the uses of social research chapter 1. introduction research question a question about one or more...
TRANSCRIPT
The Uses of Social Research
Chapter 1
Introduction
Research question A question about one or more topics or
concepts that can be answered through research
Is almost everyone in the country married with children or are they living alone?
Introduction
Research question example Is almost everyone in the country married with
children or are they living alone? Start by looking at Census data
Introduction
Introduction
Revised research question Are more young people planning to marry
without having children, to marry and have children, or to live alone?
Introduction
STOP AND THINK Can you think of a better way of finding how
young people plan to live in the future than with the Census data about the year 2006?
Introduction
Unit of analysisThe unit about which information is collected
Introduction
STOP AND THINK Identify the units of analysis for each of the
following studies Southgate and Roscigno’s (2009) study that
found that involvement in music is associated academic performance for both young children and adolescents
Cooney and Burt’s (2008) finding that in American counties where a particular crime occurs frequently the average punishment for that crime will be less severe than in counties where it occurs rarely
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
Research is a way of knowing How do we “know” things?
We collect data in a number of ways
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
Knowledge from authorities Socially defined sources of knowledge
Mom, Census Bureau, social institutions (religion, schools, news media)
When we rely on physicians, clergy members, and elected officials for information, we are putting our faith in their knowledge in those positions of authority.
Problems Inappropriate Misleading Incorrect
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
Knowledge from personal inquiry Inquiry that employs the senses’ evidence for arriving
at knowledge Example
If the flu has been going around and your friends and family have been ill and you begin to feel sick, observing them to see what they are doing to get better and what is working is an example of personal inquiry
Problems Overgeneralize Perceive Selectively Premature Closure
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
The Scientific Method A way of conducting empirical research
following rules that specify objectivity, logic, and communication among a community of knowledge seekers, and the connection between research and theory
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
The Scientific Method Positivist view of science
A view that human knowledge must be based on what can be perceived
Objectivity The ability to see the world as it really is
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
The Scientific Method Post-positivist view of science
A view that knowledge is not based on irrefutable observable grounds, that it is always somewhat speculative, but that science can provide relatively solid grounds for these speculations
Intersubjectivity Agreements about reality that result from
comparing the observations of more than one observer
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
The Scientific Method Strengths
The promotion of skepticism and intersubjectivity The extensive use of communication Teaching ideas factually The use of logic Theoretical explanation
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
STOP AND THINK Suppose I submit a research report to a
journal and the journal’s editor writes back that the journal won’t publish my findings because expert reviewers don’t find them persuasive.
Which of the strengths of the scientific method is the editor relying on to make his or her judgment?
Research versus Other Ways of Knowing
The Scientific Method Theory
An explanation about how and why something is as it is.
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Uses of social research Basic research
Research designed to add to our fundamental understanding and knowledge about the social world
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Uses of social research Applied research
Research intended to be useful in the immediate future and to suggest action or increase effectiveness in some area
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Uses of social research Social theory
Explanations about how and why people act in certain ways
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Purposes of social research Exploratory research
Ground-breaking research on a relatively unstudied topic or in a new area
Tends to be inductive The researcher starts with observations about the
subject and tries to develop tentative generalizations about it
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Purposes of social research Qualitative data analysis
Analysis that tends to involve the interpretation of actions or the representations of meanings in words
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Purposes of social research Descriptive research
Descriptive study Research designed to describe groups, activities,
situations, or events
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Purposes of social research Quantitative data analysis
Analysis based on the statistical summary of data
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research
Purposes of social research Explanatory research
Research designed to explain why subjects vary in one way or another
Tends to be deductive Often uses preexisting theories to decide what kinds of
data should be collected Example
Let’s say that there is a well-known theory that we can call “The General Attraction Theory” and that it suggests that people who are physically attractive get more of society’s rewards than less attractive people. If we have a hypothesis that people who are physically attractive are more likely to be hired for certain jobs than their less attractive peers and wanted to test this theory in a specific industry – we would be conducting explanatory research
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research Purposes of social research
Evaluation research Research designed to assess the impacts of
programs, policies, or legal changes
The Uses and Purposes of Social Research STOP AND THINK
Suppose you’ve been asked to learn something about the new kinds of communities that have arisen out of people’s use of tweets and twitter.
Of the four kinds of research outlined above (exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, evaluation), what kind of study have you been asked to do?
Summary
Professional and practical benefits Creation of usable theories about our social
world Social research methods can help us explore,
describe, and explain aspects of the social world, as well as evaluate whether particular programs or policies actually work.
Why are you in this class?
Learn to be an informed consumer of research A statistic by itself is only one piece of
information You have to be accountable for your work You have ethical responsibilities
Quiz – Question 1
If we are presenting a detailed picture of a population, in terms of gender, age, income, residence, we have most likely conducted
a. evaluation research.
b. exploratory research.
c. explanation research.
d. descriptive research.
Quiz – Question 2
In many ways, the scientific methoda. compensates for the shortcomings of other
approaches to knowledge.
b. relies exclusively on the word of “authorities” and “personal inquiry”.
c. emphasizes the value of communities of scientists and critical skepticism.
d. both A and C
e. all of the above
Quiz – Question 3
Which of the following statements is factually testable?
a. All extra-terrestrials have large skulls.
b. Individuals with more education earn more than less educated individuals.
c. The death penalty is less moral than first-degree murder.
d. War should be outlawed.
e. None of the above