Chapter 2: Day 3: Social Methods Flashcards
(39 cards)
Research Methods
They’re the tools we used to describe, explore, and explain various social phenomena in an ethical fashion. Standard rules that social scientists follow when trying to establish a causal relationship between social elements.
Quantitative Methods
Methods that seek to obtain information about the social world that is already in or can be converted to numeric form. Uses statistics and seeks to answer questions by adhering to strict scientific methods.
Qualitative Methods
Methods that seek to gain information about the social world that cannot be converted to numerical form. These methods use description and subjective interpretation, and seeks to get at the deeper meanings of reality. These methods give the researcher a “thick description”.
Common Facts about Qualitative Methods and Quantitative Methods
It provides ways to establish a causal relationship between social elements.
Purpose of Quantitative Methods
To eliminate all other possibilities through their study’s design, hope to state with some certainty that one condition causes another.
Purpose of Qualitative Methods
It describes social processes in such detail as to rule out competing possibilities.
Deductive Approach
A research approach that starts with a theory, forms a hypothesis, makes empirical observations, then analyzes the data to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory. Known as “theory testing”.
Inductive Approach
A research approach that starts with empirical observations, seeks to find a pattern, forms a tentative hypothesis, and then works to form a theory. Known as “theory building”.
Correlation
Exists when change (variation) is observed in two things simultaneously.
Examples of Correlation
. Poor Health and Low Income: The more sick you are, the less likely you’ll get a job or the less money you have, the more likely you’ll get sick due to lack of health treatment.
. Transportation and Environment: The more transportation are used, the more likely it will pollute the Earth. The more gas, electricity, metals, and oil are used, the less likely we could use transportation due to lack of fuel.
Reckless Tendency
Where two social elements do relate but is not always the case.
Examples of Reckless Tendency
. Poor Health and Low Income: It is caused people spending money on synthetic/unhealthy foods or alcoholic drink that would lead to losing money, and poor health.
. Transportation and Environment: Using transportation don’t always cause pollution, people can use less fuel that harms environment such as bicycles, buses, and electric cars.
Causality and Correlation Are Related?
False. They are both not related, but two elements in correlation are related, but doesn’t always cause that issues. They are many other issues that cause that issue to occur based from reckless tendency.
Causality
The idea that change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor.
Examples of Causality
. Race varies (across individuals), so does Average Age Life Expectancy.
. As Nutrition changes across or within Populations, so does Average Height, but can we say that better nutrition causes some population to be taller?
Three Factors of Causality
Correlation, Time Order, and Ruling Out Alternative Explanations.
Reverse Causality
When a researcher believes that A/1 Element results in a change in B/2 Element, but B/2 is causing A/1.
Examples of Reverse Causality
. When lifelong smokers are told they have lung cancer or emphysema, many may then quit smoking. This change of behavior after the disease develops can make it seem as if ex-smokers are actually more likely to die of emphysema or lung cancer than current smokers.
. It is also known that many alcoholics become nondrinkers after being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Such changes can confuse or confound what is a causal correlation between dying of a disease and an environmental factor.
Independent variable
A measured factor that the researcher thinks has a causal impact on the dependent variable. This is the variable that is believed to influence or cause changes.
Dependent variable
The outcome the researcher is trying to explain; the variable believed to be influenced by the independent variable.
Hypothesis
Proposes a relationship between two variables; between two or more aspects of social relationships.
Examples of Hypothesis
Positive related to Education: As people’s education increases, usually so too does their income.
Negative related to Education: As people’s education levels increases, generally their levels of expressed prejudice decrease.
Operationalization
The process by which a researcher specifies the parameters and defines how a variable will be measured. This is when a precise method for measuring a term occurs.
Examples of Operationalization
“Children grow more quickly if they eat vegetables.”
What does the statement mean by ‘children’? Are they from America or Africa. What age are they? Are the children boys or girls? There are billions of children in the world, so how do you define the sample groups?
