The Real World

By Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein

Chapter 2: Studying Social Life: Sociological Research

Methods

CHAPTER OUTLINE

2.1 An Overview of Research Methods

1. Quantitative research: Research that translates the social world into numbers that can
be treated mathematically; this type of research often tries to find cause-and-effect
relationships.
2. Qualitative research: Research that works with nonnumerical data such as texts, field
notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and audio recordings; this type of research
often tries to understand how people make sense of their world.
3. The Scientific Approach
a. Scientific method: A procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes
collecting concrete data through observation and experimentation.
b. Literature review: A thorough search through previously published studies
relevant to a particular topic.
c. Hypothesis: A theoretical statement explaining the relationship between two or
more phenomena.
d. Variables: Two or more phenomena that a researcher believes are related; these
will be examined in the experiment.
e. Operational definition: A clear and precise definition of a variable that facilitates
its measurement.
f. Replicability: The ability of research to be repeated and, thus, later verified by
other researchers.
g. Correlation: A relationship between variables in which they change together and
may or may not be causal.
h. Causation: A relationship between variables in which a change in one directly
produces a change in the other.
i. Intervening variable: A third variable, sometimes overlooked, that explains the
relationship between two other variables.
j. Spurious correlation: The appearance of causation produced by an intervening
variable.
k. Deductive approach: An approach whereby the researcher formulates a
hypothesis first and then gathers data to test that hypothesis.
l. Inductive approach: An approach whereby the researcher gathers data first,
then formulates a theory to fit the data.
4. Which Method to Use?

2.2 Ethnography/Participant Observation

 The Real World
By Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein
1. Ethnography: A naturalistic method based on studying people in their own environment
in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities; also, the written
work that results from the study.
2. Participant observation: A methodology associated with ethnography whereby the
researcher both observes and becomes a member in a social setting.
3. Rapport: A positive relationship often characterized by mutual trust or sympathy.
4. Field notes: Detailed notes taken by an ethnographer describing their activities and
interactions, which later become the basis of the analysis.
5. Autoethnography: A form of participant observation in which the feelings and actions of
the researcher become a focal point of the ethnographic study.
6. Thick description: The presentation of detailed data on interactions and meaning within
a cultural context, from the perspective of its members.
7. Reflexivity: How the identity and activities of the researcher influence what is going on
in the field setting.
8. Grounded theory: An inductive method of generating theory from data by creating
categories in which to place data and then looking for relationships among categories.
9. Advantages and Disadvantages
a. Representativeness: The degree to which a particular studied group is similar to,
or represents, any part of the larger society.
b. Validity: The accuracy of a question or measurement tool; the degree to which a
researcher is measuring what they think they are measuring.

2.3 Interviews
1. Interviews: Person-to-person conversations for the purpose of gathering information by
means of questions posed to respondents.
2. Respondent: A participant in a study from whom the researcher seeks to gather
information.
3. Target population: The entire group about which a researcher would like to be able to
generalize.
4. Sample: The members of the target population who will actually be studied.
5. Focus group: A process for interviewing a number of participants together that also
allows for interaction among group members.
6. Informed consent: A safeguard through which the researcher makes sure respondents
are freely participating and understand the nature of the research.
7. Leading questions: Questions that predispose a respondent to answer in a certain way.
8. Double-barreled questions: Questions that attempt to get at multiple issues at once,
and so tend to receive incomplete or confusing answers.
9. Life history: An approach to interviewing that asks for a chronological account of the
respondent’s entire life or some portion of it.
10. Advantages and Disadvantages

2.4 Surveys
1. Surveys: Research method based on questionnaires that are administered to a sample
of respondents selected from a target population.
 The Real World
By Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein
2. Close-ended question: A question asked of a respondent that imposes a limit on the
possible responses.
3. Open-ended question: A question asked of a respondent that allows the answer to take
whatever form the respondent chooses.
4. Likert scale: A way of formatting a survey question so that the respondent can choose
an answer along a continuum.
5. Negative questions: Survey questions that ask respondents what they don’t think
instead of what they do think.
6. Pilot study: A small-scale study carried out to test the feasibility of conducting a study
on a larger scale.
7. Probability sampling: Any sampling procedure that uses randomization.
8. Simple random sample: A particular type of probability sample in which every member
of the population has an equal chance of being selected.
9. Advantages and Disadvantages
a. Response rate: The consistency of a question or measurement tool; the degree
to which respondents have the same understanding of a question so that the
questions will produce dependable answers.

2.5 Existing Sources

1. Existing sources: Materials that have been produced for some other reason but that can
be used as data for social research.
2. Unobtrusive measures: Research methods that rely on existing sources and whereby
the researcher does not intrude upon or disturb the social setting or its subjects.
3. Comparative historical research: Research that uses existing sources to study
relationships among elements of society in various regions and time periods.
4. Content analysis: A method in which researchers identify and study specific variables or
themes that appear in a text, image, or media message.
5. Advantages and Disadvantages

2.6 Experimental Methods

1. Experiments: Formal tests of specific variables and effects, performed in a setting where
all aspects of the situation can be controlled.
2. Experimental group: The members of a test group who receive the experimental
treatment.
3. Control group: The members of a test group who are allowed to continue without
intervention so that they can be compared with the experimental group.
4. Independent variable: The factor that is predicted to cause change.
5. Dependent variable: The factor that is changed (or not) by the independent variable.
6. Advantages and Disadvantages

2.7 Social Network Analysis

1. Advantages and Disadvantages
 The Real World
By Kerry Ferris and Jill Stein
2.8 Issues in Sociological Research
1. Nonacademic Uses of Research Methods
2. Values, Objectivity, and Reactivity
a. Values
i. Basic research: The search for knowledge without an agenda or practical
goal in mind.
ii. Applied research: The search for knowledge that can be used to create
social change.
iii. Bias: An opinion held by the researcher that might affect the research or
analysis.
b. Objectivity
i. Objectivity: Impartiality; the ability to allow the facts to speak for
themselves.
c. Reactivity
i. Reactivity: The tendency of people and events to react to the process of
being studied.
ii. Hawthorne effect: A specific example of reactivity, in which the desired
effect is the result not of the independent variable but of the research
itself.
3. Research Ethics
a. Deception: The extent to which the participants in a research project are
unaware of the project or its goals.
b. Confidentiality: The assurance that no one other than the researcher will know
the identity of a respondent.
c. Code of ethics: Ethical guidelines for researchers to consult as they design a
project.
d. Institutional Review Board: A group of scholars within a university who meet
regularly to review and approve the research proposals of their colleagues and
make recommendations for how to protect human subjects.