SOC150 Final

Experiment

A method of data collection designed to test hypotheses under controlled conditions

Breaching Experiment

Consciously breaking everyday social norms and observing other people’s reactions to them

Social Desirability Bias

The tendency to underreport attitudes and behaviours that respondents think will be looked down on and overreport attitudes and behaviours that they think will make them look good

Classic Experiment Designs

Test the effect of a stimulus by comparing an experiment group, who is exposed to the stimulus, and a control group, who is not exposed

Three Key Features: Independent and dependent variables, pretesting and posttesting, and experimental and control groups

Informed Consent

Ensures participants willingly agree to be involved in a study after clearly understanding its purpose, methods, risks, benefits, and their rights as participants

External Validity

Does the stimulus applied to the experimental group actually resemble the stimuli the people will encounter in the real world

Internal Validity

Did the stimulus actually produce the observed effect, or was it some other factor

Field Experiments

Blend experimental methods with field-based research / Stimulates real-world interactions and relies on real context

Ex: Instead of asking STEM professors to rate CVs, a field experiment would send CVs to actual postdoc openings

Audit Studies

A type of research method commonly used in sociology to empirically measure discrimination, bias, or unequal treatment in various real-world situations, particularly employment, housing, or consumer markets

Ban the Box Movement

Urges employers to get rid of the box that ex-felons have to tick on a job application about their criminal records

Ascribed Statuses

Are social positions that people inherit at birth or acquire involuntarily over the life course (for example, make, Black, mother, widow)

Achieved Statuses

Are social positions that people obtain through their own actions (e.g. university graduate, lawyer, criminal)

Correspondence Studies

Audit studies that rely on paper submissions rather than in-person

Blind Hiring

An employment practice aimed at reducing biases and discrimination by removing identifying information (like names, gender, ethnicity, or age) from job applications or auditions

Interview

A method of data collection that involves two or more people exchanging information through a series of questions and answers

Interview Guide

A list of topics or questions that the interviewer hopes to cover during the course of an interview, including possible probes for more information

Probes

Follow-up questions or prompts used by researchers to encourage interviewees to elaborate, clarify, or expand on their initial responses

Semi-Structured Interviews

A type of qualitative interview that combines the structure of a prepared question list with the flexibility to explore interesting or unexpected topics as they arise during the conversation

Transcribe

Convert spoken words into written text

Codes

Short labels or tags that represent key ideas, themes, or patterns found in your data (like interview transcripts or field notes)

Open Coding

Involves reading through the text line by line and assigning descriptive labels (codes) to anything that seems interesting, important, or relevant—without trying to categorize or filter too much

Focused Coding

Happens after open coding and involves sorting, refining, and prioritizing the codes you created earlier to focus on the most significant or recurring patterns in the data

Interpretive

Refers to a research approach that focuses on understanding the meanings people attach to their actions, experiences, and social world—from their own point of view

Non-probability sample

A type of sampling method where not everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected. Instead of using random selection, participants are chosen based on availability, characteristics, or willingness to participate.

Ethnography (Field Research)

A qualitative method of data collection aimed at understanding, observing, and interacting with people in their natural settings

Participant Observation

A core technique within ethnography where the researcher actively takes part in the daily activities of the group or community they’re studying while also observing them

Descriptive Field Notes

Notes that simply describe a field researcher’s observations as straightforwardly as possible

Analytic Field Notes

Notes that include the researcher’s impressions about his observations

Positionality

Refers to a researcher’s social location in terms of race, gender, class, sexuality, nationality, education, age, and other markers

Reflexivity

Acknowledging how social location affects one’s vision of the world, in order to interrogate taken-for-granted assumptions

Feminist Standpoint Theory

A sociological approach that argues knowledge is shaped by social position, and that women—especially marginalized women—have unique and valuable perspectives rooted in their lived experiences

It challenges the idea of “neutral” or “objective” knowledge by emphasizing that all knowledge is situated and influenced by power dynamics

Ideological Apparatus

Refers to the systems, institutions, and ideas that reinforce and legitimize the dominant power structure in society—often in subtle, everyday ways

Relations of Ruling

Concept to describe the institutional and ideological systems that organize and control everyday life—especially in ways that reflect and maintain dominant (often male) power

Problematic

An everyday situation or experience that sociologists treat as a question, not a given—so they can uncover the hidden power structures behind it

Outsider Within

The unique standpoint produced as a result of being both included and excluded from a particular social milieu

Relationality

Understanding that knowledge, identity, and responsibility are rooted in our relationships—with people, land, ancestors, and communities

Axiology

The values and ethics behind how we do research

It asks: What matters? What’s right? What kind of researcher do we want to be?

Recursive Dispossession

A concept used to explain how colonialism repeatedly takes land and power from Indigenous peoples—not just once, but through a cycle of stealing, redefining, and re-stealing

Talking Circles

A culturally appropriate conversational research method, where participants go around in a circle sharing their answers to questions, including researchers

OCAP

Refers to a set of principles that guide how information about First Nations people is collected, used, and shared

Ownership ➤ The community owns their cultural knowledge and information—just like a person owns their personal data.

Control ➤ First Nations control all aspects of research about them, including how data is collected, interpreted, and used.

Access ➤ Communities must have access to all data collected about them and be able to decide who else can access it.

Possession ➤ The physical possession of data (like who stores it) matters, because it supports ownership and control.

CARE

Global ethical guidelines for Indigenous data—focused on community benefit, control, respect, and responsibility

Collective Benefit ➤ Indigenous data should be used in ways that benefit the whole community, not just researchers or outsiders.

Authority to Control ➤ Indigenous Peoples must have the right to control their own data, just like with OCAP—this includes cultural knowledge, land information, and more.

Responsibility ➤ Researchers have a duty to engage respectfully, build relationships, and understand cultural context.

Ethics ➤ Research must aim to do good and avoid harm, being sensitive to Indigenous values and experiences.

Mixed Methods

A research approach that combines both qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study to get a more complete understanding of a social issue

Mixed data–collection studies

A type of mixed methods research where the researcher gathers two or more different types of data, usually combining qualitative and quantitative data

Mixed data–analysis studies

A type of mixed methods research where the focus is on analyzing the data using both qualitative and quantitative techniques—even if the data itself comes from just one source or is already collected

Verstehen

Understanding people’s actions by seeing things from their point of view

Statistical discrimination

When people make decisions about someone based on stereotypes or assumptions about the group they belong to, rather than judging them as an individual

Ecological fallacy

Assuming that what’s true for a group must be true for each individual in it

Exploratory studies

Research projects designed to explore a new or unclear topic—especially when there’s not much existing information or theory about it

Explanatory studies

Research studies designed to explain the causes or reasons behind a phenomenon

Research that asks and answers “why” and “how” questions

Triangulation

Using multiple methods, data sources, or perspectives to study the same thing—so you can cross-check findings and increase credibility

Policy Intervention

Using research to assess or shape public policies, especially by examining their real-world impact on people

Survey Research

A quantitative method whereby a researcher poses some set of predetermined questions to an entire group, or sample, of individuals

Cross-Sectional Survey

A type of research design where data is collected at one single point in time—like taking a snapshot of a population or social phenomenon

Longitudinal Survey

Research studies that collect data from the same people repeatedly over time—like tracking a group’s journey instead of just taking a snapshot

Logistic Regression

a statistical method used when your outcome (dependent variable) is binary, meaning it has only two possible outcomes, like: yes/no ; hired/not hired ; arrested/not arrested

Odds Ratio

The odds of an event happening in one group compared to the odds of an event happening in another group

Statically Control

Means you’re using statistics to hold certain factors constant so you can isolate the effect of one variable

Ex: “If two people are the same age, gender, and live in the same area, but are of different races—is one still more likely to be stopped?”

Dummy Variables

Turning categories into 1s and 0s so they can be used in regression

Statistical Significance

Tells you whether the results you found in your study are likely real or just due to random chance

Ex: If something is statistically significant, it means there’s strong evidence that the relationship or effect actually exists—not just a fluke from random variation in the data

Systemic Racism

Patterns of behaviour, policies or practices that create and maintain the power of certain racial groups over others, or reinforce the disadvantage of certain racial groups

Social Location Bias

Refers to how a researcher’s own position in society—their race, gender, class, sexuality, age, education, etc.—can influence what they notice, assume, or interpret in their research

Reflexivity

Acknowledging how social location affects one’s vision of the world, in order to interrogate taken-for-granted assumptions

Probability Sampling

A sampling method where every person in the population has a random and fair chance of being selected for the study

Population

The cluster of people, events, things, or other phenomena that you are most interested in

Sampling

The cluster of people or events, for example, form or about which you will actually gather data

Dichotomous Variable

A variable that has only two possible values

Regression

Refers to a statical technique for studying linear relationship among variables

Coefficients

Represent the relationship between an independent variable and dependent variable

It predicts how much the dependent variable (Y) will change when the independent variable (x) changes

P-Value

A statistical measure of the probability that a reported result happened due to chance

In other words, it’s the probability that there is actually no relationship between the variables

Confidence Interval

The level of certainty that the relationship we observe is not due to random chance

Bivariate Analysis

Looking at the relationship between 2 variables

Multivariate Analysis

Analyzing many variables at once to see how each one affects the outcome while accounting for the others

Controlled Variables

Variables that are held constant so that we can eliminate it effect from consideration