Appendix B Flashcards
empirical inquiry
looking to the world for evidence with which it can test its claims
research questions
queries about the world that can be answered empirically
data
systematically collected sets of empirical observations
sociological theory
empirically based explanations and predictions about relationships between social facts
sociological research methods
scientific strategies for collecting empirical data about social facts
negative correlation
as one variable changes, the other changes in the other direction
correlation
observed relationships between variables
causation
when a change in one variable produces a change in the other
spurious
caused by a third variable
generalizable
attributable to the whole population from which the sample was drawn
academic literature
the empirical and theoretical writing that scholars have previously produced
positive correlation
as one variable changes, the other changes in the same direction
peer review
research articles are sent to academic journals whose editors solicit feedback from other researchers with related expertise
informed consent
ensuring that the participants understand what their participation entails
confidentiality
keeping their participation and contributions private
vulnerable populations
groups that are at a relatively high risk of being harmed if they are included as research subjects
Children or undocumented immigrants
institutional review board
panels of professionals that evaluate research proposals to ensure that they comply with all the moral principles outlined in codes of ethic
research ethics
a set of moral principles that guide empirical inquiry
content analysis
Documents that social construct are not just in our head
Cannot be used to infer what content creators intended or what audiences take away
field experiments
Enables researchers to make causal claims about everyday life
Can’t reveal the processes by which one variable causes another
ethnography
allows in-person looks at how social life works
Findings only shed light on the field sites under study
in-depth interview
Good at understanding how people experience and think about their lives
Assumes people’s interpretations are reliable
surveys
Collects data that is generalizable, attributable to the whole population
Cannot be used to infer why variables correlate with one another
Not good at answering why
10 steps of sociological research
Choose a topic or theory to investigate
Conduct a review of the existing academic literature
Write a research question
Design a methodology
Operationalize the variables
Ensure that the research design is ethical
Collect the data
Evaluate data for quality
Analyze the data
Write a report for publication
