Quiz 1 Knop Research Methods

What is Macrosociology?

The study of social dynamics “across the breadth” of society or large scale social systems like political systems or the economy.

What is Microsociology?

The study of “local interactional context” and focuses on personal concerns or interpersonal interactions.

What is the Quantitative Method?

Method that has a reliance on data that can be represented by and summarized into numbers. (Survey Most Common)

What is the Qualitative Method?

Method that collects and analyzes data that enable rich description.

What is the Mix Method Approach?

Uses more than one method in a single study.

Also known as triangulation as it enables us to compare results from different findings or methods.

What are the 2 themes of sociological research?

Agency vs Structure & Sociological Imagination

What does the theme of Agency vs Structure mean?

Focuses on that tension between individual choice an the social structure that shape and limit those choices, aiming to understand how people make decisions within societal rules, norms, and institutions.

What does the theme of Social Imagination Mean?

This is used to connect personal troubles to larger public issues, showing how individual experiences are linked to the way society is organized.

What is Descriptive Research?

What questions and usually is the 1st step when starting a project and generating a question. This research also attempts to try and describe what is happening.

Example: What percentage of students use AI everyday?

What is Exploratory Research?

How questions to explore social phenomena in depth and help understand meaning, experiences, and processes. (Qualitative research is best for this).

Example: How does first gen students navigate campus live and academics?

What is Explanatory Research?

Examines cause and effect relationships and ask what questions to explain why something occurs and how different factors are connected.

Example: What effect does family income have on likelihood of graduating college?

What are the 4 ways everyday knowledge fail us.

1. Overgeneralization

2. Selective or inaccurate observations

3. Illogical Reasoning

4. Resistance to Change

How do Scientist overcome the 4 ways everyday knowledge fails us?

By being rigorous and systematic in our sampling

What is overgeneralization?

Talking about drawing conclusions about populations based on a small sample of people.

What is Selective or Inaccurate Observations?

Being selective about who we are sampling (Cherry Picking)

What is illogical reasoning?

Jumping to conclusions based on inaccurate or invalid assumptions.

Example: Shooting games cause children to be violent.

What is resistance to change?

We try to seek out things that confirm our bias and not things that change them.

What are the three general conditions that guide us in questions formation?

1. Social Importance

2. Scientific Relevance

3. Feasibility

What is meant by social importance?

Basically us answering the question make a difference in the world?

What is meant by scientific relevance?

Basically us asking will the study resolve an important practical or theoretical puzzle in sociology?

What is meant by feasibility.

Can the researcher carry out a rigorous and well-designed study that answers the question in a timely and cost effective way?

What is the first step of the scientific method

Identify an important question that needs an answer

What is the second step of the scientific method

Construct expectations about the answer to the question (Hypothesis)

What is the third step of the scientific method

Gather data that allow researchers to assess the accuracy of the expectations

What is the fourth step of the scientific method

Analyze the data to determine whether the expectations are accurate

What is the fifth step of the scientific method

Draw & Report Conclusions

What are the 4 Commonalities among theories

1. They are Testable: The can quantitatively or qualitatively examined

2. Falsifiable: They can be proven wrong

3. Generalizable: They can explain a broad class of events.

4. Probabilistic: They refer to what is likely, not what is definite

What is the inductive approach?

1. Observe real-life situations and collect data.

2. Look for patterns in the data.

3. Develop a theory based on those patterns.

What is the deductive approach?

1. Start with an existing theory.

2. Create specific hypotheses or predictions.

3. Test those predictions using data.

What is a concept?

Is an idea that can be named, defined, and eventually measured in some way. Not inherently concrete or measurable

What is an hypothesis?

This is a testable statement of a relationship between two concept you see this more in quantitative data and also these are never 100% correct but they can be able to be proven wrong.

What is a null hypothesis

The hypothesis that no relationship between concepts exists or no differences in the dependent variable between groups exists.

What is a Direct Relationship?

Both concepts move in the same direction. An increase or Decrease in one concept leads to an increase or decrease in another concept. (Basically a positive correlation)

What is an Inverse Relationship?

The two concepts move in opposite directions. An increase in one concept leads tot the opposite movement in the other concept. (Basically a negative correlation)

What is Hypothesis of difference

A testable statement about group differences in some concept.

Example: A study about alcoholism and a hypothesis that White Americans are more likely than Black Americans to suffer from Alcoholism

What is Hypothesis of association?

Is a statement that two variables will increase or decrease together without an explicit specification of cause and effect.

Example: The more education a person has then the more likely they are to make more money

What is a Causal hypothesis?

Is a statement that the relationship between two concepts is the result of cause and effect.

Example: Not as common when it comes to sociology

What are the 6 parts of a research paper?

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. Methods

4. Findings/Results

5. Discussion

6. Conclusion

Questions to ask and answer when reading a research article.

1. What are the research questions they are hoping to answer

2. What contribution do they hope to make to the literature/our understanding of some topic

3. What data and methods do they use in their study.

4. How do they measure important concepts

5. How do they conduct the analysis

6. What are the findings of the study

7. How did the findings compare with/build on knowledge from prior literature

8. What are the implications of the study (why do we care) & how is it useful

9. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the study

What is conceptualization?

The process of precisely defining ideas and turning them into variables. We engaged in conceptualization by discussing how we would measure happiness, wealth, a healthy diet, and stress on slide two.

What is Operationalization?

The process of linking the conceptualized variables to a set of procedures for measuring them.

The 2 Main Types of Variables

1. Categorical

2. Continuos

What are categorical variables?

Data grouped into categories, not numbers you can measure. You can’t tell the distance between categories.

The two subtypes of categorical variables?

1. Ordinal

2. Nominal

What are nominal variables?

Categories with no order at all.

Example: race, type of school.

What are ordinal Variables

Categories that can be put in order, but you don’t know how far apart they are.

Examples: strongly agree → agree → disagree.

What are the two subtypes of Continuous variables

1. Interval

2. Ratio

What are interval variables?

Numbers with equal spacing but no true zero. You can compare them, but not say “twice as much.”

Examples: temperature, SAT scores.

What are ratio variables?

Numbers with equal spacing and a true zero. You can compare and use ratios.

Examples: income, school size.

What is a research problem or statement?

A broad description of your project that helps the reader understand the research goals, the relevance of your research and how you will go about answering your proposed research questions.

What are quantitative research questions?

Quantitative research questions examine the relationship between variables using numerical data. They often lead to hypotheses that can be tested, such as how income level affects personal health.

What are qualitative research questions?

Qualitative research questions explore how people understand, experience, and give meaning to social issues. They guide methods and analysis without predicting outcomes, focusing instead on perspectives and lived experiences.

What is the purpose of research questions in a study?

To guide, refine, and set boundaries for a study while shaping the entire research process. They connect theory to methods, direct data collection and analysis, can be broad or specific, may consist of one or multiple questions, are not the same as interview questions, and can change as the project develops.

What is a paradigm in sociology?

A paradigm is a broad way of seeing and understanding the world that shapes what researchers think is real, what can be known, and how research is done. Different paradigms, like positivism, social constructionism, critical theory, and postmodernism, influence the kinds of questions researchers ask and how they interpret data.

What are the 4 Social Science Paradigims

1. Positivism

2. Social Constructionism

3. Critical Paradigm

4. Postmodernism

What is positivism?

Focuses on facts, science, and objectivity. Believes society can be studied using measurable data.

Example: Using statistics to analyze crime rates.

What is Social Constructionism?

Focuses on meaning and social interaction. Believes reality is created by people and varies by culture.

Example: Studying how different cultures understand gender roles.

What is Critical Paradigm?

Focuses on power, inequality, and social change. Believes research is not neutral and should address injustice.

Example: Examining systems of racism or class inequality.

What is Postmodernism

Focuses on questioning truth and knowledge. Believes truth depends on perspective and may not be fully knowable.

Example: Questioning whose voices are represented in research.

What is a theory in sociology?

A more specific explanation of why and how social behaviors happen. Theories like structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism help explain patterns in society based on different perspectives.

What is Structural Functionalism?

Focuses on how different parts of society work together. Looks at what functions well and what causes problems.

Example: How sports bring people together and create social bonds.

What is Conflict Theory?

Focuses on power and inequality. Examines who benefits and who is left out.

Example: How class, race, or gender inequality exists in sports.

What is Symbolic Interactionism?

Focuses on meaning and everyday interactions. Examines how people create and share meanings.

Example: How people learn rules, symbols, and behaviors in sports.