A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Examinable Skills AO1: Knowledge and Understanding (43% of all marks available) Knowledge of the subject or topic must be accurate Must have sufficient depth of knowledge To UNDERSTAND the material, you must be able to select the right knowledge to answer the question Must use SOCIOLOGICAL knowledge rather than ‗common sense‘ knowledge Can you say you know and understand the following? AO1 Yes I know what they mean No I don‘t and therefore need to revise what they mean (a )Sociological concepts and theory: You must know what the terms mean Social order Social change Conflict Consensus Social structure Social action The role of values Relationship between sociology and social policy (b ) Methods of sociological enquiry. You must understand the range of methods and sources of data used in studying crime and deviance Primary and secondary data Analysis of quantitative and qualitative data Factors influencing the design and conduct of sociological research Practical, theoretical and ethical issues in sociological research (c ) Themes: you must understand how these themes apply to each topic and the global context Socialisation Culture Identity Social differentiation (eg age, ethnicity, gender) Power and stratification (eg Social class) 1 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 AO2: Application, interpretation, analysis and evaluation (57% of all marks) AO2: can I do the following? Yes I can No I can not and therefore need to do revision notes on this Identify the relevant theories that could be applied to each crime and deviance topic Select and apply a range of sociological concepts/sociological language Select and apply empirical studies to the question asked Identify contemporary examples and policies that link to the topic Analyse and evaluate the methods used in studies to collect and record evidence State the strengths of a sociological theory State the weaknesses of a sociological theory Organise my answer so that it reads structured and focused Trigger evaluation sentence starters Other evidence from research suggests…. However, another perspective argues…… A different argument put forward is…. On the other hand….. A criticism of this is In support of …. this, argues that … 2 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 The Examination Paper 2 hour Carries a total of 90 marks This unit is worth 60% of the total marks available for A2 Sociology (30% of total marks for A level) Question structure Question 1 and 2: You are advised to spend approximately 45 minutes on these questions. Questions 3, 4 and 5: You are advised to spend approximately 30 minutes on this question Question 5 or 6: You are advised to spend approximately 45 minutes on this question. YOU WILL BE ANSWERING QUESTIONS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. DO NOT ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS ON STRATIFICATION AND DIFFERENTIATION!!!!!!! There will be two items on the paper, you will need to relate to the items and refer to them in essays. DO NOT START WRITING UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THE ITEMS. Underline key words and write trigger words around the item to help you. Questions 1 and 2: Only Crime and Deviance (Spend 45 mins doing) Question (1) 12 marks Mini essay type question (looking at a page of writing) Usually AO1 based as the question normally says ‗examine‘ Question (2) 21 marks More of a detailed essay question. The question is AO2 based as it is asking you to ‗assess‘ something. Questions 3, 4 and 5: Crime and Deviance with Methods (Spend 30 mins on) Question (3) 3 marks Normally asks for you to identify a strength/problem of a certain method and explain it. Question (4) 6 marks Asks for two problems/strengths and an explanation of it. Question 3 and 4 could be given as ONE question. If this is the case it will be out of 9, but it will still ask you to talk and explain about the strengths/problems of a method. Question (4 or 5) 15 marks Item used in which you must refer to in your essay. Asking you to assess something so more marks for AO2 This question requires you to apply your knowledge and understanding of sociological research methods to the study of this particular issue in crime and deviance. Question 5 or 6: Theory and Methods: Spend 45 mins on 33 marks 15 marks for AO1 9 marks for AO2 (a) and 9 marks for AO2 (b) = 18 in total Must have an introduction, conclusion and follow the PERCL system. No need to talk about crime and deviance this is theory and methods ONLY. 3 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Example Exam Questions Question 1: 12 marks: Crime and Deviance ONLY Examine the effectiveness of situational crime prevention as a means of reducing the impact of crime on society. Examine the Marxist perspective on crime and deviance. Examine the relationship between Globalisation and State Crimes. Examine the relationship between age and patterns of crime. Examine the Ecological perspective on crime and deviance. Examine the relationship between gender and patterns of crime. Question 2: 21 marks: Crime and Deviance ONLY Assess the usefulness of conflict theories for an understanding of crime and deviance in contemporary society. ―Since the mid-1950s, the number of recorded crimes in England and Wales has risen from about half a million a year to around 5 million today.‖ Assess sociological explanations of the increase in recorded crime in the last 50 years. ‗Crime and deviance are a result of a strain between the goal of ‗money success‘ and the socially approved means of achieving it.‘ Assess this view. Assess sociological explanations of social class and age differences in crime rates. Assess the view that delinquent subcultures are the main cause of crime. Assess sociological explanations of gender differences in patterns of offending, victimisation and punishment. Assess sociological explanations of ethnic differences in patterns of offending, victimisation and punishment. Assess the different approaches to the study of suicide. Assess the effectiveness of prisons as a form of punishment. Assess the view that we are now living in a big brother society. 4 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Question 3: 3 marks Crime and Deviance and Methods Identify and briefly explain one problem of using victim surveys to study victims of crime. Identify and briefly explain one problem of using self report studies to study offending rates. Identify and briefly explain one problem of using official statistics to study patterns of offending. Question 4: 6 marks: Crime and Deviance and Methods Identify and briefly explain two problems of studying crime by interviewing serving prisoners about their behaviour. Identify and briefly explain two problems of studying crime by observing deviant subcultures. Identify and briefly explain two strengths of studying domestic and sexual violence by conducting informal interviews. Question 3 (3 and 4 combined): Crime and Deviance and Methods Identify and briefly explain three problems of studying crime using participant observation. Identify and briefly explain three problems of studying crime using structured interviews. Identify and briefly explain three strengths of studying crime by using victimisation studies. Question 4 or 5: 15 marks: Crime and Deviance and Methods Assess the strengths and limitations of covert participant observation as a means of investigating ‗edge work as a motivation for crime‘ Assess the strengths and limitations of using official statistics to study crime rates. Assess the strengths and limitations of using unstructured interviews to study domestic violence. Assess the strengths and limitations of questionnaires as a means of investigating who commits crime. Assess the strengths and limitations of using interviews or official statistics when investigating state and war crimes. Question 5 or 6: Theory and Methods ONLY ‗If we can agree on what we mean by ‗science‘, then we can begin to assess the extent to which sociology is scientific.‘ To what extent do sociological arguments and evidence support this view? Assess the usefulness of conflict theories in understanding society today. Evaluate different views of the relationship between sociology and social policy. Assess the view that sociological research cannot and should not be objective and value-free. Evaluate the relationship between the theoretical perspective of the sociologist and their choice of research methods. Assess the contribution of Functionalist theories and research to our understanding of society today. Assess the contribution of feminist perspectives and research to our understanding of society. Evaluate how the concepts of modernity and post-modernity have influenced sociologists‘ understanding of society today. 5 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Methods Key Words Validity Reliability Generalisation Ethical issues Practical issues Theoretical issues Representative Positivism Interpretivism Bias Objectivity Hawthorne Effect Sampling methods Operationalising concepts Social Surveys Questionnaires Interviews Experiments Observation Overt Covert Secondary data Triangulation Content Analysis Official Statistics Quantitative Data 6 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Qualitative Data Perspectives Strengths Weaknesses Functionalism Marxism Neo Marxism Post Modern Social Constructionism Subcultural Ecological 7 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Left Realism Right Realism Positivism Interpretivism Structure Social Action/Agency Sociology is a Science Sociology is not a science 8 A2 Crime and Deviance and Theory and Methods revision pack: Unit 4 Remember: You have to revise everything, because you have no choice on the exam paper. The specification Crime and Deviance . Different theories of crime, deviance, social order and social control. The social distribution of crime and deviance by age, ethnicity, gender, locality and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime.