KU-MIT FRESHMAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM Program: Each year the university will send six or seven of the top freshman students to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during spring break. Purpose: The purpose is to broaden the horizon of students by exposing them to a new academic environment. Students stay in the MIT dormitory, attend 20 hours of classes in their discipline, and participate in campus life. There will be ample opportunity to explore some of the historical and cultural amenities of Boston. Eligibility and selection criterion: The freshman student with the highest grade (normalized to class average) from each discipline’s core course, including our Fall and Spring SOCI 100/101/102/103 sections, will be selected to participate in the program. Cost: The trip is “all expenses paid” and will not cost the student anything.

Sociological Research What is a sociological truth? How do we do research? What are the major political and ethical issues we are likely to encounter?

The Research Process Theoretical/epistemological questions Technical questions Ethical, political and policy questions

What is a sociological truth? Matters of epistemology Epistemology: that branch of philosophy that investigates the nature of knowledge and truth.

The Two Sociologies Positivist Humanist

Positivism: Overview Logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation. Scientific knowledge rests on empirical evidence: information we can verify with our senses Seeks out law-like statements Data is typically quantitative

The Scientific Method

Gender & Majoring: A Positivistic Approach Research Question: Are there gender differences in majoring among freshman who attend elite private universities in Turkey?

Data from Questionnaire case# gender major socsci 1 male math 0 2 male econ 1 3 male bus adm 0 4 female int rel 1 5 female int rel 1 6 female econ 1 . . . . 150 male phys 0

Table 1

Table 2

Humanism (interpretivist) Overview Humanist epistemology: the human world is different from the physical or biological Social science should seek to understand “meaning” Highlight human subjectivity and creativity The moral/political duty of social scientists. Data is typically qualitative

Gender & Majoring: A Humanistic Approach Select a small group of students Conduct in-depth interviews with them (Let subjects speak for themselves) Compare their stories, looking for commonalities and differences

Comparing Research Methods Subject Procedure Strengths Weaknesses Experiment Lab subjects or study of an existing group Subjects take tests under controlled conditions Better controls for causal analysis Cost; limited application because of ethical considerations Survey Sample of a population Various survey methods Generalizability; establishing relationships between variables (especially attitudes); quantitative data Accuracy; misses complexity; cost (if large) Participant Observation (ethnography) A particular group Researcher immerses self in setting to understand culture Studies behavior in context; a view from the inside of a group’s culture Not generalizable; interpretation difficult Secondary Data Analysis Various (often used for historical studies) Use of data collected by others (e.g., govt. or other researchers) Saves time and money Researcher has no control over data quality or suitability for research question

Emerging Research Methods: Life histories Diaries Logs and time budgets Letters Photographs Film and video Cyberspace

American Sociological Association Code of Ethics Maintain objectivity and integrity in research Respect the subject’s right to privacy and dignity Protect subjects from personal harm Preserve confidentiality Seek informed consent Acknowledge research collaboration and assistance Disclose all sources of financial support

The “Politics” of Research Debate Value neutrality (Weber) Political engagement (Marx)