SOCI 201 Introduction to Sociology - Research Methods PDF

SOCI 201 Introduction to Sociology RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY Dr. Gbenga Adejare Department of Sociology Faculty of Arts  What is Research? #Cyclical process of knowing R...

SOCI 201 Introduction to Sociology RESEARCH METHODS IN SOCIOLOGY Dr. Gbenga Adejare Department of Sociology Faculty of Arts  What is Research? #Cyclical process of knowing Research can be defined in many ways: In common parlance, it refers to a search for knowledge. It is a systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic, an art of Fact Guess scientific investigation. Social research involves structured enquiry that utilizes acceptable scientific methodology for solving social problems and creating new set of knowledge that is generally applicable. What is Research? Trying to know… E.g., my study on cocoa production among smallholder farmers. The Globe and Mail study on the living condition of First Nations communities in Canada: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW K6ChJw8hs Research can be done in various ways. Some of these include description, exploration, explanation, and evaluation. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Provide a precise description/estimate of a social phenomena – “What is the violent crime rate in Alberta?” –“How many people visit Tim Horton every day?” –“Is the rate of high school graduation increasing?” EXPLORATORY RESEARCH Gain a rich, in-depth understanding of a generally unknown/little-known topic. “How do extremist groups select their targets?” “How do women who get pregnant while addicted to drugs find help?” “How do women play a role in methamphetamine markets?” EXPLANATORY RESEARCH Examine the RELATIONSHIP between social phenomena – how two things are related to each other. “What is the effect of dropping out of school on lifetime earnings?” “What is the relationship between the unemployment rate and the crime rate?” “What is the relationship between higher education and police use of force?  EVALUATION RESEARCH ….Evaluate (measure, assess, judge) aspects of policies and programs Problem analysis: “What problems should the policy/program try to address?” Impact evaluation: “What effect is the policy/program having on its intended outcomes?” Process evaluation: “Is the policy/program being effectively implemented?” Cost-benefit analysis: “Is the policy/program cost-effective?” Research Methodology and Research Methods 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 consensus on the best way of doing research. It is the study of methods by which knowledge is gained. It is very crucial for planning of research. Research Methods are various procedures, schemes and algorithms used in research. They are essentially planned, scientific and value-neutral. They include theoretical procedures, experimental studies, numerical schemes, statistical approaches, etc. Research methods help us collect samples, data and find a solution to a problem. The Scientific Method As a social science, sociology employs the scientific method which is a series of steps leading to proof. The steps are as follows:  Identify a research question Draw conclusions The Formulate your and share your hypothesis results scientific method Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported  Identify a research question Draw conclusions Formulate your and share your Your question might hypothesis be based on a results theory, prior research, or your own observations Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported  Identify a research question Draw conclusions Hypothesis: what you Formulate your and share your think you will find, hypothesis results based on theory, prior research, or expected relationships Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported  Identify a research question Based on your Draw conclusions Formulate your research question and share your hypothesis (including theory and results prior research), decide how to make observations to test your ideas Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported  Identify a research question There are many ways Draw conclusions to analyze data to Formulate your and share your make sure that our hypothesis results conclusions are grounded in observations, not opinions Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported  Identify a research question Draw conclusions Formulate your and share your Interpreting results hypothesis results requires both data and theory – and sharing results is key to scientific progress! Analyze your data to see Collect data to test if your hypothesis was your hypothesis supported Social Science Debate #1: Insider versus Outsider Perspectives French philosopher August 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, cont’d Critical sociologists like Dorothy Smith and Michel Foucault challenged the notion of the objective outsider and stressed the unique role of the insider perspective Standpoint theory, for example, 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 experts use their privilege to decide over the authenticity of the insider perspective, this is where vital information get lost Social Science Debate #2: Quantitative versus Qualitative Research Quantitative research focuses on social elements that can be counted or measured, which can therefore be used to generate statistics (macro sociological approach) E.g., surveys, polls, questionnaires Qualitative research is the close examination of characteristics that cannot be counted or measured (micro sociological approach) E.g., ethnography Many researchers today embrace triangulation, convergence, or a mixed-methods approach when completing research. Qualitative Research Qualitative research permits subjectivity on the part of both researcher and research subject Qualitative methods includes: Ethnography Institutional ethnography Case study approach Narratives Content analysis Discourse analysis Genealogy Ethnography 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 Informants: 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 Dorothy Smith, recognizes that every institution has two sides, each associated with a different kind of data: 1. 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) 2. Experiential data come from informants: anyone who works for the organization, outside of management The Case Study Approach Case study is a research design that takes as its subject a single case or a few selected examples of a social entity such as: Community Family Roles relationship 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 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 Purest form of the insider view Content Analysis 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 For example, feminist approaches seek to reveal the gendered aspects of culture, such as patriarchy and misogyny Irving Goffman’s Gendered Advertisements (1976) is a classic content analysis of commercial pictures depicting gendered assumptions in print media Discourse Analysis There are two types of discourse analysis used by sociologists: 1. analyzing discourse as the term is commonly understood (i.e. as a conversation, a speech, or a written text) 2. discourse analysis considers a broader definition of “text,” going beyond individual works and authors to include larger fields A discourse is a conceptual framework with its own internal logic and underlying assumptions that are generally recognizable A field comprises all known discourses on a particular cultural concepts, such as masculinity Genealogy Genealogy is a method of examining the history of the second type of discourse defined above. It seeks to trace the origins and histories of modern discourses E.g., Edward Said’s Orientalism (1979), which is the Western fascination with or romanticization of “exotic” Middle and Far Eastern cultures Quantitative Research Understanding Statistics: Statistics is a science that, in sociology, involves the use of numbers to map social behaviour and beliefs It is the only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions.”—Esar 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 centre 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 E.g., in the series 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18 – 11 is the median Mean (average) can be found by adding up all the scores and dividing the total by the number of scores you have E.g., 6+8+10+11+14+16+18=83/7=11.9  Using Operational Definitions Operational definitions transform abstract or theoretical concepts like “poverty” or “middle class” into concrete, observable, measurable entities. 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 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 poll is a quantitative survey designed to measure respondents’ views on a particular topic or set of topics Closed-ended questionnaires are used to capture respondents’ answers to a set of questions with set answer options Open-ended questionnaires, are used to capture respondents’ 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 Variables 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) Intermediate Variable: This is a go-between variable that mediates between dependent and independent variables. It is also known as intervening or mediating variable. Correlation 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 Correlation cont’d Table 2.6 Direct correlation of independent and dependent variables: Three examples Independent Variable Dependent Variable smoking  rates of lung cancer education level  (1) income level (2) tolerance for difference (e.g. regarding “race” and ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.) parents’ income level  likelihood of child becoming a dentist, doctor, or lawyer Correlation cont’d Table 2.7 Inverse correlation of independent and dependent variables: Three examples Independent Variable Dependent Variable average temperature  average amount of clothes worn woman’s education  number of children she will have age (of an adult)  support for legalizing cannabis Spurious Reasoning: Correlation Is Not Causation 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 Critical Thinking and Statistics Joel Best, Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists (2001) States that we should viewed statistics critically, we must recognize that all statistics are flawed to some extent; and these flaws can have grave consequences When examining a statistic we must ask ourselves a number of questions such as: What might be the sources for this number? Who produced the number, and what interests might they have? What are the different ways key terms might have been defined, and which definitions have been chosen? Ethics and Research Research ethics entails demonstrating respect for the research subjects (i.e. their privacy, their understanding of what the research will require of them, and their capacity to choose to be researched or not) Informed consent is given when participants indicate their understanding and acceptance of the research conditions Beneficence Non-malfeasance Ethics and Research (Cont’d) Some videos to watch: Milgram Experiment - Big History NL, threshold 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYLCy5PVgM Residential Schools https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdR9HcmiXLA Quite Rage: The Stanford Prison Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=760lwYmpXbc&t=7s  Concluding Thought: Have You…? ✓played a “trick” on someone to see how they would react? Experiment ✓tested someone in some way? ✓doubted something and tried to get similar or even different results? ✓asked someone or some people two or more questions about a given issue? Survey ✓compared or contrasted answers from two or more people? ✓taken or given a test? ✓wanted to hear the stories of people...events and their lives? Interview ✓wanted to learn in greater depth about certain ways of doing things from people doing them? ✓wondered about other groups and other people in different settings than yours? ✓examined a book for its content in order to Content Analysis decide to read it or buy it for someone else? ✓said there’s too much violence (or sex or....)on TV, in movies, in books, etc.? ✓examined a speech or talk for frequency of certain words being used? ✓wanted to hear the stories of people...events and their lives? Ethnography ✓wanted to learn in greater depth about certain ways of doing things from people doing them? ✓wondered about other groups and other people in different settings than yours?  Do it Yourself! Do a content analysis of any CBC news item watched before the next class Ask the people in your community (any community) about their choices of food and why PLEASE ASK YOUR QUESTIONS… THANK YOU!