The Real World
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
2nd Edition
Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein
Chapter 3
Studying Social Life:
Sociological Research Methods
Overview of Research Methods
• Quantitative Research: translates the social
world into numbers which can be studied
mathematically
• Qualitative Research: Uses non-numerical
data like texts, interviews, photos and
recordings to help understand social life
The Scientific Approach
• The Scientific Method—a procedure for
acquiring knowledge that emphasizes
collecting data through observation and
experiment.
The Scientific Approach
• Most sociologists believe that they should not
allow their personal beliefs to influence their
research.
• Max Weber coined the phrase value-free
sociology, stating that researchers should
identify facts without allowing their own
personal beliefs or biases to interfere.
The Scientific Method
•
•
•
•
Literature Review
Hypothesis
Variables
Operational Definitions
• Helps determine:
Steps of the Scientif ic Method (Figure 3.1)
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Scientific Method
• Correlations: a relationship between two
variables
• Causations: a relationship where one
variable causes another variable to change
• Spurious Correlations: a relationship that
seems to appear between two variables, but
is actually caused by something that
external, or intervening variable.
Paradigm Shifts
• Research can lead to what Thomas Kuhn
called “a paradigm shift,” or a change in the
way we think about some aspect of life.
Methods: How do we gather data?
• There are different ways to collect
information about a topic, but each method
has benefits and limitations.
• When beginning a research project, it is
important to consider which method will work
best.
Ethnographic Methods
• One way to collect to data is through
ethnography—studying people in their own
environments in order to understand the
meanings they give to their activities.
Ethnographic Methods
• Ethnography usually happens in two steps:
• The researcher participates in and observes a
setting.
• Then the researcher makes a written account
(field notes) of what goes on there.
Ethnographic Methods
• In participant observation the researcher
both observes and becomes a member in a
social setting.
Interviews
• Interviews involve direct, face-to-face
contact with respondents
• Can generate large amounts of qualitative
data.
• Researcher identifies the target population
that she wishes to study, then selects a
sample of people to be interviewed from that
population.
Interviews
• Interviews can have open-ended questions
or closed-ended questions.
• Open-ended questions let respondents talk
as much as they’d like about the question
you asked, whereas closed-ended questions
give respondents a choice of answers.
Surveys
• Surveys are questionnaires that are
administered to a sample of respondents
selected from a target population. Survey
research tends to look at large-scale social
patterns and employs statistics and other
mathematical means of analysis.
Experimental Methods
• Experiments are formal tests of specific
variables and effects that are performed in a
controlled setting where all aspects of the
situation can be controlled.
Experimental Methods
• Many experiments involve:
• An experimental group—participants that
receive the experimental treatment
• A control group—participants that continue
without intervention so they can be compared
with the experimental group.
Existing Sources
• Existing Sources refer to any data that has
already been collected by earlier researchers
and is available for future research.
Sociological Research Methods
• The research methods described in this
chapter are often applied outside the field of
sociology.
Conducting Sociological Research
• The American Sociological Association has
developed its own code of ethics to assist
researchers to avoid bias, adhere to
professional standards, and protect
respondents from harm.
Conducting Sociological Research
• Most universities where research is
conducted also have an institutional review
board, a group of scholars within a university
who meet regularly to review and approve
the research proposals of their colleagues
and make recommendations for how to
protect human subjects.
Sociological Research Methods | Concept Quiz
If researchers wanted to do a study that required
them to analyze income per household, and
average age of people living in the house, they
would likely to what kind of research?
a.Quantitative
b.Qualitative
c.Interviews
d.Participant observation
e.Ethnography
Sociological Research Methods | Concept Quiz
If researchers wanted to do a study
that required them to determine the
quality of life in a residential campus
dorm, they would likely to what kind
of research?
a. Quantitative
b. Qualitative
Sociological Research Methods | Concept Quiz
You’re doing interview research and you
ask the following question: “So, will you tell
me about your childhood?” What kind of
question did you ask?
a. Closed-ended question
b. Open-ended question
Sociological Research Methods | Concept Quiz
You’re doing interview research and you
ask the following question: “So, what year
did you get your first car?” What kind of
question did you ask?
a.Closed-ended question
b.Open-ended question
Additional Art from Chapter 3
Chapter Opener
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Sociological Methods Take Many Forms
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Does Watching Violence on Television Cause Children to Behave Violently?
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
What Was It Really Like at Woodstock?
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Brave New Families
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Richard Mitchell’s Dancing at Armageddon
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Second Shift
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Alice Miller’s For Your Own Good
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
How Might Facebook Be a Source for Sociological Data?
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
What Does It Mean to Be a Boy or a Girl?
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Cool Hunter
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
Brown vs. the Board of Education
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
The Nuremberg Code
The Real World: An Introduction to Sociology, 2nd Edition
Copyright © 2010 W.W. Norton & Company
This concludes the Lecture
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Chapter 3
The Real World
AN INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
2nd Edition
Kerry Ferris
and
Jill Stein
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