Ch.

2
Sociological Investigation
 Why Is Sociological Research
Necessary?
■ Sociologists obtain their knowledge of
human behaviour through research
■ Results in a body of information that helps us
move beyond guesswork and commonsense
in understanding society.

■ Watch Hans and Ola Rosling on

“How not to be ignorant about the world”
(TedTalk, 2014)
Ways of knowing the world….
■ Personal: We discover for ourselves the things we
know.
■ Tradition: People hold to a belief because everyone
knows it to be true.
■ Authority: Experts tell us that something is true.
■ Religion: We accept the truths that our scriptures or
religious officials advocate.
■ Media: Accept reports as “true” even if we know
some sources better than others – media has bias
■ Science: We know what is true based on controlled,
systematic observation.
Science and sociological theory
■ Science creates and supports theory: a
statement that provides an explanation of a
natural or social phenomenon based on well-
documented evidence.
■ A theory must include the following criteria:
❑ tested by experimentation and observation of the
natural world.
❑ is falsifiable (i.e. experiments must exist that could
prove it false).
❑ cannot be proven, only confirmed or disconfirmed.
❑ subject to revision and change.
Three main types of research…

1. Scientific sociology (structural functionalism)

Systematic observation of social behaviour using
empirical evidence

2. Interpretive sociology (symbolic interaction)

Describing and interpreting social behaviour in depth

3. Critical sociology (social conflict)

Finding and using strategies to promote social
change
Scientific Sociology
■ Scientific explanations differ from other ways of
knowing because they enable scientists to
resolve differences in understanding the world.
■ More difficult in the social world.
■ Science uses an empirical approach to answer
questions through a systematic collection and
analysis of data
■ Sociologists use methods like surveys,
experiments etc. and employ quantitative
analysis to understand the world “scientifically”
 Principles of Scientific Sociology
■ Concept: a abstract mental construct that
represents part of the world in a simplified form
■ Variable: a concept whose values change from
case to case: a concept that can “vary” and be
measured
■ Measurement: a procedure for determining the
value of a variable in a specific case
■ Defining concepts and operationalizing a
variable:
❑ Specifying what one intends to measure in assigning a
value to a variable
❑ Reliability: consistency in measurement
❑ Validity: measuring what one intends to measure
Relationships among variables
■ Stated as hypotheses and theories
■ Cause and effect
❑A relationship in which change in one
variable causes change in another
■ Types of variables
❑Independent: the variable that causes
the change
❑Dependent: the variable that changes (its
value depends upon the independent
variable)
 Correlation and causation
■ Correlation
❑A relationship in which two or more variables
change together
❑Spurious Correlation: An apparent but false
relationship between two (or more) variables caused
by some other variable – use “control” to investigate
■ Conditions for causality
❑Existence of a correlation or association
❑Independent variable precedes dependent
variable
❑Non-spurious
Limitations of scientific sociology
■ The “ideal of objectivity”
❑ Can social scientists be “value-neutral”?
❑ Max Weber said not possible but can aim to be value-free
through recognition of personal bias
■ Human behavior is too complex to predict
precisely any individual’s actions
■ The mere presence of the researcher might
affect the behavior being studied
■ Social patterns change
■ Sociologists are part of the world they study,
making value-free research difficult
Interpretive and critical sociology
■ Collect qualitative data in the real world
❑ Reality is socially constructed
■ Can also be seen as “empirical”
■ Data are systematically analyzed and then
interpreted/questioned
■ Methods include interviewing, observation or
deconstruction
■ More subjective than scientific sociology but no
less valid
■ Critical sociology aims to correct inequality but
political overtones can create an agenda
Limitations in Sociological Research
■ The Problem of Gender in Research:
❑Androcentricity/Gynocentricity: Approaching a
topic from a male-only or female-only
perspective
❑Overgeneralization: Using data collected from
one sex and applying the findings to both
sexes
❑Gender blindness: The failure to consider the
impact of gender at all
❑Double standards: Using different standards to
judge males and females
❑Interference: a subject under study reacts to
the sex of the researcher
Other limitations and problems in
research
■ Problem of working with human subjects
■ Research motivated by ideology or blame
❑ “blame analysis”
■ Overgeneralization
■ Selective observation
■ Premature closure of inquiry
■ Halo effect: overall impression of a person
influences the observer's findings
■ Control: not same as in the natural sciences
■ Hawthorne effect (esp. in experiments)
Other cont.
■ The HALO EFFECT
❑ Edward Thorndike
❑ 1874-1949
❑ Influence of impressions

■ The HAWTHORNE EFFECT

❑ Elton Mayo
❑ 1880-1949
❑ change in behaviour caused
by awareness of being studied
Overcoming Bias: “Bracketing”
■ First, make a list of your characteristics:
■ 1. your gender;
■ 2. your age;
■ 3. your ethnic or national identification;
■ 4. your religion or philosophy of life;
■ 5. your political party or orientation;
■ 6. your favourite psychological theory.
■ Add four more characteristics: words or
phrases that are descriptive of you as an
individual.
Bracketing (cont.)

■ 1. Think of ways in which your

characteristics might bias you in your efforts
at research.
■ 2. Think of how you might counteract these
biases.
■ 3. And then think of how these efforts to
counteract your biases might themselves
lead to other biases!
Replication and Triangulation
■ Replication of research by other scientists
❑ Creates greater reliability of results
■ Triangulation
❑ Use multiple methods, researchers, data and/or
theories to create fuller body of sociological
knowledge
❑ Increases validity
■ Triangulation seen as key to creating good,
valid and reliable knowledge of the world
around us
Summary (from Macionis and
Gerber)
 Dimensions of Sociological Research
■ A. Style of Research
❑ Exploratory: to gain new knowledge
❑ Descriptive: attempt to describe social reality
❑ Explanatory: explain cause and effect relationships
■ B. Purpose or Focus of Research
❑ Basic: to add to existing body of knowledge
❑ Applied: to solve a perceived societal problem
■ C. Time Frame
❑ Cross-sectional studies
❑ Longitudinal studies
■ D. Data Collection Technique
❑ Quantitative (numbers)
❑ Qualitative (words)
Quantitative and Qualitative Orientations

■ Quantitative
❑Meaningfully expressed by numbers
❑Provides counts and measures
■ Qualitative
❑Meanings, concepts, and definitions
❑Assessed through words, images, and
description
 Theory and Research Cycle
■ A theory is a set of logically interrelated
statements that attempts to describe, explain,
and (occasionally) predict social phenomena
■ Research is the process of systematically
collecting information for the purpose of testing
an existing theory or generating a new one.
■ The theory and research cycle consists of
deductive and inductive approaches.
❑deductive: from theory to research observations
❑inductive: from observations to theory creation
Inductive and Deductive

■ Inductive logical thought

❑ Reasoning that transforms specific observations into
general theory
❑ Induction “increases” from specific to general

■ Deductive logical thought

❑ Reasoning that transforms general theory into specific
hypotheses suitable for testing
❑ Deduction “decreases” from general to specific
The Wheel of Research
Research Methods For Collecting Data

■ Research methods are strategies or

techniques for systematically conducting
research

■ Methods are chosen according to whom

we wish to study and what we wish to
learn
Quantitative research methods
■ Surveys: polls in which researchers gather facts or
attempt to determine the relationship between facts.
Survey data are collected by using self-administered
questionnaires, personal interviews, and/or
telephone surveys. Respondents are persons who
provide data for analysis through interviews or
questionnaires.
■ Secondary analysis (i.e. a content or historical
analysis) of existing data, researchers use existing
material and analyze data that originally was
collected by others.
■ Experiments are carefully designed situations in
which the researcher studies the impact of certain
variables on subjects' attitudes or behaviour.
 Qualitative Research Methods
■ Field research: study of social life in its natural setting:
observe and interview people where they live, work, play.
■ Case study: an in-depth, multifaceted investigation of a
single event, person, or social grouping. Often involves
more than one method, such as participant observation,
unstructured or in-depth interviews, and life histories.
■ Unstructured interview: extended, open-ended
interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee.
Used in Field Research and Oral Histories.
■ Feminist Research Methods: Feminist researchers use
the same methods, but in a different way
❑ women-centred.
❑ provide explanations that will help women improve their
situation.
Multiple Methods

■ Many sociologists use triangulation and

use of multiple approaches in a single
study.
■ Often both quantitative and qualitative
techniques used.
Research Ethics

■ The study of people (human subjects) raises

vital questions about ethical concerns in
sociological research.
■ The Canadian Sociology and Anthropology
Association (CSAA) has a Code of Ethics
that sets forth certain basic standards
sociologists must follow in conducting
research
■ SILLY VIDEO (computer generated) on
research ethics in sociology
Tri-Council Policy Statement:
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving
Humans
■ The Research Ethics Framework:
❑“Norms for the ethics of research
involving human subjects are developed
and refined within an ever-evolving
societal context, elements of which
include the need for research and the
research community, moral imperatives
and ethical principles, and the law.”
■ From http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/english/pdf/TCPS%20October%202005_E.pdf
Guiding Ethical Principles
■ Respect for Human Dignity
■ Respect for Free and Informed Consent
■ Respect for Vulnerable Persons
■ Respect for Privacy and Confidentiality
■ Respect for Justice and Inclusiveness
■ Balancing Harms and Benefits
■ Minimizing Harm
■ Maximizing Benefit
Putting It All Together: Ten Steps in
Sociological Investigation

1. Select and define topic

2. Review the literature
3. Develop key questions to ask
4. Assess requirements for study
5. Consider ethical issues
Putting It All Together: Ten Steps in
Sociological Investigation

6. Select a research methodology

7. Collect the data
8. Interpret the findings
9. State conclusions
10. Publish the findings
 Community-Based Research
■(CBR)
An increasingly popular form of research that
is:
❑ Community-driven
■ practical relevance
■ promotes community self-determination.
❑ Participatory
■ community members and researchers share control of
the research and results
❑ Action-oriented
■ Useful to the community in promoting social change
Source:
http://www.communitybasedresearch.ca/Page/View/CBR_definition