Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process

Objectives (slide 1 of 2) 1.1 The Sociological Perspective
Define sociology. Explain the features of the sociological imagination. Illustrate key societal issues. 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contributions to sociology. 1.3 Sociological Theory—Current Theoretical Perspectives Compare and contrast the theoretical perspectives that dominate sociology, identify the sociologists associated with those perspectives, and describe their key insights.

Objectives (slide 2 of 2) 1.4 The Science of Sociology
Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Explain the key steps in the research process. 1.5 Sociological Research Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. 1.6 Ethics in Sociological Research Methods Describe the three fundamental issues that distinguish sociology from the natural sciences. Examine ethical issues in the study of human subjects.

The Sociological Perspective
Sociology: The scientific study of social life Sociological imagination: The capacity for individuals to understand the relationship between their individual lives and the broad social forces that influence them Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.1 The Sociological Perspective LO: Define Sociology LO: Explain the features of the sociological imagination Sociology is the scientific study of social life. The sociological perspective looks at individual human behavior in the broader context of the society in which people live, the times in which they find themselves, and the social position of the individual. Much of the social discourse we encounter in our daily lives tends to focus on the individual with little or no sensitivity or understanding of how individual lives are affected by the broader social circumstances in which they take place. The sociological perspective is very different from the way in which most people view social life, and it helps us to see the world from a new perspective, one called the sociological imagination. Sociologist C. Wright Mills first described the key features of the sociological perspective. According to Mills (1959), the sociological imagination is the capacity for individuals to understand the relationship between their individual lives and broad social forces that influence them. This is not to say that individuals are not responsible for their own behavior. Sociologists recognize that individuals have choice and should be held accountable for their actions. But individuals are influenced by social circumstances, and if we want to understand someone’s beliefs and behaviors, we also must understand those social circumstances. Mills argued that the sociological imagination helps us understand the intersection between history and biography. By history, Mills means the broad historical events affecting society. By biography, Mills means the significant events in an individual’s life and the experiences that shape them. Similarly, Mills argued, the sociological imagination helps us to see the general trends that are behind particular events.

Major and Enduring Social Issues
Social structure Social control Social inequality The social construction of reality Scientific knowledge Social change Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.1 The Sociological Perspective LO: Illustrate key societal issues. The sociological perspective leads to several enduring societal issues that will be visited throughout this course. These issues provide a framework for understanding many of the most important insights of sociology. They include: • Social structure • Social control • Social inequality • The social construction of reality • Scientific knowledge • Social change

Social Culture Social structure: Enduring, relatively stable patterns of social behavior Culture: A combination of ideas, behaviors, and material objects that members of a society have created and adopted for carrying out necessary tasks of daily life and that are passed on from one generation to the next Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.1 The Sociological Perspective LO: llustrate key societal issues. Social structures are enduring and relatively stable patterns of social life. Some of the most important and most pervasive social structures are components of culture. Culture is a combination of ideas, behaviors, and material objects that members of a society have created and adopted for carrying out necessary tasks of daily life and that are passed on from one generation to the next. In general, we can no more understand social life without understanding social structures than we could drive across the country without a highway map. Social structures include everything from social organizations such as a university to institutions such as the criminal justice system to regular patterns in household behavior such as rates of fast-food consumption. Social structure plays a strong role in understanding regularities in how people interact, such as social statuses and roles, bureaucracies and social institutions such as the criminal justice system, the family, educational institutions, religious organizations, the political and economic systems, the health care system, and communities.

Social Control Social control: Efforts by society to regulate people’s behavior and thoughts Social stratification: Patterns of inequality in a society Globalization: Increasing interdependence throughout the world Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.1 The Sociological Perspective LO: llustrate key societal issues. Social control consists of efforts by society to regulate people’s behavior and thoughts. There are many formal and informal methods by which societies exert social control, and they are surprisingly effective. The issue of social control raises fundamental questions about society. How do societies survive and not break down into anarchy? How do societies distinguish acceptable behavior from unacceptable deviance? Who decides what is deviant behavior? How do individuals know what they should and should not do? How is social control exerted even? Social stratification is the term used to describe patterns of inequality in a society. Income inequality and wealth inequality are only two of many forms of social inequality. Why do we have inequality? Why is there so much inequality? What types of inequality exist? What causes inequality? What are the consequences of extreme inequality for those left behind and for the society as a whole? These are some of the many questions sociologists ask . What are the major forms of social change that are transforming our lives? What can we predict for the future? For thousands of years, civilization changed slowly or not at all, but the past two centuries have seen increasingly rapid changes fundamentally transform social life. Societies have become urbanized, once-stable populations have ballooned in size, industrialization and bureaucratization transformed work and the economy, social and political movements reshaped global power structures and led to greater secularization throughout much of the past century, new technologies promise new capabilities but threaten old ways of doing things, and globalization—increasing interdependence throughout the world—affects nearly every aspect of our lives, from the cultural elements we adopt from other countries to the economic interdependence that comes from increased trade to the changing job situation as countries compete globally for markets.

The Historical Origins of Sociology
Industrial Revolution: Marked by a dramatic change in the nature of production in which machines replaced tools, steam and other energy sources replaced human or animal power, and skilled workers were replaced with mostly unskilled workers Positivism: An approach to sociology that assumes that the methods of the natural sciences, such as physics, can be applied successfully to the study of social life and that the scientific principles learned can be applied to solving social problems Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology.. The 19th century was a period of rapid and profound social change. The American and French revolutions of the late 18th century led people to call into question traditional aspects of social life. Both revolutions led to new ideas, including the conviction that individuals possessed inalienable rights that should be respected by government. Rapid advances in astronomy, physics, and mathematics were transforming the way people viewed the natural world, and science provided a view of the world that began to challenge more traditional views based on religion. The Industrial Revolution began around 1750 in England and spread throughout Europe and the United States. It was marked by a dramatic change in the nature of production where machines replaced tools, steam and other energy sources replaced human or animal power, and skilled workers were replaced with mostly unskilled workers. This led to profound changes in social life as production was taken out of the homes to centralized factories. Along with the Industrial Revolution came urbanization as workers left farms to seek factory jobs in the rapidly expanding cities. Rapid technological change spurred by advances in science and the Industrial Revolution led to dramatic advances in steam ships and railroads, manufacturing, and communications. Great inequality developed as owners of the new factories, railroads, and mills became multimillionaires while people who once made a good living at crafts were forced to take factory jobs that barely offered a subsistence wage. August Comte was the first to propose applying the scientific method to social life. Comte was interested in how societies achieve social order (“social statics”) and what causes a society to change (“social dynamics”). He argued there were three historical stages in the emergence of sociology as a scientific discipline. In the earliest theological stage, which lasted until the Renaissance, society was seen as an expression of the will of God, and understanding social life required theological explanations. The Renaissance ushered in a metaphysical stage in which nature was seen as the basis for explaining human behavior. Comte believed sociology was ready for a third stage, the scientific stage. He believed in scientific sociology, in which explanations of social life would be based on science. Comte called this scientific approach to sociology positivism. Positivism assumes the methods of the natural sciences such as physics can be applied successfully to the study of social life and the scientific principles learned can be applied to solving social problems.

Karl Marx Bourgeoisie (capitalists): Those owning the means of production, including land, raw materials, forests, factories, and machines Means of production: The technologies and resources required for producing goods or services in an economy, such as factories, raw materials, and machines Proletariat (workers): People who sell their labor to capitalists for wages Surplus value: The difference between what manufacturers are paid for goods or services and what they pay workers to produce them Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology.. Karl Marx emphasized the themes of inequality, social change, and scientific knowledge. Marx, a German social philosopher, greatly influenced sociology. He lived in England during the period when the effects of the Industrial Revolution and capitalism were dramatically ransforming economic and social life. Marx was greatly influenced by the tremendous inequality he saw, and his critique of capitalism based on class conflict was an effort to explain that inequality. Marx believed that human history was a history of class conflict, with each stage dominated by one class exploiting another. One class, the bourgeoisie or capitalists, own the means of production—the technologies and resources required for producing goods or services in an economy, such as factories, raw materials, and machines. The second class, the proletariat, or workers, sell their labor to capitalists for wages. Workers are paid less than the value of what they produce. The surplus value (the difference between what manufacturers are paid for goods or services and what they pay workers to produce them) becomes profit for the capitalist. The proletariat are exploited because they are paid only enough to survive, with the surplus value providing profit for the bourgeoisie. Marx argued workers would eventually realize how unfairly they were being treated and would unite in a workers’ revolt. Capitalism would fall and be replaced by a classless society in which individuals would work according to their ability and be rewarded according to their need. While many of Marx’s predictions have not come true in the United States and most other developed societies, his work with Engels, The Communist Manifesto, is commonly regarded as one of the most influential political writings of all time. The conflict Marx saw in the workplace has been a continuing feature of modern life and promises to be a prominent feature of postmodern life in the 21st century. His explanation of social life as the result of fundamental conflict is the basis for conflict theory and has been applied to a wide range of issues well beyond economic ones. This approach has become the basis for conflict theory that has influenced many areas of sociology, including the sociology of knowledge and the sociology of religion.

Emile Durkheim Social facts: Regular patterns of behavior characterizing a society that exist independent of individuals and are beyond the control of individuals Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology. Emile Durkheim emphasized the themes of social structure, social control, social change, and scientific knowledge. Born and raised in eastern France, educated in France and Germany, Emile Durkheim obtained the first academic appointment in sociology in France in 1877 at the University of Bordeaux and in 1906 moved to the Sorbonne. Durkheim was interested in the impact of social structures on individual behavior. He argued that social facts—regular patterns of behavior—exist independently of individuals and constrain individual behavior. At the same time, individuals internalize social facts as guidelines for behavior to the point where it may be difficult for individuals or people studying them to separate the ideas and values of the individual from those of the larger society that have influenced the individual. Durkheim was heavily influenced by the French Revolution and sought to understand the forces that hold society together. Durkheim was also influenced by the Industrial Revolution and the ongoing process of urbanization. He argued that the mechanical solidarity of small, traditional rural communities in which most people performed the same kind of work and had shared values and perspectives was being replaced in complex industrial societies by a new kind of solidarity. He called this new form of solidarity organic solidarity because it resembled biological organisms with their different organs, each of which performs a different role to keep the organism alive. The organic solidarity of modern industrial societies as one based on increased specialization and a division of labor in which different people perform different tasks rather than everyone doing much the same thing. Durkheim also contributed to the sociology of religion and the sociology of education.

Max Weber Verstehen: The subjective understanding of individual participants anchored in a context of shared cultural ideas Protestant work ethic: A disciplined work ethic, rational approach to life, and an emphasis on this world Rationalization of society: The transition from a society dominated by tradition to one dominated by reason and rationally calculable scientific criteria Bureaucracy: An organization based on rationality, having a clear division of labor, written rules and regulations, impersonality, hierarchical lines of authority, and selection and promotion based on competence Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology.. Max Weber’s work addressed the themes of social change, scientific knowledge, social structures, the social construction of reality, and inequality. He was born and lived in the Kaiser’s Germany and held professorships in the new academic discipline of sociology. Unlike Durkheim, who emphasized the influence of social structures on individuals, Weber emphasized rational action by human actors based on their own subjective understanding (verstehen) anchored in a context of shared cultural ideas. Weber argued there was a connection between religious beliefs and the development of capitalism. In European nations where there were both Protestants and Catholics, Weber noted that an overwhelming number of business leaders, skilled workers, and capitalists were Protestant. He argued that the Protestant work ethic helped lead to the rise of capitalism among Protestants. This Protestant work ethic was heavily influenced by Calvinism. To Calvinists, wealth became the measure of both worldly and afterworldly success. Calvinists were not inclined to share their wealth with the poor, who were viewed as people obviously not in God’s favor. Thus, Calvinist beliefs were fertile ground for the development of capitalism, and countries with many Protestants who were influenced by such beliefs tended to adopt industrial capitalism earlier than other countries. Weber also argued that social inequality was based not just on economics but also on class, status, and power in complex causal relationships rather than the simple economic determinism of Marx. Weber developed a methodology of research that attempted to be value free, relying on causal explanations and ideal types such as his well-known types of authority and types of rationality. He saw modern life as experiencing increasing rationality. He argued that preindustrial societies were dominated by traditional values and beliefs handed down from generation to generation. In contrast, industrial societies were becoming rationalized, where the rationalization of society is the transition from a society dominated by tradition to one dominated by reason and rationally calculable scientific criteria. Nowhere is rationalization more evident than in the changing character of social organizations. Weber argued that traditional organizations based on custom and personal relationships were being superseded by bureaucracies—organizations based on rationality, having a clear division of labor, written rules and regulations, impersonality, hierarchical lines of authority, and selection and promotion based on competence.

George Herbert Mead “I”: The self as subject who makes decisions and takes actions based on his or her desires “Me”: The self as object as the person is regarded by others Take the role of the other: To understand how others view the situation and what it means from their perspective Generalized other: The collective attitudes of the entire community regarding how they are expected to behave Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology. George Herbert Mead’s work addressed the themes of the social construction of reality and social control. He is a cofounder of symbolic interactionism, a perspective emphasizing the importance of symbols and meanings for human interaction. Mead believed that to understand human behavior, we need to consider the person’s concept of self. In his view, the self includes the “I” and the “me.” The “I” is the self as subject who makes decisions and takes actions based on his or her desires, while the “me” is the self as object as the person is regarded by others. Thinking is an internal dialogue between the I and the me. Based on these ideas, Mead developed a theory of socialization in developmental stages. First, infants exist in the world before they understand it, mimicking the gestures of others but not understanding the meaning of those gestures for others. As individuals are socialized, they become able to take the role of the other—to understand how others view the situation and what it means from their perspective. Eventually, the mature individual would come to understand the generalized other—the collective attitudes of the entire community regarding how the individual is expected to behave. The generalized other provides a mechanism for the individual to internalize the norms and values of society.

Diversity in Sociology
Harriet Martineau Provided an insightful examination of the family customs, religion, politics, and race and gender relations in the United States during the late-1800s Jane Addams Studied class differences and the assimilation of immigrants into society William Edward Burghardt Dubois Analyzed race relations in Philadelphia Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.2 The Historical Origins of Sociology LO: Identify early sociologists, the factors that influenced them, and their contribution to sociology. Sociology developed in times when the roles available for women or people of color in academic life were far more restricted. However, women and minorities did make important contributions to the discipline—contributions that even today are often overlooked. Harriet Martineau (1802–1876) Harriet Martineau not only became educated but also went on to study social life in both England and the US. She was interested in social reform, traveled widely, and was an active advocate for the abolition of slavery. An accomplished author, her book, Society in America, provided an insightful examination of the family customs, religion, politics, and race and gender relations in the US at that time. Unfortunately, like other early women sociologists, her work, which also examined sociological research methods and the British agricultural and political economy, has been largely ignored. Jane Addams (1860–1935) Jane Adams, along with Ellen G. Starr, founded Hull House, a center located in Chicago’s slums, to provide assistance to immigrants. Her keen sociological insights into class differences and the assimilation of immigrants into society helped her work. Sociologists at the nearby University of Chicago often visited Hull House. Based on this work, she was co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931—the only sociologist to be so recognized. She was also active in the women’s suffrage movement and the peace movement. William Edward Burghardt Dubois (1868–1963) W. E. B. Dubois was the first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard. While employed by the University of Pennsylvania, he authored The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study, in 1899 which analyzed race relations in Philadelphia and found that some of the more successful African Americans in the community severed their ties with other African Americans to gain greater acceptance by whites. DuBois arguied that African Americans were the victims of white prejudice and discrimination. Early in his life, he was optimistic that racial divisions could be overcome. However, during his lifetime, he was largely ignored by mainstream sociology. By the age of 93, Du Bois was disillusioned with the lack of significant progress in race relations in the United States and emigrated to Ghana, where he died two years later.

Structural-Functional Theory
Function: The consequence or effect of a social structure for the society as a whole Manifest functions: The obvious and usually intended consequences of actions Latent functions: The less obvious and often unintended consequences of actions Dysfunctions: The negative consequences of a social structure. Emergent properties: Important characteristics that cannot be reduced to some simple combination of characteristics of individuals or other components Agency: The capacity for people to act to change their own lives and to influence others Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.3 Sociological Theory – Current Theoretical Perspectives LO: Compare and contrast the theoretical perspectives that dominate sociology, identify the sociologists associated with those perspectives, and describe their key insights. A key theme of structural-functional theory is that society can be viewed as a system of parts, each of which contributes to the whole. The most effective social structures will persist over time. Social structures are enduring, relatively stable patterns of social behavior. A structural functionalist explains social structures by identifying the functions they perform . A function is the consequence or effect of a social structure for the society as a whole. Talcott Parsons attempted to determine the basic tasks all societies must complete in order to survive and then identify the social structures that help accomplish those tasks. More recently, Robert Merton extended functional theory by arguing that individuals are not always aware of all the functions of a social structure. Manifest functions are the obvious and usually intended consequences of actions, while latent functions are the less obvious and often unintended consequences. Merton also pointed out that not all social structures have positive benefits . Dysfunctions are the negative consequences of a social structure. A latent dysfunction is a negative consequence that is not immediately obvious. Latent dysfunctions play a particularly important role in social life because policies designed to produce positive functions often lead to inanticipated latent functions. The structural-functional view focuses on emergent properties of societies—important characteristics that cannot be reduced to some simple combination of characteristics of individuals or other components of societies—and explaining their characteristics by their relationship to other structures and society. The role of the individual is as object. Structural functionalism has been criticized for “taking people out of the equation” by emphasizing the effects of structures on individuals and ignoring agency—the capacity for people to act to change their own lives and to influence others. Others have charged that structural functionalism is inherently conservative because it encourages us to think of societies as fixed systems needing to be preserved in much their current state. Modern functionalism as reflected in Merton’s work takes an important shift in direction, moving from a view of society as fixed and stable to one that may still be in process. This view seems more realistic in a world experiencing rapid and dramatic social change.

Conflict and Feminist Theory
Conflict Theory Feminist Theory Power: The ability to influence others even in the face of resistance Power elite: Leaders of dominant institutions, including the military, corporations, and political institutions Argues traditional sociological research ignores gender, takes the male point of reference, and takes traditional gender roles for granted Standpoint theory argues that women, because of their subordinate position in society, are more aware of the inequalities of gender and the consequences of gender for various aspects of one’s life. Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.3 Sociological Theory – Current Theoretical Perspectives LO: Compare and contrast the theoretical perspectives that dominate sociology, identify the sociologists associated with those perspectives, and describe their key insights. Conflict theory was inspired by Karl Marx, whose critique of capitalism first developed a theory of social life based upon conflict. Sociologists have extended this notion of social conflict as fundamental to society. Central to conflict theory is power—the ability to influence others even in the face of resistance. Social power can derive from any or several different social resources, including financial wealth, the capacity to inflict violence on others, legitimate authority, knowledge, tradition, and expertise. Many sociologists regard C. Wright Mills as the founder of modern conflict theory. His 1956 book, The Power Elite, argued that much power in the US rested with a power elite consisting of leaders of dominant institutions, including the military, corporations, and political institutions. The power elite monopolizes power in the United States and dominates other institutions and individuals. Conflict theory can also be broadly applied in any area in which there are inherent conflicts between categories of people who compete for scarce resources. Beginning with W. E. B. DuBois, a the conflict perspective has been applied to understanding race relations. It has also been applied to understanding relations between a variety of dominant and minority groups. Feminist theory criticizes traditional sociological work, arguing that it has been sexist as a result of the dominance of males in society in general and the preponderance of males within sociology. They argue traditional sociological research often ignores gender as an important variable, focuses on men’s problems, over-generalizes from men to both genders, takes the male point of reference, and takes for granted traditional gender roles . One variant of feminist theory, standpoint theory, argues that women, because of their subordinate position in society, are more aware of the inequalities of gender and the consequences of gender for various aspects of one’s life. Hence, women are better able to raise these issues and address them in theory and research. This notion that oppressed minorities are better able to see the realities of social life than their oppressors has also been raised for blacks. Conflict theory makes an important contribution to sociology by recognizing that there are sometimes inherent conflicts of interest between different categories of people. That conflict, whether based on social class, race, gender, or other social divisions, often leads to inequality. However, critics point out that conflict is not inherent in every social situation, and in some cases, everyone benefits more from cooperation than from conflict. The activist role of conflict theorists who hope to change the world rather than merely interpret it also makes their motives suspect to others. Defenders of the conflict view argue that every theoretical perspective has its own political consequences, and having consequences neither can nor should be avoided.

Symbolic Interactionism
Symbols: The words, gestures, and objects that communicate meaning between people Definition of the situation: A statement or action that explicitly or implicitly suggests the meaning the actor would like others to attribute to his or her actions Thomas theorem: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” Negotiated order: A shared meaning for the situation agreed upon by all participants Social construction of reality: We as individuals do not directly experience reality but are influenced in our perception of it by social interaction and meanings other people attribute to that reality Looking-glass self: People mold themselves in response to how other people perceive them, and the individual’s responses serve to reinforce the perspectives of other people Self-fulfilling prophecy: A prediction that leads, directly or indirectly, to becoming true Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.3 Sociological Theory – Current Theoretical Perspectives LO: Compare and contrast the theoretical perspectives that dominate sociology, identify the sociologists associated with those perspectives, and describe their key insights. Symbolic interactionism combines the importance of mutual interactions among people from Georg Simmel with Max Weber’s notion of verstehen and the importance of the self-concept .For symbolic interactionists, it is symbols—the words, gestures, and objects that communicate meaning between people—that permit social interaction to go beyond that of other animals. Symbols are essential for social life as we know it. The meaning of symbols can change in different contexts. In everyday interaction, people often find themselves offering a “definition of the situation”—a statement or action that explicitly or implicitly suggests the meaning the actor would like others to attribute to his or her actions. Definitions of the situation have real consequences. As W. I. Thomas stated in what has come to be known as the Thomas Theorem, “if men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” Often, competing definitions of a situation can be reconciled to produce a negotiated order—a shared meaning for the situation agreed upon by all participants. This process of negotiating the meaning of a situation raises another fundamental issue —the social construction of reality. In this constructivist view, since the meaning of social life is negotiated among participants, reality is not directly experienced by individuals so much as it is socially constructed. As people interact with others, they are shaped by perceptions of themselves by those others. Cooley referred to this as the looking-glass self—people mold themselves in response to how other people perceive them, and the individual’s responses serve to reinforce the perspectives of other people. Robert Merton took this a step farther to describe a self-fulfilling prophecy—a prediction that leads, directly or indirectly, to becoming true. Both of these are clarifications of how the social construction of reality helps to shape or even become reality. One focus of symbolic interactionism is the sociology of everyday life. Sociological research in the interactionist tradition is helping us to understand how everyday interaction reproduces the social structures of society. In this view, social structures arise from and persist only through continuing individual action. Social change results from individual and collective action. The greatest contribution of interactionist theories is the insight that social life is the product of individuals interacting with one another. This alerts us to the importance of both the meaning individuals attach to that interaction and the ways in which they employ interaction to reproduce existing social structures or change them. However, this approach is sometimes criticized for deemphasizing social structures.

Multiple Theories Macro-level studies: Studies that focus on social structures that influence individuals, such as groups, organizations, cultures, or even societies Micro-level studies: Research focusing on individuals, thoughts, actions, and individual behaviors Meso-level studies: Studies that either focus on intermediate-level structures, such as the family or small organizations, or may try to bridge the micro and macro levels to show how one influences the other Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.3 Sociological Theory – Current Theoretical Perspectives LO: Compare and contrast the theoretical perspectives that dominate sociology, identify the sociologists associated with those perspectives, and describe their key insights. Both structural functionalism and conflict theory look at social life at the macro level. Macro-level studies focus on social structures that influence individuals, such as groups, organizations, cultures, or even societies. These include studies of structural changes in the jobs available in a society, the patterns of growth of cities, and studies of legislation affecting the criminal justice system. In contrast, the symbolic interactionist approach focuses on the micro level. Micro-level studies focus on individuals, thoughts, actions, and individual behaviors. Micro-level studies often focus on day-to-day activities and relations among people such as conflict within a group, patterns of talk in friendship groups, or how people select marriage partners. None of these theories are necessarily limited to a specific level of analysis, and some of the most interesting recent work in sociology attempts to bridge the gap between micro-level studies and macro-level studies by studies at the meso level. Meso-level studies either focus on intermediate level structures, such as the family or small organizations, or may try to bridge the micro and macro levels to show how one influences the other. Macro-level analyses tend to view individuals as passive objects acted upon by external forces. Micro- or meso-level analyses tend to view individuals as active actors who, though constrained by social circumstances, can make decisions and take actions that influence their lives and those of others. Each theory contributes fundamental insights into important issues facing societies as well as individuals. Yet each has limitations, and none of these perspectives alone provides a comprehensive view of social life. While these theories have not been successfully integrated in a comprehensive manner and perhaps cannot be, this leaves a tension or dynamic. In this important sense, the work of sociology is not yet done. While considering multiple theoretical perspectives helps us to identify important insights, there will remain a number of questions and problems still unsolved that represent important issues for the sociologists of tomorrow. Whatever else can be said about theories, they develop best when combined with empirical research. Theorizing alone is not usually the pattern of work in sociology. Instead, sociologists working in each of these traditions are usually actively engaged in research in which they test these theories and refine them by examining social life.

The Standards of Scientific Knowledge
Scientific knowledge should be transferable. It is transferable if the results are likely to apply in other settings and circumstances. Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Sociology is a discipline that applies the principles of scientific inquiry to the social world. Scientific knowledge must meet four standards: It must be empirically testable, falsifiable, reproducible, and generalizable. One hallmark of scientific knowledge is that it must be empirically testable. Surveys are one form of empirical data that can test many theories. Scientific knowledge should be falsifiable. Philosopher of science Karl Popper argued that it is impossible to prove a theory to be true. We should be able to deduce implications that can clearly be disproven if they are wrong. It is by conjecturing a theory and then refuting it that scientific progress is made. Scientific knowledge should be reproducible. If you interview your classmates and ask who they will vote for in the next presidential election, someone else should be able to conduct a similar survey with the same questions and get virtually identical responses. If only you can produce some effect and everyone else who tries to reproduce your study fails to find the same effect, then people will begin to suspect there is something wrong with your knowledge claim. Scientific knowledge should be transferable. It is transferable if the results are likely to apply in other settings and circumstances.

Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Research
Qualitative research: Research emphasizing verbal descriptions and avoiding counting items or the use of mathematics Quantitative research: Emphasizes numerical descriptions of data, counting, and the use of mathematics and statistics to describe and analyze data Mixed-methods research: Research that combines both qualitative and quantitative research in the same study Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Qualitative research is research emphasizing verbal descriptions and avoiding counting items or the use of mathematics. Qualitative research is often used for exploratory research studying a new area when the researcher does not know much about the area and wants to learn from the people being studied. Qualitative studies often include extensive verbal narratives with rich textual descriptions of events and people, often group people and actions into types, and attempt to understand what those types mean to the people being studied. Quantitative research emphasizes numerical descriptions of data, counting, and the use of mathematics and statistics to describe and analyze data. Studies in which many people are asked the same standard questions and then the results are counted and compared using statistics are examples of quantitative research. Often they compare how frequently things occur for people from different backgrounds based on things like age, race, and gender. They also often attempt to determine causal relationships. The qualitative and quantitative approaches to research have important differences, so it is important to understand how they are different. But they are not mutually exclusive. Many researchers conduct mixed-methods research—research that combines both qualitative and quantitative research in the same study. One common form of mixed-methods research uses qualitative research first to identify key issues of importance to the people being studied, then uses that information to construct a standardized questionnaire sent to many people and analyzed quantitatively. There are other ways these approaches are combined as well. The primary goal is to use each for the part of the research for which it is most appropriate.

The Research Process Data: Empirically obtained information
Peer-reviewed scientific journal: A journal in which other researchers who know the area examine an article before it is published to make sure that it meets the standards of science Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Explain the key steps in the research process. Select a topic. This should be something that can fill in a gap about something important that we do not know. It could have practical importance such as influencing new laws, or it could just help us understand something’s impact on people. Usually the initial topic is broad and needs to be narrowed. Review the literature. A review of the literature identifies what has already been discovered and published about this topic so you duplicate earlier work. Often your initial research idea has already been studied, but there are important gaps that need to be examined. Define the problem. The literature review should help narrow the topic to a well-defined problem. A theory is an organized set of concepts and relationships among concepts that can be proposed to explain something of interest. Develop a hypothesis or research question. A hypothesis is a testable statement about the relationship between two or more concepts that is not known to be true but can be tested in research. Not all studies have hypotheses. Often qualitative research is exploratory and not enough is known about what is being studied to make a prediction. Select research methods. Sociologists employ common research methods or designs. These include: (a.) social surveys, (b.) experiments, (c.) field work (participant observation), (d.) secondary analysis of existing data, and (e.) content Collect the data. Next, you must collect data—empirically obtained information—to test the hypotheses. There are two key steps in this process: You must link the theory to observable data that can be used to test your hypotheses, and you must select which cases you will study for this test. These steps are called measurement and sampling, respectively. Analyze and interpret the results. Once all the data are collected, you must summarize the findings. When you have hypotheses, you need to compare the data from your research with what you predicted you would find in your hypotheses. If you have a research question, then you need to try to answer the question with the data. When data and theory agree, the theory is supported, and when they disagree, the theory is not supported. Report the findings. When the study is complete, the findings should be shared with others by publishing them in a peer-reviewed scientific journal to make sure that it meets the standards of science. The report shows how your findings fit in with what was known before and identify unique contributions your study makes. It then becomes available for other researchers to read in their literature review. In this way, you contribute to the body of scientific knowledge.

Measurement (slide 1 of 2)
Concept: An abstract idea or theoretical construct usually represented by a word or brief phrase summarizing some meaningful aspect of the real world Operational definition: A description of procedures used to measure a concept in sufficient detail so that someone else could perform the same procedure and get a similar result Variable: A measurable trait or characteristic that can vary and that is used to measure a concept Reliability: The extent to which a measure or scale produces consistent results for different times, different people, and different research methods Validity: The extent to which a measure or scale measures what we think it measures Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Theoretical concepts are measured by empirical variables. A concept is an abstract idea or theoretical construct usually represented by a word or brief phrase summarizing some meaningful aspect of the real world. An operational definition is a description of procedures used to measure a concept in sufficient detail so that someone else could perform the same procedure and get a similar result. A variable is a measurable trait or characteristic that can vary and that is used to measure a concept. Reliability is the extent to which a measure or scale produces consistent results for different times, different people, and different research methods. Validity is the extent to which a measure or scale measures what we think it measures. Reliability and validity can be illustrated with a dartboard. Reliability is measured by how consistently the darts are thrown, though they may all be off target. Validity is measured by how close the darts are on the average to the center of the target. A measure can be reliable but invalid (just as a person might consistently throw darts high and to the right) or valid but unreliable (if darts were evenly distributed around the bulls-eye).

Measurement (slide 2 of 2)
Questions asked of respondents tend to be answered with greater reliability and validity when they: Ask things respondents could reasonably be expected to know Ask things respondents want to tell you correctly Ask things that are neither too difficult to answer nor consume too much time Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Constructing reliable and valid measures can be surprisingly difficult. Even something as simple as the wording of a question can make a variable an unreliable or invalid measure of a concept. In social surveys, the questions asked of respondents tend to be answered with greater reliability and validity when they: • Ask things respondents could reasonably be expected to know. Do not expect them to be able to tell you how they spent the last 24 hours in great detail or to accurately report how they felt in a situation that occurred years ago. • Ask things respondents want to tell you correctly. Respondents are like the rest of us and are not eager to report behaviors or attitudes that may be embarrassing or may threaten their respectability. This is called a social desirability bias—respondents tend to answer questions in ways that make them appear to have socially desirable traits such as being truthful, smart, and fair. • Ask things that are neither too difficult to answer nor consume too much time. Try to avoid asking questions that require respondents to look up records, perform complex calculations, or recall events long ago. Reliability and validity apply to all kinds of measures, not just questions. For example, observations of people’s behavior are more likely to be reliable and valid if the observer does not have to watch too many people at the same time, if events are not happening too quickly, or if it is possible to videotape the events and replay the tape repeatedly or in slow motion to get precise measurements.

Sampling (slide 1 of 2) Population: Everyone of interest for a study
Sample: A subset of members of the population rather than the entire population Biased: Results that are systematically different from those of the population in a specific direction Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. People are diverse. They have different attitudes, values, and understandings of the social world. Obviously, we cannot study just one or a very few people and expect that what is true of them will be true of all people. However, studying the entire population—everyone of interest—is usually much too expensive and time consuming. Most quantitative sociological research examines a sample—a subset of members of the population rather than the entire population—with the intention of generalizing the results to the broader population. Qualitative research has a similar goal of providing transferable knowledge that can be applied to other situations. Samples are much less costly to study than entire populations. However, the way we select the sample determines whether the sample can be generalized to the broader population. A sample is biased if it produces results that are systematically different from those of the population in a specific direction.

Sampling (slide 2 of 2) Probability sampling: Procedures for which each case in the population has some known probability of being included in the sample and all segments of the population are represented in the sample Theoretical sampling: A procedure that selects new cases different from already sampled ones to provide a basis for comparison Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. The best procedures for assuring that the cases obtained for a sample are like cases in the general population is to use a probability sampling procedure and sample sizes of a hundred or more for quantitative studies. Probability sampling procedures are procedures for which each case in the population has some known probability of being included in the sample and all segments of the population are represented . The simplest probability sample is a simple random sample in which every case in the population has the same chance of being selected. For qualitative research, a common strategy to obtain a transferable sample that can be applied to other settings is to employ theoretical sampling— a procedure that selects new cases different from already sampled ones to provide a basis for comparison.

Statistical Analysis (slide 1 of 2)
Empirical generalizations: Summary statements about the data that highlight important findings Statistics: Mathematical measures summarizing important characteristics found in data Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. After empirical data have been collected to test our hypotheses by measuring variables for a sample of cases, the next step is to analyze the results. Qualitative sociologists employ a number of strategies to summarize and make sense of their findings, most common of which is the ideal type, an abstract hypothetical concept based on characteristics of the phenomenon but not necessarily corresponding perfectly to any actual case. Quantitative sociologists use statistics to summarize their findings in empirical generalizations— summary statements about the data that highlight important findings. Statistics are mathematical measures summarizing important characteristics found in data. Three common types of statistics will be encountered in this text: Descriptive statistics are used to summarize important characteristics of a population. Measures of association or correlation assess the extent to which two variables are related or can be predicted from one another. Tests of significance are used to determine whether observed results could have happened by chance.

Statistical Analysis (slide 2 of 2)
Descriptive statistics Reading tables Measures of association Separating cause and association Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. Descriptive statistics summarize the extent to which values of a single variable cluster around some values and not others. The three most commonly used statistics to measure average are the mean, median, and mode. Generally, sociologists use the statistic that takes advantage of the most information since it is likely to represent more completely the observed pattern. Of these, the mode uses the least information (only the most commonly occurring category), the median next (since it considers the order of every case), and the mean uses the most information (including both the order and the magnitude for each case). So sociologists would usually prefer to use the mean. However, the mean is not the best summary measure of central tendency when there are a few extreme scores that can dramatically distort the mean. The median is less influenced by extreme values, so it is generally a better measure of the average than the mean when variables are distributed very unevenly Tables are often used in sociology to examine relationships between variables. Most common are contingency tables that show the extent to which values of one variable are contingent on or predict values of another variable. Often, we are interested in examining the effects of one of the variables on the other variable. Two variables are associated when the values of one variable depend on or can be predicted from the values of the other. A commonly used measure of association between two variables is the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. This ranges from −1 to +1, with zero indicating no association between the variables and the departure of the statistic from zero indicating the magnitude of the association. Negative numbers indicate higher values of one variable are associated with lower values of the other, and positive numbers indicate higher values of one variable are associated with higher values of the other. It is tempting to think that if two variables are highly associated, there must be a causal relationship between them However, association is not the same as causation. It is possible for two variables to have a very strong association yet not have any direct causal relationship between them. A spurious relationship occurs when two variables are related and appear to have a direct causal connection, but actually both of the variables are affected by a third variable. The easiest way to distinguish between association and causal relationships is to conduct an experiment to see how changes in values of the independent variable affect the dependent variables when other variables are controlled. However, experiments are often impractical or unethical. When it is not possible to conduct experiments, sociologists instead use a statistical analysis strategy called “elaboration” to examine the effect of one variable on another while controlling for other variables statistically.

Tests of Significance Tests of significance:
Statistical procedures used to determine whether observed results could have occurred by chance Compute a summary statistic for a group of cases and compare that statistic to the range of possible values that might have occurred due to chance Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.4 The Science of Sociology LO: Identify the standards of scientific knowledge. A frequent concern in any science is whether observed regularities could have occurred by chance. How can a social science like sociology avoid falling into the trap of thinking that there is a relationship between variables when the pattern is simply a chance occurrence? If one looks long enough, one can find a number of similarities between any two sets of circumstances. Tests of significance are statistical procedures used to determine whether observed results could have occurred by chance. Tests of significance compute a summary statistic for a group of cases and compare that statistic to the range of possible values that might have occurred due to chance. Then, if the computed statistic is outside the range of likely values based on chance variation, it is concluded the results are statistically significant. On the other hand, if the computed statistic falls within the range of values likely to occur by chance, then the results are nonsignificant and we cannot rule out the possibility that they are due to chance. Results of tests of significance are often reported as significant if those results could have occurred by chance less than 5% of the time. There are many specific tests of significance, but what is important for this text is understanding the logic of significance tests.

Social Surveys Respondent: Someone who answers questions in a social survey Response rates: The proportion of people asked to participate in the study who actually did so Interviews: Surveys in which the researcher interacts in person with the respondent, asking him or her questions Questionnaires: Surveys in which the respondent completes a form mailed to her or perhaps accessed on the Internet Closed-ended questions: Questions that require respondents to select from a list of available responses Open-ended questions: Questions that permit people to use their own words to answer Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Social surveys are a common method of social research gathering by asking people questions. A respondent is someone who answers questions in a social survey. Surveys allow many people to be studied quickly and inexpensively and are often used to provide a more representative sample than is possible with other research methods. Surveys with high response rates—the proportion of people asked to participate in the study who actually did so—are more likely to represent the broader population than surveys with low response rates. Common forms of surveys are interviews, in which the researcher interacts in person with the respondent, asking him or her questions, or questionnaires, through which the respondent completes a form mailed to her or perhaps accesses it on the Internet. The questions may be about both objective factual information such as reported behaviors and subjective information such as attitudes and beliefs. Closed-ended questions require respondents to select from a list of available responses and are suitable when there are only a few well-known possible responses. By forcing respondents to use those categories, the researcher standardizes results so he or she can compare them more easily. However, if important categories are not available or respondents are forced to select only a single response when several may apply, then the results can be biased and can miss important information. Open-ended questions permit people to use their own words to answer. For example, “What do you like most about this college?” permits a full range of possible responses, including those the researcher may not anticipate.

Experiments Independent variable: A variable expected to cause changes in a second variable Dependent variable: A variable thought to be influenced by an independent variable Subjects: People participating in the study Random assignment: Assigning people at random to different conditions to avoid bias and to make sure the conditions are comparable Experimental group: A group exposed to a treatment Control group: A group not exposed to the treatment Laboratory experiment: An experiment conducted in a controlled setting Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Experiments are empirical studies designed to test causal relationships between an independent variable—a variable expected to cause changes in a second variable—and the dependent variable—a variable thought to be influenced by an independent variable. The expected causal relationship is a hypothesis—a predicted relationship among variables. For example, in a classic sociological experiment, Bibb Latane and John Darley examined the effect of group inhibition on bystander intervention in emergencies. The hypothesis they tested was that subjects (people participating in the study), when confronted with a potential emergency, will intervene more quickly when they are alone than when in the presence of two other people. The independent variable was the number of people present. The dependent variable was whether and how quickly the subject reported a problem. To test a hypothesis, the researcher assigns some people at random (random assignment) to an experimental group—a group exposed to a treatment—then compares that group to a control group not exposed to the treatment. The control group should be as nearly identical as possible to the experimental group but lack the treatment. This study by Latane and Darley (1968) was a laboratory experiment (an experiment conducted in a controlled setting) as opposed to a field experiment (a study conducted in a natural setting such as a classroom where the researcher cannot control everything that happens). Subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire alone in a room (the control group) or in a room with two other subjects (the experimental group). While the subject completed the questionnaire, smoke began to puff into the room at irregular intervals from a wall vent. By the end of the experiment (six minutes later), smoke obscured vision in the room (this was the simulated emergency). Three quarters of the 24 subjects in the “alone” condition reported the smoke before the experiment was ended, with a median delay of 2 minutes after first noticing it. Only one of the 10 subjects in the room with two other subjects reported the smoke during the six minutes the experiment was continued. The other nine continued working doggedly, coughed, rubbed smoke from their eyes, or opened the window but did not report the smoke. A statistical test of significance indicated this result could have happened by chance less than two times in one thousand (p < .002). They concluded their hypothesis was confirmed and the presence of other people in the room significantly inhibits bystander intervention in emergencies.

Field Work (Participant Observation)
Field experiment: A study conducted in a natural setting, such as a classroom, where the researcher cannot control everything that happens Participant observation or field work: Research in which the researcher participates in and is directly involved in the lives of those he or she is studying Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. In participant observation or field work, the researcher participates in and is directly involved in the lives of those he or she is studying. The observation usually occurs “in the field”—in a natural setting in which people are living and interacting rather than in an experimental laboratory. Participant observation research typically involves both observation and interviews with participants or informants.

Categories of Observers
Complete participant: Someone who participates in the setting fully and engages in unobtrusive research Unobtrusive research: Research in which those studied are not aware they are being studied Participant as observer: Research in which the researcher has a nonresearch reason for participating in the setting and decides to conduct research Observer as participant: Research in which the observer has only minimal participation in the setting and is not a natural or normal participant Complete observer: Does not take part in the interaction at all and hence is less likely to cause the people studied to modify their actions Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Participant observers vary in the researcher role they take. Gold distinguished four categories: 1. The complete participant is someone who participates in the setting fully and engages in unobtrusive research—research in which those studied are not aware they are being studied. 2. The participant as observer is research in which the researcher has a nonresearch reason for participating in the setting and decides to conduct research. 3. The observer as participant is research in which the observer has only minimal participation in the setting and is not a natural or normal participant. 4. The complete observer does not take part in the interaction at all and hence is less likely to cause the people studied to modify their actions.

Ethnography Ethnography: A typically detailed descriptive account summarizing and interpreting a culture or a collection of people studied Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. The role taken by participant observers must balance ethical responsibilities to the subjects against concerns for how subjects might alter their behavior because they know they are being studied. Roles in which people know they are being observed can permit the researcher to ask questions that might seem inappropriate for a nonresearcher. If participant observation is the description of the method of collecting data, “ethnography” is the description of the common result of such a study. An ethnography is a typically detailed descriptive account summarizing and interpreting a culture or a collection of people studied. What distinguishes ethnographies from other forms of research reports is that ethnographies are usually richly detailed, descriptive accounts of what went on and what the researcher experienced or observed, including many concrete events along with analysis. Where other research reports may appear dry, technical, and abstract, ethnographies often read like a novel or diary and give readers a sense of experiencing the events themselves.

Access to Research Participant observation can create suspicion or mistrust among subjects. Researchers will sometimes use key informants. Case study: A study done in a single setting over a number of months or years Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Gaining entry to the research site is often difficult in participant observation and can create suspicion and distrust among subjects. The use of a key informant—someone with whom the researcher develops a trusting relationship, who knows the researcher is conducting research, and who gives the researcher an insider’s view of the research setting – can be helpful in these instances. On the other hand, another danger for qualitative field researchers is not asking enough questions or not asking the right questions. For example, Richard Lee (1969) was studying bushmen in the Kalahari Desert and puzzled for days over what he had done to provoke their insults. It was only when he finally asked that he was told why they were treating him so badly. When Lee asked his informant why he had not told him this before and spared him the anguish of having to suffer the insults without knowing why, his informant’s reply was, “because you never asked me.” Participant observation is particularly effective at helping researchers understand how people in the setting understand and make sense of their lives. However, participant observation usually requires months or years of work, so the researcher often only has time and resources to study one setting rather than many. Such studies of a single setting are often called case studies, and they typically constitute an intensive analysis of a single unit or case. In addition, the researcher usually spends the entire time in that setting in a single role.

Secondary Analysis Secondary analysis: The analysis of data for purposes other than the primary reason the information was originally collected Content analysis: A commonly used procedure for studying text by identifying specific characteristics of the text, such as the frequency of occurrence of specific key words or phrases Historical-comparative research: A study examining the ways in which social life changes across cultures and over time Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.5 Sociological Research Methods LO: Describe the research methods commonly used in sociological studies. LO: Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each research method. Secondary analysis is the analysis of data for purposes other than the primary reason the information was originally collected. Collecting data for research is a very expensive, time-consuming process requiring considerable skill and access to subjects that can be difficult to obtain. Yet there are countless sources of already existing data that can be studied with less expense that would be impossible to collect solely for research purposes. Vast amounts of information are gathered as part of the ongoing activities of an organization or social process. Studies of large corporations, public policies, and the legislative process must rely upon secondary data generated by those organizations for their own uses. Today there are literally thousands of large data sets available for secondary analysis, including crime statistics provided by the National Institute of Justice, political election polls from polling organizations such as the Gallup and Roper Polls, census data from the US Bureau of the Census, statistics on health and health-related behaviors from the National Center for Health Statistics, and hundreds of social and political surveys from federally sponsored research. The Internet offers a rich and varied array of secondary data for possible analysis. Documents make up a large portion of data available for secondary analysis. Content analysis is a commonly used procedure for studying text by identifying specific characteristics of the text such as the frequency of occurrence of specific key words or phrases. Computer programs for content analysis display key words in context (KWIC) as a means for helping to understand their meaning. Another important example of secondary analysis is historical-comparative research examining the ways in which social life changes across cultures and over time. This research typically focuses on macro-level changes occurring over long periods of time or macro-level differences between cultures that influence and constrain individual behavior.

Ethics in Sociological Research
Reactivity: The extent to which humans beings studied “react” or respond to the research process or the researcher by changing their behavior, either unintentionally or intentionally Hawthorne effect: The unintended effects on behavior produced when people are aware they are being studied Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.6 Ethics in Sociological Research LO: Describe the three fundamental issues that distinguish sociology from the natural sciences. People have a subjective experience that influences their behavior (what Max Weber called verstehen—German for “understanding”). This requires that people must be viewed as conscious actors, and our methods must go beyond a mere “social physics” to understand people’s subjective experience, understanding, and motives in different situations. People interpret events and act according to the meaning they attribute to those events and their own motives. To understand why people act in a certain way, we must understand the meaning they attribute to events and their motives. Standpoint theory, a variant of feminist theory, emphasizes the different understanding of social life found among women and other oppressed minorities. Most of us have at least occasionally felt self-conscious when we realized we were being watched or videotaped. This can lead us to change our behavior even if we try to “just act natural.” Research involving human subjects must take into account the ways in which human actors may modify their behavior when they know they are being studied. Reactivity is the extent to which humans being studied “react” or respond to the research process or the researcher by changing their behavior, either unintentionally or intentionally. A classic study that first documented the effects of reactivity on research subjects was the study by Elton Mayo and his colleagues of workers in Western Electric’s Hawthorne Plant in the 1930s. Researchers studied the effects of various changes on the productivity of a group of women who all worked together. The researchers varied seating arrangements, payment methods, lighting, and other factors. To their surprise, no matter what they changed, productivity increased. Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the key factor was paying attention to the workers by studying them. The women workers were motivated to work faster because someone was interested in their productivity. This effect has come to be called the Hawthorne effect. It refers to the unintended effects on behavior produced when people are aware they are being studied. What does reactivity mean for sociological research today? It means that researchers studying people should be careful to minimize the effects of the research upon the observed behaviors of the subjects. Often this means designing research projects that minimize reactivity by not telling subjects they are being studied, or at least not telling subjects the specific goals of the research. However, researchers have to be careful when trying to minimize reactivity to keep in mind the third important issue that distinguishes social science research: ethical issues.

Ethical Issues in the Study of Human Subjects
Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46 The American Sociological Association Code Requires that human subjects be protected in research, including: Risks should be minimized and outweighed by potential benefits. Subject privacy should be guaranteed by confidentiality or anonymity. Subjects should be selected to share risks fairly. Subjects should be informed fully about risks before agreeing to participate. Based on five principles: 1. Professional. competence 2. Integrity 3. Professional and scientific responsibility 4. Respect for people’s rights 5. Social responsibility Learn Sociology Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process 1.6 Ethics in Sociological Research LO: Examine ethical issues in the study of human subjects. When human subjects are studied in research, those people must be treated ethically. Shortly after World War II, the world was shocked by reports of abuses of war prisoners in biomedical experiments. In Japan, Japanese captors deliberately infected captured American and British prisoners of war with malaria and other fatal diseases. Reportedly, some prisoners were dissected while still alive to examine the physiological effects. In Germany, German captors exposed Allied prisoners of war to frigid waters until they died to see how long they could survive. By the 1960s, several research projects in the United States came to public attention that raised serious ethical concerns. As a result, the federal government held a series of investigative hearings and eventually spelled out the ethical principles and guidelines for human subjects research in The Belmont Report. That report led to federal regulations (Title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 46, Revised June :8–9) requiring that human subjects be protected in research. The American Sociological Association—the professional association of sociologists—has its own code of ethics to which members are expected to agree that goes well beyond the Title 45 regulation. This code is very detailed but is summarized based on five principles : 1. Professional competence— members strive to maintain the highest levels of competence in their work and recognize their limitations. 2. Integrity— members must be honest, fair, and respectful to others. 3. Professional and scientific responsibility— members adhere to the highest scientific standards and accept responsibility for their work and have an ethical responsibility to share their findings with other researchers and the public. 4. Respect for people’s rights— members respect the rights, dignity, and worth of all people and try to eliminate bias in their professional work. 5. Social responsibility— sociologists are aware of their scientific and professional responsibilities to communities in which they work. All sociologists are expected to be aware of this code and to meet its standards.

Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process

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