The basics of social research (babbie)

agreement reality

those things we "know" as part and parcel of the culture we share with those around us

epistemology

the science of knowing; systems of knowledge

methodology

the science of finding out; procedures for scientific investigation

replication

repeating an experiment to expose or reduce error

theory

a systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life: juvenile delinquency, for example, or perhaps social stratification or political revolution

attribute

a characteristic of a person or a thing

variable

a logical set of attributes. The variable sex is made up of the attributes male and female

independent variable

a variable with values that are not problematical in an analysis but are taken as simply given. An independent variable is presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable.

dependent variable

a variable assumed to depend on or be caused by another.

idiographic

an approach to explanation in which we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition or event.

nomothetic

an approach to explanation in which we seek to identify a few causal factors that generally impact a class of conditions or events.

induction

the logical model in which general principles are developed from specific observations.

deduction

the logical model in which specific expectation of hypotheses are developed on the basis of general principles. Starting from the general principle that all deans are meanies, you might anticipate that this one won't let you change courses.

tolerance for ambiguity

the ability to hold conflicting ideas in your mind simultaneously, without denying or dismissing any of them

paradigm

a model or framework for observation and understanding, which shapes both what we see and how we understand it.

macrotheory

a theory aimed at understanding the "big picture" of institutions, whole societies, and the interactions among societies.

microtheory

a theory aimed at understanding social life at the level of individuals and their interactions

interest convergence

the thesis that majority group members will only support the interests of minorities when those actions also support the interests of the majority group

critical realism

a paradigm that hold that things are real insofar as they produce effects

hypothesis

a specified testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition; more generally, an expectation about the nature of things derived from a theory.

operationalization

one step beyond conceptualization. the process of developing operational definitions, or specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a variable

operational definition

the concrete and specific definition of something in terms of the operations by which observations are to be categorized.

null hypothesis

in connection with hypothesis testing and tests of statistical significance, that hypothesis that suggests there is no relationship among the variables under study.

informed consent

a norm in which subjects base their voluntary participation in research projects on a full understanding of the possible risks involved

anonymity

anonymity is guaranteed in a research project when neither the researchers nor the readers of the findings can identify a given response with a given respondent

confidentiality

a research project guarantees confidentiality when the researcher can identify a given person's responses but promises not to do so publicly

debriefing

interviewing subjects to learn about their experience of participation in the project and to inform them of any unrevealed purpose.

correlation

an empirical relationship between two variable such that (1) changes in one are associated with changes in the other, or (2) particular attributes of one variable are associated with particular attributes of the other.

spurious relationship

a coincidental statistical correlation between two variable, shown to be caused by some third variable

unit of analysis

the what or whom being studied.

social artifact

any product of social beings or their behavior

ecological fallacy

erroneously basing conclusions about individuals solely on the observation of groups

reductionism

a fault of some researchers: a strict limitation of the kinds of concepts to be considered relevant to the phenomenon under study

cross-sectional study

a study based on observations representing a single point in time

longitudinal study

a study design involving data collected at different points in time

trend study

a type of longitudinal study in which a given characteristic of some population is monitored over time

cohort study

a study in which some specific subpopulation, or cohort, is studied over time, although data may be collected from different members in each set of observations

panel study

a type of longitudinal study in which data are collected from the same set of people at several points in time

concept

a family of conceptions, such as "chair," representing the whole class of actual chairs

conceptualization

the mental process whereby fuzzy and imprecise notions are made more specific and precise

indicator

an observation that we choose to consider as a reflection of a variable we wish to study

dimension

a specifiable aspect of a concept

nomial measure

a variable whose attributes have only the characteristics of exhaustiveness and mutual exclusiveness. In other words, a level of measurement describing a variable that has attributes that are merely different, as distinguished from ordinal, interval, or ratio measures.

ordinal measure

a level of measurement describing a variable with attributes we can rank-order along some dimension.

interval measure

a level of measurement describing a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes

ratio measure

a level of measurement describing a variable with attributes that have all the qualities of nominal, ordinal, and interval measures and in addition are based on a "true zero" point

reliability

that quality of measurement methods that suggests that the same data would have been collected each time in repeated observations of the same phenomenon.

validity

a term describing a measure that accurately reflects the concept it is intended to measure

face validity

that quality of an indicator that makes it seem a reasonable measure of some variable

criterion-related validity

the degree to which a measure relates to some external criterion

construct validity

the degree to which a measure related to other variables as expected within a system of theoretical relationships

content validity

the degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept

nonprobability sampling

any technique in which samples are selected in some way not suggested by probability theory

purposive sampling

a type of nonprobability sampling in which the units to be observed are selected on the basis of the researcher's judgment about which ones will be the most useful or representative

snowball sampling

a nonprobability-sampling method, often employed in field research, whereby each person interviewed may be asked to suggest additional people for interviewing

quota sampling

a type of nonprobability sampling in which units are selected into a sample on the basis of pre-specified characteristics assumed to exist in the population being studied

informant

someone who is well versed in the social phenomenon that you wish to study and who is willing to tell you what he or she knows about it

probability sampling

the general term for samples selected in accordance with probability theory, typically involving some random-selection mechanism

representativeness

that quality of a sample of having the same distribution of characteristics as the population from which it was selected. By implication, descriptions and explanations dervied from an analysis of the sample may be assumed to represent similar ones in the population

equal probability of selection method (EPSM)

a sample design in which each member of a population has the same chance of being selected into the sample

element

that unit of which a population is composed and which is selected in a sample

population

the theoretically specified aggregation of the elements in a study

study population

that aggregation of elements from which a sample is actually selected

random selection

a sampling method in which each element has an equal chance of selection independent of any other event in the selection process

sampling unit

that element or set of elements considered for selection in some stage of sampling

parameter

the summary description of a given variable in a population

statistic

an estimate of a parameter, derivied from a sample study

sampling error

the degree of error to be expected in probability sampling.

confidence level

the estimated probability that a population parameter lies within a given confidenc einterval

confidence interval

the range of values within which a population parameter is estimated to lie

sampling frame

that list or quasi list of units composing a population from which a sample is selected

simple random sampling

a type of probability sampling in which the units composing a population are assigned numbers

systematic sampling

a type of probability sampling in which every kth unit in a list is selected in the sample

sampling interval

the standard distance (k) between elements selected from a population for a sample

sampling ratio

the proportion of elements in the population that are selected from a population for a sample

stratification

the grouping of the units composing a population into homogeneous groups before sampling

cluster sampling

a multistage sampling in which natural groups are sampled initial, with the members of each selected group being subsampled afterward

probability proportionate to size (PPS)

this refers to a type of multistage cluster sample in which clusters are selected, not with equal probabilities but with probabilities proportionate to their sizes -- as measured by the number of units to be subsampled

weighting

assigning different weights to cases that were selected into a sample with different probabilities of selection.

pretesting

the measurement of a dependent variable among subjects before they are exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable

posttesting

the re-measurement of a dependent variable among subjects after they've been exposed to a stimulus representing an independent variable

experimental group

in experimentation, a group of subjects to whom an experimental stimulus is administered

control group

in experimentation, a group of subjects to whom no experimental stimulus is administered and who resemble the experimental group in all other respects

double-blind experiment

an experimental design in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know which is the experimental group and which is the control

randomization

a technique for assigning experimental subjects to experimental and control groups randomly

matching

in connection with experiments, the procedure whereby pairs of subjects are matched on the basis of their similarities on one or more variables, and one member of the pair is assigned to the experimental group and the other to the control group

internal validity

refers to the possibility that the conclusions drawn from experimental results may not accurately reflect what went on in the experiment itself

external validity

refers to the possibility that conclusions drawn from experimental results may not be generalizable to the "real" world

field experiment

a formal experiment conducted outside the laboratory, in a natural setting

respondent

a person who provides data for analysis by responding to a survey questionnaire

questionnaire

a document containing questions and other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate for analysis.

open-ended questions

questions for which the respondent is asked to provide his or her own answers

closed-ended questions

survey question in which the respondent is asked to select an answer from among a list provided by the researcher

bias

that quality of a measurement device that tends to result in a misrepresentation, in a particular direction, of what is being measured

contingency question

a survey question intended for only some respondents, determined by their responses to some other question

response rate

the number of people participating in a survey divided by the number selected in the sample, in the form of a percentage

interview

a data-collection encounter in which one person asks questions of another

probe

a technique employed in interviewing to solicit a more complete answer to a question

secondary analysis

a form of research in which the data collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed--often for a different purpose--by another

reactivity

the problem that the subjects of social research may react to the fact of being studied, thus altering their behavior from what it would have been normally