10 15 14 6 05 PM Methods of Social Research SYA4300 Research Four Main Stages o Planning o Data Collection The method o Analysis o Reporting Sociology The study of how people shape society and how society shapes people the systematic study of human sciences Society people who live within a territory who share traditions and culture those who have similar behaviors and who live in similar areas Conceptual Level Theory Research Perceptual Level Data Quantitative macro level Qualitative micro level What comes first Inductive research then theory o Often times qualitative Deductive theory then research o Often times quantitative Elements of the social research process Literature review Concepts and theories Research questions Sampling Data collection Analysis o Read literature in order to find out what is previously known in order to not duplicate work repeat work make the same mistakes and compare work Writing up research Concepts and theories Research Questions Concepts are a key ingredient of theories Ex Power Socialization Wealth Race Gender Social Status o These help organize research and make intentions clear Gives you a clear goal tell your where to begin Guide o Lit search o Decisions about design of research o Type of data to collect and from what pool o Final write up Types of research questions o Predicting an outcome Does y happen under circumstances a and b o Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon Is y affected by x or is y a consequence of x Does y exhibit the benefits that it is claimed to have What is y like or what forms does y assume o Evaluating a phenomenon o Describing a phenomenon o Developing good practice How can we improve y o Empowerment Sampling How can we enhance the lives of those we research o Case the unit of analysis o Constraints cause researchers to sample o Samples can be selected for ability to represent the entire population o Samples can be selected for their appropriateness to research questions Data Collections o Structured Deductive Survey questions with given answer bubbles etc with repeated questions Researcher designs research tools relative to what needs to be known o Less Structured Inductive Observation semi structured interviewing Researcher keeps open mind about what need to be Core ingredients in writing up research know Introduction Literature Review Research data and methods Results Discussion Conclusion Social Research Strategies R Respondents Assignment 1 Occupational Prestige and Educational attainment Measures of SES Sex Gender Political Party affiliation How to read a journal article Social Theory Theory Ways of organizing facts and summarizing patterns Explanation of how finding and facts relate to one another Explanations of the way people act interact or organize themselves Criteria for evaluating theory 1 Whether it agrees with existing facts or evidence that is believed to be factual or evidential o Generality extent to which a theory applies to a wider range of phenomena or events o Parsimony a good theory is as simple and efficient as possible o Logical coherency good theory is logically coherent not inconsistent in its explanation of real world dynamics or phenomena Grand theories more difficult theories more abstract Highly abstract difficult to test empirically More like social world view They do inform our sociological leanings Mid Range theories works to discover one main phenomenon Operate in a limited domain falling somewhere between grand theores and empirical findings Focus on a specific subject of social phenomenon Easier to test Ex Labeling theory Deductive Research Begins with Theory moves to hypothesis then to data quantitative Inductive Research Data to Empirical Generalizations to theory qualitative Example Control Theory o Strong social ties well integrated in community less likely to commit a crime Through deductive research Start with theoretically based hypo Involvement predictor and deviance outcome o Through inductive research Combination of observation and research Starting with data and noticing that people who seem and talk about being close to large family and friend networks and who enjoy community based activation Very action oriented Epistemological orientation study of what is acceptable education Love example 1 What is love Happiness bliss 2 How does being in love make you feel Complete 3 How does being in love affect your outlook on day to day activities Depends on who you ask It could get in the way or it couldn t Ueno Those of the sexual minority face more discrimination and thus a higher rate of mental illness Purpose of study is to investigate the extent to which previously proposed mechanisms explain the mental health differences between sexual minority and heterosexual people Research Paper Use ASA style formatting No need for citations unless you make a claim You re claiming X to be true No contractions SES Educational Attainment Total Faminly income Occupational prestige In the GSS data done already Demographic Variables Sex Gender Age Race Dependent Variables Self Reported Health Political Party Affiliation Variable The item on which cases differ the thing that varies F M Independent variable predictor indicator casual influence impact affect verb Causal variable some sort of correlation Dependent variable outcome the effect Noun Hypothesis informed speculation which is set up to be tested about the possible relationship between two or more variables Tools to help you manage your time Pomodoro Technique Write or die Written Kitten Assignment Calc 1 Assignment Calc 2 Research questions The articulation best done in writing of ideas that imply a relationship between variables o Clearly stated expression of intent and interest o Your hypotheses will originate out of your research questions Should be o Clear specific o Researchable will be feasible for you to conduct your research given your resources and time o Build on broader literature and theory o Contribute to the field you re interested in o Guide your literature search Qualitative tends to be more open ended how will you use your observation and interviews to investigate your question Quantitative more specific considering outcome of interest think about variables Types of research questions o Predicting an outcome Does y happen under circumstances a and b o Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon Is y affected by x or is y a consequence of x Does y exhibit the benefits that it is claimed to have What