Basic intro to methodology for my Soc classes. Subject to updates as I'm not too happy with it. es

1. What are the practical uses of
sociology? How can it help you
understand your own life and the
changing world in which you live?
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2. It contributes to an understanding of
today’s complex world by offering fresh
ideas; challenging popular perceptions
(the familiar); identifying social
problems and designing solutions to
persistent problems.
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3. As such, it is the systematic study of the
groups and societies in which people
live, how social structures and cultures
are created and maintained or changed,
and how they affect our behavior.
[At best it is predictive!]
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4. How might sociology look at such
common American problems as
poverty, high unemployment, the
distribution of resources, gender,
race…?
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5. For the sociologist, observations
and insights differ from common
sense explanations of social
behavior.
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6. Questioning public
assumptions. Peter
Berger’s “debunking
motif,” or the notion of
exposing urban legends.
(Consider racial and gender
stereotyping.)
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7. Common explanations of such issues
tend to focus on individual behavior.
Sociologists look at social forces—at
trends and patterns, social structure and
culture—to illuminate the connection
between personal troubles and social
problems.
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8. It may reveal the flaws in our common
sense views of the world. Our perceptions
are often distorted by our previous
experiences, attitudes (prejudice), values,
and beliefs, and our images of reality are
strongly influenced by the people around
us.
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9. How did Emile Durkheim use the
sociological perspective to add
to our understanding of suicide?
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10. Durkheim’s (1857-1917) study
of suicide for the first time
utilized real data accumulated
from archives. It was a
nomothetic approach and an
application of the scientific
method to a social problem. He
identified “social facts” so that
he could create a typology of
suicide such as egoistic,
altruistic, anomic, or fatalistic.
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11. Durkheim set the ball rolling for the
real science of the social sciences.
We may think of it as the
application of the “research cycle”
to social research.
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12. The Research Cycle
(as based upon Durkheim’s study of Suicide)
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13. The Research Cycle
(a more generalized view)
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14. The Scientific Method:

15. What is a testable hypothesis?
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It is a a proposition that
can then be tested to
determine its validity.

16. What you test is variables
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A variable is a concept that can take on different
values.
Dependent variables are those that are affected
by some form of testing. Such as losing hair.
Independent variables is one that causes some
effect, such as age.

17. 17

18. Example
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SES or socioeconomic status can be a
dependent variable.
Or, can it be an independent variable as
well?

19. Conducting Research
 Basic Concepts in Research
 Variable — concept that can take on different values
Independent variable — variable that causes effect
Dependent variable — the variable affected
Hypothesis — propositions that can be
tested to determine its validity

20. Conducting Research
 Basic Concepts in Research
 Correlation — exists if change in one
variable is associated with change in other
variable
Spurious correlation — apparent relationship between two
variables produced by third variable that influence the original
variables

21. But what of storks
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You all know that storks bring babies.

22. 22
In northern Germany, birth rates in
rural areas positively correlated with
the presence of storks.
Does this mean causality?
What could be the reason for this?

23. 23
This would be a spurious correlation.
This means that there is a third
variable.

24. Sociology as science:
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25. Sociology is an empirical discipline
 It relies on evidence
 Is systematic observation and experimentation
 Is verifiable through independent observation
 There is a demand for proof (hunches are for
direction only)
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26. Methods of minimizing errors and
bias
 Control groups
 Randomization in sample selection
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27. It is a public venture
 Results are public for other’s verification
(peer review)
 Open discussion and examination of
research
 Conclusions are never final or absolute –
they are open to question 27

28. Generalizations
 Conclusions should be
generalizable; they should be able
to be applied to other elements of
the social structure
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29. To produce Theory
 Not just description but explanations
 The meaning of social actions is sought
 We look for the causes of social facts
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30. Conducting Research
 Theory
 General framework or perspective that provides
explanation for specific social phenomenon
 Research provides findings that test our theories and
provide the information needed to formulate public policy

31. Conducting Research
 The Logic and Method of Science
1. Select researchable problem
2. Review literature
3. Formulate hypothesis
4. Choose research design
5. Collect data
6. Analyze data
7. State conclusions

32. Types of Research:
 Observation (watching individual's or groups' behavior)
 Participant observation (joining in the activity of the group)Ethnography
(cultural - usually anthropology)
 Case study (one or more individuals or groups)
 Survey large (1000 plus, GSS and Census)
 Survey small: (Structured interview and Semi-structured interview)
 Archival (historical documents)Content analysis (television, film,
internet, print)
 Longitudinal study (usually survey/interview over time)
 Focus group (responses from members of a group_
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33. 33

34. Conducting Research
 How Do Sociologists Collect Data?
 Experiment: researchers work with two groups that are
identical in all relevant respects
Experimental group: group into which researcher introduces
change
Control group: group into which the researcher introduces no
change

35. Conducting Research
 How Do Sociologists Collect Data?
Secondary Data:
Government documents
Previous large surveys (GSS, Census)
Historical records (older Census, receipts, shipping
documents, property deeds (yes, slavery)

36. Conducting Research
 How Do Sociologists Collect Data?
Surveys: using sampling procedures to
collect data about a group
Random sample: every individual in a population has the
same chance of being chosen for a survey
Stratified random sample: researchers divide a population
into relevant categories and draw a random sample for each
category

37. Conducting Research
 How Do Sociologists Collect Data?
 Observation
Unobtrusive observation: sociologist observes the activities
of people without intruding or participating in activities
Participant observation: sociologist is involved directly in
activities of subjects—such as working at a job to study job
satisfaction.
 Multiple Methods
Archival research: use of existing records

38. Conducting Research
 Research Ethics
 Sociologists should not misuse positions
Should not mislead respondents
Expose respondents to substantial risk
Must not coerce or deceive students into serving as research
subjects

39. Class Exercise
Consider the previous slide and choose a methodology for studying
either one of the following or another social issue/problem of Some
choices (you may choose another):
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Homelessness
Drug Addiction
Racial Discrimination
Conversation analysis of gender
Unemployment
Narrow your research question down to something that you can
actually study. Consider examples from EBSCOhost.

40. Some functions of sociology:
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41. 41
General enlightenment –
The ways in which social
arrangements shape our lives;
sociology affects public
understanding.

42. Identifying social problems – calling
attention to hidden, ignored, or
misunderstood social problems; Example:
family violence was considered extremely
rare 25 years ago. (The first national survey
on family violence was done in 1976 and
showed family violence as a pervasive
phenomena.) Sociologists can also be
considered “professional whistle-blowers.”
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43. Designing solutions – sociologists can
function as advisors, and can
recommend solutions to social
problems as a way of influencing public
policy. An example is sociologist
William J. Wilson’s advisory position in
the Clinton administration.
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44. The sociological imagination
– to help individuals better
understand their own
experiences.
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45. ADDENDUM
Harold Garfinkle 1917 - 2011

46. Ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodology is a fairly
recent sociological perspective,
founded by the American
sociologist Harold Garfinkel in the
early 1960s.

47. Ethnomethodology simply means
the study of the ways in which
people make sense of their social
world.

48. Ethnomethodologists start out with the
assumption that social order is illusory.
They believe that social life merely
appears to be orderly; in reality it is
potentially chaotic.

49. Breaching Experiments
The breaching experiment is a simple yet
ingenious social psychology technique that
explores people’s adherence to the unwritten
social norms of society. The experiment was
developed by sociologist Harold Garfinkel and has
become a favorite tool in teaching sociology and
psychology students about the strength of social
norms and social conformity.
~Wired Cosmos
http://wiredcosmos.com/2012/06/07/sociology-in-action-
the-breaching-experiment/
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50. Breaching Experiments
In order to demonstrate the concept of the breaching
experiment, Garfinkel famously instructed his sociology
students to act as lodgers when they went home to their
parents. Students were excessively polite to their
parents, asked permission to use the restroom, and
pretended to be ignorant of the comings and goings of
the household. Parents were reported to be distraught
and generally bewildered, some were even angry at
their children’s behavior.~Wired Cosmos
http://wiredcosmos.com/2012/06/07/sociology-in-action-
the-breaching-experiment/
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