Sociology Notes September 6, 2013IS SOCIOLOGY A SCIENCE? YES- SCIENCE- use of systematic methods of empirical investigation, the analysis of data, theoretical thinking, and the logical assessment of arguments to develop a body of knowledge- Guided by a theoretical approach- Sociological research is scientific researcho Based on empirical investigationo Data collected systematicallyo Assessment of theory in light of evidence- Then why do so many claim that sociology is NOT a science?o Object of studyo Probabilistico Difficult to establish causalityo People don’t understand sociologyThe Research Process- Defining the research problemo Where are the gaps in our understanding about the topic? What puzzles haven’t been solved?- Reviewing the evidenceo What questions have been raised? How have other approached the problem?- Making the problem preciseo Formulating a hypotheses that are testable- Working out a designo Deciding what method (surveys, interviews, participant observation) works best- Carrying out the researcho Gathering facts and data according to the research designo Dealing with unanticipated problems- Interpreting the Resultso Answering initial questionso Evaluating hypotheses- Reporting the findingso Research reportso New and unanswered questionsVariables- Variable- dimension along which an object, individual, or group may be categorized, such as income or height- Controls help us screen out other influences- Independent variable produce an effect on the other variable- Dependent variables are affected by the independent variable; they are the variable that we are trying to understand- X variable on graph is always independent; y variable on graph is always dependent- Independent-manipulated- Dependent-responseVariable Relationships- Positive-As x increases also increases- Negative- As x increases, y decreasesUnderstanding Cause and Effect- Correlation is not the same as causation- Variables may be related to each other, but one may not be responsible for a change in another- Terms are often confused- Correlation- indicates a relationship- Causation- if you change x then y will also change- Correlation has a curved arrow on graph, causation has a straight arrow from one to the other on graphMultiple Causes--Almost always have multiple causes in sociologyAnecdotes- Anecdotes-story that teaches us a lessono Only prove that the rule is not 100%o Tell “the exception to the
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