AQA A-level Sociology (7192): Theory and Methods – Revision Notes

These notes condense AQA A-level Sociology (7192) Theory and Methods, the identical content listed as 3.1.3 (Paper 1, 10 marks) and 3.3.2 (Paper 3, 30 marks). The essentials: know the strengths and limitations of each method and source; explain positivism and interpretivism; compare structural and social action theories; contrast modernity with post-modernity; and evaluate debates about science, value freedom and social policy.

Full explanations: AQA Theory and Methods study guide.

Specification coverage

Eleven points (3.1.3 = 3.3.2): methods and research design; sources of data; primary/secondary and quantitative/qualitative data; positivism, interpretivism and social facts; theoretical, practical and ethical considerations; consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories; modernity and post-modernity; sociology as a science; theory and methods; subjectivity, objectivity and value freedom; sociology and social policy.

Key terms

Term	Definition
Social facts	Ways of acting, thinking and feeling external to the individual that constrain them (Durkheim)
Positivism	Sociology should use scientific, quantitative methods to find causal laws
Interpretivism	Sociology should understand meanings using qualitative methods
Verstehen	Empathetic understanding (Weber)
Reliability / validity	Replicability / truthfulness of data
Operationalisation	Turning concepts into measurable indicators
Triangulation	Using several methods to cross-check findings
Methodological pluralism	Combining methods to build a fuller picture
Meta-narrative	A grand theory claiming to explain all of society (Lyotard)
Reflexivity	Constant self-monitoring of individuals and institutions in late modernity (Giddens)
Falsification	Testing theories by trying to prove them false (Popper)
Paradigm	Shared framework of assumptions in a science (Kuhn)
Open / closed systems	Systems where variables cannot / can be controlled (realists)
Value freedom	Keeping personal values out of research
Committed sociology	Openly taking sides in research (Becker, Gouldner)

Methods and sources — quick evaluation

• Questionnaires: reliable, representative, quick to analyse — but low validity and response.
• Structured interviews: standardised — interviewer bias, shallow.
• Unstructured interviews: valid, rapport — costly, unrepresentative, hard to replicate.
• Participant observation (overt/covert): natural behaviour, verstehen — access, ethics, going native.
• Experiments (lab/field): cause and effect — artificial, ethical problems.
• Documents: Scott’s four criteria (1990): authenticity, credibility, representativeness, meaning.
• Official statistics: cheap, large-scale trends — socially constructed (Atkinson, 1978).

Positivism versus interpretivism

	Positivism	Interpretivism
Society	Objective social facts	Constructed through meanings
Aim	Causal laws	Understanding (verstehen)
Methods	Quantitative, reliable	Qualitative, valid
Classic study	Durkheim, Suicide (1897)	Douglas (1967); Atkinson (1978) on suicide

Theories at a glance

Theory	Structure or action?	Consensus or conflict?	Key names
Functionalism	Structure	Consensus	Durkheim, Parsons, Merton
Marxism	Structure	Conflict	Marx, Althusser, Gramsci
Feminism	Mostly structure	Conflict	Oakley, Walby (1990)
Interactionism	Action	—	Mead, Blumer (1969)
Ethnomethodology	Action	—	Garfinkel (1967)
Structuration	Both	—	Giddens (1984)
Postmodernism	Neither — rejects grand theory	—	Lyotard (1979), Baudrillard

Modernity, post-modernity and late modernity

• Modernity: nation state, industrial capitalism, rationality, science, progress.
• Post-modernity: fragmentation, media saturation, hyperreality, decline of meta-narratives (Lyotard, Baudrillard).
• Late modernity: Giddens — reflexivity; Beck — risk society (1986).

Is sociology a science?

View	Argument
Positivist	Yes — use the logic of natural science
Popper	Science = falsification; some theories (e.g. Marxism) unfalsifiable
Kuhn (1962)	Sociology is pre-paradigmatic
Realists (Keat and Urry, 1975; Sayer)	Science studies underlying causes in open systems too
Interpretivist	Human meaning makes natural-science methods inappropriate

Values and policy

• Value freedom: Comte and Durkheim (objective science); Weber (values in choice of topic, not in data collection); Becker (1967) and Gouldner (1962) (committed sociology); feminists (research for women).
• Social policy: positivist/functionalist “piecemeal social engineering”; social democratic — Townsend (1979), Black Report (1980); Marxist — policy serves capitalism; feminist — equal pay and domestic violence policy; New Right — Murray on dependency; postmodernist scepticism. Constraints: funding, ideology, electoral politics.

Worked example: 10-mark “outline and explain two” plan

Outline and explain two reasons why interpretivists reject the use of official statistics. (practice)

1. Socially constructed — statistics are the outcome of decisions by victims, police, coroners and officials; Atkinson (1978) showed coroners using common-sense theories about suicide, so the statistics tell us about the decision-makers, not the reality. Develop: this undermines validity.
2. No access to meaning — statistics count acts but cannot reveal the meanings people attach to them; verstehen requires qualitative methods. Develop: Douglas (1967) argued suicide has different meanings in different contexts, which numbers hide.

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Confusing structural/social action (the level of analysis) with consensus/conflict (the view of society).
• Describing methods without linking them to theory (point 9).
• Treating postmodernism as just “anything goes” — explain the rejection of meta-narratives.
• Writing about Popper and Kuhn without applying them to sociology.
• Forgetting social policy — it is a full specification point.

Quick self-test

1. Define a social fact.
2. Give Scott’s four criteria for documents.
3. What does Kuhn mean by “pre-paradigmatic”?
4. Distinguish Weber’s view of values from Becker’s.
5. Name one study intended to influence social policy.

Frequently asked questions

Is there any difference between 3.1.3 and 3.3.2? No — the content lists are identical; only the marks available differ between Paper 1 and Paper 3.

Which theories must I know? The specification names consensus, conflict, structural and social action theories; functionalism, Marxism, feminism and interactionism cover these, plus postmodern and late-modern theory for point 7.

How do I evaluate a theory? Use other theories’ criticisms, empirical evidence and the structure–action debate.

Related pages: Theory and Methods practice questions | Methods in Context revision notes