AQA A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide (7192)
AQA · A-Level
AQA A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 7192 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 1,116 questions across 12 topics and 89 subtopics, including all eight Paper 2 options so the guide fits whichever two you sit.
- AQA
- A-Level
- Specification 7192
- 1,116 questions
Guide overview All 12 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
AQA A-Level Sociology is three written papers of two hours and 80 marks each, weighted equally. Paper 1 is Education with Methods in Context and Theory and Methods. Paper 2 is Topics in Sociology, two chosen from eight. Paper 3 is Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods.
Theory and Methods is examined on Paper 1 and again on Paper 3, which makes it the highest-value content on the course and the thing most often left until last.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Education with Theory and Methods |
Education Methods in Context Theory and Methods |
2 hours | 80 marks | 33.3% |
|
Paper 2 Topics in Sociology |
Two topics chosen from Culture and Identity, Families and Households, Health, and Work, Poverty and Welfare and from Beliefs in Society, Global Development, The Media, and Stratification and Differentiation |
2 hours | 80 marks | 33.3% |
|
Paper 3 Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods |
Crime and Deviance Theory and Methods |
2 hours | 80 marks | 33.3% |
What is in the guide
All 12 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The role and functions of education
How does Parsons argue that school prepares children for adult life?
Show the answer
By teaching them to be judged by universalistic standards, preparing them for achievement-based adult roles in wider society. -
Access, gatekeepers and research ethics in schools
How might the power imbalance between adult researchers and child participants affect the validity of research data?
Show the answer
Children may give answers they think adults want to hear rather than their true views, reducing validity. -
Research design and choosing a method
How do time constraints affect sociological research?
Show the answer
Time constraints limit the scope and depth of research, potentially restricting sample sizes, the duration of observation, or the number of interviews that can be conducted. -
Conceptions of culture
What two features are commonly associated with mass culture?
Show the answer
Commercialisation and standardisation. -
Functionalist views of the family
What is the sexual function of the family according to Murdock?
Show the answer
The family regulates sexual behaviour by providing a socially approved outlet for sexual expression between married partners. -
The social construction of health and models of illness
What does the social construction of the body refer to?
Show the answer
It refers to how bodily ideals, norms and practices are shaped by culture, gender expectations, media and social institutions rather than being purely natural. -
Poverty: definitions, explanations and distribution
What is the culture of poverty thesis and who is it associated with?
Show the answer
Associated with Oscar Lewis, it suggests poverty persists because the poor develop a distinct subculture with values that perpetuate their disadvantage across generations. -
Ideology and science as belief systems
Why did Popper consider science an open belief system?
Show the answer
Because scientific knowledge claims can be tested against evidence and rejected if falsified, unlike closed systems that protect their claims from disproof.
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Education98
- Methods in Context28
- Theory and Methods92
- Culture and Identity68
- Families and Households154
- Health56
- Work, Poverty and Welfare58
- Beliefs in Society116
- Global Development54
- The Media77
- Stratification and Differentiation76
- Crime and Deviance239
- Who are the key gatekeepers that researchers typically need permission from to access schools for educational research?
- Why must researchers obtain informed consent from parents or guardians rather than directly from children when studying minors?
- How might the power imbalance between adult researchers and child participants affect the validity of research data?
- Why is covert observation considered more ethically problematic in schools than in adult settings?
- How might teachers acting as gatekeepers bias research samples in educational studies?
- What factors about the researcher might cause pupils from different social class backgrounds to respond differently?
- Give three examples of sensitive topics in educational research that require particular care.
- Why do sensitive topics in educational research require particular care?
- Headteachers, governors, and local authorities.
- Because children cannot legally consent for themselves.
- Children may give answers they think adults want to hear rather than their true views, reducing validity.
- Because deceiving children is considered more problematic than deceiving adults.
- They may influence which pupils researchers can access, potentially biasing samples towards more cooperative or articulate students.
- The researcher's perceived status and manner of communication.
- Bullying, exclusion, and family circumstances.
- To avoid causing distress to vulnerable young participants.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
I only do two of the Paper 2 options. Is the rest wasted?
No. Paper 2 is two topics, one from each of two blocks of four. All eight are in the guide because schools choose differently.
Work your two and skip the other six. Each is a separate page.
Which parts are compulsory?
Education and Methods in Context on Paper 1, Crime and Deviance on Paper 3, and Theory and Methods on both. Only Paper 2 is optional.
What is Methods in Context actually asking?
It applies a research method to the study of education specifically, so it needs both the method and the educational context. It is a small topic, 28 questions, and it is where students who revised methods and education separately come unstuck.
Do I have to name sociologists?
Yes, and it is where most marks are lost. A theory described without its name and a study cited without its finding are both credited below an attributed version.
AQA A-Level Sociology Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.