SOC150 Week 2 Reading

basic research

research conducted for its own sake (aka pure science)

applied research

a type of research that applies scientific knowledge to a practical problem (client-focused)

evaluation research

a type of research that aims to assess whether social programs are effective in achieving their objectives

think tanks

private or government-run organizations that conduct research to help governments, corporations, social movements, or other groups make decisions about the best policies to pursue or reforms to make

public sociology

the application of sociological theories and research to matters of public interest

big data

large datasets that typically have been created through automated processes (such as data generated by online platforms) and require sophisticated data-processing techniques to analyze

public sector

the portion of an economy (including the labour market) that is controlled by the government

private sector

the portion of an economy (including the labour market) that is not controlled by the government - for instance, the activities of for-profit firms and nonprofit organizations

professional associations

membership organizations that represent individuals who share employment or interests in a specific industry or field, such as an academic discipline like sociology

academic tenure

a form of job security granted to senior professors who are distinguished as experts in their field (it makes it difficult to fire a professor and is meant to protect their ability to study and write abt controversial topics)

adjunct faculty

part-time instructors or lecturers at a college or uni who do not hv long-term contracts with the uni, but who are typically paid for each class they teach

policymakers

top gov, corporate, or other officials who can create laws, regulations, rules, and other sorts of policies that affect people's behaviour

independent scholars

researchers without any affiliations to a uni, think tan, or other institution

market research

research to help guide companies make decisions abt increasing their sales or improving their performance

focus groups

interviews conducted with a group of respondents at the same time

data analytics

involves the use of scientific methods to interpret available information, identify trends and patterns, and map complex relationships

social network analysis

a method for examining the ties linking individuals, groups, or other unites and the dynamics and consequences of these structures

ethnography

a qualitative method of studying a phenomenon within its social context by doing first-hand observations and providing detailed descriptions

thick description

a detailed description of the unfolding of a scene observed first-hand, with particular attention to the subjective and cultural meanings of any behaviours and other aspects of the larger social context

user experience research

a type of research that seeks to better understand the perspective of the end user, the person who will ultimately use the company's product or service

policy briefs

reports written by experts that summarize a particular issue and the recommended policy approaches for dealing with it

white paper

a report that presents an organization's take on an issue, often meant to spark discussion and debate among policymakers, the public, or other audiences

policy intervention

action by policymakers to launch or expand particular programs or enact or alter particular laws

program

made up of different interventions that individuals or groups receive - anything from giving low-income households access to housing vouchers, to enrolling individuals in a smoking-cessation class

needs assessment

a systematic effort to determine what assistance may be needed by the individual clients or communities that a program serves

outcomes assessment

an analysis conducted to determine whether a program has achieved its intended outcomes

demography

a sociological field that focuses on the statistical study of populations

nonprofit organizations

organizations like charities, churches, labour unions, and political organizations that are not government-owned and operate within the private sector, yet-unlike for-profit firms-commit any profits they make to the organization's social purpose

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

nonprofit organizations that operate outside of government control and typically conduct operations on behalf of social or political causes across multiple countries

advocacy groups

organizations that engage in public communications and/or lobbying to influence the views and decisions of important audiences, including policymakers and the general public

foundations

private organizations that manage large amounts of assets on behalf of a particular public purpose

clinical sociology

the use of sociological knowledge to improve people's quality of life in a healthcare setting

social determinants of health

the social and environmental conditions and patterns of social interactions that influence the well-being of individuals

public health

an interdisciplinary science focused on studying the determinants of health - including social determinants - and using that knowledge to craft policies and interventions that prevent disease and promote health within communities and societies

implementation research

a type of research that attempts to make better use of scientific knowledge in real-world settings, paying close attention to the roles that various groups play in the successful implementations of that knowledge

intergovernmental organizations

organizations that involve two or more nations working to further a common interest of goal

participatory action research

a type of research that seeks to improve the conditions of a particular community

community-engaged research

a type of research that involves people in the communities being studied as active participants in the research process, rather than passive "subjects" or sources of information

stakeholders

the various individuals or groups with a stake in the outcome of an endeavor

inferences

conclusions based on empirical evidence

paradigms

ways of viewing the world and understanding the human experience

theories

systematic explanations of a natural or social behaviour, event, or other phenomenon

theoretical models

theories that provide a simplified understanding of some process

levels of analysis

the different levels of aggregation at which social scientists can study phenomena, which can range from the macro (societies) to the micro (individuals)

micro level

the lowest level of analysis, which in the social sciences typically involves the study of individuals

unit of analysis

the class of phenomena (e.g., individuals, groups, objects, societies) that researchers want to learn abt through their research

dyads

pairs of people who are connected through social interaction

meso level

the middle level of analysis, which in the social sciences typically involves the study of organizations or other kinds of groups

macro level

the highest level of analysis, which in the social sciences often involves the study of communities, societies, or countries

concepts

can be loosely defined as a mental image of a particular phenomenon that summarizes its key aspects

dimensions

aspects of a concept that can vary

operational definitions

a definitions or procedure for how researchers actually measure an abstract concept when they are collecting data

operationalization

the stage of the research process at which the researcher specifies explicitly and clearly how a concept will be measured

variable

a quantity or characteristic that can vary

research instrument

particular tools that are used in research to measure concepts, such as a survey questionnaire or interview guide

research participants

the people or communities being studied by a researcher

working definition

a draft definition for a particular concept that the researchers uses at the initial stages of a study to help guide their research

independent variable

a variable that a researcher believes explains changes in another variable

dependent variable

a variable thought to be influenced or changed by another variable

value

a specific measurement or observed level of a variable

correlation

when variables are related to one another, in the sense that changes in one variable are associated with changes in another variable

attributes

characteristics of a variable representing its different possible values or categories

direction of the relationship

whether the overall relationship between two numerical variables is positive or negative.

positive relationship

a type of relationship between two numerical variables in which the value of one variable goes up as the value of the other variable goes up, and vice versa

negative relationship (aka inverse relationship)

a type of relationship between two numerical variables in which the value of one variable goes down as the value of the other variable goes up, and vice versa

hypothesis

scientific conjectures - educated guesses - about how the various concepts being studied are related, which researchers develop based on logic or the findings of past research

deductive approach

an approach to empirical investigation in which researchers start with a social theory that they find noteworthy and then test its implications with data

inductive approach (aka induction/inductive analysis)

an approach to empirical investigation in which researchers start with a set of observations and use the empirical evidence they gather to create a more general set of propositions about how the world operates

concept map

a visualization of how concepts relate to one another, which typically includes boxes that represent concepts and arrows that represent relationships

direction of causality

a description of the presumed relationship between two variables that specifies whether changes in the first variable cause changes in the second, or vice versa

mediation

when a concept stands between and links two other concepts in a casual relationship

casual mechanism

the specific process or pathway by which one concept affects another (aka mediating concept, mediating variable, or linking concept)

casual story (aka explanatory story)

a theory of how exactly changes in one concept lead to changes in another concept

moderation (aka interaction)

when a concept (or variable) influences the relationship between two other concepts (or variables)

spuriousness

a situation in which a relationship between two concepts seems to exist but, in reality, they are linked by a third concept, a confounder

confounder (aka confounding variable)

a variable other than the presumed independent variable that may be influencing the dependent variable

suppressor variable

a type of confounder that influences the dependent variable in such a manner that not accounting for it will lead a researcher to mischaracterize the relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable as positive when it is actually negative, or vice versa

reverse causality

a situation in which researchers believe that a change in concept A causes a change in concept B, but the opposite is actually the case

bidirectional

when the causality in a relationship runs in both directions- that is, when changes in the first variable cause changes in the second variable, and changes in the second cause changes in the first

feedback loops

situations in which a change in concept A leads to a change in concept B - which, in turn, loops back to change concept A

scope conditions

the conditions under which a relevant theory derived from a study's empirical research can and cannot reasonably be applied

WEIRD societies

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic

falsifiable

the possibility that empirical observations can show a hypothesis generated from a theory to be untrue

parsimony

how economical a theory is, as measured by how much of a particular phenomenon it can explain, with how few variables

structural functionalism

a major theoretical approach that focuses on the interrelations between various parts of society and how each part works with the others to make society function in the way that it does

conflict theory

a major theoretical approach that is interested in questions of power

symbolic interactionism

a major theoretical approach that studies how meaning is created and negotiated through social interactions

symbols

the representations that people use to communicate their thoughts and feelings

positivism

a paradigm of scientific knowledge that prioritizes principles of obectivity, knowability, and deductive logic

postpositivism

a paradigm of scientific knowledge that, like positivism, seeks to reject false beliefs through empirical observation, but also holds that it is impossible to verify the truth in any exhaustive fashion

antipositivism

a variety of theoretical approaches that critique positivism and its belief in the possibility of arriving at the truth of reality

social constructivism

a paradigm of scientific knowledge that sees "truth" as a varying, socially constructed, and ever-changing notion, and "reality" as created through people's interactions and interpretations of those interactions

critical theory

a paradigm of scientific knowledge focused on power, inequality, and social change

postmodernism

a paradigm of scientific knowledge that directly challenges the idea of objective knowledge as well as the various ways of knowing that science has traditionally used