ch 2 Flashcards
a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results
value neutrality
the degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study
validity
collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire
surveys
using data collected by others but applying new interpretations
secondary data analysis
an established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions
scientific method
small, manageable number of subjects that represent the population
samples
a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced
reliability
a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population
random sample
represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted
quantitative data
comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting
qualitative data
data that are collected directly from firsthand experience
primary data
a defined group serving as the subject of a study
population
when a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an “insider” perspective
participant observation
specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study
operational definitions
using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors
nonreactive research
a technique in which the results of virtually all previous studies on a specific subject are evaluated together
meta-analysis
a scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research
literature review
a one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject
interview
a sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing
interpretive framework
variables that cause changes in dependent variables
independent variables
a testable educated guess about predicted outcomes between two or more variables
hypothesis
when study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher
Hawthorne effect
gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey
field research
the testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions
experiment
