Ch. 2: Sociologists Doing Research

Research Methods ProjectStep One: Brainstorming (on notebook

paper)1. What are five topics dealing with

high school students that you would like to know about and that you would be okay discussing with your teacher, your parents/guardians, and your best friend?

2. What are five questions that you would need answered (by students) for each of these five topics in order to better understand those involved?

Activity A.• Predict how you think conditions

have changed from the year 1900 - 2000. Use the number below.

70, 98, 4, 74, 7, 4, 61, 30, 97, 12, 45

Let’s see how you did.1. Four times as many adults are getting high school degrees.2. 98% of all American homes have telephones, electricity,

and a flush toilet.3. Accidental deaths have decreased by 61%.4. Wages in the manufacturing sector are four times greater.5. Average household assets are seven times greater.6. The average workweek is 30% shorter.7. The air we breathe is 97 % cleaner.8. More than 70% of Americans have at least one automobile,

VCR, microwave oven, air conditioner, cable television, washer and dryer.

*Statistics compiled by the Cato Institute in Washington D. C.

Re-write the following sociological conclusion in your

own words.“Methodological observation of the sociometrical

behavior tendencies of prematurated isolates indicates that a causal relationship exists between groundward tropism and lachrymatory or “crying” behavior forms.”

(Barry, 1993)

Children cry when they fall down.

Research Methods

Section 1

Goal of Research• To test what is accepted as

“common sense” and replace with facts

• To ask “why” and “how” a group does what it doesOBJECTIVITY IS IMPORTANT. Objectivity is the ability to conduct research without

allowing personal biases or prejudices to influence you.

The world is our lab. And our data is either…

• Quantitative - numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers or statistics (surveys and pre-collected data)

• Qualitative - descriptive data and cannot be converted into numbers

Surveys are our friend.• Definition: research method in which

people respond to questions• Ideal for studying large numbers of

people• Needs to be sent to the right number

of people and the right type

Vocab about Surveys• Population = group of people with

certain specified characteristics (ex: Seniors in the United States 2012-2013)

• Sample = group of people that represents a larger population (ex: Seniors at Northern High School in Owings, MD 2012-2013)

• Representative Sample - accurately reflects the characteristics of the population as a whole (ex: 10 students in AP Bio are not a good representative sample of NHS students)

Surveys can be…• Questionnaire• Interview• Closed ended (quantitative) vs.

Open ended (qualitative)• Secondary analysis - pre-collected

data (ex: gov’t reports, voting lists, prison records, census information)

Example of Closed-EndedStron

g Agree

Agree

Dis-agree

Strong Disagree

a. Most school teachers really don’t know what they are talking about.

1 2 3 4

b. To get ahead in life, you have to get a good education. 1 2 3 4c. My parents encouraged me to get a good education. 1 2 3 4d. School is a lonely place. 1 2 3 4e. Too much emphasis is put on education these days. 1 2 3 4f. Most students cheat on tests. 1 2 3 4

Example of Open-Ended• In your own words, please

describe your views on the education you have received so far.

• Do you think school adequately prepares you for employement? Why or why not?

Closed-ended survey researchAdvantages Disadvantages•Closed-ended answers can be more precisely measured.•Responses can be easily compared.•Statistical techniques can be used to make sense of the data.•A large number of responses can be collected

•Surveys are expensive to produce and distribute.•Responses are limited to preset answers.•Many people don’t respond to surveys, resulting in low cost effectiveness.•The way a question is stated may influence the answer given.

Let other people help you. After all, this is a social

course. Secondary Analysis

• Emile Durkheim supported this method.• U.S. Census Bureau is one of the most

important source of precollected data for American sociologists. It provides new data every ten years on topics such as income, education, race, sex, age, marital status, occupation, death, and birth rates.

• U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Commerce are also very useful.

Secondary AnalysisAdvantages Disadvantages•Precollected data provide sociologists with inexpensive, high-quality info.•Existing sources of info permit the study of a topic over a long period of time.•The researcher can’t influence answers b/c the data have been collected by others.

•The existing info may not exactly suit the researcher’s needs because it was gathered for a different reason.•Sometimes precollected data are outdated.•Little may be known about collection methods - possible bias.

Field Research• Definition: research that takes

place in a natural (not a lab) setting.

• Cannot be measured quantitatively

Field Research can be…• Case study: thorough

investigation of a single group/incident/community

• Participant observation: researcher becomes a member of the group (ex: Black Like Me, 21 Jump Street, or Never Been Kissed)

Theoretical PerspectivesIllustrates the research method a sociologist of a particular

theoretical persuasion would most likely choose to investigate school violence and school funding.

Perspective Research ExplanationFunctionalism Survey Questionnaire to see if

there is a connection between functions

Conflict Theory

Case study Identify relationships between observable powers

Symbolic Interactionism

Participant observation

Be involved to find the link between actions and symbols

Research Methods: How Do They Measure Up?Method Pros ConsSurvey Sampling process lets

researcher apply data from a few subjects to an entire population

Time-consuming Difficult to find participants

Experiments

Gives researcher specific quantitative data

Ethical concerns put restrictions on the way human subjects can be used

Field Research

Can study behavior in a natural environment

Can be inexpensive

Time-consuming Ethical concerns put

restrictions on the way human subjects can be used

Secondary Analysis

Inexpensive Reduces time spent to

collect data

Data not collected for the purpose in which you are using it

Data could be biased by the collector

Statistical Math Review: Mean, Median, Mode, &

Range• The "mean" is the "average,” where you add up all the numbers and then divide by the number of numbers.

• The "median" is the "middle" value in the list of numbers. To find the median, your numbers have to be listed in numerical order, so you may have to rewrite your list.

• The "mode" is the value that occurs most often. If no number is repeated, then there is no mode for the list.

• The "range" is just the difference between the largest and smallest values

Statistical Data of the Age of this Class in months

1. Organize the numbers from smallest to largest

2. Add all the numbers together. Divide by the number of students in the class. MEAN =

3. What is the middle number in the list? MEDIAN =

4. What number occurs most often? MODE =

5. Subtract the smallest number from the largest number.RANGE =

Causation in Science

Section 2

Causation: idea that one event leads to another

But social events are more complex than scientific

events

The Nature of Causation• Causation: events occur in

predictable, nonrandom ways• Example - gravity causes

objects to fall• Sociologists also look for

causation

Sociology and Multiple Causes

• Social events are generally too complex to be explained by one single force - multiple causation

• Example - what causes crime?• Inherited• Peer pressure• Drug use• Poverty• Poor parenting

Variables - characteristics that are

subject to change• Quantitative variable: characteristic that can be measured numerically• Examples: literacy rates, incomes

• Qualitative variable: characteristic that is defined by its presence or absence in a category (yes/no)• Examples: gender, marital status

• Independent variable: characteristic that causes change to occur

• Dependent variable: characteristic that reflects change

• Intervening variable: changes the relationship between independent variable and dependent variable

Example: poverty & hunger

• Independent variable: poverty• Dependent variable: hunger• Intervening variable: government

interventionPoverty is the cause of hunger but

doesn’t have to be if government intervention in the form of income and food exists. The poor without a safety net will experience more hunger. The poor with a safety net will not.

Visual Illustration

poverty hunger

Correlation• A measure of the relationship

between two variables• Positive correlation:

• Negative correlation:

variables move in a parallel direction – example: education & income

variables move in opposite directions – example: skipping class & grades

Spurious Correlation• Occurs when two variables appear

to be related but actually have a different cause

• Example: Statistical data showing that ice cream sales and drowning rates are both increasing – does not mean that someone eating a hot fudge sundae is destined to drown in a swimming pool

CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSATION

Country Music and SuicideBack in 1992, researchers wanted to study the

relationship between country music and its listeners. Researchers Steven Stack and Jim Gundlach found positive correlations between country music airplay and white male suicide rates in metropolitan areas. According to their research, common themes in country music created a subculture that essentially led men to suicide. These themes include problems with personal relationships, including divorce and infidelity, alcohol consumption, and general hardships like work problems or death. Sara Evans’s Cheatin’, Toby Keith’s Get Drunk and Be Somebody, and Johnny Paycheck’s Take This Job and Shove It are all songs that fit these themes.

The researchers took data from 49 different metropolitan areas in the United States. To prevent spurious correlation, they used poverty, divorce, gun availability, and region of the country as control variables. For example, because divorce has strong influence on the suicide rate, the researchers had to make sure that this variable didn’t affect their results. In their analysis, they showed that white male suicide rates positively correlated with the amount of radio airtime of country music.

The conclusion was country music contributed to an ideology that supported suicide. Because people tend to listen to songs many times, the power of their thematic message is stronger than other media. These themes help create a subculture in which individuals perceive a world full of sadness, drinking, and exploitation.

Following this research, a statistical and methodological debate raged. Sociologists Maguire and Snipes tried to retest the data, but failed to duplicate Stack and Gundalch’s 1992 results. Maguire and Snipes claimed the original authors were mistaken because they did not take into account how the other factors in their subjects’ lives might have contributed to their actions. Stack and Gundalch stuck by their research. In a series of articles, each designed to respond to the other, these two camps argued over which side’s research was valid.

Can you see the problems with the research, particularly as associated with spuriousness and correlation? Is it possible there is another relationship being depicted? For example, since white men are more likely to listen to country music than other ethnic groups, perhaps more country music is aired in metropolitan areas with high concentrations of white men.

(Carl, Think Sociology, 2010, p.33)

Activity Due: _______Pick three songs within in a

particular genre, (i.e. hip-hop, rock, pop) and examine their lyrics. Do these songs express anything about the culture in which we live? If so, how do you think this affects people who listen to this type of music? Is there spurious correlation?

Procedures and Ethics in Reasearch

Section 3

Scientific Method -

this should sound familiar…

Scientific Method• Identify the problem.• Review the literature.• Formulate hypothesis.• Develop a research design.• Collect data.• Analyze data.• State findings and conclusion.

Do sociologists actually do this?

Most follow the model, but not necessarily to the letter. They may conduct exploratory studies prior to stating hypotheses and research designs as their investigation proceeds.

Ethics• Research is a human activity.• There are principles for

conducting research (objectivity, verifiability, etc.)

• Humans screw up sometimes.

Examples of Poor Ethics• Nazi (Germany) experimentations on

concentration camp prisoners• Public Health Service (United States)

from 1932-1972 deliberately did not treat 399 syphilitic African American agricultural workers so that biomedical researchers could study the full evolution of the disease

• University of Heidelberg (Germany) researchers used corpses of adults and children in high-speed automobile crashes

Example of Good EthicsMario Brajuha• Kept detailed field notes while doing a

participant observation study of restaurant work• Suspected arson at a restaurant where he was

employed - his notes became an object of interest to the court system

• Refused to reveal the contents to the police• Was threatened imprisonment and possible harm

to himself, his wife, and his children• Continued to protect the privacy rights of those

individuals described in his notes

Subpoena?The ASA Council notified Brajuha's lawyer that

if research documents prepared under promise of confidentiality were provided by the sociologist, it would place him in violation of the ASA's Code of Ethics. A decision by federal Judge Jack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District of New York on April 5, 1984 ruled that, "[s]erious scholars cannot be required to turn over their fieldnotes in a grand jury investigation when the government fails to establish 'substantial need' for them to do so."

American Sociological Association Guidelines for

Ethical ResearchPrinciple A: Professional Competence - know

your limits and keep learningPrinciple B: Integrity - honest, fair, and respectfulPrinciple C: Professional and Scientific

Responsibility - accept responsibility, community trust

Principle D: Respect for People's Rights, Dignity, and Diversity - eliminate bias and discrimination

Principle E: Social Responsibility - contribute to the public good