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SOC 300 Midterm 3
terms from third unit of sociology research and methods
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Ethnography | field research attuned to the culture of a group of people; involves embedding yourself in environment of group or community you wish to observe; learn people from the inside; where there is culture there can be ethnography |
| Complete Participant | researcher fully participates in group's activities while concealing identity as a researcher, subjects are unaware they are being studied; Gold describes this role as one which the true identity and purpose of complete participant in field aren't known |
| Complete Participant Advantages/Disadvantages | Advantages-no Hawthorne Effect, Observe Natural Behavior; Disadvantages-risk to researcher, risk of "going native" can be ethically questionable |
| Complete Observer | researcher observes without interacting at all, subjects are unaware they are being studied; complete observer role entirely removes a field worker from social interaction with informants; think fly on the wall |
| Complete Observer Advantages/Disadvantages | Advantages-No Hawthorne Effect, view behavior in natural setting; Disadvantages-less detail (because there is no interaction), only observer in settings where you will go unnoticed |
| Participant as Observer | the researcher openly participates in the group's activities while also observing, both researcher and participants know that the research is taking place; Gold says differs significantly in both field worker and informant are aware; participation first |
| Participant as Observer Advantages/Disadvantages | Advantages-observe natural behavior; Disadvantages-Hawthorne Effect (for those who know), time intensive to gather rich info |
| Observer as Participant | The researcher's role as observer is primary with only limited or brief participation, usually through one-visit interviews or short interactions; Gold said mostly interviews and more formal; researcher interacts just enough to collect data |
| Observer as Participant Advantages/Disadvantages | Advantages-observe natural behavior, less risk; Disadvantages-big chance Hawthorne Effect, may be excluded from some activities, can be ethically questionable |
| Nominal | named variables, equivalent categories |
| Ordinal | named variables, equivalent categories, ordered variables, ordered categories |
| Interval | named variables, equivalent categories, ordered variables/categories, standard unit of measurement |
| Ratio | named variables, equivalent categories, ordered categories, standard unit of measurement/proportionate interval between variables, meaningful zero point/can accommodate absolute zero point |
| raw data | answers to questions |
| Data array | ordered list of scores |
| frequency distribution | grouping scores into a series of categories |
| mode | the most common score in a distribution |
| median | middle score in an ordered distribution |
| mean | the average score (sum of score/number of scores) |
| The Normal Curve | a theoretical frequency polygon showing a normal distribution among a population; perfectly symmetrical, perfectly smooth, the peak is median mode and mean, asymptotic-extends infinitely at both tails |
| skew | occurs when a few, very extreme scores create an extended tail on one side of the curve. can be a positive or a negative skew |
| Positive skew | mean and median are higher/larger than the mode |
| negative skew | mean and median are lower/smaller than the mode |
| standard deviation | a measure of variability in the curve, measures how spread out a distribution is, helps us see how much diversity, maximum peak is labeled as zero, are normally 3 units of SD measured from each side of 0 which contain fixed percentage of distribution |
| z-score | a raw score that has been converted into another standard score that is more widely used and interpretable, has a set mean of zero and a set standard deviation of one, helps figure out where certain data point is on scale |
| Anonymous Data | data that can in no way be linked to information that could potentially be used to identify/trace specific subject; no one, not even researcher knows personal data of participants; involves lowest level of risk or potential for harm to subjects |
| conceptualization | more theory |
| operationalization | more specific |
| Precision | how accurate is it? how large is measurement error? is the indicator an exact measurement? |
| reliability | is the indicator a consistent measure of x? if we measure same objects again and again with the same instrument will we get same or similar results? |
| validity | is the indicator an actual measure of x? |
| content validity | face validity, look at it and see yeah that's valid |
| criterion validity | valid compared to other known measures |
| construct validity | what is the meaning of the test, does your operationalized definition do a good job of capturing the concept |
| Attitudes | what people SAY they want, one of four major classes of info |
| Beliefs | what people THINK is true, one of four major classes of info |
| Behavior | what people DO, one of four major classes of info |
| Attributes | what people ARE, one of four major classes of info |
| Content Analysis | systematic analysis of the symbolic content of communications in which content is reduced to a set of coded variables/categories; aim is to make inferences about sender, message, or intended audience; identify explicit/implicit messages; analyze effective |
| symbolic content | could be text, song, lyrics, clothing choices, visual, physical, auditory materials |
| Process of Content Analysis | select recorded communication; familiarize self w/ data; define coding unit; develop coding scheme; sample; establish coding reliability; analyze and report |
| coding unit | what symbolism are you gonna focus on? Audio? visual? |
| coding scheme | what's your plan to analyze/isolate a particular coding unit? |
| coding reliability | everyone who uses coding scheme becomes consistent in noticing same things. if new person comes in and you give them your coding scheme they will see it in the same way |
| Content Analysis report | use data from coding to answer questions of explicit/implicit messages, how effective is it at communicating explicit messages, what other possible sociological ramifications are there |
| Confidential Data | info collected from research participants where only investigator can identify responses of individuals; specific data identifiers are hence not available to the public and is not reported in a manner that would identify them, researcher protects the data |
| bar chart | categorical data; equal width bars with equal space between; height/length of bar represents frequency |
| histogram | pictorial representation of interval data; rectangles w/o space between them; height corresponds to frequency; vertical axis is frequency, x axis identifies values w/ tick marks |
| frequency polygon | pictorial representation of quantitative variables in which continuous line connects data points representing variables distribution; analogous to line graphs; vertical axis to frequency, x axis to values being measured |
| Good Survey Questions | are clear, avoid confusing phrasing; remember what kind of information desire; minimize bias; allow for disagreement; don't ask questions people can't answer; allow for uncertainty; exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories |
| Questions to analyze survey | Is the precise wording satisfactory? Will it obtain desired information? Is your question structured appropriately? |
| social desirability bias | target population knows what socially acceptable answer is and will choose that whether true or not, can combat it by using multiple questions to sneak up on the real question |
| cultural confirmation bias | people will tell you what their culture wants them to say |
| Major errors in survey question construction | poison the well; authority; double barreled; unequal response; don't allow for disagreement; double negative |
| Poison the well bias | question contains extra info or emotionally charged language that influences how people respond |
| authority bias | occurs when question refers to a person's authority or status to sway respondent's opinion |
| double barreled | question asks about two or more things at once |
| unequal response | happens when response options are not balanced or don't give people a fair range of answers |
| don't allow for disagreement | questions are worded so that respondents can only express agreement; a well constructed question should give people room to disagree or hold a neutral position |
| double negative | use two negative words in a question, making the wording confusing |
| exploratory research | seeking information; typically qualitative; one of four ideal types of research |
| descriptive research | describing phenomenon; typically qualitative; one of four ideal types of research |
| explanatory research | identifying and testing cause/effect; typically quantitative; one of four ideal types of research |
| evaluation research | determining impact of program; can be both qualitative or quantitative; one of four ideal types of research |
| In-depth interview | open-ended discovery oriented method that is well suited for describing both processes and outcomes from perspective of target audience; focus on listening and meaning making; hard for interviewers to keep silent/stay neutral |
| Interview Process | select/recruit interviewees; develop interview guide with grand question; gather data; analyze data; write report |
| interview guide | list of topics and sometimes specific questions to be asked in a qualitative interview, often includes a grand tour question |
| Ground Tour Question | broad opening question in in-depth interviews that asks for a general description of the people, process, or events being studied; establishes expectation of interviewee as expert on subject matter |
| saturation point | the point at which no longer learning anything new |
| focus groups | interview method in which a researcher collects data from a group by moderating a group discussion on a particular topic; qualitative method, designed to explore, goal is depth to understand how and why people think the way they do |
Created by:
pworthen0723