Sociology

Items

• modernization theory

  A theory that suggests societies develop in stages, moving from traditional systems toward modern industrial economies and democratic institutions (Coetzee, 2001; Harrison, 1988).
• norms

  Refers to prescriptions serving as common guidelines for social norms. The term refers to social expectations about correct or proper behaviour, norms implying the presence of legitimacy, consent and prescription (The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 1984).
• nuclear family

  Refers to a social unit comprising parents living together with their children (The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 1984).
• objectivity

  It refers to the principle that social research should be conducted without bias, emotions, values or opinions influencing the findings.
• observation

  Refers to a research technique in which the researcher watches, listens to and records behaviour and conversation as they happen (Ferrante, et al., 2016).
• ontology

  Refers to the philosophical study of existence, of being (Bhattacherjee, 2012, Wagner, Kawulich, & Garner, 2012).
• paradigm

  A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices constituting a way of viewing reality within a scholarly community. Major paradigms: structural functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism (Garner, Hancock & Budrys, 2013).
• participatory development

  An approach to development that emphasizes the involvement of local communities in decision-making processes affecting their lives (Chambers, 2005).
• personal troubles

  Personal needs, problems and difficulties that can be explained as individual shortcomings related to motivation, attitude, ability, character or judgement (Ferrante, et al., 2016).
• policy

  A deliberate plan of action adopted by a government, institution, or organization to guide decisions and achieve specific outcomes.
• political system

  A political system is the institution that regulates the use of and access to the power that is needed for articulating and realising individual, local, regional, national, international or global interest and agendas.
• polyandry

  One woman married to two or more husbands simultaneously — rare, found historically in parts of Tibet, Nepal, and South India Golomski, 2016).
• polygamy

  Is a marriage practice in which an individual has more than one spouse simultaneously. In sociology and anthropology, it is understood not as an anomaly but as a widespread and historically common form of family organization (Mohl, 2011).
• polygynandry (group marriage)

  Two or more women simultaneously married to two or more men (Alkrenawi, 2016).
• polygyny

  One man married to multiple women simultaneously — by far the most common form worldwide (Alkrenawi, 2016).
• positivism

  An approach in the philosophy of science that believes that science can only deal with observable entities known directly to experience. The positivist aims to construct general laws or theories with express relationships between phenomena. (Abercrombie, et al., 1988). It is a certain view of science that believes valid knowledge about the world can be derived only from sense experience or knowing the world through the senses of sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing; and from making empirical associations,(Ferrante, et al., 2016).
• post-development theory

  A critical perspective that questions conventional development models and argues that development discourse can reinforce power inequalities (Ziai, 2007).
• precarious work

  Refers to employment that is uncertain, unstable, and unpredictable, where workers bear the risks rather than employers (American Sociological Association, 2025)
• prejudice

  Prejudging individuals based on group identity, often via negative stereotypes; requires power to become discrimination.Steven-Buechler.pdf
• privilege

  Unearned advantages conferred on dominant social groups based on race, class, gender, or sexuality.
• proletariat

  Is used in sociology as an equivalent to working class, those who do not own means of production (The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 1984).
• qualitative research

  Qualitative research aims to uncover the in-depth understanding of social realities by making invisible societal patterns visible (Flick, 2018). Data presented in a form of words (Haralambos & Holborn, 2013)
• quantitative research

  Quantitative research is based on positivist principles, aiming for objectivity and employing statistical methods to analyse numerical data derived from experiments or surveys. It focuses on measuring variables and establishing causal relationships (Bhattacherjee, 2012, Wagner, Kawulich, & Garner, 2012).
• race

  A socially constructed category classifying people by perceived physical differences; no biological basis but profound social consequences through racism (Mocombe, 2025).
• racial categories

  Socially defined groupings (e.g., based on 1/32 African ancestry in U.S. law) lacking scientific basis, varying by time and place (e.g., Irish "becoming white").