Chapter 2

Surveys

Survey Most widely used research method for sociologists Population Everyone with the characteristics a researcher wants to study Ex: high school seniors, single mothers, etc. Sample Limited number of cases drawn from a larger population Must be representative

How surveys are gathered? Questionaire – a written set of question that survey participants answer by themselves Interview – a trained interviewer asks questions and records the answers Closed-ended questions – limited, predetermined set of responses Open-ended questions – answer in your own words Pros and cons?????? P. 41

Collecting data Secondary analysis Use data that is already collected Ex: prison records, census records Advantages vs. Disadvantages (p. 42)

Field Research Participant Observation Researchers involve themselves in a group they are studying with or without the group’s knowledge Ex: Black like Me Case Study Single study that SHOULD fit the findings of other groups Page 43.

Causation Events occur in predictable, nonrandom ways Ex: What goes up must come down Multiple Causation Events occur for many different reasons Ex: Crime is caused by drugs, poor parenting, peer pressure, etc. These are called variables

Variables Characteristics that are subject to change Ex: age, education, occupation Quantitative variables Variables that can be measured and given a numerical value Ex: literacy rate, income average, years of schooling Qualitative variables Identified by membership in a group or category Ex: Gender, marital status

Correlation Looks at how things are related to one another Positive correlation Both variables move in the same direction As study time increases, test scores increase Negative correlation Variables move in opposite directions Grades decrease as television viewing increases

Positive and Negative Correlations