SOCI methods of research midterm

methodology

understanding the entire research process - context, philosophical assumptions, ethicality, political impact of new knowledge

methods

the collection of specific techniques used in a study to select cases, measure/observe social life, gather data, and report

halo effect

using positive feelings about someone/something to replace conscious decision making

false consensus

a tendency to project one’s way of thinking onto other people - assuming everyone thinks the same ways he/she does

4 alternatives to social science research

personal experiences/common sense, experts/authorities, popular & media messages, ideological beliefs/values

overgeneralization

occurs when we have some believable evidence and then assume that it applies to many other situations as well

selective observation

process of examination in a way that reinforces preexisting thinking rather than in a neutral and balanced manner

premature closure

act of making a judgement or reaching a decision and ending an investigation before gathering the amount or depth of evidence required by scientific standards

social theory

a system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes the knowledge about the social world and explains how it works

empirical evidence

description of what can be observed directly through human senses

scientific literacy

the capacity to understand and apply scientific knowledge, concepts, principles, and theories to solve problems and make decisions

5 norms of the scientific community

universalism, organized skepticism, disinterestedness, communalism, honesty

scientific method

an empirical process used to investigate observations, test ideas, and acquire reliable knowledge through logical reasoning and evidence

quantitative research

measures variables, tests hypothesis, looks at numbers

qualitative research

explores experiences, meanings, and human behavior

steps of qualitative research

acknowledge self and context, adopt a perspective, design a study to collect, analyze, and interpret data, inform others

steps of quantitative research

select a topic, focus the question, design the study, collect, analyze, and interpret data, inform others

what are the three purposes of theory

describe, explain, explore

what did the instructors sequence rule demonstrate

confirmation bias

basic research

builds knowledge/theory

applied research

addresses a specific concern

evaluation research

applied research in which one tries to determine how well a program/policy is working or reaching its goals and objectives

action research

applied research in which the primary goal is to facilitate social change or bring about a value-oriented political-social goal

social impact research

applied research that documents likely consequences for various areas of social life if a major social change is introduced into a community

case-study research

examines features of cases (individuals, groups, organizations, movements, events, or geographic units)

across-case research

a research method that compares themes, similarities, and differences among two or more distinct cases (individuals, groups, organizations, movements, events, or geographic units)

cross-sectional research

gathers data at one time point and creates a snapshot of social life

longitudinal research

gathers data at multiple time points

time-series research

longitudinal research in which information can be about different cases or people in each of several time periods

panel study

longitudinal research in which information is about the identical cases or people in each of several time periods

cohort study

longitudinal research that traces information about a category of cases or people who shared a common experience at one time period across subsequent time periods

historical comparative research

qualitative research in which the researcher examines data on events and conditions in the historical past and/or in different societies

field research

qualitative research in which the researcher directly observes and records notes on people in a natural setting for an extended period of time

participant observation field research

qualitative research method where a researcher immerses themself in a specific social setting to observe behaviors, interactions, and daily practices from an insider perspective

nonreactive research

studies social behavior without altering participants - people are not aware they are being studied

content analysis

research in which the content of a communication medium is systemically recorded and analyzed

existing statistics research

research in which one reexamines and statistically analyzes quantitative data that have been gathered by government agencies

theory

a sequential argument consisting of a series of logically related statements put forward to illuminate some element of social life

empiricism

the idea that the world can be subjected to observation or the use of senses to gather data about social phenomena

scientific method

the systematic process of asking and answering questions in a rigorous and unbiased way

macro level social life

states, governments, populations

meso level social life

groups, organizations, local contexts

micro level social life

individuals, interaction, dyads

scientific paradigm

a broad set of unacknowledged assumptions about how social reality works and should be understood

structural functionalists

look for how society maintains stability through working parts and collaboration

conflict theorists

believe society is characterized by competition between groups with unequal power

symbolic interactionism

face-to-face interaction and meanings people give to symbols - deals with perception, body language, expectations

rational choice theorists

people viewed as making decisions by considering costs and benefits and attempting to maximize interests

induction

the process by which scientists draw a general understanding of some social phenomenon through specific empirical observations - theorists begin collecting data with a broad concept in mind and over time see patterns in their data and try to explain it

deductive approach

begins with an existing theory to form and test a hypothesis which proves/denies the theory

moderation

the strength of the association between two variables is made weaker or stronger by a third variable

mediation

the expected relation between two concepts is channeled through a third concept that links them to each other

spuriousness

when an apparent relation between two concepts is actually the result of some third concept (confound) influencing both of them

hypotheses

a testable statement of a relationship between two concepts

hypothesis of difference

a testable statement about group differences in some concept

hypothesis of association

a statement that two variables will increase or decrease together without an explicit specification of cause and effect

causal hypothesis

a statement that the relationship between two concepts is cause and effect

independent variable

in a causal hypothesis, the concept purported to be the cause; the variable on which values of the dependent variable may depend

dependent variable

in a causal hypothesis, the variable that is acted upon; the outcome we are seeking to understand

why does correlation not equal causation

correlation means two variables move together, causation means one variable directly makes the other variable happen

the belmont report

foundational statement that outlines respect, beneficence, and justice for test subjects

nazi medical experiments

doctors deliberately inflicting pain, suffering, disease, death on participants

nuremberg code

established the principle that experiments shall never be designed to harm participants, that consent must be granted, and that they have the right to withdraw without penalty

tuskegee syphilis experiment

withheld treatment from black men with syphilis and didn’t inform participants that they had the disease

milgram obedience experiment

participants told they were administering increasingly painful electric shocks to other people who ended up being actors

Wichita jury study

researchers secretly recorded jury deliberations

stanford prison experiment

assigned students to act as prisoners or guards which quickly got out of hand and resulted in mental and physical harm for participants

tearoom trade

tested homosexuality of men without their consent and risked exposure in a time where homophobia was rampid

anonymity

researcher cannot identify you

confidentiality

researcher can identify you but promises to protect your info

national research act of 1974

mandated IRBS and furthered protection for research subjects

minimal risk

The probability and magnitude of anticipated harm or discomfort are not greater than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during routine physical or psychological examinations or tests

greater than minimal risk

the probability or magnitude of potential physical, psychological, social, or legal harm exceeds what a person typically encounters in everyday life or routine medical/psychological checks

populations that require additional protections

pregnant women, children, prisoners, students, mentally impaired

when does research require IRB approval

when it involves human subjects, is a systematic investigation, or is regulated or funded research

units of analysis

the level of social life about which we want to generalize

conceptualization

the process of precisely defining ideas and turning them into variables

operationalization

the process of linking the conceptualized variables to a set of procedures for measuring them

concepts

highly abstract ideas that summarize social phenomena and are linked together within hypotheses

variables

representations that capture the presence or absence of a concept

dimensions

components that represent different manifestations, angles, or units of the concept

nominal variable

states or statuses that are parallel and cannot be ranked or order (e.g. race)

ordinal variable

have categories that can be ordered in some way without knowing how much better one category is than another

interval variables

have a continuum of values with meaningful distances between them - no true zero (e.g. temperature, SAT score)

ratio variable

are interval variables that do have a true zero (e.g. school size)

ecological fallacy

when conclusions are made about the micro level on the basis of some macro level analysis

indicators

values assigned to a variable

reductionism

when conclusions are made about the macro-level unit on the basis of analyses of micro level data

open-ended questions

answers why questions, used when respondents may have opinions researchers havent anticipated

close-ended questions

factual information, measuring frequency

question stem

question being asked

response category

the answers respondents can choose from

mutually exclusive

response categories that don’t overlap

exhaustive

response categories that cover all possible answers

double-barreled question

a single question or statement that asks about two or more separate issues or constructs at the same time, but forces the respondent to give only a single answer

leading questions

question that is phrased in a way that prompts the respondent to select a specific answer

likert scale

respondent selects their level of agreement with a statement

composite measures

uses multiple questions/items that averages a set of items to measure a concept

reverse-coded question

a survey statement phrased in the opposite direction of the main concept being measured, requiring you to flip its numerical score during data analysis so that all items point in the same direction

pretesting

a trial run of survey using similar target population