Sociological Research

what is the scientific method?

a process of gathering empirical (scientific and specific) data, creating theories, and rigorously testing theories

what are the two forms of scientific reasoning?

deductive and inductive

what is deductive reasoning?

starts from broad theories about the social world, but proceeds to break them down into more specific and testable hypotheses

using the example of social mobility and socioeconomic status, identify the major premise.

individuals born into higher socioeconomic backgrounds (SES) have greater educational opportunities and access to resources than those born into lower SES backgrounds

using the example of social mobility and socioeconomic status, identify the minor premise

sarah’s parents are both doctors, placing her family in a high SES bracket

what is the conclusion we can draw from the example of social mobility and socioeconomic status?

Sarah is likely to have access to better educational opportunities and resources than someone born into a lower SES background

what is inductive reasoning?

starts from specific data that may focus on a single community, event, or endeavor to identify larger patterns from which to derive more general theories

what is a hypothesis?

ideas about the world derived from theories, which can be disproved when tested against observations

why are having good research questions so important ?

a good research question defines the focus of your research project

your research question helps readers to know the specific subject matter you will be addressing

what are some things to consider when writing a good research question?

is it clear?

is it focused?

is it specific enough?

is it complex?

what are the two types of data that can be used when studying social phenomena?

quantitative and qualitative data

what is quantitative data?

gathers data that can be quantified and offers insight into broad patterns of social behavior and social attitudes

what are some examples of ways to collect quantitative data

large-scale surveys

large sample sizes

what is qualitative research?

characterized by data that cannot be quantified (or converted into numbers), focusing instead on generating in-depth knowledge of social life, institutions, and processes

what are some ways that qualitative data may be collected?

focus groups, participant and nonparticipant observation, interviews, and archival research

small sample sizes

how does common sense wisdom compare to sociological research?

widely held beliefs or perceptions that ppl repeat and are often inaccurate and unsupported by sociological research

what are scientific theories?

answer questions about how and why scientific observations are as they are

what are three factors to a strong scientific theory?

1. logically consistent: one part of the theory does not contradict another part

2. can be disproved: we can say that testing has failed to disprove the theory

3. cannot assume the theory is “true”

what are concepts?

ideas that summarize a set of phenomena

what is an operational definition?

described the concept in such a way that we can observe and measure it

give an example of some concepts

social stratification, social class, power, inequality, and diversity

give an example of an operational definition

social class if often defined in terms of income, wealth, education, occupation, and consumption patterns. each of these has to be measurable

what is a variable

a concept or its empirical measure that can take on two or more possible values

what are quantitative variables?

factors we can count, such as crime rates, unemployment rates, and drug use frequency

what are qualitative variables?

variables that express quality and do not have a numerical value, such as physical characteristics, attitudes, and preferences

what is a correlation?

literally “co-relationship” the degree to which two or more variables are associated with one another

give an example of a correlation

the greater the educational attainment, the higher the income

what is a causal relationship?

a relationship between two variables in which one is the cause of the other

T or F: just because two variables are correlated, we cannot assume that one causes the other

True

what is a spurious relationship?

a correlation between two or more variables caused by another factor that is not being measured, rather than a causal link between the variables themselves

what is a positive correlation?

a relationship showing that as one variable rises or falls, the other does as well

what is a negative correlation?

one variable increases as the other decreases

what is validity?

the degree to which concepts and their measurements accurately represent what they claim to represent

what is reliability?

the extent to which the findings are consistent with different studies of the same phenomenon or with the same study over time

what is bias?

a characteristic of results that systematically misrepresent the full dimensions of what is being studied

what is social desirability bias?

a response bias based on the tendency of respondents to anwser a question in a way that they perceive will be favorably received

what is objectivity?

ability to represent the object of study accurately

what is value-neutrality?

personal beliefs and opinions do not influence the course of research

what are the different research methods?

survey research

fieldwork

experimentation

working with existing information

participatory research

what is survey research?

survey research relies on questionnaire or interviews with a group of ppl in person or by telephone or email to determine their characteristics, opinions, and behaviors

what are the two types of surveys questions?

closed-ended and open-ended

give an example of a closed-ended survey question

how satisfied are you with the facilities provided by the college?

give an example of an open-ended question

how would precision agriculture of AI impact agrarian labor in KY?

what is the population in survey research?

the whole group of ppl to be studied

what is the sample in survey research?

relatively small number of ppl chosen to represent a population

does a larger or smaller sample typically give better resutls

larger because it is a better representation of the population

what are the four types of sampling?

random, stratified, snowball, convenience

what is random sampling?

equal selection chance

permit the researcher to draw conclusions about large numbers of ppl on the basis of a relatively small number of respondents

what is stratified sampling?

divided into subgroups and random samples are taken within each group

what is snowball sampling?

a recruitment technique in which research participants are asked to assist researchers in identifying other potential subjects

what is convenience sampling?

a method adopted by researchers to collect data from a conveniently available pool of respondents

when constructing a survey what are some things to take into consideration?

question writing: written to capture the respondent’s viewpoint

caution: poor wording can produce misleading results

weakness: ppl can respond in self-serving ways to look good to researchers

what is fieldwork?

a method of research that uses in-depth and often extended study to describe and analyze a group or community

what is fieldwork also known as?

ethnography

what are the different types of fieldwork?

interview

detached observation

participant observation

what is an interview?

a detailed conversation designed to obtain in-depth information about a person and his or her activities

• open-ended or closed-ended, formal or informal questions

when giving an interview one must be careful to not use _________.

leading questions

what are leading questions?

those which elicit a particular response

what is detached observation?

keep a distance from the pp being studied and simply observe without getting involved

• may be supplemented w and checked by in-depth interviews

what is participant observation?

a mixture of active participation and detached observation

what is an experiment?

examine cause and effect under controlled conditions

what are independent/experimental variables?

variables that cause changes in other variables

what are dependent variables?

variables that change as a result of our alterations to the independent variables

what is the experimental group

subject exposed to the independent variable

what is the control group?

subjects are not exposed to the independent variables

when working with existing information what does that look like?

statistical data: quantitative information obtained from government agencies, businesses, research studies and other entities that collect data for their own or others’ use

what is document analysis?

examines written material or cultural pdts, previous studies, newspaper reports, court records, campaign posters, digital reports, films, pamphlets, and other forms of text or images produced by individuals, government agencies, private organizations and others

what is historical research?

analysis of historical documents to ID patterns common to different times and places

what is content analysis?

systematically analyzes forms of documented communication, including coding and analyzing patterns in cultural pdts, such as music, laws, tweets, blogs, and works of art

what is participatory research?

supports an organization or community trying to improve its situation when it lacks the necessary economic or political power to do so by itself