CHAPTER 2: DIMENSIONS OF
RESEARCH
• DIMENSION: A VARIABLE PROPERTY
OR QUALITY
• FOR EXAMPLE, PHYSICAL OBJECTS
HAVE HEIGHT, WIDTH, DEPTH;
WEIGHT; MOMENTUM; ETC.
DIMENSIONS OF SOCIAL
RESEARCH
• USE OF RESEARCH: BASIC OR
APPLIED
• PURPOSE: EXPLORATORY,
DESCRIPTIVE, EXPLANATORY
• TIME: CROSS-SECTIONAL,
LONGITUDINAL, CASE STUDY
• DATA COLLECTION: QUALITATIVE,
QUANTITATIVE
USE OF RESEARCH
• BASIC: GENERATE NEW KNOWLEDGE,
THEORY
• APPLIED: SOLVE PROBLEMS
• IN PRINCIPLE, THEY ARE
– C0MPLEMENTARY
– OVERLAPPING
• IN PRACTICE, BASIC RESEARCH IS
MORE PRESTIGEOUS
BASIC RESEARCH
• DEVELOPS OR TESTS KEY TOOLS OF
SOCIAL RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE:
– THEORIES
– CONCEPTS
– METHODS
APPLIED RESEARCH
• FOCUS ON SOLVING PROBLEMS
• TYPES
– SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: WHAT ARE
THE LIKELY CONSEQUENCES OF A
PLANNED POLICY OR PROGRAM?
– EVALUATION: OF A POLICY OR PROGRAM
– HOW WELL DOES IT WORK?
– ACTION:EMPOWERS MEMBERS OF THE
COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY AND SOLVE
PROBLEMS
PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY
Engages sociology in conversation with
society about values, vision, analysis,
direction
Types
traditional – writing or speaking for broad
but thin audience
grassroots – working with groups in the
community
May combine basic and applied
Grassroots Public Sociology and
Action Research
• Goals are similar: empowerment, social
change
• Action research often focuses on solving
specific problems
• Public sociology also creates larger,
critical conversations about social vision,
values, analysis, and strategies for change
PURPOSES OF A STUDY
• EXPLORATORY – LEARN ABOUT A NEW
TOPIC OR QUESTION
• DESCRIPTIVE – PROVIDE QUALITATIVE
AND/OR QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION
• EXPLANATORY – DEVELOP OR TEST
THEORY
SEE BOX 2.2 ON PAGE 29
NO NEED TO MEMORIZE, BUT BE FAMILIAR
WITH BASIC IDEAS OF EACH PURPOSE
THE TIME DIMENSION
• CROSS-SECTIONAL - SNAPSHOT
• LONGITUDINAL – SERIES OF
SNAPSHOTS
– TIME-SERIES –SAME “UNITS OF
OBSERVATION” EACH TIME
– PANEL – SAME INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS,
ETC.
– COHORT – SAME LIFE EXPERIENCES
SHARED BY MEMBERS
THE TIME DIMENSION, continued
• CASE STUDIES – ‘CONTINUOUS’
VIDEO
– EXAMINE A GROUP, EVENT,
ORGANIZATION, ETC. OVER TIME
– COMPARATIVE CASE STUDIES
DATA COLLECTION
• QUANTITATIVE
– EXPERIMENTS
• IN LAB OR IN ‘REAL LIFE’
• USUALLY INVOLVES COMPARING
EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUPS,
BEFORE AND AFTER ‘TREATMENT(S)’ GIVEN
TO EXPERIMENTAL GROUP(S)
DATA COLLECTION, CONTINUED
• QUANTITATIVE, CONTINUED
– SURVEYS
• THE MOST COMMON FORM OF SOCIOLOGICAL
RESEARCH
• INVOLVES ADMINISTERING A QUESTIONNAIRE TO A
POPULATION OR SAMPLE
– CONTENT ANALYSIS – OF ‘SYMBOLIC MATERIAL’
– EXISTING STATISTICS – ANALYSIS OF
PREVIOUSLY-COLLECTED DATA
DATA COLLECTION, CONTINUED
• QUALITATIVE DATA
– FIELD RESEARCH (OR PARTICIPANT
OBSERVATION)
• GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH
• RECONSTRUCTION APPROACH
– HISTORICAL-COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
• DATA: ARCHIVES (MEETING NOTES, MINUTES,
LETTERS, ETC.), MEMOIRS, BOOKS,
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, INTERVIEW
TRANSCRIPTS, ETC.