The Uses of Social Research

Chapter 1

Introduction

Research question A question about one or more topics or

concepts that can be answered through research

Is almost everyone in the country married with children or are they living alone?

Introduction

Research question example Is almost everyone in the country married with

children or are they living alone? Start by looking at Census data

Introduction

Introduction

Revised research question Are more young people planning to marry

without having children, to marry and have children, or to live alone?

Introduction

STOP AND THINK Can you think of a better way of finding how

young people plan to live in the future than with the Census data about the year 2006?

Introduction

Unit of analysisThe unit about which information is collected

Introduction

STOP AND THINK Identify the units of analysis for each of the

following studies Southgate and Roscigno’s (2009) study that

found that involvement in music is associated academic performance for both young children and adolescents

Cooney and Burt’s (2008) finding that in American counties where a particular crime occurs frequently the average punishment for that crime will be less severe than in counties where it occurs rarely

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

Research is a way of knowing How do we “know” things?

We collect data in a number of ways

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

Knowledge from authorities Socially defined sources of knowledge

Mom, Census Bureau, social institutions (religion, schools, news media)

When we rely on physicians, clergy members, and elected officials for information, we are putting our faith in their knowledge in those positions of authority.

Problems Inappropriate Misleading Incorrect

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

Knowledge from personal inquiry Inquiry that employs the senses’ evidence for arriving

at knowledge Example

If the flu has been going around and your friends and family have been ill and you begin to feel sick, observing them to see what they are doing to get better and what is working is an example of personal inquiry

Problems Overgeneralize Perceive Selectively Premature Closure

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

The Scientific Method A way of conducting empirical research

following rules that specify objectivity, logic, and communication among a community of knowledge seekers, and the connection between research and theory

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

The Scientific Method Positivist view of science

A view that human knowledge must be based on what can be perceived

Objectivity The ability to see the world as it really is

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

The Scientific Method Post-positivist view of science

A view that knowledge is not based on irrefutable observable grounds, that it is always somewhat speculative, but that science can provide relatively solid grounds for these speculations

Intersubjectivity Agreements about reality that result from

comparing the observations of more than one observer

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

The Scientific Method Strengths

The promotion of skepticism and intersubjectivity The extensive use of communication Teaching ideas factually The use of logic Theoretical explanation

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

STOP AND THINK Suppose I submit a research report to a

journal and the journal’s editor writes back that the journal won’t publish my findings because expert reviewers don’t find them persuasive.

Which of the strengths of the scientific method is the editor relying on to make his or her judgment?

Research versus Other Ways of Knowing

The Scientific Method Theory

An explanation about how and why something is as it is.

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Uses of social research Basic research

Research designed to add to our fundamental understanding and knowledge about the social world

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Uses of social research Applied research

Research intended to be useful in the immediate future and to suggest action or increase effectiveness in some area

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Uses of social research Social theory

Explanations about how and why people act in certain ways

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Purposes of social research Exploratory research

Ground-breaking research on a relatively unstudied topic or in a new area

Tends to be inductive The researcher starts with observations about the

subject and tries to develop tentative generalizations about it

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Purposes of social research Qualitative data analysis

Analysis that tends to involve the interpretation of actions or the representations of meanings in words

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Purposes of social research Descriptive research

Descriptive study Research designed to describe groups, activities,

situations, or events

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Purposes of social research Quantitative data analysis

Analysis based on the statistical summary of data

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research

Purposes of social research Explanatory research

Research designed to explain why subjects vary in one way or another

Tends to be deductive Often uses preexisting theories to decide what kinds of

data should be collected Example

Let’s say that there is a well-known theory that we can call “The General Attraction Theory” and that it suggests that people who are physically attractive get more of society’s rewards than less attractive people. If we have a hypothesis that people who are physically attractive are more likely to be hired for certain jobs than their less attractive peers and wanted to test this theory in a specific industry – we would be conducting explanatory research

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research Purposes of social research

Evaluation research Research designed to assess the impacts of

programs, policies, or legal changes

The Uses and Purposes of Social Research STOP AND THINK

Suppose you’ve been asked to learn something about the new kinds of communities that have arisen out of people’s use of tweets and twitter.

Of the four kinds of research outlined above (exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, evaluation), what kind of study have you been asked to do?

Summary

Professional and practical benefits Creation of usable theories about our social

world Social research methods can help us explore,

describe, and explain aspects of the social world, as well as evaluate whether particular programs or policies actually work.

Why are you in this class?

Learn to be an informed consumer of research A statistic by itself is only one piece of

information You have to be accountable for your work You have ethical responsibilities

Quiz – Question 1

If we are presenting a detailed picture of a population, in terms of gender, age, income, residence, we have most likely conducted

a. evaluation research.

b. exploratory research.

c. explanation research.

d. descriptive research.

Quiz – Question 2

In many ways, the scientific methoda. compensates for the shortcomings of other

approaches to knowledge.

b. relies exclusively on the word of “authorities” and “personal inquiry”.

c. emphasizes the value of communities of scientists and critical skepticism.

d. both A and C

e. all of the above

Quiz – Question 3

Which of the following statements is factually testable?

a. All extra-terrestrials have large skulls.

b. Individuals with more education earn more than less educated individuals.

c. The death penalty is less moral than first-degree murder.

d. War should be outlawed.

e. None of the above