In Search of Social Regularities

Social scientific logic and theory: Searching for regularities in social life Probabilistic Social regularities involve aggregate actions and situations of social groups Elements of social scientific theory are not people, but variables.

Variables Vary across units of analysis Unit of analysis – the entity that is being studied in research  Individuals  Small groups  Social organizations  Geographic units  Social artifacts What to do with units?  Describe units using variables  Compare units to discover patterns  Develop theories to explain patterns

Examples – How can we describe and compare…  Individuals – gender, age, level of formal education, type of occupation, attitude toward abortion  Small groups – level of cohesion, frequency of interaction, ethnocentrism  Social organizations – size, type of ownership, level of formality  Geographic units – population size, ethnic composition, form of government  Social artifacts – function, cost, content

Attributes Characteristics or qualities that describe a particular unit of analysis Examples  Individuals – female, 22 years old, high school graduate, plumber, favors abortion  Small groups – low cohesion, meets once a week, hostile toward outsiders  Geographic units – (Country) 75 million people, 67% Hispanic, communist government Variables are logical groupings of attributes

Two major types of variables in social scientific theory, methods, and data analysis Independent variable –Variable that is presumed or found to influence/affect/cause another variable Dependent variable –Variable that is presumed or found to be influenced/affected/caused by an independent variable

Relationship between two variables

Same relationship displayed in a table Percentages Summed to 100% Down Columns Level of Education Level of Prejudice EducatedUneducatedTotal Prejudiced30%90%60% Unprejudiced70%10%40% Total100% (10) 100% (20)

No relationship between variables

No relationship - #1 Level of Education Level of Prejudice EducatedUneducatedTotal Prejudiced60% Unprejudiced40% Total100% (10) 100% (20)

No relationship - #2 Level of Education Level of Prejudice EducatedUneducatedTotal Prejudiced10% Unprejudiced90% Total100% (10) 100% (20)

Typically, a variable can be either independent or dependent, depending on the research question Practice: Develop one research question in which the variable is a DV affected by another and a second in which it is an IV affecting another variable. –Level of formal education –Yearly income level –Opinions of the President –Size of universities –Type of economic system –Number of violent crimes

If a variable cannot be changed by another social variable, it will always be used as an IV For example: –Age (biological age) –Gender assigned at birth However, stated differently, these can change into DVs: –Perceived age –Gender identity, gender transition process

Understanding IVs and DVs is critical, because in social science, we’re interested in discovering regularities/patterns and developing theories to understand/explain them.