Sociology

Sociology (from Latin: socius, "companion"; and the suffix -ology, "the study of", from Greek λόγος, lógos, "knowledge" ) is the scientific or systematic study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. Areas studied in sociology can range from the analysis of brief contacts between anonymous individuals on the street to the study of global social interaction. Numerous fields within the discipline concentrate on how and why people are organized in society, either as individual or as members of associations, groups, and institutions. Sociology is considered a branch of social science. Sociological research provides educators, planner, lawmaker, administrator, developer, business leader, and people interested in resolving social problem and formulating public policy with rationales for the actions that they take. Sociology, including economic, political, and cultural systems, has origins in the common stock of human knowledge and... full article at wikipedia