Unit 3: Sociological Research Methods

Unit 3: Sociological Research Methods Aim: How do Sociologists determine if their contentions are valid? Do Now: Offer an argument for the following question: “IS IT ECONOMICALLY BENEFICIAL FOR YOU TO GO TO COLLEGE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL?”

Science is a process, not a specific content area! • “Every time we take a prescription drug, we are conducting an experiment. But we don’t carefully record the results after each dose, and we don’t mix up the variables by not changing only one behavior at a time, so that when we suffer from side effects we can’t figure out what might have been their true cause. We do the same with personal relationships: When they go wrong, we can’t figure out why. Every aspect of our life is an experiment that can be better understood if it is perceived that way…Most of us, having learned the word ‘experiment’ in the context of boring ninth-grade science class, have long since learned to discount science and experimentation as irrelevant to our lives.

Examples of Research Questions

What is the relationship between viewing sexually provocative pictures on Instagram and men’s perception of women? To what extent does the amount of A.P. courses taken make students feel superior to non-advanced students? In what ways do misogynistic lyrics in hip-hop music impact black and white perceptions of women differently? What is the relationship between men having very fixed ideas about gender roles and their likelihood to cheat on a spouse?

“So, I noticed that when I upload a selfie to Instagram I get considerably fewer ‘likes’ than when I upload a picture of myself with my girlfriend – why is this?” How would you go about answering this research question, scientifically? What might your hypothesis be? What are the variables? How can you take both quantitative and qualitative data on this to come to a conclusion?

Formulating a hypothesis Either… It is economically beneficial to go to college after high school It is NOT economically beneficial to go to college after high school OR Formulate a hypothesis begins with whatever you feel is logical. : The higher a person’s education level, the more money that person will earn.. Variable 1: going to college Variable 2: economic benefits A hypothesis is statement of speculation about the relationship between 2 or more factors (variables). A variable is a measurable trait or characteristic that is subject to change under different circumstances…

Independent and Dependent Variables A scientist wishes to study the impacts of the effectiveness of a new drug on slowing breast cancer growth. (What are the 2 factors here? Which factor is dependent on the other?) A psychologist wants to know the relationship between the amount of received physical affection in childhood and later aggressive behavior (What are the 2 factors here? Which factor is dependent on the other?) A new parent notices that their infant is crying a lot – what are the variables that may be causing this?

Independent and Dependent Variables The Independent variable influences or effects the dependent variable The Dependent variable is impacted by the independent variable The relationship between variables is positive if, as one variable increases, so does the other (sometimes called a positive correlation) The relationship between variables is negative if, as one variable increases the other decreases (e.g., there is a negative relationship between vaccination And polio incidences)

So in the case of the Do Now question (Is it economically beneficial to go to college, or not?) Going to college (independent variable) will impact how much money you make in the future (dependent variable). If you argue that there is a positive relationship between the variables, that means that as 1 variable increase, so does the other. So, again, if there was a positive relationship between going to college and economic benefits, you’d be arguing that the more you go to college, the greater the economic benefits to the individual.

A psychologist wants to know the relationship between the amount of received physical affection in childhood and later aggressive behavior. Amount of physical affection (either a lot, a moderate amount, or a little) IN. VARIABLE = Aggression later in life - impacted by how much affection you get as child. DEP.VARIABLE = The more physical affection you get, the higher your rate of aggressive behavior A positive relationship exists if… A negative relationship exists if… The more physical affection you get, the lower your rate of aggressive behavior.

Identifying Cause & Effect Relationships Causality: one variable causes the other Correlation: a change in one variable produces a change in another – only suggests causality Does X cause Y? Does Y cause X? Does a third factor, Z, cause both X and Y? To use a psychological example, let’s say someone went to a psychologist suffering from depression and anxiety. A good psychologist will try to figure out:

Is the depression causing the anxiety? Is the person anxious about the fact that they are depressed all the time – maybe they’re nervous that something is really wrong with them, and thus become anxious. Is the anxiety causing the depression? Perhaps a person in a continuous state of nervousness becomes depressed because of the negative impact that anxiety has had on their lives. Did a third factor, a genetic predisposition, cause both depression and anxiety?

Collecting and Analyzing Data Now - how would you go about researching whether it made economic sense to go to college? What kind of data would you look at, and how would you gather it? Your sampleis a selection of the larger population that is statistically representative of that population. So, if you were doing research on the social meaning of sagging, you wouldn’t survey/interview people who DO NOT sag their pants (unless your research was about people’s perceptions of pant sagging).

Methodology (how you do research) – Qualitative vs. Quantitative Qualitative data involves people’s lived experiences – how they feel, think, perceive the world. Therefore, the research tools used to collect qualitative data are typically observation and interview (e.g., “Describe to me how you felt when you were being bullied”) Quantitative data involves countable data involving frequency or quantity. Therefore, the most common research tool would be either observation (e.g., counting how many female students hold their books high) and/or surveys/polls. *Note – you must use BOTH types in your project. You must create the survey or poll to be handed out – there are many online resources for this, such as surveymonkey.com

Research Design/Methodology Surveys/Questionaires: Written form intended to gather data (can be Qualitative or quantitative) Interview: Face to Face (or online) discussion with 1 person to gain information What are some of the pros/cons of each method? How can each either help or hinder your ability to gain accurate data? Observation: Non-intrusive research Method in which you watch Sample in environment And draw conclusions

Let’s say your research area is on the micro-sociological phenomena of female ‘uptalk’ - a verbal tick in which people end their sentences in a high pitch, indicating a lack of confidence in what they say… Which methods would you use? Why? Or, let’s say your research interest was on gendered roles within a household (who does what), taking a cross-cultural approach - How would you approach this topic?

Your Final Research Project • You can research anything that interests you • I want you to consistently keep your mind on a topic you may want to do, as well as sample, methodology, questions, and hypothesis. • I want your topic to be original, or more in depth than topics addressed in class. So, while we will address/briefly discuss discrimination within the U.S. criminal justice system, you can do your entire research project on the impact of the Stop & Frisk program on minority communities in New York City. • I want you to think creatively and specifically. So, ‘gender’ is not a research topic - neither is ‘gender roles’ (both are too general) - but examining perceptions about homosexuality in black communities is a research topic.

Unit 3: Sociological Research Methods