Methods Chapter 2 Lecture PowerPoint © W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

Introduction You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 2  Research methods — standard rules that social scientists follow when trying to establish a causal relationship between social elements Quantitative methods seek to obtain information about the social world that is in, or can be converted to, numeric form. Qualitative methods attempt to collect information about the social world that cannot be readily converted to numeric form.

Introduction  Causality is the idea that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor. You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 3

The Basics You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 4  A deductive approach to research: 1)theory (general) 2)hypothesis (if theory is true, then what would we expect to observe?) 3)empirical observations (collect data) 4)analysis of data collected to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory

The Basics You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 5  An inductive approach to research: Starts with empirical observation Then works to form a theory  observe a pattern  develop a explanation  test explanation through systematic observation  work toward a general theory

Figure 2.1 | The Research Cycle

Correlation Correlation exists when change is observed in two things simultaneously. Correlation is a condition for causation but does not imply causation  # fire trucks/damage estimate from a fire  # churches/# bars in a city  educational level/ income  single parent families/poverty

The Basics You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 8  Causation exists when a change in one factor causes the change in the other factor. To prove causation, we look for: Correlation Time ordering. Alternative explanations are ruled out.

The Basics You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 9  A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain.  An independent variable is a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable.

The Basics You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 10 Types of Data Collection Used in Social Research Participant ObservationExperimentation InterviewsContent Analysis Survey ResearchHistorical Methods Comparative Research

Ethics of Social Research You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 11  Researchers must meet ethical standards. Set by professional associations, academic institutions, or research centers Must guard against causing physical, emotional, or psychological harm to their subjects.

Ethics of Social Research You May Ask Yourself Copyright © 2008 W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 12  Informed consent  Voluntary participation (no coercion, peer pressure)  No harm to subjects (not always obvious)  Benefits outweigh risks