KSLU Solved Question Papers
Sociology I
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 1
2011 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 1 Sociology I 2011 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2011 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2011 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 Questions. (2) One essay type and one short note question or problem from each unit have to be attempted, which is referred as part (a) and (b) in all the units. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answers should be written either in English or in Kannada.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)"Sociology is it a science" ? Explain.[15]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what makes a subject a science (the scientific method and its steps); Comte's positivism; the case for sociology as a science, at least seven points with examples (method, observation, classification, generalisation, cause and effect, verification, limited prediction), with Durkheim's Suicide as the classic demonstration; the objections, at least seven (complex subject matter, no laboratory, lack of objectivity, observer effect, unpredictability, measurement, free will); replies to each; Weber's interpretive view; a comparison table with the natural sciences; a conclusion.
What makes a subject a science
A subject is a science not because of what it studies but because of how it studies. Physics studies matter, biology studies life, and a subject that studies society can be a science too if it uses the scientific method.
The steps of the scientific method:
- Choosing a problem and defining it clearly.
- Forming a hypothesis, a tentative explanation to be tested.
- Observing and collecting data systematically.
- Classifying and analysing the data.
- Generalising, by drawing conclusions that hold beyond the cases studied.
- Verifying, by testing the conclusions again, by other researchers if possible.
The features of scientific knowledge follow from this method. It is empirical, based on observation. It is objective, free from personal bias as far as possible. It is verifiable, open to checking by others. It is general, stating patterns rather than isolated facts. It is causal, explaining why things happen.
Comte's positivism
Auguste Comte, who coined the word sociology in 1838, was the first to insist that society could be studied scientifically. His doctrine of positivism held that genuine knowledge comes only from observation and the discovery of laws. He placed sociology at the top of his hierarchy of the sciences.
The case for sociology as a science
1. It uses the scientific method. Sociologists frame hypotheses, collect data through surveys, interviews and observation, analyse it and draw conclusions. A study of why girls drop out of school follows the same logic as a study in biology.
2. It is based on observation. Sociology studies facts that can be observed and recorded: marriage ages, crime rates, voting patterns, family sizes.
3. It classifies. Sociology sorts its facts into types: kinds of family, forms of marriage, systems of stratification. Classification is a basic step in every science.
4. It generalises. Sociology states general patterns, such as "as women's education rises, the age at marriage rises". Such statements hold across many societies.
5. It traces cause and effect. Sociologists ask what causes what. For example, they examine how industrialisation affects the family.
6. Its findings can be verified. Other researchers can repeat a survey in another place or time and check whether the results hold.
7. It can make limited predictions. If certain conditions are present, sociologists can say what is likely to follow. Where girls' schooling spreads, birth rates are likely to fall.
The classic demonstration. Emile Durkheim, in Suicide (1897), took an act that seems wholly personal. Using official statistics, he compared suicide rates across religions, marital groups and countries. He showed that the rates were steady over time and varied with how closely people were tied to groups. He thus showed that a social fact could be explained by other social facts, by scientific method.
The objections
1. The subject matter is complex. Human behaviour is shaped by countless factors at once: economic, cultural, psychological and historical. Isolating one cause is hard.
2. No laboratory experiments. A sociologist cannot place a society in a laboratory or change one factor at will. Experiments on people also raise moral problems.
3. Lack of objectivity. Sociologists are themselves members of society. Their religion, caste, class or politics may colour what they see.
4. The observer effect. People may change their behaviour when they know they are being studied. Well-known studies were made at the Hawthorne Works of the Western Electric company from 1924. There, workers' output appeared to change partly because they were being observed.
5. Unpredictability. Human beings have choices and can change their minds. Sociology cannot predict the future with the precision of astronomy.
6. Measurement is difficult. Feelings, values and attitudes cannot be weighed or measured as easily as length or temperature.
7. Lack of agreed terms. Sociological words, such as "community" or "class", are also used loosely in daily speech, which can cause confusion.
Replies to the objections
- Complexity makes sociology difficult, not unscientific. Meteorology also deals with complex systems.
- The comparative method and statistical analysis replace the laboratory. Astronomy, too, cannot experiment on stars.
- Objectivity is protected by careful methods, peer review and repeated studies.
- The observer effect can be reduced by unobtrusive methods and by checking results against records.
- Prediction in sociology is about probabilities and trends, which is still valuable. Economists and meteorologists predict in the same way.
- Measurement has improved through attitude scales, indices and sampling.
- Terms are defined precisely in research, which is why sociology has its own concepts.
Sociology and common sense
Some say sociology only states what everyone already knows. But common sense is unchecked, varies from place to place and is often wrong. Many people assume that crime is caused only by individual wickedness, yet studies show that crime rates rise and fall with social conditions. Sociology tests such beliefs against evidence that others can check, which is exactly what makes it a science and not opinion.
Weber's interpretive view
Max Weber accepted that sociology must be scientific, but he saw a key difference from the natural sciences. Human actions have meanings for those who perform them. Sociology must therefore understand those meanings, which he called interpretive understanding, as well as measure behaviour. Sociology is a science of a special kind: it combines causal explanation with understanding.
Sociology and the natural sciences compared
| Point | Natural sciences | Sociology |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Matter, energy, living things | Human society and relationships |
| Method | Laboratory experiment common | Survey, observation, comparison |
| Exactness | High precision | Less precise, probabilistic |
| Prediction | Often exact | Trends and probabilities |
| Objectivity | Easier | Harder, but sought by method |
| Meaning | Objects do not interpret | People attach meanings to actions |
Conclusion. Sociology is a science because it uses the scientific method. It observes, classifies, generalises, traces causes and submits its findings to verification, as Durkheim's study of suicide showed. Its subject matter is complex, it cannot easily experiment, objectivity is hard and prediction is limited. These are difficulties of degree, not reasons to deny its scientific character. It is a social science, less exact than physics but scientific in method. As Weber argued, it must also understand the meanings people give to their actions.
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