Sociology Experiment Flashcards

research methods

audit study

research experiment in which researchers match participants on key characteristics to determine how people behave in real-world situations

method

a systematic study design for investigating the world

confirmation bias

tendency we all have to look for and accept information that reinforces what we already believe

echo chamber

a space where we interact primarily with people or information that hold or reinforce our existing beliefs

human subject

person who participates in a research study

nuremberg code

first international guidelines establishing research ethics

Tuskegee syphilis experiment

long-term experiment on black men in Alabama that demonstrates unethical research design

informed consent

voluntary agreement to participate in research based on a full understanding of the potential risks and benefits

vulnerable populations

groups that may need additional protections or considerations in order to give informed consent

quantitative data

data in the form of numbers that reflect amounts

qualitative data

non-numerical data

experiment

research method in which the environment is controlled to isolate the effects of one factor or characteristic

survey

gathering data by asking people sets of questions

structured interviews

interviews that follow a set of pre-written questions that are the same for all participants

unstructured interviews

interviews that included follow-up or additional questions that arise based on a specific participant’s resources

historical analysis

analysis of existing historical records

content analysis

analysis of existing sources, focusing on key themes and patterns

participant observation

research method in which researcher spends time among a group, observing and participating in their daily lives

research question

a question about a research topic that we can reasonably answer

unit of analysis

item observed in a study (individual people, cities, neighborhoods, apartment complexes, nations)

variable

any characteristic that has more than one possible value

covariation

relationship between variables

independent variable

variable that causes a change in another

dependent variable

variable that changes in reponse to another

hypothesis

statement about how variables are expected to relate to one another

population

the entire group of interest in a study

operationalization

defining variables into measurable items

sample

a smaller group of people who represent the entire population

sampling

selecting representatives of the population to study

ethnography

in-depth study of a group and its culture

sampling frame

method for choosing which members of a population will be in a sample

random sample

a representative sample in which every member of the population has some chance of being selected

generalize

apply findings beyond the sample to the larger population

non-random sample

a sample in which not every member of the population has a chance of being selected

nonresponse bias

non-representativeness in a sample caused by patterns in who does and doesn’t respond

correlation

a relationship between variables

causation

one variable causes a change in another variable

direction of relationship

which variable is affecting the other when a relationship exists

causal relationship

relationship that includes causation between variales

spurious relationship

when a third variable actually explains the apparent connection between two variables

social desirability bias

problems introduced to data when respondents give answers they believe are socially acceptable

reliability

consistency of measurements