Sociologists Doing Research Chapter 2
Research Methods Ch. 2.1
Doing Research in the Social Sciences A. Sociologists gain knowledge by doing research. B. Ask “why” and “how” questions then form hypotheses C. Use quantitative or qualitative methods: 1. quantitative- using numerical data 2. qualitative- surveys and precollected data
Survey A. People responding to questions B. Most widely used method in sociology C. Ideal for studying large #s of people D. Population- a group of people w/certain specified characteristics that researchers want to study.
Population 1. Most populations are too large; use a sample- group of people that represent a larger population. 2. Must be a representative sample- a sample that accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole.
Survey E. Questionnaire- a written set of questions to be answered by a research participant. F. Interview- a trained researchers asks Q and records A 1. close-ended: limited set of responses 2. Open-ended: person answers as pleases
Secondary Analysis A. Using precollected info. For data collection and research purposes B. Gov’t reports, company records, voting lists…
Field Research A. Takes place in a natural setting. B. Most commonly used is a case study- intensive study of a single group, incident or community 1. Findings can be generalized to similar situations.
Nature of Causation Ch. 2.2
Nature of Causation 1. The belief that events occur in predictable ways and that one event leads to another. 2. Social scientist look for the factors that cause social events to happen. 3. Multiple causation- belief that an event occurs as a result of several factors working in combination.
Steps in Research Ch. 2.3
Steps in Research 1. Identify the problem- choose an object or topic to study. 2. Review the literature- check all previous research on topic. 3. Formulate hypotheses- a testable statement
Continue steps 4. Develop a research design- the procedures that will be followed for collecting and analyzing the data. 5. Collect data- asking questions, observation and analyzing existing materials.
Continue Steps 6. Analyze the data- does it support the hypothesis? 7. State findings and conclusions- write the report
Measures of Central Tendency Mode: The most frequently occurring score in a distribution. Mean: The arithmetic average of scores in a distribution obtained by adding the scores and then dividing by the number of scores that were added together. Median: The middle score in a rank-ordered distribution.
Ethics A. Show objectivity B. Report findings truthfully C. Protect the rights, privacy, integrity, dignity and freedom of the subjects.
Research Methods in Sociology
Research Methods- Chapter 2.1 TypeDescriptionHow is info. gathered? Advantages Disadvantages Survey Research Secondary Analysis Field Research Case Study Participant Observation Experiment