How Sociologists Do Research - Flashcards

60 vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the lecture on how sociologists do research, including scientific thinking, ethics, and various research methods.

Concrete experience

Experience obtained by seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, and hearing.

Abstract experience

The imaginary world of the mind.

Propositions

Ideas that result from finding the relationship between concepts.

Casual observation

An ordinary human inquiry performed during our daily lives to search for cause-and-effect understanding.

Tradition

A way of knowing where knowledge is based on customary beliefs or practices passed down.

Authority

A way of knowing where the truth comes from an authoritative source or an expert.

Science

Knowledge based upon making direct, systemic observations, requiring logical and empirical support.

Logical support

For scientific claims, something that must make sense.

Empirical support

For scientific claims, something that must be observable, measurable, and testable.

Popper Principle

States that scientific claims must be falsifiable.

Falsifiability

The principle that a scientific hypothesis or theory must be able to be proved wrong.

Participant Observation

A qualitative method where researchers take part in the social group being studied and systematically observe what occurs.

Bias

The systematic tendency to reach a certain type of conclusion or judgment.

Deliberate observation

Intentional and systematic viewing conducted by sociologists as scientists.

Systematic methods of measurement

Structured and organized procedures for collecting data in research.

Peer review process

The evaluation of scientific or academic work by others working in the same field.

Careful sampling

The process of selecting a representative subgroup from a population for research.

Social Desirability Bias

An error that results from respondents’ tendencies to answer in ways that will make them look favourable to the researcher.

Overgeneralization error

An error in inquiry that occurs when exceptions are treated as the rule.

Selective observation

An error in inquiry that occurs when evidence challenging firmly held beliefs is ignored in favor of confirming evidence.

Illogical reasoning

An error in inquiry such as expecting the recurrence of events without reasonable cause or believing dreams foreshadow.

Pseudoscience

Claims and beliefs that sound scientific but do not meet the standards of the scientific method.

Conspiracy theories

Explanations for events or situations that invoke plots by powerful and malevolent groups, often preying on illogical reasoning.

Barnum statement

A super general statement that can apply to almost anyone, often used in psychic readings.

Hot Readings

Psychic techniques involving prior research on a client.

Cold Readings

Psychic techniques involving making guesses about an audience without prior knowledge.

Anecdotal evidence

Evidence based on personal accounts or stories rather than systematic study or facts.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

Ethical Considerations

Principles that guide responsible conduct in research, ensuring participant welfare and integrity.

Voluntary participation

The principle that research subjects must be willing and able to consent to participate.

Informed Consent

Voluntary participation in research based on a full understanding of the risks and benefits.

Harm minimization

The ethical principle of limiting potential negative, physical, or psychological impacts on research participants.

Right to safety

An ethical principle ensuring the physical and psychological well-being of research participants.

Right to privacy

An ethical principle encompassing confidentiality and anonymity in research.

Anonymity

A research condition where neither the researcher nor consumers of research know how particular subjects answered questions.

Confidentiality

A research condition where the researcher possesses the link between subjects and evidence but agrees to destroy or not share this information.

Authenticity (Ethics)

The ethical principle that the appearances of an experiment match its true purpose, avoiding deception.

Debrief subjects

The process of interviewing participants at the close of an investigation to inform them of what actually took place.

Informed consent form

A document signed by participants outlining research risks and acknowledging their voluntary participation.

Positivist Tradition

A research tradition where social realities are objective and best studied through quantitative methods.

Auguste Comte

The founder of the Positivist tradition, emphasizing objective social reality.

Quantitative research methods

Research methods that measure objective social reality in a numerical manner, often using surveys and statistics.

Interpretivist Tradition

A research tradition where social realities are subjectively constructed and best studied through qualitative methods.

Qualitative research methods

Research methods focusing on subjective meanings and motives using words and interpretative analysis.

Deductive reasoning

A research approach that begins with general ideas and proceeds to test their validity on specific cases (general to specific).

Inductive reasoning

A research approach that begins with concrete cases and proceeds to identify general patterns and themes (specific to general).

Spuriousness

Occurs when a control variable causes changes in both independent and dependent variables, thereby potentially erasing their apparent association.

Experiment

A carefully controlled artificial situation allowing researchers to isolate hypothesized causes and precisely measure their effects.

Surveys

Research tools that ask people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behavior through interviews or questionnaires.

Independent variable

The presumed cause in a cause-and-effect relationship.

Dependent variable

The presumed effect in a cause-and-effect relationship.

Control variable

A variable that identifies the context of the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable.

Experimental group

The group that is exposed to the independent variable in an experiment.

Control group

The group that is not exposed to the independent variable in an experiment.

Randomization

The process of assigning subjects to experimental or control groups by chance to ensure similarity between groups.

Validity

The degree to which results reflect reality, meaning a measure actually measures what it is intended to measure.

Reliability

The degree to which a measurement procedure yields consistent results.

Operationalization

The process of translating an abstract concept into a measurable variable.

Variable

A measure of a concept that has more than one value or score.

Reactivity

Occurs when the presence of a researcher causes the observed people to conceal certain things or act artificially.