervising offenders returning to the community after prison.

The idea that some white-collar workers, such as clerical staff, move down into the working class as their work becomes less skilled and more routine.

In Marx’s theory, the working class that does not own the means of production and must sell its labour to earn a living.

Information used to promote a particular view or cause, often through false or biased messages.

An electoral system in which seats are allocated in proportion to the votes received.

A personal characteristic for which discrimination is prohibited under equality legislation, subject to the law’s scope and exceptions.

A false name used instead of a participant’s real name to help protect their identity.

An adverse effect on a person’s mental or emotional well-being, such as anxiety, humiliation or distress caused by research.

An examination set by a central examination board, such as a GCSE examination.

Male domination in which women can enter public life but face collective disadvantage, segregation and exploitation within it.

In Britain, a type of independent, fee-paying school, traditionally including long-established schools such as Eton and Harrow.

A sample deliberately selected because participants have a characteristic or experience relevant to the research.

Selecting participants because they have a particular characteristic or experience relevant to the research aim.

Information presented in words or images rather than numbers.

A research approach that collects detailed accounts or descriptions to understand people’s meanings, experiences and behaviour.

Research that collects detailed, non-numerical data to explore people's meanings, experiences and behaviour.

Newspapers covering a more serious range of issues, such as world news, economics and business.