Ch.3: Doing Sociological Research

Question 1

What is sociological research for?

Answer 1

It’s used to answer questions and test hypotheses.

Question 2

What are the ways sociologists use to do research?

Answer 2

Participant observation, survey research, use of official records or interviews, statistical analysis of existing qualitiative data

Question 3

What is participant observation?

Answer 3

A method where the sociologist becomes both a participant in the group and a scientific observer of the group

Question 4

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 4

When you draw general conclusions by studying specific observations

Question 5

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 5

When you create a specific research question about a focused point that is based on a more general theory

Question 6

What is quantitative research?

Answer 6

Research that uses numerical analysis

Question 7

What is qualitative research?

Answer 7

Research that does not rely heavily on statistics and is relatively unstructured

Question 8

What is a variable?

Answer 8

Something that can have more than one value or score

Question 9

What is an independent variable?

Answer 9

A variable that is the presumed cause of the outcome

Question 10

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 10

The variable that is a presumed effect

Question 11

What is a concept?

Answer 11

Any abstract characteristic or attribute that can potentially be measured

Question 12

What is validity?

Answer 12

The degree to which it accurately measures or reflects a concept

Question 13

What is reliability?

Answer 13

The likelihood that a particular measure would produce the same results if the measure was repeated

Question 14

What is primary data?

Answer 14

Original data gathered specifically for the project

Question 15

What is secondary data?

Answer 15

Data gathered from an earlier study or for another purpose

Question 16

What is data analysis?

Answer 16

The process by which sociologists organize collected data to discover what patterns and uniformities are revealed

Question 17

What is survey research?

Answer 17

Questionaires, interviews, telephone polls. Most commonly used for sociological research

Question 18

What is survey research good for?

Answer 18

Askings specific questions about a large number of topics and find patterns and relationships with that data

Question 19

What is a big weakness for survey research?

Answer 19

They are rigid; may not always accurately capture opinions

Question 20

What is participant observation good for?

Answer 20

The researcher gets both subjective knowledge and objective knowledge

Question 21

What is a big weakness of participant observation?

Answer 21

It’s time-consuming and the researcher may accidently become more of a participant rather than an observer

Question 22

What are controlled experiments useful for?

Answer 22

Determining cause/effect patterns

Question 23

What is a big weakness of controlled experiments?

Answer 23

They can be artificial

Question 24

What is content analysis?

Answer 24

Examining cultural artifacts of what people write, say, see, or hear

Question 25

What is content analysis good for?

Answer 25

Measuring cultural change and studying different aspects of culture

Question 26

What is a big weakness of content analysis?

Answer 26

Limited in what it can study; it's based on mass communication

Question 27

What is historical research?

Answer 27

Research where you examine sociological themes over time

Question 28

What is historical research good for?

Answer 28

It's great at capturing long-term social changes

Question 29

What is evalutation research?

Answer 29

Research that assesses the effect of policies and programs on society

Question 30

What are some ways researchers can make sure that an experiment is ethical?

Answer 30

By making sure it doesn't cause harm, having informed consent, ensuring anonymity, and following strict reporting guidelines

Question 31

What is the scientfic method?

Answer 31

A process in which one observes creates a hypothesis, analyzes data, and draws conclusions.

Question 32

Name all the steps of the scientific method.

Answer 32

Develop a research question, develop a research design, gather data, analyze data, draw conclusions/report results

Question 33

What is a replication study?

Answer 33

Research that is repeated exactly, but on a different group of people or in a different time or place

Question 34

What is a research design?

Answer 34

The overall logic and strategy underlying a research project.

Question 35

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 35

A prediction or a hunch that one intends to test

Question 36

What is an indicator?

Answer 36

Something that points to or reflects an abstract concept

Question 37

Describe the Hawthorne effect

Answer 37

The effect of the research process itself on the groups or individuals being studied

Question 38

What is serendipity?

Answer 38

Unanticipated, yet informative, results of a research study

Question 39

What is generalization?

Answer 39

The ability to draw conclusions from specific data and to apply them to a broader population.