SOC 456 -- Science & Technology in Social Context -- OSU Extended Campus

Unit 2: Conceptualization

Resources & Definitions

Conceptualization

You can find more information about conceptualization at any of the following websites. If you find any others that are helpful, let the rest of us know about them.

POLS 200 (.pdf)

Methods of Political Science Conceptualization, Operationalization & Measurement

Situated Conceptualization

Lawrence W. Barsalou

Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding

Science and Engineering Indicators 1998. For more than a quarter of a century, the National Science Board’s Science and Engineering Indicators report series has been a chronicler of key trends in science and engineering research and education. This year, the online versions offer additional features that take advantage of Web technology to assist in finding and displaying information.

Understanding Basic Scientific and Technical Concepts

National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics

The Conceptualization and Measurement of Race: Confusion and Beyond (.pdf)

Ron Carmichael Manuel, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Howard University

A Conceptualization of Science

Is this microscope what you think of when you think about science? If so, your definition of the concept is quite different than mine. Let’s begin with some of the basic parts of my definition of the concept “science” from a sociological perspective. You can add, or substitute, elements from your own perspective as we proceed throughout the term but at these elements will provide us with a common foundation.

Science is primarily a methodology. It is a set of rules for studying the world (physical, natural, & social) in a way that removes as much of our human bias as possible. Science is a method that gives us guidelines for seeing what’s out there. Not what we imagine is there or what we’d like to see but what’s really there. It is a structure, created by humans, that helps us find out about the world through a certain set of prescribed activities.

Contrary to public opinion, science is not a search for truth; it is a search for error. The methodology provides a way to search for error in our theories about the world. We conduct experiments to see if our theories work - if what we predict actually happens. If it does, all well and good. If not, we can improve the theory.

Science is a human activity. It is conducted by people just like you and me. Like any other human activity, it has rules and is based on values and beliefs. The conducting of science is affected by money and the desire for status or social prestige. It is part of our culture and our social system. It is shaped by dominant world views, economic systems, and political needs.

Science is also a social institution. I’ll write more about social institutions in a couple of weeks and come back to this part. Very briefly, social institutions meet societal needs. Science meets the social need to find out about the world and develop ways to control our environment.

Activity: Photo Review

In the lecture I explained that, from a sociological perspective, “family,” like “friendship,” “happiness,” “science,” and “technology,” is a concept. A concept is a word we use for a mental image of something that exists only in the abstract. I’d like to illustrate this point by having you do the following exercise.

Examine the two photographs linked through the Photo Review. In the group discussion forum, I want you to describe what you see in the picture. Describe just what you see, not the relationships you belive exist.

Photo Review

Scientific Method

In case you need a review, these websites cover some of the basics of the scientific method: