chapter 2 Flashcards
case study
in depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual
code of ethics
a set of guidelines that the American sociological association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology
content analysis
applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from scholarly data as it relates to the study at hand
correlation
when a change in one variable coincides with the change in another variable but does not necessarily indicate causation
debunking
looking beyond the obvious to expose falseness by examining merit, logic, and evidence
dependent variables
a variable changed by other variables
empirical evidence
evidence that comes from direct observations, scientifically gathered data, or experimentation
ethnography
participating and observing thinking and behavior in a social setting
experiment
testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions
field research
gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey
hawthorne effect
when study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher
hypothesis
a testable educated guess about predicted outcomes between two or more variables
independent variables
variables that cause changes in dependent variables
interpretive framework
a sociological research approach that seeks in depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction (not hypothesis!!)
interview
a one on one conversation between the researcher and the subject
literature review
a scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research
non reactive research
using secondary data, does not include direct contact with research subjects and does not alter or influence people’s behavior
operational definitions
specific examples of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study
participant observation
when a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an “insider” perspective
population
a defined group serving as the subject of a study
primary data
data that are collected directly from firsthand experience
qualitative data
non numerical, descriptive data that is often subjective and based on what is experienced in a natural setting
quantitative data
data collected in numerical form that can be counted and analyzed using statistics
random sample
a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as representation of a larger population
random sample
a study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as representation of a larger population
reliability
a measure of a study’s consist that considers how likely a study’s results are to replicated if the study is reproduced
samples
small, manageable number of subjects that represent the population
scientific method
an established scholarly research that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing a data collection method, gathering data, and drawing conclusions
secondary data analysis
using data collected by others and applying new interpretations
surveys
collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about thinking, behaviors, and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire
validity
the degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study
value neutrality
a practice of remaining imparcial, without bias or judgement during the course of a study and in publishing results
tuskegee experiment
study in which african american men with syphillis went untreated to test how it would affect them
henrietta lacks
cells taken from ms lacks without her knowledge, used in research
milgram experiment
study meaning to test willingness of participants to obey authority, emotional distress faced by teachers in study
stanford prison experiment
prisionera and guards, participants instructed to act in specific and violent ways
laud humphreys
pretended to seek homosexual encounters while studying demographics
meta analysis
all previous study’s results compiled
institutional ethnography
an extension of basic ethnography that focuses on everyday, concrete relationships
max weber
personal values should not shape the design or interpretation
