Chapter 2

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Sociology

44 Terms

1

primary data

Information collected personally by a researcher

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2

secondary data

data that already exists; data not personally generated by the researcher

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3

official statistics

A government- generated secondary source of data on areas such as crime, marriage, and employment

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4

quantitative data

information expressed numerically that captures the 'who, what, when, and where' of behavior

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5

correlation

a statistical relationship between two or more variables that expresses a level of probability. A high (positive) correlation suggests the strong probability of a relationship. A low (negative) correlation suggests the probability of little or no relationship.

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6

hypothesis

a statement put forward by the researcher which is then tested to see to see whether it is correct.

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7

qualitative data

non- numeric data that expresses the quality of a relationship

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8

participant observation

a research method that involves the researcher participating, openly (overtly) or secretly (covertly) in the behavior they are studying.

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9

comparative analysis

collecting data on one group or society and then comparing them with others to identify conditions that may be causing social events.

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10

representativeness

extent to which the characteristics of a sample population accurately reflect those of the target population

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11

personal documents

secondary source of data covering areas such as personal letters, diaries, oral (verbal) histories, websites, social networking sites and photographs.

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12

questionnaire

research method consisting of a list of written questions

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13

structured interview

Set of standard questions asked by the researcher of the respondent. It is similar to a questionnaire, but is delivered by the researcher rather than completed by a respondent.

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14

researcher effect

Also called the interviewer effect, this refers to how the relationship between researcher and respondent may bias responses and lead to invalid data

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15

variables

factors that can be changed (manipulated) by the researcher to understand their effect on behavior.

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16

correlations

when research shows a relationship or connection between two or more variables

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17

causation

the idea that when one action occurs, another always follows because the latter is caused by the former

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18

experimental group

the subjects of an experiment. The researcher changes different variables to test their effect on behavior. There is often also a control group, for whom the variable is not changed. This allows comparisons to be made between the control and experimental groups.

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19

control group

in experiments, a group for which the researcher does not change the variables, so that it can be compared with groups for whom variables have been changed.

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20

experiment

a research method which follows a set procedure to test a hypothesis. Laboratory experiments take place in a closed environment where conditions can be precisely monitored and controlled. Field experiments take place in the 'real world.'

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21

Hawthorne (observer) effect

changes in people's behavior that result from their knowledge of being observed

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22

content analysis

Research method used for the systematic analysis of media texts and communications

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23

unstructured interviews

free-form interview method where the objective is to get the respondent to talk, without help (prompting) or interruption, about whatever they feel is important about a topic

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24

Semi-structured interviews

a research method in which a respondent is encouraged to talk at length about a particular subject. Also called focused interviews because the topic is decided by the researcher and is the focus of their questions.

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25

Group interview

also called focus groups, these involve respondents discussing a topic as a group rather than individually.

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26

Verstehen

research strategy central to participant observation, which takes advantage of the researcher's ability to see things from the subject's viewpoint.

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27

Overt participant observation

when those being studied are aware they are being researched. contrasted with covert participant observation, which is when those being studied are unaware they are part of a research project.

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28

Non-participant observation

when the researcher observes behavior without participating in that behavior.

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29

sample

involves a small number of subjects drawn from a much larger (target)population. sociologists use a variety of random and non-random sampling techniques.

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30

pilot study

a 'mini version' of full-scale study designed to test its feasibility.

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31

operationalization

converting a concept, such as social class or cultural capital, into something that can be researched and measured.

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32

case study

an in-depth, qualitative, study of a particular group of 'case.'

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33

cross-sectional study

research method focused on identifying groups that share broad similarities, such as level of education, and measuring differences in a single variable; whether, for example, people with a high level of education have higher rates of suicide than those with a lower level of education.

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34

ethnography

the in-depth study of a group or culture, usually involving participant observation and often other methods as well.

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35

longitudinal study

a form of comparative analysis that involves tracking changes among a representative sample over time.

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36

methodological pluralism

combining research methodologies in ways that allow each to complement the other to improve research reliability and validity.

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37

positivism

the approach within sociology which promotes (advocates) scientific methods to discover facts about the social world.

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38

interpretivism

the approach within sociology which advocated methods that enable the sociologist to understand the meanings that people attach to their actions.

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39

triangulation

the use of two or more research methods where the weaknesses of one method, such as a quantitative interview, can be balanced (offset) by the strengths of another, such as qualitative participant observation, to improve overall research reliability and validity.

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40

value-free

the ability of researchers to prevent their own values (such as personal, political or religious values) from influencing their research.

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41

ethical issues

'ethics' refers to the morality of doing something. ethical questions relating to sociological research involve beliefs about what a researcher should or should not do before, during and after their research.

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42

validity

the extent to which a research method describes or measures what it claims to describe or measure.

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43

reliability

the effectiveness of the research approach in generating consistent data. a researcher can check the reliability of their research by the repeating (replicating) the research to see whether they get the same, or very similar, results.

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44

generalize

when findings of research on a sample can be said to apply to a larger population.

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