Sociology in Our Times, 10th Edition Diana Kendall solutions manual and test bank
Chapter 2
Sociological Research Methods
| Quick Start Question |
CHAPTER 2 Sociological Research Methods
Quick-start question: Do you think a personal act like suicide is also a social issue?
Additional quick-start questions:
- What three values are most important to you?
- How are these values reinforced and challenged?
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE |
Why is Sociological Research Necessary?
Common Sense and Sociological Research
Sociology and Scientific Evidence
The Theory and Research Cycle
The Sociological Research Process
The Quantitative Research Model
A Qualitative Research Model
Research Methods
Survey Research
Secondary Analysis of Existing Data
Field Research
Experiments
Multiple Methods: Triangulation
Ethical Issues in Sociological Research
The ASA Code of Ethics
The Zellner Research
The Humphreys Research
| STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES |
LO1: Explain why sociological research is necessary and how it challenges our commonsense beliefs about pressing social issues such as suicide.
LO2: Compare deductive and inductive approaches in the theory and research cycle.
LO3: Distinguish between quantitative research and qualitative research.
LO4: List and briefly describe the steps in the quantitative research model.
LO5: List and briefly describe the steps in a qualitative research model.
LO6: Explain what is meant by survey research and briefly discuss three types of surveys.
LO7: Compare research methods used in secondary analysis of existing data, field research, experiments, and triangulation.
LO8: Discuss ethical issues in research and identify professional codes that protect research participants.
| KEY TERMS: defined at page number shown and in glossary |
| content analysis, 57 control group, 55 correlation, 55 dependent variable, 43 ethnography, 53 experiment, 55 experimental group, 55 field research, 53 | Hawthorne effect, 57 hypothesis, 43 independent variable, 43 interview, 49 participant observation, 53 probability sampling, 47 questionnaire, 47 random sampling, 47 | research methods, 47 respondents, 47 secondary analysis, 49 survey, 47 unstructured interview, 53 |
| CHAPTER LECTURE OUTLINE | ||
| 1. WHY IS SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH NECESSARY? A) Sociology and everyday life: How much do you know about suicide? (self-quiz) B) Sociologists obtain their knowledge of human behavior through research in order to move beyond guesswork and common sense. C) Sociological research is more accurate. D) Common sense and sociological research i) Commonsense ideas about suicide may be wrong. a) For instance, common sense may tell us that people who threaten suicide won’t go through with their threats, while sociological research shows that those who threaten may indeed attempt suicide. b) Common sense suggests that suicide is caused by despair or depression, while research shows that sometimes suicide is a lashing out at friends or relatives because of real or imagined wrongs. ii) Traditional views of suicide have held that it was a sin, a crime, or mental illness. a) Durkheim questioned this and argued that high suicide rates were characteristic of large-scale societal problems. b) While we might think that common sense, our personal experience, or the media may help us to understand phenomena, it is important to remember that our personal experiences are subjective, and that media content is influenced by the need for ratings. c) It is important that we be able to evaluate information objectively. d) The quantity of information that we receive has grown dramatically. E) Sociology works! Durkheim’s sociology of suicide and twenty-first-century India i) Outsourcing of jobs to India might seem like it would bring happiness and job satisfaction. ii) Instead, in areas such as Bangalore and New Delhi, new opportunities and wealth have been accompanied by rapid urbanization and fast-paced economic and social change. iii) Social bonds are weakening, and there has been a “rash” of suicide. F) Sociology and everyday life: ANSWERS to the sociology quiz on suicide G) Sociology and scientific evidence i) Sociology involves debunking―the unmasking of fallacies. ii) We can answer questions with a normative approach that is based on strong beliefs, or we can rely on an empirical approach that incorporates systematic collection and analysis of data. iii) Most sociologists agree that the empirical approach must meet two basic scientific standards: scientific beliefs should have support by good evidence or information, and these beliefs should be open to public debate and critique. H) The theory and research cycle i) The relationship between theory and research has been described as a continuous cycle. ii) Research is the process of systematically collecting information for the purpose of testing an existing theory or generating a new one. iii) This cycle consists of deductive and inductive approaches. a) In the deductive approach, the researcher begins with a theory and generates hypotheses, which leads to data gathering, then generalizations, and finally support or refutation of the theory. b) In the inductive approach, the researcher collects information, creates a generalization, uses the generalization to create a theory, and then tests the theory through the formation of hypotheses. iv) Theory gives meaning to research—research helps support theory. 2. THE SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROCESS A) Some research is quantitative, while some is qualitative. i) Quantitative research has the goals of scientific objectivity and measurable data. ii) Quantitative research typically relies on complex statistical techniques (e.g., statistically examining the relationships among church memberships, divorce and migration, and the impact on suicide rates). iii) Qualitative research relies on interpretation and description of underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships (e.g., analyzing the content of suicide notes). B) Understanding statistical data presentations i) To understand a statistical table, use the following steps: a) Read the title. b) Check the source and explanatory notes. c) Read the column and row headings. d) Examine and compare the data. e) Draw conclusions. 1) What is the increase or decrease? 2) What does this increase or decrease mean? C) The quantitative research model i) Select and define the research problem. a) Selection may be based on a gap in knowledge, an effort to test a theory, or an effort to challenge misconceptions. ii) Review previous research. a) A review helps to clarify issues and focus the direction of research. b) Sometimes there is little research to go on (this was the case for Durkheim). iii) Formulate the hypothesis. a) A hypothesis is a tentative statement of the relationship between two or more concepts. b) Concepts will need to be converted to variables. c) A variable is any concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can change or vary from one person, time, situation, or society to another. d) The most fundamental relationship is between an independent and dependent variable. e) Operational definitions are given for variables, which specify their measurable properties. f) Some complex phenomena must be explained in terms of multiple causation, or as the result of many factors operating in combination. iv) Develop the research design. a) To do this, you must consider the unit of study and the time frame. b) A unit of analysis is what or who is being studied—individuals or social groups may be the units of analysis. c) The time frame may be longitudinal (over time) or cross-sectional (at a single point in time). v) Collect and analyze the data. a) Decide on the population and select a sample. b) In random sampling, every member of a population has the same chance of being selected. c) In probability sampling, people are chosen because they have certain characteristics. D) Sociology and Social Policy: Establishing Policies to Help Prevent Military Suicides. E) A qualitative research model i) This is used when the research question does not easily lend itself to numbers and statistical methods. ii) Compared with a quantitative model, this approach often involves a different research question and a smaller number of cases. iii) There are several unique features to this type of research: a) The researcher begins with a general approach rather than a highly detailed plan. b) The researcher has to decide when the literature review and theory application take place. c) The study presents a detailed view of the topic. d) Access to people or other resources that can provide the necessary data is crucial. e) Appropriate research method(s) are important for acquiring useful qualitative data. iv) Researchers using a qualitative approach may engage in problem formation to clarify the research question and to develop questions of concern and interest to participants. v) The next step is collecting and analyzing data to assess the validity of the starting proposition. 3. RESEARCH METHODS A) Research methods are specific strategies for systematically conducting research. B) Survey research i) A survey is a poll in which the researcher gathers facts or attempts to determine the relationships among facts. ii) Researchers frequently select a representative sample to answer questions about their attitudes, opinions, or behavior. iii) Respondents are persons who provide data for analysis through interviews or questionnaires. iv) Gallup and Harris polls are among the most widely known large-scale surveys. C) Types of surveys i) A questionnaire is a printed research instrument containing a series of questions to which subjects respond. a) The most commonly used technique is the self-administered questionnaire. b) These are typically delivered or mailed to respondents’ homes. c) They may also be administered to groups of respondents gathered at the same place at the same time. ii) Data may also be collected with an interview, in which the interviewer asks the respondent questions and records the answers. iii) In structured interviews, the interviewer asks questions from a standardized questionnaire, to produce uniform or replicable data. iv) Advantages of interviews include the fact that they are more effective in dealing with complicated issues and provide an opportunity for face-to-face communication between the interviewer and the respondent. v) Disadvantages include the cost and time involved in conducting the interview and analyzing the results. vi) The telephone or computer survey is a quicker method of administering questionnaires. Strengths and weaknesses of surveysvii) Strengths include: a) Being able to describe a large population without having to interview every person in that population. b) Enabling the researcher to assess the importance of many variables. c) Allowing the researcher to determine how influential each variable is in relation to the others. viii) Weaknesses include: a) Respondents are often forced to answer in ways they normally wouldn’t. b) Survey research relies on self-reported information, and people are not always truthful. c) Survey data sometimes over- or underestimates the extent of a problem. D) Secondary analysis of existing data i) In secondary analysis, researchers use existing material and analyze data that were originally collected by others. ii) Existing data are available from NORC, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, books, magazines, radio, television, and personal documents. iii) Secondary research is referred to as unobtrusive because it has no impact on the people being studied. iv) Analyzing existing statistics a) In analysis of existing statistics, the unit of analysis is often not the individual, but rather a group. b) A contemporary study of suicide conducted by Breault tested Durkheim’s idea that Catholics were less likely to commit suicide than Protestants. v) Media framing: Framing suicide in the media – Sociology versus sensationalism a) The media offers us different vantage points from which to view a given social event, based on framing. b) Through framing, the media emphasize some beliefs and values over others and manipulate salience by directing people’s attention toward some ideas and away from others. c) A frame is a story line or an unfolding narrative about an issue. d) By thinking sociologically about media coverage of suicide, we can see that the media does not simply mirror or report on society but in fact helps to shape society and cultural perceptions. vi) Analyzing content a) Content analysis is the systematic examination of cultural artifacts or various forms of communication to extract thematic data and draw conclusions about social life. (1) Cultural artifacts are products of individual activity, social organizations, technology, and cultural patterns. (2) Among the materials studied are written records such as books, letters, poems, and narratives, and visual texts such as movies, television, advertisements, and greeting cards. (3) Content analysis provides objective codes for analyzing written material, and allows for the counting and arranging of data into identifiable categories. (4) Suicide notes have been analyzed for years. b) Framing: Suicide in the Media c) Strengths and weaknesses of secondary analysis (1) Strengths include that data are readily available and inexpensive, that researcher bias may be reduced, and that longitudinal patterns may be identified. (2) Weaknesses include incompleteness, lack of authenticity, and inaccuracy. E) Field research i) Field research is the study of social life in its natural setting: observing and interviewing people where they live, work, and play. a) These methods are used to generate qualitative data. ii) Participant observation a) The process of collecting data while participating in the activities of the group that the researcher is studying. b) This method generates more “inside” information. iii) Case studies a) Most participant observation takes the form of a case study, which is an in-depth, multifaceted investigation of a single event, person, or social grouping. b) When case studies involve a number of cases, they are known as collective case studies. c) Many researchers “back into” their research topics by finding themselves in situations that raise important questions. iv) Ethnography a) Ethnography is a detailed study of the life and activities of a group of people by researchers, who may live with that group over a period of years. b) Ethnography usually takes place over a longer period than participant observation. v) Unstructured interviews a) This is an extended, open-ended interaction between an interviewer and an interviewee. b) This type of interview is referred to as unstructured because few predetermined or standardized procedures are established for conducting it. c) The interviewer must be skilled in interviewing, be able to shift gears quickly and know the subject matter well. d) An example of this technique is Feagin’s study of middle-class African Americans. e) Respondents are often chosen by snowball sampling. f) Unstructured, open-ended interviewing does not permit a lack of planning and preparation. vi) Interviews and theory construction a) Interviews, along with participant observation, are often used to develop theories. b) The term “grounded theory” is used to describe this inductive process of theory construction. c) Researchers who use grounded theory collect and analyze data simultaneously. vii) Strengths and weaknesses of field research a) One strength is that this method allows the researcher to understand from the inside what may not be obvious from the outside. b) Field research also helps when attitudes and behaviors can be understood best in their natural setting, or when we need to study social processes and change over time. c) A major weakness concerns the lack of generalizability to a larger population. F) Experiments i) Experiments are carefully designed situations in which the researcher studies the impact of certain variables on subjects’ attitudes or behavior. ii) Types of experiments a) Conventional experiments divide subjects into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. b) The experimental group is exposed to the independent variable; the control group is not. c) In laboratory experiments, subjects are studied in a closed setting so researchers can maintain maximum control. iii) Demonstrating cause and effect a) Must show that a correlation exists between the two variables. Correlation exists when two variables are associated more frequently than would be expected by chance. b) Must ensure that the independent variable precedes the dependent variable. c) Must make sure that any change in the dependent variable is not due to some extraneous variable; some changes are due to spurious correlations. iv) Strengths and weaknesses of experiments a) Advantages include the high degree of control, the low cost, the small number of subjects, and the ability to replicate many times. b) Disadvantages include artificiality, a less communal approach to data gathering, biases on the part of the researcher, and subject reactivity. c) The Hawthorne effect is an example of how subjects may react to their knowledge of being studied. G) Multiple methods: triangulation i) Many sociologists believe it is best to combine multiple methods in one study. ii) Triangulation is the use of multiple methods in a study. iii) Triangulation can also refer to multiple data sources, investigators, or theoretical perspectives. 4. ETHICAL ISSUES IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH A) The study of people raises ethical concerns. B) Researchers are required to obtain written informed consent from persons they study, but how do researchers protect subjects? C) The ASA has developed a code of ethics that researchers must follow. i) Researchers must try to maintain objectivity and integrity by disclosing their findings in full and including all possible interpretations. ii) Researchers must safeguard subjects’ right to privacy and dignity. iii) Researchers must protect confidential information provided to them by respondents, even when the information is not considered to be privileged and legal pressure is applied to reveal this information. iv) Researchers must acknowledge research collaboration and assistance they receive from others, and disclose all sources of financial support. D) The Zellner Research i) William Zellner did research on people killed in single car crashes that he thought might have been “autocides.” ii) He interviewed people who knew the victim in order to determine whether they had information about the deceased that might suggest the person had been suicidal, but only told them that their participation could help to prevent future accidents. iii) From the data he collected, he concluded that about 12 percent of the wrecks were autocides. iv) Was this research unethical because he misrepresented the reasons for his study, or does the right to know outweigh the right to privacy? E) The Humphreys Research i) Laud Humphreys investigated homosexual conduct in public restrooms. ii) He did not ask the permission of his subjects, nor did he inform them they were being studied. iii) He pretended to be a lookout, while he systematically recorded the encounters. iv) Because he was interested in the everyday lives of the participants, he recorded their license plate numbers and tracked down their names and addresses. v) Later, he arranged for them to be included in a medical survey, and he interviewed them personally. vi) He found that most were married and led conventional lives. vii) The fact that he did not identify himself as a researcher led to widespread criticism. F) You can make a difference: Responding to a cry for help i) The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention suggests that all persons should be aware of warning signs of suicide: talking about death or suicide, making plans, and showing signs of depression. ii) Most people who commit suicide gave some warning to family members or friends. | LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Explain why sociological research is necessary and how it challenges our commonsense beliefs about pressing social issues such as suicide.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Compare deductive and inductive approaches in the theory and research cycle.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Distinguish between quantitative research and qualitative research.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: List and briefly describe the steps in the quantitative research model.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: List and briefly describe the steps in a qualitative research model.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Explain what is meant by survey research and briefly discuss three types of surveys.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Compare research methods used in secondary analysis of existing data, field research, experiments, and triangulation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Discuss ethical issues in research and identify professional codes that protect research participants.
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| LECTURE IDEAS | ||
| Statistics in the News | Explain some of the statistical procedures that have been presented in recent news stories. | |
| Relate Theory and Research | If students are required to do a research paper or research experiment for the course, lecture on strategies for doing their specific assignment. Have them share topics they are considering and help them phrase their topics into a researchable question. Then have them examine a theoretical perspective that may best ground their topic, as well as various methods and methodologies for carrying out the study. | |
| Scientific Revolutions | Thomas Kuhn’s remarkable book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, continues to influence students in the sciences. Introduce your class to the concept of paradigms and how they shape the ways we think about problems. “Under normal conditions, the research scientist is not an innovator but a solver of puzzles, and the puzzles upon which he concentrates are just those which he believes can be both stated and solved within the existing scientific tradition.” ―Thomas Kuhn | |
| Research Sampling | Bring research articles from sociological journals to class. Use these to demonstrate the differences between the various research methods. Project the methods section of each article up on a screen if possible. Many students will not have seen a research article before. Explain the differences between popular publications and scholarly articles. | |
| Ethics in Research | Discuss with your class some of the ethical dilemmas that face researchers who are investigating controversial issues (abortion, drug abuse, political corruption). What are the ethical boundaries that guide the use of human subjects? Describe the responsibilities that the researcher must carefully uphold. What does it mean when a researcher is expected to uphold the public trust? | |
| Quantitative and Qualitative | Explore the differing rationales for using these two approaches to research. Bring to class examples of research conducted using each method. | |
| QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION |
1. What are some ways that the interpretation of social research can be misrepresented?
2. What is the difference between common sense and scientific information? Why is scientific information more reliable?
3. What kinds of topics do you think are best suited for qualitative or quantitative approaches to research?
4. Think of some research questions. Write a hypothesis for each.
5. Take a look at a hypothesis from the above question. Name the dependent and independent variables.
6. How do suicide trends in other nations compare with those in the United States? How is gender linked to suicide rates?
7. Why might it be difficult to develop an operational definition of suicide?
8. What are some possible social causes of suicide?
9. Think of some examples of both longitudinal and cross-sectional research. What types of phenomena are best studied using each method?
10. Why is it important for other researchers to be able to repeat an investigation in the same way it was originally conducted?
11. Can bullying really cause a person’s suicide?
12. Why are cause and effect relationships difficult to demonstrate when studying human behavior?
13. What kinds of survey data do you regularly encounter as a consumer? What are the dangers of conducting research non-objectively?
14. What is the Hawthorne effect? Can you think of situations in which your behavior changed because you knew you were being observed?
15. Why do you think that surveys are the most widely used research method in the social sciences?
16. What kinds of ethical issues do researchers routinely encounter?
17. Was the criticism directed at Humphreys' research justified? Could he have gained access to his research subjects by other means?
18. How can social research influence social policy?
STUDENT LEARNING ACTIVITIES |
Your students need to change gears and do something different every 20-30 minutes.
1. Have your class practice the sometimes difficult task of operationalizing variables for a proposed study. Suggest topics such as disaster relief, affirmative action, successful marriages, or gender socialization.
2. Instead of presenting a straightforward lecture, which often turns your students into passive recipients of information, actively involve them in the process of transforming information into knowledge. Use the Chapter Review Questions included in the textbook and in this manual as a tool to help students learn.
Divide your class into working groups, assign each group one of the chapter review questions, and have them collectively put together an answer. You can break down your lecture into responses to and clarifications of their answers. You then become their guide to learning on their own, rather than their source of knowledge.
3. What do sociologists actually do? This is often a central question students have when taking an introductory course. Can you answer that question? Go to the American Sociological Association Web site (www.asanet.org) and construct a resource handout that answers this question. Alternatively, draw on some of your recent graduates to come and talk to your class about the way they use sociological research methods in the course of their careers.
4. Sociology as science: Explain the difference between commonsense knowledge and what we know to be true because of scientific research. The text uses the example of suicide. Bring in copies of the “How Much Do You Know About Suicide?” quiz from the chapter. Instead of having students take the quiz individually, have them do so in small groups. To prevent students from working as individuals, give each group a single quiz paper. This method gets students talking with each other about the subject matter and talking through ideas. They may be hesitant at first to enter into a discussion with you.
5. Help students understand the nature and power of social facts. Brainstorm with students and come up with a list of social facts. Next, address these questions:
· What did individuals do to create this social fact?
· How does this fact affect the way that people behave and think?
· How does this fact affect the way I behave and think?
· What causes social facts to change?
5. Bring to class copies of research articles from sociology journals. Ask students to find the components of the research process as reflected in these articles. You might have a brief research article that you can project onto a screen in class. Have students work in small groups using their textbooks to identify the research process reflected in the article.
6. Introduce students to research tools. Take a field trip to the library. Meet with one of your reference librarians to learn where to find social science information.
7. Working in groups, have students design their own survey for an issue they find interesting. Next, students should exchange surveys with other groups until everyone has filled out all the surveys. Finally, groups should make short presentations based on findings.
8. Assign a comparison of a “pop” sociological perspective as found in magazine articles or television talk shows with a sociological examination of a related issue in a scholarly journal or book. For example, students might compare how family conflicts are presented in the media as compared with sociological analyses in journals such as Family Relations, Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, Journal of Family Violence, Journal of Marriage and the Family, and Marriage and Family Review.
9. Qualitative research: In order to introduce students to qualitative research methodology, send them out into the field and have them collect information about their social environment. Aim for rich details, taking nothing for granted. Use a number of participant observation techniques, such as:
· Full participation (a formal member of a group)
· Casual participation (standing in line, attending an event, conversations)
· Observation from a distance (people watching)
What types of subjects are most appropriate for each level of participation?
| INTERNET ACTIVITIES |
1. Access the U.S. Census Web site. This link is for Census 2010, and contains neighborhood data files. http://www.census.gov/2010census/. If possible, access the U.S. Census web page during class. Show your students all of the information that is being collected and studied. Have students explore their own neighborhoods and at least one other neighborhood in their city and make hypotheses to explain the differences or similarities.
2. More students are using Internet sources for their class research projects. Before you join the herd, access the IPL clearing house, which lists guides for citing electronic information used by different citation formats (e.g., APA, MLA, and so on). This is a directory, with links to specific sites for how to use different formats. http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/netciteFARQ.html
3. The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago is one of the largest survey research organizations. On this site, you can access information about the General Social Survey. First, go to the FAQ link on this site and bring to class a basic description of the GSS. http://www.norc.org/Pages/default.aspx
4. Some research organizations openly admit that their research is guided by a particular set of political values. One such example is the Cato Institute, a politically conservative research organization guided by libertarian principles. Go to their home page, click on daily commentaries, and select a topic that interests you. Can you find examples of research that are guided by conservative principles? How does these compare with the standards of objectivity that are discussed in the text? http://www.cato.org
5. Sociologists’ research interests are incredibly varied. Have students explore the American Sociological Association’s online searchable program for their annual meeting, to get an idea of the rich variety of work being produced. http://www.asanet.org/am2014/am2014.cfm
6. Have students read the following article on the “Monster Study,” to help them understand why protection of human subjects is so important, even if researchers won’t be touching the subjects or giving them medications (e.g., when all harm is going to be psychological/emotional). http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/16/magazine/the-stuttering-doctor-s-monster-study.html
7. When you start thinking about the difficulties of researching highly subjective social phenomena, you should consider accessing the World Database of Happiness. This site is an ongoing register of scientific research related to subjective appreciation of life. Can you find out which nation is most happy? www.eur.nl/fsw/research/happiness
8. Have students navigate to http://www.socialexplorer.com/ and, using the explore feature on the social explorer map, have them locate their own hometown. Looking at the data presented over time and their own knowledge of the city/town, students should be able to explain demographic changes over the years or current patterns. Use this as a teaching moment to show the importance of first-hand knowledge combined with statistical and empirical evidence.
9. Have students go to www.prisonexp.org and work through the simulation presented on the website. Use it as a springboard for a class discussion about ethics in social research.
| VIDEO SUGGESTIONS |
1. There are any number of fascinating social documentaries that you could show in class or ask students to view on their own. Look for examples of research methods and ethical considerations addressed in the film. Some fine examples include:
· Who Killed the Electric Car?
· Farenheit 9/11
· Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
· Super Size Me
· The Up Series (1964-2005)
2. Constructing Public Opinion: How Politicians & the Media Misrepresent the Public Media Education Foundation
Addressing vital issues (e.g., the role the media play in “manufacturing consent” for political elites, what polls really tell us about public opinion, what Americans actually think about politics), Constructing Public Opinion provides a new way to think about the relationship between politics, media and the public. Exploding the myth that most Americans are moderate or conservative, Constructing Public Opinion demonstrates the way in which political elites help to promote the military industrial complex and how the media sustains belief in an electoral system with a built-in bias against the interests of ordinary people. (2001, 32 minutes)
3. Exploring Qualitative Methods Films for the Humanities and Sciences
A dream may be the most difficult human experience to quantify—but dreaming is an excellent topic for building qualitative research skills. This program illustrates experiments, designed and conducted by students, that revolve around sleep and dreams. In the process, it provides thorough insight into the issues relevant to collecting and utilizing qualitative data. Viewers are shown how to create effective questionnaires, prepare participant interviews, assemble case studies, and conduct observational studies. The program also covers the use of content analysis and explores the correlational method, employed to make qualitative data more meaningful. (2005, 46 minutes)
4. Doing Sociological Research Films for the Humanities and Sciences
This multi-segment program focuses on the world of education as it addresses aspects of how to conduct sociological research. After defining what exactly constitutes research, the video defines the concepts of reliability, validity, and representativeness through a study of social interaction in schools; it sheds light on essential ideas in survey research via a study of educational inequalities; it considers decision-making and social capital in education while presenting the use of interviews in sociological research; and it illustrates ethnography in action as it tracks a study of surveillance in schools using observational methods.
(2007, 40 minutes)
5. Introduction to Designing Experiments Films for the Humanities and Sciences
Adam suspects that most hairy dogs have balding owners. Testing his “pet” theory at a local park, he quickly finds flaws in his own experiment. This video demonstrates Adam’s second test, involving better preparation, more rigorous analysis, and an exciting pasta cook-off. Showing how Adam can effectively determine the best spaghetti recipe, the program illustrates concepts that are central to the scientific method—including null, alternative, and two-tailed hypotheses; field and lab settings; sampling; primacy/recency effects; constant/random errors; and other testing principles. Graphic screens reinforce each concept and enable students to fully absorb the testing process. (2005, 23 minutes)
6. Sociologist Perspective: Earl Babbie, Research Methods and Social Problems Professor Earl Babbie explains how sociologists conduct research, analyze data, present findings, and submit papers for publication. He suggests that sociologists are in a particularly good position to address problems in society via their research. (5:07 minutes)
7. Sociologist Perspective: Kathryn Edin on Research Methods Professor Kathryn Edin describes the merits and uses of ethnography. (5:45 minutes)
8. 2008 Election Tracking Poll, Surveys ABC Tracking poll discussion of polling during the 2008 Presidential election. (2008, 1:18 minutes)
9. Adapting to a Tough Economy: Participant Observation, ABC
A former banker becomes a shoe shine man and finds a life of lower stress. Real stories from the new American economy. (2009, 2:01 minutes)
10. Sidewalk
This documentary, directed by Barry Alexander Brown, is based on the ethnographic fieldwork that sociologist Mitchell Duneier conducted for his seminal book, Sidewalk (1999). Framed in the film's introduction as an "epilogue" to the book, SIDEWALK chronicles the lives of primarily black homeless book vendors and magazine scavengers who ply their trade along 6th Avenue between 8th Street and Washington Place in New York City.
| ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR INSTRUCTORS |
Abbott, Andrew. Methods of Discovery: Heuristics for the Social Sciences. (2004). New York: W.W. Norton.
Babbie, Earl. R. The Practice of Social Research, 11th ed. (2006). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing.
Becker, Howard. Writing for Social Scientists, 2nd ed. (2007). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Becker, Howard. Tricks of the Trade: How to Think About Your Research While You’re Doing It. (1998). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Borenstein, Michael, Larry V. Hedges, Julian P.T. Higgins, and Hannah R. Rothstein. (2009). Introduction to Meta-Analysis (Statistics in Practice) Hoboken: Wiley
Coulon, Alain. (1995). Ethnomethodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Creswell, John W. (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Denzin, Norman K., and Yvonna S. Lincoln (eds.). (2005). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Feagin, Joe R., Anthony M. Orum, and Gideon Sjoberg (eds.). (1991). A Case for the Case Study. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Knoke, David W. Bohrnstedt, and Alisa Potter Mee (2002). Statistics for Social Data Analysis, 4th ed. Belmont:Wadsworth Publishing
Kuhn, Thomas. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: The University of California Press.
Lewis-Beck, Michael S. (1995). Data Analysis: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Lieblich, Amia, and Ruthellen Josselson. (1994). Exploring Identity and Gender: The Narrative Study of Lives. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Lofland, John, and Lyn H. Lofland. (2005). Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis, 4th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing.
Office for National Statistics. (2009). Social Trends, 39th ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Sharrock, Wes. (2009). Ethnomethodology. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
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