hypothesis
a statement of how variables are expected to be related to one another, often according to predictions from a theory
variable
a factor thought to be significant fro human behavior, which can vary (or change) from one case to another
operational direction
the way in which a researcher measures a variable
research method (or research design)
one of seven procedures that sociologists use to collect data: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis, documents, experiments, and unobstrusive measures
validity
the extent to which an operational definition measures what it is intended to measure
reliability
the extent to which research produces consistent or dependable results
1. selecting a topic
2. defining the problem
3. reviewing literature
4. formulating a hypothesis
5. choosing a research method
6. collecting data
7. analyzing the results
8. sharing the results
eight basic steps followed in scientific research
six elements contained in a table
title, headnote, headings, columns, rows, and source
survey
the collection of data of having people answer a series of questions
population
a target group to be studied
sample
the individuals intended to represent the population to be studied
random sample
a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in the study
stratified random sample
a sample from selected subgroups of the target population in which everyone in those subgroups has an equal chance of being included in the research
respondents
people who respond to a survey, either in interviews or by self-administered questionnaires
sensitive topics
elicit feelings of embarrassment, shame, or other negative emotions
questionnaires
a list of questions to be asked of respondents
self-administered questionnaires
questionnaires that respondents fill out
interview
direct questioning of respondents
interviewer bias
effects of interviewers on respondents that lead to biased answers
structured interviews
interviews that use closed-ended questions
closed-ended questions
questions that are followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondent
unstructured interview
interviews that use open-ended questions
open-ended questions
questions that respondents answer in their own words
rapport
a feeling of trust between researchers and the people they are studying
participant observation ( or fieldwork)
research in which the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting
generalizability
the extent to which the findings from one group (or sample) can be generalized or applied to other groups (or populations)
case study
an intensive analysis of a single event, situation, or individual
secondary analysis
the analysis of data that has been collected by other researchers
documents
in its narrow sense, written sources that provide data; in its extended sense, archival material of any sort, including photographs, movies, CDs DVDs, and so on
Ken Levi
sociologist who wanted to study hit men; but instead studied one repeatedly
experiment
the use of control and experimental groups and dependent and independent variables to test causation
experimental group
the group of subjects in an experiment who are exposed to the independent variable
control group
the subjects in an experiment who are not exposed to the independent variable
independent variable
a factor that causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable
dependent variable
a factor in an experiment that is changed by an independent variable
causation
change in variable is caused by another variable
correlation
two variables exist together
temporal priority
means one thing happens before something else does
no spurious correlation
the cause may be some underlying third variable
unobtrusive measures
ways of observing people so they do not know they are being studied
access to resources, assess to subjects, purpose of the research, and the researcher's background or training
four primary factors sociologist use to choose a method of research
qualitative research methods
emphasize observing and interpreting people's behavior (sociologist trained in this tend to lean toward participant observation)
quantitative research methods
emphasize measurement and statistics (sociologist trained in this tend to lean toward surveys)
research ethics
require honesty, truth and openness; forbid the falsification of results
C. Wright Mills
argued that research without theory is simply a collection of unrealted "facts". But theory without research is abstract and empty (cannot represent the way life really is)
___________ and _____________ are both essential for sociology
research, theory