Note
Skill domains There are five major skill domains outlined by Sociology Examining Boards. These are: a. Knowledge. This relates to your ability to remember concepts, theories, studies and so forth. At its most basic, some form of description may be involved. b. Understanding relates to your ability to use all of the required skills to demonstrate you have fully and clearly understood the requirements of any question you are required to answer. c. Interpretation. This involves the ability to explain the meaning of the things you know. For example, a definition of a sociological concept is one form of interpretation. d. Application. This relates to the ability to use knowledge in some way in order to illustrate your arguments. For example, you may apply a particular theory to a situation (such as suicide or mental illness) as a way of trying to explain that situation. Similarly, a simple form of application is the use of an example to illustrate your understanding of a concept or theory. e. Evaluation. This involves the ability to weigh-up the evidence for and against something and assess it's relative worth. In this respect you should note that examiners are, at A-level, looking at your ability to provide carefully-considered, balanced, answers to questions. An example here might be your ability to compare the uses and limitations of a research method and, by so doing, draw a conclusion about its value to sociological research. Similarly, your ability to demonstrate, using persuasive arguments, the difference between facts (objective forms of knowledge) and opinions (subjective forms of knowledge) would involve a form of evaluation. |