Chapter 2 - Research Methods

What are social research methods?

The tools sociologists use to study, understand, and contribute to social life.

Study → gather evidence → analyze society

What are the five goals of social research?

• Enumeration and description: Describe society

• Prediction: Predict possible outcomes

• Explanation: Explain why something happens

• Debunking: Challenge myths or common sense

• Social justice: Understand inequality and promote change

Why is social research socially important?

It provides accurate evidence for public policy, exposes inequality, and helps reduce bias in knowledge.

Accurate evidence >exposes inequality > reduces bias

What are the main steps of the research process?

1) Identify an area of study

2) Review previous research

3) Form a research question

4) Design the study

5) Collect and analyze data

6) Write and communicate findings

The process is iterative, meaning researchers may return to earlier steps.

What are a literature review and research gap?

Literature review: Examines what previous researchers have discovered

Research gap: An important issue that previous research has not fully answered

Literature review = what we know
Research gap = what is still missing

What makes a strong research question?

• Clarity: Easy to understand

• Specificity: Focused and precise

• Feasibility: Can be answered in one realistic study

Clarity > Specificity > Feasibility

What is a research design?

The study’s blueprint, including its question, variables, population, data-collection method, and analysis plan.

Research design = the plan for conducting the study

What are variables and operationalization?

• Variable: What is being studied, such as income, age, or education.

• Operationalization: The exact way it is measured.

Example: Measuring loneliness with survey questions about social isolation.

What makes a sound research design?

Sound research design = clear, accurate, reliable, ethical plan

What is quantitative and qualitative research?

Quantitative = numbers and statistics to find patterns (graphs, surveys, messurable research)

Qualitative = Words, interviews and observations to understand people’s experiences and meaning

Example: Interviewing students about how lack of sleep affects their school life

• Quantitative = numbers

• Qualitative = words and experiences

What are a hypothesis and deductive research?

• Hypothesis: An informed prediction about the relationship between variables

• Deductive research: Begins with a theory or hypothesis and tests it using data

Quantitative research is usually deductive.

Hypothesis = prediction
Deductive = theory first, evidence second

What is Correlation ?

Answer: A relationship between two variables.

• Positive correlation: Both variables move in the same direction

• Negative correlation: They move in opposite directions

What is the difference between reliability and validity?

• Reliability = consistency: Can the results be repeated?

• Validity = accuracy: Does the study measure what it claims to measure?

What is an important limitation of quantitative research?

It may reduce complex experiences to numbers and focus on broad averages rather than people’s everyday realities.

For example, statistics may present Indigenous communities mainly through difference, problems, or dysfunction, while overlooking their cultures and ways of life.

What is qualitative research?

Research that uses interviews, observations, images, videos, and narratives to understand meaning and lived experience.

It is usually inductive, meaning theories are developed from collected data.

How is qualitative data analyzed and strengthened?

• Coding: Organizing data into themes

• Memoing: Writing notes about meanings and patterns

• Saturation: No important new insights are appearing

• Triangulation: Comparing several sources or methods

What is mixed-methods research?

Answer: Research combining quantitative and qualitative methods.

Strength: Provides numerical patterns and detailed experiences.

Weakness: Requires more time, resources, and expertise.

It is useful when one method alone cannot fully answer the question.

What are peer review and scholarly communication?

Peer review occurs when experts evaluate a study’s question, design, and findings. Researchers then communicate findings through journals, books, conferences, blogs, or social media.

What is public sociology?

Sociology that connects research to the public.

Its two main goals are:

1. Study issues that directly affect people

2. Share sociological findings widely

Global public sociology also addresses unequal access to knowledge around the world.

What is the difference between cross-sectional and longitudinal research?

• Cross-sectional: Studies society at one point in time

• Longitudinal: Studies social change over an extended period