Test question
- debt and socio-economic disadvantage in terms of tuition (chap 2)
- slide 30: spuriousness (first lecture) (chap 1)
- accumulative disadvantage in terms of intersectionality (chap 2)
- who coined term sociology (chap 3)
- Fact, Theory, Hypothesis, and Wondering Why People Speed up When I Pass Them
- correlation between (plot diagram) between mental health/stress and course workload, two variables
- very self aware? Shit car and a hippie? Was driving slow? Took it personally -> biases
- January vs February. High the workload, higher the stress. Relationship will be the same BUT up will be upscaled as February as midterms. Positive directly proportional graph
3.1 Introduction
* _____ _____ is the system of methods a researcher uses to gather data on a particular research question
- Research methodology is a ______ field in sociology
- There is no single best way to do…..
– Researchers often _____ _____ research methods in their work
- Research methodology is the system of methods a researcher uses to gather data on a particular research question
- Research methodology is a contested field in sociology
- There is no single best way to do sociological research.
– Researchers often combine several research methods in their work
3.2 How Do You Know That? Generating Knowledge in the Social Sciences
* As a social science, sociology employs the ____ ______ which is a series of steps leading to proof. The steps are as follows:
1. Obs…..
2. Identify a ____ ____
3. Conduct ____ ____
4. Formulate….
5. Select a research _____
6. ____ data
7. _____ data
8. Revise or present
- stop and thank example
- As a social science, sociology employs the scientific method which is a series of steps leading to proof. The steps are as follows:
- Observation
- Identify a research question
- Conduct background research
- Formulate a hypothesis
- Select a research design
- Gather data
- Analyze data
- Revise hypothesis or present results
- course workload and student stress
Social Science Debate #1: Insider versus Outsider Perspectives
- who coined term sociology and what was it rooted in
– _______ is the belief that the social sciences could be studied using the methods natural sciences (i.e. experiment, measurement, and systematic observation) - Positivism assumes that researchers are ______
- Comte viewed the _____ as the “expert” who occupies a privileged position over the _____ “subjects of study”
- The ______ expert ideal would be an example of policy sociology
- French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857) coined the term sociology and Comte’s sociology was rooted in positivism
– Positivism is the belief that the social sciences could be studied using the methods natural sciences (i.e. experiment, measurement, and systematic observation)
* Positivism assumes that researchers are objective
* Comte viewed the outsider as the “expert” who occupies a privileged position over the insider “subjects of study”
* The outside expert ideal would be an example of policy sociology
Social Science Debate #1: Insider versus Outsider Perspectives
- _____ _____ like Dorothy Smith and Michel Foucault challenged the notion of the objective outsider and stressed the unique role of the insider perspective
– _____ ________ theory states that the social location of sociologists impacts the questions they ask and the answers they receive
- The ______ ______ of the subject being studied provides information that comes from their subjective experience
- The ______ _____ expert uses their privilege to decide over the authenticity of the insider perspective, this is where….
- Critical sociologists like Dorothy Smith and Michel Foucault challenged the notion of the objective outsider and stressed the unique role of the insider perspective
– Smith’s Standpoint theory states that the social location of sociologists impacts the questions they ask and the answers they receive
- The insider voice of the subject being studied provides information that comes from their subjective experience
- The objective outsider expert uses their privilege to decide over the authenticity of the insider perspective. This is where vital information gets lost
Social Science Debate #2: Qualitative versus Quantitative Research
- ______ research is the close examination of characteristics that cannot be counted or measured (m_____sociologists approach)
– i.e ….. - ______ research focuses on social elements that can be counted or measured, which can therefore be used to generate statistics (m_____sociologists approach)
– i.e …. (3) - Many researchers today embrace ______, or a ____-_____ approach
- Qualitative research is the close examination of characteristics that cannot be counted or measured (microsociologists approach)
– i.e ethnography - Quantitative research focuses on social elements that can be counted or measured, which can therefore be used to generate statistics (macrosociologists approach)
– i.e surveys, polls, questionnaires - Many researchers today embrace triangulation, or a mixed-methods approach
3.3 Qualitative Research - Qualitative research permits subjectivity on the part of both researcher and research subject
Ethnography
* Ethnography seeks to uncover the ____ and ____ members of the given _____ use to interpret their world
– ____ _____: observing people and actively participating in their activities to obtain an insider’s perspective
– Semi-structured interviews: what does this look like
– _____: are insiders who help the researcher in becoming accepted by the community and assist with the interpretation of information and behaviour
- Ethnography seeks to uncover the symbols and categories members of the given culture use to interpret their world
– Participant observation: observing people and actively participating in their activities to obtain an insider’s perspective
– Semi-structured interviews: informal, face-to-face interviews (kind of see both sides)
– Informants: are insiders who help the researcher in becoming accepted by the community and assist with the interpretation of information and behaviour
Institutional Ethnography
- Institutional ethnography, developed by ____ ____, recognizes that every institution has ___ ___, each associated with a different kind of data:
- ____ _____ are the interests of the organization, particularly its administration, and/or the interests of those who hold power in society. Written rules and practices (texts) provide the data
* ____ ____ are activated when workers follow rules and practices (i.e. they serve the needs of organization) - _____ ____ come from informants: anyone who works for the
organization, outside of management
- Institutional ethnography, developed by Dorothy Smith, recognizes that every institution has two sides, each associated with a different kind of data:
- Ruling interests are the interests of the organization, particularly its administration, and/or the interests of those who hold power in society. Written rules and practices (texts) provide the data
* Ruling relations are activated when workers follow rules and practices (i.e. they serve the needs of organization) - Experiential data come from informants: anyone who works for the
organization, outside of management
The Case Study Approach
* Case studies is a research design that takes as its subject a _____ case or a _____ selected examples of a social entity such as:
* com….
* fam…
* rol…
* rel….
– The case study approach is often used to identify and describe ____ _____ strategies with a proven history of achieving desired results
The Case Study Approach
* Case studies is a research design that takes as its subject a single case or a few selected examples of a social entity such as:
* communities
* families
* roles
* relationships
– The case study approach is often used to identify and describe best practices strategies with a proven history of achieving desired results
Narratives
* Narratives are the ____ people tell about themselves, their situations, and others around them
–_____ is the expression of a unique viewpoint from a particular social _____
(influenced by gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, etc.)
– Narratives can give voice to people who do not usually get to…
– Purest form of….
- Narratives are the stories people tell about themselves, their situations, and others around them
– Voice is the expression of a unique viewpoint from a particular social location
(influenced by gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, class, etc.)
– Narratives can give voice to people who do not usually get to speak directly in research (like tuition example)
– Purest form of the insider view
Content Analysis
* Content analysis involves studying a set of ____ ____, or _____ and interpreting the themes they reflect
These items have two distinct properties:
– 1. They are not created for specifically …..
– 2. Data is (2 things)
- example of this in feminism
- Content analysis involves studying a set of cultural artifacts, (e.g., newspaper articles, billboards, artwork or children’s books) or events and interpreting the themes they reflect
These items have two distinct properties:
– 1. They are not created for specifically to be studied
– 2. Data are pre-existing and non-interactive
i.e feminist approaches seek to reveal the gendered aspects of culture, such as
patriarchy and misogyny
Discourse Analysis
**There are two types of discourse analysis used by sociologists that focuses on social power relationships:
- analyzing discourse as the term is _____ _____, example
- discourse analysis considers a _______ definition of “text,” going beyond individual works to include ____ fields of information over time
- analyzing discourse as the term is commonly understood (i.e. as a conversation, a speech, or a written text)
- discourse analysis considers a broader definition of “text,” going beyond individual works to include larger fields of information over time
3.4 Quantitative Research
Understanding Statistics:
- Statistics is a science that, in sociology, involves the use of numbers to map social…(2)
- However, many of the topics that sociologists research, (e.g., poverty, abuse, social class) are theoretical in nature and thus….
- Statistics is a science that, in sociology, involves the use of numbers to map social behaviour and beliefs (only science that different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions)
- However, many of the topics that sociologists research, (e.g., poverty, abuse, social class) are theoretical in nature and thus difficult to define
Measuring the Centre: The Median, the Average, and the Mean’
- A measure of central tendenacy is a way of taking all of the data you have gathered on a particular subject and finding the most _____ ____
- Measures of central tendency:
– Median represents the number, score, or result that separates….
– Mean (average) can be found by adding up all the scores and….
- A measure of central tendenacy is a way of taking all of the data you have gathered on a particular subject and finding the most representative result
- Measures of central tendency:
– Median represents the number, score, or result that separates the higher half from
the lower half of a given data set (even number median is add together and divide)
– Mean (average) can be found by adding up all the scores and dividing the total by
the number of scores you have
Using Operational Definitions
- Operational definitions transform ______ or ______ concepts like “poverty”, “middle class” or “single parent” into concrete, observable, measurable entities
- is it used in both qualitative and quanitative and when it is it used
- A _______ is a concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can vary or change from one person, group, culture, or time to another
- Operational definitions transform abstract or theoretical concepts like “poverty”, “middle class” or “single parent” into concrete, observable, measurable entities (clarifying),
- yes used it both but at different times. start of quantitative (straight up and assumes) methods but develops over qualitative (fluid)
- A variable is a concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can vary or change from one person, group, culture, or time to another
Measuring Poverty: Operational Definitions in Action
For example, defining poverty
– _______ poverty: anything below the minimum income level needed to secure basic necessities
* Measure?
– _______ poverty: defines poverty relative to median or mean household incomes
* Measure?
- Different poverty definitions lead to different poverty measures and thus different….
– Absolute poverty: anything below the minimum income level needed to secure basic necessities
* Measure: Market Basket Measure (MBM)
– Relative poverty: defines poverty relative to median or mean household incomes
* Measure: low-income cut-off (LICO)
- Different poverty definitions lead to different poverty measures and thus different poverty statistics
Research Surveys and a Lesson in Interpreting Poll Results
Data generation methods:
– A _______ is a quantitative survey designed to measure respondents’ views on a particular topic or set of topics
– ______-______ questionnaires answers to a set of questions with set answer options
– ______-______ questionnaires answers to each question without having to select a predetermined response from a list
- Questionnaires are administered to a _____, selected from a larger population
– A poll is a quantitative survey designed to measure respondents’ views on a particular
topic or set of topics
– Closed-ended questionnaires are answers to a set of questions with set answer options (ex: yes or no)
– Open-ended questionnaires, answers to each question without having to select a predetermined response from a list (response cannot be yes or no)
- Questionnaires are administered to a sample, selected from a larger population (series of questions with a pole)
Variables and Correlations
* ______: a concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can vary or change from one person, group, culture, or time to another
Sociologists commonly refer to two different types of variables:
* _______ variable: has an effect on another variable (the cause)
* ________ variable: is affected by the independent variable (the effect)
x -> y
IV-> DV
cause -> effect
- Variable: a concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can vary or change from one person, group, culture, or time to another
– Sociologists commonly refer to two different types of variables:
* Independent variable: has an effect on another variable (the cause)
* Dependent variable: is affected by the independent variable (the effect)
Correlation
* Correlation exists when two variables are associated more frequently than….
- This relationship can take on two forms:
– _____ (or _____) correlation occurs when the independent and the dependent variables increase or decrease together
– _____ (or _____) correlation occurs when the two variables change in opposing directions
- Correlation exists when two variables are associated more frequently than could be expected by chance
- This relationship can take on two forms:
– Direct (or positive) correlation occurs when the independent and the dependent variables increase or decrease together
– Inverse (or negative) correlation occurs when the two variables change in opposing directions
________: describes the relationship between two variables
- _______: is the linking of effects to causes
- Spurious _____: occurs when someone sees correlation and falsely assumes causation
– Spurious _______: a third outside factor that influences both correlating variables
Correlation: describes the relationship between two variables
- Causation: is the linking of effects to causes
- Spurious reasoning: occurs when someone sees correlation and falsely assumes causation
– Spurious variable: a third outside factor that influences both correlating variables
