A LOGICAL SYSTEM THAT DERIVES KNOWLEDGE FROM DIRECT, SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 1.Apply the sociological perspective.  Our curiosity leads us to look for patterns of behavior that need to be studied further.  Ex. Lois Benjamin used her sociological imagination to wonder how race affects the lives of talented African Americans.  2.Be curious and ask questions.  Ex. Who are the leaders of this nation’s black community?  How do they think race has affected their life?  We look for answers…but how do we decide what is true? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 1.Belief or faith  2.Expert testimony  3.Simple agreement  Regional customs  4.Science  Logical system that bases knowledge on direct systematic observation.  Based on empirical evidence. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 “Poor people are far more likely than rich people to break the law.”  “The United States is a middle-class society in which most people are more or less equal.”  “Most poor people don’t want to work.”  “Differences in the behavior of females and males are just ‘human nature’.”  “Most people marry because they are in love.”  Sociological perspective would imply that much of what passes for “common sense” turns out to be at least partly wrong. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Scientific sociology  The study of society based on systematic observation of social behavior.  Favors quantitative, not qualitative data.  Empirical evidence – information we can verify with our senses.  Interpretive sociology  The study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world.  Favors qualitative data.  Critical sociology  The study of society that focuses on the need for social change. olding-random-peoples-hands-is- now-a-prank

 Concepts  A mental construct that represents some part of the world in a simplified form.  Ex. Society, family, race, social class, etc.  Variables  Concepts whose value changes from case to case.  Measurement  A procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case.  Operationalizing a variable (Operationalization)  Specifying exactly what is to be measured before assigning a value to a variable. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 We just covered operationalizing a variable, specifying exactly what is to be measured before assigning a value to a variable.  Let’s operationalize the subjective concept of “good teaching”.  Specific traits?  How do you measure those traits?  Is it easy to measure those traits? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Reliability – consistency in measurement  Does an instrument provide for a consistent measure of the subject matter?  Repeated measurements get the same results.  Validity – precision in measuring exactly what one intends to measure  Does an instrument actually measure what it sets out to measure?  For measurement to be valid, it must be reliable. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Cause and effect  A relationship in which change in one variable causes change in another.  Types of variables  Independent: the variable that causes the change.  Dependent: the variable that changes (its value depends upon the independent variable).  Ex. Seat Belt sign and Turbulence Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 The following graph shows the effect of education on average yearly salary.  What is the independent variable? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Correlation  A relationship by which two or more variables change together. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 The relationship of density and delinquency may mean crowding causes more arrests but it could also mean a third factor is at work. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 So, in order to see if density and delinquency are truly correlated, need to control the income level.  Ex. Look only families that make the same income…then look to see if density and delinquency change together.  If yes, density and delinquency are correlated. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 In this case, if income is held constant, there is no correlation between density and delinquency.  Income is the factor that causes both density and delinquency.  Spurious correlation  An apparent, though false, relationship between two or more variables caused by some other variable. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Conditions for cause and effect to be considered:  Existence of a correlation.  The independent (causal) variable precedes the dependent variable in time.  No evidence suggests that a third variable is responsible for a spurious correlation between the two original variables.

 Barney Beins noted the strong positive correlation between the number of bars and the number of churches in an area.  Does booze drive people to religion?  Does religion drive people to drink?  If not, what other factors might explain the correlation? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Objectivity  A state of personal neutrality in conducting research.  Value-free research  Weber says sociologists should strive to be dispassionate and detached.  Replication  Repetition of research by other investigators.  Helps limit distortion caused by personal values. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 1.Human behavior is too complex to predict precisely any individual’s actions.  2.The mere presence of the researcher may affect the behavior being studied.  3.Social patterns change.  4.Sociologists are part of the world they study making value-free research difficult. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 1.Androcentricity  Approaching the topic from a male-only perspective.  Gynocentricity  Approaching the topic from a female-only perspective (less common than Androcentricity).  2.Overgeneralizing  Using data collected from one sex and applying the findings to both sexes.  3.Gender blindness  The failure to consider the impact of gender at all.  4.Double standards  Using different standards to judge males and females.  5.Interference  This occurs when a subject under study reacts to the sex of the researcher and thereby interferes with the research operation.

 ASA guidelines:  Must strive to be technically competent & fair-minded.  Must disclose findings in full without omitting significant data & be willing to share their data.  Must protect the safety, rights and privacy of subjects.  Must obtain informed consent - subjects are aware of risks and responsibilities and agree.  Must disclose all sources of funding & avoid conflicts of interest.  Must demonstrate cultural sensitivity. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Why is government-supported sociological research an ethical issue?  Can you think of other scenarios of companies that you would/would not want to conduct certain research? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Experiment – a research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions.  Hypothesis – an unverified statement of a relationship between variables (an educated guess). If-then statement.  Placebo – a treatment that seems to be the same but has no effect on the experiment.  Hawthorne effect – a change in a subject's behavior caused by the awareness of being studied. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 1.Specify the dependent and independent variables.  2.Measure the dependent variable.  3.Expose dependent variable to independent variable.  4.Re-measure dependent variable to see if predicted change took place.  If no change, modify hypothesis & re-test.  Experiment Example: p. 43 (Zimbardo)  ec446/ ec446/ Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 To be certain that the change in the dependent variable was due to the exposure to the independent variable researcher must keep constant other factors that may intrude.  One method is to break group into experimental and control groups.  Experimental group gets exposed to independent variable.  Control group gets exposed to a placebo. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 A research method in which subjects respond to a series of statements or questions in a questionnaire or interview.  Population  The people who are the focus of the research.  Sample  The part of the population that represents the whole.  Random Sample  Drawing a sample from a population so that every element of the population has an equal chance of being selected.

 A series of written questions a researcher presents to subjects.  Closed-ended  A series of fixed responses; easy to analyze but narrows range of responses.  Open-ended  Free response; broadens range of responses but harder to analyze.  Most surveys are self- administered; pretesting can avoid costly problems. Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 A Time/CNN poll was conducted May, 1994, in which 23% of people claimed “government is spending too much on assistance to the poor”.  Another Time poll was conducted June, 1994,in which 53% of people claimed government is “spending too much on welfare”.  Why do you think there is such a large variation? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 Interviews  A series of questions a researcher administers in person to respondents.  Participant observation  A research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining in their routine activities.  Secondary analysis  A research method in which a researcher uses data collected by others.

 Inductive logic  Reasoning that transforms specific observations into general theory.  Induction “increases” from specific to general.  “I have some interesting data; I wonder what they mean?”  Deductive logic  Reasoning that transforms general theory into specific hypotheses suitable for testing.  Deduction “decreases” from general to specific.  “I have a hunch about human behavior; let’s collect some data and test it.”

1. What is your topic? 2. What have others already learned? 3. What, exactly, are your questions? 4. What will you need to carry out research? 5. Are there ethical concerns? 6. What method will you use? 7. How will you record the data? 8. What do the data tell you? 9. What are your conclusions? 10. How can you share what you’ve learned?

 Is the following a good survey question? Why or why not?  Do you think high school should be longer and include nap time? Sociology, Eleventh Edition

 People select their data.  Data may not be the whole truth.  People interpret their data.  As if numbers can only mean one thing.  People use graphs to “spin” the truth.  Manipulating timeframes on graphs.  Using scale to inflate or deflate a trend. Sociology, Eleventh Edition