Asking and Answering

Sociological Questions

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions: Opening Question

• Sociology today:
– (a) relies increasingly on statistical studies that use
big data sets.
– (b) has no place for empathy.
– (c) relies too much on qualitative methods to be a
science.

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 Learning Objectives: Part 1

• Basic Concepts
– Learn the steps of the research process and be able to complete the process
yourself.
– Name the different types of questions sociologists address in their research
—factual, theoretical, comparative, and developmental.

• Asking and Answering Sociological Questions:

Historical Context
– Contrast Park’s and Ogburn’s visions of sociology as a science.
– Understand their influence on contemporary sociological research.

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 Learning Objectives: Part 2

• Asking and Answering Sociological Questions Today:

Research Methods
– Familiarize yourself with the methods available to sociological researchers
and know the advantages and disadvantages of each.

• Unanswered Questions
– Recognize how research methods generate controversies and ethical
dilemmas for sociologists.

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 Basic Concepts 1

• Quantitative Methods
– Draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting
trends, comparing subgroups, or exploring correlations

• Qualitative Methods
– Rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of
a person or situation

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 Reflection Memo

• Qualitative or Quantitative? Please select what

you feel is your “affinity” if you were to
conduct a social science research project.
• Why? Explain your position.

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 Basic Concepts 2

• The Research Process:

– 1. Define the research problem
– 2. Review the evidence
– 3. Make the problem precise
– 4. Work out a design

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 Basic Concepts 3

• The Research
Process:
– 1. Define the research
problem
– 2. Review the
evidence
– 3. Make the problem
precise
– 4. Work out a design
– 5. Carry out the
research ‹#›

– 6. Interpret the results

Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions: Historical Context

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods 1

• Research methods:
– the diverse methods of investigation used to gather
empirical (factual) material.

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods Table

RESEARCH METHOD STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS

Ethnography Usually generates richer and more in- depth information than other Can be used to study only relatively small groups or
methods. communities.

Can provide a broader understanding of social processes. Findings might apply only to groups or communities
studied; not easy to generalize on the basis of a single
fieldwork study.

Surveys Make possible the efficient collection of data on large numbers of Material gathered may be superficial; if questionnaire is
individuals. highly standardized, important differences among
respondents’ viewpoints may be glossed over.
Allow for precise comparisons to be made among the answers of
respondents. Responses may be what people profess to believe rather than
what they actually believe.

Experiments Influence of specific variables can be controlled by the investigator. Many aspects of social life cannot be brought into the
laboratory.
Are usually easier for subsequent researchers to repeat.
Responses of those studied may be affected by the
experimental situation.

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods 2

• Ethnography
– the firsthand study of people using observation, in-depth
interviewing, or both.
– participant observation:
– a method of research widely used in sociology and
anthropology in which the researcher takes part in the
activities of the group or community being studied.

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods 3

• Surveys
– a method of sociological
research in which
questionnaires are
administered to the
population being
studied.
– population:
– the people who are the
focus of social research.
– Standardized and open-
ended questionnaires
– pilot study:
– a trial run in survey ‹#›

research.
 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods 4

• Surveys
– sample:
– a small proportion of the larger population.
– sampling:
– studying a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger
population as representative of that population as a whole.
– random sampling:
– A sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that vey
member of the population has the same probability of being
included.
– Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: Research Methods 5

• Experiments
– experiment:
– a research method by which variables can be analyzed in a
controlled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation
constructed by the researcher or in a naturally occurring
setting.

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: The Research Process 1

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: The Research Process 2

• Statistical Terms
– measures of central tendency:
– the ways of calculating averages.
– correlation coefficients:
– the measure of the degree of correlation between variables.
– mean:
– a statistical measure of central tendency, or average, based on
dividing a total by the number of individual cases.

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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: The Research Process 3

• Statistical Terms
– mode:
– the number that appears most often in a given set of data.
This can sometimes be a helpful way of portraying central
tendency.
– median:
– the number that falls halfway in a range of numbers – a way
of calculating central tendency that is sometimes more useful
than calculating a mean.
– standard deviation:
– a way of calculating the spread of a group of numbers.
– degree of dispersal:
– the range or distribution of a set of figures.
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 Asking and Answering Sociological
Questions Today: The Research Process 4

• Comparative Historical Research

– comparative research:
– Research that compares one set of findings on one society
with the same type of findings on other societies.

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GBN: Opinion of the U.S.

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 Unanswered Questions 1

• Can Sociology Identify Causes and Effects?

• How Can Social Research Avoid Exploitation?

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AT AN RK RD RE SP SSI XI
ES CE EY AN A AIN A CO

200 42 15 1% 46 38 37
3 % % % % %

200 83
5 %

200 56
7 %

200
9

201
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201
3

201
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201 85 46 18 15 75 31 41 30 ‹#›
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 Unanswered Questions 2

• Can We Really Study Human Social Life in a

Scientific Way?
– empirical investigation
– factual inquiries carried out in any area of sociological study

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 Concept Quiz 1

What is one major difference between

natural sciences and social sciences like
sociology?
(a) The natural sciences do not include humans as the
subject of their studies.
(b) The findings in social science are never certain, whereas
natural scientists are able to discover indisputable facts.
(c) Social sciences require a more careful negotiation of the
issues of influence, power, and subjectivity than do most
natural sciences.
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 Concept Quiz 2

What is the definition of a hypothesis?

(a) a conclusion regarding a given state of affairs that is informed
by the results of the scientific process
(b) an idea or guess about a given state of affairs put forward as
the basis for empirical testing
(c) a secondary argument put forth in a scientific report that
supports the main argument being made

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 Concept Quiz 3

Which of the following research methods is most

suitable to the way that Robert Park envisioned
sociology?
(a) experiments
(b) surveys
(c) interviews
(d) ethnography

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 Concept Quiz 4

In survey research, ___ is one of the best ways to

ensure conclusions can be generalized to the
whole ___ .
(a) random sampling; population
(b) a pilot study; scientific community
(c) statistics; sample
(d) a questionnaire; country

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 Concept Quiz 5

A study of the influence of family income

on educational achievement finds a
correlation coefficient of 0.4 between
income and number of years of higher
education achieved. What is one possible
conclusion of this study?
(a) Family income is not a significant factor in
educational achievement.
(b) While a low income adversely affects the
likelihood of achieving a higher education, other ‹#›

factors might as well.

 Concept Quiz 6

What is the primary role of theory in scientific

research?
(a) It helps to explain empirical observations.
(b) It helps differentiate between real facts and opinions.
(c) It helps to disprove hypotheses.
(d) It allows researchers to make conclusions about the world
even when empirical data is not available.

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 Discussion Question:
Thinking Sociologically 1

1. Suppose the dropout rate in your local high school

increased dramatically. Faced with such a serious
problem, the school board offers you a $500,000 grant
to study the sudden increase. Following the
recommended procedures outlined in the text, explain
how you would conduct your research. What
hypotheses might you test? How would you prove or
disprove them?

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 Discussion Question:
Thinking Sociologically 2

2. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of

documentary research. What will it yield that will be
better than experimentation, surveys, and ethnographic
fieldwork? What are its limitations compared with those
approaches?

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 This Concludes the Lecture PowerPoint for
CHAPTER
2
Introduction to
Sociology 11 E
Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier,
Richard P. Appelbaum, Deborah Carr

Copyright ©2018 W.W. Norton, Inc.