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Your third sociology exercise will allow you to choose from two very different forms of qualitative sociological research. Qualitative research relies primarily upon observational and subjective methods of analysis rather than statistical ones. The data produced by these forms of investigation are primary descriptive, anecdotal and inferential. This data is no less valid, however, than quantitative evidence; it relies upon the accuracy and completeness of the observational description.

You are given a choice between two very different forms of qualitative research to complete. Your first option is to complete the Family Analysis Evaluation form. This is a fairly thorough assessment of your family's history. In this context, the term "family" refers to your current extended family as well as your ancestors. The more you know your extended family and your family history, the better able you will be to successfully complete the assignment.

The second choice for completing this requirement is to become a (participant) observer for two religious services and compare and contrast these observations.

Be sure that you submit your typed 600+ word, double spaced paper, with a proper title page, by the required due date.

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SYG 2000
Hurley

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This analysis is very straight-forward. Answer each question as completely as possible. It you do not know the answer to any of these questions, you should call those adult family members who are most likely to be able to provide you with that information (parents, aunt, uncle, grandparents, etc.). Answer all of the questions by number, completely, and in order.

1. EDUCATION. How much education have various members of your family received? What type of attitudes have they had toward education? Be specific; list the members of your immediate and extended family and cite their level of education. What about your ancestors?

2. OCCUPATION. What have been the occupations of various people in your family? Be specific; list members of your immediate and extended family by occupation.

3. CULTURAL OR ETHNIC ANCESTRY. What is your cultural/ ethnic heritage? How has your heritage led to the various customs and traditions followed by your family?

4. URBAN/RURAL RESIDENCY. Where have various members of your family lived? How has this residency affected your family life?

5. RELIGION. What religion(s) has/have your family espoused? What regular religious practices have been adopted? What has been the effect of religion on other areas of family life?

6. GENDER ROLES. What has been the gender role pattern of relations within your family? Who is responsible for which family function? How have household takes been divided among family members? How have these patterns affected family structure and organization?

7. MATE SELECTION AND COURTSHIP. By what process and/or according to what theories did various members of your family select their mates? How did they meet and, geographically, where did they live in relation to each other? How long did they know each other before marriage? How long was their courtship? What type of courtship did they have? What type of wedding did they have?

8. SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE. What standards regarding premarital sexual behavior have been followed? What expectations have ben held about marital sexuality? How have the following been viewed: extramarital sexuality, homosexuality, abortion, birth control?

9. BIRTH. How have births been handled within your family? Where have the births usually taken place? Have female births been received differently than male births?

10. PARENT-CHILD RELATIONS. How many children have been born into each of the nuclear families within your extended family kinship system? How far apart were the children spaced? What has been the family attitude toward children? How have the elders viewed the parental role? What differences have there been between the maternal and paternal roles? What behavior standards were expected for the children? What behaviors were punished? What types of discipline was utilized?

11. COMMUNICATIONS. How have families established effective means of communications? What has been the primary topic of family communications?

12. CONFLICT. How has family conflict been treated? How have individual families, and family members, handled marital conflict? How has resolution usually been reached?

13. INTERACTION WITH KIN. To what extent does your family interact with kin? What form does this interaction usually follow? How significant has the kinship network been as a source of family pride and identity?

14. MARITAL HAPPINESS. Do individuals in your family usually consider their marriages to be happy? How important is personal happiness in determining marital stability?

15. POWER AND AUTHORITY. Does the husband, wife, or both make key decisions? Who makes the most important decisions in each of the various families in your kinship system? How has the power and authority to make these decisions been derived in each family?

16. POLITICAL AFFILIATION. What political attitudes or beliefs tend to dominate family political participation? Has there been any significant opposition to these views within the family? How have these dominant political ideologies affected your family?

17. LEISURE PATTERNS. How have various members of your family utilized their free time? With whom is this free time spent? In what hobbies and recreational pursuits have they engaged? How are vacations usually spent? How have work patterns affected leisure (and retirement)?

18. SEPARATION AND DIVORCE. How have individuals who have obtained a separation or divorce handled their domestic situations? How have other family members typically reacted to this separation and/or divorce?

19. AGING. How have family members generally treated the aging process? What has been the general attitude toward elder members of the family? Do elder family members have more, or less, power than they had prior to being recognized as being elderly?

20. DEATH. How have family members treated death? How have the funerals, bereavement, and mourning period usually been handled? Who typically plays what roles during this process?

21. ASSESSMENT. Now that you have answered the previous questions, what do you think of your family? How positive, supportive and complementary are the major relationships which bind this kinship system together? What are the major characteristics and key features of your family that make you proud of the family system you are a member of?

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SYG 2000
Hurley

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Religion is a cultural universal that fulfills a wide variety of human needs. The proliferation of organized religious groups in this country has reached the point where nearly every individual religious need can be met. In 1979, the National Council of Churches recognized 1,178 distinct religious organizations in the United States. Each of them, it must be assumed, is capable of meeting a complex variety of human needs for each of their members.

For this exercise, you are to attend a regularly scheduled religious service for ANY TWO DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS GROUPS. Two different church of the same denomination will not count. Make sure that you select two very different religious organizations.

You may select your own church for one of these observations, however there is a danger here. This assignments requires that you describe with as much detail as possible the single religious that you observe at a specific day and time. If you are watching your own church, you may well take too much for granted and not be as complete and accurate in your description. You also may be tempted to generalize to describe what is usually done. Don't do that. Describe ONLY what you observe at the one specific service you are reporting on.

For this exercise, answer questions one through ten, completely and in order for the first religious service you are reporting on. Then answer questions one through ten for the second religious service you observed. When you have finished the second set of questions you may answer questions eleven through fifteen in which you compare and contrast these services.

1. What service did you attend? Where and when? What religious organization is this group affiliated with? Try to obtain a church bulletin or Order of Service guide and attach it to your analysis.

2. How involved in the congregation in the religious service? Do they engage in any of the following: responsive reading? oral reading of scriptures, a short children's program, singing of hymns, oral prayer, genuflection, kneeling, processional song and prayer, recessional song and prayer, communion? If so, which ones? Is there anything else?

3. In addition to the Minister (Priest, Rabbi, etc.), how many other people play a formal role in facilitating the order of service: acolytes, choir directors, choir members, organists, pianists, lay readers, ushers, assistant ministers, deacons, etc? Count all of those in each of these roles that you observe. Briefly describe the nature of these roles.

4. Was there a "special feature" to the service you observed that distinguishes it from a more typical service. A special feature could include: a baptism, the acceptance of a number of new members, communion, a special musical performance, a special speaker or a specific commemoration of a special occasion. Who was involved in this special feature and how did they contribute to the overall service?

5. Was they a type of forma musical presentation during this service by a choir, soloist or group? What is the title of their performance? How did the congregation respond? Where in the order of service did this music fit in?

6. Describe all of the other occasions when music was played or sung during the service. Did this involve background music during prayer or communion, an offertory, and the singing of hymns? How did the congregation respond during these occasions?

7. Analyze the sermon. Was it primarily inspirational, affirmational, educational or evangelical? How did the congregation respond during the sermon itself? How make minutes did the sermon take? To what degree was the speaker effective in communicating his/her major points?

8. What percentage of the entire service was given over to formal ritual activity and/or regularized liturgy? What percentage was spontaneous and unroutinized?

9. Overall, was the direction of the service and its activities primarily oriented toward the traditions of the past, the crises or opportunities of the present, or the prospects of the future? What forms did these orientations usually take?

10. What are the overall reactions, evaluations, impressions, and feelings about the service you observed and the congregations participation?

After you have answered questions one through ten for each of the two services you observed, it is time to compare and contrast these services.

11. Describe the features of these services which are most similar. Recount the ways that they two services reflect similarities between each other.

12. Describe the features of these two services which are the most substantially different from each other. What are the most dramatic differences and contrasts that you observed?

13. Of these two services, which did you like the best (enjoy the most)? Why?

14. If you attended two services different from your own religion, compare these services to your own church. What features are the most similar? What features did you observe which are the most different? IF you attended your own church as one of your observations, what functions did you observe being performed differently by the other church you observed?

15. What specific religious functions do you specifically observe being fulfilled in each of the religious services you observed? What have you learned about how the functions of religion serve many diverse groups of people within our society?

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