Doing Sociology Flashcards
module 3
what is foundational for sociological research?
paradigms, theories and concepts
what is research methodology?
system used to gather data on a particular research question
what is the best way to do sociological research?
there is no best way, researchers combine several methods in their work
what is the social scientific method?
a series of steps leading to proof
what are the steps of the social scientific method?
O.Q.R.H.D.G.A.R/P
1. observation
2. indentify a research question
3. conduct background research
4. formulate a hypothesis
5. select a research design
6. gather data
7. analyze data
8. revise hypothesis or present results
what is an examples of what happens in step 1 of the social scientific method?
we notice that people in a coffee shop sit for a long time with their laptop
what is an examples of what happens in step 2 of the social scientific method?
we make the main question we are trying to answer.
Ex. what percentage of people use laptops at the coffee shop
or what is the main reason people use laptops at the coffee shop
What happens in step 3 of the social scientific method?
Research
-see if anyone has already investigated this situation
-their findings might help us refine our research question or our research might be the same
- if it is different we should try to explain it in terms of possible social concepts or theories
what is an examples of what happens in step 4 of the social scientific method?
Hypothesis
we come up with the prediction that we want to test (tentative answer to our research question)
Ex.25% of people at our coffee shop use laptops or length of time spend in the coffee shop is associated with the seriousness of their laptop activity
what is an examples of what happens in step 5 of the social scientific method?
Design research plan
how will we test our hypothesis?
Ex. we could sit in the coffee shop from 8-5 and count how many people use their laptops and for how long
or we could ask some of the people with laptops what they’re doing
what is an examples of what happens in step 6 of the social scientific method?
we carry out our research
what is an examples of what happens in step 7 of the social scientific method?
Analyze data
we summarize the results to see if they confirm the prediction we made with our hypothesis
Ex. Were we
-right
-close
-very wrong
what is an examples of what happens in step 8a of the social scientific method?
Revise
if results were wrong go back to step 4 and revise hypothesis, perform more research until we get results that align with what we predicted
what is an examples of what happens in step 8b of the social scientific method?
Present
one results confirm hypothesis, we write them up and share them with other sociologists who may find our research useful
who coined the term sociology?
French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857)
what was Comte’s sociology rooted in?
positivism
what is positivism?
the belief that the social sciences could be studied using the methods of natural sciences
what are the methods of natural sciences?
-experiment
-measurement
-systematic observation
what does positivism assume?
that researchers are objective
what did Comte view?
the OUTSIDER as the ‘expert’ who occupies privileged position over the INSIDER ‘subjects of study’
what did Karl Popper (1902 - 1994) argue?
that scientific findings are provisional until they are falsified - a post positivist move
what did critical sociologists challenge?
the objective outsider and stressed the unique role of the insider perspective
who are come critical sociologists?
-Dorothy Smith
-Michel Foucault
what does the Smith’s Standpoint theory state?
that the social location of sociologists impacts the questions they ask and the answers they receive
what is the insider voice?
the subject being studied provides information that comes from their subjective experience
what is the outsider?
an expert that uses their privilege to decide over the authenticity of the insider perspective, this is where vital information may get lost
what does qualitative research involve?
subjectivity on the part of both researcher and research participants
what are kinds of qualitative research?
-ethnography
-case studies
-narratives
-content analysis
-discourse analysis
what is ethnography?
seeks to uncover the symbols and categories members of the given culture use to interpret their world
what is participant observation?
observing people and actively participating in their activities to obtain an insiders perspective
what is a semi-structured interview?
informal, face to face interviews
what is informants?
insiders who help the researcher in becoming accepted by the community and assist with the interpretation of information and behavior
what is institutional ethnography?
developed by Dorothy Smith, recognizes that every institution has 2 sides each associated with different kind of data
what is ruling interest in Institutional Ethnography?
interests in an organizations admin and/or the interests of those who hold power in society
-written rules and practices (texts) provide the data
what is ruling relations?
activated when workers follow rules and practices
(Ex. they serve the needs of organizations)
where does experiential data in Institutional Ethnography come from?
informants: anyone who works for the organization, outside of management
what are case studies?
a research design that takes as its subject a single case or a few selected examples of a social entity
what are examples of social entities?
-communities
-families
-roles
-relationships
what is the case study approach often used to identify and describe?
best practices- strategies with a proven history of achieving desired results
what are narratives?
the stories people tell about themselves, their situations and others around them
what is voice?
the expression of a unique viewpoint from a particular social location
(influenced by gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class)
what can narratives do?
give voice to people who do not get to speak directly in research
what does content analysis involve?
studying a set of cultural artifacts or events and interpreting the themes they reflect
what are examples of cultural artifacts?
-newspaper articles
-billboards
-artwork
-children’s books
what 2 distinct properties do cultural artifacts have?
- they are not created specifically to be studied
- data are pre-existing and non-interactive
what are the 2 types of discourse analysis used by sociologists that focus on social power relationships?
- analyzing discourse as the term is commonly understood
- considers a broader definition of “text”, going beyond individual works to include larger fields of information over time
what is genealogy
a method of examining the history of the second type of discourse
-it seeks to trace the origins and histories of modern discourses
what does Michel Foucault’s genealogical work capture?
the dynamic nature of such discourses as mental illness, the penal system and sexuality
What is Edward Said’s orientalism?
the western fascination with or romanticization of “exotic” middle and far eastern cultures
Statistics
a science that, in sociology involves the use of numbers to map social behavior and beliefs
operational definitions
transform abstract or theoretical concepts like “poverty”, “middle class” or “single parent” into concreate, observable measurable entities
variable
a concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can vary or change from one person, group, culture or time to another
absolute poverty
anything below the min income level needed to secure basic necessities
relative poverty
defines poverty relative to median or mean household incomes
what are some data generation methods?
-poll
-closed ended questionnaires
-open ended questionnaires
poll
a quantitative survey designed to measure respondents views on a particular topic or set of topics
what is a closed ended questionnaire?
used to capture respondents answers to a set of questions with set answer options
what is a open ended questionnaire?
used to capture respondeds answers to each question without having to select a predetermined response from a list (response cannot be yes or no)
what are questionnaires administered to?
a sample from a larger population
populations
total set of subjects of interest in a study
sample
a subset of a population
probability sample
a sample which is deliberately selected by the researcher using a random process in which each unit has an equal chance of being selected from a population
-randomly selecting the sample
-helps generalize results from sample to population
-sample needs to be representative
non-probability sampling/ convenience sample
a voluntary response sample consists of people who choose themselves by responding to a general appeal
Ex. online survey
independent variable
has an effect on another variable (the cause)
dependent variable
is affected by the independent variable (the effect)
correlation
exists when 2 variables are associated more frequently than could be expected by chance
what are the 2 forms a correlation relationship can take?
- direct (or positive) correlation
- inverse (or negative) correlation
what is a direct correlation?
occurs when the independent and dependent variables increase or decrease together
what is an inverse correlation?
occurs when the 2 variables change in opposing directions
measure of central tendency
is a way of taking all the data you have gathered on a particular subject and finding the most representative result
median
represents the number, score or result that separates the higher half from the lower half of a given data set
-middle number
mean
-the average
-can be found by adding up all the scores and dividing the total by the number of scores you have
