Hempfield Sociology
Ch 01 Lesson 04
Chapter 01 – Lesson 04
Lesson 04: Research Methods
Lesson
What is a Valid
Sociological Topic?
Common Sense and
the Need for
Sociological
Research
A Research Model
Key Terms
Validity: the extent to which an operational definition
measures what it is intended to measure.
Reliability: the extent to which research produces
consistent or dependable results.
Replication: repeating a study to test its findings.
A Research Model: (1) Select a topic (2) Define the
problem (3) Review the literature (4) Formulate a
hypothesis (5) Choose a research method (6) Collect the
data (7) Analyze the results (8) Share the results
Hypothesis: a statement about how variables are expected
to be related to one another.
Variable: a factor thought to be significant for behavior
that varies from one case to another.
Operational Definition: way researcher measures variable.
Research Methods
Gender in
Sociological
Research
Ethics in
Sociological
Research
How Research and
Theory Work
Together
Surveys: collection of data by asking people to answer a
series of questions.
Population: the target group to be studied.
Respondents: people who respond to a survey.
Interview: direct questioning of respondents.
Interviewer Bias: effects that interviewers have on
respondents that leads to biased answers.
Rapport: a feeling of trust between researchers and
subjects.
Participant Observation: research in which the researcher
participates in a research setting while observing what is
happening in that setting.
Secondary Analysis: analysis of data that has been
collected by other sources.
Experiment: use of control and experimental groups and
dependent and independent variables to test causation.
Research Method: one of six procedures that sociologists
use to collect data: surveys, participant observation,
secondary analysis, documents, experiments, and
unobtrusive measures.
Sample: individuals intended to represent the population to
be studied.
Random Sample: a sample in which everyone in the target
population has the same chance of being included in the
study.
Stratified Random Sample: a sample of specific
subgroups of the target population and in which everyone
in the subgroups has an equal chance of being included in
the study.
Closed-Ended Questions: questions that are followed by a
list of possible answers to be selected by the respondents.
Open-Ended Questions: questions that respondents are
able to answer in their own words.
Generalizability: the extent to which the findings from one
group can be applied to other groups.
Unobtrusive Measures: ways of observing people who do
not know they are being studied.
Quantitative Research Methods: research in which the
emphasis is placed on precise measurement, the use of
statistics and numbers.
Qualitative Research Methods: research where emphasis is
placed on observing, describing, and interpreting people’s
behaviors.
Key Players
Media Supplements
Peter Rossi: Rossi and
his associates used a
stratified random
sample to count the
homeless population in
Chicago.
PowerPoint Presentation: Chapter
Five
Elton Mayo: Mayo conducted research at the
Western Electric
Company’s Hawthorne
plant—concluded there
is a change in behavior
when people know they
are being studied.
Diana Scully and
Joseph Marolla:
Through a series of
interviews with
convicted rapists in
prison, Scully and
Marolla concluded that
rapists are not sick or
overwhelmed by
uncontrollable urges,
but rather men who are
motivated by power and
had learned to view rape
as appropriate in various
circumstances.
ABC Video for Sociology
Poverty and Stratification
Segment #2: How Effective is the
Welfare Reform Bill?
Mario Brajuha:
Brajuha provided an
example of commitment
to research ethics by
protecting the
confidentiality of his
subjects, even when
faced with the
possibility of arrest.
Laud Humphreys:
Humphreys raised the
concern of the academic
community and media
by deceiving subjects in
his research on
“tearooms.”
C. Wright Mills: Mills
argued that research
without theory is simply
a collection of unrelated
facts, while theory
without research is
abstract and empty.
ABC Video for Sociology
Race and Ethnic Relations Segment
#13: Gallup Poll on Racism in
America
Test Bank: Chapter Five
Content Select
PowerPoint Presentation: Chapter
Five
ABC Video for Sociology
Poverty and Stratification
Segment #10: Psychology and the
Digital Divide
Test Bank: Chapter Five
Content Select
Web links
PowerPoint Presentation: Chapter
Five
Test Bank: Chapter Five
Content Select
Web links
Hempfield Sociology
Ch 01 Lesson 04
LESSON SUMMARY
• Research and theory must work together because without theory, research is of little value, and if theory is
unconnected to research, it is unlikely to represent the way life really is.
• Sociological research is needed because common sense is highly limited and often incorrect. Eight basic steps
are included in scientific research: (1) selecting a topic, (2) defining the problem, (3) reviewing the literature,
(4) formulating a hypothesis, (5) choosing a research method, (6) collecting the data, (7) analyzing the
results, and (8) sharing the results.
• Sociologists use six research methods (or research designs) for gathering data: (1) surveys, (2) participant
observations, (3) secondary analysis, (4) documents, (5) experiments, and (6) unobtrusive measures.
• Ethics are of concern to sociologists, who are committed to openness, honesty, truth, and protecting
subjects. Sociologists agree that social research should be value free but recognize that at any point in time,
sociologists are members of a particular society and are infused with values of all sorts. One of the dilemmas
for sociologists is deciding whether the goal of research should be only to advance understanding of human
behavior or also to reform harmful social arrangements.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After Reading Ch 01 Lesson 04 you will:
1. Explain why there is a need for sociological research. (18)
2. List and describe the eight basic steps for conducting scientific research. (18—21)
3. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the research
process: hypothesis, variable, independent variable, dependent variable, operational definitions,
validity, and reliability. (18—20)
4. Know and discuss the six research methods that sociologists use, the tools that they employ, and the
strengths and limitations of each. (2 1—27)
5. Define, describe, and discuss the significance of the following terms associated with the six research
methods: survey, population, sample, random sample, stratified random sample, closed-ended
questions, open-ended questions, rapport, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents,
experiment, experimental group, control group, independent variable, dependent variable, and
unobtrusive measures. (21—27)
6. Discuss the tension that remains between “pure” sociology and social reform. (30)
LESSON OUTLINE
I Doing Sociological Research
A. Common sense cannot be relied on as a source of knowledge because it is highly limited and its
insights often are incorrect. To move beyond common sense and understand what is really going on
and why, it is necessary to do sociological research.
B. Scientific research follows eight basic steps.
I. Selecting a topic depends on what the researcher wants to know more about and explain.
2. Defining the problem involves specifying exactly what the researcher wants to learn about
the topic.
3. Reviewing the literature uncovers existing knowledge about the problem.
Hempfield Sociology
Ch 01 Lesson 04
4. Formulating a hypothesis involves stating the expected relationship between variables,
based on a theory. Hypotheses need operational definitions—precise ways to measure the
variables.
5. Choosing a research method is influenced by the research topic.
6. Collecting the data involves concerns about validity—the extent to which operational
definitions measure what was intended—and reliability—the extent to which data produce
consistent results.
7. Analyzing the results involves the use of a range of techniques—from statistical tests to
content analysis—to analyze data. Computers have become powerful tools in data analysis
because they reduce large amounts of data to basic patterns in much less time than it used
to take.
8. Sharing the results by writing a report and publishing the results makes the findings
available for replication.
II. Research Methods
A. Surveys involve collecting data by having people answer a series of questions.
1. The first step is to determine a population—the target group to be studied—and selecting a
sample—individuals from among the target population who are intended to represent the
population to be studied.
2. In a random sample, everyone in the target population has the same chance of being
included in the study. A stratified random sample is a sample of specific subgroups (e.g.,
freshmen, sophomores, juniors) of the target population (a college or university) in which
everyone in the subgroup has an equal chance or being included in the study. Because a
random sample represents the target population, you can generalize your findings.
3. The respondents (people who respond to a survey) must be allowed to express their own
ideas so that the findings will not be biased.
4. Sociologists must decide between asking closed-ended questions, in which the respondent
selects one from a list of possible answers, and open-ended questions, in which
respondents answer the question in their own words.
5. It is important to establish rapport—a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects.
B. In participant observation, the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is
happening in that setting.
C. Secondary analysis is the analysis of data already collected by other researchers.
D. Documents—written sources—may be obtained from many sources, including books, newspapers,
police reports, and records kept by various organizations.
E. Experiments are especially useful in determining causal relationships
1. Experiments require an experimental group—the group of subjects exposed to the
independent variable—and a control group—the group of subjects not exposed to the
independent variable.
2. Experiments involve independent variables (factors that cause a change in something) and
dependent variables (factors that are changed).
F. Unobtrusive measures involve observing social behavior of people who do not know they are being
studied.
Hempfield Sociology
Ch 01 Lesson 04
III. Ethics In Sociological Research
A. Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists when it comes to doing research.
B. Ethical considerations include being open, honest, and truthful; not falsifying results or stealing
someone else’s work; not harming the subject in the course of conducting the research; protecting
the anonymity of the research subjects; and not misrepresenting themselves to the research
subjects.
D. Weber advocated that sociological research should be value free—personal values or biases should
not influence social research—and objective—totally neutral.
1. Sociologists agree that objectivity is a proper goal but acknowledge that no one can escape
values entirely.
2. Replication—repeating a study to see whether the same results are found—is one means to
avoid the distortions that values can cause.
3. This debate illustrates the continuing tensions over what should be the goal of sociological
research. Some sociologists lean toward basic sociological research that has no goal beyond
understanding social life and testing social theory, others feel that the knowledge should be
used to reform society.
IV. Trends Shaping the Future of Sociology
A. Public sociology provides a middle ground between research and social reform. Public sociology
refers to encouraging a sociological perspective among the public, especially politicians and policy
makers.
B. Globalization is the extensive interconnections among nations due to the expansion of capitalism.
KEY TERMS
After studying the Lesson, review the definition for each of the following terms.
open-ended questions: questions that respondents are able to answer in their own words (25)
operational definition: the way in which a variable in a hypothesis is measured (19)
participant observation (or fieldwork): research in which a researcher participates in a research setting while
observing what is happening in that setting (25)
population: the target group to be studied (21)
random sample: a sample in which everyone in the target population has the same chance of being included in
the study (21)
rapport: a feeling of trust between researchers and subjects (25)
reliability: the extent to which data produce consistent results (21)
replication: repeating a study to test its findings (29)
research method (or research design): one of six procedures sociologists use to collect data:
surveys, participant observation, secondary analysis, documents, unobtrusive measure, and experiments (19)
respondents: people who respond to a survey, either in interviews or by self-administered questionnaires (23)
sample: individuals from among a target population (21)
secondary analysis: the analysis of data already collected by other researchers (25)
Hempfield Sociology
Ch 01 Lesson 04
stratified random sample: a sample of specific subgroups of the target population in which everyone in the
subgroups has an equal chance of being included in the study (22)
survey: collecting data by having people answer a series of questions (21)
unobtrusive measures: observing people in such a way that they do not know they are being studied (27)
validity: the extent to which an operational definition measures what was intended (19)
variable: a factor thought to be significant for human behavior, which varies from one case to another (19)
KEY PEOPLE
Review the major theoretical contributions or findings of these people.
Mario Brajuha: During an investigation into a restaurant fire, officials subpoenaed notes taken by this
sociologist in connection with his participant observation research on restaurant work. He was threatened
with jail but would not turn over his notes. (28)
Laud Humphreys: The sociologist carried out doctoral research on homosexual activity. To obtain information,
he misrepresented himself to his research subjects. When his methods became widely known, a debate
developed over his use of questionable ethics. (28)
STUDENT APPLICATION PROJECTS
This is your opportunity to apply the sociological perspective to the world around you. The projects in this
section refer to material introduced in this chapter of your text.
2. Think back to the last time you participate in a survey (by phone, Web, or mail) Did you really want to
participate in the survey? Why or why not? What problems did you notice with the survey? Do you think most
people are compelled to give socially acceptable answers in the survey? Explain. Finally, discuss the extent to
which you think surveys are a good way to do research.