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SocialResearchmidter
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Choosing to look only at things that are in line with our preferences or beliefs | Selective observation |
| Selective observation | looking at only the things in line with our own preferences/beliefs |
| An observation based on faulty perceptions of empirical reality. | inaccurate observation |
| Inaccurate observation | Seeing something wrong and assuming we saw it right/making mistakes/faulty perceptions of empirical reality |
| Occurs when we unjustifiably conclude that what is true for some cases is true for all cases | Overgeneralization |
| overgeneralization | making the mistake of assuming everything is the same as the one you know |
| When we prematurely jump to conclusions or argue on the basis of invalid assumptions. | Illogical reasoning |
| Illogical reasoning | prematurely jump to conclusions or argue based on invalid assumptions |
| Ex. of overgeneralization | bad experience with one lawyer and assume all lawyers are out to get you |
| ex. of selective observation | a room full of happy people but you only pay attention to the one that looks depressed and say they're depressed |
| The reluctance to change our ideas in light of new information. | Resistance to change |
| Resistance to change | refusing to change our old ideas even when proven wrong or new information is available |
| A set of logical, systematic, documented methods for investigating nature and natural processes; the knowledge produced by these investigations | science |
| science | a set of systematic and logical procedures to study something, and the results of said study |
| The use of scientific methods to investigate individuals, societies and social processes, the knowledge produced by these investigations. | Social sciences |
| social sciences | study of society, individuals, social processes using scientific methods |
| Claims presented so that they appear scientific even though they lack supporting evidence and plausibility | pseudoscience |
| Who termed "pseudoscience?: | Shermer |
| pseudoscience | Claims that are made to sound scientific but with no adequate proof, evidence or plausibility. |
| Research in which social phenomena are defined and described. | descriptive research |
| descriptive research | describing the social phenomena in your reports/research |
| Seeks to find out how people get along in the setting under question, what meanings they give to their actions, and what issues concern them. | exploratory research |
| exploratory research | exploring something completely new, that has never been studied before. to learn "what is going on here" |
| Seeks to identify causes and effects of social phenomena and to preduct how one phenomenon will change or vary in response to variation in some other phenomenon. | explanatory research |
| explanatory research | research that seeks to explain why something is the case. seeks to explain exploratory research, explain cause and effect |
| Research that describes or identifies the impact of social policies and programs. | evaluation research |
| evaluation research | research seeking to evaluate the impact of social policies or programs |
| Methods such as surveys and experiments that record variation in social life in terms of quantities. Data that are treated as quantitative are either numbers or attributes that can be ordered in terms of magnitude | quantitative research |
| quantitative research | research where results are presented in either numbers or attributes which can be ordered in terms of magnitude and measured |
| Methods such as participant observation, intensive interviewing, and focus groups that are designed to capture social life as participants experience it rather than categorize. | qualitative methods |
| Research methods relying on written/spoken word or observations that do not often have a direct numerical interpretation and typically involve exploratory research questions | qualitative methods |
| qualitative methods | research methods which focus on describing results instead of categorizing |
| The use of multiple methods to study one research question. Also used to mean the use of two or more different measures of the same variable. | Triangulation |
| triangulation | using both qualitative and quantitative research methods on the same question |
| Empirical data are obtained in social science investigations from either ____ or _____ | direct experience, others' statements |
| ____ are obtained in social science investigations from either direct experience or others' statements | empirical data |
| Four common errors in reasoning | overgeneralization, selective/inaccurate observation, illogical reasoning, resistance to change |
| Why can't social sciences provide a permanent solution to the questions? | social fabric changes constantly |
| What can motivate social research? | policy guidance, program management needs, academic concerns, charitable impulses |
| Types of social research: | descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, evaluative |
| ___ and ___ methods structure research in different ways and are differentially appropriate for diverse research situations. They may be combined in research projects. | quantitative, qualitative |
| A question about the social world that is answered through the collection and analysis of firsthand, verifiable empirical data. | social research question |
| social research question | a question about the social world that can potentially be answered through the collection of empirical data |
| A logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality. | Theory |
| theory | a logical idea and interrelated set of propositions about the empirical reality |
| A social theory that explains the individual action with the principle that actors choose actions that maximize their gains from taking that action. | rational choice theory |
| rational choice theory | assumes actions are based on practical cost-benefit calculations |
| ex: police action: arrest/no arrest --- perceived cost-benefit ratio --- decision to recidivate or not | rational choice theory prediction |
| Identifies conflict between social groups as the primary force in society. Understanding the bases and consequences of the conflict is key to understanding social processes. | Conflict theory |
| conflict theory | conflict between social classes is the "engine" of social change, force making social changes and motivations |
| Focuses on the symbolic nature of social interaction - how social interactions convey meaning and promote socialization | symbolic interaction theory |
| symbolic interaction theory | how social interactions convey meanings and promote socialization |
| labeling theory uses what approach | symbolic interactionist |
| suggesting that if we treat someone like a criminal after they were in jail they'll commit more crimes | labelling theory |
| A diagram of the elements of the research process, including theories, hypotheses, data colection and data analysis | research circle |
| research circle | a diagram of the elements of the research process, showing theories, hypotheses, data collection and analysis |
| The type of research in which a specific expectation is deduced from a general premise and is then tested. | deductive research |
| deductive research | a specific expectation is deduced from a general theory and tested |
| A tentative statement about empirical reality, involving a relationship between two or more variables. | hypothesis |
| hypothesis | a tentative statement about empirical reality involving relationship between multiple variables |
| ex. the higher the poverty rate in a community, the higher the percentage of community residents who are homeles. | hypothesis |
| example of a hypothesis | The more people who complete post-secondary education in a community the less poverty in the community |
| deductive research is what kind of research? | explanatory, trying to find specific reasonings |
| the variable in a hypothesis which has an effect on the other variable | independant variable |
| the variable in a hypothesis which is affected by the other variable | dependent variable |
| People break the law if the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs | deterrence theory |
| theoretical assumption of rational choice theory | People's behaviour is shaped by calculations of the costs and benefits of their actions. |
| Criminological component of rational choice theory: | Deterrence theory: people break the law if the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs |
| Prediction (effect of arrest for domestic assault) of rational choice theory | Abused spouse, saw costs of abuse (arrest), decides not to abuse again |
| Theoretical assumption of symbolic interactionism | People give symbolic meanings to objects, behaviours and other people. |
| Criminological component of symbolic interactionism | Labeling theory: People label offenders as deviant, promoting further deviance |
| Prediction (after spouse abuse) of symbolic interactionism | Abused spouse, labelled abusive, abuses again |
| Theoretical assumption of Procedural justice | being treated fairly by authorities increases obedience to group norms |
| criminological component of procedural justice | people obey the law out of a sense of duty or morality |
| prediction (after spouse abuse) of procedural justice | people follow rules voluntarily if they feel they are treated fairly |
| research circle: | theory - hypothesis - data - descriptive research - empirical generalizations |
| deductive research: | hypothesis, data |
| inductive research: | descriptive research, empirical generalizations |
| direction of assiciation | how the variables in a hypothesis relate to each other |
| hypothesis: positive direction of association | when one goes up both go up OR when one goes down both go down |
| hypothesis: negative direction of association | one goes up other goes down |
| example of If-then hypothesis | If internet use is greater, then the strength of distant family ties is greater. |
| A characteristic or property that can vary (take on different values or attributes) | variable |
| example of a variable: | degree of honesty in verbal statements |
| variable | something that can change to take different values or forms |
| A variable that is hypothesized to cause, or lead to, variation in an other variable. | independent variable |
| example of an independent variabel | poverty rate |
| A variable that is hypothesized to vary depending on, or under the influence of, another variable | dependent variable |
| A pattern in a relationship between two variables - the values of variables tend to change consistently in relation to change on the other variable. The __ can be either positive or negative. | direction of association |
| direction of association | the pattern of relationship between two variables |
| A statement that describes patterns found in data | empirical generalization |
| empirical generalization | statement describing pattern found in data |
| example of what: Out of spousal abuses, only 13% arrested repeated the abuse, while 26% just separated repeated the abuse | empirical generalization |
| When does a theory receive support from the experiment? | When the empirical generalization is consistent with the hypothesis. |
| Repetitions of a study using the same research methods to answer the same research question | replications |
| replications | repeating the same study in the same ways to make sure the findings are consistent either in similar situations or differnt situations |
| research circle: | theory, hypothesis, data, empirical generalizations |
| theory - hypothesis - data - empirical generalizations | the research circle |
| The type of research in which general conclusions are drawn from specific data. | inductive research |
| inductive research | starts off with data and tries to come up with a theory to explain the data |
| starts off with data and tries to later come up with theory to explain data | inductive research |
| difference between inductive research and dductive research | inductive starts at bottom of the circle, deductive starts at the top |
| Unexpected patterns in data, which stimulate new ideas or theoretical approaches | Serendipitous or anomalous findings |
| Serendipitous/anomalous findings | finding odd patterns in inductive reasoning and having to test them to figure out what's going on |
| inductive or deductive? all unemployed abusers recidivate, Joe is an unemployed abuser conclusion: Joe will recividate | deductive |
| deductive or inductive? data: Joe, an unemployed pouse abuser recividated, so did Harold, so did George, conclusion: all unemployed abusers recividate | inductive |
| When are inductive explanations more trustworthy? | When they are tested subsequently with deductive research |
| research that is often exploratory and inductive | qualitative |
| ___ research begins by observing social interaction or interviewing social actors and developing explanation for findings | qualitative |
| research for "What is going on here?" | qualitative/exploratory |
| explanations from ___ research will be more authentic and richer, but are likely to be based on fewer cases | qualitative |
| pros of qualitative | great description, more information, very detailed, rich information |
| cons of qualitative | small sample size |
| pros of quantitative | easy to get large samples |
| cons of quantitative | not very detailed, doesn't take exceptions into account |
| research that begins with data and proceeds only to stage of making empirical generalizations based on data | descriptive research |
| The state that exists when statements or conclusions about empirical reality are correct. | Validity |
| validity | achieved when our conclusions about the empirical reality are correct |
| in investigating the scientific world the three areas of validity we're concerned abotu: | measurement validity, generalizability, causal validity |
| measurement validity, generalizability, causal validity | three forms of validity concerned with while studying the social world |
| Exists when a conclusion holds true for the population, group, setting or event that we say it does, given the conditions that we specify. | generalizability |
| Exists when a conclusion that A leads to B is correct. | Causal validity (internal validity) |
| When the understanding of a social process or social setting is one that reflects fairly the various perspectives of participants in that setting. | authenticity |
| why is measurement validity so important? | without having measured what we think we measured, we don't know what we're talking about |
| difficulties of measurement validity | sometimes people lie or misunderstand questions, numbers may be off. We cannot ASSUME our measurements are valid |
| Exists when a conclusion based on a sample, or subset of a larger population holds true for that population | Sample generalizability |
| Exists when findings about one group, population or setting hold true for other groups, populations or settings. | cross-population generalizability (external validity) |
| why should we question the generalizability of a study? | not every area is the same, various factors could change results in one area compared to another. |
| most common meaning of generalizability | sample generalizability, ability to generalize findings from a sample to the whole group |
| cross-population generalizability | able to generalize findings from one population to other groups, populations or settings |
| sample generalizability | able to generalize the findings from a sample of a group to the whole group |
| external validity | another word for cross-population generalizability, making sure that results from one group also fit external groups |
| key concern in survey research | sample generalizability |
| key concern in research design and why | generalizability, since we often do not have the methods to study the entire population and have to make sure our samples are representative of the whoel |
| internal validity | causal validity, truthfulness to assertion A causes B |
| truthfulness to assertion A causes B | causal validity/internal validity |
| The goal of ___ is stressed by researchers who focus attention on the subjective dimension of the social world. | authenticity |
| authenticity | reflects a belief that those who study should focus on how participants view that world, not the scientists view of the world (that the findings apply to the people) |
| five sections every research proposal should have: | introductory statement of research problem, literature review, methodological plan, ethics statement, statement of limitation |
| research proposal: introductory statement of the reseaerch problem | where you clarify what it is that you are interested in studying |
| (research proposal) where you clarify what it is that you are interested in studying | introductory statement of the research problem |
| research proposal: where you explain how your problem and plans build on what has already been reported in the literature on this topic | literature review |
| research proposal: literature review | where you review what's already been said about your topic in existing literature and reveal the knowledge gap |
| reseaerch proposal: where you detail just how you will respond to the particular mix of opportunities and constraints you face | methodological plan |
| research proposal: metodological plan | explaining how you will go about your research |
| research proposal: identifying human subjects' issues in the research and how you will respond to them in an ethical fashion | ethics statement |
| research proposal: ethics statement | where you explain how your research will be ethical and will cause minimal harm to participants |
| research proposal: reviewing the potential weaknesses of the proposed research design, presenting plans for minimizing their consequences | statement of limitations |
| research proposal: statement of limitations | admitting your limitations in research and potential weaknesses, explaining how you will minimize them |
| other things (not in main five) that are important in a research proposal, that are not important if it is in a class setting | budget, timeline |
| NIMH | National Institute of Mental Health |
| what type of research question is a question seeking to test effects of therapy groups | evaluation research question |
| Problem with a study only studying people from to locations | generalizability, will the others in other places really be the same? |
| sources of invalidity | factors which can have adverse effects on those being studied |
| IRB | Institutional Review Board |
| A group of organizational and community representatievs required by federal law to review the ethical issues in all proposed research that is federally funded, involves human subjects or has any potential for harm to subjects. | Institutional Review Board (IRB) |
| Institutional Review Board (IRB) | a board of organizational and community representatievs that must give the okay for a research project to advance, make sure it's ethical |
| anomalous findings | unexpected findings/patterns in data that stimulate new ideas |
| ___ should be feasible (within the time and resources available), socially important and scientifically relevangt | research questions |
| what does it mean that research questions should be feasible? | doable within time and resources available |
| building ____ is a major objective of social science research. | social theory |
| ___ focuses attention on the rational bases for social exchange and explains most social phenomena in terms of these motives | rational choice theory |
| ___ focuses attention on the bases of conflict between social groups and uses these conflicts to explain most social phenomena | conflict theory |
| ___ focuses attention on the meanings that people attach to and gain from social interaction and explains msot social phenomena in terms of these meanings | symbolic interaction theory |
| ____ of a study are essentiall to establishing its generalizability on other situations. | replications |
| what established three basic ethical principles for the protection of human subjects? | Belmont Report |
| Belmont Report | a report making it manditory that three ethical principles are met for the treatment of human subjects |
| the three ethical principles that must be met in the Belmont Report to assure ethical treatment of all human subjects | Respect for persons, beneficence, justice |
| Belmont Report: treating persons as autonomous agents and protecting those with diminished autonomy | respect for persons |
| Belmont Report: respect for persons | keeping a person anonymous and as an autonomous agent, protecting those with diminished autonomy |
| Belmont Report: minimizing possible harms and maximizing benefits | beneficence |
| Belmont Report: beneficence | minimizing possible harms to persons while maximizing benefits to study |
| Belmont Report: distributing benefits and risks of research fairly | justice |
| Belmont Report: justice | fairly distributing benefits and risks of the study |
| Three principles of the Belmont Report were adopted as what | Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects |
| Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects | how the Belmont Report was adopted |
| policy that has shaped the course of social science research and must always be taken into account for ethical standarts | Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects |
| ethics laws that must be followed in sociological research | ASA Code of Ethics |
| what is the requirement for an IRB? who must be in it to assure proper review of ethical issues? | at least one non-scientist and at least one from outside the institution |
| what monitors the IRBs? | The Office for Protection From Research Risks in the National Institutes of Health |
| The Office for Protection From Research Risks in the National Institutes of Health | monitors the IRBs |
| when the IRB deem a project exempt from review? | if it poses very low perceived risk, ex. surveys |
| when can the IRB deem a project needing expedited review | poses no more than minimal risk, ex. interview that doesn't ask sensitive questions |
| when must projects be thoroughly reviewed by the IRB and possibly be rejected? | if they contain sensitive material |
| necessary starting point for ethical research practices | commitment to achieving valid results |
| why do some people criticize the generalizability of Milgrim's obedience study? | the laboratory is an unfamiliar place to many subjects, they might not be so obedient in other settings |
| explain Milgrim's study | One subject was a teacher one was a "learner", teacher would be told to shock learner when mistakes were made, increasingly more painful (no real shocks) to test how far the teacher would go against his morals in favour of authority |
| why is it important to include a detailed methodology section in your research proposal? | to ensure that proper ethics are being followed |
| When a researcher has a significant stake in the design or outcome of his or her own research. | conflict of interest |
| conflict of interest | sometimes receiving fees from certain people to study in certain ways can pressure one to distort findings in favour of funding instead of in favour of truth |
| Rules of the ASA code of ethics: | research should cause no harm to subjects, participation should be voluntary and must give informed consent, researchers should fully disclose their identity, anonymity or confidentiality must be maintained unless voluntarily waived, benefits>risks |
| one reason Milgram's study wasn't ethical | reduced even businessmen to trembling in fear, may cause issues trusting figures of authority in the future |
| Zimbardo's prison simulation study | young adult males worked at a fake prison either as a guard or a prisoner and most within two days started feeling/acting the part |
| one issue that even well-intentioned scientists often don't realize | the potential ethical risks of an experiment, may assume people aren't willing to go that far. ex. people driving themselves crazy in Milgrims, he thought they'd quit & surprised |
| How must a consent form be written? | Clear easy to understand language clear to subjects & concise, yet long enough to explain what will happen |
| Are longer consent forms always a good thing? | no, sometimes may deter participants from wanting to sign, making them suspicious |
| A researcher's informing subjects after an experiment about the experiment's purposes and methods and evaluating subjects' personal reactions to the experiment. | debriefing |
| debriefing | the researcher explaining afterwards the purposes of said experiment, and methods of evaluating the subjects' personal reactions |
| How can researchers somehow make amends when their study involves deceiving the subject? | Explaining thoroughly why this happened in the debriefing afterwards |
| a carefully designed ___ can help subjects learn from the experimental research and grapple constructively with feelings elicited by their realization that they were deceived. | carefully designed debriefing procedure |
| How can a child participate in research? | must give assent, and parents must give consent |
| some groups of the population considered vulnerable in studies | children, prisoners, pregnant women, persons with mental disabilities, educationally/economically disadvantaged persons |
| Problem with compensation to get people to participate in research | sometimes may induce one to participate if they are desperate for the money, bribery, may go against their morals if they need the extra money for something urgent |
| when subjects are mislead about research procedures | deception |
| Why is deception sometimes necessary? | it is difficult to mimic real life situations in a laboratory setting |
| what the National Institutes of Health can issue to protect researchers from being legally required to disclose confidential information | Certificate of Confidentiality |
| Certificate of Confidentiality | can be issued by the National Institutes of Health so researchers don't have to release confidential information |
| A certificate issued to a researcher by the National Institutes of Health that ensures the right to protect information obtained about high-risk populations or behaviours - except child abuse or neglect - from legal subpoenas. | certificate of confidentiality |
| why create the certificate of confidentiality? | more likely to get truthful answers, especially when to do with illegal activities like drugs, if researcher cannot say anything |
| point of Milgram's study | to properly understand obedience that goes against morals, not to judge individuals |
| why is it important to consider the source of funding in reports? | to consider if results could be biased in favour of the sponsor |
| what type of concern: withholding a beneficial treatment from some subjects | ethical |
| The belief, shared by most scientists, that there is a reality that exists quite apart from our own perception of it, that it can be understood through observation, and that it follows general laws. | positivism |
| positivism | the belief that an objective reality exists outside of our personally perceived reality, and that if we see it from all views we can understand it better |
| Whatever "really" is, we assume thati t presents itself in precisely the same way to the same human observer standing at different points in time and space | positivism |
| The belief that there is an empirical reality, but that our understanding of it is limited by its complexity and by the biases and other limitations of researchers. | postpositivism |
| the belief that scientists must be objective and unbiased to see reality clearly | positivism |
| asserts that a well-designed test of a specific prediction ex. more internet = decreasing social ties, will move us closer to understanding social processes | positivism |
| believe that there is an external objective reality but scientists can't see it due to their own perspective biasing views | postpositivism |
| example of postpositivism | worrying that researchers who are heavy computer users themselves may bias results to how they view social effects of computer use |
| An agreement by different observers on what is happening in the natural or social world. | intersubjective agreement |
| intersubjective agreement | a general agreement about nature/the social world |
| positivist guideline making a commitment to "testing", as opposed to just reacting to events as they happen or looking for what we want to see | Test ideas against empirical reality without becoming too personally invested in a particular outcome |
| positivist: plan and carry out investigations systematically | need to think in advance how should go about testing and plan accordingly |
| positivist: document all procedures and disclose them publicly | must disclose methods on which conclusions are based so others c an evaluate their conclusions |
| positivist: clarify assumptions | clarify which parts of research are assumptions so others can modify/replicate research as necessary |
| positivist: specify the meaning of all the terms | to make sure words with multiple/unclear meanings are well understood |
| positivist: maintain a skeptical stance towards current knowledge | results of any study must be regarded critically, stimulates researchers to improve knowledge |
| positivist: replicate research and build social theory | no one study is definite, there are always knowledge gaps which could be further studied to clarify |
| positivist: search for regularities or patterns | assume the social world has underlying order or relationships, find these |
| The belief that reality is socially constructed and that the goal of social scientsits is to understand what meanings people give to that reality. | interpretivism |
| interpretevism | believe reality is socially constructed and search to find what social meanings people have given reality |
| ___ rejects the positivist belief that there is a concrete reality that can be studied | interpretevism |
| A perspective that emphasizes how different stakeholders in social settings construct their belifs. | constructivism |
| constructivism | "truth is a matter of the best-informed and most sophisticated construction on which there is a concensus at any given time" - truth is what's created as so |
| Represents the dialectical process in which the researcher obtains information from multiple stakeholders in a setting, refines his or her understanding of the setting, and then tests that understanding with successive respondents. | hermeneutic circle |
| hermeneutic circle | researcher conducts an open-end interview to learn about subject's views ob subject of inquiry, each next subject questioned on findings of previous subjects |
| four steps for interpretevist research | 1. Identify stakeholders and solicit claims/concerns/issues 2. Introduce to each stakeholder group and ask for reactions 3. Focus further on all claims/concerns/issues especially disagreements 4. Negociate with groups about all to reach concensus |
| Research with a focus on women's lives and often including an orientation to personal experience, subjective orientations, the researcher's standpoint and emotions | feminist research |
| feminist research | research done by feminists |
| A set of beliefs that guide scientific work in an area, including unquestioned presuppositions, accepted theories, and exemplary research findings. | Scientific paradigm |
| The gradual, incremental research conducted by scientists within the prevailing scientific paradigm | normal science |
| The abrupt shift from one dominant scientific paradigm to an alternative paradigm that may be developed after accumulation of a large body of evidence that contradicts the prevailing paradigm | scientific revolution |
| the intense debate from the 1970s to the 1990s between social scientists over the value of positivist and interpretevist research philosophies | paradigm wars |
| scientific paradigms | sets of beliefs that guide scientific research in an area |
| scientific revolution | rapid shift to a new scientific paradigm/set of beliefs |
| paradigm war | fight between positivist research and postpositivist research |
| Asa's standards for protection of human subjects require: | avoiding harm, obtaining informed consent, avoiding deception except in limited circumstances, and maintaining privacy and confidentiality |
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