INTRODUCTION TO
SOCIOLOGY
Spring 2015
BELL WORK & NOTES
SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
1/20/15
This is your header!
You should write it
at the top of the
page
After reading the text (just the front!)
answer the following questions in your
notebook:
Why can’t Andre get a job?
Why did Carole break up with Michael?
In the text the problem is that both scenarios
are explained with individualistic explanations
that neglect the larger world the people are a
part of
HOME WORK CHECK
What questions did you come up with over the
week end?
How can we endeavor to answer all of your
questions?
SOCIOLOGICAL
EXPERIMENTS
Objectives:
I can describe the process of Sociological research
and the scientific method
I can Apply the different types of Sociological
research
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
Ask a
Question
Background
Research
Hypothesis
Test
Hypothesis
Analyze
Data
Draw
Conclusion
 Can you think of a time when you have used the
scientific method in your life?

- Debating what movie to see or where to eat

- Figuring out how to act on dates

“If I open the door for her and listen to her
stories, then the I will get another date”

- If your T V gets fuzzy or Xbox won’t work, you
experiment with different knobs and buttons until
it does
NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
 A study method that involves covertly or overtly watching
subjects' behaviors in their natural environment, without
intervention
CASE STUDIES
 Research method that
involves an intensive
investigation of one or
more participants
SURVEYS
 Research method in which information is obtained by asking
many individuals a fixed set of questions
LONGITUDINAL STUDIES
 Method of research
where data is
collected about a
group of participants
over a number of
years to asses how
characteristics
change or remain
the same during
development
CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
 Method of research in which data is collected from groups of
participants of dif ferent ages and compared so that
conclusions can be drawn about dif ferences due to age
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS/ CORRELATIONAL STUDIES
The measure of a relationship
between two variables or sets of data
Final Grade in Sociology
Final Grade in Sociology
Final Grade in Sociology
 How does time spent studying sociology correlate to a
students’ final grade?
Time Spent Studying
Days Absent
Time Spent Brushing Teeth
Correlation
DOES NOT
prove
Causation!!!!
EXPERIMENTS
Allow the researcher to control the situation
and reduce the influence of outside influence
Variable- any factor capable of change
Experimental group- the group to which an
independent variable is applied
Control group- the group that is treated the
same way as the experimental group except
that the independent variable is not applied
ACTIVIT Y
 With the person next to you try to match your 10 questions (5
each) about human behavior to the method of study that
would be most ef fective.
 Once you’ve matched them, talk to Mr. K and come to write
your questions on the dif ferent pieces of paper around the
room
HOME WORK #1
 Read Chapter 1 Section 1 and answer the reading focus
questions at the start of the chapter in your notebook
 1. What is sociology and how does it compare to other social
science?
 2. How do sociologists view and think about society?