Sociological Research Methods

Scientific Method in Studying Society

• The scientific method ensures objectivity and consistency in research.
• Understanding the scientific method is crucial because it influences many aspects of our society.
• People are constantly exposed to data, and familiarity with scientific research standards helps in evaluating information.
• Scientific method standards are stringent.
• The scientific method involves precise preparation.
• Sociologists follow five basic steps:
  • Defining the problem.
  • Reviewing the literature.
  • Formulating a hypothesis.
  • Selecting the research design and collecting/analyzing data.
  • Developing a conclusion.
• Researchers write a report including an executive summary.
• The scientific method allows objective evaluation of data.

Defining the Problem

• The first step is to clearly state the research question.
• Example: Does it pay to go to college?
• The research aims to find out the earnings of people with different levels of formal schooling.

Operational Definition

• Social science researchers must develop operational definitions of concepts.
• An operational definition explains an abstract concept in specific terms for assessment.
• Example: Defining education as the number of years of schooling and earnings as the income received in the past year.

Reviewing the Literature

• Examining scholarly studies helps refine the problem, clarify techniques, and reduce mistakes.
• In the example, information about salaries for different occupations would be examined.
• Reviewing other studies on the relationship between education and income is important.
• Many factors influence earning potential, such as the influence of rich parents.
• Macro-level data, like state-by-state comparisons, can be considered.
• A study found that states with higher education levels also have higher household income levels.
• Median percentage for the entire nation of those 25 years of age and over completing college was 32.6\% in 2018, and the national household median income was $61,927.

Formulating the Hypothesis

• After reviewing research, researchers formulate a hypothesis.
• A hypothesis is a speculative statement about the relationship between variables.
• Variables: measurable traits or characteristics.
• Researchers suggest how one aspect of human behavior affects another.
• The independent variable influences or causes change in another.
• The dependent variable depends on the influence of the independent variable.
• Example: Affordable housing (independent variable) affects homelessness (dependent variable).
• The hypothesis is that higher education leads to more money earned.
• Identifying independent and dependent variables clarifies cause-and-effect relationships.

Causal Logic

• Causal logic involves the relationship between a condition/variable and a consequence.
• Independent variable (x) influences dependent variable (y) (i.e., x leads to y).
• Example: Parents who attend church regularly (x) are more likely to have children who are churchgoers (y).

Correlation

• A correlation exists when a change in one variable coincides with a change in the other.
• Correlations indicate possible causality but do not prove it.
• Example: People who watch TV news are less knowledgeable than those who read newspapers; this is caused by a third variable: ability to comprehend information.
• Sociologists seek to identify causal links.

Collecting and Analyzing Data

• A research design is needed to test the hypothesis.
• The research design guides data collection and analysis.

Selecting the Sample

• Social scientists select a sample from a larger population.
• A sample is statistically representative of the population.
• A random sample gives every member an equal chance of being selected.
• Specialized techniques like snowball or convenience samples are used for specific populations.
• Conclusions can be drawn from non-random samples using statistical techniques.
• Online polls are not necessarily reflective of the broader population.
• For the research example, data from the American Community Survey is used.

Ensuring Validity and Reliability

• Research results must be valid and reliable.
• Validity: the degree to which a measure reflects the phenomenon being studied. Accurate data gathering is essential.
• Reliability: the extent to which a measure produces consistent results.
• The Census Bureau checks responses to ensure data accuracy and reliability.

Developing the Conclusion

• Scientific studies do not answer all questions but generate ideas for future study.

Supporting Hypothesis

• Data supports the hypothesis: more schooling leads to more money.
• Those with a high school diploma earn more than those who did not complete high school; those with an associate's degree earn more than high school graduates, etc.
• Some exceptions exist.
• Sociologists are interested in general patterns and exceptions.
• For people with a high school diploma or less, 29% earn under $30,000 per year, while only 23% earn $60,000 or more. In contrast, only 16% of those with an associate's degree or higher earn less than $30,000, while 62% earn more than $60,000.

Controlling for Other Factors

• A control variable is held constant to test the impact of an independent variable.
• Example: Studying the influence of education on income while controlling for gender and race.
• During the coronavirus pandemic, researchers used a control variable (performance of schoolchildren prior to any parental help) to analyze homework help.

Summary of the Scientific Method

• Define the problem.
• Review the literature.
• Formulate a hypothesis.
• Collect and analyze data.
• Develop the conclusion.

Module 5 Recap and Review

• Sociologists use the scientific method.
• Five basic steps: define the problem, review literature, formulate a hypothesis, collect/analyze data, develop the conclusion.
• Workable operational definitions are needed for abstract concepts.
• A hypothesis states a possible relationship between variables.
• Sampling avoids testing everyone in a population.
• Research results must be valid and reliable.

Research Designs

• Research design is a detailed plan for obtaining data scientifically.
• Design selection is based on theories and hypotheses.
• Common research designs: surveys, ethnography, experiments, and existing sources.

Surveys

• Surveys provide information about people's thoughts and actions.
• Surveys must be based on representative sampling.

Surveying Cell Phone Users

• Reaching people via cell phones presents methodological problems.
• As of 2019, 61% of households in the United States could be reached only by cell phone, and the proportion was rising.
• Cell phone users are more likely to screen calls and break off mid-survey.
• Federal law requires hand dialing for cell phones making automatic dialers illegal.
• Researchers are projecting which people are likely to abandon their landlines.

Web-Based Surveys

• Web-based surveys are becoming attractive due to low costs.
• They can be quite valid.

Wording Questions

• Questions must be simple, clear, and specific.
• Open-ended questions must be carefully phrased.
• Researchers must pay careful attention to changes in society.
• Census relationship questions include: Opposite sex husband wife spouse, opposite sex unmarried partner, same sex husband wife spouse, same sex unmarried partner.

Types of Surveys

• Interview: face-to-face, phone, or online questioning.
• Questionnaire: printed or written form.
• Interviews have higher response rates.
• Questionnaires are cheaper.
• Studies show that the characteristics of the interviewer have an impact on survey data.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

• The survey is an example of quantitative research: collecting and reporting data in numeric form.
• Qualitative research relies on field and naturalistic settings, focusing on small groups and communities.

Ethnography

• Ethnography is the study of an entire social setting through fieldwork.
• Observation is the basic technique.
• Ethnographic research includes historical information and interviews.
• Participant observation involves joining a group to understand its operations.
• Researchers take detailed notes.

Visual Sociology

• Visual sociology is the use of photographs, film, and video to study society.
• Photography and sociology have approximately the same birth date, in the eighteen-thirties.
• Visual sociology includes the conscious creation of a visual record.
• Photographic records can also be useful in comparative studies.
• Visual sociology is proving useful in applied sociology.

Experiments

• Used to study cause-and-effect relationships.
• Involves manipulating variables in an artificially created situation.
• Two groups are selected: experimental (exposed to the independent variable) and control (not exposed).

Hawthorne Effect

• The presence of an observer may affect behavior.
• The term Hawthorne effect refers to the unintended influence that observers of experiments can have on their subjects. Workers made a special effort to impress their observers.

Use of Existing Sources

• Secondary analysis uses previously collected and publicly accessible information.
• Non-reactive: does not influence people's behavior.
• Researcher may not find exactly what is needed.

Content Analysis

• Content analysis is the systematic coding and objective recording of data.
• Researchers study cultural, economic, and political documents.
• Has revealed shifts in portrayal of men in mainstream country music lyrics.
• A 2020 survey found that 90% of black Americans would like to see media content with diverse casts.
• From 2007 through 2019, an 83% of the movies, all the leading or co leading characters were white. Even by 2019, 68 percent of all the leads and co leads were white.

Module 6 Recap and Review

• Sociologists use four major research designs: surveys, ethnography, experiments, and existing sources.
• Two survey forms: interviews and questionnaires.
• Ethnography studies behaviors and communities that other methods cannot investigate.
• Visual sociology is important for ethnographers.
• Experiments study cause-and-effect relationships.
• Sociologists use secondary and content analysis with existing sources.

Ethics of Research

• Sociologists must abide by a code of ethics.
• The American Sociological Association (ASA) has a code of ethics.
• Basic principles:
  • Maintain objectivity and integrity in research.
  • Respect people's rights, dignity, and diversity.
  • Protect subjects from personal harm.
  • Preserve confidentiality.
  • Seek informed consent.
  • Acknowledge collaboration and assistance.
  • Disclose financial support.
• Ethical questions may not be clear-cut.
• Sociologists must protect subjects' privacy by ensuring anonymity and confidentiality.
• Research proposals involving human subjects must be overseen by a review board.
• The subjects are not placed at an unreasonable level of risk.

Confidentiality

• Sociologists may face questions from law enforcement.
• Rick Scarce was jailed for contempt of court for declining to provide information about animal rights activists.
• The American Sociological Association supported Scarce.
• Federal legislation is needed to clarify the right of scholars and journalists. to preserve source confidentiality.

Conflict of Interest

• Disclosing funding sources may not guarantee ethical conduct.
• Accepting funds from organizations that benefit from study results can compromise objectivity and integrity.
• Exxon Corporation supported research on jury verdicts related to the Exxon Valdez oil spill.