AQA A-level Sociology (7192): Theory and Methods – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs — examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: Theory and Methods revision notes

These questions cover the Theory and Methods content of AQA A-level Sociology (7192), listed identically as 3.1.3 (Paper 1) and 3.3.2 (Paper 3). The specification gives Theory and Methods 10 marks of extended writing in Paper 1 and 30 marks in Paper 3; the questions below use 10-mark and 20-mark extended-writing styles, with one item-based 20-mark question.

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10-mark questions

1. Outline and explain two reasons why positivists prefer quantitative methods. [10]

2. Outline and explain two problems sociologists may face when using covert participant observation. [10]

3. Outline and explain two ways in which sociology may influence social policy. [10]

20-mark questions

4. Item A (invented for practice)

Some sociologists argue that society is a structure that shapes individuals’ behaviour, much as the body’s organs work together. Others reject this view, arguing that society is created by individuals through their interactions and the meanings they give to situations. A third group claims that both views are incomplete.

Applying material from Item A and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of structural theories for an understanding of society. [20]

5. Evaluate the view that sociology can and should be a science. [20]

6. Evaluate the view that sociological research can be value-free. [20]

7. Evaluate the claim that we now live in a postmodern society. [20]

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Mark guidance

Level descriptors (10 marks): 8–10 two well-developed reasons with sound knowledge and clear analysis; 4–7 reasons with some development or one well-developed; 1–3 limited, list-like points.

Level descriptors (20 marks): 17–20 sophisticated knowledge, accurate application to the item where given, sustained evaluation and a justified conclusion; 13–16 broad knowledge, some evaluation; 9–12 reasonable knowledge, limited analysis; 5–8 basic, descriptive; 1–4 fragments.

1. [10]

• Reliability and objectivity — standardised quantitative methods can be repeated by others, so results can be checked; positivists see this as the hallmark of science. Develop: objectivity keeps the researcher’s values out, as Comte and Durkheim sought.
• Discovering patterns and causes — positivists see society as made of social facts that can be measured; numbers allow correlations and causal laws to be identified, as in Durkheim’s Suicide (1897). Develop: large samples allow generalisation and comparison.
• Also creditable: hypothesis testing; representativeness; usefulness for policy-makers.

2. [10]

• Ethical problems — deception; no informed consent; risk of harm if identities are revealed; the BSA Statement of Ethical Practice discourages covert research unless strongly justified.
• Practical problems — getting in, staying in and getting out; recording data without being discovered; danger in deviant groups; risk of going native.
• Validity versus reliability — rich data but impossible to replicate; findings rely on memory if notes cannot be taken.

3. [10]

• Providing evidence of problems — research such as Townsend’s Poverty in the United Kingdom (1979) or the Black Report (1980) on health inequalities can put issues on the political agenda.
• Evaluating policies — sociological research can measure the effects of policies (for example compensatory education) and recommend changes.
• Changing public opinion and concepts — feminist research on domestic labour and violence helped shape policy debates.
• Develop with constraints: funding, government ideology and electoral considerations limit influence.

4. [20] Structural theories

Application of Item A: “structure that shapes behaviour” and “organs work together” = functionalist organic analogy; “created by individuals through interactions and meanings” = social action theory; “both views are incomplete” = structuration (Giddens).

Usefulness of structural theories:

• Functionalism — Durkheim and Parsons explain social order through shared values and interrelated institutions; Merton’s manifest and latent functions add nuance.
• Marxism — explains inequality and conflict through class; Althusser’s ideological and repressive state apparatuses; Gramsci’s hegemony allows for consciousness and resistance.
• Feminism — explains gender inequality as structural patriarchy (Walby, 1990).

Criticisms: deterministic — people treated as puppets; functionalism struggles with conflict and change; Marxism reduces everything to class; social action theorists (Mead, Blumer, Garfinkel) show order being actively produced; postmodernists reject structural meta-narratives; Giddens argues structure and agency reproduce each other.

Conclusion: structural theories explain large-scale patterns and inequalities, but need social action insights to explain meaning and change.

5. [20] Sociology as a science

• Can be: positivists (Comte, Durkheim) — social facts can be studied scientifically; Durkheim’s Suicide; realists (Keat and Urry, 1975; Sayer) — open-system sciences like meteorology still seek underlying causes.
• Cannot/should not be: Popper — many sociological theories are unfalsifiable; Kuhn — sociology is pre-paradigmatic; interpretivists — people act on meanings, requiring verstehen; Atkinson — social data such as statistics are constructed.
• Should it be? Postmodernists question science itself as a meta-narrative; feminists criticise “objective” science as male-centred.
• Evaluate: depends on the definition of science; Kuhn and realism suggest natural science itself is less “positivist” than assumed.

6. [20] Value freedom

• Yes: Comte and Durkheim — objective science; standardised methods reduce bias.
• Partly: Weber — values shape choice of topic and interpretation, but data collection should be value-free.
• No: Becker (1967) — all research takes sides; Gouldner (1962) — value freedom is a myth that serves the powerful; feminists — research should serve women; funding and careers shape research agendas.
• Evaluate: postmodernists — all knowledge is perspectival; distinguish being value-free from being objective in method; conclude that complete value freedom is unlikely but reflexivity can reduce bias.

7. [20] Postmodern society

• For: Lyotard (1979) — incredulity towards meta-narratives; Baudrillard — hyperreality and media saturation; fragmentation of identities; globalisation and consumer choice.
• Against: Marxists such as Fredric Jameson (Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, 1991) argue postmodern culture is a product of late capitalism, not a new society; Giddens — late modernity and reflexivity; Beck — risk society; continuing structural inequalities of class, gender and ethnicity.
• Evaluate: postmodernism is itself a grand claim; change is real but may be within modernity.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should I spend on a 10-mark question? Roughly 15 minutes: two clearly separated reasons, each explained and developed.

Do I need an item for every 20-mark question? No — Paper 3 Theory and Methods questions may or may not use an item; practise both styles.

Which theories should I learn for the structure–action debate? Functionalism, Marxism, feminism, interactionism, ethnomethodology and Giddens’s structuration.

Related pages: AQA Theory and Methods study guide | Methods in Context practice questions