Sociology 2040 - 1st Midterm

Tearoom trade study

A classical example of unethical research due to deception, lack of consent, and violation of privacy

Stanley milgram obedience to authority

A study that showed people are likely to obey authority figures even when it conflicts with their personal morals

Voluntary Participation

A norm that threatens generalizability

Generalizability

The goal of research findings being applicable to a broad population

No harm to participants

Protecting participants during research, includes the concept of informed consent

Informed consent

Volunteers have a full understanding of the possible risks involved in the research

Anonymity

When both the researcher and the people reading the research cannot identify a given response with a given respondent

Confidentiality

Researcher can identify a given persons response but promises not to do so publicly

Deception

A discouraged act that is sometimes required to conceal your identity or research purpose; requires debriefing

Debriefing

Interviewing subjects following their participation in a research project to ensure they are fully informed and not harmed by their participation

Analysis and reporting

Show both positive and negative findings and be open and honest

Identity disclosure

When info that reveals who someone is gets shared

Attribute disclosure

When confidential info about a person is revealed without knowing their identity

Residual disclosure

Trying to hide identities with a residual chance that someone could find out who the data is about

Disclosure

Occurs when data that can be attributed to individual respondents are released

Canadian Institution of Health Research

CIHR

Social sciences and humanities research council

SSHRC

National science and engineering research council

NSERC

Research Ethics Board

REB

Respect for persons, concern for welfare, justice

3 core principles of TCPS2

Community consultations and respect for indigenous organizations and leaders

Ethics of Indigenous Research

Theories

Seek to provide logical explanations

Paradigms

A theoretical perspective that included a set of assumptions about reality

Macrotheories

Theoretical perspectives aimed at understanding the big picture of institutions and societies

Microtheories

theoretical perspectives aimed at understanding social life at the intimate level (interactions)

Rationality

Thinking with a logical consistency

Reasonableness

Open to new ideas and advice

Objectivity

Looking at things as they are, not how you think they should be

Intersubjective reliability

Consistent findings across observers not dependent on one persons opinion

Positivism

The idea that the only knowledge that we can trust is proven facts; now discredited

3 core principles of indigenous research methods

Context reflection, inclusion in the research process, prioritizing indigenous ways of knowing

Respect, responsibility, relevance, reciprocity

The four Rs

Elements of social theory

Theory and paradigms

Propositions

Statements expressing relationships between abstract concepts that are interwoven to create a theory

Operationalization

Translates abstract concepts into variables

Empirical deduction

The logical process of transforming a theoretical proposition into a research hypothesis

Applied research

Research used to solve a specific problem

Triangulation

Getting multiple views of a result to be more sure that it is true

Complementary

Different methods used together to deepen understanding

Development

Using one method to build or shape the next method

How we know what we know

Direct observations, authority, tradition, and science

Science

A body of knowledge and a set of methods used for generating knowledge

Experiential reality

Personal experiences and discoveries

Agreement reality

Culture shared amongst many people

Logical and empirical support

Scientific findings must have…

Methodology

A set of practices used to collect and interpret info to enhance our understanding of reality

Casual reasoning

General reasoning, if you study more you will generally do better on your test

Probabilistic reasoning

Probability and correlation, If you night an undergrad degree your job will have a higher income

Clinical prediction

Doctors look at brainwaves and predict seizures

Actuarial prediction

Predicting the future based on past experiences

Inaccurate observations

Faulty observations due to errors and bias (solution - scientific observation)

Overgeneralization

Asking broad conclusions based on limited evidence (solution - large samples and replication studies)

Selective observation

Focusing only on info that supports your beliefs (solution - looking for cases that deviate)

Illogical reasoning

Reaching a conclusion through means that are not logical

Percepts and concepts

The two levels of experience

Percept

Components of a concrete experience

Concept

A general idea we have about something

Concrete experience

Percepts that come together to form a pattern leading to an empirical experience of sensation

Abstract experience

An imaginary experience composed of concepts forming propositions

Propositions

Statements expressing the relationship between concepts

3 major aspects of the social scientific enterprise

Data collection, data analysis, theory

Social theory

Concerned with what is not what should be, explains probabilistic patterns and aggregate behaviour

Social regularities

Patterns of behaviours and relationships that occur repeatedly in society

Probabilistic patterns

Trends that show what is likely to happen

Aggregates

Individuals or objects grouped together for analysis even though they don’t interact

Variables

Properties that can change

Attributes

Categories that don’t vary

Objects

What is being studied

Nomothetic explanation

Focuses on general patterns that apply to large groups

Idiographic explanation

Focuses on individual cases

Pure research

Aims to expand knowledge, not fix a specific problem