1. Sociological Research Methods
Pages: S18-S27

2. What is Sociology?
Sociology is the science that studies human society and human behavior.
In order to study these things, Sociologist look to build and study Empirical Research
Empirical Research: Relies on the use of experience, observation, and experimentation to collect facts which = data

3. How do we research? We use the Scientific Method. Why?
1) To try and prevent our own notions, values and biases from interfering
2) To use careful and correct reasoning in drawing conclusions
3) The research is organized and completed in a methodical manner

4. Characteristics of Social Research
Issues of Interest: The main one lies in examining the structure and function of various features of society
ex. How are groups organized and the consequences of actions on society
Rates of Behavior: How often does the behavior occur in a specific condition
Stability and Change: Why do things or stay the same?

5. Variables
Variable= a characteristic that can differ from one individual, group or situation to another in a measureable way.
Examples- Age, Race, Income, Education
Control- Used to exclude the possibility that outside variables affect the relationship of two variables

7. Causation What causes an event to occur?
We study Cause and Effect by examining the relationship among variables.
A causal relationship exists when a change in one variables causes a change in another.

8. Correlation
The change in one variable is regularly associated with a change in another variable
This may or may not be causal and it can be a + or a –
+ Example- The higher the rate of cigarettes smoked, the higher the rate of lung cancer.
– Example- As you get older, you need fewer hours of sleep

10. Spurious
This correlation exists when variables appear to be related are affected by a third variable
Example- Hospitalization and death appear highly correlated but instead a third variable, serious illness is responsible

14. Basic Research Methods
Historical- Use materials from the past (documents etc.)
Content Analysis-# of times something appears in a context (easy and cheap)
Ex- TV, radio, movies, photos, periodicals
Surveys- Questionnaires and Interviews
Public Opinion Polls (lots of responses) able to get clarification, expressions
Rely only on response, do they get ? Time consuming and expensive

15. Basic Research Methods
People who participate are responders
Sampling- Representative of Population
Random Sampling- every member has a chance of being selected
Observation- Two types Detached or Participant
Detached so you observe from a distance, people don’t know, they act normal
Participant- you take part so you don’t miss information
Case Study- Intensive focus of the investigation. It is in-depth
Ex. Riots, Natural Disasters but don’t generalize the results based on one case

16. The Math Section
When looking at information in Sociology, think about the following math terms 