Ch. 2 – Sociologists Doing Research

Research Methods -

• Goal is to test common sense assumptions & replace false ideas w/ fact & evidence

• Limited Ability to set up lab experiments to replicate real-life conditions– Therefore the world is a Sociologist lab

• Quantitative Research – uses numerical data– Surveys, precollected data

• Qualitative Research – rests on narrative & descriptive data

Surveys -• Make up about 90% of published research• Most widely used method• If sample is not representative then results

can not generalize the population– Most common way to get a representative sample

is by picking at random• Can be in either questionnaire or interview

format• U.S. Census, Gallop Poll, and Harris Poll are all

nationally recognized surveys in the U.S.

Close ended questionsResults can be measured more precisely

Expensive to produce and distribute

Easily comparible Responses are limited to preset answers

Statistic techniques can be used to put order to data

People don’t respond, leading to low cost effectivness

Large number of responces can be collected

Phrasing can influence answers

Open ended questions are answered in participants own words

Secondary Analysis

• Using precollected data for research• Census Bureau – total population every 10

years, and specific surveys every year• U.S. Department of Labor – income and

unemployment• U.S. Department of Commerce – monthly

reports on various aspects of the economy• Emile Durkheim relied on precollected data

for his research on suicide

Advantages Disadvantages

Inexpensive, high quality data

May not be exactly suited for the researchers purposes

Existing info. Allows for studies over a long period of time

Can be out dated

Researchers can not influence the participants or data

Don’t know the exact methods of collection

Field Research

• Looks closely at aspects of social life that can’t be measured quantitatively, & are best understood

in natural settings– High school cliques

• Case Studies – a thorough investigation of a single group, incident, or community

• Participant observation – researcher becomes a member of the group being studied, & might or might not tell the group he is studying– Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin (1961), the author

died his skin to study African American life in the South

Causation in Science• Causation – events occur in a predictable,

nonrandom way; one event leads to another• Multiple causation – an event occurs as a result

of several factors working in combination– Causes of crime – Cesare Lombroso, 19th century,

Italian criminologist believed the tendency to commit crime was inherited

– Therefore criminals could be identified by certain traits, large jaws, or receding foreheads

– Modern criminologists – peer pressure, drugs, poverty, poor parenting

• Quantitative variables – can be measured & given a numerical value

• Qualitative variables – are identified by membership to a category– Either / or, yes / no

• Sex, marital status, group membership• Independent variables – cause something to

occur• Dependant variables – result from a change in

the independent variable– How does the time spent studying change the grade

earned?• Intervening variable – influences the relationship

b/w independent variable and dependent variable

Correlation

• How things are related to one another• Positive correlation – both ind. and dep.

variables change in the same way• Negative correlation – variables change in

opposite directions• Spurious correlation – apparent relationship

b/w 2 variables is actually caused by a 3rd variable

– Church attendance and delinquency

• Just because there is correlation does not guarantee causation

• Standards for showing causation1. 2 variables must be correlated2. All other possible factors must be taken into

account3. A change in the independent variable must

occur before a change in the dependent variable can occur

Procedures and Ethics in Research• Scientific Method

1. Identify the Problem2. Review the literature3. Formulate hypotheses – testable statement of

relationships among well-defined variables4. Develop a research design5. Collect data6. Analyze data7. State findings & conclusions

• Many Sociologists do not follow these steps to the letter.– Exploratory research, changing hypotheses during

the study

• Ethics - a system of moral principles– Showing objectivity– using superior research standards– reporting findings and method truthfully– Protecting rights, privacy, integrity, dignity, and

freedom of research subjects

Mean – the average of a series of numbers

Median – the middle number in a series of numbers•If series has and odd number of numbers it is the middle number•If series is ever you add the 2 middle numbers and

divide by 2

Mode – the number in the series that reoccurs most frequently

1, 5, 3, 8, 1, 6, 4, 1, 5

Mean – 3.77Median – 4Mode - 1