1 Scientific Method 1. ESTABLISH THE PROBLEM 2. FORMULATE HYPOTHESIS 3. REFINE THE HYPOTHESIS 4. CREATE RESEARCH DESIGN 5. COLLECT DATA 6. TEST HYPOTHESIS, 7. EVALUATE & CONCLUDE 8. RE-TEST (REPLICATE)

2 Beginning the Research Process Theory, Questions, Hypotheses

3 Theory and Research Theory functions three ways in research: 1. Theories prevent our being taken in by flukes. 2. Theories make sense of observed patterns in ways that can suggest other possibilities. 3. Theories can direct research efforts, pointing toward likely discoveries through empirical observation.

4 Theoretical Perspective Conflict Theory Rational Choice Institutionalism Feminist theory Modernization theory Etc., Etc., Etc.

5 Linking Social Scientific Theory and Research 1. Deduction - Deriving expectations or hypotheses from theories. 2. Induction - Developing generalizations from specific observations.

6 Developing Your Research Question I know what general area, but I’m not sure of my research question?

7 The Importance of Good Questions A good research question: Defines the investigation Sets boundaries Provides direction Helps produce good research

8 Concept Map of Potential Research Topics

9 Minding Practicalities Research directions are not always at the full discretion of the researcher. Practicalities include: Appropriateness of the topic Your ability to get supervisory support Funding opportunities and commitments

10 From Interesting Topics to Researchable Questions theory observations/personal experiences contemporary issues engagement with the literature

11 Narrowing and Clarifying Narrowing, clarifying, and even redefining your questions is essential to the research process. Forming the right ‘questions’ should be seen as an iterative process that is informed by reading and doing at all stages.

12 The Hypothesis Dilemma Hypotheses are designed to express relationships between variables. If this is the nature of your question, a hypothesis can add to your research If your question is more descriptive or explorative, generating a hypothesis may not be appropriate

13 The Hypothesis Dilemma A hypothesis may not be appropriate if: You do not have a hunch or educated guess about a particular situation You do not have a set of defined variables. Your question centres on phenomenological description Your question centres on an ethnographic study of a cultural group

14 Good Question Checklist Is the question right for the field?  Will the findings be considered significant?  Will it make a contribution?  Are the terms and concepts well defined?

15 Good Question Checklist Is the question doable?  Can information be collected in an attempt to answer the question?  Do I have the skills and expertise necessary to access this information? If not, can the skills be developed?  Will I be able to get it all done within my time constraints?  Are costs likely to exceed my budget?  Are there any potential ethics problems?

16 Good Question Checklist Does the question get the tick of approval from those in the know?  Does my supervisor think I am on the right track?  Do ‘experts’ in the field think my question is relevant/ important/ doable?

17 Working with Literature What should I be reading and what do I do with it all?

18 The Importance of Working with Literature Working with literature is an essential part of the research process that: generates ideas helps form significant questions helps identify definitions, measures, variables Provides information on how other scholars answer similar questions

19 Working with literature Working with Literature Literature Find it! Manage it! Use it! Review it! Knowing the literature types Reading efficiently Choosing your research topic Understanding the lit review’s purpose Using available resources Keeping track of references Developing your question Ensuring adequate coverage Honing your search skills Writing relevant annotations Arguing your rationale Informing your work with theory Designing method Writing purposefully Working on style and tone

20 Mapping the literature Equality in the Judicial System RaceRaceGenderGenderEconomicEconomicOtherOther White v. non-white Threat perception representation Age Minority Specific Judicial perception Occupation culture Minority v. Minority Access to resources Status Judicial elections Stages of the Process sexuality nationality

21 Intersecting Areas of Literature BODY PIERCING ▪ TEENAGERS ▪ RITES OF PASSAGE ▪     FOUCAULT ▪      ▪ background literature  moderate relevance  high relevance  highest relevance

22 Intersecting Areas of Literature Crime ▪ Political Economy ▪ Democracy ▪     Modernization ▪      ▪ background literature  moderate relevance  high relevance  highest relevance

23 Using the Literature Literature is used for many purposes throughout the research process: focusing interests defining questions arguing a rationale theoretically informing your study developing appropriate research design/methodology every stage of the research process demands literary engagement

24 Fundamental Concepts of Statistics Measurement - any result from any procedure that assigns a value to an observable phenomenon. Problems - our observations are based on our ability to observe, count, etc. Accuracy is always an issue. It is virtually impossible to achieve the same measurement twice. Variation - this brings us to the idea of variation. Statistics is based on the idea that almost everything varies in someway or has variation. Two reasons for variation: 1. measurement inaccuracies or random error 2. true differences b/w observations, measurement and groups Probabilistic causation - because of this property we can only deal with probabilities of being correct or incorrect in our determination of differences in crime rates.

25 Three Types of Statistics Descriptive - Techniques employed in the presentation of collected data. Tables, charts, graphs and the formulation of quantities that indicate concise information about our data. Inferential -Linked with the concept of probability. Statistical methods that permit us to infer (probabilistically) something about the real world and about the "true" population from knowledge derived from only part of that population. Methods that allow us to specify how likely we will be in error. Predictive- Deals with relationships and the idea that knowing information about on characteristic or variable can help us predict the behavior of another variable. Methods and tools that help predict future observations in other populations or time periods.

26 Causation 1. TIME-ORDER: the presumed cause must always precede the presumed effect 2. COVARIATION: the presumed cause and effect must vary with each other 3. ELIMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS: there must be no equally plausible explanations for the presumed effect (in this specific instance)

27 Theory and Research 1. Deduction - Deriving expectations or hypotheses from theories. 2. Induction - Developing generalizations from specific observations.

28 Data Driven Research Are the questions developed from theory or just data mining. Pose the question then get the data But in reality, we are given the data and then (after a little data mining) we pose a question.

29 SPSS and statistical analysis is not for everyone. Many researchers dispute the relevance of conclusions made from statistical analysis But we are going to make you learn it anyway. Why?

30 What is SPSS? Statistical software: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences There are lots of others SAS STATA R SHAZAM Specialized software HLM LISREL BUGS

31 Why SPSS? Although SPSS is not the most powerful statistical software - It is the easiest to learn and use!!!!!! It is very flexible and can do most everything we need It can examine a large amount of data very quickly It is competitively priced

32 Where to start? Get some data Your books have some datasets ICPSR: Wait!!!!! I forgot. Get a research question and theory first.