2 Measuring the Real World Sociologically Introduction • • • • The Process of Research Theoretical Approaches to Research Methods Methods of Social Research The Ethics of Conducting Research Introduction, cont’d • Bias: systematic errors in how we draw conclusions based on our observations that may lead to inaccurate or imprecise knowledge • Through careful observation and analysis, often over long periods, sociologists can gain trustworthy and meaningful insights • Research methods can be defined as the toolset from which sociologists draw to learn about, understand, and contribute to social life Five Main Goals in Sociological Research • • • • • Enumeration and description Prediction Explanation Debunking Social justice Five Main Goals in Sociological Research, cont’d • Enumeration and description • E.g., census collection to lay out the basic characteristics of our society Five Main Goals in Sociological Research, cont’d • Prediction • E.g., much policy work that aims at determining how well one strategy of action will achieve its goal, and at what cost, compared with another potential strategy • Money is invested based on these predictions, so they had better be accurate Five Main Goals in Sociological Research, cont’d • Explanation • The goal is to create theories about the world, not necessarily to influence it • E.g., most published work in scholarly journals is aimed at finding out how much x affects y and the likely reasons for this connection Five Main Goals in Sociological Research, cont’d • Debunking • Showing that popular belief (myth) or common sense is wrong about something • E.g., the belief that unemployed people or people on welfare simply lounge around eating junk food, rather than looking for jobs Five Main Goals in Sociological Research, cont’d • Social justice • E.g., to understand the experiences of marginalized and oppressed social groups, with the goal of achieving social change The Process of Research Identifying an Area of Study and Formulating a Research Problem • The first step in a research project is to identify a general area of study • Three guiding principles to form a research problem: • Clarity: clear formulation of the research question that is easy to understand • Specificity: specific formulation of the research question, evading the use of vague language and terminology • Feasibility: formulation of answerable research questions that can be tackled in a single project Identifying an Area of Study and Formulating a Research Problem Literature Review • The literature helps to obtain a good understanding of what has been studied in the past • The literature can further help formulate the significance of the study Research Design • The blueprint of the study • It defines the study type, research question, hypotheses, variables, data collection methods, and a statistical analysis plan • Scholars need to carefully consider their epistemological grounding and examine criteria of research excellence • Good research design carefully justifies the decisions made around what data collection method is used, what population is investigated, and how the data is analyzed Research Design, cont’d Collecting and Analyzing Data • Quantitative methods rely on numerical values obtained through data collection procedures • E.g., surveys and experiments Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Reliability describes the extent to which findings can be replicated and are consistent across comparable situations • Validity refers to the extent that a concept, idea, or measure represents the real world in an accurate way • Statistics concerns itself with the collection, analysis, interpretation, and representation of numerical data • E.g., graphs, charts, and tables Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Bar Graph Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Qualitative methods rely on different kinds of data, often making use of interviews, images (photography or digital images on social media), videos, and narratives instead of numerical values • The aim of qualitative work is not to test a hypothesis derived from existing theory but to develop new theory from data • Trustworthiness and credibility of findings are accomplished through saturation and triangulation (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Saturation refers to the point in time when no new insights are gained from additional data analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2014) • Triangulation involves comparing and contrasting data from various sources and allows qualitative scholars to make sense of their data and the trustworthiness of accounts Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Mixed methods is any combination of research methods • This approach combines the strengths of different data collection and analysis approaches (Johnson, Onwuegbuzie, & Turner, 2007) • Merits: Data triangulation; can add precision to narratives and accounts of participants Collecting and Analyzing Data, cont’d • Challenges: It is time-consuming and challenging; it requires a scholar to have expertise in different forms of data collection, analysis, visualization, interpretation, and write-up styles Write Up, Scholarly Communication, and Critical Reflection • Occurs following the completion of the analysis of data • Before it is presented or published it undergoes peer review • An important part of scholarly communication is disseminating work beyond academia • E.g., blog posts, tweets Theoretical Approaches to Research Methods Conflict Theory • Entails the development of methods that uncover and better understand inequalities and conflict among social groups • Methodologies in this tradition have three key features (Brown & Strega, 2005): • Position of researcher • Topic of inequality • Critical reflection Feminism • Develops methodologies that uniquely focus on gender inequalities and their consequences • Develops standpoint theory as a methodology to uncover how different positions in the world influences how we see the world • Standpoint theory also highlights the social location of researchers and how this impacts their knowledge production Structural Functionalism • Examines how society is organized and the role of institutions in reinforcing social order • Often make use of large-scale survey data and analyses to quantify and understand these changes • These methodologies focus on the role of institutions and how we can measure institutional change through large-scale quantitative research or ethnographies Symbolic Interactionism • Aims to develop methodologies to study everyday life and the social order imposed on it such as participant observations • Focused on uncovering the role of symbols in society and their meaning, including language Table 2.1 Methods of Social Research Survey Research • The goal of survey research is to gather systematic information on a topic to describe, explain, or influence a social phenomenon (Guppy & Gray, 2008) • Collects data through either structured interviews or questionnaires • May be used if the aim of the study is to describe trends, establish causation, determine relationships between variables, or see the big picture of a phenomenon Survey Research, cont’d • A population is the complete group of units to which the results are to be generalized • A sample is a subset of the population of interest in a study, reducing the number of participants to a manageable size Survey Research, cont’d • Types of Surveys • Self-administered questionnaires • Researcher-administered questionnaires • Sampling Interviews • Interviews are conversations with select individuals who belong to social groups of interest • Two types of interviews: • In-depth, unstructured • Semi-structured Field Research • Research done outside a laboratory (Palys & Atchinson, 2014) • It involves careful observation of participants in their natural settings • E.g., schools, hospitals, or other social spaces • Data collection can include surveys, interviews, and focus groups (Sullivan, 2009) Field Research, cont’d • Participant observation is a strategy where the researcher observes an individual, a group, or a community, in order to understand and become familiar with customs and practices as seen from the “natural habitat” (Sullivan, 2009) Field Research, cont’d • Ethnography involves researchers fully immersing themselves in a setting and observing participants • Distinguishes itself from other approaches because of the longer time frame and the nature of the relation between researcher and research participant • Ethnographers rely on multiple methods of data collection to establish a personal understanding of the setting Participatory Action Research • One of the most suitable methodologies for conducting research with marginalized or oppressed communities or social groups • Participants become collaborators in the research Participatory Action Research, cont’d • Photovoice aims to understand the lived experiences of marginalized social group • Cameras allow participants to take control over what stories they wish to share with researchers and how they chose to frame their stories (Rose, 2008; Wang, Burris, & Ping, 1996) • Challenges: analysis of photos is complex and involved (Logan & Murdie, 2016); difficult for researchers to synthesize information into an accurate, coherent narrative Secondary Data Analysis • Consists of the analysis and interpretation of existing data, previously collected by other scholars, produced by institutions, or created online by a global digital public • The data can be written or visual formats and can have been created by individuals or institutions • Limited because it relies on pre-existing questions, often based on simple yes or no responses, and may not ask the questions needed to test a particular hypothesis Secondary Data Analysis, cont’d Secondary Data Analysis, cont’d • Social media research has advantages over traditional research because researchers have access to vast amounts of data, often in real time • The data is produced in a naturalistic setting • Reactivity describes changes in behaviour that result from participants knowing they are being observed Secondary Data Analysis, cont’d The Ethics of Conducting Research The Ethics of Conducting Research, cont’d • Scholars aim to minimize physical and psychological harm to human participants associated with a study • Maintaining the trust of participants is essential to research • Informed consent is a process for getting permission before involving a participant in a research endeavour • Potential participants must have an adequate understanding of the research topic, their role in the research, and their rights as participants The Ethics of Conducting Research, cont’d • The goal of an Research Ethics Board is to make sure that a research study follows the guidelines outlined in the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans as well as other relevant regulations, policies, and guidelines • All studies undertaken at institutions of higher education need to be reviewed by an REB • Consists of experts who carefully read and evaluate a study’s research design for its ethical soundness Conclusion • Scholars can choose from a wide range of methods • Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses and scholars must consider which method best fits their goals • Sociologists have come to rely on technology to facilitate many aspects of the research process • Technology cannot replace good methodology
