Test 1 ch. 2

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

deductive approach

forming a hypothesis first and then testing to see whether it is accurate

Enthography

step 1. the researcher participates in and observes a setting step 2. then the researcher makes a written account (field notes) of what goes on there ethnographers aim to provide a thick description of the setting they observe

unobtrusive measures

ways of observing people so they do not know they are being studied does not disturb the setting or subjects under study

Are sociological research methods unique from the methods used in all other social sciences?

False (example: the scientific method)

Quantitative and Qualitative Research

A good example of quantitative research is the U.S. census, which uses surveys to analyze data from across the country. A good example of qualitative research is Anne Frank's diary, which provides field notes based on her experiences and observations.

comparative historical research

A method of research that examines differences across countries or in different historical periods to try to understand what factors cause some specific change to occur. cultural artifacts such as literature, paintings, newspapers, and photographs are typically analyzed

probability sampling

A type of sampling in which every element in the population being studied has a known chance of being selected for study

IRB (Institutional Review Board)

Board that reviews research proposals for ethical violations/procedural errors also makes recommendations a group of scholars within a university

To better understand the experiences of the homeless community near her office, Lydia visited the local homeless shelter over the course of a month and spoke with the people who stayed there nightly. What type of research method did Lydia use?

Ethnography (Ethnographic research is based on studying people in their own environment to get as accurate a picture as possible as to their experiences.)

True or false: A close-ended question allows for a wide variety of responses.

FALSE (Open-ended questions allow responders to offer a wide variety of responses whereas closed-ended questions impose limits on possible responses. There are pros and cons to both types of questions.)

The ____ variable is the factor that is predicted to cause change in a behavior that is being researched.

Independent variable (the dependent variable needs the independent variable to cause change in it)

If researchers wanted to do a study that required them to determine the quality of life in a residential campus dorm, they would likely do what kind of research?

Qualitative

If researchers wanted to do a study that required them to analyze income per household and the average age of people living in the house, they would likely do what kind of research?

Quantitative

Christopher researches the changes in rates of homeownership in the state of Washington over the past ten years to better understand the statewide impact of the recent economic downturn. What type of research method is Christopher using?

Quantitative research (a large-scale analysis that translates the social world into numbers)

It can be argued that reality television cannot be real or authentic because the people being watched are aware of the cameras and camera crews that are routinely present to capture. What term do sociologists use to explain this?

Reactivity (Reactivity is the tendency of people and events to react to the process of being studied.)

Hawthorne effect

Reactivity can lead to the Hawthorne effect, whereby an outcome results from the research setting rather than the independent variable of interest.

Research Methods

Sometimes researchers will collect data using more than one method; this is called a mixed methods approach. If your research shows the same trends when you use multiple kinds of methods, it increases the likelihood that your conclusions are correct.

Survey research is a method used to gather large amounts of data on large groups of people.

Surveys are questionnaires that can be distributed to large groups either near or far away. Compared to other research techniques, it is an economical way to gather large amounts of data. It is also be done quickly via phone, mail, or email.

Autoethnography

a form of participant observation where the feelings and actions of the researcher become a focal point of the ethnographic study type of participant observation

Causation

a relationship in which one variable causes another variable to change

spurrious correlation

a relationship that seems to exist between two variables, but is actually caused by some external, or intervening, variable

The U.S Census is best describes as

a survey

Sociologist must have their research methods reviewed by

a university-wide board of professors

inductive approach

beginning with specific observations and then forming broad generalizations from them

paradigm shift

coined by Thomas Kuhn, which is a change in the way we think about some aspect of life Paradigm Shift Example: For instance, we used to believe that the world was flat, but new research gave us evidence that the world is actually not flat. That research led us to a paradigm shift in our thinking about the world.

"value-free"

coined by max weber the idea that researchers should identify facts without allowing their own personal beliefs or biases to interfere in the process

Experiments are unique from other sociological research methods in that they

control all aspects of the research setting

When a researcher opts to use data originally collected by a different researcher, most often to answer a different research question, the researcher is using?

existing sources (Existing sources are materials that have been produced for some other reason, but that can be used for social research.)

Scientific Method

is a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting data through observation and experiment

SNA (Social Network Analysis)

is used to study the social relationships between two or more individuals collected data can be used to study disease transmission, information diffusion, adolescent risk behaviors, and cooperate behavior, among other issues

You're doing interview research and you ask the following question: "So, will you tell me about your childhood?" What kind of question did you ask?

open-ended question

Correlation

relationship between two variables