Sociology is basically the study of society. Because of this, it has become almost synonymous with the term “social science,” even though in truth, it is only a branch of it, and it branches out to so many other different kinds of sociology as well. It employs a number of methods for the investigation, analysis and recording of human activity so that the knowledge that is acquired can be used for the greater good of humanity. Usually, it is in the field of social work that this knowledge is most used. There are a lot of topics that are being focused on by sociologists; namely, social stratification, social class, social mobility, religion, law, and deviance. Today, sociology has further broadened its coverage because of the extensive studies that have been made by notable people in that field. Sociology can now focus on fields like medicine and the military, as well as penal institutions and even the World Wide Web. There are two techniques that are used for sociological research, and these are through qualitative and quantitative research.

Sociology is quite a broad branch of study, and it can be seen that many people study many different parts of it. This is because being the very study of the human and humanity’s life equates to hundreds of different studies that could be conducted on a 24/7 rate, and still have more and more that need to be studied for years. Another way to describe sociology would be the study of human action, and “action” may refer to inward or outward action. This study also ranges from actions that are in relation to a certain intervention; as well as action that occurs lightly, deliberately refraining from action as well.

To study sociology is one thing, but there are also very specific types of it that are being studied by thousands of people across the globe. The kind of sociology that you can study will, of course, depend on the type of career that you wish to pursue afterwards. Here are a few branches of sociology that are most commonly pursued by students in the college level:

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of criminal behavior, as well as the nature, extent, causes, and the control of this behavior. This study’s extent is on the individual as well as on society as a whole. This is a field in the behavioral sciences of sociology. The areas of crime that are studied are the causes, the incidence, form and consequences of crime, as well as how society and the government reacted to this. Because of this, the method that is most used by criminology is the quantitative method of research. A lot of people who take up criminology in college either go on to go to law school afterwards or join the police force.

Cultural Anthropology

There are many fields of anthropology—five to be exact—but cultural anthropology is also considered a branch of sociology because it is the holistic study of humanity and the many different cultures that exist in the world. The main point of research of cultural anthropologists is the cultural variations among humans. Their methods include participant observation, interviews of many different people from different cultures, as well as surveys from many different sample groups. Because of these methods, the work of cultural anthropologists has often been referred to as field work because, more often than not, their research requires that they stay in a field site for an extended period of time.

Medical sociology

Medical sociology is one of the newer branches of sociology; and it involves the analysis of medical institutions and organizations, how healthcare professionals act and interact with one another as well as with patients, and any other social and culture effect that the medical field may have on the world. Included organizations in this field are those of public health, social work, demography, and gerontology. This field of sociology has a face that continually changes because the field of medicine also continually changes, what with the advancement of medicine and the different factors in relation to it.

Social anthropology

This is one of the five branches of anthropology, and it basically studies the way people interact with each other when in social groups. Just as with other forms of anthropology, social anthropology investigates the social organization of a certain person, such as customs, economics, political organization, as well as law and conflict resolution, consumption and exchange, kinship and family structure, gender relations, child-rearing and socialization, religion, and other such areas of human life. This is all done through field study. This field has a lot in common with cultural anthropology, although there are differences seen in the two, especially by the people who are immersed in the field.

Media studies

This is the field of sociology that studies the content, history and effects of media on society, and studies it as an academic discipline. There are three areas in this study that are quite interrelated, and these fields are the artistic style as well as aesthetics of the media, the study of its production process, and the analysis of its sociological effects such as ideological effects, reception and consumption of the masses. Because of that, this branch of sociology is most commonly offered as “Mass Communications” in college programs. The unique thing about media studies is that it draws not only from the field of humanities, but it also draws from the field of the sciences; it is social sciences at its best. From here, sociologists can be jumpstarted for study or work in so many different fields of expertise such as journalism, law, media, politics, economics, literature, and even psychology.

There are so many more different branches and kinds of sociology that people are studying all over the world, not only in college but in Master’s and doctorate studies as well. Without sociologists and the proper study of society and humans, there would probably be no real advancements in the world.