Download pdf - Scientific Versus Unscientific Thinking In everyday life ...s3.amazonaws.com/prealliance_oneclass_sample/WPGOLYGJAR.pdfScientific Versus Unscientific Thinking • In everyday life,

Scientific Versus Unscientific Thinking

• In everyday life, our biases easily influence our observations.

• Biases often lead us to draw incorrect conclusions about what we see.

• Ten common errors are regularly found in unscientific thinking.

Types of Unscientific Thinking Unscientific knowledge can be based on:

1. Tradition

2. Authority

3. Casual observation

4. Overgeneralization

6. Qualification

7. Illogical reasoning

8. Ego-defence

9. Premature closure of inquiry

5. Selectiveobservation 10.Mystification

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• Sample • Population

Samples and Populations

• Examples?

The Research Cycle

Six steps in the sociological research cycle: 1.Formulate research question2.Review existing research literature 3.Select research method

4.Collect data5.Analyze data (most challenging step) 6.Publish results

The Research Cycle

Ethical Considerations

• Treatment of subjectsIs needed for

respecting rights of research subjects,

including: i. ...ii. ...iii. ...

iv. ...• Treatment of research resultsConcern

about plagiarism, especially with spread of World Wide Web.

Measuring Variables

• Sociologists need to translate abstract propositions into testable forms.

• Operationalization: • A variable:• Hypothesis:

Translating Propositions into Hypotheses

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THE MAIN METHODS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Main Methods of SociologyThe four main methods in sociological research:

1. Experiments 2. Surveys

3. Field Research

4. Analysis of existing documents and official statistics

Experiments

• Experiment:

• Usesrandomization:

Variables • Dependentvariable:

• Independentvariable:

Steps in a Simple Experiment

• Reliability: • Validity:

Reliability and Validity

Surveys

• Ask people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviour either in a face-to-face or telephone interview or in a paper-and- pencil format.

Closed- and Open-Ended Questions

• Questionnaires may contain two types of questions:

1. ... 2. ... 3. ... 4. ...

Threats to Validity

Reading Tables• One of most useful tools for analyzing survey

data is the contingency table:

– A cross-classification of cases by at least two variables that allows researcher to see how, if at all, variables are associated.

– Allows researchers to examine effects of control variables on original association.

• A relationship:

Relationships

than 100,000

Watching TV and Approval of Violence (in percent)

Determining Causes

• To establish whether an independent variable causes change in a dependent variable, researchers must satisfy three criteria:

1. ... 2. ... 3. ...

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Relationship Test and Sequencing

1. Relationshiptest:

2. Sequencing:

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Non-spuriousness

• Connections between variables and people always exist in a context.

• Control variables :• Is used to control for spurious relationship:

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How Spurious Relationships Occur


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How Authentic Relationships Occur


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Sampling

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Probability Sample

• Researchers have to choose respondents at random, and the chance of choosing an individual must be known and greater than zero.

• A sample with these characteristics is a probability sample.

• Asamplingframe:

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Sample Size and Statistical Significance

• Large samples give more precise results than small samples do.

• Random sample of 1500 people typically will give acceptably accurate results.

• This level of accuracy is called the

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The Margin of Error in a Sample


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Field Research

• Field research

• Strategies used in field research:

i. Detached observation

ii. Participant observation

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Detached Observation

• Classifying and counting behaviour of interest according to predetermined scheme

• Methodological concerns:

1. Reactivity:

2. The meaning of the observed behaviour may remain obscure to the researcher.

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Participant Observation

• Involves carefully observing people’s face-to- face interactions and participating in their lives over a long period of time.

• Purpose:

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Participant Observation: Strengths and Weaknesses

• Strengths: Allows researchers to develop a deep and sympathetic understanding of the way people see the world.

• It is especially useful in the “exploratory” stage of research.

• Weaknesses:

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Measurement as Target Practice


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Analysis of Existing Documents and Official Statistics

• Existingdocumentsandofficialstatisticsare created by people other than the researcher for purposes other than sociological research.

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Analysis of Existing Documents and Official Statistics

• Strengths:

• Weaknesses: Not created with the researchers’ needs in mind. Often contain biases that reflect the interests of the individuals and organizations that created them.

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Strengths and Weaknesses of Four Research Methods


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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SUBJECTIVE

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The Importance of Being Subjective

• Sociological research questions often spring from real-life experiences and the pressing concerns of the day.

• However, before sociological analysis, we rarely see things as they are. We see them as we are.

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Summary

• Scientific ideas differ from common sense and other forms of knowledge.

• Need to understand strengths and weaknesses of various research methods and control for weaknesses where possible.