1. How to find what you need to know.
Research
How to find what you need to know.

2. Section 1: Social Research

3. What is Social Research anyways?
Research that examines human behavior
Remember
This is a SCIENTIFIC process (which is why Sociology is considered to be a social science)
Methods shall be used for specific reasons which are based off what TYPE of information needs to be obtained

4. Valid vs. Reliable Valid= right Reliable= consistent
Data needs to be valid as well as reliable.
So it needs to be ‘consistently right’.

5. Deduction- starts general and goes specific
Theory
Hypothesis
Observation (data collection)
Confirmation or rejection of hypothesis/theory
Inductive- starts specific and goes general
Observation
Data collection
Patterns or regulations

6. DEDUCTIVE INDUCTIVE OBSERVATION
Students who study together seem to make better grades
DATA COLLECTION/ANALYSIS
Study 100 students to determine if students who study together actually make better grades
HYPOTHESIS AND THEORY
Students who study together DO make better grades
DEDUCTIVE
INDUCTIVE

7. Sample vs. Population
Population- any well defined group of people (or things) about whom researchers want to know something
Sample- a group of people (or things) that are representative of the population researchers wish to study
Population
Sample

8. Terms to know…..
Scientific method- a specific set of steps that include careful data collection, analysis of data, and when appropriate application to a larger population
Variable- a characteristic that has specific values
Hypothesis- a statement of a relationship between two or more variables
Independent variable- a characteristic that determines or has an effect on the dependent variable
Dependent variable- the outcome, which may be affected by the independent variable

9. The Research Process Choose a Topic Summarize Related Research
Formulate a Hypothesis or Ask a Research Question
Describe Data Collection Method(s)
Collect the Data
Present the Findings
Analyze the Results: State Conclusion
The Research Process

10. Correlation vs. Causation
Correlation- a relationship between two or more variables
Causation- a relationship that the change in the dependent variable is CAUSED by the effect of the independent variable(s)

11. Correlation
Causation

12. Approaches to research
Qualitative research- research that examines nonnumeric material and interprets it
Quantitative research- research that examines numerical material and interprets it

13. Data Collection Methods

14. Survey Questionnaires Face to face or telephone interviews Advantages
Cheap
Simple
Disadvantages
Low response rate (10%)
Questions are often unclear to readers
People skip questions or lie

15. Secondary Analysis
Basically is data that has been collected by other people and is ‘re-analyzed’
Advantages
Convenient and generally cheap
Generally longitudinal (over time) rather than cross sectional (at a specific point)
Disadvantages
Existing data is not what the researcher is looking for
Existing data is not easily accessible

16. Experiments
A carefully controlled artificial situation that allows researchers to manipulate variables and measure the effects
Advantages
More controlled environment
Can be replicated
Disadvantages
Expensive
Seen as artificial

17. Research that determines how “well” a program is working
Program Evaluation
Research that determines how “well” a program is working
City Accessibility Study
America’s Second Harvest

18. Triangulation Methods
Using one type of research which counteracts the weak parts of other research methods
Ex- surveys do not give in depth answers but interviews do so by using both surveys and interviews you are able to get a larger sample with more in depth information

19. ****This is NOT in your book****
Section 2: Statistics
****This is NOT in your book****

20. So what ‘technically’ is a statistic?
A set of procedures used by social scientists to organize, summarize, and communicate information …..so what is data? Data is information which can be represented by numbers …..so what is empirical? Anything that can be measured

21. Be very very careful with statistics
Things to be VERY careful of
What are we actually measuring?
Who would benefit from this?
What is the source?
What was the ORIGINAL purpose?
Does this even sound right?
How do you define what you are
looking at?

22. Operational Definition
The formal criterion for what a study is measuring
This determines how something is measured- and ultimately the entire outcome of the research
Ex. What is family? The operational definition of ‘family’ will greatly influence the results.

23. Misreading/Interpreting of Statistics
An Illustration The Million Man March on Washington DC October 16, 1995

26. How many people were at the “Million Man” march?
March Organizers said 1,500,000- 2,000,000
National Park Service Police said 400,000
That is 1 person per 3.6 square foot
Boston University Research Team said 837,000
That is 1 person per 1.8 square foot

27. Stalking Source: Dr. Lowney and Dr. Best
On January 1, 1998 at 9:00 a.m. a CNN anchor read a news story that said that, according to research, there were 20,000 stalkers in the country.
At 10:00 a.m. the same anchor read the same story, only she made a verbal error and said “200,000 stalkers” instead of “20,000” stalkers.

28. Associated Press publishes the 10:00 a. m
Associated Press publishes the 10:00 a.m. news stories from CNN, so they picked up the story and transmitted it as “fact” around the world on their news wire.
And so a simple slip of the tongue (200,000 instead of 20,000) entered the literature. The 200,000 statistic is now a part of most articles about stalking; it is even cited in FBI reports.

29. Simple Statistics Measures of Central Tendency
Statistics that show what the ‘average’ tendencies of the data are
Mode- Most common answer
Median- middle value
Mean- average

30. Mode- Most Common

31. Median- Divides the data into the lower 50% and the upper 50%
Sally Jessy- 1
Jo Schmo- 1
Kristin Stewart- 2
Santa- 3
Logan- 4
Weber- 4
Tom Green- 5
Number of cars that people own

32. Mean Number of Cars Sally Jessy- 1 Jo Schmo- 1 Kristin Stewart- 2
Santa- 3
Logan- 4
Weber- 4
Tom Green- 5
Average
Add up every case
Divide by the total number of cases

33. Correlation Positive and negative Range from 0 to 1 +.36 -.78
Negative means it is a negative relationship
Positive means there is a positive relationship
Range from 0 to 1
The closer to 1 the stronger the relationship is
0-.3= weak, .3-.6= moderate, = strong
0= no relationship
+.36
-.78

34. 2 quotes to remember
“Research is to see what everyone else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought”
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
“Do not put your faith in what statistics say until you carefully consider what they do not say”

35. Questions?