Understanding Sociological Research: Teacher Copy
Sociology is a social science. This requires the use of the scientific method and statistics. This provides sociologist with a deeper understanding of sociological findings.
Review Question Types: Questionnaire: A written set of questions to be answered by a research participant. Closed-ended questions: Questions a person must answer by choosing from a limited, predetermined set of responses. Ex: Do you like Coke or Pepsi better? Do you walk or drive to school? Open Ended Questions: Questions a person is to answer in his or her own words Ex: How do you get to school? When you go out to dinner what type of beverage do you order?
Close-ended Survey Research: Advantages:Disadvantages: Close-ended answer can be more precisely measured. Surveys are expensive to produce and distribute. Responses can be easily compared. Responses are limited to preset answers. Statistical techniques can be used to make sense of the data. Many people don’t respond to surveys, resulting in low effectiveness. A large number of responses can be collected. The way a question is stated may influence the answer given. (Negatively phrased questions are more likely to get a negative answer.)
Secondary Analysis: Secondary Analysis Using pre-collected information for data collection and research purposes Advantages:Disadvantages: Pre-collected data provide sociologist with inexpensive, high quality information. The existing information may not exactly suit the research’s needs because it was gathered for different reasons. Existing information permits the study of a topic over a period of time. Ex: Census Data Sometimes pre- collected data are outdated. The researcher cannot influence answers because the data have been collected by others. Little may be known about collection data or the collection methods may have been biased.
Case Study Intensive study of a single group, incident or community Participating Observation a case study where the researcher becomes a member of the group being studied Morgan Spurlock wanted to know how McDonald’s food affected its consumers. So he only ate McDonalds for 30 days straight. You think of an examples:
Research Methods Quantitative- A characteristic that can be measured numerically Qualitative- a characteristic that is defined by its presence or absence in a category Types of Research: 1- Survey Research 2- Secondary Analysis 3- Experiment Types of Research: 1- Case Study
Research Methods Quantitative:Qualitative: 1 – Survey Research pros: precision and statistical data cons: expense and question bias 2 – Secondary Analysis pros: inexpensive and researcher’s influence on subjects avoided cons: Information may be outdated and you do not know how data was collected 3 – Experiment 1 – Case Study: pros: cons:
Research Methods Quantitative:Qualitative: 1 – Survey Research: pros: precision and statistical data cons: expense and question bias 2 – Secondary Analysis pros: inexpensive and researcher’s influence on subjects avoided cons: Information may be outdated and you do not know how data was collected 3 – Experiment: pros: easy replication and allows for causation cons: not suited for most sociological research 1 – Case Study pros: deep understanding of group members and study of social behavior not feasible with quantitative methods cons: influence of researcher and difficulty in duplicating
Approach to Research Questions: Research Method:Rationale: A questionnaire on school violence in high schools is sent to a national, random sample of principles. The survey examines a possible relationship between incidence of school violence and level of school funding. A particular high school with low funding is studied with respect to a relationship between school violence and school funding. Researchers interview administrators, teacher, and students. Finding are then generalized. Concealing her identity, a research takes a temporary job at a high school with low funding. She attempts to observer covertly a possible link between school violence and school funding.