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Purdue SOC 10000 - Research Methods
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SOC 100 1nd Edition Lecture 3 Outline of Last Lecture I. Sociologya. DefinitionII. Theory and TheoristsOutline of Current Lecture II. Research MethodsA. Research + ExperienceIII. Approach to researchIV. Causality vs. CorrelationV. What makes good research?VI. Types of Data CollectionVII. Research IssuesCurrent LectureChapter 2 Research MethodsResearch and Experience- Experience filters perceptions of reality- Sociological research occur in 4 stageso 1. Experiences and passions of sociology motivate researcho 2. Values lead to theorieso 3. Interpretations influenced by previous researcho 4. Methods used to gather data mold our perceptionsResearch methods- Are standard rules that social scientists follow- Quantitative= seek to obtain info about the social world, it is converted into numeric form.o Ex= surveys- Qualitative methods= attempt to collect information that cannot be readily converted to numeric formo Ex= in-depth interviewsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.Approach to research- A deductive approacho 1. Starts with a theoryo 2. Develops a hypothesiso 3. Makes empirical observationso 4. Analyzes the data collected through observations to confirm or reject the original theory.- Inductive approacho 1. Starts with empirical observationso 2. Then works to form a theoryo 3. Determines if correlation exists by noticing if a change is observed in two things simultaneously.Causality vs. Correlation- Causality= a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor- Ex= West Lafayette sees lemonade sale increase, murder rates also increaseo These two are correlated but they do not cause each other- Usually can always find a correlation- Sociologists try to prove causality- To prove causality, correlation and time order are established and alternative explanations are ruled out.Variables- what we are studying- A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain- Independent= is a measured factor that the researcher believes has an impact on the dependent variable.Hypothesis- A hypothesis is a proposed relationship b/t two variables, what you think you are going to see b/t these two variables.- Null hypothesis or an alternative hypothesisThe Basics- Measures used to evaluate variables in a hypothesis must be valid and reliableo Outcomes of a particular research study must be able to be generalized to a larger populationo Researchers must be aware of the effects they have on people, relationships, andprocesses they are studyingWhat makes good research?- Good research should be valid, reliable, and generalizableo Validity= does the study measure what it is intended to measure?o Reliability= if you conduct the study again, will you get the same results?o Generalizability= will the findings of this study apply to some other population orgroup of people?How feminist methodology is different- Feminist methodologyo Treats women’s experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resourceso Promotes social science that may bring about policy changes to help womeno Is conscious of the role of the researcherTypes of Data collection- Participant observations= involves actual participation in a subject’s life. It involves face-to-face interaction. Most participant observation is used for exploratory research.o Presence of the researcher affects how you behave- Field Research= involves observation of people in their natural settingso Hawthorne effect= occurs when the presence of the researcher might change thebehaviors of those being observed- Ethnographic research= involves describing a group of people’s entire way of life.Research issues- When we think about what we want to observe, we need to look at some of the social constructs in our world, such as race, class, and gender.- These concepts that can have more than one value are called variableso Additionally, we need to decide which observations or attributes to attach to each variable, this is called operationalization.- What one researcher thinks, may not be the same as the next researcher, thus, in using participant observation, we may have a problem with reliability.- Validity; are we using the right tools?Experiments- Experiments are carefully controlled artificial situations that allow us to isolate hypothesized causes and measure their effectso Randomization: experimental vs. control groupo Independent vs. Dependent variableMore types of research- Surveys ask people about their knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes on certain subjects- These surveys can be:o Face-to-faceo By telephoneo By


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