The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology

by Lisa J. McIntyre

"The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology" includes classic sociological research writings as well as recent pieces on fascinating topics of interest to students. It is the ideal companion to McIntyre's text, "The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology," or other sociology texts. Readings in this edition challenge students to re-evaluate familiar social arenas: the college classroom, televised sports shows, restaurants, doctors' offices and even public restrooms. The readings focus around the essential message that there is much that goes on in the social world that escapes the sociologically untrained eye.

Genres: Sociology, Textbooks, Social Science

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Nico]

Chapter 5 contains genuinely the worst explanation of dependent and independent variables I have ever read. Not only is it incredibly long (~5 pages depending on when you start counting) but it's needlessly convoluted.

Instead of simply saying: the dependent variable DEPENDS on the independent variable. The independent variable can stand on its own. Etc. Etc.

It starts with variables:
GENDER is thought to influence OCCUPATION

Then it moves on to causes:
Gender (cause) is thought to influence occupation (effect).

Then it explains independent and dependent variables in relationship to cause and effects.

Then she gives an ACRONYM for it! Listen these terms really confused me when I first encountered them in my 7th grade science class. I'm not saying they can't be confusing (anything can be confusing before a good explanation), but if you have to jump through all these hoops to explain the meaning of 2 words, then you're not doing a very good job of explaining them.

I think it would be much clearer to explain causes and effects in relationship to independent/dependent variables.

Genuinely, if I didn't already know what these terms were before I read the chapter, I wouldn't know what they were by the end of it.

[Brandee Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This turned out to be a great book. It was a textbook for my Intro to Sociology class but some of the stories within this book were very interesting.

[Susan Andrus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Intro to Sociology textbook. Very approachable and the author has a fun and distinctive voice.

[Wendy P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used this book, along with her other one, when I taught Intro to Sociology at the University level. The two books combined are good for freshman and intro students.

[AngelLeah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great companion book to McIntyre's core concepts. Very interesting studies that I would want to read even if I weren't taking a sociology class.