Other sources

Newspapers and periodicals

Personal journals, diaries, e-mail, and letters

Records and archival material of religious organizations, corporations, and other organizations

Transcripts of radio programs

Videotapes of motion pictures and television programs

Web pages, Weblogs, and chatrooms

Song lyrics

Scientific records (such as patent applications)

Speeches of public figures (such as politicians)

Votes cast in elections or by elected officials on specific legislative proposals

Attendance records for public events

Videotapes of social protests and rallies

Literature, including folklore

Sociologists consider secondary analysis to be nonreactive - that is, it does not influence people's behavior. For example, Emile Durkheim's statistical analysis of suicide neither increased nor decreased human self-destruction. Researchers, then, can avoid the Hawthorne effect by using secondary analysis.

There is one inherent problem, however: the researcher who relies on data collected by someone else may not find exactly what is needed. Social scientists who are studying family violence can use statistics from police and social service agencies on reported cases of spouse abuse and child abuse. But how many cases are not reported? Government bodies have no precise data on all cases of abuse.

Many social scientists find it useful to study cultural, economic, and political documents, including newspapers, periodicals, radio and television tapes, the Internet, scripts, diaries, songs, folklore, and legal papers, to name some examples. In examining these sources, researchers employ a technique known as content analysis, which is the systematic coding and objective recording of data, guided by some rationale.

References:

1.Babbie E. The Practice of Social Research. 7^th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995.

2. Neuman, W.L. 1994. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quintitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn&Bacon

3.Бутенко И.А. Анкетный опрос как общение социолога с респондентами. М., 1989.

4.Гречихин В.Г. Лекции по методике и технике социологических исследований. М., 1988.

5.Логика социологического исследования. М., 1987.

6.Морено Дж. Социометрия. М., 1958.

7.Налимов В.В. Теория эксперимента. М., 1971.

8.Ноэль Э. Массовые опросы. М., 1993.

9.Ядов В.А. Стратегия социологического исследования. М., 1998.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

When a system of social inequality is based on a hierarchy of groups, sociologists refer to it as stratifications a structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society. These unequal rewards are evident not only in the distribution of wealth and income, but even in the distressing mortality rates of impoverished communities. Stratification involves the ways in which one generation passes on social inequalities to the next, producing groups of people arranged in rank order, from low to high.

Stratification is a crucial subject of sociological investigation because of its pervasive influence on human interactions and institutions. It results inevitably in social inequality, because certain groups of people stand higher in social rankings, control scarce resources, wield power, and receive special treatment. the consequences of stratification are evident in the unequal distribution of both wealth and income in industrial societies. The term income refers to salaries and wages. In contrast, wealth is an inclusive term encompassing all a person's material assets, including land, stocks, and other types of property.

Is social inequality an inescapable part of society? How does government policy affect the life chances of the working poor? Is this country still a place where a hardworking person can move up the social ladder? This lecture focuses on the unequal distribution of socially valued rewards and its consequences. We will examine four general systems of stratification, paying particular attention to the theories of Kari Marx and Max Weber, as well as to functionalist and conflict theory. We will see how sociologists define social class and examine the consequences of stratification for people's wealth and income, safety, and educational opportunities. And we will confront the question of social mobility, both upward and downward. Finally, in the social policy section, we will address welfare reform, an issue that is complicated by the attitudes that people.

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