soci 301 quiz1+2 Flashcards
Versethen
understanding action from the subject’s POV, empathetic research
Qualitative
non-numerical explanations/representations of observations to understand underlying meanings
Causal relationship
Cause and effect (not a proof)
Reflexivity
analyzing and critically considering our own role in, and effect on, our research
Macro-structural focus
Social structures and institutions (educational systems, economy)
Micro-interactionalist focus
Small groups, individuals
Scientific Method
Ask a Question
Do Background Research
Construct a Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
Communicate Your Results
Independent Variables
Variables that are presumed to cause/determine/influence a dependent variable (taken as “given”)
Dependent Variables
The variable of interest, presumed to depend on or be caused by the independent variable
Survey
A large-scale sample of populations (can be qualitative or quantitative)
Interviews
Qualitative research method in which the researcher can go in-depth about the topic of interest
Ethnography
Focused research on small groups of individuals; detailed, qualitative observations (in-depth interviews, participant observation)
How does scientific paradigm shift?
Normal science
Model Drift (disagreement, discourse)
Model Crisis (contest to what’s normative)
Model Revolution (clash, new ideas, theory, models)
Paradigm Change
Functionalism
separate parts that contribute to the whole, if one part doesn’t work, the rest doesn’t
Conflict theory
inequality is used as a mechanism of oppressive social control; in ameliorating these qualities, they will cease to exist
Symbolic interactionism
a micro-level theory in which shared meanings, orientations, and assumptions form the basic motivations behind people’s actions; subjective meanings are assigned to the topics/subjects that are being studied
critical race theory
the study of the relationship among race, racism, and power; institutional racism is a fundamental attribute of American society
queer theory
a body of research that challenges the heterosexual bias in U.S. society
Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Research study conducted by a branch of the U.S. government, lasting for roughly 50 years (ending in the 1970s), in which a sample of African American men diagnosed with syphilis were deliberately left untreated, without their knowledge, to learn about the lifetime course of the disease.
Milgram Obedience Studies
Done in 1960s. Subjects administered shocks of increasing voltage for wrong answers. Milgram predicted that most people would stop giving shocks once the “learner” started feeling pain. Predictions were wrong and 65% of the subjects delivered full course of shocks.
Tearoom Trade Study
1970 The study is an analysis of homosexual acts taking place in public toilets. Humphreys asserted that the men participating in such activity came from diverse social backgrounds, had differing personal motives for seeking homosexual contact in such venues, and variously self-perceived as “straight,” “bisexual,” or “gay.” Because the researcher misrepresented his identity and intent and because the privacy of the subjects was infringed during the study, Tearoom Trade has caused a major debate on privacy for research participants and is now often used as an example of highly controversial social research.
Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment
Done at Stanford; assigned a group of students to play either the role of prison guard or prisoner; prisoners were locked up in the basement of the psychology building, and the guards were put in charge of their treatment - students took their assigned roles perhaps too well, and the experiment had to be ended early because of the cruel treatment the guards were inflicting on the prisoners
Project MKUltra
Series of experiments illegally conducted by the CIA on American citizens involving drugs, psychological torture, and attempts at mind control.
Nuremberg Code
ethical code of conduct for research that uses human subjects
Nation Research Acts of 1974
a research ethics code emphasizing respect, beneficence, and justice for participants
Instituional Review Board (IRB)
group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. Has the authority to approve, require modifications in, or disapprove research. This group review serves an important role in the protection of the rights and welfare of human research subjects.
Correlation
Empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other.
spurious relationship
another variable can explain the relationship (EX: ice cream sales and murder rates)
conceptualization
Specify meanings of concepts and variables
operationalization
how we measure the variable
trend study
a study in which a given characteristic of some population is monitored over time; examining trends (EX: census)
cohort study
subpopulation is studied over time
panel study
data collected from the same set of people at several points in time (EX: couples adjusting to married life)
Validity
The extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the concept of interest
Face validity
The quality of an indicator that makes it seem to be a reasonable measure of a variable (common sense)
Content validity
the degree to which a measure covers the range of meanings included within a concept
Reliability
the same data would be collected each time in the repeated measurement/observation of the same phenomenon
interviewer effects
aspects of the interviewer’s presence that distort participants’ true responses
Measurement
Careful, deliberate questions used to collect empirical data
Nominal
scale is used to name the categories within the variables you use in your research, only signify membership in a category, “categorical”
Ordinal
attributes we can logically rank in order, numerical values specify the order, compare as “less than” and “greater than”, the difference between each value is unequal, often unknown
Interval
a numeric scale that allows for ordering of variables and provides a precise, quantifiable understanding of the differences between them (the intervals between them)
Ratio
measures proportions: the quantitative relation between two amounts showing the number of times one value contains or is contained within the other.
scales
a type of composite measure that is composed of several items that have a logical or empirical structure among them.
index
summarize responses for multiple rank-ordered questions or statements
Summing up other, simpler measurements
binary scale
a nominal scale consisting of binary items that assume one of two possible values
Likert Scale
a numerical scale used to assess attitudes; includes a set of possible answers with labeled anchors on each extreme
Guttman scale
a series of items arranging in increasing order of intensity of the construct of interest (from least intense to most intense)
Semantic Differential scale
a composite scale where respondents are asked to indicate their opinions or feelings toward a single statement using different pairs of adjectives framed as polar opposites
Paradigms
models of frameworks for observing and understanding social reality.
a) shape the kinds of observations we are likely to make
b) shape conclusions we draw from facts
c) determine facts we will discover
d) determine whether we look at micro/macro concerns
Hypothesis
A testable prediction, often implied by a theory.
Methodology
The science of finding out.
Idiographic research
(near) complete set of factors that explain particulars of a small set of causes.
Nomothetic research
Describes a narrow set of factors, generalization
Empirical research
A way of gaining knowledge by means of direct observation or experience
Quantitative
Numerical representations of observations to describe and explain
Variable
A factor that can change in an experiment (race, gender, class)
Attribute
a specific characteristic of a variable (male/female/NB, younger/older)
Qualities of ethical research
informed consent, confidentiality, debriefing, deception, voluntary participation, no harm should be done, all results must be reported
Knowledge
Agreement reality, Epistemology, Methodology
Epistemology
The science of knowledge/knowing
Agreement Reality
acceptance of things not experienced personally
Belief
Something we accept as true
Value
Lasting beliefs regarding what is good/bad
Theory
A systemic explanation of observations
Goal of Social Research
a) Explore a topic
b) Describe the state of social affairs
c) Explain social phenomena using causal relationships
