Chapter 2

Surveys

SurveysSurvey

Most widely used research method for sociologists

PopulationEveryone with the characteristics a researcher

wants to study Ex: high school seniors, single mothers, etc.

SampleLimited number of cases drawn from a larger

populationMust be representative

How surveys are gathered?Questionaire – a written set of question that

survey participants answer by themselvesInterview – a trained interviewer asks

questions and records the answersClosed-ended questions – limited,

predetermined set of responsesOpen-ended questions – answer in your own

wordsPros and cons??????

P. 41

Collecting dataSecondary analysis

Use data that is already collected Ex: prison records, census records

Advantages vs. Disadvantages (p. 42)

Field ResearchParticipant Observation

Researchers involve themselves in a group they are studying with or without the group’s knowledge Ex: Black like Me

Case StudySingle study that SHOULD fit the findings of

other groupsPage 43.

CausationCausation

Events occur in predictable, nonrandom ways Ex: What goes up must come down

Multiple CausationEvents occur for many different reasons

Ex: Crime is caused by drugs, poor parenting, peer pressure, etc.

These are called variables

VariablesVariables

Characteristics that are subject to change Ex: age, education, occupation

Quantitative variablesVariables that can be measured and given a

numerical value Ex: literacy rate, income average, years of schooling

Qualitative variablesIdentified by membership in a group or category

Ex: Gender, marital status

CorrelationCorrelation

Looks at how things are related to one another

Positive correlationBoth variables move in the same direction

As study time increases, test scores increase

Negative correlationVariables move in opposite directions

Grades decrease as television viewing increases

Positive and Negative Correlations