Glossary_07.doc

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GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS

Common to Sociological

RESEARCH METHODS, DATA ANALYSIS, THEORY, AND SEMINAR

(For distribution in SOCI 251, 252, 353 & 454)

Association is the connection or relationship of to or !ore concepts or

a!ia"les" #o $ariables ha$e an association if the distribution of

one $ariable chan%es in concert ith the other" See also ca#sation,

co!!elation"

$iasis an situation in hich the accurac, !elia"ilit%, ali&it%, etc", of

data, findin%s, or conclusions are distorted b the researcher's or

theorist's !ethods or presuppositions (e"%", !oral, political, reli%iousbeliefs or i&eologies)" In statistical analsis, bias is a technical ter!

for a difference beteen a hpothetical true $alue of a a!ia"lein a

population and the obser$ed $alue in a particular sa!ple"

Ca#sation is the principle that one a!ia"le() produces chan%e in another

a!ia"le ()" It is based on the assu!ption that e$ents occur in a

predictable, nonrando! a, and that one e$ent leads to, or causes,

another" #o establish causation, the to $ariables !ust be associate&or

co!!elate& ith each other* the first $ariable () !ust precede the

second $ariable () in ti!e and space* and alternati$e, noncausal

e+planations for the relationship (such as sp#!io#s ones) !ust be

eli!inated" $ents in the phsical and social orlds are %enerall too

co!ple+ to be e+plained b an sin%le factor" For this reason, scientistsare %uided b the principle ofm#ltiple ca#sation, hich states that one

e$ent occurs as a result of se$eral factors operatin% or occurrin% in

co!bination"

Conceptis a ord or set of ords that e+presses a %eneral idea about the

nature of so!ethin%" -no!ie, relati$e depri$ation, and !ass societ are

a!on% the !ore ell./non concepts in sociolo%"

Concept#ali'ationis the !ental process hereb a!bi%uous and i!precise notions

are !ade clear and !ore precise" A concept#al &e(inition states the

!eanin% of a concept"

Co!!elationis the !utual relationship or associationof to or !ore conceptsor a!ia"les, such that hen one chan%es in $alue, the other one does

also" 0ariables !a be correlated positi$el (i"e", the chan%e in the

sa!e direction) or ne%ati$el (that is, the chan%e in the opposite

direction)" Correlation is necessar but not sufficient to de!onstrate

ca#sation"

Dectionand Inctionare processes of lo%ical reasonin%" Dectionin$ol$es

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reasonin% fro! %eneral principles to particular instances" In other

ords, it is drain% a conclusion fro! a set of pre!ises or de$elopin%

the specific e+pectations of )%pot)eses fro! a t)eo!% or t)eo!etical

pe!spectie" Inctionin$ol$es reasonin% fro! particular instances to

%eneral principles" In other ords, it is offerin% a pre!ise or a t)eo!%

about a cate%or of e$ents fro! obser$ations of specific instances or

fro! the results of )%pot)esistestin%" It is the process in$ol$ed in

empi!ical gene!ali'ation" -lthou%h &ection is funda!ental to the

scientific !ethod, sociolo%ical analses are rarel strictl deducti$e,

e$en if the !a clai! to be"

Depen&ent a!ia"le See a!ia"le"

Desc!iptie Statistics rocedures that su!!arie the distribution of a

$ariable or !easure the relationship beteen to or !ore $ariables"

Empi!ical is a e!i(ia"le ualit based on e+perience, e+peri!ent, or

obser$ation rather than on assu!ption, lo%ic, inspiration, or an of the

other as b hich e !a understand the social orld" -ccordin% to aell./non stor, purel rational considerations led to the conclusion

that the bu!blebee is aerodna!icall incapable of flin%" !pirical

considerations force us to conclude, to the contrar, that bu!blebees do

a $er %ood ob of flin%" Sociolo%ists freuentl ar%ue that !uch of

hat is ron% ith our understandin% of social beha$ior arises fro! the

tendenc to deal ith this subect on the basis of reasonin% rather than

obser$ation" On the other hand, because social beha$ior is both $er

co!ple+ and %enerall s!bolic in character, the application of purel

e!pirical !odes of in$esti%ation can onl pro$ide part of the social

e+planation for beha$ior"

Empi!ical gene!ali'ationis the process b hich the specific, obser$ed results

of research are held to appl to the %eneral, unobser$ed cate%or ofe$ents or population under stud" It is a for! of inction"

H%pot)esisis a testable state!ent of a specific relationship beteen at least

to a!ia"les" It is a state!ent of so!ethin% that ou%ht to he obser$ed

in the real orld (i"e", it is an empi!icalstate!ent) if the t)eo!%fro!

hich it is deri$ed is correct" Ideall, hpotheses are dran fro! or

based on theoreticalp!opositions* the are arri$ed at, in other ords,

throu%h &ection"

I&eal*t%pe met)o&is a process of research, and of drain% conclusions fro!

such research, that in$ol$es isolatin% the !ost basic characteristics of

so!e social entit" -s used b 6eber, it is an empi!ical!ethod that

does not i!pl or %enerate the perfect or !ost desirable characteristics

of an entit, but si!pl those that are !ost obser$ed" #hus, 6eber

analed bureaucrac as an ideal tpe rather than as an particular case

or e+a!ple"

I&eolog% is a t)eo!% or t)eo!etical pe!spectie associated ith the

self.interest of a particular %roup" -ccordin% to less co!!on usa%e, it

also refers to the set of ideas underlin% and infor!in% socio.political

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action"

In(e!ential Statistics procedures that produce %eneraliations fro! sa!ples

to populations"

In&epen&ent a!ia"le See a!ia"le"

Inction See &ection* see also empi!ical gene!ali'ation"

Meas#!ement is the process of deter!inin% the $alue or le$el (either

ualitati$e or uantitati$e) of a particular attribute of a unit of

analsis" It refers to assi%nin% nu!bers to concepts or $ariables"

#hese series of assi%ned nu!bers can be used to 1) classif or cate%orie

at the no!inal le$el of !easure!ent* 2) ran/ or order at the ordinal

le$el of !easure!ent* or 3) assi%n a score at the inter$al le$el of

!easure!ent"

Met)o&olog%is the lo%ic of scientific in$esti%ation, includin% analsis of the

basic assu!ptions of science in %eneral and of sociolo% in particular,

processes of t)eo!% construction, interrelationships of theor andresearch, and procedures of empi!icalin$esti%ation"

Mi&&le*!ange t)eo!% #his ter! as coined b 7obert 8" 9erton ho belie$es in

the necessit for sociolo%ical theor constructed beteen '!inor or/in%

hpotheses' and '!aster conceptual sche!es"'

M#ltiple ca#sation See ca#sation"

Ope!ationali'ation is the process of definin% concepts in ter!s of si!ple,

obser$able procedures" -n ope!ational &e(inition states a concept or

a!ia"le in such a a that it can be !easured and obser$ed" Fore+a!ple, reli%ious de$otion !a be operationall defined in ter!s of

freuenc of attendin% church" #he use of constructs and scales are

other co!!on for!s of operationaliation" For e+a!ple, the Srole Scale

of -no!ie is one of !an atte!pts to operationalie the concept of

ano!ie, an idio!atic abstraction that is difficult to !easure directl"

-+a!a&igm is a perspecti$e or a fra!e of reference for $iein% the social

orld consistin% of a set of concepts and assu!ptions" 7esearchers

describin% the sa!e aspects of the social orld fro! to different

paradi%!s !a ha$e $er different interpretations" aradi%!s differ in

ter!s of assu!ptions, concepts, and proble!s the consider to be

i!portant"

+!opositionis a state!ent or specification ithin a t)eo!%that describes a

ca#salrelationship beteen to or !ore concepts" - proposition !a be

translated into one or !ore testable )%pot)esesb ope!ationali'ingthe

conceptsinto !easurable a!ia"les"

Rectionism - sociolo%ical e+planation is said to be reductionist hen it

atte!pts to account for a ran%e of pheno!ena in ter!s of a sin%le

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deter!inin% factor" It is said of so!e 9ar+ian theories, for instance,

that the are reductionist because the e+plain the di$ersit of social

beha$ior b reference si!pl to the econo!" Sociolo%ists tend to be

s/eptical of anthin% rese!blin% 'pscholo%ical reductionis!"'

Re(leiit%is present in research and:or theor hich refers to itself"

#heories in the sociolo% of /noled%e, for e+a!ple, refer to the!sel$es

since the ar%ue that all /noled%e, includin% sociolo%ical /noled%e,

can be e+plained sociall" - sociolo%ist ho considers his or her on

role in a stud, and ho it influences and is influenced b the findin%s

!a be thou%ht of as a refle+i$e sociolo%ist" #heories about the nature

of theor;

!esea!c) met)o&s" Relia"ilit% is the capacit of a research instru!ent

to deli$er an unchan%ed, dependable result or !easure!ent hen applied

repeatedl to the sa!e pheno!enon" -ali&it% is the capacit of a

research instru!ent to !easure hat it purports, or clai!s, to !easure"

It %enerall is !ore difficult, both conceptuall and practicall, to

establish $alidit than to establish reliabilit" -n instru!ent can be

reliable but in$alid* in that case, it ill %i$e consistent results thatdo not !ean hat the are supposed to !ean" >oe$er, an instru!ent cannot

he $alid but unreliable" If it is unreliable, it cannot !easure anthin%

adeuatel" #he difficult of establishin% the $alidit of an instru!ent

so!eti!es can he bpassed (or at least !ini!ied) ith a %ood ope!ational

&e(inition"

Resea!c) met)o&sare the procedures of studin% a pheno!enon, includin% as of

collectin% and handlin% empi!ical obser$ations and data" 7esearch

!ethods co!!onl e!ploed b sociolo%ists include sur$es, obser$ation,

and content analsis"

Social (actsare the re%ularities of beha$ior ithin a social sste!" -ccordin%

to ?ur/hei!, social facts are the proper units of stud for sociolo%ists, and

the can be e+plained onl b reference to other social facts" #he e+ist

outside the indi$idual (i"e", the both pre. and post.date an one person's

e+istence)* the are coerci$e to the indi$idual (i"e", their influence on a

person's beha$ior cannot he illed aa)* and the are %eneral and

idespread throu%hout a social sste!" Co!!on e+a!ples of social facts

include rates of beha$ior, such as !arria%e, di$orce, cri!e, suicide,

e!plo!ent, reli%iosit, etc" ublic opinion and social attitudes

are also i!portant social facts"

Sociological imagination #he set of !ind that allos indi$iduals to see the

relationship beteen e$ents in their personal li$es and e$ents in their

societ" #his ter! as popularied b C" 6ri%ht 9ills"

Sp#!io#s !elations)ipsare those that are not %enuine" #he a!ia"lesappear to

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be ca#sall%related, thou%h the are not, because each is influenced b

the sa!e other a!ia"le" - classic e+a!ple of a spurious relationship is

that beteen le$els of ice crea! consu!ption and rates of rape" #hese to

a!ia"les e+hibit a $er stron%, positi$e co!!elation hen ice crea!

consu!ption increases, so does rape, and $ice $ersa" -re e safe in

concludin%, then, that eatin% ice crea! (independent $ariable, ) causes

people to co!!it rape (&epen&ent a!ia"le, ) or, %i$en that the

direction of influence could ust as lo%icall he re$ersed in this

instance, that rape (in&epen&ent a!ia"le, ) causes offenders or $icti!s

to eat ice crea! (&epen&ent a!ia"le, )@ Ao, that is not a safe

conclusion" Both le$els of ice crea! consu!ption and rates of rape are

stron%l influenced b season of the ear or b outdoor te!perature" 9ore

directl, the season affects the de%ree to hich people en%a%e in certain

/inds of beha$ior* in other ords, !an beha$iors ha$e a predictable

te!poral di!ension" #he obser$ed co!!elationbeteen le$els of ice crea!

consu!ption and rates of rape is spurious, not ca#sal, because each

actuall is dependent on a third, te!poral a!ia"le" 9an spurious

relationships are far !ore subtle and difficult to detect than this

empi!icale+a!ple"

Ta#tolog% Circular reasonin%* sain% the sa!e thin% in different as*redefinin% a condition and then usin% the redefinition as an

e+planation" Aot all tautolo%ies are re%arded as useless*

?ur/hei!'s definition of reli%ion (as 'all thin%s thou%ht to be sacred')

is both tautolo%ical and endurin%"

T)eo!% is an e+planation of so!e pheno!enon" 9ore specificall, it is an

e+planation of the relationship beteen to or !ore concepts or

a!ia"les" - t)eo!% is not ust a description of an empi!ical

relationship* rather, it is an atte!pt to anser the uestion of h

(and, so!eti!es, ho) the relationship e+ists as it does"

T)eo!etical pe!spectie is a set of interrelated assu!ptions about the a

thin%s or/" 9ore specificall, it is a broad $ie about the nature ofsociet and of social beha$ior" - %i$en theoretical perspecti$e !a

%enerate an nu!ber of !ore specific t)eo!ies, hich then !a be tested

b an nu!ber of e$en !ore specific )%pot)eses"

T%polog% - classification sche!e* an e+a!ination of tpes" 9erton's '9odes

of Indi$idual -daptation' and Soro/in=s


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in hi%hest and loest re%ard" #he are principles e!bodin% ideas about

hat that culture considers to be ri%ht and ron%, i!portant and

uni!portant, desirable and undesirable"

-a!ia"le is so!ethin% that can chan%e or $ar, so that its opposite is a

constant" - $ariable occurs in different de%rees (or has different

$alues) a!on% indi$iduals, %roups, obects, and e$ents" - &epen&ent

a!ia"le() is an effect, result, or outco!e* it is assu!ed to depend on

or to be caused b at least one in&epen&ent a!ia"le()" - researcher or

theorist uses the independent $ariable(s) to e+plain the dependent

$ariable" In other ords, chan%es in the independent $ariable(s) are

t)eo!i'e& or )%pot)esi'e&to be co!!elate& ith or to ha$e ca#se& the

chan%es in the dependent $ariable" 7esearchers and theorists often

specif their $ariables in the titles of their articles" For e+a!ple, as

ou s/i! throu%h a recent issue of Social Forces, ou !a co!e across an

article titled #he Influences of -%e, Se+, Inco!e, and 9arital Status on

Church -ttendance" It is safe to conclude that fi$e $ariables ere

e+a!ined in this stud a%e, se+, inco!e, !arital status, and church

attendance" In all li/elihood, the &epen&ent a!ia"leould be church

attendance (), hich ould be presu!ed to be affected b the four

in&epen&ent a!ia"lesof a%e (1), se+ (2), inco!e (3), and !aritalstatus (4)"

[NOTE: The ability to identify and specify variables is essential for

all students of research methods, data analysis, and theory. It

is also of utmost importance to the practice of sociologically-

informed critical thining.!

-e!i(ia"ilit%is the principle of science b hich an %i$en piece of research

and, especiall, its results can be duplicated or replicated b other

scientists"

-e!ste)enis a !ethod of research, proposed b 6eber, b hich e atte!pt to

understand others' beha$ior b !entall puttin% oursel$es in their place"(#he closest n%lish ord for e!ste)enis e!pathie")-e!ste)enis at

the heart of !an field research !ethods" It is !ost li/el to be in$o/ed

b sociolo%ists at the t)eo!i'ingand conclusion.drain% (rather than

durin% the data.collection) sta%es of research"

.allace .)eelis a depiction, offered b 6alter 6allace (1DE1) in his The "ogic

of #cience in #ociology (Chica%o -ldine.-therton), of the

interconnectedness of t)eo!%and research" Ideall, the heel turns in

this fashion t)eo!%leads to )%pot)eseshich lead to obser$ations hich

lead to empi!ical gene!ali'ations hich are then used to re$ise or

ad$ance t)eo!%"


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?efinitions adapted fro! the folloin% sources

-bercro!bie, Aicholas, Stephen >ill, and Bran S" #urner" 2GG4" The $enguin

%ictionary of #ociology, 4th ed" Ae or/ 0i/in% en%uin"

Babbie, arl" 1DD2" The $ractice of #ocial &esearch, th ed" Bel!ont, C-

6adsorth"

Cuort, 7" " and " 6" 8in%" 1DD5" T'entieth-(entury #ocial Thought, 5th ed"

Chica%o >olt, 7inehart and 6inston"

>eale, Hoseph" 2GGG" #tatistics: ) Tool for #ocial &esearch, 5th ed" Bel!ont,

C- 6adsorth"

Har, ?a$id and Hulia Har" 1DD1" The *arper (ollins %ictionary of #ociology"

Ae or/ >arper Collins"

e!ert, Charles (ed")" 1DD3" #ocial Theory: The +ulticultural and (lassic

&eadings" Boulder, CO 6est$ie"

e$in, Hac/ and Ha!es -llen Fo+" 2GG2" Elementary #tatistics in #ocial&esearch, Jthed" Ae or/ >arper Collins"

e$ine, Hohn, 9ar%aret e$ine oun% and -rnold 7einhold" 1DD" The Internet

for %ummies(2nded")" Foster Cit, C- International ?ata Kroup"

Shepard, Hon 9" 2GG5" #ociology, Dth ed" St" aul, 9A 6est"

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Glossary_07.doc