1. Chapter Two Social Research Methods

2. Man gets four years in N.J. human trafficking case (nj.com 6/28/2010) N.J. medical marijuana law could be delayed three monthsN.J. medical marijuana law could be delayed three months (nj.com 6/28/2010) N.J. budget 2011: Adult medical day care fee idea scrappedN.J. budget 2011: Adult medical day care fee idea scrapped (nj.com 6/28/2010) N.J. budget 2011: State psychiatric and treatment centers threatened (nj.com 6/28/2010) The Bachelorette on ABC Criminal Minds Desperate Housewives Keeping Up with the Kardashians Law & Order: Special Victims UnitThe Good WifeJersey Shore Dateline NBC 20/20 Dr. Oz ShowOprah Winfrey

3. Continued from Chapter One…. As a result,…. PROBLEMS! Different perspectives and theories result from different interpretations of behavior Can not approach sociology with own belief system Individuals are dealing with their own emotions

4. Sociological Researchers Auguste Comte – Father of Sociology (functionalist) Karl Marx – Class Conflict /exploitation (social conflict) Karl Marx Emile Durkheim – 1 st social researcher (functionalist) Emile Durkheim Coined the term anomie. Max Weber – Rejected Marx’s theory that all structure flowed from economy (social conflict) Max Weber Cultural ideas and values were the driving force in shaping society. George Mead – Concept of self develops through social interaction. De-emphasized biology. (Symbolic Interaction)`

5. QUICK WRITE: Do you believe that you are a product of your own environment?

6. Scientific Approach Vigorous, systematic method of observation and examination of the universe For sociologists - the universe covers all forms of human behavior in different societies and under different social conditions. Scientific inquiry is empirical – the unit under investigation must be observable, measurable, and testable.

7. The Ultimate Goal Science can only be applied to observable phenomena Scientists are interested in identifying and explaining behavioral patterns and social trends. The ultimate goal of any scientific activity is the betterment of the human condition.

8. Scientists are interested in…. Description: describing the units under investigation. (What is being studied?) Exploration: examine and work on new areas of research (uncharted territories) Explanation: interested in explaining the phenomena under investigation. (What is taking place?) Prediction: make meaningful and reasonable predictions Control: determine the causes (proving a theory)

9. Challenges 1.Ethical Considerations - ie.. Suicide or homicide 2.The observed subjects respond to and interact with the observer. - unobtrusive techniques 3. Social scientists are humans who study humans. – Subject to biases, attachments, and values

10. Elements of Science Developing a common language - concepts (identifies an object) - variable (Can be measured and take on different values) - measurement (Assigning # to objects) - relationship between variables – (correlation) the essence of any scientific endeavor relationships between variables - hypothesis & theory

11. Measurement Social Sciences: sociology, anthropology, economics, social science, psychology, political science, education Nominal Scale (more common in social sciences) ___ Married____ Single ___DivorcedEtc…. Ordinal Scale (more common in social sciences) Hotel rating: 5 star, 4 star,…….1 star. Natural Sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology & other physical sciences Interval Scale (more common in natural sciences) (distance betwn. Points is equal / absence of absolute zero – thermometer) Ratio Scales (more common in natural sciences) (True zero point: weight)

12. Important components of Measurement Validity – Researcher measurements what he/she intended to measure Reliability – Consistent / Able to be replicated

13. Correlation Independent variable – causes the change Dependent variable – affected by the change *The dependent variable is DEPENDENT upon the INDEPENDENT variable.* (# of days since last hair cut and length of hair)... @ 27 sec. Correlation – the relationship between 2 variables. Correlation is not causality.

14. Positive Correlation 1. As you increase your food intake… your weight goes up.

15. Negative Correlation 1.“Inverse” relationship 2. The more of one – the less of the other…. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

16. Causality Cause and Effect (X causes Y) Suggests that a relationship between 2 variable that is much stronger than a correlation.

17. Scientific Method

18. Hypothesis A statement of prediction… ???? A tentative assumption… that needs to be tested.

19. Theory Is one of the most important components in science. Another word for an explanation. A good theory: 1. Can be tested and best fits the evidence 2. Has logical soundness, with consistent and rational relationships. 3. Has the ability to make sense of the universe 4. Brings new information, new direction, new ideas or new approaches to research 5. Is popular and worthy of discussion among scientists and non- scientists.

20. Research Process 1.Select and define the topic. 2.Review the literature. 3.Clarify concepts and measurement. 4.Establish an appropriate data collection method. 5.Clarify the purpose, value, and ethics. 6.Design the research instruments and operationalize the concepts. 7.Define the population of interest and select a sample of subjects. 8.Collect the data. 9.Process the data. 10.Analyze the data. 11.Share the results.

21. Research Methods Ways to receive information Quantitative (numbers) Qualitative (description) – Population – Sampling (CRITICAL stage of research) – Sample Size – Sample (Random / Non-Random)

22. Research Methods 1. Case Study (archival / secondary analysis) 2. Field (Ethnography) or Observational Research 3. Experiment Experimental group Control group 4. Survey / Questionnaire Hawthorne Effect

23. Class Activity Break up into small groups (3 to 4 students) Take your paper and create a chart: Along the side: Create a list of sociological research questions Along the top: List the major research methods covered in Chapter Two. Identify how each sociological question can be studied. What research method would work best? Why is that the best research method to use? Share Responses!!!!

24. Sociological Research Questions QuantitativeQualitativeSurveyQuestionnaireExperiment Archival Data Ethnographic Research Why do teenagers smoke? Are people less racist today than they were in the past?

25. Statistical Tools Statistics: mathematical system use to classify numerical data. Descriptive statistics: (describes the average) Inferential statistics: (determine whether differences are significant to make inferences to larger population & measures strength of relationship) Statistical significance: (difference between groups that is likely to occur not by chance but regularly) Central tendency: mean (average), median (middle), mode (most common)

26. Activity Identify key terms on index cards Classify terms in groups. Give each group a “Title” and provide a rationale for the group’s description. Now…. Re-arrange your groups and re-categorize your vocabulary terms. How many groups do you have now? What are the titles of these categories?

27. Introduce APA REMEMBER TO CITE YOUR REFERENCES!!!! Easybib.com

28. How to do the references/ bibliography Barry, Kathleen.”Feminist Theory: The Meaning of Women’s Liberation.” In Barbara Haber, ed., The Women’s Annual 1982-83. Boston: G. L. Hall, 1983:35-78. Amnesty International. “The Death Penalty: List of Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries.” [Online] Available http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/ intcam/dp/abrelist.htm, April, 2000 Berger, Peter L. Invitation to Sociology. New York:Anchor Books, 1963 Books Journals Online Two major resources quoting styles: APA and MLA

29. Assemble together: Ten steps in Sociological Investigation 1.What is your topic? 2.What have others already learned? 3. What-exactly-are your questions? 4. What will you need to carry out research? 5. Are there ethical concerns? 6.What method will you use? 7.How will you record the data? 8.What does the data tell you? 9.What are your conclusions? 10. How can you share what you’ve learned?

30. Obedience: The film of the Milgram Experiment shows research subjects going through the experiment and presents the basic findings and importance of the study, but it also reviews how the experiment was conducted, how participants were debriefed afterwards, and how results differed when Milgram used variations on the basic experimental setting and context. While viewing…think about the findings, techniques, and ethical issues presented by this experiment.

31. Homework Read Chapters 4 - 7 Remember your article!!! Remember to blog!!!