Lecture 1 Flashcards
What do sociologists do?
sociologists seek to contribute and enhance knowlege about the social world
Research Methods
a systematic process of inquiry applied to learning about the social world
- the goal is “to construct a defensible version of reality”
Twin Pillars of Science
Logic and observation
What must scientists do?
gather information about facts that is organized and intentional usually follows a set of predetermined steps
- use scientific assertions: must make sense and be supported by empirical information
What is the research process?
- specify the research question
- review scientific literature
- propose a theory and state a hypothesis
- select a research design
- collect data
- analyze the data and draw conclusions
- disseminate results
Quantitative methods
results in data can be represented and condensed into numbers
- aggregate, compare and summerize data
- survey research focus = most quantitative method
Qualitative method
ways of collecting data that yields results such as words, or text
- gain in depth understanding of a relatively small number of cases
- potential for greater richness in meaning than qualified data
- complementary with quanititative
What is basic “pure” research?
sometimes researchers are motivated to conduct research simply because they happen to be curious about a topic
What is applied research?
refers to sociology that is conducted for some purpose beyond or in addition to a researchers interests in a topic
- find solutions to problems or discover ways of living more effectively
- might involve research for a client
What is evaluation research?
often used to test the effectiveness of a social policy or a program
Goal of sociological research
aims to find patterns of regularity in social life
Selective Observation
noticing only social patterns that one has experienced directly pr wishes to find
- issue: confirmation bias(seek to recall information that supports your existing views)
Overgeneralization
assuming that broad social patterns exist based on very limited observation or purely off of “vibes”
Variable
a characteristic or measure of a social phenomenon that can take different values
Independent Variable
is one that causes another
Dependent Variable
one that is caused by another
- dependent variables “depend” on independent variables
What is a relational statement
connect 2 or more variables
Probabilistic Relationship
two variables go together with some degree or level of regularity
- as the level of one variable also tends to increase
Causal
future circumstances are rooted in or conditioned by present ones
The Scientific Method
establishes parameters that help ensure that the findings are objective and accurate
- provides boundaries that focus a study and organise it results
- offers sociologists a shared basis for discussion and analysis
Hypothesis
an assumption about how two or more variables are related: it makes a statement about their relationship
- it is an educated guess in the form of a testable proposition
- researchers rarely state that they have proven their hypothesis rather they say if it is “supported” or not
Null Hypothesis
one that predicts no relationship between variables being studies
- to “reject the null hypothesis” the researcher claims that the variables being studies are related
