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Operationalize the variables

Operationalize the variables. In other words: Define your variable. How exactly will you measure what you are studying?. Does watching violent television make children act violently?. Today: Research Methods Continued Turn in extra credit.

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Operationalize the variables

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  1. Operationalize the variables In other words: Define your variable. How exactly will you measure what you are studying? Does watching violent television make children act violently?

  2. Today: Research MethodsContinued Turn in extra credit “Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Martin Luther King, Jr.

  3. Steps in the research process Each steps has different importance and significance Select a topic Literature Review Research design/ Methods Collect data Code data Results and discussion Inform Others

  4. Research-Literature Review Read 10 or more studies from academic sources, explain what has already been said about your topic, and what you will add to this body of work

  5. Variables Does watching violent television make children act violently? independent dependent Independent variable= cause Dependent variable = effect

  6. Unethical Studies View Hidden Camera Show Experiment

  7. Unethical Studies 1931: Dr. Cornelius Rhoads conducted a cancer experiment in Puerto Rico purposely infecting subjects with cancer cells, 13 subjects died 1946-48: U.S. recently (Oct 2010) apologized for deadly experiments on hundred of Guatemalansinjected with STD’s U.S. public health service doctors injected Guatemalan patients with syphilis and gonorrheawithout their knowledge, to study the effect of penicillin as a treatment 1968: Sterilization study, Puerto Rican women were convinced to have tubal ligation(“tubes tied”) 1/3 of the women in the study were not told the operation was permanent 1932-1972: Tuskegee, Alabama. 399 African-American men were recruited for clinical study of syphilis Never told they had syphilis, never treated Given free medical exams and free meals

  8. IRB Approval Institutional Review Board = committee at colleges, hospitals, research institutes required by law to ensure research involving humans is conducted in a responsible, ethical manner.

  9. Ways of collecting data Experimental research Surveys Existing statistics Content Analysis Field Research /Participant Observation

  10. Reliability Reliability in research can be increased by avoiding common mistakes

  11. Problems with reliability Spurious correlations Lies Evasions Misinformation Fronts Reactivity Obstacles to reliability include behaviors that can mislead the researcher:

  12. 1. Spurious correlation When there incorrectly seems to be a connection between variables. A different factor is the actual cause.

  13. Spurious correlations Correlation is not causation Just because two things are occurring at the same time does not mean one necessarily causes the other Gallup poll 2011

  14. Correlation is not causation Students who sit in the front of the class are more likely to earn an A. What are potential problems with this correlation?

  15. Lies Intended to mislead, give a false view, or protect identity. Examples: A gang member may give false information about crimes committed A club may give inflated membership numbers to appear more successful

  16. Misinformation an unintended falsehood caused by uncertainty and complexity of life.

  17. Evasions: intentional acts of not revealing information This includes: • not answering questions • answering a different question than asked • switching topics • answering in a vague manner

  18. Fronts: shared and learned lies and deceptions Example: a bar that has a true purpose of providing a place to make illegal bets

  19. Reactivity Tendency for people being observed to act differently due to being studied

  20. Questions for surveys and interviews 5 Types of Questions Open-ended Close-ended Double-barreled questions Contingency questions Sleeper questions

  21. Questions for surveys and interviews: Rate your knowledge 1. I recognize this civil rights leader and know his or her name2. I recognize the leader but can’t remember his or her name3. I don’t recognize this leader A. B. C. E. F. D.

  22. Raise your hand if: now that you see the leader’s name you recognize him or her, remember learning about his or her work in school. Or if: you already knew about the leader even before seeing the name. Dolores Huerta Martin Luther King Jr. Cesar Chavez Malcom X Mohandas Gandhi Edward G. Tolliver

  23. Questions for surveys and interviews Sleeper Questions: about non-existent people, events, or places to determine if respondents are being honest about knowledge Edward G. Tolliver is not a civil rights leader Program Director at Florida University Example: in a study to determine which Civil Rights leaders U.S. adults recognize, the name of a fictitious person was added. 15% of respondents said they “recognized” the leader.

  24. Sleeper Questions about non-existent people, events, or places to determine if respondents are being honest about knowledge View Sample

  25. Types of questions to avoid Avoid double-barreled questions Ex: “Is that class easy and interesting?” Why is this questions problematic? • consist of two or more questions joined together • makes answer unclear

  26. Types of questions to avoid Avoid leading/loaded questions Wording leads respondent to choose one answer Don’t feel all responses are ok Makes them aware of answer researcher wants Example: “You read the whole chapter like you were supposed to, didn’t you?”

  27. Types of questions to avoid Loaded questions can be stated to get either positive or negative answers. “Should the mayor spend even more money trying to keep the streets in top shape?” “Should the mayor fix the potholed and dangerous streets in our city?” Avoid qualifying terms “dangerous” “serious”

  28. Threatening and sensitive questions Often do not get honest responses Respondents may be: Afraid Embarrassed Unable to confront their own actions honestly

  29. Survey Questions Work with 1 partner or alone Read the questions Decide if they are strong or weak Re-word the weak questions Discuss why they are weak • Types of questions to re-word: • Leading/loaded • Double-barreled • Threatening • Sensitive • Unclear

  30. Questions for surveys and interviews Open-ended question: free to offer any answer EX: What is one factor of the school environment that you find frustrating as a teacher?

  31. Questions for surveys and interviews Closed-ended question: must choose from a fixed set of answers. EX: Lack of planning time is a factor of my school environment that I find frustrating as a teacher. Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

  32. Questions for surveys and interviews Contingency Questions: two- (or more) part question. Ex: 1. Do you play basketball? _____(If yes, answer question 1a, if no skip to question 2) 1a. How many days a week do you play basketball? _____________ 2. Do you watch basketball games on TV? _______

  33. Using a sample to collect data Instead of gathering data from 20 million people, a researcher may draw a sample of 2,000

  34. Types of samples Random sample Snowball sampling Quota Sampling Convenience sampling

  35. Sampling Errors Convenience sampling can produce ineffective, highly unrepresentative samples The person-on-the-street interview conducted by television programs is an example of a convenience sample. Why is this sampling strategy problematic?

  36. Sampling Errors Example: newspaper or magazine that asks readers to clip a questionnaire from the newspaper The number who respond may seem large but the sample cannot be used to generalize accurately to the population.

  37. Types of Samples • Cross sectional • Time series • Panel • Cohort • Case study

  38. Next class Social Change Read Ch 15: p 376-386 Turn in extra credit

  39. Steps in the research process • Select a topic, create a research question: specific aims, purpose, betterment of society? • Literature review: useful because it helps you refine your question, state what you will add to current research • Research designs/methods: carefully design research methods steps to ensure high reliability and ethical methods (consider sampling strategy and type of questions) • Collect data: ethical, organized manner, may need IRB approval • Code data:organize your data and look for themes, create charts/graphs • Interpret:analyze, interpret, and discuss your results, include a discussion of any shortcomings in your methods • Inform:share conclusions and recommendations

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