Sociological Research

Sociological Research (The Science of Sociology) Scientific Sociology • Science – A logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation – The Scientific Method • Scientific Sociology – The study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior – Empirical evidence – Comte – “Positivism” • • • • Differentiating Empirical Evidence from Common Sense or folk wisdom “Folk Wisdom” – Knowledge that comes from being in the world – Oral traditions, difficult to trace origins • Proverbs, songs, sayings, memes – Usually are not judgments based in research Can be unreliable, inconsistent • Sometimes they exist with their opposites Examples of folk wisdom: – Opposites Attract vs. Birds of a Feather flock together – You only live once vs. Better safe than sorry – Patience is a virtue vs. He who hesitates is lost We’ll use the one the suits our needs most True or False? 1. Because of the rapid rise in the divorce rate in the United States, U.S. children are much more likely to live in single-parent households now than they were a century ago. 2. Most Roman Catholics oppose birth control. 3. Most people on welfare have several children and spend a lifetime on welfare. 4. Compared with men, women touch each other more while they are conversing. 5. Monogamy (as opposed to polygamy) is the more accepted marital practice worldwide. All of the previous statements were FALSE. Surprised? Research gives us insight into topics that we personally do not have enough information to truly know about. Sometimes those findings can oppose common sense! Research Methods • • A systematic plan for doing research Four methods of sociological investigation – Experiments – Surveys – Participant observation – Existing sources Testing a Hypothesis: The Experiment • A research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions Pretest----------> X ---------> Posttest Measure Time 1 Measure Time 2 Exposure to Independent Variable Measure the initial value of the dependent variable Expose the dependent variable to the independent variable Measure the dependent variable again to see what change, if any, took place Asking Questions: Survey Research • Survey – A research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or an interview • Questionnaire • Interview Sample – this class. Different sampling strategies. Purposive, random Asking Questions: Survey Research • Usually you cannot survey every single person, so you must choose a smaller group to represent the larger group • Target is a population • Study a sample • Sampling strategies vary and yield more or less representativeness. Random sampling is best. Field Research: Participant Observation • Participant observation, Ethnography – A research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in their routine activities • Exploratory and descriptive Fieldwork Using Available Data: Secondary Data Analysis • Sociologists make use of existing sources – Data collected by others (databases) – Written records (diaries, court records) – Visual texts (movies, tv) – Material culture (artifacts like art or common possessions) Most widely used data are gathered by government agencies Methods – Pro’s & Con’s Experiments Surveys Observation Existing Docs Advantages Causes & Effect possible Replicable Surveys yield large samples Interviews allow for indepth answers Allows for natural behavior Usually inexpensive Saves time and expense of data collection Can do historical work Disadvantages Artificial setting Difficult to eliminate variables Sometimes immoral for humans Low response rate Interviews can be timeconsuming Timeconsuming Replication diff. Researcher has to balance researcher and participant roles Limited by what is available Research Code of Ethics • Awareness that research can harm as well as help subjects and communities • American Sociological Association – Established formal guidelines for conducting research – Institutional Ethics Review Boards oversee all research that deals with human subjects Research Ethics • Protection of participants – Cleared of Physical and Psychological harm • • • • Protection of privacy – Confidentiality or anonymity Research is Voluntary – Informed Consent Reduce Deception – Debriefing (clueing the participants in after the research is over) Value neutrality, or objectivity, is a main goal of the scientific method. Correlation and Cause • Correlation – A relationship in which two (or more) variables change together • Cause and Effect – A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another • • • • • Scientists refer to the cause as – Independent Variable And the effect as – Dependent Variable – Understanding cause and effect is valuable • Allows researchers to predict how one pattern of behavior will produce another Test a specific hypothesis – A statement of how two or more variables are related – An educated guess about how variables are linked – usually an if-then statement Spurious or False Correlation – When two variables change together but neither one causes the other Examples of Spurious Correlations: Ice cream sales & Number of drownings Average salary & Price of liquor Shoe size & Reading ability for children Number of homicides & Number of churches **Tea drinking & Lung Cancer (negative correl.) – In each of these cases, there is a third variable that factors into the relationships between variables. – Ice cream & Drownings - Weather/Climate – Average salary & Price of liquor - Location – Shoe size & Reading ability for children - Age – Number of homicides & Number of churches – Population Density – **Tea drinking & Lung Cancer – Smoking To be sure of a real cause-and-effect relationship, we must show: 1. Variables are correlated 2. The independent (causal) variable occurs before the dependent variable 3. There is no evidence that a third variable has been overlooked, causing a spurious correlation