Research process is
a set of activities in which social scientists engage to answer questions, examine ideas, or test theories.
Five stages on the research process are:
Asking the research question Formulating the hypotheses Collecting data Analyzing Data Evaluating the hypotheses
Data:
Information represented by numbers, which can be the subject of statistical analysis
Empirical Research
Research based on evidence that can be verified by using our direct experience.-Cannot rely on reasoning, speculation, moral judgment, or subjective preference
Theory:
An elaborate explanation of the relationship between two or more observable attributes of individuals or groups
Empirical research example is...
Are women paid less than men for the same types of work?
Not Empirical research example is...
Is racial equality good for society?
The Hypothesis
Tentative answers to research questions
Variable
A property of people or objects that takes on two or more values-Must include categories that are both exhaustive and mutually exclusive
Examples of variables are...
social class, age, gender, income
Units of analysis:
the level of social life on which social scientist focus.
Examples of units of analysis are..
IndividualFamilyOrganizationCity
Dependent variable is
the variable to be explained aka the effect
Independent variable is...
the variable expected to account for (the cause of) the dependent variable
Nominal
Numbers or other symbols are assigned to a set of categories for the purpose of naming, labeling, or classifying the observations
Examples of Nominal
Political party ReligionRace
Ordinal
Nominal levels that can be ranked from low to high
Example of ordinal
social class
Interval-Ratio
All cases are express in the same unit
examples of interval- ratio
age, income, and SAT scores
Dichotomous variable is
a variable that has only two values
Cumulative Property
Variables that can be measured at the interval-ratio level of measurement can also be measured at the ordinal and nominal levels`
what is the exception to cumulative property?
Dichotomous variables
Discrete
Variables that have a minimum-sized unit of measurement which cannot be sub-divided
Example of discrete is
the number of children per family
Continuous
Variables that can theoretically can take on all possible numerical values in a given interval
example of continuous is
length
Sample
A relatively small subset selected from a population
Population
The total set of individuals, objects, groups, or events in which the researcher is interested
Descriptive statistics
Procedures that help us organize and describe data collected from either a sample or a population
Inferential statistics
The logic and procedures concerned with making predictions or inferences about a population from observations and analyses of a sample
Frequency Distribution:
A table reporting the number of observations falling into each category of the variableIn Lab you type in tabulate to get the frequency distribution
Proportions
A relative frequency obtained by dividing the frequency in each category by the total number of casesP= F/N
Percentage
A relative frequency obtained by dividing the frequency in each category by the total number of cases and multiplying by 100
Cumulative frequency distribution
A distribution showing the frequency at or below each category of the variable
Cumulative percentage distribution
A distribution showing the percentage at or below each category of the variable
Rate
A number obtained by dividing the number of actual occurrences in a given time period by the number of possible occurrences
The Pie Chart
A graph showing the differences in frequencies or percentages among categories of a nominal or an ordinal variable The categories are displayed as segments of a circle whose pieces add up to 100 % of the total frequencies
The Bar Graph
A graph showing the differences in frequencies or percentages among categories of a nominal or an ordinal variable
The Statistical Map
We can display dramatic geographical changes in American society by using a statistical map
The statistical maps are normally used for these types of data..
Population distributionVoting patternsCrimes rates
The Histogram
A graph showing the differences in frequencies or percentages among categories of an interval-ratio variable
The Line Graph
A graph showing the differences in frequencies or percentages among categories of an interval-ratio variable Points representing the frequencies of each category are placed above the midpoint of the category and are joined by a straight line
Time Series Charts
A graph displaying changes in a variables at different points in time
Age data is best displayed using this ________ graph or ________ graph
Histogram or line graph
Poverty data is best displayed using this _______ graph or _____ graph
histogram or line graph
Racial category data is best displayed using this _______ or _____ graph
pie chart or bar graph
geographic region data is best displayed using this _______ , _____ graph, or __________
pie chart, bar graph, or geographical map
The mode
the category or score with the largest frequency in the distribution
The mode can calculated for:
Nominal level variablesOrdinal level variablesInterval-ratio level variables
Median
The score that divides the distribution into two equal parts, so that half the cases are above it and half below it
Percentiles
A score below which a specific percentage of the distribution falls
For Example, the 75th percentile is a score that divides distribution so that ____ % of the cases are below it
75%
Mean
A measure of central tendency that is obtained by adding up all the scores and dividing by the total number of scores