Sociological Research Methods

• There are three primary approaches to sociology: positivist, interpretive, and critical.

Positivist Sociology

• It employs scientific research to uncover facts and focuses on the scientific observation of social behavior.
• Also referred to as empirical sociology, relies on information that can be verified through the senses.
• Many commonly held beliefs are not supported by scientific evidence.
• Examples:
  • The assumption that poor individuals are more prone to breaking the law than wealthy individuals.
  • The idea that Canada has a predominantly middle-class society where most people are equal.
  • The notion that most poor people are simply unwilling to work.
  • Attributing behavioral differences between males and females solely to "human nature".
  • The belief that love is the primary reason for marriage.
• These statements often inaccurately present widely accepted "truths".

Concepts, Variables, and Measurement

• Concept: A mental representation that simplifies a part of the world
  • Examples: family, economy, gender, and social class.
• Variable: A concept whose value differs from case to case.
  • Height is a variable since it changes from person to person.
  • Social class can describe a person's standing in society.
• Measurement: A procedure used to determine the value of a variable in a specific instance.
  • Some variables can be measured easily, like blood tests.
• Sociological variables are difficult to measure because their value depends on their definition.
• You must specify what to measure before assigning a value to the variable.
  • For example when measuring social class: wealth? number of school years?
• Specificity is key.
• Statistics are used by Sociologists who commonly work with large groups of people.
• Mean, median, and mode are descriptive statistics which are used to characterize the results.

Reliability and Validity

• For data to be useful, numbers must be both reliable and valid.
• Reliability means getting the same results consistently.
• Validity refers to accurately measuring what is intended.
• Example: Asking students how often they attend religious services is not a valid measure of how religious they are.

Correlation and Causation

• Correlation involves two or more variables changing together.
• Cause and effect refer to a relationship where a change in one variable causes a change in another.
• The independent variable causes the change in the dependent variable.
• Spurious correlation is a false relationship between two variables caused by a third factor.
  • Example: January's low marriage rate and high death rate in Canada, might appear correlated but are not.
  • Example: Delinquency rates and crowded housing are linked by poverty.
• Correlation criteria:
  • Show that the variables are correlated.
  • Confirm that the independent variable precedes the dependent variable.
  • Ensure no third variable has been overlooked.

Objectivity

• Objectivity involves neutrality when conducting research.
• Complete neutrality is impossible.
• Value-relevant research is more common because it focuses on topics of interest.
• Researchers should aim to be value-free once the research has started.
• Research should be viewed without personal bias.
• Researchers should stay open-minded.

Interpretive Sociology

• Focuses on attaching meaning to actions.
• Focuses on understanding the meanings people attribute to their social world.
• While it values meaning, it does not reject science.
• Focuses on four things: actions, subjectivity, qualitative data, and subjective meaning.
• Reality is subjective; interpretivists believe reality is constructed through everyday experiences.
• This approach uses qualitative data and subjective meanings.
• Explores subjective meaning through interaction.
• Weber's concept of Verstehen, a German term for understanding.
• The interpretive sociologist's role is to understand the individual's actions and meanings.
• Subjective thoughts and feelings are important even though they can be hard to measure.
• Interpretive sociology doesn't dismiss observing behavior.

Critical Sociology

• Focuses on the need for social change.
• Maintains that reality exists "out there" and needs study.
• Presumes that society can be changed.
• Does not ignore facts and utilizes scientific methods.
• What differentiates it is the way the question is asked.
  • Positivist sociologists ask, "how much income inequality is there?"
• Critical sociologists ask "is there too much inequality?"
• Rejects scientific neutrality and favors personal connections to study different aspects.
• Argues all research is political because findings usually call for change.
• Politics refers to power and power relations.
• The critical perspective advocates choosing a side in research. A researcher might advocate for less income inequality
• Orientations:
  • Positivist aligns with the structural-functional approach.
  • Interpretive aligns with the symbolic-interaction approach.
  • Critical aligns with the social-conflict approach.
• It is fueled by reducing social inequality.

Research Methods

• Systematic research plans.

The Experiment

• Investigates cause and effect under controlled conditions.
• Typically expressed in "if" and "then" statements.
• Steps:
  • Identify the independent variable (the cause) and the dependent variable (the effect).
  • Measure the initial value of the dependent variable.
  • Expose the dependent variable to the independent variable.
  • Check if the change happened as expected to verify the hypothesis.
• A lab setting allows for controlled testing of all variables, but experiments can also be done "in the field."

The Sanford Prison Experiment

• Participants were randomly selected to be prisoners or guards.
• The experiment raised questions about prisons.
• Highlighted the need to consider potential harm to research participants.

Stanley Milgram Experiment

• Explored why people comply with things they know are wrong.
• Demonstrated that people are often obedient, even when they know it is wrong, and that people's obedience override their moral values.
• Obedience can be influenced by a perceived lack of responsibility and by being in a respected environment.
• Authority figures can make people do things they typically would not.
• Abuse of power is dangerous.

Survey Research

• Useful for gathering specific information from people, such as religion.
• Aims to collect data through questionnaires or interviews.
• Due to it being impossible to survey everyone, researchers use samples, typically a minimum of 15,000 people.
• Requires having a specific set of questions; questionnaires which are useful.

Participant Observation

• Researchers observe people by participating in their routine activities.
• Used to study everyday social settings.
• Relies on qualitative data and has fewer rules than surveys or other methods.
• It avoids disturbing the natural environment: to gain an insider's view, the researcher must act like the subjects while maintaining objectivity.

Available Data

• Uses existing sources generally gathered by government agencies like Statistics Canada, or entities like the United Nations and World Bank.
• The long form census is an example.

An overview of the three main sociological approaches: positivist, interpretive, and critical sociology. Focus on positivist sociology, scientific observation, and commonly held beliefs that lack scientific evidence. Discussion on concepts, variables, and measurement in sociological research.