Essentials of Sociology Fourth Edition Chapter One - PowerPoint

							Chapter 2


  Studying Social Life:
    Sociological
  Research Methods
             Overview
 Social   Research
  • Qualitative and Quantitative
  • The research model
 Research    Methods
  • Video: Sociological Thinking and
    Research
 Issues   in Sociological Research
                               2
          Research Methods
   Qualitative Methods
    • Micro-level
    • Looks at qualities in data
      • Identifying, defining, describing
      • Express in narratives
   Quantitative Methods
    • Macro-level
    • Looks at quantities in data
      • Measuring, counting, weighing
      • Express in numbers
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Doing Sociological Research
The social science model
  (1) Identify a problem or ask a question
  (2) Review the literature
  (3) Formulate a hypothesis
  (4) Choose method(s)
  (5) Collect data
  (6) Interpret results
  (7) Disseminate findings

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    Qualitative Methods



Ethnographic Methods
 Interviews


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    ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS
   Participant Observation
    • “Field work”
   Naturally-occurring social environments
    • Everyday life
    • Face-to-face interaction
   Access and rapport
    • Get “member’s eye” view
   “Field notes” as data to be analyzed

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                                  Mitchell Duneier

Richard Mitchell


                   Kathryn Edin




                                           8
                   INTERVIEWS
   Face-to-face with
                                       Administering the
    respondents
                                        questionnaire
    • Formal or informal
                                        • Subjects speak in
   Challenge to write                    their own words
    good questions                      • Limited number of
    • Closed-ended                        respondents per
       • “Are you for or against
                                          study
         couples living together
         before they are               Transcription and
         married?”
    • Open-ended
                                        analysis
       • “What do you think about
         couples living together
         before they are
         married?”
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    Quantitative Research
          Methods


 Existing Sources
 Surveys

 Experiments
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          EXISTING SOURCES
   Data originally collected for another
    purpose
    • Media, documents, records, art, other
      research
   Unobtrusive measures (“Social
    archaeology”)
     • Examines use of physical environment
 Content Analysis
 Comparative Historical Analysis
                                     12
                          SURVEYS
   Varieties:
    • Census, polls, market       Selecting a research
      research                     population
   Planning a study               • Target group of study
    • Types of questions and
      answers                     Taking a sample
        • Likert scales            • Random sample represents
    • Problematic questions          the population
                                  Response rates
                                  Statistical analysis




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        Video Presentation:
“Sociological Thinking and Research”




                                         18
        The renovation of Times Square
           EXPERIMENTS
 Examines the relationship between
  variables
 Conducted under controlled
  conditions
 Human subjects are randomly divided
    • The experimental group is exposed to
      the independent variable
    • The control group is not


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Issues in Sociological Research
   Basic – vs. – Applied Research
    • BASIC
       • Study without any agenda
    • APPLIED
       • To be applied toward social change
   Non-academic uses
    • Unscientific polls
       • Examples
    • Marketing research
       • Commercial ethnography
          – “Cool Hunters”                    22
     Issues in Sociological Research
   Max Weber: research should be value
    free
    • No personal beliefs or biases to interfere
    • Objectivity
       • To let facts speak for themselves
    • Is it possible to achieve this ideal?
   Reactivity
    • People respond to being studied
       • The “Hawthorne Effect”
          – Study of worker productivity
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    Issues in Sociological Research

   Ethical Considerations
    • Historical abuses
       • The Nuremberg Code
    • Codes of Ethics
       • Informed consent of participants in research
       • Confidentiality
    • Institutional Review Boards (IRB)
       • Deception
       • No harm to research participants
       • Respect for privacy, dignity, and safety


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 In-Class Exercise




   Word Sort:
Theory and Method
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