Concept Topic Sheet for Midterm Exam in SYA 4300 NOTE Just because a concept is not on this list does not mean that it won t be on the exam You should familiarize yourself with all assigned course materials lecture presentations readings etc Types of questions multiple choice true false matching short answer short essay Levels of questions anything from memorization ex definitions to application Sociology systematic study of human societies Society refers to people who live within some territory and share many patterns of behavior Process of Social Research academic research which uses the social sciences for conceptual and theoretical inspiration to formulate research questions and interpret findings Know the general order of the research process Know the elements of the social research process o Literature review more information on this below o Concepts and theories Concepts are the key ingredients of theories Almost all theories have at least one embedded topic They help us organize our research and make our intentions clear to others o Research questions They guide Your literature search Your decisions about research design The type of data you will collect and from whom Your data analysis Your final write up They will stop you from going off in unnecessary directions They will give your readers a clearer sense of what your research is about How you decide what to study Personal interest Feasibility Social importance Scientific relevance Types of research questions Predicting an outcome Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon Describing a phenomenon Developing good practice Empowerment o Sampling Time and cost issues constrain the number of cases we can include in our research case units of analysis usually people Research constrains cause researchers to sample Samples can be selected for their ability to represent the entire population Samples can be selected for their appropriateness to research questions o Data collection Structured methods of data collection Questionnaires and interview used in survey studies The researcher designs research tools relative to what needs to be Less structured methods Participation observation and semi structured interviewing The researcher can keep an open mind about what needs to be known known o Data analysis Stages 1 the data collected needs to be managed by for example entering it into a computer program 2 it must be coded 3 relationships can be discovered between various categories or groups of data possibly by applying statistical techniques 4 links can be made with the research questions the literature review and the concepts and theories used o Disseminating findings Know the ingredients in writing social research o Introduction outline of research area and its significance the research questions o Literature review critical review of what is known previous findings about the and hypothesis topic o Research methods how sampling and data is collected and analyzed o Results presentation of findings o Discussion findings discussed in relation to research questions and the literature o Conclusion significance of research Know the main purpose of writing a literature review hint think hypotheses To know relevant concepts theories controversies gaps To help formulate hypothesis To find out what is already known about the topic what concepts and theories have been applied to it which research methods have been applied to it what controversies exist about the topic and or how it has been studied what clashes of evidence exist if any who the key contributors are Research is full of o False starts o Blind alleys o Mistakes o Changes to research plans o researchers must be flexible and willing to persevere Research Strategies Theory Know the definition of social theory o Research data achieve significance in sociology when viewed in relation to theoretical concerns o An explanation of how findings facts relate to one another o A way of organizing facts and summarize patterns o Explanations of the way people act interact or organize themselves and relate Know the two main types of theories o Grand theory theories of social systems which are too remote from particular classes of social behavior organization and change to account for what is observed Highly abstract difficult to test empirically nut not impossible More like a social world view They inform our sociological yearnings Ex Bourdieu s concept of social capital o Mid range theory fall somewhere between grand theories and empirical findings They represent attempts to understand and explain a limited aspect of social life Intermediate area topic specific Focus on a specific subject or social phenomenon Easier to test in a real world way Operate in a limited domain Ex juvenile delinquency racial prejudice educational attainment or the labor process Labeling theory Know how existing literature can act as theory o Sometimes theory is really just the background literature in an area of inquiry o Relevant background literature can act as a theory o How Resolving inconsistencies neglected aspects gaps new ideas innovative Informs hypothesis methods Be able to define and explain the differences between inductive and deductive research o Inductive o Deductive Begins with data to formulate a theory Used with qualitative research strategies Research theory Begins with theory then gathering data to test theory Used with quantitative research strategies Theory research Know if qualitative research is usually inductive or deductive research More specific consider your outcome of interest Know if quantitative research is usually inductive or deductive research o Inductive o Quantitative research question o Deductive o Qualitative research question Tends to be more open ended and broader Know if quantitative research is primarily interested in theory testing or generating theory Know if qualitative research is primarily interested in theory testing or generating theory o Theory testing o Generating theories Research Design Hypotheses Validity Reliability Be able to distinguish a research design from research methods o Research design Represents a structure that guides the execution of a research method and the analysis of the subsequent data With any research design you may use multiple research methods Represents how you are going to actually conduct research o Research method Research should be evaluated for reliable the results are o Reliability how often well you can replicate results