Ch. 2 Research Methods

Social Research Methods

• Techniques for, and approaches to learning about the social world following a plan or research design

  • Old and new appraoches

  • Production of knowledge

Main goals in sociological reserach

1. Enumeration and description

2. Prediction

3. Explanation

4. Debunking

5. Social justice

Enumeration and description

• Such as census data collection to lay out the basic characteristics of our society

Prediction

• Such as policy work that aims to determine how well one strategy will achieve its goal and at what cost, compared with another strategy

Explanation

• Such as most published work in scholarly journals that is aimed at finding out how much x affects y and the likely reasons for this connection

• The goal is to create theories about the world, but not necessarily to influence it

Debunking

• Such as showing that popular belief (myth) or common sense is wrong about something

Social Justice

• Such as seeking to understand experiences of marginalized and oppressed social groups

Quantitative methods

• Research methods that rely on numerical values

• Focus on things that can be counted

  • Tests, hypothesis

  • Informed by theory

The social research process

1. Identify an area of study

2. Literature review

• Research question(s)

• Hypothesis or hypotheses

3. Research design

Clarity

• Clear formulation of the research questions that is easy to understand

Specificity

• Specific formulation of the research question, avoiding vague language and terminology

Feasibility

• Formulation of an answerable research question that can be tackled in a single project

Research design

• The blueprint of the study, which includes the study type, research question, hypotheses, variables, data collection methods, and statistical analysis plan

Operationalization

• The process of measuring and comparing an abstract theoretical concept

Variable

• A measurable attribute or character

Validity

• Refers to the extent that a concept, idea, or measure accurately represents the real world

Correlation

• A statistical technique that assesses how strongly pairs of variables are linearly associated and whether the association is positive or negative

Reliability

• Describes the extent to which findings can be replicated and are consistent across comparable situations

Standardized survey

• Everyone will have the same EXACT survey questions

Self-Administered survey

• You fill out in mail and send it back and no researcher is present

Researcher administered survey

• You can ask interviewers for interpretation

• One person asks questions for this survey

• Surveyor must be care not to introduce bias

Population

• The larger pool of individuals who all share a characteristic relevant to the study

Sample

• A subset of the population of interest in a study, in which the number of participants is reduced to a manageable size

Quantitive research strengths

• Measurable results

• Generalizable to the broader population

• Reduces potential for researcher bias

• Allows for protection

Quantitive research weaknesses

• Unable to explain the subjective “meaning” behind action

Qualitative methods

• Focus on meaning of action

• Methods fall into two general categories: interviewing and field reseach

• Generates thick descriptive data, not specifically numerical data

Field research

• Participant observation

• Ethnography

• Photovoice

Participant Observations

• Observe groups, record their day, generate textual data

• Research journal/diary

• Put in important information

Ethnography

• Researcher is completely immersing themselves within the setting, environment and the group of people they are studying

Photovoice

• Give a group of people a camera

• They take photos of important events, maybe captions to explain what they are doing

• Researcher is not present so no risk in reactivity

Saturation

• A method used to confirm that sufficient and valuable data have been collected to support the findings of a study

• Conducting so much interviews to the point where participants are resulting the same information

Saturation

• A method used to confirm that sufficient and valuable data have been collected to support the findings of a study

• Conducting so much interviews to the point where participants are resulting the same information

Triangulation

• A technique used by researchers to determine validity in their studies by gathering data from multiple sources

• if everything matches/adds up there may be validity in our research

Qualitative research strengths

• Collects rich contextual data that can provide insight into social precesses

• Can contribute to developing theory which explains causal relationships

  • Can reveal the meaning behind social actions

Qualitative research weaknesses

• Findings not generalizable beyond the group studied

• Takes a long time to conduct a study

Mixed methods

• Any combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods

• Combines the strengths of different data collection and analysis approaches

• Ideal method of research

Mixed methods challenges

• Expensive

• Time-consuming

• Requires a scholar to have expertise in different research methods

Bias

• Systematic errors in the process of drawing conclusions from our observations that may lead to inaccurate or imprecise knowledge

Decolonizing Methodologies

• Stress the importance of historical trauma life-course perspectives, phenomenology (live experience), and cultural sensitivity in conducting reseach

Linda Tuhiwai Smith

• “Research is probably one of the dirtiest words in the Indigenous world’s vocabulary”

• Long violent history of colonialism with western people against Indigenous people

Ethical Standards

• Protection from harm

• Informed consent

• Voluntary participation

• Indigenous data sovereignty

• Research Ethic Boards

Informed consent

• Permission from participants to take part in a research study after they have received details about it, obtained prior to their involvement in the study

Indigenous data sovereignty

• Indigenous Peoples have the right to control data from and about their communities and lands, and they have individual and collective rights to data access, use, storage, and privacy

Research Ethic Boards

• Ensure academic studies follow ethical “best practices” as set out in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

Standpoint theory

• Suggests the we view the world from different social locations depending on our ethnic background

CARE

• Principles developed by Indigenous-led international networks and coalitions to a wide range of data processes the involved indigenous data

Collective benefits

• Data processes designed to allow Indigenous Peoples to benefit from the data and its interpretation

Authority to control

• This principle enable Indigenous Peoples to control their data with the aim of self-determining how their land, people, and cultures are represented and identified within data

Responsibility

• Anyone involved in prjects that rely on Indigenous data has a responsibility to address how the data support Indigenous People’s data self-determination and lead to collective benefits

Ethics (CARE)

• This principle stresses the obligations to Indigenous People’s rights and well-being