PSY304 Week 1 - On Canvas: Dixon et al, Chapter 1: • The Process of Social Research (pp 5-7) • Four Facebook Studies (pp 7-12) Tracy, Chapters 1-2

On Canvas: Dixon et al, Chapter 1: • The Process of Social Research (pp 5-7) • Four Facebook Studies (pp 7-12) Tracy, Chapters 1-2

Benefits of Learning to Conduct Research

• It may be an essential skill for a course you are taking now or later, capstone projects, or a thesis, exp for further/higher education

• Can be helpful in the workplace

• Students / others may ask for advice on research projects

  • Ex. class surveys, effectiveness of programs, etc

Social Science Research

the topic must have some social aspect such as studying people, interactions, groups of people, social networks or whole nations.

• The research is also scientific, or based on systematic and verifiable observations

• Aims to explain the natural world through systematic observations and logical reasoning 

• Occurs in sociology, anthropology, psychology, and political science, among others

The Process of Social Research - major steps

• Research design means to devise a plan

• 3 is to carry out your research design by gathering data to answer your research question

• Step four is to analyze and interpret your data

The Process of Social Research - IN DEPTH

• Every major step often has a series of substeps 

  • Ex. choosing a research topic often involves choosing a major general topic first via some research and narrowing down in order to formulate a research question

• Not one size fits all, and diff research may require different steps

major research method approach types

• Experiments

• Surveys

• Field research

• In depth interviews

• Existing data analysis

experiment

• is a distinctive methodological approach with two key features: manipulation and control

  • Researchers introduce changes to the environment (manipulation) so that behaviour can be observed under diff conditions, and the conditions are the same except for the manipulation (control)

Survey

•  involves asking questions, usually of a randomly selected group of people

  • An example survey of FB user interactions with content used surveys to study if men or women were more inclined to engage with relationship maintenance activities

    • Led to affect on perception of social capital / social resources (???)

how do surveys help?

• help researchers understand patterns and relationships that may be generalizable to a larger group of people

  • Survey data is, like experimental data is typically numerical and thus amendable to qualitative analysis 

    • Cons are that it is just a snapshot, and may not be truthful or predictive of what they do

Field research

• involves observing people in their natural settings and often interviewing them - can be stand alone, and produces qualitative data

  • Systematic, requires careful observation, listening and analytics skills 

  • They try to observe the broader social context of people’s behaviours 

  • Unique bc does not attempt to intentionally change people’s behaviours

  • Con: conclusions sometimes may not apply beyond the sometimes narrow group being studied + they capture what people say, but are not necessarily reflective of what people do

Existing Data Analysis & Content Analysis

• Existing Data Analysis - is the analysis of data from sources of info that were not directly produced by the researcher who uses them 

  • Can include ads, books, historical documents, and official stats 

  • Content analysis - is a type of using a specific type of existing data analysis (???)

Self-reflextivity

refers to peoples careful consideration of the ways in which theist past experiences, POVs, and roles impact their interactions with, and interpretations of any particular interaction or context

context

it is important to immerse yourself in and make sense of the context of the research- to find cues, notes, and build larger knowledge about the bigger picture

Thick description

• refers to the way researchers immersive themselves in a culture, investigate the particular circumstances present in that scene, and only then move towards grander statements and theories 

Qualitative methods

• an umbrella concept that covers interviews (group or 1-1), participant observation (online or irl), textual analysis (paper or electronic)

→ Do not need to include long term immersion in a culture or require a holistic examination of all social practices

Phronetic research

concerned with contextual knowledge that is iteratively constructed, action oriented, and imbued with certain values

• Prioritizes practice in context

Second order interpretations

researchers construct explanations for the participant’s explanations

Iterative approach

researcher alternates between considering existing theories, research interests, or predefined questions/goals on one hand, with emergent qualitative data on the other

Phenomenon & Field

• the locus of study, is the issue or theme brought ot bear by research questions (ex. Burnout, code switching behaviour, socialization, terrorist activity, greeting behaviours)

→ Field of study - the collection of spaces, people, texts and places in which the phenomenon may be found and explored 

→ Ex. a person interested in te phenomenon of “hazing” may be particularly attracted to studying groups that put new members through intense rites of passage- potential fields of study could then include military boot camps, frats/sororities, or the training of investment bankers

site

the specific geographical or architectural area (ex. A frat house)

settings

the specific parameters of the space (ex. The basement)

Participants

the focal people of the exercise

Scene

generally refer to the field, sites, settings, and groups of participants

Satisfice

it is common to come up with a single decision that is merely adequate rather than optimal

Deductive reasoning

researchers begin with broad or general theory, make an educated hypothesis about the social world based on this theory, conduct research to test the hypothesis, and use the evidence gathered from that research to confirm or disconfirm the theory

abduction

the back and forth process of constructing a hypothesis, carrying that hypothesis into field of investigation, and revising it when or if the hypothesis is negated by new discoveries

Sensitizing concepts

theories or interpretive deices that service as jumping off points of lenses for qualitative study. Serve as the background ideas that offer frameworks through which researchers see, organize, and experience the emerging data.

Gestalt

• captures peoples tendency to piece together various parts into an integrated system or culture 

  • Aspects of culture are best understood in relation to others!

Naturalistic inquiry

the process of analyzing social action in uncontrived field settings in which the inquirer does not impose predetermined theories or manipulate the setting

Thick description

practice of going beyond surface understandings to explore the contextual meanings of behaviours

Bricolage

using a variety of data (partial and mismatched) to construct meaningful, aesthetically pleasing, and useful research synthesis

Symbolic interactionism (SI)

• peoples actions result from their interpretations of the situations that confront them in their everyday lives 

  • People act and make meaning in the world based on how they define and interpret the situation and people around them

Symbols

words numbers or gestures that “stand for” smtg else

Signs

natural symptoms or indicators of immediate stimulus in the environment

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

• we do not perceive or understand issues or concepts for which we do not have words 

  • Ex. we did not have the word “texting” before 2000s

Looking-glass self

self that is created by others’ reactions to us and imaging how we look to others

Self-fulfilling prophecy

• people tend to shape themselves after others’ expectations 

  • Ex. confident people who expect to be treated with respect are often treated as such by others

Structure

to refer to the big D discourses of enduring schools of knowledge, societal norms, and myths

Structuration theory

directs he researcher’s attention to the relationship between individual action and institutional structure. Esp. the way cultures organizations and social systems are constituted or created through the micro practices of people

Duality of structure

the idea thet rules policies and structures are only valid when people follow them and make decisions based on them

Grand narratives

systems of stories driven by our formal expectations for things to unfold in a particular manner

Sensemaking

emphasizes meaning making, ambiguity, and identity. Well suited for qualitative and interpretive data analysis. People make sense of their environments retrospectively!

Ethnocentrism

the belief that one’s own racial and ethical values and ways of being are superior to those of others

Nuremberg code & human subject protections

• Nuremberg code - uncovered and judged the atrocious and inhumane experimentation conducted by Nazi physicians on prisoners of war

  • Led to creation of human subject protections - measures required by the institutional review board (IRB) in many countries, includes principles such as voluntary and informed consent, freedom from coercion, comprehension of risks and benefits, and a scientifically valid research design

Etic

a perspective in which behaviour is described according to externally services, non culture specific criteria

Naturalistic inquiry

the analysis of social action in uncontrived field settings

Post qualitative methodologies

methodologies that are always becoming and do not have a fixed nature with strict boundaries

Quantified self

• the practice of people wearing self monitoring sensors that measure, track and log aspects of their daily life 

Theory

a bundled system of principles that service to explain certain phenomena

def of Research

 is the systematic application of a family of methods that are employed to provide trustworthy information about problems

Methodology

a conceptual framework, philosophical approach, and driving purpose for research being conducted

• What do we need to know? Who is involved? How will we get up the study in the context?

Method

tools used to systematically collect data and then analyze data according to the research design

Paradigm

why are you doing the study? What are the guiding influences that shape your inquiry?

Ethnography

studies cultures and cultural practices systemically

• Describes a group or culture

• Examines behaviour in response to particular social situations

  • Can examine a group’s beliefs or interpretations

Phenomenological thinker

“a qualitative investigator who studies people's lived experiences and how they make sense of them“

“They prioritize individual perceptions and conscious awareness over external, objective facts.”