SOC497: Sociological Research Methods @ CSUN w/ Ellis Godard
Instructions
You will be conducting an experiment to see whether the way you present yourself triggers different reactions from strangers. You will need to select both a stimulus and an outcome, and will need to assess whether the stimulus had a significant effect on the outcome. (You need not assess the effect statistically.)
Requirements & Questions
First, you would ideally have a clear outcome which you will assess. It will have something to do with the willingness of people to react to strangers. It may be easiest to construct ordinal categories (no response, mild response, strong response) or nominal categories (no response, positive response, negative response.) However, it isn’ sufficient to just pick 1 of those lists; you must explain in detail how they are operationalized in your study – and you might prefer other categories, depending on your stimulus. Be sure to specify and explain the level of measurement used. You might instead record every response and then categorize them later, but that would employ a bit of grounded theory and may be beyond your comfort level and/or familiarity.
Second, you will select a stimulus to which you will subject the research subjects. (You might actually select this before figuring out what your outcome measures will be
– I mentioned the outcome first so that you can think about what you’re trying to look for. Often, the stimulus is known before the outcome is – but it’s difficult to design or select a stimulus if you have no idea what sort of outcome is of concern.) The stimulus could be something as simple as smiling at each respondent, but I suggest you pick something that’s clearer and more discernible, both to you and to the research subjects, such as: firmly nod your head as they pass, wave at them, say “hello”, or say something else (“good afternoon”, “how are you”, etc.) Note first that you should select only one stimulus (don’t wave and say hello), and second that your stimulus should be exactly the same each time: If you wave, use the same hand at the same angle and speed; if you say something, say the same thing in the same tone and volume and distance from them. Be specific in detailing these choices in your write-up.
Third, you will need to select a research location. It will need to be a public place where you are likely to see many research subjects, to increase your sample size and maximize the diversity of the research subjects. It might be the entrance to the library or the Matador bookstore building, the entrance or intersection of a mall, a bustop, or any other place. Do not reveal to anyone that you are conducting research, and be as discreet as possible in recording your results. (Try using a notecard with two columns.)
Then, go to your research location for thirty minutes. For the first ten minutes, use your stimulus and record the reactions you get. For the second fifteen minutes, do not use the stimulus (nothing
– no waves, nods, anything) in order to have a control group, but record what research subjects do as they pass, if anything. For the final five minutes, use your stimulus again. Be sure to record data for each of the three periods (stimulus, control, stimulus) separately.
Finally, write a two-page report (typed, double-spaced) describing your stimulus choice, outcome measure (including level of measurement), research location, and results. Summarize the recorded results in a table and assess (statistically or casually) whether the stimulus triggered a significant difference in stranger behavior. (Be certain that your table makes sense statistically. It should, for example, include the total sample size and should include percentages rather than simply raw frequencies.) Lastly, comment on changes you would make if you conducted this experiment again – would you use a different stimulus, outcome meaure, or location, and why or why not?

HW6 (Experiments) Grading key:
19 pts total
Location (1)
-1 if not IDed
Stimulus (3 pts)
-6 (six) if not a variable (i.e. constant – they did one thing and didn’t follow instructions)
-2 if not IDed
-1 if not clear hello – loud or soft? High or low? Smile or no? fast or slow? smile – how long? wide or narrow? Open or closed? Eyes wide or not? Eye contact?
Wave – hi or low? Fast or slow? Size of arc? Smile or no?
-1 if more than one
Outcome (3)
-2 if not explained how coded
-1 if not clear
-1 if level of measurement not specified
2 page report (1)
-1 if not two pages
Table (4)
-3 if not done at all
-1 if not clear layout / doesn’t summarize effectively (eg all data in one table, not 3 tables)
-1 if not percentage (they should know that)
-1 if total N is not clear
-1 if not mirror specified outcomes/stimuli
Assessment (3)
-3 if not done at all
-1 if not say what effect was
-1 if not say whether difference is significant (need not be statistical significance; substantive key here)
Changes (2)
-2 if not suggest any