Sociology

Chapter 2

Section 1Research Methods

• Goal is to test common sense assumptions and replace false ideas with facts and evidence

• Focus on why and how

• No actual laboratory to conduct research (need real life situations)

Quantitative research

• Numerical data– Surveys– Precollected data- ex: census– 90 percent of their research is by survey

Survey research

• Good for studying a large number of people

• Two groups: population and sample– Population: Those with characteristics a

researcher wants to study– Sample: is a limited number of cases drawn

from the larger population

Sample

• Representative sample– Must have the same basic characteristics as

the general population– How do you get a sample

• Randomization- unbiased

Gathering information

• Questionnaire

• Interview

• closed ended questions- Ex: multiple choice or scale

• Open ended questions- very difficult to analyze, opens the door for opinions and biased responses, Question might be interpreted incorrectly

Secondary analysis

• Using precollected information– The United States Census– US department of Labor– US department of Commerce

Qualitative research

• Use of narrative or descriptive data

• Field research – Looks closely at aspects of life that can not be

measured with numbers and are best understood with in a natural setting

– Use of obervation: ex “cliques” with in a school environment

Case study

• A thorough investigation of a single group, incident, or community

• Generalize this information to similar situations– Ex: a case study of gangs in New York city

can be applied to other large cities– The researcher also needs to point out in

his/her case study things that might be unique to that particular city

Participant observation

• The researcher becomes a member of the group being studied– EX: if a researcher is studying recovering

alcoholics and decided to become part an AA group

Section 2 Causation in Science

• Events occur in predictable nonrandom ways

• Multiple causation– An event occurs as a result of several factors

working in combination• Ex WWI-powder keg

Variable

• Characteristic: age, gender, education, occupation etc.

• Variables can be quantitative or qualitative, independent or dependent

• Quantitative variable- numeric

• Qualitative variable- categories ex: male/female, yes/no, marital status etc

Variables

• Independent variable– A variable that causes something to occur

• Time spent studying for a test

• Dependent variable– The result from the change in the independent

variable• The final grade on the test

Intervening Variables

• Influence the relationship between an independent and dependent variable– Government intervention to help end a

situation– Ex: program designed to end hunger

correlation• Measure of how things are related to one

another• A correlation DOES NOT MEAN causation• Can be positive or negative• Positive

– Longer time spent studying increase the grade

• Negative– Longer time spent watching TV the grade

goes down

Standards for showing causation

• Open books to page 53

Section 3 procedures and Ethics in research

• Research procedures– Identify the problem– Review literature– Formulate hypothesis– Develop research design– Collect data– Analyze data– State findings and conclusion

Ethics in research

• Strict codes that must be followed when conducting research– Unfortunately not all research believe or

follow these codes• Nuremburg trials- 24 doctors convicted of

conducting sadistic experiments on inmates• 1932-1972 US intentionally did not treat 400

syphilitic Africans Americans so they could tract the evolution of the disease