Sociological Research Flashcards
Case Study:
In-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual.
Code Of Ethics:
A set of guidelines that the American Sociological Association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology.
Content Analysis:
Applying a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand.
Correlation:
When a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable, but does not necessarily indicate causation.
Dependent Variables:
A variable changed by other variables.
Empirical Evidence:
Evidence that comes from direct experience, scientifically gathered data, or experimentation.
Ethnography:
Observing a complete social setting and all that it entails.
Experiment:
The testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions.
Field Research:
Gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey.
Hawthorne Effect:
When study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher.
Independent Variables:
Variables that cause changes in dependent variables.
Interpretive Framework:
A sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing.
Interview:
A one-on-one conversation between the researcher and the subject.
Literature Review:
A scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research.
Meta-analysis:
A technique in which the results of virtually all previous studies on a specific subject are evaluated together.
Nonreactive Research:
Using secondary data, does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviors.
Operational Definitions:
Specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study.
Participant Observation:
When a researcher immerses herself in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an insider perspective.
Population:
A defined group serving as the subject of a study.
Primary Data:
Data that are collected directly from firsthand experience.
Qualitative Data:
Comprise information that is subjective and often based on what is seen in a natural setting.
Quantitative Data:
Represent research collected in numerical form that can be counted.
Random Sample:
A study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population.
Reliability:
A measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced.
Samples:
Small, manageable number of subjects that represent the population.
Scientific Method:
An established scholarly research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions.
Secondary Data Analysis:
Using data collected by others but applying new interpretations.
Surveys:
Collect data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire.
Validity:
The degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study.
Value Neutrality:
A practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment during the course of a study and in publishing results.
