#2 how sociologists do research

casual observation

ordinary human inquiry performed during daily lives

tradition

knowledge inherited from our culture

• some valid, some not

authority (way of knowing)

truth comes from an authoritative source or an expert

concrete experience

seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, hearing

abstract experience

the imaginary world of the mind

science

knowledge is based upon making direct, systematic observations

logical (type of support for scientific claim)

makes sense

empirical (type of support for scientific claim)

measurable, observable, testable

falsifiability (popper principle)

conceivable that it can be proven false

sociologists as scientists engage in…

• deliberate observation

• systematic methods of measurement

• peer review process

• careful sampling

• replicating studies

bias

systematic tendency to reach a certain type of conclusion or judgement

overgeneralization error

when exceptions are treated as the rule

• making a broad conclusion

selective observation

when evidence that challenges firmly held beliefs is ignored in favour of evidence that confirms

illogical reasoning

expecting the recurrence of events without reasonable cause

research ethics principles

• voluntary participation (informed consent)

• harm minimization

• right to privacy (anonymity)

• authenticity (being honest about results)

positivist tradition (research approach)

• social realities are objective

• studied through quantitative research methods

• eg. surveys and statistics

• began with Comte

interpretivist tradition

• social realities are subjectively constructed

• studied through qualitative research methods

• use of words (meanings, motives)

deductive reasoning

begins with general ideas and proceeds to test their validity on specific cases

• top down

inductive reasoning

begins with concrete cases and proceeds to identify general patterns and themes

• bottom up

experiment

controlled artificial situation to isolate cause and effect

surveys

ask questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviour either in a face to face or phone interview, or in a paper and pencil format, or online

control variable

context of the relationship between the independent and dependent variable

spuriousness

when change in a control variable causes change in both the independent and dependent variables and erases the association between the independent and dependent variables

validity

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

reliability

degree to which a measurement procedure yields consistent results

reactivity / hawthorne effect

when people modify their behavior, attitudes, or institutional practices because they know they are being observed

• reduces validity

qualitative methods

used by sociologists who seek a subjective understanding of social phenomena

Concepts

Abstract terms used to organize experiences

Propositions

Ideas that result from finding the relationship between conceptsm

Objectivity

Degree of consistency between observations

• inter subjective reality

Operationalization

Process of translating concepts into variables and propositions into hypotheses

Hypothesis

Testable form of a proposition

Probability sample

Every member of a population has a known nonzero chance of being selected.

Purposive sampling

Researcher uses their best judgement to locate members of the population of interest.

Snowball sampling

Existing participants are relied upon to suggest additional subjects who might be willing to participate.

Participant observation / ethnography

Researchers participate in the activities of the group being studied

• experience being a member of that community