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CHAPTER 2:SOCIOLOGY REVIEW 21 2. THE METHODS OF RESEARCH DEFINING RESEARCH METHODS The term research methods refers both to a strategy or plan for carrying out research and the means of carrying out the strategy. Some sociologists favor quantitati...

CHAPTER 2:SOCIOLOGY REVIEW 21 2. THE METHODS OF RESEARCH DEFINING RESEARCH METHODS The term research methods refers both to a strategy or plan for carrying out research and the means of carrying out the strategy. Some sociologists favor quantitative methods. Following the example of the natural sciences, they make use of statistical and other mathematical techniques of quantification or measurement in their efforts to describe and interpret their observations. Others favor qualitative methods, relying on personal observation and description of social life in order to explain behavior. Conceding that their methods entail the loss of precision, they argue that their method achieves a deeper grasp of the texture of social life. Thus, Max Weber developed the method of verstehen. Verstehen is understanding as a means of characterizing and interpreting or explaining. This is done through applying reason to the external and inner con- text of specific social situations, such as the origins of Western capitalism. SURVEY RESEAR CH Sociologists most often use the survey method of observation in their research. Subjects are asked about their opinions, beliefs, or behavior,such as how they have behaved in the past or how they intend to behave in the future,in a series of questions. The information is collected from the respondents of the survey directly by means of an interview, or indirectly by means of a self- administered written form of a questionnaire that the respondents fill out them- selves.Interviews may be conducted in person, by phone, or even by electronic means of communication. The interview may be structured where respondents are asked a series of questions in which they are given a limited choice between several possible responses on each question, unstructured where respondents are asked ques-tions to which they can respond freely in their own words, or may involve the use of a combination of both open-ended and close-ended questions. The researcher may be interested in determining or gauging the general character-istics of a population  CHAPTER 2:SOCIOLOGY REVIEW 21 or in collecting information about some event from the persons involved. A survey can be mainly descriptive or explanatory. In the latter case,researchers may be interested in understanding either causal or correlational relationships between varables. Variables, can either be independent or depen-dent. An independent variable is one that influences another variable, while the dependent variable is the one being influenced by another variable (the cause and effect, respectively). In order to assess the relationship between two variables, controls may need to be applied. A control is a technique of differen-tiating between factors that may or may not influence the relationship between variables. Relationships between two variables can either be correlational or causal. A correlational relationship exists when a change in one variable coin-cides with, but doesn't cause a change in another. A causal relationship exists when a change in one variable causes or forces a change in the other. How, then, is survey research carried out? First, a population is selected.All members can be approached in the case of a relatively small population or in the case of an event that requires collecting information from certain key persons that were involved. If the population is relatively large, a sampe will be selected for study from the entire population. A representative sample is one that accurately reflects the population from which it is drawn. A random sample is one where every member of the population has the same chance of being chosen for study, as in throwing the names of everyone in a hat, mixing them up, and selecting as many as are thought necessary to achieve representa-tives. Systematic sampling is a type of sample in which the nth unit in a list is selected for inclusion in the sample. For example, every fiftieth resident listed in a phone book of a given area will be selected. In this way, every member of the population is guaranteed the same chance of being selected for study. Stratified sampling uses the differences that already exist in a population,such as between males and females, as the basis for selecting a sample. Know-ing the percentage of the population that falIs into a particular category, the researcher then randomly selects a number of persons to be studied from each category in the same proportion as exists in thepopulation.  22 CLEP INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY EXPERIMENTATION Sociologists can and sometimes do conduct experiments. In the broadest sense, experimentation involves the observation, measurement, or calculation of the consequences of an action. Typically the social science researcher selects a group of subjects to be studied (the experimental group), exposes them to a particular condition, and then measures the results. The researcher usually measures the results against that of a control group (a similar population upon which the action has not been performed). Experiments are used to test theories and the hypotheses drawn from them. In one type of experiment, researchers create a situation in which they test the extent of the relationship that presum-ably exists between an independent and a dependent variable, by means of con-trolling a third. Experiments may be carried out in a laboratory or in the field. Field experi-ments are carried out in natural settings. In one of the most famous field experi-ments of social science conducted in the 1930s at the Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company that was located in Chicago, Elton May identified what has come to be known as the Hawthorne effect-that the mere presence of a researcher affects the subject's behavior. OBSERVATION Observation is a technique that provides firsthand experience of real situa-tions. Unobtrusive observation is observation from a distance,without being involved in the group or activity being studied. Unobtrusive observation may be observing subjects from afar (e.g., watching children play in a schoolyard)or observing subjects more closely (e.g., watching children play in a classroom from behind a one-way mirror). Often referred to as field research, participant observation is observation by a researcher who is (or appears to be) a member of the group or a participant in the activity he/she is studying. Participant observers may or may not conceal their identities as researchers. They may conceal their identities as researchers so as not to influence their subjects who, not knowing they are being observed,will act naturally. On the other hand, they may disclose their identities as researchers and seek to minimize their influence by not allowing themselves to get too involved with subjects while they are establishing a rapport.  CHAPTER 2: SOCIOLOGY REVIEW 23 SECONDARY ANALYSIS Secondary analysis refers to the analysis of existing sources of information.In the hope of discovering something new, the researcher examines old records and documents, including archives and official statistics provided by the gov-ernment. Thus, by using available data, the researcher avoids having to gather information from scratch, and by analyzing old records and documents, the researcher can acquire an understanding of relations between people in the past. Content analysis refers to the techniques employed to describe the contents of the materials. They may be quantitative-using such techniques as percent.ages, rates, or averages to describe how the contents vary,e.g.,arithmetic means, modes, or medians, or qualitative-using concepts and employing rea-son to capture the contents of the materials observed. THE STAGES OF RESEARCH Research is a process that includes: 1. Defining the problem-the questions, issues, or topic with which one is concerned. 2. Identifying and reviewing the literature or relevant literature bear-ing upon the problem. 3. Formulating a hypothesis-a tentative statement about what one ex-pects to observe, e.g., the prediction of a relationship between vari-ables or the prediction that a certain relation between people will be obtained. 4. Selecting and implementing a research design to test one's hypoth-esis-the plan for collecting and analyzing information. 5. Drawing a conclusion- determining whether or not one's hypoth -esis is confirmed and presenting one's findings in an organized way that both describes and, wherever possible, explains what one has observed. ETHICAL PROBLEMS Sociologists can and often do encounter ethical problems or dilemmas 24 CLEP INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY 1. What harm, if any, is the reseach likely to bring to participants?Does the knowledge gained justify the risks involved? 2. Is the privacy of subjects being invaded, and should the privacy of subjects be maintained under all circumstances? 3. Do subjects have a right to be informed that they are being studied?Is their consent necessary? 4. Does it matter how the research results will or can be applied?Should this affect the research design or the way in which the re-search is reported? 5. When, if at all, is deception in conducting research or in reporting the research resualts justified?