Sociology 101 – Chapter 2
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Scientific Method
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The procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experimentation.
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Steps of Scientific Method
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1. I.D. problem or ask general question 2. Do literature review 3. Formulate a hypothesis and give operational definitions to the variables 4. Choose a research method/design 5. Collect the data 6. Analyze data, evaluate accuracy of hypothesis in predicting an outcome 7. Publish findings
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Operational Definition
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A clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates its measurement.
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Intervening Variable
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A third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables.
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Correlation
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A relationship between variables in which they change together, and may or may not be causal.
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Causation
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A relationship between variables in which a change in one directly produces a change in the other.
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Spurious Correlation
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The appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable; correlation does not equal causation.
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Research Methods
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Surveys; interviews; ethnography (written record); use of existing sources; systematic scientific experimentation.
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Ethnography
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The process of collecting data by producing written records of observations with the goal of describing activities sociologist observed and participated in, and understanding what those activities mean to the group being studied.
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Participant Observation
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A methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting.
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Rapport Access
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A positive relationship often characterized by mutual trust or sympathy.
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Fieldnotes
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Detailed notes about the data collected by participant-observers.
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Thick Description
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The presentation of detailed data on interactions and meaning within a cultural context, from the perspective of its members.
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Reflexivity
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How the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting.
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Grounded Theory
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An inductive approach of analyzing data that tries to fit data into categories and identifies relationships between these categories.
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Interviews
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Face-to-face, information-seeking conversations that have a target population to try to generalize about; characteristically micro and qualitative.
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Closed-ended Question
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A question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the possible responses.
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Open-ended Question
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A question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses.
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Double-Barreled Question
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A question that attempts to get at multiple issues at once, and so tends to receive incomplete or confusing answers.
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Surveys
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Questionnaires that are given to a sample of respondents from a target population; one of earliest people to use this method was Marx; macro and quantitative in nature.
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Likert Scale
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Usually on surveys, respondents can choose along a continuum.
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Negative Questions
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Survey questions that ask respondents what they don't think instead of what they do.
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Probability Sampling
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Any sampling scheme in which any given unit has the same chance of being chosen.
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Simple Random Sample
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A particular type of probability sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
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Weighting
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Techniques used for manipulating the sampling procedure so that the sample more closely resembles the larger population.
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Validity
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The degree to which a researcher is measuring what he thinks he is measuring.
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Comparative and Historical Methods
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Methods that use existing sources to study relationships among elements of society in various regions and time periods.
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Content Analysis
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A method that counts the number of times specific variables appear in a text, image, or media message; the variables and the relationships between the variables are then analyzed.
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Control
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In an experiment, the process of regulating all factors except for the independent variable.
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Value-free Sociology
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An ideal whereby researchers identify facts without allowing their own personal beliefs or biases to interfere.
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Basic Research
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The search for knowledge without any agenda or desire to use that knowledge to effect change.
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Applied Research
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Research designed to gather knowledge that can be used to create some sort of change; putting into action what is learned.
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Objectivity
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Impartiality; the ability to allow the facts to speak for themselves.
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Reactivity
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The tendency of people and events to react to the process of being studied.
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Hawthorne Effect
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A specific example of reactivity, in which the desired effect is the result not of the independent variable but of the research itself.
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Deception
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The extent to which the participants in a research project are unaware of the project or its goals.
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Code of Ethics
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Ethical guidelines for researchers to consult as they design a project.
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Institutional Review Board
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A group of scholars within a university who meet regularly to review and approve the research proposals of their colleagues and make recommendations for how to protect human subjects.
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Advantages of Existing Sources
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-Researchers can use information they couldn't obtain for themselves -The ability to learn about many social worlds in different time periods -Researchers can use same data to replicate projects that have been conducted before
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Disadvantages of Existing Sources
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-Researchers want to answer questions that the original authors didn't have in mind -Does not illuminate how messages inherent in the media are interpreted
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Advantages of Experiments
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-Give sociologists a way to manipulate and control the social environment they want to understand -Good for researchers who are developing theories about the way the social world operates -Have replicability (can be repeated)
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Disadvantages of Experiments
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-Only applicable to certain types of research that can be constructed and measured in controlled settings -Provides distance from the bad realities of the social world
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Advantages of Surveys
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-Good method for gathering original data on a population that is too large to study in other ways -Relatively quick and affordable -Has a strong reliability -Less concern about interviewer or observer bias
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Disadvantages of Surveys
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-Generally lacks qualitative data -Weak on validity (not all respondents are honest) -Misrepresentation -Data can be used to support a point of view instead of pure scientific discovery
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Advantages of Interviews
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-Allow respondents to speak in their own words -May help dispel certain preconceptions and discover issues that might have been overlooked
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Disadvantages of Interviews
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-Respondents are not always truthful -Representativeness: can the research be applied to larger groups?
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Advantages of Ethnography
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-Excel at telling stories that might be overlooked -Challenge taken-for-granted notions about groups -Reshape stereotypes -Led the way for methodological innovations like reflexivity and researcher roles in the field
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Disadvantages of Ethnography
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-Lack of replicability -Possibility of poor representativeness -Possibility of bias
