Chapter 2 & 10 : Lesson 3
likert scale
a way of organizing categories on a survey question so that the respondent can choose an answer along a continuum
value-free sociology
an ideal whereby researchers identify facts without allowing their own personal beliefs or biases to interfere
grounded theory
an inductive method of generating theory from data by creating categories in which to place data and then looking for relationships among categories
probability sampling
any sampling scheme in which any given unit has the same probability of being chosen
different religions hold competing value systems
conflict theory
the belief that "native spirituality is of the devil" fits this theory
conflict theory
commonsense and science are just two different, but equally valid, ways of knowing about the world
false
the media generally use the methods of science when examining stories about commonsense and lore beliefs in our society
false
experiments
formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a controlled setting where all aspects of the situation can be controlled
reflexivity
how the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on in the field setting
if she weighs as much as a duck, she must be a witch
hypothesis
in the 1980s, many politicians argued that listening to heavy metal music led teenagers to commit suicide. while you might find this belief silly, it is a(n):
hypothesis
control
in an experiment, the process of regulating all factors except for the independent variable
david has developed the hypothesis that the stress felt by unemployed men increases the probability of spousal abuse. stress would be considered the __________ variable and spousal abuse would be considered the __________ variable
independent, dependent
what do we know about witches?
literature review
existing sources
materials that have been produced for some other reason, but that can be used as data for social research
comparative ad historical methods
methods that use existing sources to study relationships among elements of society in various regions and time periods
secular
nonreligious; a secular society separates church and state and does not endorse any religion
for many years, researchers struggled to find a biological explanation for sexual orientation. however the vast majority of studies have focused on gay men and excluded lesbians, which might leas sociologist to question the _________ of such research
objectivity
variable
one of two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related and hopes to prove are related through research
before beginning a research project, what will a good researcher always do?
review the literature in order to become familiar with earlier research that relates to his topic
respondents
someone from whom a researcher solicits information
control group
the part of a test group that is allowed to continue without intervention so that i c be compared with the experimental group
experimental group
the part of a test group that receives the experimental treatment
sample
the part of the population that will actually be studied
why was the tuskegee study unethical?
the researchers withheld treatment from the african american subjects in order to study the effect of syphilis
basic research
the search for knowledge without any agenda or desire to use that knowledge to effect change
paradigm shift
the term used to describe a change in basic assumptions of a particular scientific discipline
ethics is research is required by international law
true
if a researcher uses a social networking site like Facebook to obtain data, they are:
using existing sources
intervening variable
a third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the relationship between two other variables
pilot study
a small study carried out to test the feasibility of a larger one
evangelical
a term describing conservative christians who emphasize converting others to their faith
unchurched
a term describing those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious and who often adopt aspects of various religious traditions
operational definition
a clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates its measurement
hypothesis
a theoretical statement explaining the relationship between two or more phenomena
institutional review board
a group of scholars within a university who meet regularly to review and approve the research proposals of their colleagues and make recommendations for how to protect human subjects
content analysis
a method in which researchers identify and study specific variables-such as words- in a text, image, or media message
participant observation
a methodology associated with ethnography whereby the researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting
ethnography
a naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities; also the written work that results from the study
many kitchen tools today are made with easy-to-grip silicone handles, a vast improvement over old wire tools, which were often painful to use. although the advantages of silicone over wire might seem obvious, kitchenware makers were unaware of the problems with wire tools until they hired ethnographers to visit people at home, see how they working in the kitchen, and determine what sorts of things could be sold to them. This ethnography was an example of:
a nonacademic use of research methods
simple random sample
a particular type of probability sample in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
intrinsic religiosity
a person's inner religious life or personal relationship to the divine
extrinsic religiosity
a person's public display of commitment to a religious faith
scientific method
a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experiment
closed-ended question
a question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses
open-ended
a question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take whatever form the respondent chooses
causation
a relationship between variables in which a change in one directly produces a change in the other
correlation
a relationship between variables in which they change together, and may or may not be causal
deductive method
a research approach that starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, makes empirical observations and then analyzes the data to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory
inductive method
a research approach that starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory
survey
a research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a sample of respondents selected from a target population
informed consent
a safeguard through which the researcher makes sure that respondents are freely participating and understand the nature of the research
representative sample
a sample taken so that findings from members of the sample group can be generalized to the whole population
social facts
are the values, cultural norms, and social structures external to the individual
why should we disc commonsense and lore beliefs in favor of science when trying to understand the physical or social world?
because, unlike commonsense and lore beliefs, scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence and is open to refutation and revision
which demographic group do you believe has the lowest suicide rate?
black women
since she weighs as much as a duck, she mutest be a witch, so our hypothesis is verified
data analysis
she weighs as much as a duck
data collection
what do you believe are the major causes of suicide in america today?
depression, death of a loved one, breakup of a relationship, financial loss, serious or terminal illness, being a victim of abuse, substance abuse, etc
"wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the lord. for the husband is the head of the wife, even as christ is the head of the church". many people still look to passages from the Christian Bible like this one to justify gender roles. this may be a:
dysfunction of religion, because it promotes sexism
code of ethics
ethical guidelines for researchers to consult as they design a project
empirical evidence
evidence or consequences that are observable from the senses
why do social scientists who use interviews rarely speak with large numbers of people for a project?
face-to-face interviewing is a very time consuming process
interviews
face-to-face, information-seeking conversation, sometimes defined as a conversation with a purpose
dependent variable
factor that is changed (or not) by the independent variable
independent variable
factor that is predicted to cause change
a social research methods class wants to study smoking. first the professor asks how many people in the class are smokers. two people say yes. then she asks how man people have smoked a cigarette in the last week, for the purpose of its survey, a smoker will be anyone who has had a cigarette in the last week and currently owns a pack of cigarettes. this is a(n):
operational definition
double-barreled questions
questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once, and so tend to receive incomplete or confusing answers
leading questions
questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way
she's a witch, burn her
report findings
weigh the woman and the duck
research design
applied research
research designed to gather knowledge that can be used to create some sort of change
is she a witch?
research question
replicability
research that ca be repeated, and thus verified, by other researchers later
quantitative research
research that translates the social world into numbers that can be treated mathematically; this type of research often tries to find cause-and-effect relationships
qualitative research
research that works with nonnumerical data such as texts, fieldnotes, interview transcripts, photographs, and tape recordings; this type of research more often tries to understand how people make sense of their world
"health and wealth movement" best reflects this theory
structural functionalism
religion helps to unify people around a common belief
structural functionalism
negative questions
survey questions that ask respondents what they don't think instead of what they do
we shake hands as a sign of peace and God's love in our church
symbolic interactionism
wearing a cross announces you to others as a christian
symbolic interactionism
weighting
techniques for manipulating the sapling procedure so that the sample more closely resembles the larger population
validity
the accuracy of a question or measurement tool the degree to which a researcher is measuring what he thinks he is measuring
spurious correlation
the appearance of causation produced by an intervening variable
the nuremberg code on research ethics was adopted for which of the following reasons?
the code was adopted in the wake of the horrific and inhumane research conducted by Nazi scientists on concentration camp inmates
reliability
the consistency of a question or measurement tool, the degree to which the same questions will produce similar answers
when elton mayo did his now-classic experiment on worker productivity, he found that he could increase productivity by changing variables in a work environment, but also that changing variables back increased productivity. what did he conclude was the true cause of the increase in productivity?
the effect of being studied
target population
the entire group about which a researcher would like to be able to generalize
generalizability
the extent to which we can claim our findings inform us about a group larger than the one we studied