Characteristics of a Good

Research
1. Understand Causality
One thing causes another when there is:
a) Association—things must vary together
b) Time Order—the thing that causes the other
must occur prior to the other
c) Nonspuriousness—relationship between two
things is not coincidental and caused by a third
thing
d) A Mechanism—a plausible reason that one
should cause the other
e) A Context—specification of what conditions permit
or favor the causal relationship
A false relationship is one where a third (extraneous) variable
causes two others to change at the same time, making it
look like they are related.

Education Crime

Education Crime

Size of City
Terms associated with “causality”

Independent Variable:
A thing we think causes changes in another thing.

Dependent Variable:
A thing we think changes in response to changes in another thing.

X Y
Independent Dependent
Variable Variable
Terms associated with “causality”

Hypothesis
Research Hypothesis—based on theory, it is a statement of
what one expects to find after data are collected and
analyzed. A causal hypothesis specifies that an
independent variable causally related to a dependent
variable.

Null Hypothesis—a statistical terms for a statement of “no

difference,” which typically contradicts the research
hypothesis. This statement (typically that nothing is
happening that would support our expectations) is what
we are left with unless we find overwhelming evidence to
reject it. Statistical procedures typically test the null.
 Good Researchers
2. Test Ideas Against Empirical Reality
You are a sociologist, meaning that you attempt to
explain what actually occurs in the social world—not
what ought to occur or what The Divine intended to
occur.

3. Plan and Carry Out Investigations Systematically

(marked by thoroughness and regularity)
Use good methods and statistics. Avoid salient cases
and anecdotal information

4. Do not Become Personally Invested in their Results

Your beliefs and emotions may pick topics of interest, but
science demands dispassionate analysis
 Good Researchers

5. Replicate Research and Build Social Theory

Your research must begin where the community

of scholars have left off. Everything must be
grounded in what has gone before.

So use others’ findings and theories!

Scholars should work to see if others’ findings
hold up.
 Research Model

 Academic or Basic Research

Research Circle

Theory

Empirical
Hypotheses Inductive
Generalizations Deductive

Data
 Research Model
► To test hypotheses, we must use variables.
 A variable is a property of people or objects that can
take on two or more values.
► We typically measure variables with questions, observations, or
officially collected information
► A variable appears in a data set along with other variables as a
set of numbers where each person or unit has a particular
number entered for its value on the property that the variable
measures
 Measurement
To speak responsibly about our world, we
need ways to document and measure
what is out there.

In social sciences, measurement is

sometimes complex.

How do you define poverty?

Income level Nourishment

Living conditions Property

How should a researcher define poverty?

There is an official definition in the US:

Measurement
 Measurement
“Operationalization” is the term used to denote the
ways concepts are measured to form variables.

For example:
► One can make observations.

► One can use official information.

► One can ask questions of respondents.

 Measurement
► Concepts become Numbers
 In quantitative research, we turn
responses to our “measuring
devices” (questions) into numbers.
This is called coding.
 This is just like using instruments in
other research to quantify concepts.
 Measurement
Many concepts are measured with scales…

Indexes and Scales

A series of questions is used to more comprehensively

measure a concept than would be possible with a single
question. These are especially appropriate for
measuring concepts that we know exist but cannot see.

► We know the following exist, but we cannot directly

view them:
Self-esteem Well-being
Gender Identity Depression

Index: Each item is equally weighed to create a sum or average

Scale: Some items add more value to the total measure than other items
 Measurement
For Example, Researchers typically operationalize self-esteem by using the
Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (which is technically an index).
 Measurement

Coding for the Rosenberg

Self-Esteem Scale
Positive Items Includes:
Strongly Disagree = 1
Disagree = 2
Agree = 3
Strongly Agree = 4
The researcher enters the
number that corresponds
with each person’s
answer. Then adds up all
responses to from self-
esteem score.
 Measurement
Good measurement procedures are a topic for quantitative methods. In this class,
we will have to presume the data we use came from proper measures.

Even properly measured variables will introduce frustrations.

Be aware:
coding schemes are sometimes illogical and/or confusing
 coding refers to the system used to assign numerical value to responses on variables
 For example, a survey may use ‘0’ for Not Applicable, ‘8’ for No Answer, and so forth

each data set (or variable) has a “unit of analysis”—that is it represents

individuals’, groups’, or organizations’, or geographic areas’ characteristics. One
should never make statements about the wrong unit of analysis after
conducting statistical procedures.

each variable has a particular “level of measurement” that determines the kind
of statistical procedures you may use with it
 Measurement
Levels of Measurement

One must know the nature of one’s variables in order to understand what
manipulations are appropriate (and later, which statistical tests to use because
they must be mathematically manipulated for statistics).

Nominal Level of Measurement

Ordinal Level of Measurement

Interval Level of Measurement

Ratio Level of Measurement

 Measurement
Levels of Measurement

Nominal Level of Measurement

► Items or responses are
categorical. When assigned
numbers, the numbers have no
mathematical interpretation.
► A nominal variable classifies
persons, places or things
without implying any rank
among them.

For example: Race: 1=black 2=white 3=Asian

Cars: 1=Chevy 2=Honda 3=Ford

It makes no sense to add, subtract, multiply, or divide these.

 Measurement
Levels of Measurement

Ordinal Level of Measurement

► Items or responses are assigned to
categories along a dimension of types
with increasing value (or in order).
The numbers only indicate order, not
magnitude.

► An ordinal variable ranks persons,

places or things, but there is no
accurate way to gauge the distance
between them.
For example:
Professor Rank: 1=Assistant 2=Associate 3=Full
Sexy Cars: 1=Green Gremlin 2=Blue Impala 3=Red
Audi

It typically makes no sense to add, subtract, multiply, or divide these.

Sociologists, using good judgment, may.
 Measurement
Levels of Measurement
Interval-Ratio Level of Measurement
► Interval:
An interval variable assigns persons, places or things to
a continuum that has specific intervals (of equal
magnitude) between units of measure, but does not
have an absolute zero point.
► Ratio:
A ratio variable notes the number of persons, places or
things on a continuum that has a zero point and has
specific intervals (of equal magnitude) between units of
measure. Units of measure denote quantity.
For example:
Self-Esteem: Scale ranges from 10 to 40

Age: 1=1 year, 2=2years, 3=3years, etc.

It typically makes sense to conduct mathematical operations on these.

 Measurement
While each variable we use has a number assigned
to responses, we must remember whether the
numbers are meaningful or not.

For nominal variables, the numbers are

meaningless. For ordinal variables, we sometimes
treat the numbers as meaningful if one can make
an argument for doing so.
 Measurement
The special case of dichotomous variables:

A dichotomous variable can take one of two values.

For example: Sex: 0=Male, 1=Female

Race: 0=Other, 1=Hispanic
Cars: 0=Other, 1=SUV

Are dichotomous variables nominal, ordinal, or interval-

ratio?
 Measurement
► What level of measurement for this GSS
variable?
 Measurement
► What level of measurement for this GSS
variable?
 Measurement
► What level of measurement for this GSS
variable?
 Measurement
► What level of measurement for this GSS
variable?
 Measurement
► What level of measurement for this GSS
variable?