Social Research Methods

Question 1

Positivism was founded by who?

Answer 1

August Comte

Question 2

Critical sociology questions the following:

Answer 2

• The ability for any researcher to unbiased or value-neutral
• Characteristics of the researcher (age, gender, race etc) influence the questions he/she asks.
• and inflicted the answers the respondent will provide
• will also provide interpretation of the data

Example?: Men interviewing Female victims of domestic violence.

Question 3

Qualitative research

Answer 3

• insider approach
• focuses on experiences of the subject
• digs for deeper understanding that cannot be discovered though numbers
• characteristics that cannot be counted…..e.g “feelings”
• often used in preliminary research of new topics

Question 4

Qualitative research?

Answer 4

• Often relying on Ethnographies
• Case studies: Often used to to identify and describe best practices - e..g and than ask if they can be applied to other departments, agencies, institutions.
• Narratives

Question 5

What is Ethnography?

Answer 5

Spending an extended time in the population you are observing

• semi-structured interviews - face to face interviews
• Participant observation
• Informants: people as interpreters, intermediaries who can help you gain access to the population you want to study

Question 6

What is Case study?

Answer 6

-Often used to identify and describe best practices - e.g. and than ask if they can be applied to other departments, agencies, institutions.

Question 7

Narratives

Answer 7

• purist from of insider view
• draw on the stories of respondence
• voice: a particular viewpoint that may vary according to gender, race, ethnicity, age, geography, class,sexual orientation, and so forth.
• research subjects will often tell different stories about the same thing at different times to different people
• all data are interpreted data - interpreted by the research subject and by the researcher
• thus uninterpreted data - does not exist (even statistics are interpreted)

-Often thought of as the “point of view” (POV)

• Triangulation: three narratives, theoretical perspectives or researchers to examine the same phenomenon
• why would we use triangulation?

Question 8

Content Analysis

Answer 8

Cultural artifacts: advertisements, novels, children’s books, television shows, websites, film etc.

• created outside of the research study (as opposed to surveys or interviews)
• No interaction between the researcher and a subject
• Examples
  - Gender representation in Disney film
  - Masculinity in super bowl ads

Question 9

Discourse analysis

Answer 9

Similar to content analysis
Yet the “field” is often expanded
Genealogy: tracing discourse though history (historical archaeology of knowledge)

Question 10

What is Genealogy?

Answer 10

Tracing discourse through history (historical archaeology of knowledge)
Example: a study of masculinity would include texts other than just film.

Question 11

Quantitative research

Answer 11

Often involves questionerair, polls, census data, market data, -“statistics”

Data is considered “representative” of the larger population
- large data sets dev. By marketing corporations, statistics, Canada, often can be purchased.
-ex. Who would you vote for today?
Random sample of 1,500 Canadians - Answ. Used to predict how the majority of Canadians would vote
-but it doesn’t tell is the deeper meaning of the voting pattern.

Question 12

Variables and correlations

Answer 12

Variable: concept that measures characteristics that can change (vary) one person, group, culture or historically.

Variable Examples:
Independent variables - have and effect on another variable
Dependent variables - affected by and independent variable

Correlation: two variables are associated ( move up or down together more frequently than can be expected by chance (patterns)

Positive correlation: both variables move in same direction
Negative correlation: both variables move in opposite directions

Question 13

Causation

Answer 13

• Correlation does not equal causation: all we can say is that there is a statistical relationship between the two variables.
• Spurious reasoning: when we assume that the independent variable cause the effect of the dependent variable.

Example: after graduation (IV = education) your income (dependent variable) decreases. Spurious conclusion: higher education has the effect of decreasing income. What else might cause ones income to decease after graduation?

Need to look for a third (or fourth or fifth etc.) variable.
-what could the variable be?

Question 14

Misuse of statistics

Answer 14

From the book: Harris govnt. Stated that because of improvements to the economy as a result of his government policies (IV) there were fewer people on welfare (DV)
-3rd variable? Eligibitly req. for welfare changed

Reagan argued that welfare Fraud (IV) was causing massive expenditures in the welfare state (DV) and thus cuts to welfare had to be made.
3rd variable: - increased unemployment led to more people seeking welfare

Because of out govnt. Policies (IV) crime rates (DV) have decreased?
-what might be other explanations? -demographics

Question 15

What is Positivism?

Answer 15

The application of scientific research methods towards the social sciences.