chapter 2: notes socio

Seite 1

LO 1

The scientific method is developing new knowledge through various approaches

A concept is an abstract idea expressed as a word or phrase used to categorize a particular feature of the social world

For example the concept of social class categorizes Canadians based on indicators such as income

A variable is a categorical concept that refers to properties of people or things that can differ and change over time or from situation to situation

a host of variables example in online dating sites such as Zoosk or match.com

LO 2

Deductive reasoning starts with theories and follows a top-down approach that ends with research findings

researchers started with existing theories, developed a new hypothesis, and carried out their own study

Prior research lesson 1: Research identifies social models

Prior research lesson 2: shows the ability to endure pain can be influenced

New research project: conduct an experiment to see if social models could be used to influence pain endurance

Inductive reasoning is data driven or bottom-up begining with observations and ending in theory construction

Data gathering: In-depth interviews

Findings

LO 3

Sociological research should explore, describe, and explain an area of interest

Exploratory research explores and helps us understand more about an area that is not well established

The goal of descriptive research is to note features and characteristics of a group, event, activity, or situation

For example every five years Canada collects information on citizens

Explanatory research is designed to clarify aspects of a particular social phenomenon so that we understand what kind of effects it has or does not have

For example finding out whether posting on facebook updates reduces lonliness

Evaluation research is to help assess the need for effectivness of a social program

For example --- what is the nature of this social problem

Empowerment research is undertaken in order to improve conditions within a particular social setting or for a particular group in society

Participatory action research is a field method involving participants in research that is designed to result in practical outcomes for the participants

Action research is usually used in edcational settings to improve learning

LO 4

1. Research question: What interests you?

2. Literature Review: what is already known about this topic?

3. Narrowed Focus: how can you make your research interest doable?

Operationalization is the process of defining variables in a precise manner that is measurable

Reliability refers to the consistency of measure

two different researchers should come up with the exact same value for someone's employment income

Validity has to do with how well the measure represents the intended concept --- is it measuring what it is supposed to?

a hypothesis comes after the measurments --- a hypothesis is a testable research statement that includes at least two variables

4. Research design: What is your proposed research design? --- A research design is a detailed outline of all the proposed components of a study

whom or what will be studied

5. Data collection: How will you collect your data?

6. Data analysis: What can you do with the data? After you have the observations --- Data analysis involves compiling observations into a format that helps us learn more about the research problem

7. Draw conclusions: What do the data tell you?

Researchers draw conclusions by revisiting their original research question

8. Report findings: How can you share the findings?

researchers may present academic conferences or write up articles

Canada's three federal research agencies:

The Canadian institutes of health research (CIHR)

The natural sciences and engineering research council of Canada (NSERC)

Social sciences and humanities research council of Canada (SSHRC)

All three research programs adopted the Tri-council policy statement: ethicial conduct for research involvig humans (TCPS)

LO 5

The TCPS 2 has three main principles

1. Respect for persons

Debriefing or the later disclosure of all relevant details, is mandatory in cases where participants cannot be told all of the information ahead of time

2. Concern for welfare: well being of research participants is ethical

3. Justice: means that people will be treated fairly and equitably and with respect

LO 6

Qualitative methods is to better understand the nature of some phenomenon as framed by inductive reasoning

Quantitative methods, are employed to test hypotheses and measure social phenomena based on deductive reasoning

Grounded theory is a systematic strategy for moving from specific observations to general conclusions about discourses, actions, interactions, and practices

Qualitative approaches must demonstrate rigour --- the trustworthiness of the research process and data collected

One way to acheive rigour is through triangulation --- is the use of multiple data-gathering techniques within the same study

LO 7

An experiment is a deductive research method for testing a hypothesis through the use of a carefully controlled environment and random assignment to conditions

An independent variable is the presumed cause; this is the variable that is manipulated in an experiment

Control group includes subjects who were not exposed to the independent variable

The dependent variable is the outcome or variable that is measured in an experiment

Field experiments are constructed in a natural environment in order for natural occurence

Researcher is less able to control he environment the more natural it is

A survey is a quantitative research method for gathering opinions or other details about topics of interest from the perspective of respondents using a questionnaire

Respondents are participants in surveys

Representative sample is a small group that closely resembles the population of interest

An interview is a verbal question-and-answer teqnique to gather information about a phenomenon of interest

A standardized or highly structured interview follows a set format of predetermined questions

An unstandardized interview has no set format, the order or wording of questions can be modified and the interviewer can add, change, or delete items

Unstructured interviews, also called qualitative interviews, tend to rely n interpretive theorizing

Semi standardized interviews fall somewhere between these two versions

Secondary analysis of existing data is a research method used to examine information on a topic of interest that was originally colected or created by someone other than the researcher for an unrelated purpose

Content analysis is a secondary analysis technique for systematically examining messages contained in text or portrayed in images

Discourse analysis --- the critical examination of the ways in which language is used to convey social constructions and social relations

Historical analysis involves examining and interpreting historical forms of data

sec analysis saves a researcher many long hours and probably dollars

Ethnography is the broad term for various forms of fieldwork designed to describe everyday behaviour in natural settings

In a systematic observation, a researcher directly observes a social group or process but does not interact with the participants

In participant observation, a researcher collects systematic observations while taking part in the activities of the group being observed

A case study is an observational study

Advantage of field approaches is that they allow resarchers to study areas of interest in natural settings

need to fit in the group might be awhile

Single-case design focuses on only one person, organization, event, or program as the unit of analysis

In a convergent design , qualitative and quantitative methods are employed in the same phase of the study o that the researchers can compare different perspectives when assessing the overall findings

Mixed-method designs re beneficial for over-coming the limits

Benefiting combined strenghs of various approaches