Transcript Chapter 2 - Madison County Schools

Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SOCIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
A LOGICAL SYSTEM THAT DERIVES KNOWLEDGE
FROM DIRECT, SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
BASICS OF SOCIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
TWO BASIC REQUIREMENTS OF SOCIOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATION
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1.
Apply the sociological perspective.
 Our curiosity leads us to look for patterns of behavior that
need to be studied further.
 Ex. Lois Benjamin used her sociological imagination to
wonder how race affects the lives of talented African
Americans.
2. Be curious and ask questions.
 Ex. Who are the leaders of this nation’s black community?
 How do they think race has affected their life?
We look for answers…but how do we decide what is true?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
FORMS OF TRUTH
1. Belief or faith
 2. Expert testimony
 3. Simple agreement
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 Regional
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customs
4. Science
 Logical
system that bases knowledge on
direct systematic observation.
 Based on empirical evidence.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
COMMON SENSE VERSUS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE (P.32)
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“Poor people are far more likely than
rich people to break the law.”
“The United States is a middle-class
society in which most people are more
or less equal.”
“Most poor people don’t want to work.”
“Differences in the behavior of females
and males are just ‘human nature’.”
“Most people marry because they are
in love.”
Sociological perspective would imply
that much of what passes for “common
sense” turns out to be at least partly
wrong.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
THREE WAYS TO DO SOCIOLOGY
3 FRAMEWORKS FOR
SOCIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
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Scientific sociology
 The study of society based on
systematic observation of social
behavior.
 Favors quantitative, not qualitative data.
 Empirical evidence – information we can
verify with our senses.
Interpretive sociology
 The study of society that focuses on the
meanings people attach to their social
world.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/h
 Favors qualitative data.
olding-random-peoples-hands-isCritical sociology
now-a-prank
 The study of society that focuses on the
need for social change.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SCIENTIFIC SOCIOLOGY TERMINOLOGY
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Concepts
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A mental construct that represents some part of the
world in a simplified form.
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Variables
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Concepts whose value changes from case to case.
Measurement
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Ex. Society, family, race, social class, etc.
A procedure for determining the value of a variable in a
specific case.
Operationalizing a variable (Operationalization)
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Specifying exactly what is to be measured before
assigning a value to a variable.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
DISCUSSION QUESTION
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We just covered operationalizing a variable, specifying
exactly what is to be measured before assigning a
value to a variable.
Let’s operationalize the subjective concept of “good
teaching”.
 Specific traits?
 How do you measure those traits?
 Is it easy to measure those traits?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SCIENTIFIC SOCIOLOGY TERMINOLOGY
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Reliability – consistency in measurement
 Does an instrument provide for a consistent measure of
the subject matter?
 Repeated measurements get the same results.
Validity – precision in measuring exactly what one intends
to measure
 Does an instrument actually measure what it sets out to
measure?
For measurement to be valid, it must be reliable.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
CAUSATION & VARIABLES
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Cause and effect
 A relationship in which change in
one variable causes change in
another.
Types of variables
 Independent: the variable that
causes the change.
 Dependent: the variable that
changes (its value depends upon
the independent variable).
 Ex. Seat Belt sign and Turbulence
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
The following graph shows the effect of
education on average yearly salary.
 What is the independent variable?
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Sociology, Eleventh Edition
CORRELATIONS
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Correlation
 A relationship by which two or more variables
change together.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
CORRELATIONS
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The relationship of density and delinquency
may mean crowding causes more arrests but it
could also mean a third factor is at work.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
CORRELATIONS
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So, in order to see if density and delinquency are truly
correlated, need to control the income level.
Ex. Look only families that make the same income…then look
to see if density and delinquency change together.
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If yes, density and delinquency are correlated.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
SPURIOUS CORRELATION
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In this case, if income is held constant, there is no
correlation between density and delinquency.
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Income is the factor that causes both density and delinquency.
Spurious correlation
 An apparent, though false, relationship between two
or more variables caused by some other variable.
CORRELATION
DOES NOT MEAN CAUSATION
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Conditions for cause and effect
to be considered:
 Existence of a correlation.
 The independent (causal)
variable precedes the
dependent variable in time.
 No evidence suggests that a
third variable is responsible
for a spurious correlation
between the two original
variables.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Barney Beins noted the strong positive
correlation between the number of bars and
the number of churches in an area.
 Does booze drive people to religion?
 Does religion drive people to drink?
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If not, what other factors might explain the
correlation?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
THE IDEAL OF OBJECTIVITY
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Objectivity
 A state of personal
neutrality in conducting
research.
Value-free research
 Weber says sociologists
should strive to be
dispassionate and
detached.
Replication
 Repetition of research by
other investigators.
 Helps limit distortion
caused by personal
values.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
LIMITATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIOLOGY
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1. Human behavior is too
complex to predict precisely
any individual’s actions.
2. The mere presence of
the researcher may affect
the behavior being studied.
3. Social patterns change.
4. Sociologists are part of
the world they study making
value-free research difficult.
5 WAYS GENDER CAN SHAPE RESEARCH
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1.
Androcentricity
 Approaching the topic from a male-only
perspective.
Gynocentricity
 Approaching the topic from a female-only
perspective (less common than
Androcentricity).
2.
Overgeneralizing
 Using data collected from one sex and applying
the findings to both sexes.
3.
Gender blindness
 The failure to consider the impact of gender at
all.
4.
Double standards
 Using different standards to judge males and
females .
5.
Interference
 This occurs when a subject under study reacts
to the sex of the researcher and thereby
interferes with the research operation.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
RESEARCH ETHICS
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ASA guidelines:
Must strive to be technically competent & fair-minded.
Must disclose findings in full without omitting significant data &
be willing to share their data.
Must protect the safety, rights and privacy of subjects.
Must obtain informed consent - subjects are aware of risks and
responsibilities and agree.
Must disclose all sources of funding & avoid conflicts of
interest.
Must demonstrate cultural sensitivity.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
DISCUSSION QUESTION
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Why is government-supported sociological
research an ethical issue?
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Can you think of other scenarios of companies
that you would/would not want to conduct
certain research?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
METHODS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
METHODS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
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Experiment – a research method for
investigating cause and effect under
highly controlled conditions.
Hypothesis – an unverified statement
of a relationship between variables (an
educated guess). If-then statement.
Placebo – a treatment that seems to be
the same but has no effect on the
experiment.
Hawthorne effect – a change in a
subject's behavior caused by the
awareness of being studied.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
STEPS IN THE IDEAL EXPERIMENT
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1. Specify the dependent and independent
variables.
2. Measure the dependent variable.
3. Expose dependent variable to independent
variable.
4. Re-measure dependent variable to see if
predicted change took place.
 If no change, modify hypothesis & re-test.
Experiment Example: p. 43 (Zimbardo)
http://www.schooltube.com/video/237e7769aa970bc
ec446/
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
CONTROL
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To be certain that the change in the dependent
variable was due to the exposure to the
independent variable researcher must keep
constant other factors that may intrude.
One method is to break group into experimental
and control groups.
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Experimental group gets exposed to independent
variable.
Control group gets exposed to a placebo.
SURVEY RESEARCH
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A research method in which subjects
respond to a series of statements or
questions in a questionnaire or interview.
Population
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Sample
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The people who are the focus of the
research.
The part of the population that
represents the whole.
Random Sample

Drawing a sample from a population
so that every element of the population
has an equal chance of being selected.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
QUESTIONNAIRE
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A series of written questions a
researcher presents to subjects.
Closed-ended
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Open-ended
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A series of fixed responses; easy to
analyze but narrows range of
responses.
Free response; broadens range of
responses but harder to analyze.
Most surveys are selfadministered; pretesting can
avoid costly problems.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
DISCUSSION QUESTION
A Time/CNN poll was conducted May, 1994, in
which 23% of people claimed “government is
spending too much on assistance to the poor”.
 Another Time poll was conducted June, 1994,in
which 53% of people claimed government is
“spending too much on welfare”.
 Why do you think there is such a large
variation?
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OTHER RESEARCH METHODS
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Interviews
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Participant observation
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A series of questions a researcher
administers in person to
respondents.
A research method in which
investigators systematically observe
people while joining in their routine
activities.
Secondary analysis
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A research method in which a
researcher uses data collected by
others.
INTERPLAY OF THEORY & METHOD
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Inductive logic
 Reasoning
that transforms specific
observations into general theory.
 Induction
“increases” from specific to general.
 “I have some interesting data; I wonder what they
mean?”
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Deductive logic
 Reasoning
that transforms general theory into
specific hypotheses suitable for testing.
 Deduction
“decreases” from general to specific.
 “I have a hunch about human behavior; let’s collect
some data and test it.”
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: TEN STEPS IN
SOCIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION
10 STEPS IN SOCIOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATION
1.
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5.
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7.
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9.
10.
What is your topic?
What have others already learned?
What, exactly, are your questions?
What will you need to carry out research?
Are there ethical concerns?
What method will you use?
How will you record the data?
What do the data tell you?
What are your conclusions?
How can you share what you’ve learned?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
DISCUSSION QUESTION
Is the following a good survey question? Why
or why not?
 Do you think high school should be longer and
include nap time?
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Sociology, Eleventh Edition
HOW PEOPLE LIE WITH STATISTICS (P. 54-55)
 People
 Data
may not be the whole truth.
 People
 As
select their data.
interpret their data.
if numbers can only mean one thing.
 People
use graphs to “spin” the truth.
 Manipulating
timeframes on graphs.
 Using scale to inflate or deflate a trend.
A
B
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Bs or Above
D
Cs or Below
F
Passing
Failing