Social Research

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Chapter 2

• Social Research

2
Chapter Outline

• Sources of Knowledge
• A Model for Doing Research
• Causation and the Logic of Science
• Quantitative Research Methods
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Ethics in Social Research
• A Final Note

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How Do We Know What We Know?

• Four major nonscientific sources of knowledge
• Intuition quick and ready insight not based on
  rational thought
• Common sense refers to opinions widely held
  because they seem obvious
• Authority someone who supposedly has special
  knowledge that not everyone has
• Tradition knowledge because that is what those
  older than us state as fact

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Questioning What We Know

• Nonscientific knowledge often provides false or
  misleading information, therefore we need to
  question what we think we know.
• We need to seek an understanding of where and how
  the information was gathered.
• Application of the scientific method when doing
  and accepting research is very helpful.

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A Model for Doing Research The Scientific Method

1. Identifying the problem.
2. Reviewing the literature.
3. Formulating hypotheses.
4. Developing a research design.
5. Collecting data.
6. Analyzing data.
7. Stating findings and conclusions.

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Identifying the Problem

• Questions addressed here in the development of
  stating the problem include
• What is the topic for investigation?
• In what is the researcher interested in learning
  more information?
• How will society and research be enriched from
  the information to be gathered?

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Reviewing the Literature and Formulating
Hypotheses

• Examine the existing literature for relevant
  theories and previous research methods and
  findings.
• After examination of the literature, the
  sociologist states tentative but testable
  statements about the relationships he/she
  anticipates to find between variables.
• Operational definitions are provided at this
  point as well. Therefore, abstract concepts are
  defined in simpler, observable procedures.

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Developing a Research Design

• Description of the procedures and/or process that
  will be used to collect and analyze the data.
• Many refer to this as selection of a research
  method.
• For instance, will a survey method or participant
  observation method be used?
• Identification of the population and sample is
  important at this stage.

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What is a Population?

• Population all the people within the
  group/category of which the researcher is seeking
  knowledge about.
• Sample limited number of people from the
  population.
• It is important to select a random and stratified
  sample in order for the researcher to make sound
  generalizations from the data (see slide 33).

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Collecting Data

• Three basic ways (yet not limited to only three)
  of gathering data in sociological research
• Asking people questions Survey
• Observing behavior Participant Observation
• Analyzing existing materials and records
  Secondary Analysis and Document Analysis

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Analyzing Data

• Before analyzing the data and after it is
  collected, it must also be classified or coded.
• When looking over the data collected, the
  researcher is looking to see whether or not the
  identified hypotheses are supported.

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Stating Findings and Conclusions

• Regardless of whether the sample was of a large
  size or the hypotheses were supported, the
  findings of the research should be written up
  and reported.
• The researcher will reflect on whether the
  methods used were adequate, were there
  limitations in the study, and in what ways were
  the hypotheses accepted, rejected, or modified.
• By making the information public, it makes it
  possible for others to duplicate the research,
  conduct a slightly different study, or proceed in
  a very different direction.

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Using the Research Model

• Although most sociologists follow the model, they
  do not do so mechanically.
• They may also conduct exploratory studies prior
  to stating hypotheses or before developing
  research designs.
• They may also alter their hypotheses and research
  designs as their investigation is in process.

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Questions for Consideration

• What were the findings of this
  research?
• What methods were employed in this research?
• How can you apply any or all of the three
  sociological theoretical approaches to the data
  found in this study?

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Science as a Source of Knowledge

• Science is based on principles of objectivity and
  verifiability.
• Objectivity scientists are expected to prevent
  their personal biases from influencing the
  interpretation of their results (Webers concept
  verstehen). Data is to be interpreted on the
  basis of merit.
• Verifiability a study can be repeated by
  others. This exposes one work to critical
  analysis, retesting, and revision by colleagues.

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Causation and Scientific Logic

• Causation events occur in predictable,
  nonrandom ways, and one event leads to another.
• Political scientist Leo Rosten wrote If an
  explanation relies on a single cause, it is
  surely wrong. Therefore scientists are guided by
  multiple causation.
• Multiple Causation an event occurs as a result
  of several factors operating in combination.

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Causation and Variables

• Variable - a characteristic that is subject to
  change (e.g., age, education, social class).
• Quantitative Variable a variable that can be
  measured and given numerical value (e.g.,
  individuals, groups, objects).
• Qualitative Variable variation in kind versus
  in numerical degree (e.g., sex, marital status).

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Questions for Consideration

• Since answers to these questions could be used to
  classify people into one of two categories, which
  category would you be in?
• People who place a high value on education
• People who place a low value on education
• Can you identify other categories that could be
  qualified from these questions?

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Other Types of Variables

• Independent Variables variables that cause
  something to occur.
• Dependent Variables variables which a change
  (or effect) can be observed or you expect to
  observe.
• Independent variables usually when introduced
  cause the dependent variable to change.
• Intervening Variables influences the
  relationship between an independent variable and
  dependent variable.

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Correlational Relationships

• Correlation when one variable changes another
  or several other variable changes (either
  negatively or positively).
• Positive Correlation when both the independent
  and dependent variable(s) change in the same
  direction.
• Negative Correlation independent and dependent
  variable(s) change in opposite directions (when
  one goes up the other goes down).

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Positive and Negative Correlations
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Criteria For a Cause-and-Effect Relationship

1. Two variables must be correlated.
2. All possible contaminating factors must be taken
   into account.
3. A change in the independent variable must occur
   before a change in the dependent variable can
   occur.

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Application of the Causal Relationship Criteria

• Refer to Using the Sociological Imagination
  from the beginning of the chapter.
• Two variables must be correlated Some
  researchers found that juvenile delinquency
  increases as church attendance declines.

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Application of the Causal Relationship Criteria
Cont.

1. All possible contaminating factors must be taken
   into account the negative relationship between
   church attendance and delinquency occurs because
   age is related to both church attendance and
   delinquency. We need to take all variables
   relevant to the relationship. The age variable
   reveals that the relationship between church
   attendance and delinquency is not a causal one.
   Church attendance is the contaminating factor
   here.

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Application of the Causal Relationship Criteria
Cont.

1. A change in the independent variable must occur
   before a change in the dependent variable can
   occur cause must occur before effect. In this
   case, it cannot be determined which occurred
   first church attendance or delinquency.
   Causality between these two variables cannot be
   established.

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The Experiment as a Model

• Experiments illustrate causation.
• Experiment takes place in a laboratory in an
  attempt to eliminate all possible contaminating
  influences. This allows the researcher to
  determine the effects of an independent variable
  on a dependent variable.
• Basic ingredients pretest, posttest, an
  experimental variable, an experimental group, and
  a control group.

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Experiment as a Model Cont.

• Conventional method for controlling the influence
  of contaminating variables is to select a control
  group as well as an experimental group.
• Experimental Group group exposed to the
  experimental variable.
• Control Group group not exposed to the
  experimental variable.

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Experiment as a Model Cont.

• Matching is done to make the groups comparable
  participants are matched in pairs.
• Randomization (preferable to matching) subjects
  are assigned to the experimental or control group
  on a random (chance) basis.

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Quantitative Research Methods

• Quantitative research uses numerical data.
• Such methods include survey research and
  precollected data (secondary research).
• About 90 of the research published in major
  sociological journals is based on surveys.

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Surveys

• People are asked to respond to a series of
  questions by mail, email, face-to-face, and/or by
  telephone.
• Questionnaires are written and interviews are
  questions asked by an interviewer.
• Ideal for studying large numbers of people.
• Representative samples are selected.
• Include many variables.
• Relatively precise.
• Permit the comparison of responses.

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Surveys Cont.

• Random sample a sample of the population where
  every member of the population has equal
  opportunity of being selected for inclusion in
  the sample.
• Stratified random sample population is divided
  into categories such as sex, age, race subjects
  are then selected randomly from each category.
  This is to ensure the proportion of persons in a
  given category reflects the population at large.

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Survey Questions

• Close-ended Questions limited, predetermined
  set of answers are provided (i.e., multiple
  choice). May fail to elicit the participants
  underlying attitudes and opinions.
• Open-ended Questions asks the respondent to
  answer in his or her own words. Not always easy
  to quantify.
• Double-barreled Questions posing more than one
  question, therefore confusing the data and/or the
  respondent.

34
Precollected data

• Known a secondary analysis.
• Permits high quality research.
• Low cost.
• Reveals changes in variables over an extended
  period of time.
• Sources include government reports, company
  records, voting records, prison records, and
  reports from research done by others.

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Precollected Data Advantages Disadvantages

• Advantages
• Permit the study of issue over time.
• Researcher cannot influence the answers.
• Disadvantages
• Existing information may not exactly suit current
  researchers needs.
• People who originally collected the data may have
  been biased.
• May be too old to be valid.

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Qualitative Research Methods

• Qualitative research methods include field
  research and the subjective approach.
• Qualitative research relies heavily on
  descriptive data.

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Qualitative Research Methods Cont.

• Field research investigates aspects of social
  life that cannot be measured quantitatively and
  that are best understood within a natural
  setting. Assumes findings in one case can be
  generalized to similar situations.
• Case study thorough investigation of a single
  group, incident, or community. Accomplished
  primarily through intensive observation,
  information obtained from informants, and
  informal interviews.

38
Qualitative Research Methods Cont.

• Participant observation researcher becomes a
  member of the group being studied (as in the
  video about the homeless in NY).
• Classic participant observation studies
• Elliott Liebow Street Corner Society
• John Howard Griffin Black Like Me

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Advantages of Field Studies

• Field studies can produce a depth and breadth of
  understanding unattainable with quantitative
  methods.
• Can reveal insights from the people involved.
• Valuable where survey research methods would be
  either impossible or biased.

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Disadvantages of Field Studies

• Findings from one case may not be generalizable
  to similar situations.
• Possibility of bias of field researcher
  researcher often has to rely on personal judgment
  and interpretation.
• Lack of objectivity and standardized research
  procedures makes it difficult for other
  researchers to replicate.

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Subjective Approach

• Subjective approach studies an aspect of human
  social behavior by ascertaining the
  interpretations of the participants themselves.
• A prominent example of this approach is
  ethnomethodology, which attempts to uncover the
  taken-for-granted social routines.

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Ethnomethodology

• the study of the processes people develop and
  use in understanding the routine behaviors
  expected of themselves and others in everyday
  life.
• Ethnomethodologists assume that people share the
  meanings that underlie much of their everyday
  behavior.

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Ethnomethodology Cont.

• Harold Garfinkel is a prominent advocate of
  ethnomethodology.
• Garfinkel believes the best way to understand
  peoples construction of social reality is to
  deprive them momentarily of their mental maps of
  daily routines upsetting the apple cart.
• Ethnomethodologists can learn by observing the
  process of reconstruction.

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Focus on Theoretical Perspectives
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Ethics and Sociological Research

• Sociologists are committed to
• Objectivity
• Highest technical research standards
• Accurate reporting of methods and
  findings
• Protection of the rights, privacy, integrity,
  dignity, and autonomy of the subjects of their
  research.

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Ethics in Sociological Research Cont.

• The code is concerned with maximizing the
  benefits of sociology to society and minimizing
  the harm that sociological work might create.
• Several eminent social scientists have been
  criticized for conducting research that many
  scientists consider unethical. Subjects were
  placed in stressful situations without being
  informed of the true nature of the experiment
  Milgram 1963, 1965, 1974 Zimbardo et al 1981

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ASA Code of Ethics

• Link to the American Sociological Association
  Code of Ethics
• http//www.asanet.org/galleries/default-file/Code
  20of20Ethics.pdf

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Sociology You

• As a consumer of information, there are some easy
  steps you can follow that will make you a savvy
  consumer of information
• Be Skeptical be suspicious of what you read or
  hear
• Consider the Information Source
• Do Not Mistake Correlations for Causation

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A Final Note

• To help ensure ones study produces knowledge
  that is superior to that yielded by intuition,
  common sense, authority, or tradition, a
  researcher must pay careful attention to the
  quality of measurement.

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Reliability

• a measurement technique that yields consistent
  results on repeated application.
• Reliability is tested by repeated administration
  of the technique.
• Problem of reliability is an issue in qualitative
  research due to the difficulty of repeatability.
• Although reliable, it may not produce sound
  results.

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Validity

• exists when a measurement technique actually
  measures what it is designed to measure.

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Self-corrective Nature of Research

• It is partially through replication that
  scientific knowledge accumulates and changes over
  time.
• A major goal of scientific research is to
  generate knowledge that is more reliable than can
  be obtained from such nonscientific sources as
  intuition, common sense, authority, and
  tradition.
• Through efforts to be objective and replicable,
  researchers attempt to portray reality as
  accurately as possible.

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Questions for Consideration

• Do you think that a selected sample of three
  thousand individuals could yield an accurate
  picture of leisure habits of Americans? Why or
  why not?
• Pretend you are a sociologist studying the
  relationship between the receipt of welfare
  payments and commitment to working. Describe the
  research method you would select, and discuss why
  it is the most appropriate to this topic.