A Down-to-Earth Approach 8/e SOCIOLOGY A Down-to-Earth Approach 8/e James M. Henslin Chapter Five: How Sociologists Do Research This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

What is a Valid Sociological Topic? Macro - Broad Matters Micro - Individualistic Matters Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Common Sense and the Need for Research What Everyone Knows May Not Be True Move Beyond Guesswork Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

A Research Model Selecting a Topic Defining a Problem Reviewing the Literature Formulating a Hypothesis Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

A Research Model Choosing a Research Method Collecting Data Analyzing Results Sharing Results Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

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Research Methods Surveys Selecting a Sample Asking Neutral Questions Random Sample Stratified Random Sample Asking Neutral Questions Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Questionnaires Self-Administered Allow the Largest Sample Low Cost Loss of Researcher Control Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Interviews Structured Interviews Establishing Rapport More Researcher Control Time Consuming Interviewer Bias Structured Interviews Open-Ended Questions Establishing Rapport Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Participant Observation (Fieldwork) Researcher Participates Problems with Generalizability Done for Exploratory Work Generates Hypotheses Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Secondary Analysis Analyze Data Collected by Others Researcher Cannot Be Sure of Data Quality Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Documents Examine Books, Newspapers, Diaries, etc. Limited Scope Cannot Study Topic Unless Access is Granted Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Research Methods Experiments Experimental Group Control Group Independent Variables Dependent Variables Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

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Research Methods Unobtrusive Measures Observe People Without Them Knowing Question of Ethics Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Deciding Which Method to Use Available Resources Access to Subjects Purpose of Research Researcher’s Background and Training Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Deciding Which Method to Use Quantitative Research Methods Emphasis on Precise Measurement Uses Statistics and Numbers Qualitative Research Methods Emphasis on Observing, Describing, and Interpreting Behavior Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Gender in Sociological Research Affects Orientation and Attitudes Interviewer Bias Women and Men Lead Different Lives Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Ethics in Sociological Research Openness, Honesty, and Truthfulness Forbids Falsifying Results Condemns Plagiarism Subjects’ Informed Consent Subjects’ Anonymity Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

Ethics in Sociological Research Protecting Subjects: The Brajuha Research Misleading Subjects: The Humphreys Research Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007

How Research and Theory Work Together Neither Research nor Theory can Stand Alone Theories Must Be Tested Findings Must be Explained with Theory Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007