Sociological Research PDF

Preview

Summary

Dana Cudney...

Description

SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH I. Why is Sociological Research necessary? (p. 30-32) Sociological research results in a body of knowledge that helps us move beyond guesswork and common sense in understanding society. 1. Five ways of knowing the world a. Personal experience- we discover for ourselves many of the things we know b. Tradition- people may hold a belief because “everyone knows” it to be true; tradition tells us that something is right because it has always been done that way c. Authority- experts tell us that something is true; much of what we know about medicine, crime, etc is based on what authorities have told us d. Religion- gives us truths based on our particular scriptures e. Science- the scientific way of knowing involves controlled, systematic observation - Scientific knowledge is empirical, systematic, public, objective, and has a built-in mechanism for self-correction 2. Descriptive & Explanatory Studies a. Descriptive Studies- describe social reality or provide facts about some group, practice or event - Designed to find out what is happening to whom, where and when b. Explanatory Studies- try to explain relationships and to provide information on why certain events do or do not occur 3. The Theory and Research Cycle The relationship between theory and research has been described as a continuous cycle encompassing both the deductive and inductive approaches. a. Deductive approach- the researcher begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory b. Inductive approach- the researcher collects data and then generates theories from the analysis of those data Sociologists typically move back and forth from theory to research throughout the course of their inquiry. II. The Sociological Research Process (p. 32- 35) Not all sociologists conduct research in the same way. Some research engage primarily in quantitative( data and numbers) research, whereas others engage in qualitative research (descriptive words) 1. The quantitative research model (the steps) : a. Select and define the research problem- personal experience, social policy concerns/ topics to fill gaps or challenge misconceptions b. Review previous research- review relevant books and scholarly articles to see what others have learned about the topic c. Formulate the hypothesis (if applicable)- make a statement of the relationship between two or more concepts - Convert concepts to variables and look at the relations between your variables d. Develop the research model- it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each research method e. Collect and analyze the data- must consider (1) reliability, the extent to which the research yields consistent results (2) validity, the extent to which the research accurately measures whatever needs to be measured f. Draw conclusions and report the findings- relate the data to the hypothesis; report each step taken so it can be available for replication . 2. The qualitative research model Likely to be used where the research question does not easily lend itself to numbers and statistical methods. These studies typically provide a detailed picture of some particular social phenomenon/problem.

The qualitative approach follows the conventional research approach in presenting a problem, asking a question, collecting and analyzing data, and seeking to answer the research question, but it also has several unique features: 1. The researcher begins with a general approach rather than a highly detailed plan. Flexibility is necessary because of the nature of the research question 2. The researcher decides when the literature review and theory application should take place. Initial work may involve redefining existing concepts or reconceptualizing how existing studies have been conducted. The literature review may take place at an early stage, before the research design is fully developed, or it may occur after development of the research design and after collection of the data 3. The study presents a detailed view of the topic. Qualitative research usually involves a smaller number of cases and many variables, whereas quantitative researchers typically work with a few variables and many cases III. Research Methods (p.35- 52) RESEARCH METHOD

STRENGTHS

WEAKNESSES

Experiments 1.Laboratory 2.Field 3.Natural

1.control over research 2.ability to isolate experimental factors 3.relatively little time and money required, replication is possible except for natural experiments

1.artificial by nature 2.frequent reliance on volunteers or captive audiences 3.ethical questions of deception; problem of reactivity

Survey Research 1.Self-administered questionnaire 2.Interview 3.Telephone Survey

1.useful in describing features of a large population without interviewing everyone 2.relatively large samples possible 3.multivariate analysis possible

1.potentially forced answers 2.respondent untruthfulness on emotional issues 3.data that are not always hard facts presented as such in stat. analysis

Secondary analysis of Existing Data 1.Existing Statistics 2.Content Analysis 3.Big data

1.data often readily available; inexpensive to collect 2.longitudinal and comparative studies possible, replication possible 3.lots of info available in digital form, enables linking diverse types of info

1.difficulty in determining accuracy of some of the data 2.failure of data gathered by others to meet goals of current research; questions of privacy when using diaries or personal documents 3.collected by gov. and corporations ,not always available to public

Field Research 1.Observation 2.Participant observation 3.Case study 4.Unstructured interviews

1.opportunity to gain insider’s view 2.useful for studying attitudes and behaviour in natural settings 3.documentation of important social problems of excluded groups possible 4.access to people’s ideas in their words;forum for excluded groups

1.problems i generalizing results to a larger population 2.data measurements not precise 3.inability to demonstrate cause-effect relationships 4.difficult to make comparisons because of lack of structure; not representative sample

IV. Ethical Issues in Sociological Research (p. 52-54) Researchers are required by a professional code of ethics to weigh the societal benefits or research against the potential physical and emotional costs of participants. Ethical principles include ensuring that research subjects provide informed consent; ensuring that subjects are not harmed; maintaining confidentiality unless the respondent waives this right; and ensuring that participation in research is voluntary....