research method test 1

af

others socially acceptable ways of knowing other than science

religion, folkways

how to ensure objectivity

* research public
* report work in scientific publications
* work inspired by others + evaluation b peers
* looking for and ruling out contrary evidence

consequences of skepticism

* scientific claims are never final and absolute
* always open to change
* always disputable, no “absolute truth”

\

what does to be skeptical means

to not accept any claim about the wolrd because an authority says it’s true

suspend all judgment until all evidence has been scutinized

why is it possible for other scientists to make the same observations

because science is based on observation of phenomena that exist in the empircal work. (physical senses)

why population can never be observed directly

* too costly
* time consuming
* impossible to study each member

what is the purpose of a sample

* make generalization about the wider population
* draw conclusions

what are called members of a sample

participants, respondent, subjects

true or false: variable are inherently independent and dependent

false

which social science discipline use quantitative research

* sociology
* physcology

which social science discipline use qualitative research

* anthropology
* history

according to Durkheim (3 things)

* sociologists should observe objective social facts
* adopt the same research model as natural scientists
* goal of sociology = discover the laws that govern socal behavior

According to Max Weber (2 things)

* sociology should be an interpretative science, have its own technique
* focus on the interpretation of people behavior rather than on objective facts

what are scholarly publications (academic)

* book published by university, academic org
* articles form academic journals, and periodicals
* written by specialists
* contains original research
* treat subject in length + extensive
* exhaustive bibliography
* meet standars
* has been subjected to review and evaluaton by others

rule of thumb

1. date
2. authors credentials
3. table of content
4. subject terms

what is the difference between edited book and regular bok

regular: one or more authors

edited: collection of chapters written by diff. authors. + has an editor

what is the scientific method

A basic set of rules, principles, and procedures, for explaining, and understanding the world around us

Observation

Scientific knowledge is __*based on observation*__, empirically verifiable knowledge

objectivity

knowledge that is not influenced by emotions, values, personal bias, and faith, science must be value-free

skepticism

What leads scientists to disbelieve or question any claim or explanation that cannot be “proven” or supported by empirical evidence

what is a population

the wider group of individuals under investigation by the researcher. Its member must share min. 1 characteristic

what is the sample

* A smaller group of individuals selected by the researchers from the entire population )
* The people from whom the data are collected, to whom the data-collection tool is administered

what is a hypothesis

it is a statement (unconfirmed) that expresses a cause-and-effect relationship b/t 2 variables

Independent variable

* Explains, causes, predicts Var. X
* presumed cause

Dependent variable

being influenced by Var. Y

presumed effect

a hypothesis is also

what the researcher expects to find , a tentative statement (researcher doesn’t assume it’s true)

what are variables

* Characteristics of human behavior that differ or vary from one individual or group to another
* Terms refer to all the things social scientists study and are interested in

what is operationalizing

specifying the ways in which the variables of a researcher’s hypothesis are to be measured

what are the 4 methodologies

1. laboratory experiment
2. social survey
3. use of availible data
4. field of research

what is a social survey

* a present list of standardized questions to relatively large numbers of people.
* purpose is to measure variables by asking people questions, and then to examine the relationships between those variables.

what is the data collection tool used for a social survey

survey questionnaire

what are the 2 modes of survey questionnaire

self-administered questionnaire and face-to-face interview

what is the self-administered questionnaire

* written form.
* the list of questions printed on paper (mail/person/online)
* Respondents their answers themselves (the questionnaire is directly filled out by them

what is the face-to-face interview

* The survey researcher asks the questions orally.
* The researcher records the respondent’s answers in the course of the interview (the questionnaire is filled out by the researcher)

what are the two types of survey design

1. cross-cultural survey
2. longitdinal survey

what is a cross-cultural survey

* one point in time to provide a “snapshot” of the social group being studied.
* They capture some part of social reality at a single point in time.

what is a longitudinal survey

* two (or more) points in time to measure changes in a social group
* They follow people over time and thus allow researchers to see how things (A social reality) change

advantages of self-administered questionnaire

* inexpensive
* anounymous = sensitive issue will be answered

advantages of face-to-face interview

The responses rates tend to be higher

disadvantages of face-to-face interview

time consuming + costly

what is a panel study

* It is a survey administered to the same sample of people (i.e., the same individuals at each point in time
* It follows the same people across time.
* It is used to track changes in a particular social group.

what is a trend study

* A survey was administered to a different sample, drawn from the same population at each point in time.
* Focus is on tracking changes in a population as a whole over time.
* The focus is on the population, not a particular group ¸

strenght of the trend study

* well-suited to obtaining information from large numbers of people
* Surveys are flexible: may be used to gather info on a broad range of research topics (including sensitive issues)

what are research methods

methodologies (the body of tools, procedures, and techniques) used to do research in a particular social science field

weakness of trend study

* highly standardized= superficial in their coverage of complex sociology phenomena.
* Are not reliable to gain info, about people’s behaviors.
* Self-reported behavior may be unreliable and misleading.
* People may not be truthful, or unable to accurately recall their behavior in the past