CRIM 321 Glossary

Breaching experiments

an experiment using the ethnomethodological perspective in which the researcher breaks one of the unspoken laws of interaction
casual knowledge

definition of the situation

A basic concept of symbolic interactionism that states that, in any given situation, individuals' behaviour is influenced more by their understanding of the situation than by any objective aspects of the situation itself
social groups/cultures often share definitions of the situation
Emergent

impression management

developed by Erving Goffman (1959) this concept explains how people work to control the impression of themselves that they communicate to others through demeanour, expression, dress, etc

Indigenous methodologies

Ways of carrying out research with indigenous peoples and communities that take into account the legitimacy of indigenous knowledge systems, receptivity and relationship between researchers and participants, reciprocity with the community, and stories as a legitimate way of sharing knowledge

indigenous resurgence

Paradigm that includes indigenous peoples rootedness in the land, accountability to the community, and transformation through awakening to the impact of colonization and knowledge that is transformational

looking glass self

The idea that we see ourselves as we believe others see us

mixed methods research

A recent approach that combines qualitative methods with quantitative methods Some argue that this approach can result in research findings that are more complete then be arrived at by ether method on its own

Moral entrepreneurs

individuals or groups who campaign to establish certain social behaviours as deviant or normative

operationalize

to put a theory into operation by developing hypothesis that are based on the theory

positivism

The belief that we can use the methods of science to uncover the laws of human behaviour;
Implies ability to predict and control human behaviour

Realist perspective

A view that assumes the reality is out there and waiting to be discovered rather than socially constructed

research participants

People who voluntarily take part in a research project, either by allowing The researcher to interview them or by welcoming in the researcher into their social setting

Symbolic interactionism

Theoretical perspective that assumes that research participants understand this every day lives and that seeks to discover about how meanings are shared and created through social interaction

theoretical saturation

A stage that occurs when the researcher is no longer learning anything new in collecting data
at this point, the researcher stops collecting data
researcher can expand selection of participants as nee questions arise

Two eyed seeing

Research approach that involves both indigenous and western ways of knowing for the benefit of all

Verstehen

German for "sympathetic understanding"

Max Weber (1949) used the word to indicate that researchers should strive to see the world from their research participants perspective

parachute research

A common practice in research on indigenous communities that left participants feeling that they're only purpose was to advance the career of the researcher

Hierarchy of Credibility

positive relationship, higher status means higher credibility

Participatory action research

is a form of community-based research that often aims to identify the needs and priorities of the group under study.

It attempts to translate findings into a form that can influence social policy or effect interventions to improve the situation of the group. Therefore, PAR also seeks to undermine the hierarchy of credibility by working with marginalized groups.

• Contextual RQ

Describes the form or nature of what exists

• Explanatory RQ

Examines the reasons for or associations between what exists

• Evaluative RQ

Appraises the effectiveness of what exists

• Generative RQ

Provides new ideas, aiding the development of theories, strategies or actions

• Ideological RQ

Advances the ideology of a position

• Exploratory RQ

Investigates a phenomenon where little is understood

• Explanatory RQ

Explains a phenomenon

• Descriptive RQ

Tries to describe a phenomenon

Emancipatory RQ

Engages in social action related to a phenomenon

 

**Ethnomethodology**

Unwritten/invisible rules in society

**Breaching Experiments**

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Researcher breaks unspoken laws of interaction with subject

ethics code

is a code that defines the character of a system (e.g. a professional research system) in which morals are applied.

Research ethics board (REB)

\: A body that assesses the ethical implications of research studies and has the power to approve or reject a research proposal.

In Canada, ethical considerations for researchers working with human participants are laid out in which body?

Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS).

What are the 3 core principles of Ethics?

Respect for persons incorporates the dual moral obligations to respect autonomy and to protect those with developing, impaired, or diminished autonomy.

• Concern for human welfare factors such as individual physical, mental, and spiritual health, as well as physical, economic, and social circumstances.

Justice is the obligation to treat people fairly and equitably

Vocabulary of motives:

The ways in which people describe and explain their reasons for doing things.

action research

A form of community-based research that often aims to identify the needs and priorities of the group and translate findings into a form that can influence social policy or effect interventions to improve the situation of the group

active interview

An approach to conducting an interview in which the researcher analyzes not only what is said but how it is said It focuses on the interactive process as a source of data that the researcher can analyze to understand the social world of participants

active voice

A style of writing in which the subject of the sentence is the doer of the action

autoethnography

An approach to qualitative research in which the researcher analyzes their own experiences

bargain

In relation to accessing a setting for field research, a bargain is an agreement a researcher makes with a gatekeeper in exchange for permission to access a social setting It often entails a promise of confidentiality

breaching experiment

An experiment using the ethnomethodological perspective in which the researcher breaks one of the unspoken laws of interaction

career

The stages a social group passes through In focus-group research, there may be a common series of stages that the groups go through in their discussion

causal knowledge

Assumes the world is made up of causes and effects that are external to the individual, observable, and measurable

Chicago School of Sociology

A group that, beginning in the early 20th century, produced the first qualitative studies that relied on an ethnographic style of fieldwork

civil inattention

The wilful lack of attention strangers pay to one another in a social setting, often with the motive of remaining inconspicuous, maintaining civility, and/or avoiding embarrassment

closed-ended (or forced-choice) question

A question that limits the possible responses to options provided by the researcher Closed-ended questions are characteristic of quantitative surveys

codes

Names for the topics, activities, events, and people that come up in an interview transcript or field notes

coding

Systematically going through data, finding terms or phrases to categorize chunks of data, and organizing the data into a form the researcher can work with

community-based research

A collaborative approach to research that includes community members in the design, implementation, and analysis of a study The researcher shares control of the study with the community group involved

complete observer

A field researcher’s role in which they do not interact with the participants in a social setting and might not inform them that they are doing a study

complete participant

A field researcher’s role in which they attempt to become a full-fledged member of the group they are studying, concealing their intent from the group

cultural studies

The study of popular culture and its representations Often, researchers who engage in cultural studies analyze images in the media to identify cultural ideals

cyber-ethnography

In-depth study of an online group or culture in which researchers use online communities as research settings

deductive reasoning

A process of reasoning in which a researcher (1) puts forth a theory, (2) develops hypotheses based on the theory, (3) collects data based on the hypotheses, and (4) performs an analysis that tests the hypotheses

definition of the situation

A basic concept of symbolic interactionism that states that, in any given situation, individuals’ behaviour is influenced more by their understanding of the situation than by any objective aspects of the situation itself Social groups or cultures often share definitions of the situation

discontinuous identities

Using more than one pseudonym to refer to each research participant when writing a research report to preserve participants’ anonymity, such as when a study takes place in a rural setting or when there are few members of the group involved in the study

discourse analysis

An interpretive approach to research, influenced by the writing of Michel Foucault, that sees language as a social practice and therefore constitutive of social life

double-barrelled question

A question that includes two or more sub-questions

emergent design

A characteristic of qualitative research Research strategies change during the course of the research as the researcher becomes familiar with the research setting or social group

emotion work

The effort expended to try to have feelings that are appropriate in a particular situation (Hochschild 1979)

ethics code

A code that defines the character of a system (for example, a professional research system) in which morals—an individual’s sense of what is “right” or “proper” in relation to their personal character—are applied

ethnocentrism

The tendency to believe that one’s own ethnic group or society is superior to others and, therefore, to use this group as the standard when evaluating other groups

ethnodramas

Plays written by ethnographers that illustrate their research findings

ethnographic content analysis

An unobtrusive method that entails analyzing documents (including photographs, television shows, and print media, among others) for their underlying meanings

ethnography

In-depth study of a group, culture, or society that usually entails fieldwork

ethnomethodology

An approach in which researchers study people to discover how unwritten or invisible rules allow them to go about everyday life

See also breaching experiment

eulogy work

The conception and framing of self within a reality television show at the moment of symbolic death, at a contestant’s exit, or, more specifically, at the moment of transition and loss

feeling rules

Guidelines that direct how we want to try to feel in a particular situation First developed by Arlie Hochschild in relation to flight attendants, the concept is used by sociologists to describe many situations

field notes

The detailed records of what researchers see, hear, feel, and do during an observational study

focus groups

A form of in-depth interviewing that uses moderated group discussions as a means of data collection It uses the discussion and interaction among participants as data

focused coding

A process in which the researcher further refines the codes used in the first stage of coding, open coding

frame

An approach to a topic or issue in which certain aspects are emphasized while other aspects are subjugatedWhen used in the mass media, frames have the power to influence public perceptions of an issue

gatekeepers

Individuals who have the power to deny or grant the researcher access to a social setting, often, but not always, in an official capacity

generic social processes

Aspects of interaction that transcend individual situations (for example, acquiring perspectives, achieving identity, doing activity, developing relationships, experiencing emotionality, and achieving linguistic fluency)

For example a study wanted:

They wanted to find out how medical students transform their identities from those of lay people to those of professional doctors.

grounded theory

A research approach that begins with collecting data about a particular phenomenon and constructs a theory to explain the phenomenon that is grounded in the data

hierarchy of credibility

The common situation in which those in superordinate positions and “experts” are seen as more credible than those in subordinate or marginal social positions

ideal types

Max Weber’s term for abstract concepts that refer to phenomena in general but are not meant to capture the attributes of any particular case

identity foreclosure

In relation to a widow’s sense of identity, the process through which a widow loses her sense of identity after her husband dies, even when she attempts to hang on to her identity as a wife Identity foreclosure takes place on three levels

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Identity foreclosure occurs when people think they know who they are, but they have not even explored their options yet.

Indigenous resurgence

Paradigm that includes Indigenous peoples’ rootedness in the land, accountability to the community, and transformation through awakening to the impact of colonization and through knowledge that is transformational (Alfred 2015)

impression management

Developed by Erving Goffman (1959), this concept explains how people work to control the impression of themselves that they communicate to others through demeanour, expression, dress, and so on

incorporation

The process through which members of a research setting define the researcher’s role or social place in the setting

in-depth interview

A directed conversation in which an interviewer encourages a participant or participants to describe their social world in their own terms

indicators

Concrete measures that researchers develop to study abstract concepts

Indigenous methodologies

Ways of carrying out research with Indigenous peoples and communities that take into account the legitimacy of Indigenous knowledge systems, receptivity and relationship between researchers and participants, reciprocity with the community, and stories as a legitimate way of sharing knowledge (Kovach 2015

institutional ethnography (IE)

A research method developed by Dorothy Smith (1987) that emphasizes the importance of social, particularly institutional, factors in influencing individuals’ daily experiences A major component of IE is a recognition that texts, or documents, can “produce and sustain standardized practices” and, through them, “relations of ruling

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interactionists

A theoretical perspective that assumes that research participants understand their everyday lives and that seeks to discover how meanings are shared and created through social interaction

interview guide

A list of questions and/or topics that a qualitative interviewer plans to include in an interview In the interview, the interviewer may rearrange the order of the questions, decide not to ask certain questions, and ask additional questions as probes or follow-up questions

jargon

Technical or specialized terminology used by a specific group Some writers use jargon in an attempt to sound more intellectual or to limit understanding to a particular group of readers, but you should avoid using jargon when you are writing an academic report

jottings

Phrases, quotes, keywords, and other short notes that researchers write down in the field and use to develop full field notes

latent content

Subtle or implicit meanings that require interpretation Qualitative researchers focus on latent content when they do content analysis

looking-glass self

The idea that we see ourselves as we believe others see us

manifest content

Obvious, surface-level meanings that are immediately evident

memos

Records of ideas or concepts that researchers get while conducting their studies

mixed-methods research

A recent approach that combines qualitative methods with quantitative methods Some argue that this approach can result in research findings that are more complete than could be arrived at by either method on its own

moderator

The individual who facilitates focus groups This person guides the group with as little intervention as possible while maintaining the group’s focus

moral entrepreneurs

Individuals or groups who campaign to establish certain social behaviours as deviant or normative

mundane technology

Forms of technology that are so ubiquitous that they are often overlooked because of their banality They still have deep consequences and complex meanings in our everyday lives, however

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u·biq·ui·tous

*adjective*


1. present, appearing, or found everywhere.

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banality: acting banal

ba·nal

*adjective*


1. so lacking in __originality__ as to be obvious and boring.

narrative analysis

An approach to qualitative research that recognizes the centrality of stories in the way people understand and talk about their own lives It often focuses on the structure of a story as much as on its content

observer as participant

A role in which a field researcher makes their presence known to participants but interacts with the group in only limited ways

open coding

A process in which the researcher identifies and labels the major themes in transcripts or field notes