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SOCY 1101 ChapterSOCY 1101 Chapter66

Mary McKenzieUNC Charlotte

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There are two major approaches to sociologicalinquiry:

Durkheim saw sociology as the study of socialfacts and proposed that sociology follow theresearch model established by the naturalsciences Sociologists should observe and measure the actions of

social facts The goal of sociology was to discover the laws that govern

social behavior

The research tradition is often referred to quantitativeresearch since the data is easily expressed in numbers.

The nature of the questions toThe nature of the questions towhich you want to find answerswhich you want to find answersdetermines your choice of researchdetermines your choice of research

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Durkheim suggested that social factsbe quantitatively observed andmeasured in an attempt to discover

the laws that govern social behavior. True

False

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Weber saw sociology as a science, but argued that

since the subject matter of sociology differs fromthat of the natural sciences, its researchtechniques should also differ. Sociology must go beyond the natural sciences model and

be an interpretative science it must take into account thesocial meanings/reasons attached to behaviors.

Proposed sociologists adopt two goals: predicting andunderstanding social behavior qualitative researchbecause it focuses not only on the objective nature ofbehavior but on its meaning (or quality).

Often use numbers to quantify certain kinds of data, they

are focused on obtaining data that are difficult toquantifyQualitative research reports generally devote more spaceto peoples descriptive accounts of their own experiencesthan to numbers to quantify these experiences.

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Qualitative researchers in socialscience follow the natural sciencemodel of research

whenever possible.

True

False

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No matter which research method you choose,the first stage is always to review the existingliterature on the topic. This is the lit review.

Someone may have already found an answer toyour question start by determining what is

already known. Even if the literature does not answer your

particular question, it will give you clues as toways to phrase the questions or focus yourresearch in a more interesting way.

The more you know about work already done,the better you will be prepared to make yourown contribution.

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A literature review is only doneafter deciding your hypothesesand research method that

will be used in your study.

True

False

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If you want answers to your questions, ask. Research questions about who people are

and/or what they think about somethingare answered very well by surveys.

A survey is a series of questions asked of anumber of peopleThe questions can be asked orally, either face-to-

face or over the phone. (interview)

The questions are often a list and people answerthem on paper (self-administered questionnaire)

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Surveys are particularly suited to obtainingdata from large numbers of people (mainstrength)

Especially appropriate for discovering basic

demographic information (age, gender,income, education, religious affiliation)

Another strength is that it allows researchersto obtain information about things thatcannot be observed directly, such asattitudes.

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The weakness of the survey method is thatit is not a good way to measure peoplesactual behavior. If you want to know whatpeople do, a survey might provide you with

misleading information. People may not want to admit certain behaviors

Many people cannot give an accurate account oftheir behaviors even when they want to because

they may not remember accurately

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It is important to phrase questions in a surveyin ways that make it possible for respondentsto answer: closed-ended and open-ended Closed-ended questions require that you not only ask

the questions but also provide answer categories.

The respondent answers the question by picking aparticular category.Some closed-ended questions frequently used toask people about their attitudes on sets of issuesare called matrix questions because the answercategory looks like a matrix or array of numbers.

Open-ended questions are used when you have notdetermined the categories of responses in advance orwhen you want to read the respondents answers intheir own words.

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Six Guidelines for Crafting SurveyQuestions: Adapt the phrasing of questions to the

educational level of respondents, but do not be

insulting. Avoid double negatives in a question.

Avoid marathon questions.

Dont ask double-barreled questions.

Dont ask leading or loaded questions Dont ask questions that your respondents

cannot answer.

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The best way to gatherdemographic information about alarge number of people is to do a

survey. True

False

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An experiment involves manivariable.

The strength of the experimental pulating the independent variable and observing theeffect on the dependent method is that it is really the only means by which we canexplore causal relationships among variables.

It is the only way to determine for sure that changes in the IV cause changes in theDV

A true or classic experiment manipulates the IV and observes the outcome. To reallyknow whether the IV is the cause of the difference, the researcher needs at leasttwo groups: (1) an experimental group which receives the treatment or experiencesthe manipulation of the IV, and (2) the control group which the researcher prettymuch leaves alone.

It is crucial that the subjects be assigned randomly to the control and experimentalgroups.

After following the rules of experimentation and it turns out that the members of theexperimental group changed and the control group did not, then we can bereasonably confident that the IV is what caused the difference.

The weakness of the experimental method is that only rarely is one variable actuallya cause of another. It is very difficult to test very complex hypotheses in anexperiment because it is difficult to manipulate and control more than one or twovariables at a time.

Experiments can be done only when the researcher knows exactly which variableshe or she wishes to test.

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Five Rules for Doing True Experiments: Have at least two groups (control and

experimental)

Randomly assign people to groups

Treat the experimental group by manipulatingthe IV

Observe the effect of the treatment on the DV inthe experimental group

Compare the DV differences (the outcome oftreatment) in the experimental and controlgroups.

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A true experiment involves one ortwo groups to which participantsare randomly assigned.

True

False

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A particular research technique in which the researcherdirectly observes the behavior of individuals in their usualsocial environments, not in a laboratory.

Sometimes referred to as field research because thenormal social world is the field in which sociologistsconduct their research

Complete participant is where the researcher goesundercover and does not tell the people being observedthat he or she is doing research. Is generally unknown tothe people being observed.

Complete observer views things from a distance (or frombehind a one-way mirror) or somehow blends into the

social scenery. Midway between these extremes is the participant

observer who admits to being a researcher so that peopleknow they are being studied.

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Strength of observing people in the field is that thistechnique enables researchers not only to observebehavior (that can be done in a lab) but to observebehavior in its natural context. (We get importantclues about the impact of context on behavior)

Enables researchers to get information aboutindividuals who are not able to fill out questionnairesor respond to oral survey questions.

The weakness of observational methods includes thefact that only relatively small groups can beobserved at once.

Probably the most labor intensive kind of research. The very fact of researcher participation in the field

research can influence subjects and thereforefindings in what is known as the Hawthorne effect. the reactive effects of research

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The term "Hawthorne effect" has todo with the notion that people'sbehavior may be affected when theyare being studied using any obtrusiveresearch method.

True

False

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Most research has some effect on the people beingstudied. People may respond to surveys in ways they think the

interviewer wants them to respond or in ways they thing makethem seem to be better people.

Simply knowing that one is being studied can have an effect

on ones behavior. Unobtrusive methods are strategies for studyingpeoples behavior in ways that do not have an impacton the subjects. A great deal of information can be obtained from what people

throw away (accretion measures what artifacts people leftbehind)

The use of existing statistics Content Analysis carefully studying texts to see what it

reveals about its author, the times in which it was written, etc.Texts may include personal diaries, literature, TV, radiocommercials, magazines and newspapers, music, childrens

books

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The strength of unobtrusive methods is thatthey do not require the cooperation of thepeople being studied

The research process does not affect the

behavior being studied. Unobtrusive researchers study social things

after they have occurred.The weakness is that unobtrusive research

can study only things that leave traces

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Unobtusive methods of researchinvolve the content analysis oftelevision and radio

commercials.

True

False

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Triangulation refers to a research strategythat helps us zero in on social phenomena use more than one method to obtain data.

Combine methods whose strengths

overcome weaknesses of another method

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The term triangulation refers to aresearch strategy in which the weaknessesof a

particular method are compensated forby the use of other methods that don'tshare those weaknesses.

True

False

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That portion of the larger population that you will studyto make inferences about the larger population

If ones sample is selected properly, the results can beas valid as results obtained from the entire population.

Drawing a sample is both science and art How big of a sample depends particularly on how

diverse the population isA very diverse or heterogeneous population willrequire a large sample to get representativeness.

A scientific survey uses samples that are drawnaccording to the rules of random sampling

Random every element in the population has the

same probability of being in the sample Unscientific surveys us nonrandom sampling

techniques. Convenience sampling standing on the corner and

asking people who pass questions is not random

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As a general rule, the morediverse a population is, the largerthe sample must be in order to be

representative.

A True

B False

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Todays researcher is required to reduce riskas much as possible

Required to get informed consent from anyperson who participates in research

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A sociologist does not have to beconcerned about the risk of harm toparticipants in their study as long asthe study will provide answers forquestions in society.

True

False