Lesson 4.1.3.6

4.1.3.6 Science, theory and methods Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 4.1.3.6, Science, theory and methods: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 1: Education with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which philosopher argued that scientific theories should be judged by whether they can be falsified by evidence?

    • Auguste Comte, who argued that society passes through stages that can be identified by religious belief
    • Max Weber, who argued that social science should seek understanding of meaning rather than causal laws
    • Thomas Kuhn, who argued that science progresses through the accumulation of confirming observations
    • Karl Popper, who argued that a theory is scientific if it makes claims that could in principle be shown to be false

  2. Thomas Kuhn used which term to describe a shared framework of assumptions, methods and examples that guides normal scientific research?

    • Paradigm, which is a shared framework that defines the accepted problems and methods of a scientific community
    • Anomie, which is the breakdown of social norms that occurs when society undergoes rapid and disruptive change
    • Hegemony, which is the dominance of the ideas of a ruling class over the consciousness of subordinate groups
    • Verstehen, which is the understanding of social action from the point of view of the social actor

  3. According to Kuhn, what happens when anomalies build up that a paradigm cannot explain?

    • A scientific revolution may occur, in which an existing paradigm is replaced by a new one
    • Scientists abandon empirical research entirely and return to philosophical speculation about nature
    • The anomalies are always ignored, because scientists never question the accepted paradigm in any case
    • The anomalies are resolved automatically by the passage of time, without any change in the framework

  4. Which argument is most often made against the view that sociology can be a science in the same way as the natural sciences?

    • Social phenomena are always simple and predictable, so no complex theories are needed in sociology
    • Sociological data are always complete and objective, which removes any problems of measurement
    • Social actors interpret and respond to research, which may change the very social patterns being studied
    • Natural scientists have never used experiments, so sociology cannot be compared with the natural sciences

  5. Which statement best describes the positivist view of scientific method?

    • Knowledge is gained through the personal intuition of the researcher, which cannot be tested by others
    • Knowledge is gained through the revelation of religious texts, which provide the ultimate source of truth
    • Knowledge is gained through the systematic observation and measurement of phenomena, leading to general laws
    • Knowledge is gained through the study of individual cases, which cannot be generalised to any wider context

  6. Which sociologist is associated with the argument that social science should be value-free as far as possible?

    • Max Weber, who argued that sociologists should distinguish between factual analysis and personal value judgements
    • Erving Goffman, who argued that sociologists should study the dramatic performances of everyday life
    • Karl Marx, who argued that the purpose of social science is to change society in the interests of the proletariat
    • Louis Althusser, who argued that science is entirely determined by the ideology of the ruling class

  7. Which statement about postmodernity is most accurate?

    • Postmodern thinkers question grand narratives and the idea that a single, objective account of society is possible
    • Postmodern thinkers argue that the modern era has ended, and that the Enlightenment has been fully vindicated
    • Postmodern thinkers argue that social change has stopped, so sociology has nothing new to study in the future
    • Postmodern thinkers argue that science has produced a single, universal truth that all societies accept

  8. Which concept is associated with the view that the modern era is characterised by rationalisation, bureaucracy and the growing authority of science?

    • Modernity, which emphasises rational organisation, scientific knowledge and progress in social life
    • Ethnomethodology, which emphasises the everyday methods by which people produce social order
    • Postmodernity, which emphasises the rejection of grand narratives and the plurality of perspectives
    • Tradition, which emphasises customary practices and the authority of religion in everyday social life

  9. Which argument would a sociologist use to challenge the claim that sociology can produce value-free knowledge?

    • Researchers' data are always produced by machines, which removes any possibility of human bias
    • Researchers' choices of topic, concepts and methods are shaped by their values and social position
    • Researchers who study society must always be members of the ruling class, which prevents any objectivity
    • Researchers who use statistics are unable to produce any findings at all about social life

  10. Which evaluation of the view that sociology is a science is most consistent with sociological debate?

    • Sociology is a science only if it studies biology, since all social behaviour is determined by biological instincts
    • Sociology shares some features with science, such as systematic methods, but its subject matter is reflexive and complex
    • Sociology is identical to natural science, because both use the same methods and produce the same types of laws
    • Sociology cannot be a science in any sense, because social life has no regularities that could be studied

  11. In Popper's philosophy, what does it mean to say that a theory has been corroborated?

    • It has been confirmed only by the personal experience of the individual researcher who proposed it
    • It has survived repeated serious attempts to falsify it, though it has not been proven true
    • It has been proven true beyond any possible doubt by a single decisive experiment
    • It has been accepted by a majority vote of the scientific community at an academic conference

  12. Which statement about the relationship between theory and method in sociology is most accurate?

    • Theory is only relevant after data are collected, because it has no influence on the design of the research
    • Theory and method are entirely separate, so a researcher can choose any method regardless of the theory used
    • Method is always more important than theory, so theoretical perspectives can be ignored in the research process
    • Theory and method are linked, because the theoretical perspective shapes the questions asked and the methods used

  13. Which criticism is most often made of the claim that sociology should adopt the methods of natural science?

    • Natural science methods are always too cheap for sociologists to afford, so they are never used
    • Human action involves meaning and interpretation, which natural science methods may not capture
    • Natural science methods produce no data at all, so sociologists cannot learn anything from them
    • Natural science methods can only be used in the laboratory, so they have no use in any field research

  14. Which concept describes a claim that can be tested and shown to be false, which is central to Popper's view of scientific theory?

    • Triangulation, which is the use of several methods to confirm the accuracy of a particular finding
    • Reflexivity, which is the researcher's consideration of how their own position shapes the research
    • Hermeneutics, which is the interpretation of texts in order to uncover meanings that are hidden
    • Falsifiability, which is the property of a claim that could be proven wrong by empirical evidence

  15. Which statement best describes the claim that scientific knowledge is socially constructed?

    • Scientific knowledge is only a matter of religious faith, so it has no connection to evidence at all
    • Scientific knowledge is shaped by social processes, such as the institutions, communities and interests involved in producing it
    • Scientific knowledge is entirely independent of social processes, because it reflects an objective reality
    • Scientific knowledge is always produced by individuals working alone, without any reference to other researchers

  16. A sociologist argues that a theory cannot be tested if no evidence could ever show it to be wrong. Which philosophical position does this argument reflect?

    • Weber's verstehen, which holds that social action must be understood from the actor's point of view
    • Popper's falsificationism, which holds that testable claims must be capable of being refuted
    • Parsons' functionalism, which holds that social systems must be understood in terms of their functional needs
    • Blumer's symbolic interactionism, which holds that meanings are created through interaction between people

  17. Which of the following best describes the difference between a grand narrative and a local explanation in postmodern thought?

    • A grand narrative is always produced by ordinary people, while a local explanation is always produced by experts
    • A grand narrative is always quantitative, while a local explanation is always qualitative in its methods
    • A grand narrative is always false, while a local explanation is always true for every society in the world
    • A grand narrative offers an all-encompassing account of history or society, while a local explanation applies to specific contexts

  18. Which statement about Kuhn's view of scientific progress is most accurate?

    • Progress occurs continuously and evenly, with each new discovery simply adding to the previous knowledge
    • Progress does not occur at all, because science is always the same from one century to the next
    • Progress occurs only when a single individual makes a discovery, without any community involvement
    • Progress occurs through periods of normal science interrupted by revolutionary shifts in paradigm

  19. Which claim is associated with Kuhn's view of normal science?

    • Normal science involves puzzle-solving within an accepted paradigm, rather than testing the paradigm itself
    • Normal science involves the abandonment of experiments in favour of philosophical reflection on nature
    • Normal science involves constant challenges to every accepted theory, with no shared framework among researchers
    • Normal science involves the rejection of all observation, because observation is always biased by theory

  20. Which philosopher argued that scientific progress depends on the conjectures and refutations that scientists test against evidence?

    • Auguste Comte, who argued that science advances through a fixed sequence of religious and metaphysical stages
    • Louis Althusser, who argued that science advances only when it is aligned with the ideology of the working class
    • Max Weber, who argued that social science advances by understanding the subjective meanings of social action
    • Karl Popper, who argued that science advances by proposing bold conjectures and attempting to refute them

All AQA Sociology quizzes