How do we know what we know?

Research is the main way that sociologists can come to conclusions about a specific topic. Practically anything can be studied, as long as it is collected in the right way and presented in the correct form. You can't just choose one hundred people who walk by you as your research, you need it to be very random so that your data encompasses everyone.

A very common way of collecting data is through a poll or a survey. These can be very helpfull in determining anything you would like, for example how well liked the iPhone is among high school students. Because there are thousands of high schools, you could take a sample of high schools from the population (which you could do through a random scramble on a computer) and poll everyone at those high schools. If we wanted to know its popularity at our own school we could put everyones name on a list and choose every number of students to get their opinion. By doing this randomly you ensure that a good amount of variation among students is being accounted for, but you can never be sure.

Another key aspect of your poll is to keep your questions neutral. If you have an implied answer already in your question than the responses you will get will be different than if your question did not already give away your own opinion. If you ask the kids at the high school, "What do you think of the latest and greatest new, shiny iPhone?" then you will most likey get a more positive result in your answer compared to if you asked, "What are your opinions on Apple's iPhone?"

These seem like easy concepts to apply to research, but ultimately they can be hard to control depending on what topic you are researching.

Norms and the Normative Order

The norms within our society vary from generation to generation. The normative order allows society to function peacefully and gives structure to an ever changing idea of what our lives should be like. Everyone within a society, with the exception of the countercultures, have an understanding of how they should behave and, for the most part, people try to abide by these rules and exercise social control.

One social norm that has changed over the last fifty years is how teenagers dress themselves. In the 1960's, as we saw in the Barrington High School 1969 dress code, students were not allowed to wear jeans, sweatshirts with "the name or emblem of a non-campus club, group, or business are not acceptable", and bangs had to be short enough so that the eyebrows could be seen. These expectations seem odd to our generation where baggy jeans, short skirts, and crazy hair are what we see when we walk down the hallways at school. Being current students at the same school where the teachers and staff regulated how long your bangs could be, we can see how the norms have changed since the '60s because no one is making us change into more appropriate clothing because, for our generation, this is normal. Another social norm about clothing that has drastically changed over the generations is underwear type, shape, and size. Although it is seen as a joke in the picture above, it is actually very true. While women began getting more obsessed about how they were perceived, and the need to feel sexy, there underwear changed accordingly. Although it would be looked down upon in the early 20th century, the norms of the 21st century now allow itsy-bitsy underwear to be okay.

The norms that rule our lives also come along with punishments or rewards if you follow do as you ought to, which are called sanction. Sanctions vary in intensity according to the violation. An informal, weakly punished sanction, like swearing, is called a folkway; an informal, strongly sanctioned action, like having an affair, is a taboo; a formal, weakly punished sanction, like a traffic violation, is called a misdemeanor; and a formal, strongly sanctioned action, like murder, is called a felony.Every culture, subculture, and generation has its norms to follow. Although they may be changing often, they are nonetheless very important.