SOC 032: Chapter 2

WHERE DO THEORIES COME FROM? [ From Idea to Evidence ]

Evidence Based

built on scientific findings, especially practices and policies founded upon the results of randomized, controlled experiments

Hypothesis

a tentative explanation accounting for a set of facts that can be tested by further investigation

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testable statement (2 or more variables or proposed explanation)

Theory

thought-out explanation for observations of the natural world that has been constructed using the scientific method

Research

the use of standardized, systematic procedures in the search for knowledge

Applied Research

research based on scientific inquiry that is designed and carried out with practical applications in mind

Pure Research

research undertaken simply for the sake of advancing scientific knowledge

Primary Reasearch

research characterized by original and direct investigation

Secondary Research

research based on new evaluations of existing information that has been collected by other researchers

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also referred to as secondary analysis

Variable

a concept that can undergo measurable changes

Operationaliization

the process by which concepts are made measurable

Research Design

the logic and structure inherent in an approach to data gathering

Confounding Effect

a rival explanation or competing hypothesis that is a threat to the internal or external validity of a research design

Internal Validity

the certainty that experimental interventions did indeed cause the changes observed in the study group

External Validity

the ability to generalize research findings to other settings

Controlled Experiment

an experiment that attempts to hold conditions (other than the intentionally introduced experimental intervention) constant

Quasi-experimental Design

an approach to research that, although less powerful than experimental designs, is deemed worthy of use when better designs are not feasible

Control Group

a group of experimental subjects that, although the subject of measurement and observation, is not exposed to the experimental intervention

Randomization

the process whereby individuals are assigned to study groups without biases or differences resulting from selection

Survey Research

research using a social science data-gathering technique that involves the use of questionnaires

Case Study

a form of research that employs detailed analysis of a person, group, or situation - often over a period of time

Participant Observation

a data gathering strategy in which the researcher observes a group by participating, to varying degrees, in the activities of the group

Self-report

a test or measure about one own's behavior, feelings, or other personal knowledge and characteristics

intersubjectivity

a scientific principle that requires that independent observers see the same thing under the same circumstances for observations to be regarded as valid

Replicability

a scientific principle that holds that valid observations made at one time can be made again later if all other conditions are the same

Descriptive Statistics

statistics that describe, summarize, or highlight the relationships within data that have been gathered

Inferential Statistics

statistics that specify how likely findings are to be true for other populations or in other locales

Correlation

a casual, complementary, or reciprocal relationship between two measurable variables

Test of Significance

a statistical technique intended to provide researchers with confidence that their results are, in fact, true and not the result of sampling error

Quantitative Method

a research technique that produces measurable results

Qualitative Method

a research technique that produces subjective results, or results that are difficult to quantify

Verstehen

the kind of subjective understanding that can be achieved by criminologists who immerse themselves in the everyday world of the criminals they study

Data Confidentiality

the ethical requirement of social scientific research to protect the confidentiality of individual research participants while preserving justified research access to the information participants provide

Informed Consent

the ethical requirement of social scientific research that research subjects be informed about the nature of the research to be conducted, their anticipated role in it, and the uses to which the data they provide will be put

Meta-analysis

a study that combines the results of other studies about a particular topic of interest

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also a comprehensive and systematic review of other studies