Sociology

1
Sociology

• Chapter 2

2
Section 1Research Methods

• Goal is to test common sense assumptions and
  replace false ideas with facts and evidence
• Focus on why and how
• No actual laboratory to conduct research (need
  real life situations)

3
Quantitative research

• Numerical data
• Surveys
• Precollected data- ex census
• 90 percent of their research is by survey

4
Survey research

• Good for studying a large number of people
• Two groups population and sample
• Population Those with characteristics a
  researcher wants to study
• Sample is a limited number of cases drawn from
  the larger population

5
Sample

• Representative sample
• Must have the same basic characteristics as the
  general population
• How do you get a sample
• Randomization- unbiased

6
Gathering information

• Questionnaire
• Interview
• closed ended questions- Ex multiple choice or
  scale
• Open ended questions- very difficult to analyze,
  opens the door for opinions and biased responses,
  Question might be interpreted incorrectly

7
Secondary analysis

• Using precollected information
• The United States Census
• US department of Labor
• US department of Commerce

8
Qualitative research

• Use of narrative or descriptive data
• Field research
• Looks closely at aspects of life that can not be
  measured with numbers and are best understood
  with in a natural setting
• Use of obervation ex cliques with in a school
  environment

9
Case study

• A thorough investigation of a single group,
  incident, or community
• Generalize this information to similar situations
• Ex a case study of gangs in New York city can be
  applied to other large cities
• The researcher also needs to point out in his/her
  case study things that might be unique to that
  particular city

10
Participant observation

• The researcher becomes a member of the group
  being studied
• EX if a researcher is studying recovering
  alcoholics and decided to become part an AA group

11
Section 2 Causation in Science

• Events occur in predictable nonrandom ways
• Multiple causation
• An event occurs as a result of several factors
  working in combination
• Ex WWI-powder keg

12
Variable

• Characteristic age, gender, education,
  occupation etc.
• Variables can be quantitative or qualitative,
  independent or dependent
• Quantitative variable- numeric
• Qualitative variable- categories ex male/female,
  yes/no, marital status etc

13
Variables

• Independent variable
• A variable that causes something to occur
• Time spent studying for a test
• Dependent variable
• The result from the change in the independent
  variable
• The final grade on the test

14
Intervening Variables

• Influence the relationship between an independent
  and dependent variable
• Government intervention to help end a situation
• Ex program designed to end hunger

15
correlation

• Measure of how things are related to one another
• A correlation DOES NOT MEAN causation
• Can be positive or negative
• Positive
• Longer time spent studying increase the grade
• Negative
• Longer time spent watching TV the grade goes down

16
Standards for showing causation

• Open books to page 53

17
Section 3 procedures and Ethics in research

• Research procedures
• Identify the problem
• Review literature
• Formulate hypothesis
• Develop research design
• Collect data
• Analyze data
• State findings and conclusion

18
Ethics in research

• Strict codes that must be followed when
  conducting research
• Unfortunately not all research believe or follow
  these codes
• Nuremburg trials- 24 doctors convicted of
  conducting sadistic experiments on inmates
• 1932-1972 US intentionally did not treat 400
  syphilitic Africans Americans so they could tract
  the evolution of the disease