1. AICE Sociology - Chapter 3
Methods of Research
AICE Sociology - Chapter 3

2. P57-59 Primary Data Secondary Data Official Statistics
Quantitative Data
Correlation
Qualitative Data
Participant Observation

3. Data
Primary Data – Data personally collected by a researcher. - strength – researcher has control over how the data is collected, control over reliability and validity. - limitations – time, money, access to participants
Secondary Data – Data that already has been produced by someone else. Government reports, data collected by other researchers - strength – saves time and money - limitations – may be unreliable (ie-crimes not reported), sociologists may have different definitions . ie- “poverty” or “unemployment”

4. Official Statistics
Official Statistics – Government generated secondary source data.

5. Types of Data
Quantitative – data that is numerical which has a range. ie-percentage, rate, score, height, weight, etc. (who, what, when, where of behavior) - strength – shows a relationship, easier to replicate - limitation – too narrow, usually does not capture depth of why things happen.
Qualitative – data that captures the qualities or why of people’s behavior, rather than what, when, and where. How you feel about experiences. - strength – usually allow people to act or speak freely, captures why we behave the ways we do. Usually study people in their own environment. - limitation – smaller groups studied, depth of data is difficult to replicate.

6. Correlation
Correlation – relationship between 2 variables. From -1 to = inverse relationship +1 = perfect relationship
Dependent Variable – is often the effect of the independent variable
Independent Variable - constant

7. Participant Observation
Participant Observation (usually qualitative)– the researcher participating either openly or covertly in the research being conducted.
Good example of this is “Living on a Dollar a Day” on Netflix

8. P60-65 Questionnaire Structured Interview Researcher Effect
Content Analysis
Variables
Causation
Experimental Group
Control Group
Laboratory Experiment
Field Experiments
Hawthorne (or observer) effect
Longitudinal survey

9. Questionnaire
Questionnaire – respondents answer a list a pre-selected questions - Postal Questionnaire – Sent in mail - Researcher Administered – researcher in room
Open Ended – researcher does not provide answer choices
Close Ended – respondent has choices (ie- multiple choice)

10. Structured Interview
Structured Interview - set of standard questions delivered by the researcher. (like a questionnaire, but asked by researcher)
Researcher Effect (interviewer effect) - how the relationship between the researcher and respondent may bias responses and lead to invalid data.

11. Content Analysis
Content Analysis – research method used for systemic analysis of media communication. - this is used to tailor TV programs to what the viewer wants to see

12. Variables and Causation
Variables – things that may change in a research study Dependent / Independent Variables
Causation – the idea that one action causes another ie- mixing 2 compounds in science makes an explosion
Correlation – there is a relationship between 2 or more variables -ie – correlation between good studying habits and good grades

13. Testing Groups / Experiments
Experimental Group – the researcher changes variables to test the effects
Control Group – same exact characteristics as the experimental group except the variable being studies. This allows for comparisons to be made.
Laboratory Experiment – experiment that takes place in a closed environment where conditions can be precisely monitored and controlled.
Field Experiments – experiment that takes place in the “real world”

14. Hawthorne Effect (observer effect)
Hawthorne Effect – changes in people’s behavior that results from their knowledge of being observed.
Longitudinal Study – comparative analysis that tracks changes in a group over time. ie-tracking the same student’s academic performance over time

15. Activity  Assess the Strengths and Limitations of each
Questionnaire - Postal - Researcher
Structured Interview
Content Analysis
Experiments - Laboratory Experiments - Field Experiments

16. P66-70 Cross-sectional survey Comparative analysis
Semi-structured interview
Unstructured interviews
Group interviews

17. Cross-Sectional Survey
Cross-Sectional Survey – research method focused on identifying groups that share broad similarities. ie- level of education / suicide Research Question – Do people with a high level of education have higher rates of suicide than those with a lower level of education?
Class – What is the dependent variable? What is the independent variable?

18. Comparative Analysis
Comparative Analysis – a comparison of different cultures, cases, and situations to understand their similarities and differences usually uses “official statistics” - the focus is comparison

19. Interviews
Semi-Structured Interview (Focused Interview) – a respondent is encouraged to talk at length about a particular subject. - Topics - decided by the researcher - use of open-ended questions, researcher guided
Unstructured Interview – respondent is free to talk about what they like, without prompting or interruption.
Group Interview (focus group) – discussing a topic as a group.

20. Activity
Assess the Strengths and Limitations of each - comparative analysis - semi-structured interview - unstructured interview - group interview

21. P71-75 Non-participant observation Participant observation Verstehen
Overt observation
Covert observation
Case study
Semiology

22. Observation
Non-Participant Observation – When the researcher observes behavior without participating in the behavior.
Participant Observation (Verstehen) – When the researcher takes part in the behavior being studied.
Verstehen – “to understand by experiencing”… to be able to have empathy

23. Observation
Overt Observation – participating in the behavior of the group being studied and they know that they are being studied.
Covert Observation – the researcher secretly joins the group being studied so they are unaware that they are being studied.

24. Case Studies
Case Study – an in-depth, qualitative study of a particular group or “case”
Semiology – the study of the cultural meanings embedded in media forms. - ie- 12 roses, even number of flowers only for funerals in Russia - connotation – cultural meaning of something - denotation – dictionary definition
ie – Marxist Semiology – Movie “Avatar” attacking capitalism

25. P76-80
Personal documents
Sampling and sampling techniques
Pilot study

26. Personal Documents
Personal Documents – secondary source of data covering areas such as personal letters, diaries, oral histories, websites, social networking. Lets take a minute to assess Strengths/Limitations of using personal documents in research.

27. Sampling
Sample – a relatively small proportion of people who belong to a target population.
Representative Sample – sample group has the same characteristics as population, ie-60% male sample, 60% male in population, age, etc.
Simple Random Sample – lottery system
Opportunity Sampling – selecting a sample because it is convenient

28. Pilot Study
Pilot Study – mini version of a “full scale” study designed to test its feasibility

29. Activity – Research Methods Chart
Quantitative - Primary Quantitative - Secondary Quantitative
Qualitative - Primary Quantitative - Secondary Qualitative
Make 4 Quadrants on Paper – Label + List Methods - Discuss Strengths and Limitations of each