CSS Sociology chapter 1: Foundations MCQs with answers
By Team Megalecture · Updated 4 Nov 2026
48 exam-style questions on Foundations, each with the answer and a short explanation. Ten of them are below to try. The chapter test draws ten fresh questions each time and is marked the moment you finish, with your score by topic.
Nature, scope and founders of sociology16 questions
Theoretical perspectives16 questions
Sociological research methods16 questions
Ten Foundations questions with answers
Try each one, then open the answer. These ten stay the same; the test draws new ones every time.
1. Compared with a structured interview, an unstructured interview
A
allows flexible questions and deeper answers, but results are harder to compare
B
uses identical fixed questions in the same order for every respondent
C
gives higher reliability of results across different interviewers
D
is suitable only for very large samples of a population
Show answer
Answer: A. Unstructured interviews follow the respondent's replies, producing rich qualitative data, but are less standardised and less reliable.
2. Which term did Merton use for consequences of a social pattern that weaken or disturb the stability of a system?
A
Latent function
B
Manifest function
C
Social fact
D
Dysfunction
Show answer
Answer: D. Merton used 'dysfunction' for consequences that reduce the adjustment or stability of a system. Manifest and latent functions are beneficial consequences that differ in whether they were intended.
3. A study finds that ice-cream sales and drowning accidents rise and fall together. The best conclusion is that
A
eating ice cream causes some people to drown while swimming
B
drowning accidents lead people to buy more ice cream
C
the link is probably spurious, since hot weather affects both
D
there is no relationship between the two variables at all
Show answer
Answer: C. Correlation is not causation: both variables are influenced by hot weather, so the link between them is spurious.
4. Who coined the term 'sociology' for the scientific study of society?
A
Herbert Spencer
B
Auguste Comte
C
Emile Durkheim
D
Max Weber
Show answer
Answer: B. Comte introduced the word in the 1830s in his positive philosophy. Spencer later wrote 'Principles of Sociology' and Durkheim made the subject an academic discipline, but neither coined the name.
5. Which social science traditionally studied the whole way of life of small, non-literate societies through long fieldwork?
A
Social anthropology
B
Economics
C
Political science
D
Social psychology
Show answer
Answer: A. Anthropology developed fieldwork in small preliterate communities, while sociology first concentrated on modern industrial societies.
6. In Comte's law of three stages, human thought is said to pass through which sequence?
A
Metaphysical, theological, positive
B
Theological, metaphysical, positive
C
Positive, metaphysical, theological
D
Theological, positive, metaphysical
Show answer
Answer: B. Comte held that explanation moves from supernatural beings (theological), to abstract forces (metaphysical), to scientific laws based on observation (positive). The positive stage comes last.
7. In which work did Durkheim use official statistics to show that rates of an individual act vary with social conditions?
A
The Division of Labour in Society
B
The Rules of Sociological Method
C
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
D
Suicide
Show answer
Answer: D. 'Suicide' (1897) compared suicide rates across groups and linked them to social integration and regulation. The other works deal with solidarity, method and religion.
8. A sociologist studying a hidden group of drug users asks each member she meets to introduce further members. This is
A
snowball sampling
B
stratified sampling
C
systematic sampling
D
cluster sampling
Show answer
Answer: A. Snowball sampling grows through personal referrals and is used when no list of the population exists.
9. Ralf Dahrendorf argued that conflict in modern society arises mainly from unequal authority within organisations. He is a theorist of
A
conflict theory
B
functionalism
C
symbolic interactionism
D
exchange theory
Show answer
Answer: A. Dahrendorf modified Marx by placing conflict in the distribution of authority rather than only in the ownership of property. His school is conflict theory.
10. Who wrote 'The Sociological Imagination'?
A
C. Wright Mills
B
Robert Merton
C
Talcott Parsons
D
Erving Goffman
Show answer
Answer: A. Mills published it in 1959. Merton is known for manifest and latent functions, Parsons for structural functionalism and Goffman for dramaturgy.
48, each with the answer and a short explanation, across 3 topics: Nature, scope and founders of sociology, Theoretical perspectives, Sociological research methods. Every chapter test draws ten of them, so you can take it many times.
Is the CSS Sociology chapter 1 test free?
Yes. The test, the answers and the explanations are free and need no sign-up. Sign in only if you want your scores kept across devices.
How is the chapter test marked?
The moment you press Finish: your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and the ones you got wrong saved in My mistakes to retry.
