In 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement drew large numbers of people to New York City to protest rising income inequality. To make their point, these protestors marched on the city streets, built tent cities where they lived and slept while the demonstrations were ongoing, and actively worked to disrupt the flow of life. In Robert K. Merton’s view, these people would be what kind of deviants?

Asociologist wants to study a culture that occurs in some women’s prisons: “state families,” in which individual prisoners take on certain roles within a group of like-minded prisoners. there is previous evidence that younger prisoners will use older inmates who play the roles of grandparents as a resource before they will turn to staff for and advice. the lieutenant in charge of a dorm of long-term prisoners offers to gather volunteers to speak to the researcher and also offers to vouch for the integrity of the researcher. the use of this staff is: a valid use of a statistical technique referred to “snowball sampling” wherein the inclusion of the first subject leads to the recruitment of another one subject. a useful tactic in obtaining a sample of prisoners who both meet the criteria and who will be honest with the researcher. wrong and is prohibited; subject selection needs to be free from intervention by prison authorities or prisoners. acceptable only when the researcher’s irb grants a special waiver.