1. Asking and Answering Sociological Questions Chapter 2 Chapter 2
Anthony Giddens
Mitchell Duneier
Richard P. Appelbaum

2. Sociological Questions
Four Types of Questions Sociologists
Ask
Factual (empirical)—collecting data
Comparative—relating one social context to another, within a society or between different societies
Developmental—comparing societies’ past and present
Theoretical—interpreting what facts mean

3. Table 2.1

4. The Research Process The Research Process
The seven steps of the research process are:
Defining the research problem
Reviewing the evidence
Making the problem precise
Working out a design
Carrying out the research
Interpreting the results
Reporting the findings

5. Fig. 2.1 top

6. Fig. 2.1 bottom

7. Understanding Cause and Effect
Causation and Correlation
Causation cannot be directly inferred from correlation
Causation: one event or situation produces another
Correlation: regular relationship existing between two variables

8. Understanding Cause and Effect
Causation and Correlation (cont)
When assessing the cause that explains a correlation we use:
Independent variable
Produces an effect on another variable
Dependent variable
The variable affected
Control
Variables held constant in order to look at effects of others

9. Research Methods Ethnography
Ethnography is the study of people firsthand
Using participation observation or interviewing
Investigator spends time living or working with community
Advantages
Provides detailed information about group
Disadvantages
Only works with small groups
Researcher must gain trust of group
Researcher could lose perspective

10. Table 2.2

11. Research Methods Surveys
Surveys are questionnaires given to selected group of people
Sampling concentrates on a small proportion of overall group
Advantages
Answers are easily quantified
Large groups can be studied
Researchers can employ agency to collect responses
Disadvantages
Findings might be superficial or doubtful
Levels of nonresponse are high

12. Research Methods Experiments
Testing hypothesis under controlled conditions
Advantages
Easily controlled and repeated
Disadvantages
Only small groups can be tested
People might behave unnaturally

13. Research Methods Other Research Methods Life histories
Assembling biographical material about individuals
Comparative research
Comparing various groups in different societies
Historical analysis
Studying past events directly through interviewing or written record

14. Research in the Real World
Other Research Methods (cont)
Triangulation
Because all research methods have limitations, researchers often combine several research methods in order to check and supplement material obtained from the others

15. World in Change 1

16. World in Change 2

17. World in Change 3

18. World in Change 4

19. World in Change 5

20. Research in the Real World
Human Subjects and Ethical Problems
All research involving humans can pose ethical dilemmas
Sociologists must ask:
Does research pose risks to the subjects that are greater than risks they face in daily lives?
Federal government has gotten stricter with universities about how they treat research subjects
Universities now review all research

21. Research in the Real World
Influence of Sociology
Sociologists not only study society, they shape society
Sociological research is filtered down
Sociological knowledge affects behavior

22. Review Questions
1. Which of the following are types of questions that sociologists often use in their research?
functional questions
structural questions
developmental questions
All of the above
Answer: C
Reference: Sociological Questions
Type: Factual

23. Review Questions
2. Which of the following are the standard sequential steps in the research process?
ask empirical questions; define research problem; test hypotheses; interpret results
review evidence; select a research design; interpret results; report findings
find a previously unexplored research problem; conduct a survey or experiment; collect data; report findings
select a topic; ask factual, comparative, and theoretical questions; anticipate problems; interpret results
Answer: B
Reference: The Research Process
Type: Factual

24. Review Questions
3. In a causal relationship, the ________ variable is the variable that produces an effect on another variable.
dependent
independent
control
functional
Answer: B
Reference: Understanding Cause and Effect
Type: Vocabulary

25. Review Questions
4. Which of the following scenarios do you think poses the greatest ethical dilemma for a researcher?
Conducting face-to-face interviews with subjects (who know they are participating in a study) without telling them you are the director of the research project.
Asking subjects to complete a survey on a computer about eating habits when the real focus of the study is how people react when faced with computer hardware or software problems.
Joining an organization or informal social group in order to do ethnographic research without telling the members of the organization or group the real purpose of your participation.
Examining data from another researcher’s project and coming up with different conclusions.
Answer: C
Reference: Research in the Real World: Methods, Problems, and Pitfalls
Type: Conceptual

26. Review Questions
5. What is a limitation of surveys that use standardized questions?
Such surveys can only be used with a small sample of people
It is difficult to draw conclusions about a broader population based on survey responses.
The responses will not be in-depth or reveal much subtlety of opinion.
Responses can be difficult to compare statistically.
Answer: C
Reference: Research Methods
Type: Factual

27. Review Questions
6. ________ is the study and systematic description of human cultures through participant observation or interviewing.
Ethnology
Anthropology
Comparative research
Ethnography
Answer: D
Reference: Research Methods
Type: Vocabulary

28. Review Questions
7. Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between sociological research and human behavior?
There is a constant feedback loop between sociological research and human behavior; one informs the other.
People participating in research studies may not always be completely honest or natural in their responses or behavior because they may be trying to give a “correct” answer or behave as they think the researcher wants them to.
Everyday human behavior is not much influenced by the findings of academic research studies.
Cutting-edge sociological research depends upon the emergence of increasingly extreme forms of human behavior.
Answer: A
Reference: Research in the Real World: Methods, Problems, and Pitfalls
Type: Conceptual