METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

1. METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH Introduction to Family Studies

2. Social Science Research • How do we know what we know? • Most of us understand the world around us through our personal experience -- the people and situations we have been in or have seen • This personal experience leads to your conclusions about the world • While there is nothing wrong with these ways of knowing -- social scientists are skeptical about relying ONLY on these sources because: • An individual’s experience of those around them is not representative of the broader society

3. Social Science Research • How do we know what we know? • Social scientists use a systematic and more scientific mode of investigation • Social scientists rely on: • Observations of the social world based on representative samples • Example: If we wanted to study why people in the U.S. get married, we should not just survey college students • We avoid the error of overgeneralization: i.e. using what we know about a small group of people to conclude something about all people

4. Sociological Theories • Social science theories explain or help us make sense of patterns in social life • Theories shape and direct research – they point us in a direction • That direction influences what we look for, what we find, and how we explain it

5. Sociological Theories • Theories about families and relationships are made up a set of statements that explain why certain relationships occur • For example: The age at first marriage has increased because more women are graduating from college and starting careers before marrying

6. Macrolevel theories • Macrolevel theories focus on: • a whole society or a large part of it • the BIG PICTURE Example: • How has the decline in real male wages influenced husbands’ and wives’ involvement in the paid labor force • Research might examine cost of living and employment rates by gender and compare data from 1960 to 2000

7. Sociological Theories • Theories used to explain relationships at a more personal level are microlevel theories Examples: • A researcher wants to know how often husbands and wives argue on a weekly basis • They might observe a husbands and wife in their home – or tape their conversations over the week

8. Most Frequently used Methods of Social Research • Demographic Studies • Survey Research • Participant Observation (Field Observation) • Social Experiments

9. Demographic Studies • Demography is a subfield of social science that is concerned with: • how social conditions are distributed in the human population and • how these populations are changing • Core interests are trends in: • Fertility • Mortality • Migration • Marriage and divorce

10. How are demographic data collected? • Most data are collected at the state level and compiled by the National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS) • NCHS is a department of the Center for Disease control (CDC) in Atlanta GE

11. Demographic Studies • Examples of Demographic Studies in Fertility • What is the fertility rate by race/ethnicity in the US? • How has it changed over the past ten years? • Go to the National Center for Health Statistics: • http://www.cdc.gov/nchs • http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_01.pdf

12. Fertility Rate • Fertility rate is the number of women age 15 - 44 who gave birth per 1000 women • For example the rate for Non-Hispanic Black women is 89 births per 1000

14. Survey Research • Collect information from a subgroup of people, known as a sample • Samples are chosen to represent the larger population from which they are selected. • Data is collected through in-person or phone interviews, or by questionnaires sent through the mail or though the internet (web-based)

15. Survey Research • Example of Survey Research • General Social Survey • Who conducted the survey? • National Opinion Research Center (NORC) • How many people were interviewed? • More than 38,000 people interviewed since 1972 • National Survey of Family Growth • http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/abc_list.htm

16. Field Research • Used to understand processes among people by directly observing them as the behaviors take place • Researcher participates directly in the social life of individuals of groups in question

17. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION • Complete Observation: • Arlie Hochschild observed the division of household labor by visiting wives and husbands in their homes • Observation takes place in the real world • Researcher attempts to fade into the background

18. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION • Complete Participation: • Researcher tries to become a part of the group they are studying • Howard Becker hung around with Jazz musicians to understand how people learned to smoke pot - but he WAS also a Jazz musician

19. Field Research • Intensive interviewing • Questions are open ended • Designed to be very in depth, with a small sample • Provide rich description of personal experience • Focus Groups • Designed to obtain information from a small group of people • Encourage open discussions of topics • Used by market researchers and political pollsters

20. Summary • Families are one social institution among many • Families are influenced by and influence the larger society • Family theories guide research on families • These theories as well as methods chosen to collect data may operate at the: • macro level (big picture level) or • micro level (personal/individual level) • Family sociologists use systematic methods