Lauren Berg
SOC 311
1/12/12
HW 1
Deductive &
Inductive Research
Deductive and inductive research are two
methods of drawing conclusions from information. These methods are suitable in
different situations and have distinct pros and cons. Deductive research
involves the determination of specific information or expectations of a
hypothesis from broad or general information. Deductive reasoning is more
theory provoking than fact finding, but it gives a logical explanation of the drawn
theory. Inductive research is quite the opposite; it involves the determination
of general information from specific information. It finds patterns in sets of
observation that give the data some sense of order. Inductive reasoning is
helpful in finding if patterns in the data exist, but not in why they exist.
Using deductive reasoning on the question
of weather it would be wise to skip class, I may ponder upon several components
of the situation: Could I learn the information taught in class by reading my
book or looking over the PowerPoints? Do I have a friend in the class I could
get notes from? Would the class be interesting or boring? Would I loose
attendance points? If I would loose points I would theorize that it would not
be wise to skip class.
Using inductive reasoning to answer the
same question I may look at a specific data set, such as the fail rates of
students who regularly skip class compared to those who do not. If many more of
the students who skip class regularly fail compared to those who do not, I
could conclude that it would not be wise to skip class. This conclusion would
be correct but I wouldn’t know why students who skipped class failed more often
than those who do not.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
HW 2
Sociology is in existence so that
more can be learned about society, and so that societal problems and be
rectified giving way to a more just living environment for all. Unethical
research creates many problems in the sociological research community and can
defeat the purpose of research by harming humans. The social research
community, like many communities, hold shared beliefs on what is right and what
is wrong when it comes to conducting ethical research. It is important to know
these ethical values to become a social researcher, even though they may not
comply with other group’s ethics.
In order to be a legitimate field of
study, social researchers must hold a moral code that is accepted by society.
The code that social researchers attempt to hold includes giving their research
participants voluntary participation, not harming participants physically or
mentally, and giving them anonymity and confidentiality. This code can be very
difficult to hold, but it is extremely important.
The line between ethical and not
ethical can be difficult to see sometimes, but researchers must pay special
attention to any potential unethicality in their experiments. If there is any
potential harm that may be caused to the participant it is important that the
researcher do whatever is necessary to guard against it and to notify the
participant of the potential hazard. If the researcher does not predict hazard
during an experiment but harm is being caused, the researcher must anything necessary
to put an end to it, even if it means to end the experiment. A classic example
of this is Zimbardo’s prison experiment, where no harm of the participants was
expected but the participants ended up getting so caught up in their prison
roles that they began to suffer from mental and emotional complications.
Conducting unethical research is against the law, it can prevent evidence from
holding up in court, it may damage the researchers creditability, and most
importantly it causes harm the research participants.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
1/23/12
HW 3
Reliability
and validity are two important considerations for social scientists to make
when performing research. If the research is missing either reliability or
validity, it cannot be trusted as a truthful or useable source of information.
Although these terms are related, they have distinct meanings.
In social
science, reliability refers to the consistence of the data. If the data is
reliable, that does not mean that it is precise or accurate. It means that the
methods carried out continuously present the same result. There are many things
that affect the reliability of data when researching human behavior, which make
it nearly impossible to get perfect results.
Validity
is defined in social science as the adequacy in which an empirical measure reproduces
the meaning of the concept of the research. It means that “we are actually
measuring what we say were measuring” (Babbie, P. 160). There are many types of
validity; face validity, criterion-related validity, constructive validity, and
content validity. Face validity is used to determine if an indicator is a
reasonable measure of the variable. Criterion-related validity, also known as
predictive validity, is used to determine how well a measure relates to exterior
criterion. Constructive validity is used to measure the degree in which a
measure logically relates to other variables in a system of theoretical
relationships. Content validity refers to how well the measure covers the
different meanings of a concept.
Social
scientists attempt to make their research both valid and reliable, but this can
be difficult in some situations. For example, some concepts have very complex
definitions, which make it challenging to fully measure the validity and
reliability of the research. When social scientists cannot be fully valid and
reliable in their research, they are forced to compromise and choose which is
more important to the particular situation.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
2/7/12
HW 4
The Restaurant
Experiment
I want to
determine the culture and social norms of local, casual restaurants. I have
decided that the factor I will measure with this first experiment is the
comfortableness that people have with strangers joining their table at a casual
restaurant or cafeteria. This experiment may be followed up with a series of
other experiments that measure the social norms and appropriate behaviors of
local restaurants; such as is it okay to not order a meal, how much time is it
appropriate to spend in a restaurant, how do people react to bad table manners,
and other such experiments.
In
this first experiment there will be a group of data gathers. These researchers
will be of different age, race, and gender to help prevent error. Data
collection will be started with a researcher observing a table next to them.
They record on paper or video the subjects’ mannerisms, age, sex, race, and
anything else worth mentioning. This initial data will be used to compare to
the data collected after another researcher joins them at their table. After
the initial data collection, a second researcher will come and sit at their
table and play one of the following roles: a. They will sit down directly
across from the subject and not say anything to them. b. They will ask to join
their table, and if accepted will act as normal and friendly as they can and if
possible hold a conversation. c. They will ask to join the table and if their
request is accepted will sit down and keep to themselves. This will all be
recorded by another researcher. If the subjects act uncomfortable or leave
before finishing their meal more often from role a than role b and c, for
example, then we will use that information to measure the importance of the
social norm violation. Other factors to be considered is the number of vacant
tables at the restaurant, the culture of the restaurant (perhaps there are
different types of people at McDonolds than Café Yumm), what is the dependent
and independent variables, and the types and numbers of subjects experimented
on.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
1/31/12
There are several aspects of eating a healthy diet. For each of the following that apply to the participants they receive one point in this index, to determine how many eat a very healthy diet. This is know as the VHD index.
1. Do you purchase organic produce as much as possible as opposed to conventual produce?
2. Do you eat at fast food restaurants less than once a month?
3. Do you eat a balanced diet containing all the vitamins and nutrients that your body needs.
4. Is it the case that you do not overeat regularly?
5. Is it the case that you do not skip meals regularly?
6. Do you consume much processed foods?
For each answer in which they answer yes, we conclude that they eat a more healthy diet than if they answered no. It is likely that these items are all empirically related to some degree. These items can be validated by comparing them to external factors, such as physical health of the participants, and weather they believe that they are healthy.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
2/14/12
HW 5
Survey
Creation
When making a survey you can choose
from several format variations, ways to word your questions, and in general setup
of your survey. Some of these ways are better than others. The first step in
creating a survey is to decide which questions to ask. These questions should
provide you with the data you need to complete your research and also should be
relevant to the people being surveyed. When forming the questions you should
think carefully about the wording that you use. Doing this is important because
it greatly can have an affect on the results you get. The questions should be
easy to understand, should not be confusing and should be difficult so
misinterpret. It is wise to not state your questions as negations because it is
easy for the interviewee to skip over the word “not” and give the wrong
response.
The next step in creating a survey is
to pick the format that you will use. A popular option is to have questions and
have people check a box or fill in a circle next to their answer. Another
option which allows for easier data processing is to have numbers or letters
next to the answers in which the interviewee circles. A great option for
surveys that have the same answer selection for several questions is the matrix
format. With this format the interviewee usually marks a box for each question in
one of the columns. These columns usually consist of strongly agree, agree,
neutral, disagree, and strongly disagree. An important final step in creating a
survey is to have a test group take the survey to assess it for pitfalls.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
2/21/12
HW 7
Content analysis, the study
of recorded human communication, is the type of analysis that would be used
when researching the prevalence of Leukemia disease in Eugene, Oregon. The
research questions of this study would include the following: has the prevalence
Leukemia increased in prevalence over the last 40 years, and is there a
connection between the disease and the income bracket of the victims of this
deadly disease? To find the answer to these questions, a sample of 300 clinical
records would be studied. 100 of the people would be in the poor income
bracket, 100 in the middle, and 100 in the high; half of each bracket from the
year 1970 and half from 2010 would be studied.
Researchers would then use
computer software to record for each individual if they tested positive or
negative for the disease, along with any other important information contained
in their clinical record such as sex, BMI, and education level (to help find
the cause of any trends). The unit of analysis, Leukemia, would then be
compared in several different ways to the other data. First a table would be
made to compare the prevalence of Leukemia in 1970 to 2010. Then the percentage
of those who tested positive in 2010 would be calculated for each income
bracket and any other data recorded. This data will help the researchers find
correlations between the factors and answers to the research questions.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
2/27/12
HW 8
Quantitative methods are frequently used
in sociological research. Quantitative
research is defined as “the numerical representation and manipulation of
observations for the purpose of describing and explaining it”. Because the methods that involve quantitative
research, such as closed-ended survey questions, usually include straightforward
and clear answers that are easy to count. After the raw data is counted, it can
be coded and analyzed to reveal a wealth of information. Using quantitative methods,
an extreme variety of data can be collected and analyzed to reveal valuable
information about a large multitude of things.
Many businesses use quantitative methods
to research their target market. Simple surveys offer an easy approach for them
to learn about their customer base to create a more profitable business. Quantitative
methods are also frequently used for social research. Surveys that have
closed-ended questions can be used to answer most research questions and
provide an easier was to analyze the data that qualitative methods do. Quantitative
methods are excellent because they offer the ability to have many respondents
(even an entire country worth of them!) at a relatively low cost per
respondent, although the cost adds up substantially with the more people added
to the study.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
3/6/12
HW 8
There are several benefits of qualitative research
methods. Qualitative data is more descriptive than quantitative data, and
encompasses a larger amount of information. Qualitative research can be done
through several means including: interviews, observation, and open-ended survey
questions. The data gathered from qualitative research can be used in a variety
of different ways and for many purposes. The unique view that qualitative
research gives to the researcher has several beneficial aspects.
One advantage of qualitative methods is that they may
produce less biased data than qualitative data in some situations. This is
because instead of the researcher providing the possible answers to questions,
the study’s subject supposedly provides them. When the subject is the one who
provides the answers they are can be more relevant, important, and accurate.
Because of this, qualitative methods often lead to less biased data and invalid
conclusions in research studies.
Another advantage of qualitative methods that is
often put to use by social researchers is its ability to help one gain
understanding of a group, an individual, or a situation. It can be helpful in
determining out why something is happening and the complexity of the situation.
The researcher can use their core questions to navigate the details they are
looking for out of their subjects. Qualitative data is most useful for
sociologists who are attempting to understand a situation with a small group of
subjects, whereas quantitative data is most useful in measuring aspects of a
subject with a large group of people. Both methods have several advantages and
disadvantages.
Lauren Berg
SOC 311
3/13/12
HW 10
An ethical violation in social research causes a participant to
be harmed by a research study. Social researchers must be careful to not harm
the participants of their study in an emotional, physical, or economical way. Some
examples of inappropriate ethical violations include publishing private details
about people, causing them to lose their jobs, or telling them that the
information that they share will be keep confidential when it is not. In
certain circumstances it is okay to utilize ethical violations in social
research, with the appropriate precautions taken. One such appropriate
violation of research ethics is deceiving the participant about the intentions
of the study, if there is fear of reactivity. This ethical violation often
occurs in social research when it is believed that if the participant knows the
purpose and intentions of the study, it may change the results. If this
violation is made, it is important that the researchers inform the participants
prior to the study and provide them with any necessary psychiatric assistance.
Before beginning a research study the research designer should carefully
evaluate if the study will harm the participants in any way. They should ask
the questions: Could it harm the participants emotionally? Could it harm them
physically? Could it harm them economically? If the researcher answers any of
these questions with yes then they must determine if there is any way to avoid
the harm. If there is no way in avoiding it they must then determine if the
study is worth the potential harm to the participants and how they will repay
the participants for the hardship they will endure. The person who does this
evaluation should brief any other researchers of the study on the findings before
the study begins.
