Sociological research

Research - the process of systematic observation

The basic goal of sociological research is to understand the social world in its many forms.

Principles of social research

Objectivity Fairness Lack of prejudice Ethical enquiry Employ stated method

The two main types of social research and analysis are quantitative methods and qualitative methods.

Sociologists often use quantitative methods -- such as statistical data - to investigate the structure of a social process or describe patterns in social relationships.

Sociologists also often use qualitative methods - such as focused interviews, group discussions, etc - to investigate social processes.

Sociologists use four major approaches to research:

literature review experiments Surveys and field observation data classification and Analysis of existing

data

Key Research Methods in Sociology

Literature review

A literature search involves reviewing all readily available materials. These materials can include internal company information, relevant trade publications, newspapers, magazines, annual reports, company literature, on-line data bases, and any other published materials.

This is a very inexpensive method of gathering information, although it often does not yield timely information. Literature searches over the web are the fastest, while library literature searches can take between one and eight weeks

–literature review – official and unofficial documents, library references, publication etc.

Experiment An experiment is research that is carried out in a

situation, such as a laboratory or classroom, that is under the control of the researcher.

In an experiment, the researcher changes or manipulates the independent variable, tries to keep everything else constant, and measures the dependent variable before and after the change in the independent variable.

In the scientific method, an experiment is a set of observations performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to support or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena.

Experiments Suppose, for example, that a researcher wanted to

find out if seeing a movie advocating tolerance would reduce people’s levels of racial prejudice.

The researcher could give a group of people a questionnaire measuring prejudice, show them the movie, then give them the scale again to see if their attitudes had changed. If they had, there would be evidence both of correlation between seeing the movie and prejudice score and of correct time order.

The experiment is a cornerstone in the empirical approach to acquiring deeper knowledge about the physical world

Field survey

Survey research, which is the most widely used type of research design in sociology. Survey research is any research in which a population or a sample of a population is asked a set of questions that are worked out in advance by the researcher. In survey research, the variables are constructed from people’s responses to the survey questions.

Data classification and Analysis

Documentation Classification Appropriate analytical Tools

– Statistical Tools– Observation tools