Transcript Document

Unit 3: Sociological Research Methods
Aim: How do
Sociologists determine
if their contentions are
valid?
Do Now: Offer an argument for the following question:
“IS IT ECONOMICALLY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU TO
GO TO COLLEGE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL?”
Science is a process, not a specific content
area!
• “Every time we take a prescription drug, we are conducting an
experiment. But we don’t carefully record the results after each
dose, and we don’t mix up the variables by not changing only
one behavior at a time, so that when we suffer from side effects
we can’t figure out what might have been their true cause. We
do the same with personal relationships: When they go wrong,
we can’t figure out why. Every aspect of our life is an
experiment that can be better understood if it is perceived that
way…Most of us, having learned the word ‘experiment’ in the
context of boring ninth-grade science class, have long since
learned to discount science and experimentation as irrelevant to
our lives.
Examples of Research Questions
What is the relationship between viewing sexually provocative pictures on
Instagram and men’s perception of women?
To what extent does the amount of A.P. courses taken make students
feel superior to non-advanced students?
In what ways do misogynistic lyrics in hip-hop music impact
black and white perceptions of women differently?
What is the relationship between men having very fixed ideas about
gender roles and their likelihood to cheat on a spouse?
“So, I noticed that when I upload a
selfie to Instagram I get considerably
fewer ‘likes’ than when I upload a
picture of myself with my girlfriend –
why is this?”
How would you go
about answering this
research question,
scientifically? What
might your hypothesis
be? What are the
variables? How can
you take both
quantitative and
qualitative data on this
to come to a
conclusion?
Formulating a hypothesis
Either…
It is economically beneficial
to go to college after high
school
OR
It is NOT economically
beneficial to go to college
after high school
Formulate a hypothesis begins with whatever you feel is logical. :
The higher a person’s education level, the more money that person will earn..
Variable 1: going to college
Variable 2: economic benefits
A hypothesis is statement of speculation about the relationship between
2 or more factors (variables). A variable is a measurable trait or
characteristic that is subject to change under different circumstances…
Independent and Dependent Variables
A scientist wishes to study the impacts of the effectiveness of a new
drug on slowing breast cancer growth. (What are the 2 factors here?
Which factor is dependent on the other?)
A psychologist wants to know the relationship between the amount
of received physical affection in childhood and later aggressive
behavior (What are the 2 factors here?
Which factor is dependent on the other?)
A new parent notices that their infant is crying a lot – what are the
variables that may be causing this?
Independent and Dependent Variables
The Independent variable
influences or effects
the dependent variable
The relationship between variables
is positive if, as one variable
increases, so does the other
(sometimes called a positive
correlation)
The Dependent variable is
impacted by the
independent variable
The relationship between variables
is negative if, as one variable
increases the other decreases
(e.g., there is a negative
relationship between vaccination
And polio incidences)
So in the case of the Do Now question (Is it economically
beneficial to go to college, or not?)
Going to college (independent variable) will impact how much
money you make in the future (dependent variable). If you argue
that there is a positive relationship between the variables, that
means that as 1 variable increase, so does the other. So, again, if
there was a positive relationship between going to college and
economic benefits, you’d be arguing that the more you go to
college, the greater the economic benefits to the individual.
A psychologist wants to know the relationship between
the amount of received physical affection in childhood
and later aggressive behavior.
IN. VARIABLE =
Amount of physical affection (either
a lot, a moderate amount, or a little)
DEP.VARIABLE =
Aggression later in life - impacted by
how much affection you get as child.
A positive relationship
exists if…
The more physical affection you get,
the higher your rate of aggressive
behavior
A negative relationship
exists if…
The more physical affection you get,
the lower your rate of aggressive
behavior.
Identifying Cause & Effect Relationships
Causality: one variable causes the other
Correlation: a change in one variable produces a change in
another – only suggests causality
Does X cause Y?
Does Y cause X?
Does a third factor, Z, cause both X and Y?
To use a psychological example, let’s say someone went
to a psychologist suffering from depression and anxiety.
A good psychologist will try to figure out:
Is the depression causing the anxiety? Is the
person anxious about the fact that they are depressed
all the time – maybe they’re nervous that something
is really wrong with them, and thus become anxious.
Is the anxiety causing the depression? Perhaps a
person in a continuous state of nervousness
becomes depressed because of the negative impact
that anxiety has had on their lives.
Did a third factor, a genetic predisposition,
cause both depression and anxiety?
Collecting and Analyzing Data
Now - how would you go
about researching whether it
made economic sense to go to
college? What kind of data
would you look at, and how
would you gather it?
Your sample is a selection of the larger population that is
statistically representative of that population. So, if you were doing
research on the social meaning of sagging, you wouldn’t
survey/interview people who DO NOT sag their pants (unless your
research was about people’s perceptions of pant sagging).
Methodology (how you do research) – Qualitative vs.
Quantitative
Qualitative data involves people’s lived experiences – how they feel,
think, perceive the world. Therefore, the research tools used to
collect qualitative data are typically observation and interview (e.g.,
“Describe to me how you felt when you were being bullied”)
Quantitative data involves countable data involving frequency
or quantity. Therefore, the most common research tool would be
either observation (e.g., counting how many female students
hold their books high) and/or surveys/polls.
*Note – you must use BOTH types in your project.
You must create the survey or poll to be handed out
– there are many online resources for this, such as
surveymonkey.com
Research Design/Methodology
Surveys/Questionaires:
Written form intended
to gather data (can be
Qualitative or quantitative)
Observation:
Non-intrusive research
Method in which you watch
Sample in environment
And draw conclusions
Interview:
Face to Face (or online)
discussion with 1 person
to gain information
What are some of the
pros/cons of each
method? How can each
either help or hinder your
ability to gain accurate
data?
Let’s say your research area is on the micro-sociological phenomena
of female ‘uptalk’ - a verbal tick in which people end their sentences
in a high pitch, indicating a lack of confidence in what they say…
Which methods would you use? Why?
Or, let’s say your research interest was on gendered roles within
a household (who does what), taking a cross-cultural approach How would you approach this topic?
Your Final Research Project
•You can research anything that interests you
•I want you to consistently keep your mind on a topic you may want
to do, as well as sample, methodology, questions, and hypothesis.
•I want your topic to be original, or more in depth than topics
addressed in class. So, while we will address/briefly discuss
discrimination within the U.S. criminal justice system, you can do your
entire research project on the impact of the Stop & Frisk program on
minority communities in New York City.
•I want you to think creatively and specifically. So, ‘gender’ is not a
research topic - neither is ‘gender roles’ (both are too general) - but
examining perceptions about homosexuality in black communities is a
research topic.