Chapter 2: The Sociological Research Process (& Scientific Method)

1. Chapter 2: The Sociological Research Process (& Scientific Method)

2. Why Research Sociology? • Common sense versus research • Often mutually exclusive…consider suicides • Common sense • “People who threaten suicide, don’t commit suicide” • In most cases the opposite is true • Research • Emile Durkheim, perhaps the first to use the scientific method in sociological studies • Suicide and issues of cohesiveness • High suicide rate associated with large scale societal problems (dysfunction: Functionalist approach)

3. Scientific Evidence • In Sociology, used to debunk fallacies and interpretations in society. • (Unmasking or correcting mistaken ideas) • Must first acknowledge values and beliefs • Normative and Empirical • Normative: uses religion, habits, law, etc. to answer questions about beliefs • Empirical: uses systematic collection and analysis of data to derive answers • Descriptive • (Facts about whom, where, and when) • Explanatory • (Facts about cause and effect)

4. Theory and Research • Describe, predict, collect • Deductive approach • Theory Hypothesis Observation Generalization • Inductive approach • Observation Generalization Theory Hypothesis

5. Quantitative and Qualitative Research Quantitative Qualitative • Scientific Objectivity • Comparing data to variables • Numbers rather than words • “Quant-” is like quantity • Example: the temperature outside is 37°C • Interpretive Description • Subject to opinion, or misunderstanding • Words rather than numbers • Qualitative is opinion • Example: it is hot outside

6. Hypothesis and Variables • A hypothesis is a statement of the relationship between two (or more) concepts • Concepts are abstract elements like “loneliness” or “social integration” • A variable is any concept with measurable traits or characteristics (and are subject to change from situation to situation) • They are the observable (or measurable) counterparts of concepts • Example: “Suicide” is a concept, the “rate of suicide” is a variable • Two types of variables, independent and dependent

7. Independent and Dependent Variables Independent Dependent • Is presumed to “cause” the dependent variable • Age, sex, or affiliation are often used as independent variables • Cause • “Depends” on the independent variable • In suicide, the rate of suicide depended upon social integration • Effect (of change in independent variable) • Operational Definition: explanation of an abstract concept • Example: You receive an “A,” but what exactly does an “A” mean, put it into perspective, or operationalize it

8. Durkheim’s analysis of about 26,000 suicides, classified from age to method of suicide, revealed that there were four distinct categories of suicide • Egoistic, Altruistic, Anomic, and Fatalistic • Egoistic:Isolation from social group, i.e. loneliness • Altruistic: Excessive integration, i.e. loss of cause and of self, and thus loss of will to live • Anomic: Lack of shared values, i.e. rapid social change • Fatalistic: Excessive regulation, oppression i.e. suicide of slaves, prisoners • Validity and Reliability • Validity: extent to which study measures what was supposed to be measured • Reliability: consistent results among subjects Durkheim concluded that the degree of social integration contributed to suicide rates, low integration resulted in higher rates. This is an Inverse-causal relationship. (or indirect variable) Causal would be high integration and high rates. (or direct variable) Whereas Multi-causal would analyze more than one factor in establishing variables. Durkheim’s Results on Suicide

9. Research Methods • Specific strategies or techniques for systematically conducting research. • There are four widely used (and acceptable) methods for collecting data, both quantitatively and qualitatively. • Quantitative • Survey (Questionnaires) • Secondary Analysis (Unobtrusive research) • Experiments (Laboratory or Natural setting) • Qualitative • Survey (Personal Interview) • Secondary Analysis (Cultural artifacts) • Field Research (Case studies, Ethnography, Unstructured Interviews)

10. Survey • Questionnaire • Printed research instrument, with a series of items for subjects to respond • Often self-administered, “agree or disagree” responses • Secondary analysis • Unobtrusive (statistical) research • Using existing material to analyze data (trends or correlations) gathered by others • Often gathered from public research sites, uses raw data • Experiments • Laboratory setting • Designed to recreate “real-life” situations, while monitoring a multitude of variables • Experimental group (exposed to independent variable) or Control group (not exposed to independent variable to maintain baseline) • Natural setting • Real setting, such as flood or other disaster, provides researchers with “living laboratories” • Cannot be replicated (in almost all circumstances), nor would it often be ethical to do so Survey, Pros and Cons: Pros: Able to reach large populations, multiple variable friendly, able to monitor social change on large scale Cons: Respondents may or may not fit category, truthfulness?, sometimes cannot display “hard facts” (like laws or policy) Secondary Analysis, Pros and Cons: Pros: Inexpensive and readily available, low bias risk, historical context Cons: May be incomplete or unauthentic, may not be correlated, difficult to categorize (Pros and Cons of methods continued on next slide) Quantitative Research

11. Survey • Personal Interview • Data-collection encounter in which interviewer asks the respondent questions • Can be subject to bias; misinterpretation of questions, altered behavior towards interviewer • Secondary Analysis • Cultural Artifacts • Examination of cultural artifacts or forms of communication to extract thematic data about social life • Typical materials include: written records (diaries), visual texts (movies), material culture (music, clothes), and even behavior residues (wear marks in a floor) • Field Research • Participant Observation • Collecting data while being a part of the activities of the group of study • Case Study • An in-depth multifaceted investigation of a single event, person, or group. • Ethnography • Detailed study of a group by researchers who may live with that group over a period of years • Unstructured Interview • Extended, open-ended interview, often in-depth Experiments, Pros and Cons: Pros: Degree of control over variables, limited number of subjects, high degree of replication Cons: Not truly real scenarios, prone to bias, sometimes hard on subjects, “Hawthorne effect “ the changing of behavior as a result of observer Field Research, Pros and Cons: Pros: Most realistic setting, large amounts of data, everyone can be a part of study Cons: May or may not be indicative of larger population, cannot be precisely measured Qualitative Research

12. References and Acknowledgements Sociology In Our Times (Seventh Edition) By: Diana Kendall Notes incorporated By: James V. Thomas, NIU Professor (Emeritus) Formatted By: Jacob R. Kalnins, NIU student Pictures Incorporated Clip Art (PowerPoint: 2007) Google Images: Sociology In Our Times