2. Why Research? Earl Babbie Assumption that the majority of people on welfare stay on welfare for life and pass it on to the next generation Social research proves otherwise
3. Social Research Empirical methods Focus on observable phenomena Others should be able to observe the same phenomena and check observations for accuracy Methodology The rules and guidelines followed in research
4. The Scientific Method Procedure that involves systematically formulating problems, devising and testing hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data Logical design process
5. The Scientific Method Define the problem Review the literature Form hypothesis Collect and analyze data Draw conclusions Repeat
6. Three Types of Research Exploratory Explore a new social phenomenon Answer the question of “what” and provides information for future research Goal is theory development
7. Three Types of Research Descriptive Describes social reality or provides facts about the social world Goal of providing data on social facts Requires a large amount of data that is usually analyzed statistically
8. Three Types of Research Explanatory/causal Explains why things do or do not happen Looks for causation
9. Step 1: Define the Problem Introduce your topic State the problem you have identified Discuss the purpose and objectives of the study Define the limitations of the study
10. Step 1: Define the Problem Introduce your topic Setting the stage
11. Step 1: Define the Problem Statement of the problem Articulate the problem under investigation and define the concepts being studied Concept – abstract system of meaning that enables us to perceive a phenomenon in a particular way Tools that allow us to share meaning Variables – thing of interest in a particular piece of research
12. Step 2: Review the Literature Avoid duplicating work Helps suggest ways of phrasing questions or focusing research in more interesting ways Primary and secondary sources Where you start to develop your theory
13. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses Variables Things of interest in a particular piece of research Thought to be influenced by another thing Have varying attributes (characteristics or qualities that describe a thing) The more abstract and the further removed from direct observation, the harder it is to reach consensus on how to measure it
14. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses Theoretical definition Ordinary meaning you intend to convey Operational definition Set of procedures by which you measure your concepts and collect your data
15. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses To operationalize variables is to turn them into things that can be measured List the attributes of the variable so that you can measure their presence or absence Exhaustive and mutually exclusive
16. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses Variables in Causal Research Independent – variable that is presumed to influence or affect other variables Dependent – variable that is presumed to be affected or influenced by the independent variable
17. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses After we’ve identified the variables of interest, we posit a relationship between them Proposition Statement about the nature of some phenomenon Hypothesis Proposition that can be tested Can be true or false
18. Step 3: Research Questions/Hypotheses Milgram Experiment Research question What made so many German people comply with the killing of so many during WWII? Hypothesis Germans has a basic character flaw that makes them ready to obey authority without question, no matter what is asked of them
19. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Research perspective Type of research (exploratory, descriptive, causal) Research method (ethnography, survey, content analysis, etc.) Justification
20. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Content and access Describe the content of your research, where you will gather data from Describe how you will get access to this data Population An aggregate of all those who conform to a designated set of specifications
21. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Sampling Sample – portion of the population that will be studied to make inferences about the larger population How big your sample is depends on how diverse the population is Scientific and nonscientific Random sample – every member of the population has an equal chance of being in the study
22. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Random sampling Pure random sampling – random number chart Systematic sampling – specific pattern of selection is followed Stratified sampling – population is dividing into groups and then chosen at random from within these groups
23. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Nonscientific sampling Cannot be used to make projections to the whole population Convenience/accidental sampling Quota sampling – try to select people in proportions that they exist in population Purposive sampling
24. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Analyze data Objectivity – researcher’s biases and values should not affect analysis Generalizations – the extent to which findings can be applied beyond the sample
25. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Three types of Causal evidence Concomitant variation Correlation X relates to Y Time sequence X happens before Y Control for other factors Intervening variable – variables that come between and affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables
26. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Causal relationships Direct relationship If you eat more, you weigh more. Inverse relationship If you exercise more, you weigh less.
27. Step 4: Collect & Analyze Data Verification of data Triangulation – uses multiple data collection methods to gather data Reliability – extent to which repeated observations of the same phenomenon would yield similar results Validity – extent to which observations actually yield measures of what they are supposed to measure
28. Step 5: Draw Conclusions Summarize findings Discuss the relation of your findings to your hypothesis Critique the research
