Transcript Slide 1
Day 1: slides 2-14
Day 2: slides 15-19
Supplemental materials- group activity- each group
will get a hypothesis and have to design an
experiment to prove/disprove it. Each group will
present these to the class
Day 3: slides 20-28
Supplemental materials- worksheet identifying
variables and distinguishing types of observation
Supplemental materials- data analysis worksheet
Throughout: group project!
Know
the steps of the
research process
Understand all steps!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify problem/form
hypothesis
Gather data
Observe
-and/orExperiment -and/orSurvey
Research report
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify problem/form
hypothesis
Gather data
Observe
-and/orExperiment -and/orSurvey
Research report
Problem: can be almost anything
Ex: Increase gang violence, high crime rate,
teen pregnancy has skyrocketed; violence
has fallen, racism is lessening, etc
Hypotheses: Statement, not questions
EX: Poor People are more likely to become
criminals than rich people; People with
lower IQ’s are more likely to cheat on a test;
an Atheist is more likely to commit a crime,
than Christians
In Sociological Inquiry you
often look at your research
compared to past research,
studies, etc…
To understand your subject
use the library, internet, or
interviews to give you a basis
of understanding
In
answering your
hypothesis, you may use one
or all of the following steps: 3,
4, or 5.
Observation means people
watching
1.
2.
3.
Concealed participant
observation
Open participant
observation
Non-participant
observation
You
observe while incognito
EX: the movie “never been
kissed”
Wear a disguise or act like
someone else to obtain your
information
You are recognized and accepted
as an outsider
EX: You want to learn about an
African tribe.
You join the tribe and live
with them for an extended
period of time
You hide while observing
EX:
You want to know how a
person arrested for a crime acts
when interrogators leave the room
you look behind 1 way glass, you
hide a camera in the room, you
have a secret peephole, etc…
1st hand
account
Actions don’t
lie
Can’t be
everywhere at
once
May misinterpret
People may
behave differently
b/c they are being
observed
Identify which type of observation each
of the following examples represents:
1. You observe through a crack in a wall
2. You observe farmers while dressed up
like a chicken
3. You ask the elks lodge if you can
attend their meetings, but not join as a
member.
Just like a science experiment, this
uses 2 groups: control and
experimental
EX: Group A (experimental):
honor roll students
Group B (control): all high
school students of driving age
Compare each groups’ accident
reports
Experiments may consist of only 1 group
if there is a before and after element
EX: You get the reactions of people to a
scene that shows gender
discrimination, then show a movie on
it. Do the same experiment w/ the
same group and see if their reactions
change.
Independent (IV): what you are testing; the
variable that is being manipulated; answers
“what do I change?”
Dependent (DV): what changes as a result of
your IV; answers “what am I observing?”
If you take a daily vitamin, you will extend
your life expectancy
The more calories you consume, the more
weight you will gain.
If you have a child, you will receive less
sleep.
Not
always
possible
Can be done
or
humane
in your lab
People may behave
Easy to keep
differently
in
an
controls
experimental
setting,
constant
than in life
Easy to
Hard to get
monitor
volunteers
How might you run an
experiment for this hypothesis?
Drivers education makes young
drivers more safe on the road.
Identify the variable.
What would be your control(s)?
Samples a small group as
representatives of a large group
Usually anonymous questionnaires
used to get people’s opinion and/or
histories
Can be in the form of an interview
EX: Sample 10 Klingeman students
to see if she is an effective teacher.
Must be clear and unbiased
Good EX: Do you agree or
disagree with the War on
Terrorism?
Bad EX: Do you agree that the
War on Terrorism is a political
strategy used by the Republican
party to further their goals of
obtaining oil by ruling over
middle eastern countries?
Be polite and unbiased in your
introduction
Give a time frame (may I have 10
minutes of your time)
Ask the same question in a variety
of ways
OR- mail/email a survey (less
likely to get a response)
For more info see pp. 436-446 in
your text
Score surveys and record data in a graph or table
Decide whether results are causal or correlated
Causal-
the amt of food you eat
indicates how much you will weigh
Eating too much makes you gain
weight
Correlated- variables are connected,
but not necessarily causal
Many obese people have short
hair (your survey may show that
relationship, but obesity didn’t
cause short hair or vice versa)
+correlation: as one variable increase
the other will as well, as one variable
decrease the other will also
Survey shows the higher your IQ, the
better your grades are
-correlation: as one variable increases
the other decreases, as one variable
decreases, the other increases
Survey shows the higher your IQ, the
worse your grades are
Honesty (if
anonymous)
Less time
consuming
(minutes)
Easy to score
(unless openended)
Can
bore people
Illiteracy
Must be written
well
Some people will
not take it
seriously
This
is where you share your
research w/ others
It includes:
An account of the problem
A summary of previous
research you found (not in
your project report tho)
Your hypothesis
The research design (experiment,
survey, etc)
Data summarized in tables, graphs,
etc
Your analysis of the data (a
positive correlation exists between
McD’s and weight gain)
Your conclusions(ex: shucks,
eating McDonald’s 2X a day for a
year makes you fat)
Research
is central to the
field of Sociology
Although the topic may be
spurred by the researchers
interest in a certain field of
society, bias must be left out
of the process