Sociological Research How do sociologists study social behavior? Sociological Research • Can a devout Catholic study abortion without being influenced by his/her religion? • Answer is yes. It is possible by following sociological research/scientific method. The Sociological Research Process • Quantitative Research- has the goal of objectivity and data that can be measured -typically relies on complex statistical techniques (think numbers- quantity) • -example: statistically examining the relationships among church memberships, divorce and migration, and the impact of suicide rates • Qualitative Research- relies on interpretation and description of underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships (think open-ended subjective questions) • -example: analyzing the content of suicide notes, asking people about their lives and general reactions Deductive v Inductive Approaches to Research • Deductive- the researcher begins with a theory and generates hypotheses which leads to data gathering, then generalizations, and then to support or refutation of the theory • Inductive- the researcher collects information, creates a generalization, the generalization is then used to create a theory that is then tested through the formation of hypotheses Theory gives meaning to research---research helps support theory Divorce in America Correlations • Sociologists are interested in finding correlations between two variables. EXAMPLES • What is the correlation between student perceptions of the teacher and grades? • What is the correlation between a parent’s education level and what level classes their children take in school? • What is the correlation between your income level and your geographic location? • What is the correlation between religious views and political beliefs? Correlations Continued • What is the correlation between divorce rates and the state of the economy? • What is the correlation between your family’s income and your grades? • What is the correlation between gender and pay? • What is the correlation between a nation’s overall wealth and the gap between the rich and poor? • What is the correlation between political views and gender? • What is the correlation between geographic location and race? • What is the correlation between language and race? • What is the correlation between age and musical preferences? Sociological Research Methods • Naturalistic Observations- Observing people in their natural environments (aka field research) • Surveys- polls that gather facts or determine relationships among facts • Experiments- in which subjects are exposed to an independent variable to determine how this impacts a dependent variable Classifying Research Opportunities • You will each receive a slip of paper with a research opportunity listed. Your job is to determine which research method would be the most suitable. Be ready to read your slip aloud and justify your choice. • • • • Naturalistic Observation Survey Experiment Impossible/Impractical to research using sociological methods Survey • Is a poll in which the researcher gathers facts of attempts to determine relationships among facts • How to collect data? • Survey—Questionnaire and Interview • Decide on a population and select a sample • Random sampling- every member of a population has the same chance of being selected • Probability sampling- people are chosen because they have certain characteristics Strengths and weaknesses? Field Research • Is the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play. • Qualitative data oriented • Case studies • Ethnography- is a detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people by researchers who may live with that group over a period of years • Interviews Strengths and weaknesses? Experiments Are carefully designed situations in which the researcher studies the impact of certain variables on subjects’ attitudes and behaviors • Experimental group (expose independent variable) vs. control group (withhold independent variable) • Follow the scientific method • Hypothesis • Variables • Independent • Dependent variables Use existing sources• Secondary analysis—use previously collected data • Content analysis—analyze your results Steps of Sociological Research • The scientific method involves eight basic steps: 1) Observation of an event that stimulates thinking. 2) Defining or classifying the terms or events being considered. 3) Formulating the research issue or hypothesis. 4) Generating a theory or proposition - a general statement that serves as a potential answer to the research question. 5) Creating a research design in order to test whether the theory or proposition is valid. 6) Collecting data-working through the research design to make observations. 7) Analyzing the data 8) Making conclusions and evaluating the theory. Example 1… Sociology Question- What causes people to commit suicide? DURKHEIM’S SUICIDE STUDY • DEFINING THE PROBLEM: WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL PATTERNS RELATED TO SUICIDE? 1. 2. 3. WHAT COUNTED AS SUICIDE? WHEN AND WHERE ARE SUICIDE MOST COMMON? WHAT SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS DO SUICIDE VICTIMS SHARE? Sociologist Emile Durkheim WHAT IS THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLE(S) IN DURKHEIM’S STUDY? • TIME OF DAY • GEOGRAPHY • RACE • GENDER • SEASON • MEDIA • WHAT IS THE DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S) IN DURKHEIM’S STUDY? • THE SUCIDE RATE • THIS IS INFLUENCED BY THE INDEPENDENT VARIABLES IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO? •GPA AND HOURS SPENT STUDYING •GPA AND ABSENTEEISM •GPA AND HAIR COLOR RELATIONSHIPS OF VARIABLES • DIRECT RELATIONSHIP: BOTH VARIABLES INCREASE; BOTH VARIABLES DECREASE. • INVERSE RELATIONSHIP: THE VALUE OF ONE VARIABLE INCREASES AS THE VALUE OF THE OTHER DECREASES. • NULL HYPOTHESIS: THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIABLES. REVIEWING THE LITERATURE STEP 2 • WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT SUICIDE? • VICTIMS OF SUICIDE WERE ASSUMED TO BE DEPRESSED, MENTALLY ILL, OR STRICKEN WITH UNBEARABLE LOSS. • ARE THERE DIFFERENT RATES OF SUICIDE IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, SEASONS, AND DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS? DURKHEIM WOULD TEST THIS SUSPICION. HYPOTHESIS STEP 3 DURKHEIM’S STUDY: THE MORE INTEGRATED PEOPLE ARE INTO THEIR SOCIAL GROUPS, THE LESS LIKELY THEY ARE TO COMMIT SUICIDE CHOOSING A RESEARCH DESIGN STEP 4 • DATA: FACTS, STATISTICS, STUDY RESULTS • HOW WILL YOU MEASURE (OBSERVE) THE DIFFERENT VARIABLES? • TWO VARIABLES: 1) DEGREE OF INTEGRATION 2) RATE OF SUICIDE CHOOSING A RESEARCH DESIGN STEP 4 • DATA: FACTS, STATISTICS, STUDY RESULTS • HOW WILL YOU MEASURE (OBSERVE) THE DIFFERENT VARIABLES? • TWO VARIABLES: 1) DEGREE OF INTEGRATION 2) RATE OF SUICIDE INDICATORS • DURKHEIM DEVELOPED CAN BE MEASURED AN OPERATIONAL EMPIRICALLY IN ORDER DEFINITION USING THE TO GATHER FOLLOWING INDICATORS INFORMATION ABOUT TO MEASURE SOCIAL AN ABSTRACT VARIABLE INTEGRATION: WHAT IS THE ABSTRACT VARIABLE IN DURKHEIM’S STUDY? 1.MARITAL STATUS 2.CHURCH INVOLVEMENT COLLECTING THE DATA • DURKHEIM RELIED ON GOVERNMENT RECORDS THAT LISTED CAUSES OF DEATH. • DURKHEIM ALSO USED RECORDS THAT LISTED THE NUMBER OF SUICIDES AND GAVE STATISTICS ABOUT THE VICTIMS: THEIR AGE, MARITAL STATUS, NATIONALITY, RELIGION. WHAT WAS THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM OF DOING THIS? DURKHEIM’S FINDINGS • THE MORE SOCIALLY INTEGRATED ONE IS, THE LESS LIKELY ONE IS TO COMMIT SUICIDE. • WHAT TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP EXISTS BETWEEN THE TWO VARIABLES? Strengths and weaknesses of experiments • A.) advantages include the high degree of control, the low cost, small numbers of subjects, and the ability to replicate many times • B.) disadvantages include artificiality, a less communal approach to data gathering, biases on the part of the reseracher, and subject reactivity • Hawthorne Effect- is an example of how subjects react to their knowledge of being studied. Can you think of situations in which your behavior changed because you knew you were being observed? CHALLENGES IN DOING RESEARCH • RELIABILITY • VALIDITY • SPECIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIABLES • PEOPLE ARE NOT REDUCIBLE TO SIMPLE CAUSE-AND-EFFECT EQUATIONS VALIDITY • THE DEGREE TO WHICH A STUDY MEASURES WHAT IT IS ATTEMPTING TO MEASURE • MEASURING SOCIAL INTEGRATION BY USING INDICATORS LIKE MARRIAGE RATES • MIGHT THE DATA BE DISTORTED? READ PAGE 36 RELIABILITY • THE DEGREE TO WHICH A STUDY YIELDS THE SAME RESULTS WHEN REPEATED BY THE ORIGINAL RESEARCHER OR BY OTHERS •RELIABILITY OR VALIDITY? 1.BATHROOM SCALE 2.GPA AS AN INDICATOR OF INTELLIGENCE Sociological Research • The best way to conduct sociological research is to triangulate- meaning to combine more than one method • Ethics of sociological research—code of ethics • • • • • Objectivity/integrity Privacy/confidentiality Avoid harm to subjects Informed consent Disclose Example #2- The Kinsey Report • What • Alfred Kinsey was a zoologist who studies flies and wasps. • Kinsey began to investigate human sexual behavior with the same fervor he had formerly invested in the gall wasp. The Kinsey Report • In an era when masturbation, contraception, and premarital sex were widely considered sins, Kinsey's work sparked a revolution in attitudes toward sex by showing that even far more scandalous practices -extramarital affairs, homosexuality, and so forth -were commonplace. • For many Americans, his findings were liberating. For others, they were filthy lies that threatened to undermine the moral fiber of the nation. The Kinsey Scale Problems with Kinsey’s Research Methods • 1.Sampling. Kinsey relied on what we today call a "convenience sample" of respondents. He and his colleagues interviewed accessible volunteers rather than a randomized and representative sample of the American population. About one third of Kinsey's respondents had a known "sexual bias." They were prostitutes, members of secretive homosexual communities, patients in mental hospitals, residents of homes for unwed mothers, and the like. Two thirds of these people were convicted felons. Five percent were male prostitutes. But even if we eliminate respondents with a "sexual bias" we do not have a representative sample. For example, 84 percent of the men without a "sexual bias" went to college. Most of them were from the Midwest, especially Indiana. In Kinsey's defense, scientific sampling was in its infancy when he did his research. Still, we are obliged to conclude that it is difficult to generalize from Kinsey's work because his sample is unrepresentative. Problems with Kinsey’s Report • 2.Questionnaire design. Kinsey required that his interviewers memorize long questionnaires including 350 or more questions. He encouraged them to adapt the wording and ordering of the questions to suit the "level" of the respondent and the natural flow of conversation that emerged during the interview. Yet much research now shows that even subtle changes in question wording and ordering can produce sharply different results. A question about frequency of masturbation per month yields means between 4 and 15 depending on how the question is phrased. To avoid such problems, modern researchers prefer standardized questions. They also prefer questionnaires considerably briefer than Kinsey's because asking 350 questions can take hours and often results in "respondent fatigue," a desire on the part of respondents to offer quick and easy answers (as opposed to considered, truthful responses) so they can end the interview as quickly as possible. Problems with Kinsey’s Report • 3.Interviewing. People are generally reluctant to discuss sex with strangers, and Kinsey and his associates have often been praised for making their respondents feel at ease talking about the most intimate details of their personal life. Yet to establish rapport with respondents, Kinsey and his colleagues did not remain neutral. They expressed empathy with the pains and frustrations many respondents expressed, often reassuring them that their sexual histories were normal and decent. Today, researchers frown upon any departure from neutrality in the interview situation because it may influence respondents to answer questions in a less than truthful way. The reassurance and empathy expressed by Kinsey and his associates may have led some respondents to offer exaggerated reports of their behavior. Problems with Kinsey’s Report • 4.Data analysis. It is unclear how Kinsey decided whether the effect of one variable on another was significant. He rarely used statistical tests for this purpose. He never introduced control variables to see if observed associations between variables were spurious. Moreover, he saw no problem in lumping together data collected over decades. Yet between 1938, when Kinsey started collecting data, and 1953, the year in which his second book was published, the United States experienced unprecedented social change fueled by depression and boom, war and peace. Sexual attitudes and behavior undoubtedly changed, and one may wonder whether it is meaningful to analyze respondents from the late 30s and the early 50s together. • Since Kinsey, researchers have conducted more than 1,000 surveys of human sexual behavior. Today, using modern research methods, we are able to describe and explain sexual behavior more accurately and insightfully than did Kinsey and his pioneering colleagues. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT • You have TWO options- PICK ONLY ONE • 1. The Helping Experiment (for more extroverted kids)- Field work • 2. Survey- Making (for more introverted kids) Option One: Field Work Assignment The Helping Experiment This experiment explores whether attachments between people affect whether help is offered. Two people are attached to each other when they like each other or when they have affection for each other. Sociologists consider attachments crucial for social life and have explored their importance in many areas of social behavior. The Experiment Decide on some objects to be dropped such as books, notebooks, coins, or whatever. Several or more items should be dropped. Drop the objects in front of a stranger as the stranger passes bt. Do so in a way that appears natural. • Record whether the stranger helps you pick up the dropped items. • Drop the same objects in front of a friend. Do so in a way that appears natural. • Record whether your friend helps you. • Bring your results to be combined with the results from your classmates. Option Two: Survey Making • You will work by yourself or with a partner to make a survey using all the tips you learned today. • I will need to approve of your topic first. • Your sample will be the Social Studies Dept here at MHS. There are 20 teachers. • Think about making a survey that gets at a correlation between two variables. Come up with a hypothesis. • For example: Hypothesis- Social Studies teachers were high achieving students in their high school Social Studies classes. • Example #2: Hypothesis- Social Studies teachers come from upper middle class backgrounds. Next class • I will group you with other students based on the option you selected and you will compile your data.