Foundations of Sociological Inquiry Research Design

Today’s Objectives  Housekeeping  Three Purposes of Research  How to Design a Research Project  Units of Analysis  The Logic of Comparison  Necessary and Sufficient Causes  Questions?

Which ‘poet’ do you like better? 1. Paul Simon 2. Roger Waters

Which song do you like better? 1. The sound of silence 2. Comfortably numb

Are you ever distracted by other students talking in class? 1. Yes 2. No

Would you prefer to meet for lecture on Friday or have time to meet with your survey design group? 1. Have lecture on Friday; meet with group at another time 2. Don’t have lecture on Friday to allow time to meet with group

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?  Becky’s office hours are:  TUESDAY  3:00-5:00  Savery 224 You can always me at

Which of these are among the purposes of social research? 1. exploration 2. description 3. explanation 4. all of the above

Three Purposes of Research 1. Exploration 2. Description 3. Explanation

Three Purposes of Research 1. Exploration  To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding  To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study  To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

Three Purposes of Research 1. Exploration  To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding  To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study  To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study 2. Description  Describe situations and events through scientific observation  Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how

Three Purposes of Research 1. Exploration  To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding  To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study  To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study 2. Description  Describe situations and events through scientific observation  Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how 3. Explanation  Explain observed phenomenon in relation to sociological theories  Explanatory studies answer questions of why

How to Design a Research Project 1. Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory?

How to Design a Research Project 1. Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? 2. Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry

How to Design a Research Project 1. Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? 2. Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry 3. Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ?

How to Design a Research Project 1. Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? 2. Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry 3. Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ? 4. Analyze the data

How to Design a Research Project 1. Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? 2. Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry 3. Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ? 4. Analyze the data 5. Report your findings in relation to what we think we know

Scientific inquiry involves: 1. making observations 2. interpreting what you’ve observed 3. both of the above 4. none of the above

Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied)  Individuals  Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics

Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied)  Individuals  Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics  Groups  Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups

Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied)  Individuals  Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics  Groups  Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups  Organizations  Corporations, social organizations, colleges

Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied)  Individuals  Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics  Groups  Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups  Organizations  Corporations, social organizations, colleges  Social Interactions  Telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights

Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied)  Individuals  Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics  Groups  Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups  Organizations  Corporations, social organizations, colleges  Social Interactions  Telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights  Social Artifacts  Social Artifact – any product of social beings or their behavior.

If a researcher is interested in studying the effects of different training regimens on a team’s performance, the unit of analysis in this study is 1. the team member. 2. the team. 3. the coach. 4. the different training regimens. 5. the researcher’s perception of performance.

The Logic of Comparison  Most sociological studies involve comparisons  Experimental studies involve treatment/control groups in which an independent variable is typically manipulated to observe its effect on a dependent variable  Non-experimental studies typically compare the effects of some independent variable(s) on some dependent variable  It is critical to observe variation in both the independent variable (e.g., race, gender, parenthood, social class, years of schooling, period, cohort) and the dependent variable (e.g., income, employment, promotion)

A _____ is an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other. 1. momothetic explanation 2. regression analysis 3. correlation 4. spurious relationship

A _____ represents a condition that, if present, guarantees the effect in question. 1. hypothesis 2. sufficient cause 3. practical issue 4. necessary cause 5. dependent variable

Necessary and Sufficient Causes  A necessary cause represents a condition that must be present for the effect to follow.  A sufficient cause represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question.  Most satisfying outcome in research includes both necessary and sufficient causes.

Questions?