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Foundations of Sociological Inquiry
Trust and Trickery in Social Research
Today’s Objectives Establishing Trust Ethical Issues Ethical Controversies Validity and Reliability
Set up Clicker Technology Becky Plugs in Receiver & Sets Channel to 05 Becky Sets Up Web-Based Session Students with Clicker Set Channel to 05
Ch; 05; Ch Students with Wireless Device Login to
www.rwpoll.com Enter Session ID
Establishing Trust I am doing research to examine how course
evaluations differ by gender I am surveying students in all sociology classes Using your clicker, please respond to the following
questions Your responses are anonymous and will be kept
confidential
Do you trust me?
1 2 3
59%
31%
11%
1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t Know
This course as a whole is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
1%
22%
1%1%
19%
56%1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The course content is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
2%
18%
1%1%
21%
58%1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The instructor overall is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
23%
41%
2%0%
6%
28%
1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The instructor’s contribution to your understanding of concepts/ideas is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
19%
32%
1%0%
12%
36%
1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The course content is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
4%
21%
1%1%
20%
54%
1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The instructor’s interest in whether students learned is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
17%
44%
1%1%
11%
27%
1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The amount learned in the course is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
2%
17%
2%
10%
21%
48%1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
The relevance and usefulness of homework assignments is:
1 2 3 4 5 6
8%
21%
5%6%
20%
40%1. Excellent
2. Very Good
3. Good
4. Fair
5. Poor
6. Very Poor
Professor Pettit examines how an instructor’s gender affects course evaluations. Pettit decides to compare evaluations of college students in different classes. She decides to begin her research using students in her class. After explaining the
1 2 3 4 5
7%11%
6%
48%
29%
study, she assures students that their responses will be confidential. The students complete her survey during class. Her research most clearly impinges on
1. deception.
2. no harm to participants.
3. voluntary participation.
4. the value placed on anonymity.
5. value-free reports of the data.
The main reason that codes of ethics exist are that
1 2 3 4 5
49%
9%12%
10%
20%
1. ethical issues are both important and ambiguous.
2. both the state and federal governments require them.
3. researchers would be both unwilling and unable to make ethical decisions without them.
4. the directors of the professional associations require and enforce them.
5. people are naturally unethical.
Ethical Issues in Social Research Ethical (Webster’s): conforming to the standards of
conduct of a given profession or group.
Ethical Issues in Social Research Ethical (Webster’s): conforming to the standards of
conduct of a given profession or group. Voluntary Participation
Ethical Issues in Social Research Ethical (Webster’s): conforming to the standards of
conduct of a given profession or group. Voluntary Participation DO NO HARM
Ethical Issues in Social Research Ethical (Webster’s): conforming to the standards of
conduct of a given profession or group. Voluntary Participation DO NO HARM Anonymity and Confidentiality
Which of the following techniques of data collection is MOST likely to make a guarantee of anonymity difficult?
1 2 3 4 5
60%
17%
9%
3%
11%
1. interviews
2. mailed questionnaires
3. secondary data analysis
4. unobtrusive measures
5. The data collection technique does not effect the guarantee of anonymity.
Ethical Controversies Trouble in the Tearoom – Laud Humphreys
Studied homosexual activities in public restrooms in parks
Researcher became interested in the lives of participants Researcher volunteered to become “watchqueen” Researcher collected personal information about the
participants (license numbers of cars)
What should have Laud Humphrey done in his “Trouble in the Tearoom” study to uphold ethical standards?
1 2 3 4 5
7%
65%
12%15%
0%
1. debriefed subjects.
2. allowed subjects to decline to be studied.
3. remained nonpolitical.
4. promised confidentiality.
5. revealed his identity.
Ethical Controversies Observing Human Obedience – Stanley Milgram
Participants imitated a laboratory-based World War II controversy
Participants were assigned job of “teacher” – to teach a list of works to the “pupil.” If the pupil got the word wrong, the teacher would administer increasing levels of shocks to the pupil.
The primary ethical research issue raised by the Milgram study was
1 2 3 4 5
44%
10%7%
25%
15%
1. the willingness of people to harm others when “following orders” required it.
2. the administration of electrical shocks to the pupils.
3. the effects of the methods on the pupils.
4. the effects of the methods on the teacher.
5. the examination of obedience as a topic for study.
Reliability and Validity Reliability
The extent to which a given measurement strategy would describe a concept in the same way if repeated again and again OR
The extent to which two or more measures provide the same description of a concept
Reliability and Validity Reliability
The extent to which a given measurement strategy would describe a concept in the same way if repeated again and again OR
The extent to which two or more measures provide the same description of a concept
Validity Internal Validity represents the extent to which a variable or
indicator accurately represents the concept it was chosen to measure
External Validity represents the extent to which findings from a study, based on a sample can be generalized to a larger population
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High Reliability and High Validity
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High Reliability and High Validity (Self-reported educational attainment)
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High Reliability and Low Validity
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High Reliability and Low Validity (Self-reported number of sexual partners)
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Low Reliability and High Validity
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Low Reliability and High Validity (Self-reported happiness)
Replicability Someone should be able to figure out what you did,
how you did it, and do it again Your work (observational or analytical) should
withstand further empirical scrutiny All of this rests on shared professional standards
(ethics)
Questions?