Sociology revision notes

One chapter for each section of the 2251 syllabus, with worked examples. Read a chapter, then practise it with real past-paper questions.

1. 1Research MethodsPositivist and interpretivist approaches, primary and secondary data, how a piece of research is designed, sampling, the main methods, types of question, practical issues and research ethics.12 min read
2. 2Identity: self and societyCulture, norms, values and roles, nature and nurture, socialisation and its agencies, social control and resistance to it, and what shapes social identity, from age and gender to the digital self and globalisation.9 min read
3. 3Social stratification and inequalityOpen and closed systems of stratification, life chances, intersectionality, labelling and Marxist theories, how governments, welfare states and NGOs try to reduce inequality, and how migration, ecological issues and globalisation affect inequality between societies.8 min read
4. 4FamilyFamily structures and diversity, types of marriage, functionalist, Marxist and feminist views of the family, and how demographic change, industrialisation and changing attitudes have altered family life and roles.10 min read
5. 5EducationFormal and informal education, the official and hidden curriculum, types of school and alternative approaches, the functionalist, Marxist and feminist views of education, and explanations for differences in achievement by social class, ethnicity, gender and country.9 min read
6. 6Crime, deviance and social controlThe difference between crime and deviance, agencies of control, types of crime and how crime is measured, patterns and explanations of crime by age, ethnicity, gender and class, the main sociological theories, and the aims and effectiveness of punishment and policing.11 min read