Ch.3: Doing Sociological Research Flashcards
What is sociological research for?
It’s used to answer questions and test hypotheses.
What are the ways sociologists use to do research?
Participant observation, survey research, use of official records or interviews, statistical analysis of existing qualitiative data
What is participant observation?
A method where the sociologist becomes both a participant in the group and a scientific observer of the group
What is inductive reasoning?
When you draw general conclusions by studying specific observations
What is deductive reasoning?
When you create a specific research question about a focused point that is based on a more general theory
What is quantitative research?
Research that uses numerical analysis
What is qualitative research?
Research that does not rely heavily on statistics and is relatively unstructured
What is a variable?
Something that can have more than one value or score
What is an independent variable?
A variable that is the presumed cause of the outcome
What is a dependent variable?
The variable that is a presumed effect
What is a concept?
Any abstract characteristic or attribute that can potentially be measured
What is validity?
The degree to which it accurately measures or reflects a concept
What is reliability?
The likelihood that a particular measure would produce the same results if the measure was repeated
What is primary data?
Original data gathered specifically for the project
What is secondary data?
Data gathered from an earlier study or for another purpose
What is data analysis?
The process by which sociologists organize collected data to discover what patterns and uniformities are revealed
What is survey research?
Questionaires, interviews, telephone polls. Most commonly used for sociological research
What is survey research good for?
Askings specific questions about a large number of topics and find patterns and relationships with that data
What is a big weakness for survey research?
They are rigid; may not always accurately capture opinions
What is participant observation good for?
The researcher gets both subjective knowledge and objective knowledge
What is a big weakness of participant observation?
It’s time-consuming and the researcher may accidently become more of a participant rather than an observer
What are controlled experiments useful for?
Determining cause/effect patterns
What is a big weakness of controlled experiments?
They can be artificial
What is content analysis?
Examining cultural artifacts of what people write, say, see, or hear
What is content analysis good for?
Measuring cultural change and studying different aspects of culture
What is a big weakness of content analysis?
Limited in what it can study; it’s based on mass communication
What is historical research?
Research where you examine sociological themes over time
What is historical research good for?
It’s great at capturing long-term social changes
What is evalutation research?
Research that assesses the effect of policies and programs on society
What are some ways researchers can make sure that an experiment is ethical?
By making sure it doesn’t cause harm, having informed consent, ensuring anonymity, and following strict reporting guidelines
What is the scientfic method?
A process in which one observes creates a hypothesis, analyzes data, and draws conclusions.
Name all the steps of the scientific method.
Develop a research question, develop a research design, gather data, analyze data, draw conclusions/report results
What is a replication study?
Research that is repeated exactly, but on a different group of people or in a different time or place
What is a research design?
The overall logic and strategy underlying a research project.
What is a hypothesis?
A prediction or a hunch that one intends to test
What is an indicator?
Something that points to or reflects an abstract concept
Describe the Hawthorne effect
The effect of the research process itself on the groups or individuals being studied
What is serendipity?
Unanticipated, yet informative, results of a research study
What is generalization?
The ability to draw conclusions from specific data and to apply them to a broader population.
