Chapter 2: Sociological Research

Table of Contents

1. Why Is Sociological Research Necessary?
2. The Sociological Research Process
3. Research Methods For Collecting Data
4. Ethical Issues In Sociological Research

I. Why Is Sociological Research Necessary?

1. Sociologists obtain their knowledge of human behaviour through research, which results in a body of information that helps us move beyond guesswork and common sense in understanding society.
   
   
2. Five Ways of Knowing the World
   1. Personal: We discover for ourselves the things we know.
   2. Tradition: People hold to a belief because everyone knows it to be true.
   3. Authority: Experts tell us that something is true.
   4. Religion: We accept the truths that our scriptures or religious officials advocate.
   5. Science: We know what is true based on controlled, systematic observation.
      
      
3. Sociology and Scientific Explanations
   1. All of the five ways of knowing are valid. However, scientific explanations differ from other ways of knowing because they enable scientists to resolve differences in the understanding of the social world.

2. First, science uses an empirical rather than normative approach.
   1. The normative approach uses religion, custom, habit, tradition, or law to answer important questions and focuses on what ought to be in society.
      
      
   2. The empirical approach attempts to answer questions through a systematic collection and analysis of data, and thus is referred to as the scientific method.
      
      
3. Second, scientific knowledge is systematic and public.
   
   
4. Third, scientific explanations also differ in that they have a built-in mechanism of self-correction. Scientists do not claim that their findings represent eternal truths. Instead, they present hypotheses–tentative statements of the relationship between two or more concepts or variables.

5. Fourth, scientific explanations differ in that they claim to be objective: scientists try to ensure that their biases and values do not affect their research.
   
   
4. Descriptive and Explanatory Studies
   1. Descriptive studies attempt to describe social reality or provide facts about some group, practice or event.
      
      
   2. Explanatory studies attempt to explain cause and effect relationships and to provide information on why certain events do or do not occur.
      
      
5. The Theory and Research Cycle
   1. A theory is a set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe, explain, and (occasionally) predict social events.
      
      
   2. Research is the process of systematically collecting information for the purposes of testing an existing theory or generating a new one.
      
      
   3. The theory and research cycle consists of deductive and inductive approaches.
      1. In the deductive approach, the researcher begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory. This approach proceeds as follows: (1) theories generate hypotheses; (2) hypotheses lead to observations (data gathering); (3) observations lead to formation of generalizations; and (4) generalizations are used to support the theory or to suggest modifications to it.

2. In the inductive approach, the researcher collects information or data (facts or evidence) and then generates theories from the analysis of that data. This approach proceeds as follows: (1) specific observations suggest generalizations; (2) generalizations produce a tentative theory; (3) the theory is tested through the formation of hypotheses; and (4) hypotheses may provide suggestions for additional observations.

II. The Sociological Research Process

1. Selecting and Defining the Research Problem
   1. The first step is to select and define the topic by determining what the researcher wants to know about the topic.
      
      
2. Reviewing Previous Research
   1. Sociologists conduct a review of the literature (relevant books and scholarly articles) to help refine the problem, determine where gaps exist, and note mistakes to avoid. Before beginning the research it is important to analyze what others have written about the topic.
      
      
3. Formulating the Hypothesis (if applicable)
   1. After reviewing previous research, sociologists may formulate a hypothesis–a statement of the relationship between two or more concepts.
      
      
   2. In formulating a hypothesis, concepts are converted to variables–concepts with measurable traits or characteristics that can change or vary from one person, time, situation, or society to another.
      
      
   3. The most fundamental relationship in a hypothesis is between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables.
      1. The independent variable is presumed to cause or determine a dependent variable.
         
         
      2. The dependent variable is assumed to depend on or be caused by the independent variable(s).
         
         
   4. To use a variable, sociologists create an operational definition-an explanation of an abstract concept in terms of observable features that are specific enough to measure the variable. Operational definitions may use both quantitative and qualitative variables.
      
      
   5. The hypothesis states that two or more variables are related in a specific way.
      1. Events such as suicide are too complex to be caused by any one variable, and must be explained by multiple causation, meaning that an event occurs as a result of many factors operating in combination.
         
         
   6. Not all social research makes use of hypotheses.
      
      
4. Developing the Research Design
   1. In developing the research design, sociologists determine the appropriate unit of analysis (the what or whom being studied), which may be individuals, social groups, organizations, or social artifacts.
      
      
   2. The time frame for a study may be either cross-sectional (based on observations that take place at a single point in time) or longitudinal (observations that take place over a period of time or at several different points in time).
      
      
5. Collecting the Data
   1. Sampling errors, subjectivity, validity, and reliability may be problems in research.
      1. Validity is the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure.
         
         
      2. Reliability is the extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results when applied to different individuals at one time or to the same individuals over time.
         
         
6. Analyzing the Data
   1. Analysis is the process through which data are organized so that comparisons can be made and conclusions drawn.
      
      
7. Drawing Conclusions and Reporting the Findings
   1. The first step in drawing conclusions is to return to the hypothesis or the research objective and determine how the data relate both to the hypothesis and to the larger issues being addressed.
      
      
   2. The limitations of the study also are noted (such as problems with the sample, the influence of variables over which the researcher had no control, or variables the study was unable to measure).

3. Reporting the findings is the final stage.
   1. The report generally includes a review of each step taken in the research process in order to make the study available for replication–the repetition of the investigation in substantially the same way that it originally was conducted.
      
      
   2. Social scientists generally present their findings in papers at professional meetings and publish them in technical journals and books.

III. Research Methods For Collecting Data

1. Research methods are strategies or techniques for systematically conducting research.
   
   
2. Experiments are carefully designed situations in which the researcher studies the impact of certain variables on subjects' attitudes or behaviour.
   1. Conventional experiments require that subjects be divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The members of the two groups are matched for similar characteristics so that comparisons may be made between the groups.
      1. The experimental group contains the subjects who are exposed to an independent variable (the experimental condition) to study its effect on them.
         
         
      2. The control group contains the subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable.
         
         
      3. The experimental and control groups then are compared to see whether they differ in relation to the dependent variable, and the hypothesis about the relationship of the two variables is confirmed or rejected.
         
         
   2. Experiments may occur in either laboratory or natural settings.
      1. In a laboratory experiment, subjects are studied in a closed setting, so researchers can maintain as much control as possible over the research.
         
         
      2. Natural experiments are real-life occurrences that provide research design conditions such as floods and other disasters.
         
         
   3. One of the problems that may arise from experiments is reactivity, the tendency of subjects to change their behaviour in response to the presence of the researcher or to the fact that they know they are being studied.
      
      
   4. Strengths and weaknesses of experiments:
      1. The major advantage of the controlled experiment is the researcher's control over the environment and the ability to isolate the experimental variable.

2. Perhaps the greatest limitation of experiments is that they are artificial. Social processes that occur in a laboratory setting often do not occur in the same way in other settings.

3. Surveys are polls in which researchers gather facts or attempt to determine the relationship between facts. Survey data are collected by using self-administered questionnaires, personal interviews, and/or telephone surveys. Respondents are persons who provide data for analysis through interviews or questionnaires.
   1. A questionnaire is a printed research instrument containing a series of items for the subjects' response. Questionnaires may be self-administered by respondents or administered by interviewers in face-to-face encounters or by telephone.
      
      
   2. An interview is a data-collection encounter in which an interviewer asks the respondent questions and records the answers. Survey research often uses structured interviews, in which the interviewer asks questions from a standardized questionnaire.
      
      
   3. Strengths and weaknesses of surveys:
      1. Survey research is useful in describing the characteristics of a large population without having to interview each person in that population. It is possible to search for cause and effect and find the relative importance of a number of variables, and survey research can be useful in analysing social change or documenting the existence of a social problem.
         
         
      2. A weakness of survey research is the use of standardized questions that may force respondents into categories where they may or may not belong. Validity also is a concern, and people may be less than truthful.
         
         
4. In secondary analysis of existing data, researchers use existing material and analyze data that originally was collected by others.
   1. Existing data sources include public records, official reports of organizations or government agencies, and surveys taken by researchers in universities and private corporations.
      
      
   2. Other sources of data for secondary analysis are books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and personal documents.
      
      
   3. Secondary analysis may involve obtaining raw data collected by other researchers and undertaking a statistical analysis of the data, or it may involve the secondary use of other researchers' existing statistical analyses.
      
      
   4. Content analysis is the systematic examination of cultural artifacts or various forms of communication to extract thematic data and draw conclusions about social life.

5. Strengths and weaknesses of secondary analysis:
   1. A strength of secondary analysis is that data are readily available and inexpensive. Since the researcher often does not collect the data personally, there may be less chance of bias. Use of existing sources makes it possible to analyze longitudinal data to provide a historical context within which to locate original research.
      
      
   2. Weaknesses of secondary analysis include the fact that information may be incomplete or it may be difficult to determine authenticity or accuracy. The data from which content analysis is done may not be strictly comparable with one another, and coding data may be difficult.
      
      
6. A case study is an in-depth, multifaceted investigation of a single event, person, or social grouping. Case studies often involve more than one method of research, such as participant observation, unstructured or in-depth interviews, and life histories.
   
   
7. An unstructured interview is an extended, open-ended interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee.
   1. Unstructured interviews are essentially conversations in which interviewers establish the general direction by use of open-ended questions, to which interviewees may respond flexibly.
      
      
   2. Interviewers have the ability to shift gears to pursue specific topics raised by interviewees because answers to one question are used to suggest the next question or new areas of inquiry.
      
      
5. Field research is the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play.
   1. Observation may involve either complete observation or participant observation.
      1. In complete observation, researchers systematically observe a social process but do not become a part of it.
         
         
      2. In participant observation, researchers collect systematic observations while being part of the activities of the groups they are studying.
         
         
   2. Strengths and weakness of field research:
      1. Field research provides opportunities to view from the inside what may not be obvious to an outside observer.
         
         
      2. A weakness of field research is the inability to generalize findings from one group to a larger population.
         
         
6. Feminist Research Methods: Feminist researchers use the same methods, but in a different way. First, they are women-centred. Second, the goal of feminist research is to provide explanations that will help women improve their situation.

7. Multiple Methods of Social Research: Many sociologists use triangulation, the use of multiple approaches in a single study.

IV. Ethical Issues In Sociological Research

1. The study of people (human subjects) raises vital questions about ethical concerns in sociological research.
   
   
2. The Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association (CSAA) has a Code of Ethics that sets forth certain basic standards sociologists must follow in conducting research.
   
   
3. Sociologists are committed to adhering to this code and to protecting research participants; however, many ethical issues arise that cannot be resolved easily (e.g., William Zellner, Laud Humphreys, and Russel Ogden).

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