Studied by 3 people
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
date
authors credentials
table of content
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
laboratory experiment
social survey
use of availible data
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
cross-cultural survey
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
Note
Flashcard