Title: Sociological Research Methods
1Sociological Research
2A Public Restroom?
3Common Sense vs. Scientific Evidence
- Poor people are far more likely than rich people
to break the law. - The United States is a middle-class society in
which most people are more or less equal. - Most poor people dont want to work.
- Differences in the behavior of females and males
are just human nature. - People change as they grow old, losing many
interests as they focus on their health. - Most people marry because they are in love.
4Question Mindset
- There is a marked increase in the number of
divorces in the United States. - Factual The number of divorces as a have gone
up sig. in the past 25 years - Comparison Is this a phenomenon of just American
society and culture? - Developmental Have there been other periods in
American history where divorces have gone up or
at least marriage rates fallen. - Theoretical What else has happened within the
same timeframe that can be exacerbating the
problem?
5Sociological Research Methods
- Sociologists, in order to study issues collect
Empirical Research. - Empirical Research research based on
experiences, observations, and experiments
6Sociological Research Methods
- Sociologists in collecting this data strictly
follow the Scientific Research Method - This method allows researches to develop an
understanding of Cause and Effect or causation.
7(No Transcript)
8Ten 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
9(No Transcript)
10Sociological Research Methods A Systematic Plan
for Conducting Research
- Hawthorne effectA change in a subject's behavior
caused by the awareness of being studied
11Steps in the Ideal Experiment
- Specify the dependent and independent variables.
- Measure the dependent variable.
- Expose dependent variable to independent
variable. - Re-measure dependent variable to see if predicted
change took place. - If no change, modify hypothesis re-test
12(No Transcript)
13Causation Is Not Correlation!
- A causal relationship.when homeless shelters are
closed in a city there are less beds for the
homeless to use. - Cause Effect
- Rarely when studying or dealing with human beings
do researchers find clear causal relationships!
14Causation
- Cause and effect
- A relationship in which change in one variable
causes change in another - Types of variables
- Independent The variable that causes the change
- Dependent The variable that changes (its value
depends upon the independent variable) - Correlation
- A relationship by which two or more variables
change together - Spurious correlation
- An apparent, though false, relationship between
two or more variables caused by some other
variable
15Independent and Dependent Variables
- You are studying the relationship between
spousal abuse and credit card debt. - The independent variable is
- The dependent variable is
- Independent variable one that produces an effect
on another variable - Dependent variable the variable affected in the
relationship is the dependent.
16Independent and Dependent Variables
- another scenario.
- You are studying healthy lifestyles in the U.S.
(specifically people who walk daily). Advocates
say walking (30 minutes) a day will help cut down
on a persons yearly healthcare costs. - The Independent variable is
- The dependent variable is
17Causation Is Not Correlation!
- There is a strong correlation between the
unemployment rate going up and the number of
people utilizing soup kitchens in a given area. -
- Two variables or occurrences seem to have a
strong link between each other. - There is always an effort by sociologists to
separate causal from correlational however
correlation can involve causation (ex
educational experience v. success / family
incomeinvolvement
18Correlational Research
- Interpreting Correlations
- Scores range from -1 to 1
- -1, negative relationship example of a
negative drinking in college and GPA - 0, no relationshipexample of a near zero
hair length and GPA - 1, positive relationship example of a
positive GPA and scores on SAT
19(No Transcript)
20CORRELATION
- Perfect positive correlation coefficient
- 1.00 means that an increase in one event is
always matched by an equal increase in a second
event - Positive correlation coefficient
- indicates that as one event tends to increase,
the second event tends to, but does not always,
increase - increases from 0.01 to 0.99 indicate a
strengthening of the relationship between the
occurrence of two events
21(No Transcript)
22 23Ethnography
24Ethnography
- Downsides are that only small populations can be
studied and results cannot be applied to diff.
groups even if they hold the same title - Another loss is if the researcher becomes to
comfortable they stop being the researcher
- Firsthand studies of people using actual
observations or interviewing. - From this research and researchers can get clear
first person accounts and evidence of how a
specific group functions within a larger society
25Ethnography
- EthnographyObservation
- Observation observing people in actual social
settings - An Observation can be done with the participant
being aware of the study or with them completely
unaware of the researcher
26Sociological Research Methods
- 2. Surveys
- Survey Research method using questionnaires or
interviews to gather data from individuals. - Interview Asking people directly specific
questions and recording their answers - Questionnaire Asking people to respond to
questions in writing. Could be in person, through
the mail etc.
27Surveys
- surveys tend to be more impersonal and anonymous
therefore they can assess more sensitive
information. - another aspect that has to be watched is how the
questions are worded and the responses a
population can respond with.
28Survey ResearchA research method in which
subjects respond to a series of statements or
questions in a questionnaire or interview
- Population
- The people who are the focus of the research
- Sample
- The part of the population that represents the
whole - Random Sample
- Drawing a sample from a population so that every
element of the population has an equal chance of
being selected
29Sampling
- When conducting research sociologists (or any
social scientist) often use representative
samples of the population they are studying.
303. Experiments
31Experiments
- For sociology, experiments can allow researchers
to control and accurately study specific social
behaviors.
32Sociological Research Methods
- 4. Review past and previous Documents
- By analyzing past research, or materials (e.g.
newspapers, records, arrests) a sociologists
might be able to develop a theory or support an
existing one. -
- Also..
33Sociological Research Methods
- By analyzing current sources of electronic
communication (e.g. news reports, music)
researchers may once again be able to support or
develop theories of study. - Ex Are nightly news programs more likely to
report and visualize minority crimes than white
Caucasian crimes?
34Scientific Sociology Terminology
- ReliabilityConsistency in measurement
- Does an instrument provide for a consistent
measure of the subject matter? - ValidityPrecision in measuring exactly what one
intends to measure - Does an instrument actually measure what it sets
out to measure?
35Controversy and Debate (cont.)
36(No Transcript)
37(No Transcript)
38Ethical Guidelines for Research
- 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 of risks and responsibilities and agree - Must disclose all sources of funding avoid
conflicts of interest - Must demonstrate cultural sensitivity
39Ethics
- for the researcher in any social science, the
first question is anyone being exposed to any
type of physical, psychological, or social harm? - ..we shall look at another the infamous Stanley
Milgram experiment.
40Ethics
- what did Stanley Milgram do wrong (ethically).