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Sociology ○𓆪｜Definition｜1st｜20260513123647-00-⌔
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life.123 The term sociology was coined in the late 18th century to describe the scientific study of society.4 As a social science, sociology uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis5 to develop a body of knowledge about social order and social change.5 Sociological subject matter ranges from micro-level analyses of individual interaction and agency to macro-level analyses of social systems and social structure. Applied sociological research may be directed toward social policy and welfare, whereas theoretical approaches may focus on understanding social processes and the phenomenological method.6
Traditional focuses of sociology include social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, sexuality, gender, race, social norms, and deviance. Recent studies have added socio-technical aspects of the digital divide as a new focus.7 Digital sociology examines the impact of digital technologies on social behavior and institutions, encompassing professional, analytical, critical, and public dimensions.8 The internet has reshaped social networks and power relations, illustrating the growing importance of digital sociology.9 As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to other subjects and institutions, such as health and the institution of medicine; economy; military; punishment and systems of control; the Internet; sociology of education; social capital; and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge.
The range of social scientific methods has also expanded, as social researchers draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. The linguistic and cultural turns of the mid-20th century, in particular, have led to increasingly interpretative, hermeneutic, and philosophical approaches to the analysis of society. Conversely, the turn of the 21st century has seen the rise of new analytically, mathematically, and computationally rigorous techniques, such as agent-based modelling and social network analysis.1011
Social research influences various industries and sectors of life, such as among politicians, policy makers, and legislators; educators; planners; administrators; developers; business magnates and managers; social workers; non-governmental organizations; and non-profit organizations, as well as individuals interested in resolving social issues in general.
Printed 2026-06-28.
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Link to original Footnotes
“sociology”. Retrieved 20 April 2020. ↩
Dictionary of the Social Sciences (2008) [2002]. Calhoun, Craig (ed.). “Sociology”. New York: Oxford University Press – via American Sociological Association. ↩
“Sociology: A 21st Century Major” (PDF). Colgate University. American Sociological Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017. ↩
Fauré, Michel; Guilhaumou, Jean-Pierre; Vallier, Christian (1999). Sieyès et l’invention de la sociologie. Presses Universitaires de France. ISBN 978-2841748921. ↩
Ashley, David; Orenstein, David M. (2005). Sociological Theory: Classical Statements (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. ↩ ↩2
Giddens, Anthony, Duneier, Mitchell, Applebaum, Richard. 2007. Introduction to Sociology. 6th ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. Chapter 1. ↩
Yang, Jianghua (13 November 2023). “Beyond structural inequality: a socio-technical approach to the digital divide in the platform environment”. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications. 10 813. doi:10.1057/s41599-023-02326-1. S2CID 265151025. ↩
Lupton, Deborah (2015). Digital Sociology. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415833603. ↩
Castells, Manuel (2001). The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-925577-1. ↩
Macy, Michael W.; Willer, Robert (2002). “From Factors to Actors: Computational Sociology and Agent-Based Modeling”. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 143–166. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.141117. JSTOR 3069238. ↩
Lazer, David; Pentland, Alex; Adamic, L; Aral, S; Barabasi, AL; Brewer, D; Christakis, N; Contractor, N; et al. (6 February 2009). “Computational Social Science”. Science. 323 (5915): 721–723. doi:10.1126/science.1167742. PMC 2745217. PMID 19197046. ↩
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