1. Studying Social Life: Sociological Research Methods
Chapter 2
Studying Social Life:
Sociological Research Methods

2. Overview Social Research Research Methods
Qualitative and Quantitative
The research model
Research Methods
Video: Sociological Thinking and Research
Issues in Sociological Research

3. Research Methods Qualitative Methods Quantitative Methods Micro-level
Looks at qualities in data
Identifying, defining, describing
Express in narratives
Quantitative Methods
Macro-level
Looks at quantities in data
Measuring, counting, weighing
Express in numbers

4. Doing Sociological Research
The social sciene model
(1) Identify a problem or ask a question
(2) Review the literature
(3) Formulate a hypothesis
(4) Choose method(s)
(5) Collect data
(6) Interpret results
(7) Disseminate findings

5. Ethnographic Methods Interviews
Qualitative Methods
Ethnographic Methods
Interviews

6. ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS Participant Observation
“Field work”
Naturally-occurring social environments
Everyday life
Face-to-face interaction
Access and rapport
Get “member’s eye” view
“Field notes” as data to be analyzed

7. Mitchell Duneier
Richard Mitchell
Kathryn Edin

8. INTERVIEWS Face-to-face with respondents
Formal or informal
Challenge to write good questions
Closed-ended
“Are you for or against couples living together before they are married?”
Open-ended
“What do you think about couples living together before they are married?”
Administering the questionnaire
Subjects speak in their own words
Limited number of respondents per study
Transcription and analysis

10. Quantitative Research Methods
Existing Sources
Surveys
Experiments

11. EXISTING SOURCES Data originally collected for another purpose
Media, documents, records, art, other research
Unobtrusive measures (“Social archaeology”)
Examines use of physical environment
Content Analysis
Comparative Historical Analysis

15. SURVEYS Varieties: Selecting a research population Planning a study
Census, polls, market research
Planning a study
Types of questions and answers
Likert scales
Problematic questions
Selecting a research population
Target group of study
Taking a sample
Random sample represents the population
Response rates
Statistical analysis

17. “Sociological Thinking and Research”
Video Presentation:
“Sociological Thinking and Research”

18. EXPERIMENTS Examines the relationship between variables
Conducted under controlled conditions
Human subjects are randomly divided
The experimental group is exposed to the independent variable
The control group is not

21. Issues in Sociological Research
Basic – vs. – Applied Research
BASIC
Study without any agenda
APPLIED
To be applied toward social change
Non-academic uses
Unscientific polls
Examples
Marketing research
Commercial ethnography
“Cool Hunters”

23. Issues in Sociological Research
Max Weber: research should be value free
No personal beliefs or biases to interfere
Objectivity
To let facts speak for themselves
Is it possible to achieve this ideal?
Reactivity
People respond to being studied
The “Hawthorne Effect”
Study of worker productivity

24. Issues in Sociological Research
Ethical Considerations
Historical abuses
The Nuremberg Code
Codes of Ethics
Informed consent of participants in research
Confidentiality
Institutional Review Boards (IRB)
Deception
No harm to research participants
Respect for privacy, dignity, and safety

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Theory and Method