chapter 2 sociology

What is sociological research?

Using scientific methods to study society.

What is empirical research?

Research based on evidence and data rather than just opinions.

What is a concept?

An abstract idea represented by a word or phrase.
Example: social class.

What is a variable?

Something that can have different values or categories.
Example: marital status. 

What is deductive reasoning?

Theory → hypothesis → data → conclusion.
Think: Start with an idea and test it.

Deductive = Down(theory → data)

What is inductive reasoning?

Data → patterns → theory.
Think: Start with observations and build an idea.

Inductive = Up(data → theory)

What are the 5 goals of research?

Explore, Describe, Explain, Evaluate, Empower. 

What does Explore mean?

learn about something not well understood

What does Describe mean?

Give a detailed picture of a group, institution, or process.

What does Explain mean?

Figure out why something happens or what causes/effects it.

What does Evaluate mean?

Determine whether a program or process is working.

What does Empower mean?

Work with people to identify problems and improve their situation.

What are the steps of sociological research?

1. Research question

2. Literature review

3. Narrow the focus

4. Research design

5. Collect data

6. Analyze data

7. Draw conclusions

8. Report findings 

What is a research question?

The specific question the researcher wants to answer.

What is a literature review?

Looking at what other researchers already know about the topic. 

What does narrowing the focus mean?

Making your research question specific and manageable.

What is operationalization?

Defining a variable so it can be clearly measured. 

What is a research design?

The plan for how you will conduct the research.

What is data collection?

Gathering information for your research.

What is data analysis?

Organizing and examining data to understand what it means.

What are conclusions?

What the data tells the researcher.

Why report research findings?

To share knowledge and allow other researchers to review the research. 

Why are research ethics important?

They protect research participants from harm.

What is the main rule of research ethics?

Do no harm.

What are the 3 main ethics principles?
A:

1. Respect for persons

2. Concern for welfare

3. Justice 

What is respect for persons?

Treat participants with dignity and respect and get their free, informed, ongoing consent.

What is concern for welfare?

Protect participants’ well-being, privacy, and confidentiality.

What is justice?

No group should be exploited or unfairly excluded from the benefits of research.

What is informed consent?

Participants understand the risks and possible benefits before agreeing to participate.

What is anonymity?

The researcher doesn’t know who the participant is.

What is confidentiality?

The researcher knows who the participant is but keeps their identity private. 

What is qualitative research?

Research that focuses on the quality/nature of people’s experiences and usually uses words or detailed information.

What is quantitative research?

Research that counts or measures things using numbers. 

Which usually uses inductive reasoning?

Qualitative.

Which usually uses deductive reasoning?

Quantitative.

What is reliability?

Getting consistent results when something is measured repeatedly.

What is validity?

Actually measuring what you intended to measure.

What is triangulation?

Using multiple methods of collecting data in the same study.

What are the main sociological research methods?

• Experiments

• Surveys

• Interviews

• Secondary data analysis

• Ethnography

• Observation

• Mixed/multiple methods 

What is an experiment mainly used to ask?

“What is causing this?”

What is an independent variable?

The cause.

What is a dependent variable?

The effect.

What is random assignment?

Randomly putting participants into different conditions/groups

What is a control group?

The group used as a comparison.

Biggest strength of experiments?

They can test causality. is it important

Main weakness of lab experiments?

They can be artificial, making results harder to generalize. 

What is a representative sample?

A sample that closely represents the population being studied.

What is a random sample?

People are selected randomly.

What is a convenience sample?

Participants are chosen because they are easy to reach

Main strengths of surveys?

Can collect information from many people and examine multiple variables.

What is a focus group?

A small group interviewed together by a moderator.

Strength of interviews?

Researchers can clarify questions and get participation in the process

Limitation of interviews?

Researchers must build and maintain rapport with participants. if someone isn’t into the topic it can be hard to keep the interview interesting to that person.

What is secondary data analysis?

(data that has already been collected)

Studying data someone else already collected.

Examples?
A: Statistics Canada, diaries, websites, graffiti.

What are 3 types of analysis?

Content, discourse, and historical analysis.

Main strength of secondary data analysis?

Convenient and can provide large data sets. reliability of measures

Main limitation?

The data may not contain everything you need. 

What is ethnography?

Immersive fieldwork where researchers study people in their natural environment. can be quite long

What can the researcher of ethnography do?

Be a participant or observer.

Strengths of ethnography

Gives rich, detailed information in a natural setting

Limitations of ethnography?

Bias, reactivity, and difficulty accessing/leaving settings. 

content

evaluate and interpret text, images, find patterns, themes and meanings iscoursed

discourse

used to study language in use with in its social, culture, and political context

historical analysis

past events and understanding how things happened

covert reasearch

done secretly, where participants do not know they are being studied.

overt research

out in the open, someone yelling at another person you can see it happening

what is an field experiment

experiment done in real life. Ex a researcher sends identical job applications with different names to see wheather employers treat applicatsants different based on there gender or race

what is the difference between a lab experiment and field experiment

lab= controlled setting in a lab testing how they respond to different situations

field experiment= real world setting where people act more normal see how they are in the real world

standardized vs unstanderized

standerized= get to the point don’t care how you feel they just want to know how your experience was or serice if it was good (same for everyone)

unstanderized= no direction in mind have no topic in mind (flexible)