SOC-101 DL
Principles of
Sociology
D R . E V I E F T YC H I O U
WEEK 3
Summary
This unit addresses the ethical issues of subjecting humans to sociological research, outlines the
steps in the social research process, offers keys to deciphering tables featuring social statistics,
explains the logic of causation and correlation, describes the main research methods employed
by sociologists and discusses their advantages and disadvantages.
Objectives
The main goal of this unit is to familiarize students with the methods employed in sociological
research and to alert them to their ethical implications. A secondary aim of this unit is to equip
students with the basic skills in reading and interpreting tables containing social statistics as well
as understanding the principles of causation and correlation. Thirdly, the lecture seeks to raise
the students’ critical awareness in assessing the appropriateness of various research methods to
specific contexts.
Expected Learning Outcomes
ØIdentify the steps in the social research process.
ØList and describe the methods used by sociologists in research.
Ø Discuss the relative merits of various research methods and assess their applicability to specific
Øresearch settings.
ØDemonstrate awareness of the ethical dilemmas involved in sociological research.
ØDemonstrate understanding of the principles of correlation and causation.
ØInterpret social data appearing in tables.
Readings
Required Bibliography*
Giddens, A. & Sutton. P.W. (2013). Sociology (7th edition), Polity Press. Chapter 2.
*This presentation is based on the required readings of this course.
Human subjects, ethical
issues
All research concerned with human beings potentially poses ethical
dilemmas.
Humphrey’s case (Book title: Tearoom Trade):
A case that is being discussed and criticized as unethical because he did not
reveal his identity as researcher while doing fieldwork and he did not have
the consent of the men he studied.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFa10JFats
Today: strict ethical guidelines regarding research
There is no simple or agreed answer to this question.
For Comte, natural and social sciences are not fundamentally
different since they both use the induction method.
Logical positivist: focus on logic and deductive reasoning, rather
than simple induction. To be scientifically valid, statements and
theories have to be tested against evidence. This is unlike other
forms of ’knowledge’.
What is
science?
Principle of falsification (Karl Popper): scientists should actively
seek out cases that disconfirm or falsify their own hypothesis.
History of science (Thomas Kuhn): he argued that scientists
become committed to expanding ‘their’ paradigm and practice a
problem-solving form of ‘normal science’, which expands the
evidence base of the paradigm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGZEZ96ynI
Paul Feyerabend: he argued that history shows us that there is
only one proven methodological principle: “anything goes”.
Scientific discoveries have been made in many sorts of ways and
we should not put restrictions on methodologies.
What do the debates on the nature of science tell
us about the status of sociology?
1. Science cannot be defined by any one method
or a fixed set of methodological rules
Scientific
sociology?
2. Science involve certain key elements such as
theoretical thinking, logical assessment of
arguments, systematic empirical investigation,
rigorous analysis, etc. Based on this social
disciplines must be considered scientific
3. We should not expect social scientists to adopt
exactly the same methods of investigation as the
natural sciences because humans are self aware
beings who confer meaning and purpose on what
they do.
4. Sociologists are trying to “inside the mind” and
this is problematic and beneficial simultaneously.
Conclusions:
Scientific
sociology?
vWe can agree that there are criteria which
distinguish scientific work from other types of
inquiry, though these criteria are not fixed but
change over time alongside ongoing research
programmes and studies.
vWe can also agree with historians that science
takes place within communities and broad
theoretical frameworks or paradigms.
Define the problem
Review the literature
Make the problem precise
The research
process
Select a research design
Carry out the research
Interpret your result
Report the research findings
Sharing of results and discussion in the wider academic community
Understanding cause and effect
A casual relationship between two events or situations is an association in which one event or
situation producers another.
Correlation: means the existence of a regular relationship between two sets of occurrences or
variables.
Variable: is any dimension along which individuals or groups vary (i.e. gender, age, ethnicity,
etc.)
Causal mechanics: casual connections involved in identified correlations.
Controls: to find out whether a correlation between variables is a casual connection, we can use
controls, which means we hold some variables constant in order to lookat the effects of others.
Sociological
Research
Methods
QUANTITATIVE &
QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH METHODS
Ethnography: fieldwork or first-hand study of people,
using participant observation and/or interviews as the
main research methods
Sociological
Research
Methods
Surveys: questionnaires are either sent out or
administrated directly in interviews to a selected group of
people-sometimes as many as several thousand.
Experiments: an attempt to test a hypothesis under highly
controlled conditions established by the investigator.
Biographical research: life histories consist of biographical
material assempled about particular individuals- usually as
recalled by the individuals themselves.
Comparative and historical research: making
comparisons allows us to clarify what is going on in
a particular area of social life. Also sometimes we
need the time perspective to make sense of the
material we collect about a particular problem.
Sociological
Research
Methods
Visual sociology: photographs films, television
programmes, video and so on are objects of study in
their own right.
The internet as a tool and a method
Sociology in the real world
Today it is common to find sociologist combining several methods in a single piece of research,
using each to supplement and check on others.
Triangulation
ØData triangulation
ØInvestigator triangulation
ØTheoretical triangulation
ØMethodological triangulation
The influence of sociology
IS SOCIOLOGY MERELY A
RESTATEMENT, IN ABSTRACT JARGON,
OF THINGS WE ALREADY KNOW?
VERY RARELY THIS IS THE CASE.
Sociologist use research, so in this way sociology often challenges the ‘obvious’ or simple answers
and sets our local knowledge within a much wider frame of reference.
Applied research
Reflexivity
Readings
Required Bibliography*
Giddens, A. & Sutton. P.W. (2013). Sociology (7th edition), Polity Press. Chapter 2.
Additional/recommended bibliography
Goldthorpe, J.E. (2011). An Introduction to Sociology (3rd edition), Cambridge University Press.
Chapter 3.
*This presentation is based on the required readings of this course.