Chapter 2

1. Chapter 2 Sociological Research Methods

2. Chapter Outline • Why is Sociological Research Necessary? • The Sociological Research Process • Research Methods • Ethical Issues in Sociological Research

3. Common Sense and Sociology: Suicide • Common sense may tell us that people who threaten suicide will not commit suicide. • Sociological research indicates that people who threaten to kill themselves may attempt suicide. • Common sense may tell us that suicide is caused by despair or depression. • Research suggests that suicide is sometimes used as a means of lashing out because of real or imagined wrongs.

4. Common Sense and Sociology: Suicide • Historically, the commonsense view of suicide was that it was a sin, a crime, and a mental illness. • Emile Durkheim related suicide to the issue of cohesiveness in society. • In Suicide, Durkheim documented his contention that a high suicide rate was symptomatic of large-scale societal problems. • His approach to research still influences researchers.

5. How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True or False? • In the United States, suicide occurs on the average of one every 18 minutes.

6. How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True • A suicide occurs on the average of every 18 minutes in the United States. • This differs with respect to the sex, race/ethnicity, and age of the individual. • Men are four times more likely to kill themselves than are women.

7. How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True or False? • More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.

8. How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True. • Suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults. • It is the third leading cause of death among young people between 15 and 24 years of age, following unintentional injuries and homicide.

9. Question • Within the past 12 months, how many people have you known personally that have committed suicide?

10. GSS National Data

11. Sociology and Scientific Evidence • Sociology involves debunking, unmasking false ideas or opinions. • Two approaches: • Normative • Empirical

13. The Normative Approach • The normative approach uses religion, customs, habits, traditions, and law to answer important questions. • It is based on beliefs about what is right and wrong and what “ought to be” in society.

14. The Empirical Approach • The empirical approach attempts to answer questions through systematic collection and analysis. • This is referred to as scientific method, and is based on the assumption that knowledge is gained by direct, systematic observation.

16. Sociology and Scientific Standards • Two basic scientific standards must be met: • Scientific beliefs should be supported by good evidence or information. • These beliefs should be open to public debate and critiques from other scholars, with alternative interpretations being considered.

17. Question • The scientific method is based on the assumption that knowledge is best gained by: • direct observation • systematic observation • the support of good evidence • the possibility for public debate • all of these choices

18. Answer: e • The scientific method is based on the assumption that knowledge is best gained by: direct observation, systematic observation, the support of good evidence and the possibility for public debate.

19. Types of Empirical Studies • Descriptive studies attempt to describe social reality or provide facts about some group, practice, or event. • Designed to find out what is happening to whom, where, and when. • Explanatory studiesattempt to explain cause and effect relationships and to provide information on why certain events do or do not occur.

20. Theory and Research Cycle • A theory is a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and (occasionally) predict social events. • Research is the process of systematically collecting information for the purpose of testing an existing theory or generating a new one. • The theory and research cycle consists of deductive and inductive approaches.

21. Deductive Approach • Researcher begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory: • Theories generate hypotheses. • Hypotheses lead to observations. • Observations lead to the formation of generalizations. • Generalizations are used to support the theory, to suggest modifications to it, or to refute it.

22. Inductive Approach Researcher collects information or data (facts or evidence) and then generates theories from the analysis of that data. • Specific observations suggest generalizations. • Generalizations produce a tentative theory. • The theory is tested through the formation of hypotheses. • Hypotheses may provide suggestions for additional observations.

24. Question • The _____ approach begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory. • inductive • deductive • quantitative • qualitative

25. Answer: b • The deductive approach begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory.

26. Theory and Research Cycle

27. Understanding Statistical Data Presentations • Sociologists use statistical tables to present a lot of information in a relatively small space. • To understand a table, follow these steps: • Read the title. • Check the source and explanatory notes. • Read the headings for each column and row. • Examine and compare the data. • Draw conclusions.

28. U.S. Suicides, Sex And Method

29. Quantitative and Qualitative Research • Quantitativeresearch focuses on data that can be measured numerically (comparing rates of suicide, for example). • Qualitativeresearch focuses on interpretive description rather than statistics to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.

31. Conventional Research Model • Select and define the research problem. • Review previous research. • Formulate the hypothesis. • Develop the research design. • Collect and analyze the data. • Draw conclusions and report the findings.

32. Question • With _____research, interpretive description (words) rather than statistics (numbers) is used to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships. • inductive • deductive • quantitative • qualitative

33. Answer: d • With qualitative research, interpretive description (words) rather than statistics (numbers) is used to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.

35. Definitions • Hypothesis - a statement of the relationship between two or more concepts. • The independent variableis presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable. • The dependent variable is assumed to depend on or be caused by the independent variable(s).

36. Definitions • In random sampling, every member of an entire populationbeing studied has the same chance of being selected. • In probability sampling, participants are deliberately chosen because they have specific characteristics, possibly including such factors as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment.

37. Definitions • Validityis the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. • Reliability is the extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results when applied to different individuals at one time or to the same individuals over time.

38. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Causal Relationship

39. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Inverse Causal Relationship

40. Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Multiple-cause Explanation\

41. Question • In a medical study, lung cancer could be the _____ variable, while smoking could be the ______ variable. • dependant, independent • independent, dependant • valid, reliable • reliable, valid

42. Answer: a • In a medical study, lung cancer could be the dependant variable, while smoking could be the independent variable.

43. Question • In the book Suicide, Emile Durkheim used the _____ as the independent variable to determine its influence on the dependent variable, the rate of suicide. • degree of social integration in society • proportion of mental illness in society • degree of the spread of hysteria in the late 19th century • degree of religious participation

44. Answer: a • In the book Suicide, Emile Durkheim used the degree of social integration in society as the independent variable to determine its influence on the dependent variable, the rate of suicide.

45. Qualitative Research Method • Researcher begins with a general approach rather than a highly detailed plan. • Researcher has to decide when the literature review and theory application should take place.

46. Qualitative Research Method • The study presents a detailed view of the topic. • Access to people or other resources that can provide necessary data is crucial. • Appropriate research method(s) are important for acquiring useful qualitative data.

47. Research Methods: Survey Research • Describes a population without interviewing each individual. • Standardized questions force respondents into categories. • Relies on self-reported information, and some people may not be truthful.

48. Research Methods: Analysis of Existing Data • Materials studied may include: • books, diaries, poems, and graffiti • movies, television shows, advertisements, greeting cards • music, art, and even garbage

49. Research Methods: Field Research • Study of social life in its natural setting. • Observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play. • Generates observations that are best described verbally rather than numerically.

50. Approaches to Field Research • Participant observation • Collecting observations while part of the activities of the group being studied. • Action Research • Ethnography • Detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people over a period of years.