Introduction to Social Research for SOCS2400 Week 1

Social Research is defined by Bryman as a "critical" and "systematic" investigation of societies and/or any aspect of social life, in relation to other aspects of social and non-social life.
The primary purpose of studying this subject is to understand the justification for and methodology behind quantitative research.
Academics conduct research because questions occur to them while reading existing literature or while reflecting on modern social life.
Social research is inherently designed to answer questions about the social world, employing different methods that best suit specific questions.

Human action is shaped by a variety of interacting influences:
- Social Influences: The actions and presence of other people.
- Psychological Influences: Individual thoughts, personality traits, and mental processes.
- Biological Influences: Hormones, physiology, genetics, and other physical factors.
- Environmental Influences: Geography, climate, and physical surroundings.

Focus: Typically focuses on causality, connections, relations, or comparisons between variables.
Data Type: Numerical and statistical data only.
Approach: Deductive, focused on theory testing.
Epistemology: Positivist.
Ontology: Objectivist view of reality.
Common Methods: Surveys and experiments.

Focus: Focuses on understanding, looking to explore, describe, or represent people’s experiences.
Data Type: Words, texts, stories, and images.
Approach: Inductive, focused on theory development.
Epistemology: Interpretivist.
Ontology: Constructivist view of reality.
Common Methods: Interviews and ethnography.

Each approach possesses specific strengths and weaknesses.
Mixed methods research can be utilized to balance the limitations of a single approach.
Preference for a specific method should be secondary to the nature of the research question being asked.

Frequency-based: How many people from rural areas attend metropolitan universities in Australia?
Comparative Performance: Do metropolitan students perform better than rural students at Australian universities?
Descriptive/Experience-based: How would rural students describe their experiences attending metropolitan universities?
Barrier Identification: What barriers do rural students identify in the process of enrolment and participation in metropolitan universities?

In $1897$ , Émile Durkheim published Le Suicide: Étude de Sociologie.
Durkheim’s Central Theory: Suicide varies inversely with the degree of integration of the social groups of which the individual forms a part.
European Suicide Data: Maps indicate Standardized Death Rates (SDR) for suicide and self-inflicted injury vary across Europe, with some regions exceeding $40$ or $50$ per $100,000$ , while others are below $10$ .
Religious Influence: Data from $2015$ - $2017$ shows varying percentages of adults identifying as Catholic across Europe:
- Poland: $87\%$
- Italy: $78\%$
- Ireland: $72\%$
- France: $55\%$
- Germany: $31\%$
- United Kingdom: $19\%$
- Norway/Sweden/Denmark: $0\%$ to $1\%$
Historical Comparison: In Wittenberg, analyses correlate suicide rates with the share of Protestants versus Catholics.

Any statistical analysis is only as valid as the underlying data.
Concepts may not transfer easily across different cultures.
Statistical correlations are often the result of "third factors" rather than direct causation.
Sociological research must actively avoid the ecological fallacy, which involves making inferences about individuals based on group-level data.

State-Level Analysis (Poorest States by Median Household Income, $2019$ ):
- Mississippi: $45,081$ \,USD (Median Income); $61\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
- West Virginia: $46,711$ \,USD (Median Income); $70\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
- Arkansas: $47,597$ \,USD (Median Income); $64\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
- Average for bottom $10$ states: $49,917$ \,USD (Median Income); $60.9\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
State-Level Analysis (Richest States by Median Household Income, $2019$ ):
- Maryland: $84,805$ \,USD (Median Income); $33\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
- New Jersey: $82,545$ \,USD (Median Income); $42\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
- Average for top $10$ states: $78,592$ \,USD (Median Income); $40\%$ vote for Donald Trump.
Individual-Level Reality (Share of votes by income bracket):
- Under $50,000$ \,USD: Trump $42\%$ , Biden $57\%$
- $50,000$ to $99,999$ \,USD: Trump $43\%$ , Biden $56\%$
- $100,000$ \,USD or more: Trump $54\%$ , Biden $43\%$
Crucial Limitation: While poorer states favored Trump at a higher rate, higher-income individuals across the country were actually more likely to vote for Trump than lower-income individuals, demonstrating how aggregate state data can mask individual-level trends.

Data from the European and World Values Surveys ( $2005$ - $2014$ ) indicates the percentage of respondents who consider it "essential" ( $10$ on a $10$ -point scale) to live in a democratically governed country.
Sweden: Approximately $80\%$ for those born in the $1930s$ vs. $45\%$ for those born in the $1980s$ .
Australia: High essentiality ( $>80\%$ )) for those born in the $1930s$ , dropping below $50\%$ for those born in the $1980s$ .
United States: Similarly reflects a decline from roughly $75\%$ (born in the $1930s$ ) to approximately $30\%$ (born in the $1980s$ ).
Netherlands and New Zealand also show significant generational gaps in the perceived essentiality of democracy.

Project I: Devising A Survey Questionnaire and its Research Rationale
- Weight: $30\%$
- Due: Week $6$
- Format: Group assessment.
Project II: Secondary Data Analysis and Report
- Weight: $40\%$
- Due: Week $13$
- Format: Individual assessment.
In-class Quizzes
- Weight: $30\%$
- Schedule: Week $5$ and Week $11$
- Format: Individual assessment.