SOC MCC

Introduction to SociologyIntroduction to SociologyResearch MethodsResearch Methods

How Research Filters How Research Filters PerceptionPerception

Values, Theories,Existing Research,

Methods

REALITY

The Research CycleThe Research Cycle1.1. Figure out Figure out

what what matters to matters to youyou

2. Formulate a testable 2. Formulate a testable theorytheory (a tentative (a tentative explanation of a explanation of a phenomenon)phenomenon)

3. Review 3. Review existing existing literatureliterature

4. Select method(s)4. Select method(s)

6. Treat subjects ethically6. Treat subjects ethically 5. Collect data5. Collect data

7. Analyze 7. Analyze datadata

8. 8. Report Report resultsresults

Research EthicsResearch Ethics1. Respect your subjects’ right to safety. Do your

subjects no harm and, in particular, give them the right to decide whether and how they can be studied.

2. Respect your subjects’ right to informed consent. Tell subjects how the information they supply will be used and allow them to judge the degree of personal risk involved in supplying it.

3. Respect your subjects’ right to privacy. Allow subjects the right to decide whether and how the information they supply may be revealed to the public.

4. Respect your subjects’ right to confidentiality. Refrain from using information in a way that allows it to be traced to a particular subject.

5. Do not falsify data. Report findings as they are, not as you would like them to be.

6. Do not plagiarize. Explicitly identify, credit, and reference authors when making use of their written work in any form, including Web postings.

SamplingSamplingA sample is part of a group.A population is the entire group.A voluntary response sample is a group of people who chose themselves in response to a general appeal. A representative sample is a group is a group of people chosen so their characteristics closely match those of the population of interest. A convenience sample consists of people who are easiest to reach. If respondents are chosen at random and an individual’s chance of being chosen is known and greater than zero, the respondents constitute a probability sample.A sampling frame is a list of all the people in the population of interest. A randomizing method is a way of ensuring every person in the sampling frame has a known, equal, and non-zero chance of being selected.

SurveysSurveys A mail questionnaire is a form containing

questions is mailed to the respondent and returned to the researcher through the mail system.

The response rate is the number of people who answer the questionnaire divided by the number of people asked to do so, expressed as a percent.

In a face-to-face interview survey, questions are presented to the respondent by the interviewer during a meeting.

In a telephone survey, questions are presented to the respondent by the interviewer over the phone.

A closed-ended question provides the respondent with a list of permitted answers.

Open-ended questions allow respondents to answer questions in their own words.

Threats to ValidityThreats to Validity

Undercounting occurs due to an imperfect sampling frame.

Nonresponse occurs when respondents do not answer some or all questions.

Response bias occurs when respondents do not answer questions completely accurately.

To avoid wording effects, questions should be specific, simple and neutral, and they should focus on important, singular, current events.

more than 10 hours TV per week and no

act of physical violence per year

10 or fewer hours TV per

week and at least 1 act of physical violence

per year

10 or fewer hours TV per

week and no act of physical violence per

year

Turning a Classroom into a Turning a Classroom into a Contingency TableContingency Table

(a cross-classification of cases by at least two (a cross-classification of cases by at least two variables)variables)

more than 10 hours TV per week and at

least 1 act of physical violence per year

BACK

LEFT

FRONT

RIGHT

0.584 0.621 0.658 0.692 0.713

0.4610.508

0.5740.633 0.652

0.919

0.649

0

0.5

1

67 full-time

77 full-time

87 full-time

97 full-time

02 full-time

67 all 77 all 87 all 97 all 02 all 91 full-time

nevermarr

91 full-timemarr

Female/male earnings ratio

Year and Status

Female/Male Earnings Ratio, Female/Male Earnings Ratio, Canada, 1967-2002Canada, 1967-2002

Full-time ratio = 1 in 2079, when today’s19-year-old is 92 years old.

Nuclear Family Decline: Nuclear Family Decline: USA and Sweden, Early 1990sUSA and Sweden, Early 1990s

USA Swedenmedian age at first marriage

men 26.529.4*

women 24.427.1*percentage of 45-49 population never married

men 5.715.4*

women 5.1 9.1*nonmarital birth rate 25.7 50.9*1-parent hshlds among all hshlds with children < 15

25.0* 18.0

% of mothers in labor force with children < 351.0

84.0*total fertility rate 2.0 2.0average household size 2.7 2.2*

Child Well-Being:Child Well-Being:USA and Sweden, Early 1990sUSA and Sweden, Early 1990s

USA

Sweden

mean reading performance score at 14 5.1 5.3*

% of children in poverty

single-mother households 59.5

5.2*

two-parent households 11.1

2.2*

death rate of infants from abuse 9.8 0.9*

suicide rate for children 15-19 (/100,000)11.1 6.2*

juvenile delinquency rate (/100,000) 11 .6* 12.0

juvenile drug offence rate (/100,000) 558 241*