Research Methods

Initial Considerations

  • Do no harm

  • May expose both participants & self to possibility of being arrested

  • Risk becoming a victim of violence

  • “Courtesy stigma”

Types of Sociological Methods

Quantitative

  • Surveys

  • Measured by numbers

  • Limited responses

Qualitative

  • Interviews

  • Participate observation

  • Looks at meanings

  • In-depth responses

Survey Research

  • representativeness - representing a population in survey research

  • Samples

    • Random - every person in a population study has an equal chance of participating (generalizable)

    • Convenience - choosing respondents based on chance

    • Snowball

  • Honesty

  • Response rates

  • Sample size

  • Useful in measuring attitudes

  • Triangulation

  • Reliability & validity

    • Validity - measures what is intended to measure

    • Reliability - checking to see if the sources can be reliable

Use of Official Data

  • DAWN - Drug Use Warning Network

    • ED visits & medical examiner reports

    • Can note overall trends in drug usage

  • ADAM - Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program

    • Relation between drug use & criminal activity

  • Monitoring the Future

    • Surveys conducted in classrooms, self-administered questionnaires

    • For each drug, 4 levels of use surveyed: lifetime prevalence (ever used), annual prevalence (past year), 30-day prevalence (past month), daily use (20 or more days in past month)

  • National Survey of Drug Use & Health

    • Questionnaire study on drug use of a representative sample of the American population ages 12 and older

    • Provides national estimates of the rates of use, number of users, and other measures related to the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and other tobacco products

Participant Observation

  • Bars, strip clubs, music festivals

  • Can be lengthy

  • Field notes

  • Description more than explanation

  • Determining the extent of the researcher’s role

  • Entrée and rapport

  • Can be risky!

Ethical Considerations

  • Must strive to be technically competent & fair-minded

  • Must disclose findings in full without omitting significant data & be willing to share their data

  • Must protect the safety, rights, and privacy of subjects

  • Must obtain informed consent; subjects are aware of the risks and responsibilities and agree

  • Must disclose all sources of funding & avoid conflicts of interest

  • Must demonstrate cultural sensitivity

Limitations of Scientific Sociology

  • Human behavior is too complex to predict precisely any individual’s actions.

  • The mere presence of the researcher might affect the behavior being studied.

  • Social patterns change.

  • Sociologists are part of the world they study, making value-free research difficult.

Steps in Sociological Investigation

  • Select and define topic

  • Review the literature

  • Develop key questions to ask

  • Assess requirements for study

  • Consider ethical issues

  • Select a research methodology

  • Collect the data

  • Interpret the findings

  • State conclusions

  • Publish the findings