Chapter 1 - Prof. Alba, Basics of Social Research Textbook PDF

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Prof. Alba, Basics of Social Research Textbook ...

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Class Notes CHYS2000 - INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS Chapter 1: Doing Social Research Question  Fidget Spinner Good or Bad thing? Social Research  Majority of people do not possess the skills necessary to critically evaluate research  Explain why/how knowledge of social research methods is a useful skill in everyday life? Why Do Social Research? Researchers… • Conduct social research to learn something new about the social world • Combines theories or ideas with facts in a careful, systematic way. • Selects the appropriate technique to address a specific of question • Must clearly communicate the results to other Why do Social Research?  Social Research: A process in which a researcher combines a set of principles, outlooks, and ideas with a collection of specific practices, techniques, and strategies to produce knowledge. Why Do Social Research cont’d • Better consumer of research results (e.g., fidget spinner ads) • Understand how the research enterprise works • Be aware of what research can and cannot do and why properly conducted research is important Alternatives to Social Research  Most of what you know about the social world is not based on doing social research.  Question: How have you gained most of your knowledge? Alternatives to Social Research  Authority  Tradition  Common sense  Media Myths  Personal experience Authority  You have acquired knowledge from parents, teachers, and experts (e.g., books, television, and other media)  Accepting something as true because someone in the position of authority says it is true  Quick, simple, and cheap way to learn something  Pitfalls of relying on experts?  Easy to overestimate the expertise of other people  Authorities may not agree Tradition  Tradition is a special case of authority—the authority of the past  “It’s the way things have always been.”  “That’s the way men (or women) are.” 1

Common Sense  You know a lot about the social world from your everyday reasoning or common sense.  You rely on what everyone knows and what “just makes sense  For example, positive self-statements are widely believed to boost mood and self-esteem Positive Self-Statements Power for Some, Peril for Others by Wood et al. (2009) study Media Myths  The media tend to perpetuate the myths of a culture  People mistaken information sites for facts, when it is often just an opinion  E.g., people who are mentally ill are violent and dangerous (only a small percentage actually are) Personal Experience  “Seeing is believing.” The four errors of personal experience— 1. Overgeneralization, 2. Selective observation, 3. Premature closure 4. Halo effect Overgeneralization  An error that people often make when using personal experience as an alternative to science for acquiring knowledge.  The problem is that many people generalize far beyond limited evidence. Selective Observation  Occurs when you take special notice of some people or events and tend to seek out evidence that confirms what you already believe and to ignore contradictory information  Focus on cases or situations that fit his/her preconceived ideas  People tend to distort memories to make them more consistent with what they already think Premature Closure  Operates with and reinforces overgeneralization and selective observation  Premature closure occurs when you feel you have the answer and do not need to listen, seek information, or raise questions any longer (being lazy). Halo Effect  Occurs when we overgeneralize from what we accept as being highly positive or prestigious and let its favourable impression or prestige “rub off” onto other areas  E.g., attractive people are perceived as being more intelligent Social Research  Social research involves thinking scientifically about questions about the social world and following scientific processes.  The social sciences— such as anthropology, psychology, political science, and sociology—involve the study of people and their beliefs, behaviour, interaction, institutions, and so forth.  Natural Sciences vs. Social Sciences How Science Works  Scientists gather data and use data to support or reject their theories 2

 Data: empirical evidence or information that one gathers carefully according to rules or procedures.  Data can be quantitative (i.e., expressed as numbers) or qualitative (i.e., expressed as words, visual images, sounds or objects) Scientific Method  The process of creating new knowledge using the ideas, techniques, and rules of the scientific community  It is not a single thing: it refers to the ideas, rules, techniques, and approaches that the scientific community uses Figure 1.1 Steps in Research Process Academic vs. Applied Research  Academic social research: Research designed to advance fundamental knowledge about the social world.  Applied social research: Research that attempts to solve a concrete problem or address a specific policy question and that has a direct, practical application. Exploratory Research  Exploratory research: Research into an area that has not been studied and in which a researcher wants to develop initial ideas and a more focused research question.  E.g., Sexual Minority Refugees in Canada  Need to conduct an exploratory study to form enough to design and execute a second more systematic and extensive study  It may be the first stage in a sequence of studies Descriptive Research  Descriptive research: Research in which one “paints a picture” with words or numbers, presents a profile, outlines stages, or classifies types.  Descriptive research presents a picture of the specific details of a situation, social setting, or relationship.  Example: Undergraduate Students Who are Parents Time Dimension in Research  Cross-research  Longitudinal research  Case Study Cross-Sectional Research  Most social research studies are cross-sectional  One-time snapshot approach  Simplest and least costly alternative Disadvantage  It cannot capture social processes or change  Longitudinal research  Used when the same individuals or other units are studied twice or more over a substantial period of time 3

 It is usually more complex and costly than cross-sectional research  More powerful and informative  Let us now look at the three main types of longitudinal research: time series, panel, and cohort. Time Series  Study A time-series study gathers the same type of information across two or more periods.  Track change over time  E.g., average time it took for people in 1992 to get from their residence to their place of work was 54 minutes. By 2005, risen to 63 minutes = additional 12 full days of commuting per year Panel Study  Researcher observes the same people, group, or organization across multiple time points. More difficult to conduct than time-series research and is very costly—tracking people over time is often difficult because some people die or cannot be located.  Rich data Cohort  A type of longitudinal research in which a researcher focuses on a category of people who share a similar life experience in a specified period.  Commonly used cohorts include all people born in the same year (called birth cohorts), all people hired at the same time, and all people who graduate in a given year.  Baby Boomers vs. Millennials Case Study  Research, usually qualitative, on one or a small number of cases in which a researcher carefully examines a large number of details about each case (e.g., Phineas Gage).

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