Chapter 4- Textbook Flashcards
What is research?
A systematic approach to gathering data using an agreed upon set of methods.
What does the kind of research questions you ask depend on?
The theoretical perspective from which you are working.
What is a researchers working from a functionalist perspective interested in?
The smooth functioning of society
What is a researcher working from a conflict theorist perspective concerned with?
Concerned with the struggle over scarce resources by different groups in society and how elites control the less powerful
What types of theory are both functionalists and conflict theorists considered? What types of questions do they ask?
macrosociological and therefore ask “large” questions
What type of perspective is microsociological? What kinds of questions do researchers working from this approach ask?
Symbolic interactionists and are interested in face-to-face encounters and the meaning that people use to facilitate social life.
What are feminist researchers generally interested in?
Examining issues pertaining to gender and inequality
What are queer theorist researchers interest in?
Troubling–that is, problematizing–taken-for-granted concepts such as the term normal. They seek to expose these concepts as socially constructing and regulatory.
What will the method you use depend on?
The research questions you ask.
What are the two main approaches to social research?
Quantitative (numerical data) and qualitative (non-numerical data)
What does conducting and analyzing research quantitatively involve?
Converting aspects of social life into numbers and determining whether a significant relationship exists between sets of numbers.
What does conducting and analyzing research qualitatively involve?
The focus is on rich detail. More in depth.
Does qualitative research use large or small samples?
small
What are the research instruments with qualitative research?
The researchers themselves
What are the main techniques of data collection with qualitative research?
interviewing and observation
Which is more expensive to carry out, quantitative or qualitative research?
qualitative
What are the two systems of reasoning?
Inductive logic and deductive logic
What is inductive logic?
A system of reasoning that moves from data to the formation of a theory
What is deductive logic?
A system of reasoning that moves from theory to the formulation of hypotheses for testing.
What system of reasoning do researches working from a qualitative approach often use?
inductive
What system of reasoning do researchers working from a quantitative approach often use?
deductive
What are the 9 steps of the research process?
1) Begin with an areas of interest
2) Conduct a search of the scholarly research
3) Develop a specific research question
4) Choose your research method
5) Decide where, when, and with whom you will get your information
6) Submit an ethical review application
7) Collect your data
8) Analyze your data
9) Write up your research and share it with others
What is a hypothesis?
A tentative statement about a particular relationship (between objects, people, or groups of people) that can be tested empirically.
What do you have when you begin a quantitative study?
A theory that you want to test. You would use a hypothesis to investigate the theory.
What are variables?
Characteristics of objects, people, or groups of people that can be measured. Used in quantitate studies.
What are independent variables?
Can be varied or manipulated by researchers?
What are dependent variables?
The reaction (if one occurs) of the participants to this manipulation (of the independent variable).
What is a operational definition?
Description something that allows it to be measured.
What is validity?
The accuracy of a given measurement. If a measurement is valid, it means that it is accurately measuring the concept.
What is reliability?
The consistency of a given result. Are your results reliable? Do you consistently get the same results. Researchers want to be confident that their results are consistent over time.
How are reliability and validity interconnected?
Researchers must have a reliable measurement before they can be confident that they have a valid measurement.
Can a measurement be reliable but not valid?
A measurement can be reliable (yield consistent results) yet not be valid (not accurately measure the concept).
What is a correlation?
A measure of how strongly tow variables are related to each other.
What is causality?
Relationship in which one variable causes a change in another variable.
What is spurious correlation?
A false correlation between tow or more variables, even though it appears to be true.
What is a research population?
A groups of people that a researchers wishes to learn something about.