Chapter 1: The Uses of Social Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES This chapter is designed to help students: • Recognize the advantages of knowledge based on research over knowledge from authorities and knowledge from personal inquiry. • Appreciate the importance of both care and community in science. • Distinguish between basic and applied research. • Learn about the four purposes of scientific research: exploration, description, explanation and evaluation. KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Applied Research (11) Authorities (4) Basic Research (11) Descriptive Study (14) Evaluation Research (16) Explanatory Research (15) Exploratory Research (13) Factually testable (9) Intersubjectivity (7) Objectivity (7) Personal Inquiry (5) Positivist View of Science (6) Post-Positivist View of Science (7) Premature Closure (6) Qualitative Data Analysis (14) Quantitative Data Analysis (15) Research Question (2) Scientific Method (6) Theory (10) Unit of Analysis (3)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. What is a research question? • A question about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through research. II. Research versus Other Ways of Knowing a. Knowledge from Authorities • Examples: Mom, Census Bureau, Social Institutions (Religion, School, Media) Problems: may be inappropriate, misleading and/or incorrect b. Knowledge from Personal Inquiry • Inquiry that employs the senses’ evidence for arriving at knowledge Problems: Overgeneralize from a limited number of cases Perceive Selectivity Premature Closure-tendency to stop searching once we think we have an answer c. Strengths of the Scientific Method . Positivist View of Science . Post-positivist view of Science . Objectivity- the ability to see the world as it really is. . Intersubjectivity-agreements about reality that result from comparing the observations of more than one observer. • The Promotion of Skepticism and Intersubjectivity • The Extensive Use of Communication • Testing Ideas Factually • The Use of Logic • Theoretical Explanation Theory-an explanation of how and why something is as it is
III. The Uses and Purpose of Social Research a. Uses of Social Research . Basic Research-designed to add to our knowledge about the social world . Applied Research-designed to have practical results and used in the immediate future b. Purpose of Social Research • Exploratory Research 1. Inductive research on a relatively unstudied topic in a new area 2. Qualitative data analysis • Descriptive Research 1. Research designed to describe groups, activities, situations, or events. Provides detailed and precise idea of the way things are, perhaps even how they have changed over time. 2. Quantitative data analysis • Explanatory Research 1. Research designed to explain why subjects vary in one way or another
IV. Evaluation Research a. Evaluation Research-research designed to assess the impacts of programs, policies, or legal changes.
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Bring in, or have students bring in, some articles from the newspaper about topics of interest to social science researchers. Discuss the sources of data and what these reports might mean to the public and to interest groups. Discuss why it is so difficult to get "final answers" on questions that are essentially tied to values, e.g. the death penalty, abortion and others. 2. Have students spend a few minutes writing about why many people spend a lot of time and money on consulting psychics and horoscopes. Why are so many individuals willing to trust the advice of sources, whose basis in evidence is somewhat suspect (from a scientific point of view)? 3. The media is another authoritative source from which we get information. Have students discuss sources of media, those of which are more trustable authoritative sources and those which may be more biased. Have students discuss ways in which the media may collect and present information in ways that may be biased. 4.
Create a survey with items that collects basic descriptive data about students as well responses to questions about political opinions and attitudes. Students should generate a code name for themselves. This survey should be collected and then distributed to students for analysis throughout the semester. (See Chapters 6, 9, and 15 in this manual for exercises that use information gathered in this survey). This survey should include different types of questions (closed-ended and open ended), with allowance for data analysis with nominal, ordinal and other levels of measurement. The instrument should include questions that are clearly worded, as well as those that are likely to be misunderstood by students.
5. Have students spend a class time in a student union, or place on campus heavily populated by students on campus. To demonstrate the example of knowledge by personal inquiry, have students do a one hour observational research of campus students. Students can be observing whether or not students are studying, socializing, attending or skipping class. Are certain types of students more likely to engage in certain types of activities? What do they conclude about the student body after these observations? How does this activity coincide with the example and issues that go along with knowledge by personal inquiry? 6. Have students discuss how they see themselves using social science research in their future careers.
Videos There are many films that can be used to begin a discussion of research methods in social science. 1. Research Methods for the Social Sciences This video provides an overview of the research process and the challenges of applying the scientific method in the social sciences. Advantages and disadvantages of using various methodologies are also discussed along with research ethics. Discussion questions: 1. What are the steps to the scientific method? 2. What ethical issues are discussed in the film? This film is commonly found in library catalogues. If your specific university library does not hold the title, request an interlibrary loan. You can also request the title from ProMedion productions. 2. Hitch This film provides an example of using knowledge from personal experience. You can show the film trailer to start a discussion about sources of knowledge. The trailer to film can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp--Un6fNro. Discussion questions: 1. Identify sources of knowledge. 2. What happens when personal experience challenges what is “agreed upon”?
Homework Assignments 1. In Exercise 1.1, Ways of Knowing about Social Behavior in the text, students are asked to compare different ways of knowing about the world. This could serve as a good introductory exercise where students compare their taken-for-granted views of the world with information gathered through data collection. Have students use authoritative sources for data sources, such as information found on the Census Website, or General Social Survey Website. 2. To spark student interest in social research, have students access the Sociological Tour of Cyberspace web site listed below. Ask students to investigate one of the links provided by Kearl and be prepared to discuss what the site holds in class. 3. Have students access social science journal articles, or you can provide students with a sample of articles for analysis. With each article have students identify whether the research question is exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory. Also have students identify whether or not the analysis is qualitative or quantitative. 4. Have students bring in two or three Census Reports they find and print out online. With the Census Reports have students identify the research question addressed, units of analysis, and any relevant findings. Do the findings coincide with any knowledge previously found by personal inquiry? 5. Have students complete exercise 1.3, but about a more relevant social science research question, such as crime or drug use. For crime, students can focus on their neighborhood, campus housing, or apartment complex as a place where crime occurs or does not occur. 6. Have students identify three social issues that they feel should addressed. Next, students should write a research question addressing each social issue. Have students identify the unit of analysis for each question.
Internet Resources http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/ A Sociological Tour of Cyberspace This site managed by Mike Kearl at Trinity University in Texas is a very comprehensive site for sociologists teaching a variety of courses. A good exercise for week one is to direct students to locate this site and identify areas of interest. There are links to resources for data analysis, methods and statistics, subject-based inquiries and other topics. Kearl also provides a guide to writing a research paper, resources for evaluating the credibility of resources on the web and ways for students to locate data to examine hypotheses. http://www.census.gov/ US Census Bureau website On the main front page students can access short fact sheets. Under people and households students can click on a more specific topic, such as households or poverty to get more specific short fact sheets. Also on the main page students can access the data finder where they can put in their specific county or city and get demographic specifics. These can be used as authoritative data sources for class discussion. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml American Fact Finder – US Census Bureau Students can use the website to locate community facts such as population and income. The fact sheets provide an example of authoritative data source for class discussion. Students can view their community fact sheet and then discuss if the information is what they thought they would find.
http://publicsociology.com/ Homepage for Public Sociology This website is a social reform movement to conduct a new type of sociology. When discussing basic research, applied research, and evaluation research, have students also look at a different type of research which is often debated and discussed; public research. Sociologists engaging in public research utilize sociology to express and demonstrate human rights through scholarship and sociological imagination. After looking at the website, what types of research questions and projects are public sociologists engaging in? How is it different than other types of sociological research?
Chapter 2: Theory and Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 2, students should be able to do the following: • Know what concepts, variables and hypotheses are. • Distinguish between independent and dependent variables. • Learn the criteria for demonstrating a causal relationship. • Identify antecedent, intervening and extraneous variables. • Understand the ways in which research informs theory, particularly: 1. To test theory, through a process of deduction and observation 2. To build theory, through a process of induction from observation
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Antecedent Variable (26) Concepts (20) Conceptualization (20) Condition of Empirical Association (27) Deductive Reasoning (31) Dependent Variable (23) Elimination of alternative explanations (27) Empirical Generalization (31) Extraneous Variable (28) Grounded Theory (32) Hypothesis (23) Independent Variable (23) Inductive Reasoning (32) Intervening Variable (28) Measurement (30) Spurious (27) Temporal Precedence or Time Order (27) Theory (20) Variable (21)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Concepts, Variables, and Hypotheses • Concepts - words or signs that refer to phenomena that share common characteristics • Conceptualization - the process of clarifying what we mean by a concept • Variable – a concept that varies o Dependent Variable – a variable that is affected by another variable o Independent Variable – a variable that affects another variable • Hypothesis – a testable statement about how two or more variables are expected to related to one another b. Social Science and Causality: A Word of Caution • How do we establish causality? o Causality is difficult to show . Antecedent Variable – a variable that comes before both an independent and dependent variable . Spurious – non-causal . Empirical Association . Temporal Precedence or Time Order - elimination of alternative explanations . Intervening Variable . Extraneous Variable II. The Relationship between Theory and Research a. Excerpt from “Moving On? Continuity and Change after Retirement” by Emily Stier Adler and Roger Clark. b. Excerpt from “The Terrible Towel and Fair-Weather Fans: Steelers Nation as a Quasi-Religion” by Marci D. Cottingham. c. Measurement- the process of devising strategies for classifying subjects by categories to represent variable concepts d. Deductive Reasoning- reasoning that moves from more general to less general statements e. Empirical Generalization- a statement that summarizes a set of individual observations f. Inductive Reasoning- reasoning that moves from less general to more general statements h. Grounded Theory- theory derived from data in the course of a study i. Wallace’s Cyclical Model of Science Theories - Theory testing or theory building?
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Have students respond in writing to this question to spur the "sociological imagination." a. "It is generally believed that Americans have more choices than ever in finding a partner. There is increased marriage along religious lines and well as across race and ethnicity. We are more mobile than previously and are taking a longer time to get married. Given these indicators that we seem to have more choice in our partners than ever, why is the divorce rate so high? Wouldn't it be logical to hypothesize that the greater the number of choices and the longer the time individuals have to select a partner, the higher the marital satisfaction and the lower the divorce rate?" 2. Have students think about how research might address his question. Also have them consider independent variables, dependent variables, and intervening variables. Would this be an example of inductive or deductive reasoning? 3. Exercise 2.1, Hypotheses and Variables, is designed to get students thinking about the relationships among independent and dependent variables and hypothesis making. Assign students this exercise as an in-class writing project. Allow time for class discussion and processing, making clear distinctions between these concepts. 4. Bring in or have students bring in some articles from the newspaper about topics of interest to sociologists. Compare journalistic coverage to social science research. Discuss the sources of data and what these findings might mean to the public and interest groups. Discuss why it is so difficult to get "final answers" on questions that are essentially tied to values, e.g. death penalty, abortion and others. 5. Exercise 2.2, The Relationship Between Theory and Research, is designed to help students recognize independent and dependent variables, hypotheses and theory as they are used in research. Sample articles from the journals selected can be placed on reserve so that students locate an article that they are able to read at this point in the semester. 6. Students require a lot of practice in identifying dependent and independent variables. Using excerpts from journal articles ask students to identify the dependent and independent variables in published research; below is an example. Have students work individually in identifying the dependent and independent variables. Give them a few minutes to do this. Next, ask them to pair up in groups of two and share their answers. Ask them to not only identify the Dependent Variable (DV) and the Independent Variable (IV), but explain to their partners how they reached their answers. Talking about how they are able to identify DV and IV is an extremely useful exercise for students. a. “The continuing absence of a father leads to low educational attainment among offspring in single-parent families. This view is derived from socialization theory which stresses the importance of male role model to the cognitive and emotional development of children.”
7. Have students identify the independent and dependent variables in the research questions they wrote in Homework Assignment 1.6. Videos 1. Social Theory and Methods This multi-section program addresses classical social theory, examining the origins of sociology through the efforts of Marx and Comte to build a holistic science of society; positivism, through a case study of students using surveys to do research on education; interpretivism, through a parallel case study in which students use interviews to carry out their research; and realism, comparing it to classical, positivist, and interpretivist approaches. The video also draws upon a case study of suicide to illustrate how positivist and interpretivist approaches lead researchers to ask very different questions about this key sociological topic. Viewable/printable educational resources are available online. This film is found at Films for the Humanities and Sciences at www.films.com. Discussion questions: 1. How is theory, classical and contemporary, used to guide sociological research questions? 2. Is research used to develop theory or test theory? 3. In the case of suicide, how did different theories lead to the development of different research questions? How might that happen in a different situation, such as crime or poverty?
2. Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning: Differences & Examples The video provides a comparison of inductive and deductive reasoning. The video includes examples of how each type of reasoning is applied. This video is found at Education Portal at http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/inductive-vsdeductive-reasoning-differences-examples.html#lesson Discussion questions: 1. What are the differences between inductive and deductive reasoning? 2. Provide an example of how you could use each type of reasoning in research.
Homework Assignments 1. To help students understand the differences between variables and categories, have them complete the following exercise. Below is a list of concepts. Some of these are variables and some categories. A) Identify which of these are variables and which are categories. B) For each of the above, make a complete set of variables and categories. Each set should have the name of ONE variable and AT LEAST two categories. • • • • • • • •
female age Asian academic major belief that if the federal government ends up with a surplus this year, the funds should be used to reduce the national debt occupation selected this college in order to live at home while going to school divorced
2. Now is when students can begin the process of writing and putting together research reports. At stage have students begin to identify a research question as well as a few hypotheses which stem from the research question. With these hypotheses have students identify independent and dependent variables and concepts being studied. For a more in-depth assignment have students also begin to conceptualize each variable. 3. For students putting together research reports, have students identify whether or not their research question is exploratory, explanatory, or descriptive. Explanatory and descriptive research questions are typically grounded in existing theory. Have students identify and describe the theory for which they are studying and how it led to their research question and hypotheses. 4. Have students answer the following question: Two variables that people in society commonly associate together are education and income, meaning that the more education you have, the more income you will make. Based on the conditions of causality, would you say that levels of education causes increases or decreases in income? Why or why not? 5. Consider the possible relationship between education and income. Write a research question, theoretical statement, and hypothesis using the concepts. Using your research question, theoretical statement, and hypothesis, how might the relationship be examined through 1) deductive and 2) inductive methods? 6. Variables can be measured different ways, and the importance of measurement will be discussed in subsequent chapters. To get students to begin to think about such issues, have students think about the different way each of these variables can be conceptualized and measured.
• • • •
Education Income Religion Attitude towards abortion
Internet Resources http://sda.berkeley.edu/ Survey Documentation and Analysis This site, maintained by the University of California-Berkeley's Computer-Assisted Survey Methods Program, provides access to the survey archives with data on crime, mental health, the General Social Survey (1972-1994) and other topics. Students can browse through codebooks; select variables of interest, and request cross tabulations and associated statistical analysis. Responses are provided immediately. Have students select two variables from one of the available databases, run a statistic and report on this in class. http://www.norc.org/GSS+Website/ Website for the General Social Survey This site introduces students to one of the largest surveys about demographic, behavior, and societal trends. Students can access the easy to understand codebook to see societal responses to a multitude of topics. Have students select a series of variables and then see how the GSS conceptualizes and measures these concepts. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=174508 The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Follow this link to download the full text of this famous article which argues that the legalization of abortion contributes to the great crime decline. Have students read the article and use this as a tool for a discussion on causality. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/dedind.php Research Methods Knowledge Base Follow this link and get a great diagram to help students further grasp the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning. Use the entire website as a course tool to supplement the text and course with additional descriptions of main concepts and diagrams to use in PowerPoint lectures. http://libguides.usc.edu/content.php?pid=83009&sid=618409 Theoretical Framework This University of Southern California website provides information on the importance of theory and strategies for developing an effective theoretical framework. Have students use this as a tool when completing homework assignments.
Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 3, students should be able to do the following: • Know the ethical responsibilities of researchers. • Gain a historical perspective on research ethics. • Learn about American Sociological Association’s guidelines for ethical research. • Identify ethical issues in research projects. • Understand how to protect participants from harm. • Define informed consent. • Differentiate between anonymity and confidentiality. • Understand researchers’ ethical responsibilities to colleagues, the community, and the public. • Know about potential conflicts between ethical principles and research interests. • Be aware of legal issues when doing research. • Identify responsibilities when publishing research.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Anonymity (55) Confidentiality (55) Ethical principles of research (38) Honest reporting (58) Informed consent (52) Informed consent form (52) Institutional Review Board (42) Passive consent (53) Protecting study participants from harm (49) Voluntary participation (52)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. The Responsibilities of Researchers II. Historical Perspective on Research Ethics • ASA Code of Ethics found at http://www.asanet.org (search for Code of Ethics in the search bar). • Nuremberg Trials and Tuskegee Experiments • Institutional Review Board • Focal Research • Ethical Concerns and Researcher Responsibilities in Studying Women with HIV/AIDS, by Desirée Ciambrone • Appendix A: Informed Consent III. Principles for Doing Ethical Research a. Principles Regarding Participants in Research . Protect Participants from Harm – Milgram Example . Voluntary Participation and Informed Consent . Anonymity and Confidentiality- Tearoom Trade Example b. Ethical Issues Concerning Colleagues, the Community and the General Public IV. Ethical Dilemmas During and After Data Collection a. Conflict Between Ethical Principles . Study of wife batterers – ethical responsibilities to subjects yet responsibility to larger society? b. Conflict Between Ethical Concerns and Legal Matters . Legal pressure to violate confidentiality c. Conflicts Between Ethical Principles and Research Interests . At what point should the researcher refrain from doing a study because of the Ethical problems? . Is deception ethically defensible? V. Ethics and Publishing Results a. Researchers face dilemmas when participants can be identified, despite pseudonyms. b. Published material can impact study participants. VI. Making Decisions: Maximize Benefits and Minimize Risk a. Use separate but interconnected criteria focusing on the ethics, practicality and methodological appropriateness of the proposed research b. Consequences of doing a give study as opposed to not doing a study
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Assign Exercise 3.2, Ethical Concerns: What Would You Do? and have students be prepared to discuss this assignment in class. These case studies present students with a variety of ethical challenges and prompt discussion of ethical dilemmas. 2. The book prepares students to write research proposals. Have students go through the process of writing a full research proposal. Have students discuss with peers their individual research questions and potential ethical issues that can arise when researching their research question. This can be a topic discussed in their individual proposals. 3. Another research study criticized for being unethical is the Stanford Prison Experiment. You can learn about the famous prison experiment at http://www.prisonexp.org/. Discuss with students the background of the experiment and have students discuss the ethical issues of the experiment. Would they continue with the experiment or stop the experiment, knowing the ethical issues? 4. Have some in class debates about common ethical dilemmas regarding sociological research. Pose a question to the class and have two sides debate on the advantages and disadvantages of issues like informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality. Some questions that could be raised for class discussion are: a. It is two months after a major Hurricane and you want to ask victims about their experience. What kinds of questions can you ask? Do you think IRB will approve your questions? What kinds of issues will you be dealing with regarding victim psychological wellness? b. You have spent a year doing field research on a group of five families. You have begun to notice a pattern of abuse in one of your families. Do you breach your promise of confidentiality? Do you abandon your research? c. You want to study a local cult. Do you tell them you are a researcher or do you join the cult? Which is more ethical? Which would give you the most accurate research? 5. For issues regarding discussion about ethical responsibility and ethical dilemmas (see in class assignment #4), have students print out the ASA code of ethics and refer to the code of ethics for guidance on their responsibility as a sociologist doing research. Then discuss how the ASA code of ethics either benefits research subjects or prohibits certain types of research from being accomplished. 6. Simulate the exercise as outlined in the article in Teaching Sociology. The article describes how you assign students as members of an IRB board and then evaluate potential research projects for approval. The article is brief and outlines various potential projects students can evaluate as a “mock” IRB. Here is the citation to the journal article that can be found on JSTOR. “Using a Mock Institutional Review Board to Teach Ethics in Sociological Research.” Stephen Sweet. Teaching Sociology, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan., 1999), pp. 55-59.
7. Have students further discuss the Milgram obedience study and propose changes to avoid the ethical criticisms discussed.
Videos 1. Stanford Prison Experiment –order online at http://www.prisonexp.org/ Documentary about the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. Discussion questions: 1. Did the researchers act unethically by allowing the experiment to continue even though participants could still leave at any time? 2. Even if participants sign informed consent forms, if they begin to get harmed or show signs of distress, physically or psychologically in an experiment (or interview), should the researchers intervene? 3. What would you do differently? 2. ABC News Primetime Basic Instincts 5: The Milgram Experiment Revisited – Amazon.com This ABC Primetime video update on the Milgram experiment also discusses and shows clips of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Discussion questions: 1. How did people’s responses change since the original Milgram experiment? 2. Are the ethical issues the same? 3. What ethical issues arise with the Stanford prison experiment? 3. Miss Evers’ Boys This is a movie released in 1997 portraying the events of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments. Discussion questions: 1. Who were the test subjects of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? What made them accessible test subjects at the time? 2. What is unethical about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? How did the outcome of this experiment shape the future of medical and social research? 4. U.S. Apologizes for Guatemala STD Experiments http://www.nbcnews.com/id/39456324/ns/health-sexual_health/t/us-apologizes-guatemala-stdexperiments/#.Uzmp5c6BVzo This NBC News video discusses the Guatemalan STD experiments conducted by the U.S. Government. Discussion questions: 1. How did the Guatemalan STD Experiment differ from the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment? 2. What ethical issues arise with this study?
Homework Assignments 1. In Exercise 3.3, Evaluating Ethics in Published Research, students review studies presented in the text and apply ethical principles to investigate tensions between research ethics and the investigator's interest in collecting data. Assign this exercise as homework and discuss this in class, as well. 2. Have students become IRB certified using a well-recommended IRB certification course. This serves as an excellent supplement to the material covered in Chapter 3, and helps students see the importance of IRB guidelines. Here are the instructions for a homework assignment on the importance of the IRB. As part of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, each researcher must be IRB certified. In order to do this you are able to take an on-line course which trains you in IRB requirements. Go to the following site. http://www.citiprogram.org/ I would like you to complete your IRB certification for Human Subjects Research (Social/Behavioral Research) on this site. There are tests at the end of each unit that you must take (very easy, but you do need to read through the material before you take the test) before you receive your certification. It is actually a very interesting course which supports much of what we have looked at concerning ethics and IRB protocols in Chapter 3. You will find much of it familiar, and you will also learn a great deal! Once you complete the course you will receive a certification. Print your certification and bring it along with you to class. Reflect upon the importance of ethical issues in human subject research and why these precautions are necessary in the scientific community. List at least 3 things you had not known about IRB requirements prior to becoming certified. 3. Have students write an informed consent form for their research proposal. If their research proposal includes a study of minors, then have them include a form for parents. If students are not writing full research proposals, present students with a generic research scenario, and have them write an informed consent form for participants who will be used in that research. 4. At the beginning of the semester you can assign a student, or groups of students, a classic book for each chapter. For this chapter, you can assign a student the Tea Room Trade. The student would be responsible for reading the book and giving a more in depth presentation of the text to the class. He/She could also identify the methods used, research questions, as well as core issues within this chapter: ethical issues, issues of informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality, and publication issues/dilemmas. 5. Have students read an additional article about ethics. The article is: Teixeira, S. M., Cameron, A. E. and Schulman, M. D. , 2007-08-11 "Research Ethics in Sociology: An Educational Module for Doctoral Students at Land-Grant Universities". It can currently be found online at: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p183084_index.html. You can then have students turn in a one page summary of the article or bring in the article for class discussion. This article is very current and provides additional information about sociologists doing ethical research. It is a good supplement to this chapter in the text. 6. Show the Stanford Prison Experiment video to the class. Have students respond to the
following questions: 1) Did the benefit to participants, and to science, outweigh the risks/consequences to the subjects? Why or why not?; 2) Do you think this was an ethical study?
Why or why not?; and 3) What changes (if any) would you make that would improve the protection of subjects while maintaining the quality of the science of the study? Internet Resources http://www.asanet.org/about/ethics.cfm ASA Code of Ethics This website allows you to look at the ASA Code of Ethics by Section or you can access a separate link to get a full text. Have students read the code of ethics and then summarize the code of ethics and summarize how they might deal with the code of ethics in a questionable research situation. www.prisonexp.org Official website for the Stanford Prison Experiment. Includes links to order documentary DVD, discussion questions, slide show, and website for Philip Zimbardo. If students watch the video in class, have students go online and answer discussion questions. Most Universities have their own website for their individual Institutional Review Board. Search online for your university’s IRB website and there you should find links to forms. Have students either fill out or review the form to go through an expedited and full review process. An example of a University’s IRB website with links to form resources can be found at: http://sites01.lsu.edu/wp/ored/institutional-reviewboard/consent-form-samples-and-helpful-links/ http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/ethics.php Ethics in Research This website can be used to reinforce ethic concepts and provide additional examples.
Chapter 4: Planning a Research Project CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 4, students should be able to do the following: • Develop the ability to create research questions. • Identify the sources of research questions. • Consider the relationship between values and science. • Understand the sources and impacts of research funding. • Learn to do a literature review. • Distinguish the parts of a research article. • Estimate feasibility (access, time, and costs) in planning a study.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Access (88) Feasibility (88) Hypothesis (70) Keywords (85) Literature Review (85) Research Costs (92) Research Question (70) Researchable Question (84) Time Expenditures (92)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Sources and Examples of Research Questions a. Research Question b. Hypothesis- a testable statement about how two or more variables are expected to be related to one another II. Focal Research a. Focal Research: “Career and Family: From College Expectations to Late-Thirties Outcomes” by Michele Hoffnung. III. The Impact of Values on Science • Values and Science o “Value Free?” o Science products are socially created (McCorkel and Myers 2003) IV. Personal Experiences a. Personal interests and experiences can influence the selection of a specific research topic or question. V. Research and the Social, Political, and Economic World • Change in society influences amount of research on topics o E.g., Gender, Sexual Orientation • Current events focus attention; e.g., tsunamis, hurricanes VI. Sources and Impacts of Research Funding • It is always difficult to raise money for social science research • Many research projects funded through private foundations, government agencies, local and state institutions, corporate sponsors • Funding since mid 20th century • NSF; NIH; National Institute of Aging; National Institute of Justice • Funding research expresses a value choice VII. Practical Matters a. Researchable question-a question that can be answered through research that is feasible. b. Reviewing the literature • The process of searching for, reading, summarizing, and synthesizing existing work on a topic or the resulting written summary of a search. o Parts of a Research Article • Academic Sources o Key Words • Using the Literature in a Study o Examine what previous researchers have used • Feasibility-Is it practical? c. Access • Will you be able to get access to this data? d. Time and Money . Time - Do you have time to do this research? . Money - Do you have the money to do this research?
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Students are often intimidated by the prospect of doing a term paper in a research methods class and often have trouble narrowing the focus of their investigations. Have the class brainstorm a number of broad topics and then break them down into small groups to narrow these a bit. In lieu of topics, have students create “researchable questions” and discuss these in class. If students are writing their own research proposals, have students brainstorm their proposals with peers to get feedback on their research questions. 2. A number of media-based efforts have been directed to anti-drug messages. Have students think about examining the impact of these messages on the targeted population. Have students discuss how we could measure this impact by developing a series of "researchable questions." 3. Students really do not grasp the entire research process until they see examples of it first-hand. If you are able, bring along 15-20 journals to class. Divide students into small groups of 1-2 students and ask them to skim through an issue. Have them find an article that is interesting to them and ask them to skim through the article, looking for the following: abstract, literature review, methods section. Once all the groups have finished this task, call everyone together having each group report back to the class what they have learned. They should be able to briefly describe the research project, identify a few key sources from the literature review, and discuss briefly how the research project was designed (which methods were used, were they qualitative or quantitative?) etc. This hands-on exercise helps students see what a final product looks like, and helps them get a better sense of the many steps in the research process. 4. Have students discuss groups that would be difficult to access. If you wanted to study those groups, how might you gain access? How have others gained access in the past? Specifically, one group that is surprisingly difficult to gain access to is children and youth. Have a class discussion on why it might be difficult to gain access to this group. Researchers typically have to go through schools to gain access to this group and have to get parental permission. How might this affect the outcome of research? Does this make the research more or less feasible? 5. Have students put together a grant proposal to the dean of students in order to research drinking on campus. In order to get the study approved, the students need to address all aspects of feasibility on their grant proposal. How are they going to gain access to gain access to the student body? How are they doing to complete their study in a timely fashion? Is this a practical study for their campus? In order to gain funds (the last aspect of feasibility) have students convince the dean of students of a realistic method to study this social problem.
6. Ask the Librarian to discuss library resources for conducting literature reviews including helpful tips for searching key words.
Videos 1. Frontline Video: Let’s Get Married. Found at www.pbs.com This is a Frontline video sponsored by PBS that focuses on the marriage movement. Many sociologists agree that the issue of marriage is a social problem in today’s society. Have students watch the video and answer the following questions: 1) What was the main research question which initiated the investigation about marriage? 2) What were the findings? What were the methods of investigation? 3) How did the researchers gain access to their investigation? Was this a feasible study? 2. When the Levee Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Documentary) Found at www.amazon.com This is a documentary by Spike Lee which highlights the inequalities which existed post hurricane Katrina. This is a long documentary; only parts of the documentary are necessary to be shown to highlight some key sociological points. Have students watch the documentary and discuss whether or not they think Spike Lee as a director had an impact on the research. Discussion questions: 1) Do you think that the demographic characteristics of the researchers can affect the access gained to the population of interest? How so? Did you think it had an impact in this case? 2) Although not implicitly stated, what was the research question guiding the documentary?
3. Literature Reviews: An Overview for Graduate Students Found at https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/lit-review/
Students can use this tutorial to learn more about conducting a literature review.
Homework Assignments 1. Have students complete Exercise 4.2, Starting a Literature Review, with a focus on locating one article to read critically. If students are having trouble locating appropriate articles, place one or two on reserve. Have students read article with a critical thinking perspective. Weast (1996) identifies several components of critical analysis including identifying the author's conclusions, examining the evidence offered to support these, identifying alternative explanations, identifying assumptions and others. This analysis should provide the basis for class discussion. The syllabus found in the Appendix provides a guideline for students to use in reviewing a sociological article. Titled "Critical Analysis of a Research Article," this can serve as a good handout and homework assignment for students. 2. For students writing their own research proposal, have students begin the process of doing a literature search for their research question. Students should bring in five or six articles related to their research topic that they are planning to use in their literature review. This is a good exercise to get students to think more broadly about their research question when searching for related academic articles. 3. Crime is an ongoing social issue consistently studied by sociologists. Have students come up with a research question to study crime in their local city. Is it feasible to study their question based on their population of interest? Have students look online to see if there is any data available to answer their research question. 4. Have students write a budget plan to a mock granting agency. Let students decide what type of research they plan to conduct, how much money they plan to spend, and what resources they think they will need to carry out their research agenda. Give them an example of what a budget looks like to get them started. 5. Have students complete Exercise 4.1. As they bring in their newspaper articles and assignments, set aside time to discuss their opinions on current social problems and how they would research these social problems in society.
6. Assign students a topic (two-career family, death penalty, legislation, or unemployment) and have them complete Exercise 4.3. Have students bring their written responses to class and set aside time to discuss their findings in groups of the same topics. They can compare how they narrowed the search and sites they found.
Internet Resources 1. Have students go the web site managed by the U.S. Census Bureau and access the page http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html. This site provides data on an array of information collected by the Census Bureau and displays by nation, state and county. Have students select their states of origin and analyze how they compare with comparable national data on educational level, poverty indicators, racial and ethnic composition, population growth and age of the population. Have them also select their counties of origin and compare these to state-level data on the same measures. They should print out the data sheets and prepare a brief analysis for the class. 2. Exercise 4.3, Using the Internet and the World Wide Web, provides students with practice in using online resources for research. After assigning this exercise, use this as a basis for class discussion pointing out the challenges in using the web and what sorts of information are actually available. In addition to documents, what else did students find and how does a researcher determine if the source of this information is credible? 3. Have students visit one of the most widely used websites for downloading crime date, the website for the national crime victimization surveys: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/NCVS/. Have students practice downloading actual data as well as reports using the data. Have students bring reports to class based on variables and concepts of interest. 4. Write-up http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/writeup.php This website provides helpful information for writing a research report.
Chapter 5: Sampling CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 5, students should be able to do the following: • Appreciate the reasons for sampling. • Understand the kinds of error associated with sampling. • Get a sense for the advantages and disadvantages of probability and nonprobability sampling. • Learn how to do five kinds of probability sampling. • Learn how to select four kinds of nonprobability samples. • Learn the importance of sampling in data collection and research design.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Biased Samples (100) Cluster Sampling (116) Convenience Sampling (119) Coverage Error (104) Element (98) Generalizability (100) Margin of Error (111) Multistage Sampling (116) Nonprobability Samples (99) Nonresponse Error (104) Parameter (104) Population (104) Probability Samples (99) Purposive Sampling (118) Quota Sampling (118) Random-Digit Dialing (105) Sample (98) Sampling (96) Sampling Distribution (109) Sampling Error (104) Sampling Frame (99) Sampling Variability (108) Simple Random Sample (109) Snowball Sampling (119) Statistic (104) Stratified Random Sampling (115) Systematic Sampling (114) Target Population (98)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Why Sample? . We sample to reduce costs . Elements and Sampling Units b. Sampling Frames, Probability vs. Nonprobability Samples . Target population . Sampling frame or study population . Nonprobability samples - not every member of the population has a chance of being studied . Probability sample - every element of the population has a chance of being included . Biased samples . The importance of generalizability II. Focal Research a. Calling Cell Phones in ’08 Pre-Election Polls by Scott Keeter, Michael Dimock, and Leah Christian. III. Sources of Error Associated with Sampling a. Errors in Sampling • Coverage Errors 1. Random-digit dialing • Nonresponse Errors • Sampling Error b. Sampling variability and simple random sampling . Sampling distribution . Margin of error IV. Types of Probability Sampling a. Simple Random Sampling b. Systematic Sampling c. Stratified Sampling d. Cluster Sampling e. Multistage Sampling V. Types of Nonprobability Sampling a. Purposive Sampling b. Quota Sampling c. Snowball Sampling d. Convenience Sampling VI. Choose a Sampling Technique a. Choice based on methodological, practical, theoretical, and ethical considerations. b. Do you need to generalize to a larger population? Are lists of the total population available?
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Gather 100 mints of two colors and the same size and bring these to class in a bag that does not reveal the color of the candy. Wrapped candies are the best. Arrange a "population" that consists of 70 white and 30 green mints. Let each student pick a 10 mint sample, record the outcome and then replace mints and pass the bag to other students. Draw a distribution on the board by recording from each student the number of green minutes in the sample. Have at least 15 students participate. Charting these responses will begin to mirror a standard distribution. This can be done again with a larger sample of 12 or 15 mints with a smaller number of students to illustrate that more generalizable samples are the result of the bigger samples. (Tip from Emily Adler.) 2. Have students think about the pros and cons of using residential phone listings to draw samples for research. Consider the benefits and disadvantages of this for doing research on voting and consumer tastes. Also discuss as a class the issue of cell phones versus decreasing land line usage and the implications for sampling. 3. The Birthday Paradox. The birthday paradox suggests that in a random gathering of 23 individuals, there is a fifty percent chance that at least 2 individuals will have the same birthday. Have students write their birth dates on the board by month and then find any exact matches. Discuss the implications of this and how probability theory can help us to make assessments of the population that we otherwise might be unable to make. 4. Eliminating bias in Purposive Samples. Have the class work in small groups for this exercise. As a researcher, you are interested in understanding the world of ‘singles’ in your community. There is no list or director of ‘singles,’ so you will need to determine where to find ‘typical’ or ‘representative’ singles using some type of criteria. Based on your judgment, what criteria would you use to find ‘singles’ in your community? [Possible answers: singles’ bars; colleges; apartment buildings; etc.] Once students have created their lists ask them to consider the following: In what way does your set of criteria create bias? Which groups might be overlooked using the criteria you created? [Possible omissions include: single adults in churches and synagogues; single adults who live with their parents, etc.] Bring the class together to discuss prejudices and notions researchers have and how this may slant/bias purposive samples. 5. Not all research scenarios will necessitate probability samples. Some situations will only be studied with non probability samples or maybe the entire population of interest. Go through the following situations and determine the correct sampling technique: a) homeless individuals in San Francisco b) GLBTA organization on a specific college campus c) Single parents in the United States d) immigrant workers
e) children who attend magnet schools
6. Assume that you are a family case worker in an agency that closed 750 cases last year. Your supervisor asks you to draw a random sample of 50 clients for a utilization chart review. Have students go to the following website http://www.randomizer.org/form.htm for a random number generator. Enter the highest and lowest numbers that will be in the sample (for example, 1 and 750). Then have students answer the following questions: 1) How do you go about selecting a sample of 50 using the random number generator?; 2) If you repeated the request on the random number generator, would you expect to get a list the second time that looked identical to the list you obtained the first time? Why or why not?; and 3) If you want to do a systematic random sample by taking the 5th client from the pool of 750, how many clients would be in your sample? Videos 1. American Experience: Kinsey. A PBS Home Video. This video explores the interviews Alfred Kinsey completed in the 1940s about sexual behavior. Video available for purchase at www.Amazon.com. Discussion questions: 1) What was Kinsey’s sampling frame? Was it a random or nonrandom sample? 2) Is Kinsey’s results generalizable to a broader population? Were they published as so? 2. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price This documentary focuses on the business practices of Wal-Mart and how they may contribute to our current social stratification system by posing barriers to upward mobility for its employees. This movie features interviews with local shop owners, Wal-Mart executives, and Wal-Mart employees. Video available for purchase at www.Amazon.com. Discussion questions: 1) What kind of sampling technique is used to obtain information for this documentary? 2) Why is a nonprobability sample more logical and feasible for this type of research question?
3. This video provides a summary and examples of purposive sampling. It may be helpful to show at the end of probability sampling, before transitioning to nonprobability sampling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh4zxC1OpiA
Homework Assignments 1. Have students complete Exercise 5.1, Practice Sampling Problems, which provides students with practical experiences in drawing small probability samples. Have students bring in this assignment and discuss these results in class. 2. Have students access sociological journal articles, or you can provide students with a sample of articles for analysis. With each article have students identify the sampling frame of the population under study. Once the sampling frame is identified, have students identify the sampling technique. Is this the best technique, or most logical technique for the study? Have students address for each article any sources of bias that was potentially created by the sampling technique. 3. Large scale data sets have extensive methodological documents which lay out the sampling techniques used for selecting participants for study. Some of these studies combine sampling techniques to maximize benefits of each technique to create a more complex sampling technique. To introduce students to this concept have students read exerts from some of these methodological documents and then summarize for their peers these new sampling techniques in a class presentation. For one example, the educational longitudinal survey is a stratified cluster sample. The basic tenets of the survey design can be found here: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ELS2002/surveydesign.asp. 4. Have students submit the section of their research proposal on sampling technique. Will they be using a probability or non probability sample? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their sample? Is it generalizable to a larger population? Is there any bias in the sample created? 5. Give students the following scenario: They are researchers who want to study adolescent deviant behavior, specifically how much teenagers engage in alcohol and drug use. Ethically, the only way to survey minors is to go through schools. Have students discuss how they can attack this research question with each sampling frame, both probability and non probability. For example, how might they go about obtaining a simple random sample, or a convenience sample? Once they have drawn up their sampling frames, have students discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the various sampling frames and which sampling frame they think is most ideal for this specific research question.
6. Have students identify the possible sampling problems with conducting surveys on the Internet. What are the possible problems concerning sampling frames, representativeness, and the like? What solutions do you recommend?
Internet Resources http://www.nationalcenter.org/NPA210.html The 2000 Census: Sampling or a Straight Count? In the 2000 census, some believed that sampling would provide a more accurate picture of the hard-tocount population that would a full enumeration that must be adjusted at each census for undercounting. This article argues for a full enumeration and outlines some of the major arguments against sampling in the census. http://www.lionhrtpub.com/orms/orms-2-99/census.html Should the Census use Sampling? Published by the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences, this article examines the appropriate uses of statistical sampling in the census and suggests the sources of opposition to the use of sampling. After reviewing these sites, students should answer these questions. 1) Why is it so difficult to get an accurate count of the population? 2) Why are the sources and characteristics of undercount important to understand? 3) Why is the way in which the Census Bureau attempts to measure the population controversial? http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/1/43 Have students access this website and read the research article which utilizes snowball sampling and then answer the following questions: 1) Was snowball sampling as a nonprobability sampling technique the most effective way to obtain results in this case? Why or why not? 2) Was there any bias in the study or was the study completely objective? 3) What are the limitations for using a nonprobability sample in terms of making conclusions about a population? How does it apply for this study? http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/sampling.php Sampling This website can be used to reinforce sampling concepts and provide additional examples.
Chapter 6: Measurement CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 6, students should be able to do the following: • Create measures for quantitative research. • Conceptualize variables. • Generate simple and composite measures. • Appreciate the importance of exhaustive and mutually exclusive categories. • Assess the reliability and validity of variables. • Identify nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio levels of measurement. • Plan a measurement strategy for visual analysis. • Comprehend basic principles of measurement in qualitative research.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Alternate-forms methods (139) Coding (135) Composite measures (129) Conceptual definition (126) Conceptualization (126) Concurrent criterion validity (140) Construct validity (140) Content validity (140) Dimensions (126) Exhaustive (136) Face validity (139) Index (128) Indicators (127) Internal consistency method (138) Interobserver reliability method (139) Interval level variables (148) Measure (124) Measurement (124) Measurement error (137) Multidimensionality (126) Mutually exclusive (137) Nominal level variables (147) Operationalization (127) Ordinal level variables (147) Predictive criterion validity (140) Qualitative research (124) Quantitative research (124) Ratio level variables (148) Reliability (137) Scale (129) Test-Retest Method (138) Validity (137) Visual analysis (134)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Measuring Variables a. Measurement-classifying units of analysis by categories to represent variable concepts. b. Understanding the differences between quantitative and qualitative research. II. Conceptualization a. Conceptualization is the process by clarifying what we mean by a concept. • Conceptual definition- a definition of a concept through other concepts. • Dimensions and multidimensionality • III. Operationalization a. Operationalization and Operational Definitions . Indicators b. An Example of Conceptualization and Operationalization . Life satisfaction among professional psychologists c. Composite Measures . Indexes and Scales d. Measurement in Visual Analysis and Qualitative Research . Coding e. Exhaustive and Mutually Exclusive Categories IV. Focal Research Excerpt a. ”How’s Life?” and Other Ways to Measure Happiness by Emily Stier Adler. . Using indexes and scales in research V. Quality of Measurement a. Checking reliability . Test-retest method . Internal Consistency Method . Interobserver Reliability Method . Alternate-forms methods b. Checking validity . Face validity . Content validity . Predictive criterion validity . Concurrent criterion validity . Construct validity VI. Focal Research Excerpt a. Measuring Suicide by Ian R.H. Rockett and Nestor D. Kapusta. . Strategies for checking reliability and validity VII. Level of Measurement a. Nominal Level Variables – describes a variable whose categories have names . Sex (Male, Female); Religion (Muslim, Christian) b. Ordinal Level Variables – describes a variable whose categories have names and can be rankordered in some way . Social class (upper, middle, lower)
c. Interval Level Variables – describes a variable whose categories have names, can be rank-ordered, and whose adjacent categories are a standard distance from another. . SAT scores d. Ratio Level Variables – describes a variable whose categories have names, can be rank-ordered, has a standard distance from another AND HAS AN ABSOLUTE ZERO . Weight, income, length – must have an absolute zero e. The Practical Significance of Level of Measurement . Given a choice, measure a variable in a higher level of measurement than a lower one.
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Give out a questionnaire and let the students take it before describing the specific measurement scheme it has. The life satisfaction scale in Chapter 6 is a good example of an instrument used for these purposes. This scale should be administered before students have read the chapter. Distribute the survey in class and have students complete it and rate themselves. Then after everyone has categorized himself or herself, class discussion should include development of the concept (and alternative ones), the operational definition (including indicators and alternatives), the index or scale (if any) and options for dividing into the concept into categories. Also ask students to consider the precision of the measurement scheme, along with the validity and reliability. You may also want to discuss any ethical or practical issues that are involved in the use of this instrument. 2. In the first chapter, it was suggested that a survey should be distributed to provide students with some data to work with. A sample of a survey like this is provided in the Appendix along with a sample coding sheet to develop a data matrix. In this exercise on measurement, students should be organized into 4-5 person working groups. The surveys should be distributed to class with each team given 4-5 surveys. If possible, team members should not be coding their own surveys. The assignment here is for students to identify levels of measurement used, and to review questions and responses to determine whether these items measure what they intended to. Have students identify items that are ambiguous and may not be valid measures of what the researcher wants to know. For example, the item "race/ethnicity" is an openended item. This may present difficulties in coding. The item "class rank" is also ambiguous. Item #4 asks students to rank from 1 to 4 factors that influence their selection of a partner for life. Some students may have ranked all responses a "1" for most important. What is the impact of this on measurement? Items 6 - 11 are statements where students have responded "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree" to items regarding individual right to privacy, the role of the state, decriminalization of drugs and other issues. Have students code these. If possible, it may be useful to have students think about constructing indexes here by combining scores on several items. For example, items 6, 9 and 10 relate to the privacy rights of individual. These could be combined into an index that is named by the students. Item 12 has students self-identify as conservative, moderate or liberal. Discuss the responses and determine how many students have a clear idea of what these terms mean. Finally, Item 13 asks students to respond to a statement that suggests that men and women are essentially and naturally different and that behaviors associated with men and women (competition, caring) are natural outgrowths of essential differences. Have students begin to think about coding a response like this. At the end of the exercise, students should hand in the codes they derived for the items along with definitions, and the coded sheets. These will be used again in later chapters.
3. It is very useful to have students practice operationalizing variables. STEP ONE: Divide the class into small groups of 2-3. Ask them to operationalize the variable worker morale. As the groups discuss this, walk around the room and prompt them with questions like, “What attributes will this variable need? High versus low? What would that look like?” Once students begin to discuss high versus low morale, ask them to provide attributes of high morale versus low morale [(High = cheerfulness, feeling of togetherness, willingness to endure hardship for greater good; Low = cynicism, gloominess, loneliness).] STEP TWO: Ask students to provide examples of high morale and low morale, e.g., “saying positive things about work, about co-workers, about workplace”, etc. STEP THREE: Have students develop survey questions which would measure the variable worker morale based on the operationalization they just created. STEP FOUR: Bring students back together as one group. Ask each group to share their responses and critique each others’ work. What are the similarities in the survey questions they created? Was it easy to operationalize a variable? How does this process help generate survey questions to measure a variable? Have students consider validity and reliability issues with the questions they generated. 4. Have students get in small groups and put together a small survey about a current social issue. The main purpose of this task is to get students to grasp the importance of coming up with questions that have categories which are both exhaustive and mutually exclusive. Once students come up with their survey, have groups take other groups surveys to see if their classmates’ questions were indeed exhaustive and mutually exclusive. 5. For the previous exercise, have students also identify the level of measurement for each question. Once this is accomplished have students discuss if this is the best way to measure or conceptualize each question. Discuss as a class the benefit or cost of measuring some questions at a lower or higher level of measurement. For example, what are the conceptual differences for measuring education in years of total education versus asking highest degree obtained?
6. Have students develop conceptual definitions and operational definitions for beauty, happiness, sadness, aggression, eating, smoking, sleeping, and crying. This could be done individually or in groups. Then have students share their definitions.
Videos 1. Have students watch this video clip from Alice in Wonderland on operational definitions. This is the scene where Alice meets Humpty Dumpty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlIj4Bw4vXg Discussion Questions: 1. What is an operational definition? 2. Why do researchers have to define concepts?
Homework Assignments 1. Students often complete questionnaires in popular magazines that measure compatibility, health habits, attitudes towards the opposite sex, and other topics. These responses are usually aggregated into a score and then responses are categorized. Have students locate one of these and bring it into class for discussion. Examine these for validity and reliability and talk about how the designer assembled a number of indicators into a composite measure. 2. For students writing research proposals, have students identify the main concepts that are being measured. How is the student going to conceptualize and operationalize each concept? Have the students write a survey for their research question which has questions from all levels of measurement plus questions that can be used for a scale or index. 3. Have students complete exercise 6.1, Putting Measurement to Work. Have students bring responses to class to compare and discuss with peers. 4. For students writing research proposals, have students describe how they are going to address both issues of reliability and validity. Are they using specific techniques to address these issues? Why is that technique the best one? 5. Give students the following scenario: You are developing a survey to distribute to students who attend high school. You want to gain an understanding of extracurricular involvement. Identify at least five questions that you might ask students in the survey that can be combined into a composite measure.
6. Give students a list of concepts to identify the highest level of measurement. Possible concepts: age, marital status, annual income, race, health status, years of education, hair color, letter grade on a paper, and number of points scored in a game.
Internet Resources 1. Measuring the extent of poverty is problematic. Have students think about how poverty could be measured and what indicators are associated with poverty. Identify some of these and discuss them in class. The University of Wisconsin's Institute for Research on Poverty provides information on how poverty is defined by the federal government for purposes of income assistance and other programs. http://www.irp.wisc.edu/ Institute for Research on Poverty: Frequently Asked Questions These pages are part of a larger comprehensive site on poverty explain how the government defines poverty and how it is measured. Other pages discuss shortcomings of this definition. Have students review these definitions and discuss these in class, paying special attention to the use and application of these definitions in public and political contexts. 2. Measurement http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/measure.php This website can be used to reinforce sampling concepts and provide additional examples.
Chapter 7: Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Case Study Designs CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 7, students should be able to do the following: • Understand study design. • Identify and compare cross-sectional panel, trend, cohort, and case study designs. • Recognize advantages and disadvantages of each experimental design. • Know the limitations of cross-sectional designs for testing causal hypotheses. • Design cross-sectional, panel, trend, cohort, and case studies for specific research purposes.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Case study (172) Causal hypothesis (154) Causal relationship (157) Cohort (171) Cohort study (171) Cross-sectional study (156) Internal validity (166) Longitudinal research (166) Panel attrition (168) Panel conditioning (169) Panel study (167) Requirements for supporting causality (158) Spurious relationship (158) Study design (154) Trend study (169)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Designing a Study a. Study Design . Results from several interconnected decisions about research strategies . Causal hypothesis b. Connections between Purposes of Research, Theory, and Study Design . Decisions are based partly on the uses or purposes of the research 1. Exploration, description, explanation, and evaluation II. Study Design Choices a. Cross-Sectional Study Design . Most frequently used design in social science research . Use one sample at a time b. Cross-Sectional Studies and Causal Relationships . Spurious relationship . Requirements for supporting causality c. Longitudinal Design: Panel, Trend, and Cohort Designs III. Focal Research and the Case Study a. Focal Research . Moving On? Continuity and Change after Retirement by Emily Stier Adler and Roger Clark . Case study 1. Purposively selects one or a few individuals, groups, organizations and analyzes the selected cases within their social context. 2. Disadvantage: limited generalizability
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Give students the following scenario to discuss the differences between cross sectional and panel studies. Your class wants to know which statistics class to take following this methods course. Half the class is going to complete a cross sectional design and ask a current group of statistics class in one survey about their experiences in their statistics class. The other half of the class is going to do a panel study. They will ask a current statistics class about their experiences at the start of the semester, half way through the semester, and then at the end of the semester. Which design study will yield the best results? Which would students feel the most comfortable taking information from? Why? 2. Discuss the advantages to conducting a case study over other types of longitudinal designs. Have students come up with research scenarios which are best suited for trend studies, panel studies, cohort studies, and case studies. 3. It is very difficult to establish causality because of the conditions that must be met. Discuss potential causal hypotheses and potential antecedent variables which could negate a causal relationship. Here are some examples: a. Hours studied causes higher GPA b. More education causes higher income c. Laziness causes unemployment d. Credit cards cause debt 4. Discuss the previous hypotheses in regards to time order. Can each one meet the condition of temporal precedence? Why or why not?
5. Have students evaluate and discuss whether the following statements fit the criteria for a causal relationship: 1) Going to college causes people to become smarter and 2) Old age causes hair to turn gray.
Videos 1. Waging a Living This film documents the lives of individuals in America and gives a vivid picture of the social class system at work. This film follows individuals over a period of time and shows students the benefit of doing longitudinal studies for getting the bigger picture of a social phenomenon over a cross-sectional design. This film can be found at www.amazon.com. Discussion questions: 1) Did the researchers pursue a cross-sectional study or a longitudinal study? 2) How was the story enriched by having multiple interviews with respondents? What does that say about longitudinal research designs?
2. The Position of Women in Urban Public Space in Rabat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMnHH2CuqBw This video uses a case study design to examine the position of women in urban public space in Rabat. Discussion questions: 1) Describe what was studied. 2) Write a research question that could be analyzed using the video.
Homework Assignments 1. Assign Exercise 7.1, Identifying Study Designs, as homework and discuss the articles the students located in class. This may be a good time as well for students to locate reports on research in the popular press. Articles can be discussed in class with particular attention paid to study design and methodology. 2. Give students the following scenario: Students are to design a study to track students after graduation. The sample of students to follow could be a random sample of students graduating in a particular year or a stratified sample, focusing on particular characteristics that are of interest to the researcher. Students could be tracked at several points after graduation, perhaps, at 3, 5 and 10 years. Have students discuss the difficulty of keeping track of students, the timing of follow-up surveys, and the possible cost of the research and so on. 3. Have students look up some classic surveys and identify their survey design. Students should look up the General Social Survey, National Survey of Family and Households, National Crime Victimization Survey, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Adolescent Health Survey, Educational Longitudinal Survey. Are these surveys cross sectional studies, trend studies, panel studies, cohort studies, longitudinal studies? Students will find that most of these are longitudinal. Have them discuss the benefit to having a longitudinal study. 4. Give students the following scenario: a. Students are asked by the dean of students to do an in-depth study of a campus organization focus on integrating international students to the college campus. What kind of study design is best for this research? The dean would like to know how international students are responding to the organization, how leaders in the organization are assisting new students, and activities that occur on a weekly basis. b. Have students discuss a potential research design for this study and the strengths and weaknesses for choosing this design. 5. Have students complete Exercise 7.3 which tackles the issue of internal validity in research. Have students bring in their responses and discuss the various ways students suggested the graduate student redesign her study.
6. Have students complete Exercise 7.2 by planning a case study of their town or city. Students should be prepared to discuss the exercise during class.
Internet Resources 1. http://www.sri.com/neils/ The National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study This ongoing study examines the impact of services to 3,300 children with disabilities or at risk for disabilities from the time they are three years till they reach their 7th birthday. The site features downloadable survey instruments, some administered every six months to family members, service providers, program directors and kindergarten teachers. The site also includes interim reports on the study’s findings. Students should be directed to this site with the assignment of reporting on the study’s design, the number of subjects in the study, the research questions addressed by the investigators, and the content of the instruments. 2. http://www.waisman.wisc.edu/cls/ This is the web site of the Chicago Longitudinal Study, research which examines a same-age cohort of 1,539 students in Chicago Public Schools who grew up in high poverty neighborhoods. The study began in 1986 and is ongoing. The site provides information on the community, the participants in the study, the measures and data collection used, reports that have been written to date, and a newsletter about the project. This is an excellent example of longitudinal research that will help students see the benefits of this type of methodology. Ask students to identify the key variables in the study, the research design, and goals of the project. Have them think about costs, richness of data and design issues this type of research might pose. Have students discuss their homework findings in small groups, and then bring everyone together for a large-group discussion to flesh out the key issues/potential problems, and success, with this type of research. 3. http://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/ This is the website for the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, a nationally representative longitudinal study of nearly 9,000 families. After accessing the website, have students answer the following questions: what is the sample design? What is the benefit of using a panel design for this study? What are the goals of this project? How is the longitudinal nature of this project beneficial for meeting the goals of the project? 4. https://www.census.gov/ U.S. Census Have students take a look at the Census website and discuss the time dimension involved. Ask students what study designs could be used with Census data. For example, a single U.S. Census would be a cross-sectional study. A trend study could compare multiple Censuses over a period of time. 5. http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/ This is the website for the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative longitudinal panel study that surveys more than 26,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. The full scope of the study is described in the publication Growing Older in America: The Health and Retirement Study http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/index.php?p=dbook
Chapter 8: Experimental Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 8, students should be able to do the following: • Review independent and dependent variables. • Reexamine criteria for demonstrating a causal relationship. • Appreciate the experiment as a study design for evaluating causal experiments. • Compare pretest-posttest and quasi-experimental designs. • Understand the differences between field and laboratory experiments. • Evaluate internal validity in experiments. • Understand the natural experiment. • Compare experiments to non-experiments.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Causal hypothesis (180) Dependent variable (180) Double-blind experiment (196) Experimental design (181) Experimenter expectations (196) Explanatory research (180) Field experiment (191) Generalizability (195) History (188) Independent variable (180) Internal validity (182) Laboratory research (195) Matching (184) Maturation (186) Natural experiment (196) Placebo (182) Posttest (183) Posttest-only control group experiment (188) Pretest (183) Pretest-posttest control group Experiment (182) Probability sampling (183) Quasi-experiment (190) Random assignment (183) Selection bias (186) Solomon four-group design (189) Stimulus (182) Testing effect (187)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Causal Hypotheses and Experimental Designs • Explanatory research begins with a causal hypothesis • Experimental design is a study in which the independent variable is controlled, manipulated, or introduced in some way by the researcher. a. The Experiment: Data Collection Technique or Study Design? • In an experiment, the independent variable is 1. Introduced, manipulated, or controlled by the researcher 2. Controlling the placement of sample members into two or more categories of the independent variable is a unique feature of the classic experimental design. II. Experimental Designs a. Internal Validity and Experiments • Stimulus • Placebo • Internal validity b. Pretest-Posttest Control Group Experiment • Most highly recommended of all experimental designs • Probability sampling-select two random samples from the population • Random assignment • Matching c. Advantages of Pretest-Posttest Experiments • Selection bias • Maturation • Testing effect d. Posttest-Only Control Group Experiment • An experimental design with no pretest e. Extended Experimental Design • Solomon four-group design f. Quasi-Experimental Design • An experimental design that is missing one or more aspects of a true experiment, most frequently random assignment. g. Experiments in the Field • An experiment done in the “real world” such as classrooms, offices, factories, homes, playgrounds. • Has better generalizability • Laboratory research h. Focal Research • Student Learning: A Field Experiment in the Classroom by Chris Caldeira i. Experiments in the Laboratory • Laboratory research • Experimenter expectations • Double-blind experiment - an experiment in which neither the subjects nor research staff who interact with them knows the memberships of the experimental or control groups. j. Natural Experiments . Natural experiments-a study using real world phenomena that approximates an experimental design even though the independent variable is not controlled.
III. Comparing Experiments to Other Designs a. It is WISE to consider other study designs . For descriptive and exploratory research purposes . When large samples are needed . In situations where it is not practical, possible or ethical to control or manipulate the independent variable. TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Discuss with students why the classic experimental design is the "gold standard" of research. 2. Arrange for the in-class viewing of Research Methods for the Social Sciences. This brief video discusses the use of experiments in social sciences and explains the management of control and experimental groups. 3. The film Obedience: The Milgram Experiment is an excellent tool to discuss both the Classic Experimental Design and ethics, so combining these two often elicits a wonderful class discussion. After the film has been shown, divide students into small groups to discuss the questions below: • • • • •
What do you think of the ethics of this experiment? The subject was lied to (deceived) about the purposes of the experiment. Some subjects experienced stress in the course of their participation. Do you think the ends (conducting this research and obtaining important findings) justified the means used by Milgram? Now think about the experimental design in the film. Identify the Dependent Variable (DV) and the Independent Variable (IV). How was the ‘stimulus’ administered? Discuss. Describe the maturation process in this experiment. Discuss the design features of this study. Would other types of experimental design be useful in this study?
4. Discuss why field experiments and natural experiments are more common in social science research. How are they more feasible for the types of questions that social science researchers ask? Discuss how the manipulation of other factors can cause a change of behavior or create unethical or impractical situations. 5. To continue the discussion about non-experimental study designs, have students get in groups and complete exercise 8.3. This will allow them to brainstorm about hypotheses and research questions best suited for the experimental method and how it would result in a complete study design. Once students have completed the exercise, have them compare their responses with other groups.
6. Discuss with students the ethical considerations in choosing an experimental design versus a quasiexperimental design.
Videos In addition to Research Methods for the Social Sciences and Obedience: The Milgram Experiment, here are three additional videos involving experiments: 1. Research Design: The Experiment This video defines experiments, how they are used, and the steps to designing an experiment for the social sciences. Discussion questions: 1) What case study was used to illustrate experimental research? 2) How can classic experimental methods be of value to social scientists? 2. The Research Process: Research Design This is actually a video PowerPoint which outlines the entire research process. It looks at topics such as research design types such as experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-experimental, cross-sectional, and combined designs. Discussion questions: 1) Is one research design better than another? Why or why not? 2) Why is it important to select the best research design for each research question?
3. The Marshmallow Test http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ&feature=related The marshmallow experiment examined delayed gratification among children. The experiment has been replicated a number of times. Have students watch the video and discuss it. Discussion questions: 1) What is the independent variable? 2) What is the purpose of the experiment?
Homework Assignments 1. Have students think about how the experimental method is the best way for establishing causality. Have them review the conditions for establishing causality and write an essay on how the experimental method can be used to address each of these issues. How can this method address these issues best over other types of methods discussed up to this point in class? 2. Have students’ complete exercise 8.1 about analyzing a classic sociological and/or psychological article using an experiment. You can assign half the class the psychological journal using a more classic pretest/post test experiment and half the class a sociological journal utilizing a natural or field experiment. The following day have students discuss the inherent differences in their findings. 3. In Exercise 8.2, Conducting a Quasi-Experiment, students conduct a field experiment on conversational icebreakers. This provides students with brief but important experiences conducting research in the real world. If this research is reviewed in the classroom, several issues should surface for discussion.
4. Many universities offer the opportunity for students to volunteer to be a part of a psychology or sociology experiment. If this opportunity exists for your university, present the opportunity to students to see if they would like the chance to be in an actual experiment. For students who choose to volunteer, have the student share their results with their classmates. Could they tell if they were in a pretest or posttest? Experimental or control group? What was the experiment about? 5. Internal validity has been an issue discussed in previous chapters. Have students go through each experimental design and address how each experimental design either is best suited for addressing issues of internal validity or brings upon issues of internal validity. Then have a discussion on how students can deal with some of these reoccurring issues.
6. Have students complete Exercise 8.3. If time allows, students can discuss their hypothesis in groups the following class period.
Internet Resources 1. http://www.experimentcentral.org Time-Sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences This is the site of TESS (Time-sharing Experiments for the Social Sciences) that “offers investigators from a wide array of disciplines an opportunity to test their experimental designs on large, diverse, randomly-selected subject populations.” Funded by the National Science Foundation, TESS gathers data via computer-assisted telephone interviewing and Internet-based interviewing. The site includes a list of publications by authors using the TESS technology. Have students look over the website and review two studies that have been accomplished using the experimental design. Have them bring their summaries of these studies to class for discussion. 2. http://nortonbooks.typepad.com/everydaysociology/2009/04/field-experiments-and-racism.html Everyday Sociology: Field Experiments and Racism This website discusses the logic of doing field experiments for answering sociological research questions. It shows clips from ABC News on field experiments that were accomplished to answer questions about racism. Have students read the short article, watch the videos, and comment on the validity and reliability of the field experiment. As the author of the article asked, can we establish causality? Additionally, can field experiments be used to answer other types of questions, such as things regarding religion? Have students comment. 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpQngP9HmKo Prince William Sound Field Experiment This video provides an example of conducting a field experiment. The researchers conducted experiments in the laboratory setting then conducted field experiments to compare the results and see how the models would react in “real-life”.
Chapter 9: Questionnaires and Structured Interviews CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 9, students should be able to do the following: • Gain knowledge of surveys and polls. • Appreciate the uses and limitations of questionnaires and structured interviews. • Learn the importance of respondent participation and response rates. • Understand the causes of nonresponse. • Evaluate the appropriateness of different types of questionnaires for specific projects. • Consider using new technologies for conducting surveys. • Learn about interviewing. • Appraise different ways of asking questions. • Construct appropriate, valid, and reliable questions.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Closed-ended question (227) Coding (228) Contingency questions (228) Cover letter (222) Group-administered questionnaire (219) Individually administered questionnaires (220) In-person interview (224) Internet survey (221) Interview schedule (223) Interviewer effect (224) Mailed questionnaire (220) Measurement error (215) Nonresponse errors (216) Open-ended questions (227) Pilot test (230) Questionnaire (204) Rapport (224) Respondents (205) Response rate (215) Screening question (229) Self-administered questionnaires (218) Self-report method (205) Structured Interview (204) Survey (204) Telephone interview (225) Vignettes (230)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Questionnaire-most widely used method of data collection • Also known as self report method b. Survey- most use large probability samples and cross-sectional study design c. Respondents- participants who complete the survey d. Answering questions in a survey is a social act • Influenced by the surrounding culture e. Focal Research • Environmentalism Among College Students: A Sociological Investigation by K. Brandon Lang and Christopher W. Podeschi
II. The Use of Questionnaires and Interviews a. Very common to use a self-report method to collect information about • Attitudes, beliefs, values, goals, expectations • Social characteristics, past experiences of individuals, information about organizations and institutions • Level of knowledge about a topic • Behavior b. Measurement error- the giving of inaccurate answers to questions • Respondent may want to present a good image III. Participant Involvement a. Response rate- the percentage of the sample that is contacted and, once contacted, agrees to participate • Varies greatly • In-person interviews tend to have the greatest response rate • Advance mailings have been used to combat decline in response rates b. Refusal rates have grown in past few decades c. Rise in Non-Contact Rate • Attributable to caller ID and growth in unassigned numbers d. Nonresponse errors- errors that result from difference between nonresponders and responders to a survey. e. Responders consider their time, risk of being asked to reveal embarrassing information IV. Self-Administered Questionnaires • Self-administered questionnaire- respondent completes by herself • Interview-a data collection method in which respondents answer questions asked by an interviewer. a. Group-administered questionnaires- administered to respondents in a group setting b. Mailed and individually administered questionnaires • Inexpensive, respondents may answer questions in privacy with few social pressures, no pressure to conform to the expectations of others c. Internet and web surveys • Inexpensive, good for large samples, and geographically dispersed samples d. Cover letters and follow-ups • Cover letter- introduction to project • Provides context and legitimacy of research
V. Interviews • Interview schedule- list of questions read to a respondent in a structured interview • Interviewer effect- the change in a respondent’s behavior or answers that is a result of being interviews by a specific interviewer a. In-person interviews • Rapport-a sense of interpersonal harmony, connection, or compatibility between an interviewer and a respondent. Benefit of in-person interview. b. Phone interviews • CATI- computer assisted telephone interviews • Phone interviews are especially useful for groups that feel they are too busy for in person interviews VI. Constructing Questions a. Types of questions • Open-ended questions • Closed-ended questions • Coding- the process of assigning data to categories • Screening questions- helps respondents feel that it is socially acceptable to say that they are unfamiliar with a topic • Contingency questions • Use vignettes- scenarios than can help contextualize questions b. How to ask questions • Pilot test- preliminary draft of questions that is tested before the actual data collection c. Guidelines for question wording • Question wording guideline 1. Avoid loaded words 2. Avoid ambiguous words 3. Don’t use double negative questions 4. Don’t use leading questions 5. Avoid threatening questions 6. Don’t use double-barreled or compound questions 7. Ask questions in the language of your respondents d. Response categories guidelines • Question order and context
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Have students break into small (3-4) person groups and develop four different ways to gain information about a number of items, including age, nationality/ethnicity, and annual income, as well as more abstract measures, such as friendliness, happiness, and optimism. Ask them to develop ten question items. Give the groups 10-15 minutes to work and then discuss their findings in the larger group. Pay attention to the wording of the questions that the groups have developed, identifying problems like double-barreled questions and ambiguous wording. 2. Have a class discussion about response rates. Each type of survey yields a unique issue regarding response rate. Discuss how the increase in cell phones over land lines creates a unique issue to garner respondents versus the issue of people ignoring “spam” or “junk mail” in mail surveys. How can researchers come up with new ways to get respondents? 3. After you have covered the material on contingency questions and their importance (pages 228-229) have students practice creating contingency questions on their own. Pair students in groups of two and have them construct contingency questions that draw out the following information: Congratulations, you and your classmate have been chosen as Survey Designers on a new research project. Given what you know about the importance of research design in eliciting high response rates, with your partner, construct a set of contingency questions for use in a self-administered questionnaire that would solicit the following information: a. Is the respondent employed? b. If unemployed is the respondent looking for work? c. If the unemployed respondent is not looking for work, is she or he retired, a student or a homemaker? d. If the respondent is looking for work, how long has she or he been looking? Once you have finished, exchange your set of contingency questions with the group next to you. Critique each other’s work. Did the other group create questions that worked with greater ease than your group’s questions? Why or why not? What suggestions did you make to the other group in creating survey contingency questions that would be better received by the respondent? Discuss any difficulties you had in creating contingency questions. Why are they so important? If the questionnaire is to be selfadministered, what do you need to do as survey designers to ensure you yield the most reliable and valid answers to the questions you construct? Share your answers to these questions with the entire class. Generally this exercise helps students see the incredible amount of detail involved in creating good survey instruments. Allow students time to discuss their question designs and problems, issues they had to address to create a strong survey instrument. 4. Have students get into groups and practice writing vignettes. To begin, have a short discussion about the importance of vignettes and why a vignette is more important. Give students a specific topic to write a vignette about. Example: “Write a vignette about Tom applying for a job” or “Frank not sending his school because the President is speaking to the children”. How might the vignette lead to a survey question is the key to this exercise. The vignette is to lead to objective non leading questions.
5. Have a class discussion about the issue of measurement error. How can interviewers know if respondents are telling the truth? Give the following scenarios and discuss which method of questionnaire would be the most appropriate in order to garner the highest response rate as well as most honest responses from respondents: 1. Marital satisfaction 2. Drug and alcohol use among adults and teenagers 3. Sexual activity 4. Marital infidelity 5. Use of online dating services
6. Give students a set of questions that do not adhere to the question guidelines detailed in the chapter. Have students identify which guideline(s) the question violates and correct the question wording. Videos 1. Kinsey – www.amazon.com This is another chapter in which Kinsey is an appropriate film to show. For this section focus on the following discussion questions. Discussion questions: 1. How is the questionnaire administered? 2. When asking respondents about controversial topics (such as sexual activity), what is the best way to administer a survey in order to elicit honest responses? 3. Do you think Kinsey had issues with measurement error? Why or why not? Would another survey method have been more appropriate? 2. Best Ways to Write Multiple Choice Questions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfOW8rufEes This video provides information about writing multiple questions for surveys and provides examples.
Homework Assignments 1. Have students complete exercise 9.1. Have students ask their classmates and complete the coding exercise at home. For a more in depth exercise, have students come up with their own questionnaire at home and distribute to classmates and then continue with practice on coding. Coming up with their own questions can further introduce them to the concepts of exclusivity and exhaustiveness. 2. Have students browse through magazines or the internet for a questionnaire or survey. What is the purpose of the survey? Have them analyze the questions. Are they open ended or closed ended? Are the questions well constructed? Who is the audience for the questionnaire? Can the results of the questionnaire be generalized to a broader population? Can the questionnaire be improved? How so? 3. For students writing research proposals, have them consider the option of using a questionnaire or survey. Which type of survey or questionnaire would be most important for their research question? What are the strengths and weaknesses for utilizing this method for this specific research question? 4. Have students write a cover letter for their research proposal. The cover letter should state the purpose of the project, state whether respondents will have anonymity or confidentiality, and have a space designated for informed consent. 5. Have students complete exercise 9.3. This will be a good and interesting exercise for students. If one student wants extra credit, have them code all responses for the class for the questions following the vignette to see if there is a general trend about family roles.
6. Have students complete exercise 9.4. If time allows, students can discuss the various variables during the next class period.
Internet Resources 1. Exercise 9.5 directs students to a number of websites where they can sign up to take web surveys, many of them for marketing purposes. One thing students will learn is the importance of screening questions, many students will find they are ineligible for many surveys once they get past the initial screening questions. 2. http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire This is a questionnaire where students can learn their learning style. In this exercise students can be the respondent. Have students fill out the questionnaire, get the immediate response, and come to class and share their results. Are students visual learners? Aural learners? This will help you as an instructor as well when you know how best your students learn.
3. http://www.cc.gatech.edu/classes/cs6751_97_winter/Topics/quest-design/ This is a good overview of questionnaire design and gives good examples of survey questions and examples. 4. http://www.socialpsychology.org/expts.htm#listings This website provides a list of online social psychology studies. Have students select two studies and evaluate the design and questions.
Chapter 10: Qualitative Interviewing CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 10, students should be able to do the following: • Understand the uses of qualitative interviews. • Identify the differences between qualitative and structured interviews. • Compare semi-structured, unstructured, and life story interviews. • Consider ways to use visual methods in interviewing. • Explain the uses of group interviews such as focus group interviews. • Learn about locating participants and encouraging participation. • Evaluate the impact on interviewing of race, gender, class, and other characteristics. • Begin analysis of qualitative interview data.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Focus group interview (259) Gatekeeper (263) Group interview (259) Informed consent form (265) Interviewer effect (269) Interview guide (255) Observational techniques (241) Photo elicitation (257) Photo-interviewing (258) Qualitative interview (240) Rapport (240) Semi-structured interview (255) Structured interview (240) Unstructured interview (256)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Qualitative Interviews a. Focal Research Managing Motherhood in Prison by Sandra Enos II. Variations in Qualitative Interviews a. Number and length of interviews . Can vary in how many times a person is interviewed and the length of time b. Degree of structure • Semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews 1. May be modified as appropriate for each participant 2. Interview guide . Conducting and transcribing interviews is a time and labor intensive task . Qualitative interviewing is expensive c. Interviews using visual methods d. Joint Interviewers . Use of more than one interviewer is fairly common e. Group and focus group interviews . Uses group interaction to obtain data . Focus groups designed for 3-12 participants III. Issues of Validity and Practicality a. Locating interviewees, presenting the project, and encouraging participation • Gatekeepers- those who control access to others • The more political or deviant one’s topic is, the more difficult to gain access IV. Planning the Interview a. Using consent forms • Informed consent b. Constructing an interview guide or schedule . Choice of specific questions is affected by the intended analysis c. Speaking the same language . Language issues- vernacular V. Conducting the Interview a. Where and how to interview . May be held in offices, interviewee’s homes . Verbal and nonverbal messages are important . Voice tone, inflection, phrasing of questions and body language b. Recording the interview . Invaluable . Probe . Impact of recording is hard to assess c. Being “real” in the interview . Real conversation . Acknowledging that at least some of what you hear is painful, difficult, or upsetting d. Interviewing across the great divides • Interviewer effect- the change in a respondent’s behavior or answers that is result of being interviewed by a specific interviewer
Match participants with interviewer if possible VI. After the Interview’s Over • Have ‘cool down’ questions so interview doesn’t end immediately • Leave something with participants (a list of organizations, etc) a. Analyzing interview data • Recording interviews transcribed 1. Time consuming • Four hours for one hour interview • Inductive analysis rather than deductive • Read with an open mind • Look for patterns in accounts
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Have students devise a brief interview schedule that they could use to examine student satisfaction with school. This should include some closed-ended items, but should consist mainly of semistructured items. Have students administer these to two other students in the class. Then have students report the results of their findings focusing on rapport, question selection and phrasing and data analysis. 2. Discuss with students how qualitative interviewing helps establish rapport with respondents. How does this rapport bring about increased validity when collecting data using this method? 3. The chapter talks about the use of visual aids when conducting interviews, such as drawings or photographs. Extend this idea to students and discuss how videos might aid interviews. How could videos aid in the interview process (think vignettes) or how can videos aid the recording process? What ethical concerns are there when you visually record an interview? What about video recording observations? 4. Give students the following research topics. When doing qualitative interviews, do students think its best to do group interviews, joint interviews, single person interviews? Have them describe the ideal interviewer based on who students anticipate the sample to be. a. Interviewing spouses of military soldiers about their opinions on war b. Interviewing couples of different class backgrounds about domestic abuse c. Interviewing college students about sexual deviance d. Interviewing a random sample about their opinions on gay marriage 5. Have a class discussion about rapport with the different types of qualitative interviews. Which type would be best for establishing rapport? What about interviewing individually versus groups/focus groups? Would knowing the members of the group matter? How does rapport increase the validity of the data collected?
6. Have students discuss ethics relative to qualitative interviewing.
Videos 1. Doing Sociological Research This video reviews issues of reliability, validity, and representativeness while looking at the topic of social interaction in schools. While looking at educational inequalities and social capital in education, the video shows how interviews can be used for sociological research as well as observational methods (an introduction to the next chapter). Discussion questions: 1. Was the data collected the best by using both observational methods and interviews? 2. What is the difference between reliability and validity? How can these be compromised in a qualitative survey? 2. Why Thee Wed? Gay Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage This video focuses on interviews with gay couples in British Columbia who share their views on marriage, religious and political opposition, child adoption, and love. This was filmed in British Columbia after the legalization of same sex unions so it should be a timely and interesting video about a controversial issue using the sociological method of qualitative interviewing to obtain data. Discussion questions: 1. How did qualitative interviewing help to gain additional context and motivations for those being interviewed? 2. Could another method been employed to convey the same meaning or to obtain the same information? If so, what? Both of these videos can be obtained at: Films for the Humanities and Sciences 200 American Metro Blvd, Suite 124 Hamilton, NJ 08619 800-257-5125 www.films.com
3. How to Do a Research Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9t-_hYjAKww&feature=youtu.be This video shows examples of conducting a good interview versus a bad interview. Students can discuss the differences.
Homework Assignments 1. Have students complete exercise 10.5, Photo-Interviewing. If students cannot find a friend with pets, have them use photos of siblings or roommates. Once students complete the assignment, have a class discussion on how the visual aid assisted in the interview process. 2. For students who developed a closed ended questionnaire for research proposals, have them extended or redevelop their questionnaire to now include open ended questions. Have students write a section of their proposal for this questionnaire which designates how questions can and will be modified based on the respondent during the qualitative interview. Have students then address how this type of questionnaire differs from the first questionnaire developed, specifically in terms of information that can be gathered, rapport, and techniques now available for analysis. 3. As an instructor, do a brief mock interview with another colleague about a topic of interest (crime, marriage, education). Put the clip on a CD or streaming audio clip that students can access on a course website. Have students transcribe the interview. What did they think about the process? What difficulties did they come across? Did every student come back with the same transcription? If time permits, you can then go over with students new processes (computer programs) that allow for qualitative analyses of transcriptions. 4. Have students come up with a research question and then a proposal for interviewing respondents in a single qualitative interview using a structured method, a semi structured method, and an unstructured method. What are the strengths and weaknesses for each? Also, have students address interviewing individually and in groups as well as focus groups. What are the strengths and weaknesses for group and focus group interviewing versus interviewing individually?
5. Have students complete Exercise 10.3. If time allows, students can discuss the advantages and disadvantages they identified during the next class period.
Internet Resources 1. http://www.socresonline.org.uk Sociological Research Online This journal provides easy access to research conducted by qualitative researchers. Issues covered here include those on methodology dealing with interview design, focus group methodologies, ethnomethodology, as well as articles that are the result of qualitative research. Have students access this site and download an article related to the issue of qualitative interviewing, or an article using the actual method. Students can then bring the various articles to class for discussion. 2. http://www.slais.ubc.ca/resources/research_methods/interviews.htm Quantitative and Qualitative Interviews This web is an interesting collection of resources for individuals interested in learning more about the dynamics and practice of interviewing. Topics include focus group management, opinion sampling, interviewer effects, telephone techniques, lowering nonresponse rates in phone interviews, and other issues.
3. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/intrview.php Interviews This website can be used to reinforce interview concepts and procedure.
Chapter 11: Observational Techniques CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 11, students should be able to do the following: • Distinguish observational methods from other sorts of data collection. • Appreciate the reasons for doing observations. • Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of different observer roles. • Prepare for doing an observational study. • Do a small-scale observational study. • Analyze data from an observational study. • Get a feel for the advantages and disadvantages of observational methods.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Account (297) Complete participant role (289) Complete observer role (289) Controlled observations (286) Demand characteristics (303) Gatekeeper (297) Grounded theory (302) Informants (300) Nonparticipant observation (278) Observational techniques (278) Observer-as-participant role (289) Participant-as-observer role (289) Participant observation (278) Purposive sampling (295) Theoretical saturation (295) Thick description (287) Thin description (287) Video ethnography (300) Visual sociology (299)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Observational techniques- methods of collecting data by observing people, most typically in their natural setting. b. Participant observation-observation performed by observers who take part in the activities by observe. c. Non-participant observation-observation made by an observer who remains aloof. II. Focal Research a. The Terrible Towel and Fair-Weather Fans: Steelers Nation as a Quasi-Religion by Marci D. Cottingham. III. Observational Techniques Defined a. Qualitative Methods and Field Research b. Controlled Observation- observation that involves clear decisions about what is to be observed. IV. Reasons for Doing Observations a. Useful when one wants to understand experience from the point of view of those who are living it or from the context in which it is lived. b. Thick description- Thin description c. Useful when observing quickly changing institutions V. Observer Roles a. Complete participant role b. Participant as observer role c. Observer as participant role d. Complete observer role . Suggests a continuum in the degree to which the researcher is open about her or his research purpose. VI. Getting Ready for Observation a. Design elements can frequently be worked out on an ad hoc basis . Theoretical saturation . Purposive sampling b. Gaining access and ethical concerns . Social skill and/or resources . Account . Gatekeepers c. Gathering the data . Informants VII. Analyzing the Data a. Grounded theory- theory derived from data in the course of a particular study b. Making comparisons, finding similarities and differences . Essential ingredient for making theoretical sense of observations VIII. Advantages and Disadvantages of Observational Techniques a. Advantages . Getting a handle on the relatively unknown . Obtaining an understanding of how others experience life . Studying behavior
. Inexpensive . Flexibility b. Disadvantages . Questions of generalizability arise . Demand characteristics- characteristics that the observed take on simply as a result of being observed . Extremely time consuming . Demanding and frustrating
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Organize a series of field trips for students, as suggested by Scarce (1997). Students should be acquainted with the purpose of the trip and with observational techniques, site entry, and ethical concerns in being in another's setting. Students should write a brief paper about the experience. A class discussion where different perspectives and observations emerge provides an optimal place to discuss the issues of observing in the field. 2. Sociological Research: Observation and interviewing on campus Break students into small groups (3 - 5 students). These teams will be doing fieldwork on campus that will take 25 - 30 minutes. The assignment to the students follows: Assignment: You have 25 - 30 minutes to learn as much as you can about the campus by observing interaction and talking with people you meet. You are assuming the role of a visitor to the campus, not a current student. Imagine that you have never been to the campus before and are interested in finding out additional information by visiting and spending time here. Here are some topics you will be investigating. If you would like to add questions, please do. Some of these can be answered via observation and others must be answered by asking questions. Teams must contact at least 10 individuals each. What is the student body like here? . Sex ratio? . Ethnic and racial diversity? . Age? . Commuter/ resident? How do I find my way on campus? . Where can I get a campus map? . Are there signs on campus? Is this a good place for me? . Is this a good place to come to school? . Will I fit in? . What are two good courses to take and what two professors are highly recommended? . How much does it cost to come here? . What are some of the reasons students come here to school? In your small group, you will organize these tasks and research strategies. Do not take these questions with you. You want to look at natural as possible and taking a notebook and making notes in front of your "informants" will compromise your position as a researcher. You should decide whether you
want to split your team into smaller units of two, perhaps assigning one person to ask questions and another to recall answers and later record them. Take five minutes to prepare. Remember as well that there will be other "researchers" in the area and take account of this. Mapping out a research strategy . Identify places on campus to gather this data. . Think about how you will record your findings . Think about gaining access . Think about the researcher role you will be adopting . **Remember, you are a newcomer to the campus. Leave all the knowledge you have about the setting behind After you have completed your fieldwork, return to class with your team and be prepared to discuss your methodology, your findings and your reactions to doing fieldwork in a familiar setting. Take five minutes to prepare your report. After the students have returned and are prepared to report on their experiences, discuss some of the issues and complications in doing this sort of research. Some of the points to address include: gaining access, presentation of self, engaging informants, developing rapport, findings and interpretation of these and the time and energy it takes to get familiar and comfortable with being a researcher. 3. Have a class discussion about the ethics of being a full participant. Should researchers disclose they are a researcher? How would that affect behavior? How would students feel if they were part of a student organization and they found out later on a member of their group was a researcher? How would things have changed if they knew from the beginning the research status of the member? 4. Have a class discussion about issues of validity that can occur in observational research. Students should come up with the main issue that issues of validity arise when the researcher becomes subjectively involved with those being observed. How can researchers aim to be more objective while researching? How does this differ between being a complete non participant versus a complete participant as well as the roles in between? 5. Have students bring in a photo of their family in which they grew up. Students can use these photos to describe to the class or in groups their family of origin. This is a good exercise in using visual sociology and interpreting visual sociology. As students are going through their stories, themes will emerge which will reinforce or not theories of concerted cultivation or accumulation of natural growth. How did students feel about the use of visual aids? Did it help in recalling past events? In order to reinforce a specific theory, it may help to have guided questions.
6. Select a film or television program to show during class. Have students complete Exercise 11.1 Observing Gestures in a Film or Television Program.
Videos 1. Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts from PBS Home Video This video focuses on observation of a school which opened in Manhattan after 9/11. This school caters to the creative and talented by offering classes in theater, musical performance, painting and other forms of expression, the HSCA opened its doors in 2003, in the notorious 'Gun Hill' district of the Bronx. This video is about two documentarians which traveled to the location and observed the school. The result - the PBS documentary Small Steps: Creating the High School for Contemporary Arts - observes students and faculty over the course of one year. The film places strongest emphasis on two young and gifted learners with great potential - Nnamdi Amenechi and Jamal McLelland - but also observes their parents and instructors, shedding a multifaceted light on the dreams, hopes, challenges and obstacles faced and countered by each of these individuals as the teens travel through the educational system. Discussion Questions: 1. There were multiple methods combined in this study to collect data. What were they? 2. Did participants know they were being observed in the video? Do you believe there was a Hawthorne effect? Why or why not? 2. Exploring Qualitative Methods This video looks at the issues relevant to collecting and utilizing qualitative data, such as participant interviews, case studies, and observational studies. This video also introduces content analysis and the correlation method which is typically employed to make qualitative data more meaningful. Discussion Questions: 1. When is the qualitative method most meaningful? 2. How is the analysis of qualitative data different than quantitative data? Find this video at: Films for the Humanities and Sciences 200 American Metro Blvd, Suite 124 Hamilton, NJ 08619 800-257-5126 www.films.com
3. "Methods in Context" Nikki Jones and Ethnography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R8xeTYH8lU A researcher describes their ethnography research project.
Homework Assignments 1. Have students watch a TV program that is in language they are not fluent in or ask them to watch a TV show with which they are unfamiliar with the volume turned down. Have them watch for 10-15 minutes and see what they can tell about the interaction simply by observing the setting, the clothing, facial expressions and body language. Ask to consider sociological concepts like deference and demeanor, level of relationship, role playing and others. This should be written up as field notes and handed in. 2. Have students visit web sites that focus on qualitative research and find an article that interests them. For example, a web site found at http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/ in the journal Qualitative Report, Duffy (1995) writes about observing classroom behavior and sense making in an article called "Sensemaking: A Collaborative Inquiry Approach to Doing Learning." (Once on the website, the students should choose the article index and go to Vol 2 Number 2 Oct 1995.) This piece provides an interesting jumping off point for students to think about observing behavior in a place that is very familiar to them. 3. Have students visit a toy store or a supercenter that sells toys and play the role of a nonparticipant observer to see parents play out gender roles in purchasing toys for children. Do parents or guardians buy gender specific toys for children? Does the layout for the store draw specific genders to a gender specific set of toys? Students can practice writing observation notes and then coding notes after the observation. 4. For students writing research reports, have students write about the possibility adding an observational method to their report. For some, observation may be the best method, for others, observation may be a method best added to triangulate methods. Students should write about these possibilities, their role as an observational researcher, their sample used, and if observational methods is not feasible, why. 5. Have students spend a minimum of 2 hours observing some group of people, a way of life, or situation that they would like to know more about. Have students answer the following questions: 1) What is your research question; 2) Identify your independent variable and dependent variable; 3) Who or what did you observe; 4) Where did you conduct your observations?; 5) What did you learn from your observations; and 6) What did you learn about yourself in this participant observation?
Internet Resources 1. Field Research for Boneheads: From Naïveté to Insight on the Green Tortoise By Timothy McGettigan, University of Southern Colorado http://theoryandscience.icaap.org/content/vol002.002/mcgettigan.html This interesting and easy to read article provides students with examples from Gold’s typology of field research and candid examples of the advantages and disadvantages of participant observation. Have students visit the site and read the article, asking them to reflect upon McGettigan’s research and the lessons he learned in the field. 2. Participant Observation and Informal Education http://www.infed.org/research/participant_observation.htm This website gives another good account of the summary of participant observation but also provides interesting examples of participant observation that have been accomplished to bring about a discussion of ethics. Have students read the website for review and then come to class prepared to discuss their thoughts and opinions about the examples given, especially “Cornerville”. Students should also think about their role and the writers claim that researchers are to choose between the subordinates’ and superiors’ perspectives and what that means for perceived neutrality and objectivity. 3. Unobtrusive Measures http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/unobtrus.php This website can be used to reinforce unobtrusive measure concepts and provide additional examples.
Chapter 12: Using Available Data CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 12, students should be able to do the following: • Understand what available data are. • Distinguish among secondary data, existing statistics, and other kinds of available data. • Identify major sources of secondary data and existing statistics. • Practice using secondary data and existing statistics. • Appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of using available data.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Accretion measures (325) Available data (310) Ecological fallacy (311) Erosion measures (326) Existing statistics (310) Personal records (326) Physical traces (325) Primary data (310) Secondary data (310) Unobtrusive measures (326)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Available Data a. Available data- data that are easily accessible to the researcher b. Existing statistics- summaries of data collected by large organizations c. Secondary data- research data that have been collected by someone else d. Primary data- data that the same researcher collects and uses e. Ecological fallacy- the fallacy of making inferences about certain types of individuals from information about groups that might not be exclusively composed of those individuals. II. Focal Research a. Comparing the Context of Immigrant Homicides in Miami: Haitians, Jamaicans and Mariels by Ramiro Martinez, Jr. and Matthew T. Lee III. Kinds of Available Data a. Secondary Data b. Existing Statistics c. Other kinds of available data . Physical traces . Erosion measures . Accretion measures . Unobtrusive measures . Personal Records IV. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Available Data a. Advantages • Available and Inexpensive Savings in time, money, and effort • Collection is unobtrusive b. Disadvantages . Never quite sure about its reliability . Underreporting . Ecological Fallacy
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Have students think about generating theories, hypotheses about smoking behavior, crime or other complex phenomena. Generate at least two theories that link behavior to structural, group and individual causes. Then devise a data analysis plan that would involve finding appropriate data to collect this information. Refer to the sites below or to those students can locate in the library. 2. Have students become familiar with navigating the Census Bureau http://www.census.gov. One of the most widely used sources of existing statistics. Have them go to the International Data Base page of the Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idbsum.html. On this site, students are able to access summary demographic data of most nations. Have them make comparisons between a developed country and a developing country. For example, have them scroll down the list of countries and select Norway. What are the key demographic variables that are good indicators of a healthy quality of life? Have them select life expectancy and infant mortality rate for Norway, and perhaps General Fertility Rate. Then have them go back to the country list and select Zambia, for example. What are the life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and General Fertility Rates for this country? Have them discuss the differences. Have them think about what a rate means, as opposed to a ratio. For example, a rate reflects the frequency of a demographic event. Therefore, the infant mortality rate of 4 for Norway means that there are 4 infant deaths per 1000 live births. Contrast with Zambia where there are 37 infant deaths per 1000 live births. When using aggregated data, students should be able to explain what the data are conveying and understand the differences between rates, ratios, proportions, and raw numbers. This exercise helps them become familiar with accessing aggregated data and explaining what the data mean. 3. Exercise 12.4 is one that can easily be completed in class and used as an interesting class discussion. If you do not have internet access in class, then download the pictures ahead of time and place them in a PowerPoint. 4. Have a class discussion about the difficulty of gaining information about past events, for example, asking respondents about past expenditures. What would the benefit be of using available data such as receipts? What about physical traces? Which would be the best and most valid way of obtaining this information? 5. Ecological fallacy can be a hard concept to grasp using only definitions. Download some summary information, for example, from the US Census quick facts and use that as an example to explain ecological fallacy. Then have a class discussion on how to avoid ecological fallacy when using available data.
6. Have students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using existing statistics.
Videos 1. Remote Control This video presents the findings of a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation called Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8-18 Year Olds and exposes the high levels of media consumption among today’s youths. Order at www.mediaed.org or call 1-800-897-0089 Discussion Questions: 1) What were the main findings of the study? 2) Based on what was presented in the video, do you think other researchers could do other studies from this same data set? What might be some other research questions? 2. Freakonomics with Levitt and Dubner This is the video which corresponds to the bestselling book about consumerism. Order this video at: Films for the Humanities & Sciences 200 American Metro Blvd, Suite 124 Hamilton, NJ 08619 1-800-257-5126 www.films.com Discussion Questions: 1) How did the authors gather their information? 2) Do you think the findings are valid? Why or why not?
3. Ecological Fallacy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mpi10MRhDU This video can be used to reinforce ecological fallacy concepts and provides examples.
Homework Assignments 1. Exercises 12.1 and 12.2 direct students to published material found in the Statistical Abstract and other printed sources as well as resources on the web. These can be assigned as homework assignments or in class if materials and computer resources are available. These exercises are designed both to acquaint students with available data and to engage them in the practice of answering research questions using this approach. 2. There are a number of on-line databases that can be accessed through the Internet. Listed below are some sites that connect students to these databases and other sources of information that can provide the basis for exercises in developing and testing hypotheses using available data. 3. Messages written on bathroom stalls are an example of an accretion measure. Have students spend a week collecting data from bathroom stalls and reporting results to the class. Is there a difference by gender? 4. Have students access the Census quick facts http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html for their hometown. Students should write a summary paragraph based on these quick facts about the basic demographics of their hometown. Is there something unique about their hometown that could generate an interesting research question, such as a high or low unemployment or divorce rate? 5. Have students research visual sources, such as online videos, TV commercials, and print advertisements to see if gender roles are still reinforced in advertisements. These can be products advertised towards children (toys), household items (cleaning items versus tools and yard work), or career oriented items (who should get the teaching degree versus law degree). Have them bring their results to class for discussion. 6. Have students complete Exercise 12.3. If time permits students can discuss their findings during the next class period.
Internet Resources 1. http://www.trinity.edu/~mkearl/data.html Social Science Data Resources This site is part of a larger site managed by Mike Kearl. This includes links to databases managed by the federal government, private organizations, foundations and other groups. There are links here that allow students to extract data and create tables from federal sources, to obtain the results of polling data that are often featured in the media, to connect with data that examines quality of life indicators in this country and internationally and other collections. Some electronic sites also provide tools to do data analysis on line. Some of the most accessible are listed below. Students could develop a series of hypotheses about the relationships between variables that appear in any of the databases featured in these sites or consider other relationships. These can then be tested using these databases. 2. http://srcweb.berkeley.edu Survey Documentation and Analysis This site, maintained by the University of California-Berkeley's Computer-Assisted Survey Methods Program, provides access to the survey archives with data on crime, mental health, the General Social Survey (1972-1994), and other topics. Students browse through codebooks, select variables of interest, and request cross-tabulations and associated statistical analysis. Responses are provided immediately. 3. http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs Statistical Resources on the Web Grace York of the University of Michigan Library manages this site that contains a broad range of statistical resources, including business and finance, health, housing, education, economic, political and sociological, as well. Sociology links include sources on adoption, child welfare, community well-being, aging and others. A nice feature is the concise description of what each linked site includes in their web pages. This is a good starting point for students who are looking for electronic sources of data for research projects. 4. http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp Institute for Research on Poverty This site is managed by the University of Wisconsin and includes reports by the Institute as well as links to a wide variety of other site managed by federal and state governments, as well as non-profit organizations and advocacy groups. 5. http://people-press.org The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press This site houses surveys, commentaries and data sets related to people’s attitudes toward the press, politics and public policy issues.
6. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/pom/pom_list.html Roper Center: Public Opinion Matters These sites each provide detailed analysis of public opinion. The Pew Center presents the results of its surveys and those conducted by other organizations with accompanying articles. The Roper Center provides polling results as well as on-line databases for further analysis of topics and research questions. 7. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html U.S. Census Bureau – State and County Quick Facts This site provides statistics about people, business, and geography at the state and county level.
Chapter 13: Content Analysis CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 13, students should be able to do the following: • Learn what content analysis is. • Get a sense of the range of materials that are appropriate for content analysis. • Prepare for doing quantitative and qualitative content analysis. • Appreciate visual analysis. • Do a small-scale content analysis. • Understand the advantages and disadvantages of content analysis.
KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Content Analysis (338) Qualitative Content Analysis (348) Quantitative Content Analysis (345) Units of Analysis (345) Unit of Observation (345) Visual Analysis (349)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Introduction a. Content analysis is a method of data collection in which some form of community is studied systematically. II. Focal Research a. Who Envisions the Distaff Side?: Female Visibility in Children’s Picture Books Over Time and by Authors’ Race, Ethnicity, Sexual Sympathies and Gender by Roger Clark, Julie Kessler, and Allyssa Coon III. Appropriate Topics for Content Analysis a. Examples • Notebooks of revolutionaries to gain insight into causes of French Revolution. • Analyzed newspaper stories to see how loyalty to the Pittsburg Steelers provided a way of structuring weddings and funerals in the Pittsburgh area. b. Materials Appropriate for Content Analysis • Suicide notes, magazines, textbooks, radio programs, personal ads, speeches, diaries, websites, email messages. c. Questions Asked by Content Analyzers • Who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect? IV. Quantitative Content Analysis a. Units of Analysis • Need to determine elements, the kinds of subjects to focus on • Units of analysis can be words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, themes, photographs, illustrations, chapters, books, characters, audiences, etc. • Units of observation- the units from which information is collected. V. Sampling a. Use conventional sampling techniques (simple, random, systematic, stratified, or cluster). VI. Creating Meaningful Variables a. Content analysis technique depends on researcher’s capacity to create and record meaningful variables for classifying units of analysis. VII. Qualitative Content Analysis Qualitative- content analysis designed for verbal analysis. VIII. Visual Analysis • A set of techniques used to analyze images. IX. Advantages and Disadvantages of Content Analysis a. Advantage • Cheap- little expenditure in terms of time, money, or person power • Coding- doesn’t need to be right the first time; return for coding schemes • Unobtrusive b. Disadvantage • May only be used with recorded communication (if no records, no luck) • Issues surrounding validity
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. In Exercise 13.3, The Utopianism of TV Commercials, students are directed to watch TV commercials targeted at audiences of adults and children. Here, they are to develop coding schemes to identify "utopianism" in these advertisements. This could be done effectively as an in-class exercise if students (and/or the instructor) are able to videotape these for review and presentation later in class. The class as a whole could review these segments, code them, investigate inter-coder reliability and discuss utopianism (or other concept) in advertising in adult versus child programming. You can also access many TV commercials on YouTube if you have internet access in class, or download the video and hyperlink the video to a PowerPoint. 2. As the instructor of the course, go the library and check out a series of textbooks on marriage and family dating from as far back as you can check out to today. As an in class assignment, have students look through the textbooks to see how the textbooks portray a significant aspect of marriage and family and how that has changed over time, such as cohabitation or the concept of dating and singlehood. Discuss findings as a class. 3. Exercise 13.5 can be completed as an in class exercise. You can find ads ahead of time or have students each bring in a few ads and complete the exercise as a group. You can also have students practice coding each ad for either male specific, female specific, or gender neutral. Students can code individually and then compare their answers with peers to see the importance of matching coding sheets with another researcher for errors or misreads. This can bring up important issues in content analysis when researchers may disagree on how to code an item as well. Discuss findings in the end. 4. Have students bring in their favorite children’s book from when they were growing up. Students can do an in class qualitative or quantitative content analysis of these books. How were gender roles portrayed in these books? Have these gender roles changed over time? 5. Have an ethical discussion about using personal documents in content analysis. What kinds of things should researchers be aware of when using diaries, letters, or even personal budget information? Informed consent and IRB is not addressed in this chapter, but at this point, do students agree or disagree that informed consent should be obtained when using personal documents? What about confidentiality?
6. Have students conduct a content analysis of gender stereotyping in commercials. Select a couple of commercials to show during class.
Videos 1. Have students do a content analysis of classic television shows to see if they can identify stereotypical gender roles that are portrayed through everyday television. Shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men, or Friends are good examples for this project. For a really good example, show the episode of Friends titled: “The One with the Male Nanny”. This is on Season 9 Episode 6. You can watch the episode on TV.com or rent the disc from blockbuster.com. Discussion questions: 1) How is identifying gender stereotypes in films an example of content analysis? 2) How did this episode reaffirm these traditional stereotypes? 2. Have students do a content analysis of a popular “children’s” movie to code acts of violence. An example might be a clip of Transformers or GI Joe. After showing a lengthy clip (maybe 30 or so minutes) have students compare their notes. First, students will need to decide what to code (language, levels of violence) and then after the clip, students can compare notes. After coding the film, do students believe that the violence in the film can have a negative impact on children?
3. Content Analysis of Super Bowl Ads https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p74NM1cWFV8
This video provides an example of conducting a content analysis of advertisements.
Homework Assignments 1. Exercise 13.4, Gender Among the Newberys: An Internet Exercise, in the text uses a web site managed by the American Library Association(ALA). This can be assigned as homework or completed during class time if there is access to computers. In this exercise, students complete a short content analysis of the titles of children's book that have won the Newbery award from the ALA. 2. Have students work individually in groups to do a content analysis of children’s movies that date from the 1960s to today. In their content analysis they should look at how children’s roles are portrayed. In past movies, are women portrayed as the “damsel in distress” and men as the “knight in shining armor”? Is that gender stereotype still prevalent in current movies advertised towards children? How and when did it change? 3. Is there a difference in news coverage? Have students watch news coverage on two major networks, CNN and Fox News to see if coverage differs on national events. Do students believe based on their content analysis of the media that media coverage is objective? What evidence have they found to support their findings? 4. Have students do a content analysis of personal ads. Students can choose to do a search of match.com where you can look at basic information on profiles for free, or look in newspapers. The purpose of this content analysis is to see if men and women differ in what they look for in a significant other. Does this differ also by age and education? Have students bring their findings to class. 5. Have students do a content analysis of commercials over a given week. They can focus on a number of issues. Does the media use sex to sell products to men? Are advertisements for products gender specific (is it only women being sold cleaning products)? What about toys for children? When are these commercials shown? With the large number of things that can be observed, notes from commercials to be used for a qualitative content analysis works best for this assignment.
6. Have students complete a content analysis of written online communication. During this age of increased internet communication and social networking, there is a great deal of communication that happens (and is documented) on-line. Using Facebook, Twitter, or other internet blog around a particular topic of interest, complete the following steps to conduct a content analysis. First, develop a research question. Identify your independent and dependent variables. Provide operational definitions for you variables. Identify your unit of analysis. Describe when you visited the site. Describe your findings.
Internet Resources There are a number of web sites that include transcripts of interviews. One site includes conversations from the WPA funded Federal Writers' Project (see below.) This site and a modified exercise below were suggested by Joan Ferrante (1997) Sociology.net: Sociology on the Internet. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Another site, established by PBS, features interviews with a number of people who are fascinated with Tibet, and the troubles of Tibet under Chinese rule. (See below.) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/wpaintro/wpahome.html Life History Manuscripts form the Folklore Project Featured here are actual transcripts of interviews with working people (e.g., fishermen, lace workers, laborers) done during the Great Depression. Students can view these interviews to investigate the values of documenting the lives of "average" individuals. Students could also be asked to think about coding these into meaningful categories. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/tibet Frontline: Dreams of Tibet Frontline is a documentary series that is on PBS. In this particular documentary, interviews of diverse people are examined. Complete transcripts of these interviews are included in this site. Have the students read these transcripts to determine whether these interviews were structured or unstructured and how the interviewers kept these conversations on track. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery This web page includes materials organized for a PBS series on Africans in America originally broadcast in October 1998. The site includes "materials gathered as part of the extensive scholarship, research, and production effort mounted for the series: documents, images, biographies, and commentaries." Students can be assigned to visit any one of the topics featured in the site to investigate the changing themes in the four major historical periods detailed in the series. The content of news accounts, the presentation of and construction of race, discussions about appropriate responses of the government or other themes can be explored by applying content analysis to primary documents found here. http://academic.csuohio.edu/kneuendorf/content/resources/TOC.htm Content Analysis Resources This website provides a content analysis on-line Guidebook written by Kimberley Neuendorf with stepby-step guidance through the content analysis process with excellent links to studies on gender portrayals, violence in the media, minority portrayals, and other sociological research using content analysis methods. http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=61 Content Analysis This website provides an introduction to content analysis, a research methodology that examines words or phrases within a wide range of texts.
Chapter 14: Applied Social Research CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 14, students should be able to do the following: • Distinguish between basic and applied research. • Learn about the history of and reasons for applied research. • Understand evaluation research as evidence-based research. • Appreciate the kinds of evaluation research, including outcome evaluation, cost-benefit analysis, and needs assessment. • See participatory action research as a new research paradigm. • Learn how to design traditional evaluation research and participatory action research. • Understand the nature of “real world” research. • Recognize the ability to use sociology to help solve social problems. KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Applied Research (360) Basic Research (360) Causal Hypotheses (372) Cost-Benefit Analysis (364) Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (364) Evaluation Research (361) Formative Analysis (370) Internal Validity (372) Needs Assessment (365) Outcome Evaluation (361) Participatory Action Research (374) Process Evaluation (371) Stakeholders (365)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Basic and Applied Research • Basic seeks to create new knowledge for the sake of that knowledge. • Applied research is intended to be useful in the immediate future and to suggest action or increase effectiveness in some areas. a. Social Problems and Social Solutions • Applied research attempts to answer questions about social problems. II. Evaluation Research • Evaluation research is specifically designed to assess the impact of a specific program, policy, or legal change. a. Outcome Evaluation • Designed to “sum up” the effects of a program, policy, or law in accomplishing the goal, or intent of the program. b. Cost-Benefit Analysis • Research that compares a program’s costs to its benefits • Cost-effective analysis- comparisons of a programs costs in delivering desired benefits based on the assumption that the outcome is deliverable. c. Needs Assessments and Other Kinds of Evaluations • Stakeholders- those involved in or affected by the program in some way • Needs assessment- an analysis of whether a problem exists, its severity, and an estimate of essential services. • Formative analysis- focused on the design or early implementation stages of a program or policy. d. Focal Research • A Needs Assessment of Incarcerated Women in Ecuador by Jill Harrison and Maureen Norton-Hawk. e. Designing Evaluation Research • Casual hypothesis • Internal validity III. Participatory Action Research a. Explicit Goals • Research done by community members and researchers working as co participants, mostly typically within a social justice framework to empower people and improve their lives. b. Participation and the Researcher’s Role • Done with the community and not TO the community. V. Final Considerations a. A Middle Ground • No need to choose between more conventional and more activist kinds of work- a middle ground can be achieved. • Work with community organization and share responsibilities. b. Politics and Applied Research • All research is political • Affected by funding agencies, program stakeholders, societal values, and priorities. c. Beyond our Control • Evaluators aren’t always welcome d. Having an Impact
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Participatory action researchers usually see the impact of their work
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Have students complete Exercise 14.1, Designing Evaluation Research, and discuss this in class. The questions outlined in this exercise address the chief concerns in evaluation research. It should be pointed out here as well that the researcher is interested in the question being raised and that the research is not being initiated because outside parties have surfaced the research questions. 2. Discuss in class the uniqueness of Applied Research. What kinds of jobs are available to those who pursue Applied Research? How is Applied Research different than other kinds of research discussed in previous chapters? 3. The Stop and Think Question on page 361 would serve as an interesting class discussion. It asks: What do you think are the most serious social problems that we face as a society today? Unemployment? Violence in our schools and communities? Access to health care? Poverty? Racism? AIDS? Obesity? Teenage pregnancy? Homelessness? Drug and alcohol abuse? Are you aware of programs nationally or in your state or local community designed to work toward solving any of these problems? If you are familiar with a program, do you think it is effective? Are those who are served by such programs involved in deciding if they are useful? Discuss with students this topic and the programs geared towards these issues. Some of these social programs have been a long term social issue. Does this mean programs are ineffective? Why or why not? 4. In describing the differences for basic and applied research, Adler and Clark classify basic research as creating new knowledge for the sake of that knowledge. Discuss for a class what that means. When comparing basic research to applied research which seeks to solve social problems, does this mean basic research doesn’t solve social problems? Why or why not? 5. There are many different types of outcome evaluations. Some are best used in the early stages of implementation. Other types of outcome evaluations are better used in later stages in the program. As a class, develop a new program to solve a social problem. For example, this program can be used to solve the social problem of teenage drug and alcohol use. This program will need to be evaluated at different stages. As a class, determine which outcome evaluation will be best for the different stages of the program. The program may not need all types of outcome evaluations, but this exercise is useful for students to distinguish between the different types of outcome evaluations and their usefulness for a specific program.
6. Have students discuss the Stop and Think Question on page 371. The traditional experimental design is possible only when participants can be assigned to experimental and control groups. Can you think of evaluation research situations where a researcher either couldn’t or wouldn’t want to put people into a control group?
Videos 1. Changing Men: Unlearning the Behaviors of Domestic Violence This video is about a program that was developed by David Nugent to help men who struggle with being abusers. Does their commitment to the group help them change their behavior and then save their marriage? Discussion questions: 1. What is the program discussed? 2. Based on the video, is it an effective program? What do you think should be modified or changed about the program in order for it to be more effective? 2. The Stockholm Solution: New Therapies for Eating Disorders This video is about a specific institute aimed towards treating eating disorders; it boasts a 75% success rate. This video goes into detail about the specifics of the program and how it treats patients. Discussion questions: 1. What about this program makes it successful? 2. If you were a program evaluator, what would you suggest to increase the success rate even further? These films can be ordered at www.films.com. 3. In Brief: Early Childhood Program Effectiveness
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/multimedia/videos/inbrief_series/inbrief _program_effectiveness/ This video outlines basic concepts from program evaluation research regarding early childhood program effectiveness. Discussion questions: 1. How can evaluation research inform practice? 2. What effective strategies were discussed in the video?
Homework Assignments 1. Have students complete exercise 14.4. In this exercise, students are directed to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website which has a large database of programs and their subsequent evaluations. Students will choose two programs and will summarize their program evaluations. 2. DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a popular program that most students participated in if they attended a public elementary or secondary school. Have students attend the DARE website (www.dare.com). At the website students can search for resources/evaluations and see articles which summarize the program evaluation of the program as well as articles which have cited the effectiveness of the program. With these resources, have students do a program analysis of the DARE program. Students may wish to add their own experiences in the program if they were participants; this may aid for an interesting class discussion. 3. Have students’ complete exercise 14.3. You can choose the aspect of the course or students can evaluate the course as a whole. This exercise benefits the student, in terms of practicing program evaluation, but it also serves as a good course evaluation as well. 4. Have students pick a social problem and research the programs geared towards solving this social issue. For example, a student may choose teenage pregnancy and research Planned Parenthood. Another student may choose domestic abuse and research a specific shelter. Are these programs effective? What is effective about them? What should be changed? Have students bring their results to class. 5. Have students answer the following question: If you were doing a needs assessment after Hurricane Katrina, what would you recommend be rebuilt first? Why? Which areas serve the highest needs for the city? Which would you recommend be rebuilt last? Why? 6. Have students complete Exercise 14.2 Participatory Action Research. In this exercise, students visit a community organization.
Internet Resources 1. There are a number of organizations devoted to the practice of evaluation research. One of these has issued Guiding Principles for Evaluators. Have students obtain a copy of these guidelines from the web site and be prepared to discuss these in class, paying special attention to the issues related to the competing interests of groups interested in evaluation results. http://www.eval.org Guiding Principles for Evaluators The site, sponsored by the American Evaluation Association, provides general resources for individuals involved in evaluation and applied research. 3. Have students visit the National Criminal Justice Reference Service website (https://www.ncjrs.gov/) to examine how researchers attempt to determine if criminal justice programs, like Scared Straight, gun buybacks, and others are effective in reducing crime. Have students review the research brief and prepare a short report on their analysis. Reports available at this site are especially interesting. A Research in Brief in the right hand corner, "Preventing Crime: What Works, What Doesn't, What's Promising, summarizes the work of this research which was mandated by Congress. In examining research in the field, the researchers devised the Maryland Scale of Scientific Methods, which classifies evaluation research by rigor of design and threats to internal validity. Because the researchers are interested in the impact of criminal justice programs on recidivism, they identify programs that appear promising, those that work and those that do not appear effective. 4. http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arhome.html Action Research Resources Bob Dick at the University of Southern Cross in Australia manages this site. There are many links here to other sites involved in action research worldwide. This is also the site of an on-line refereed journal called Action Research International. 5. http://www.stsci.edu/resources/ Space Telescope Science Institute This site sponsored by the Space Telescope Science Institute features an Evaluation Plan Checklist in the resource link, which is generic enough for social science applications. This checklist can serve as a good adjunct to reading the chapter. 6. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/evaluation.php Evaluation Research This website can be used to reinforce evaluation research concepts and provide additional examples.
Chapter 15: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis CHAPTER OBJECTIVES After reading Chapter 15, students should be able to do the following: • Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data analysis. • Do elementary quantitative analyses , including a. Calculating means, medians, modes, ranges, and standard deviations of individual variables. b. Constructing crosstabulations and appreciating other kinds of bivariate analyses. c. Understanding the elaborations of crosstabulations. • Appreciate the difference between social anthropological and interpretivist approaches to qualitative data analysis. • Get a feel for the steps involved in qualitative data analysis, including a. Transcribing data b. Coding data c. Data displaying d. Drawing conclusions KEY TERMS – (page references from text in parentheses) Anticipatory Data Reduction (425) Bivariate Analyses (391) Coding (390) Control Variable (411) Crosstabulation (402) Data Display (432) Data Reduction (426) Descriptive Statistics (391) Elaboration (410) Explanation (414) Frequency Distribution (395) Inferential Statistics (391) Interpretation (416) Mean (392) Measures of Association (405) Measures of Correlation (406) Measures of Dispersion (399) Median (392) Memos (429) Mode (392) Multivariate Analyses (391) Normal Distribution (400) Partial Relationship (413) Range (398) Replication (416) Qualitative Data Analysis (418) Quantitative Data Analysis (389) Skewed Variable (395) Specification (414) Standard Deviation (399) Univariate Analyses (391)
CHAPTER OUTLINE I. Quantitative or Qualitative? a. An Overview of Quantitative Data Analysis b. An Overview of Qualitative Data Analysis II. Quantitative Data Analysis a. Sources of Data for Quantitative Analysis • Coding- the process in which raw data are given a standardized form b. Elementary Quantitative Analysis 1. Descriptive Statistics 2. Inferential Statistics 3. Univariate Analyses 4. Bivariate Analyses 5. Multivariate Analyses III. Univariate Analyses a. Measures of Central Tendency • Mode • Median • Mean b. Variation • Frequency Distribution • Skewed Variable c. Measures of Dispersion or Variation for Interval Scale Variables • Measures of Dispersion • Range • Standard Deviation • Normal Distribution IV. Bivariate Analyses • Crosstabulation a. Measures of Association b. Measures of Correlation c. Inferential Statistics V. Multivariate Analysis and the Elaboration Model • Elaboration • Partial relationship • Explanation • Specification • Replication • Interpretation VI. Qualitative Data Analysis VII. Social Anthropological versus Interpretivist Approaches • Social anthropological perspective believes that behavioral regularities exist.
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Interpretivists believe that actors, including researchers themselves, are forever interpreting situations.
VIII. Does Qualitative Data Analysis Emerge from or Generate the Data Collected? • Analysis is conceived as an emergent project. IX. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Qualitative Data Analysis Revisited • Strength- to yield insights into longer term dynamics of behavior • Generalizability X. Are there Predictable Steps in Qualitative Data Analysis? XI. Data Collection and Transcription • Field notes • Software packages designed to facilitate the processing qualitative data • Anticipatory data reduction XII. Data reduction • The various ways in which a researcher orders collected and transcribed data. XIII. Coding a. Types of Coding • Descriptive coding • Analytic coding • Focused coding b. Memoing- extended notes XIV. Data Displays • Visual images that summarize information. XV. Conclusion Drawing and Verification a. Pre-report writing b. Qualitative report writing • Consider audiences
TEACHING TIPS In Class Assignments 1. Exercise 15.2, Interpreting a Bivariate Analysis, can be used effectively as an in-class exercise to help students understand how cross tabulations are constructed. This exercise can also be modified by substituting another variable in the data set. 2. Redistribute the surveys and coding sheets used in Chapter 1, 6 and 9. Break the class into 4-5 personworking groups and have them complete coding sheets that include the complete set of data for each team. This will require passing around coding sheets so that each group have a master sheet(s) of all the cases. This will provide data for analysis. Univariate analysis. Have students calculate the frequency distribution, mean, median, modal age and age range of the class. Bivariate analysis. Have students generate a cross tabulation to investigate whether gender affects the factor that is most important in male selection. Because there are four possible responses on the dependent variable, students are challenged to figure out how to handle this data. Have students generate a second table that is of interest to them. Multivariate analysis. Have students code the open-ended question on gender ideology as a class. Attempt to classify responses into 3 - 4 categories. Then, have students code responses and develop a series of tables that investigate factors that are related to gender ideology. Examine gender first and then follow with other variables, like race, age, and class rank. Have students determine what other factors could explain differences in gender ideology besides the ones included in the survey, e.g. marital status, religion, parents' gender ideology and others. 3. Find examples of field notes or other texts that can be coded in class. These might be autobiographical statements or other reflective essays. Have students develop coding schemes and discuss in class. Field notes from the parenting in prison research conducted by Enos are found in this chapter. 4. Discuss the following research question: Does family background matter for children’s educational attainment? How would you research and analyze this question with quantitative measures? How would you research and analyze this question with qualitative measures? Which method provides the most valid results? Why? 5. Discuss level of measurement. How does level of measurement relate to the ability to conduct descriptive and inferential statistics? For example, how much can be known from a nominal variable, ordinal variable, and interval-ratio variable? If most statistics are generated from interval-ratio variables, how does this guide our knowledge when forming survey questions? 6. Have students calculate the mean, median, and mode for a specified set of numbers.
Videos 1. Exploring Qualitative Methods This film looks at the issues relevant to collecting and processing qualitative data. Some of the issues addressed are creating questionnaires, doing participant interviews, conducting case studies as well as observational studies. This video also explores content analysis and using correlation analysis for analyzing qualitative data. Discussion Questions 1. What was the main study shown in this film? How was it an example of qualitative methods? 2. How is the analysis of qualitative data different than the analysis of quantitative data? 2. Organizing Quantitative Data This film looks at effective ways to organize and understand quantitative data using descriptive statistics. This video looks at data from music students to show elementary statistical concepts such as measures of central tendency, levels of measurement, measures of dispersion, and graphs. There is a quiz at the end of the video to reinforce concepts learned. Discussion questions: 1. Why are descriptive statistics beneficial for analyzing quantitative data? 2. Is there a univariate or bivariate measure that is superior to other measures? Why or why not? These films can be ordered online at www.films.com.
3. Introduction to SPSS http://spssvideotutor.com/welcome/introduction-to-spss/ This video can be used to introduce students to SPSS for analyzing quantitative data.
Homework Assignments 1. Assign Snow, David A. and Leon Anderson. 1987. "Identity Work among the Homeless: The Verbal Construction and Avowal of Personal Identities," American Journal of Sociology 92:1336-71. Snow and Anderson explicate their research approach and demonstrate how interview data is used to create categories that are useful for theoretical development. 2. Have students go through each focal research exam from the text and classify the analyses as quantitative or qualitative. Why did they classify each example as quantitative or qualitative? 3. Assign each student an issue of a recent journal. Each student should have a different journal, and they can all be from different years. Have students classify each article as quantitative or qualitative. Have them turn in the results. As a class, compile all of the results. As a whole, how many quantitative articles are published versus qualitative? Why is this the case? What does it say about the nature of basic research or the current state of social science research? 4. Students should be at a point where they can finish their research proposals. Each proposal should have a clearly defined methods section. For finished proposals, students should address the advantages and disadvantages to their chosen method; why they chose their specific method for their research question; and address the possible benefit of triangulation. Have students present their final proposals in class. 5. Have students answer the following question: How are analysis techniques different for quantitative and qualitative analysis? How are these differences related to sampling techniques, sample sizes, and coding/memoing techniques? Is one analysis more generalizable or valid than another? Why or why not? 6. Have students complete Exercise 15.1 by conducting univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses of marital status and labor force status controlling for gender.
Internet Resources 1. There are several databases that can be accessed via the World Wide Web. These are readily available to students and present useful resources for data manipulation. Exercise 15.1, Analyzing Data on the Web, in the text refers to the site at University of California-Berkeley and provides students with immediate responses to questions about descriptive statistics on the U.S. population as well as a cross-tabulation of the relationship with two variables. Similar exercises can be generated from sites listed in Chapter 12. Students can be directed to these sites to select a database of interest, examine frequency distributions and cross tabulations of selected variables, and compute descriptive and inferential statistics. Students can write up these analyses for presentation in class. 2. http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/analysis.php Analysis This website can be used to reinforce analysis concepts and provide additional examples. 3. The websites below are devoted to helping instructors of statistics with course materials and exercises. http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse Journal of Statistical Education The Journal of Statistical Education is managed by the North Caroline State University Statistics Department and includes resources for teaching statistics. There is a section that includes faculty comments and ideas about the teaching of statistics to undergraduates. Statistics offer faculty creative ways to teach advanced and rudimentary topics. Also found here are datasets with accompanying articles featuring their use in research? http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance Chance Housed at Dartmouth College, this site provides teaching materials and assignments that are designed to promote quantitative literacy and improve students' critical analysis of research as reported in the popular press. There are a number of interesting assignments that explore the topics of probability and statistics (measures of central tendency and dispersion, correlation and others) in terms of articles and exercises on the costs of environmental regulation, the Bell Curve and IQ, gender and achievement, the relationship between the price of chocolate chip cookies and their taste, and others. The following three web sources are useful links to qualitative research resources. http://www.soc.surrey.ac.uk Sociological Research Online This site, managed by Liz Stanley, provides a variety of resources with good links to other sites via a pinboard. This site also features an on-line journal, Qualitative Researching, with examples of qualitative research and articles on methodology, such as coding procedures and the use of computer software for textual analysis.
http://sophia.smith.edu/~jdrisko/qdasoftw.htm QDA Software Resources The number of software programs to assist researchers in coding qualitative data has been growing. This site provides links to the homepages of the makers of the software, some of which is commercial and some of which is in the public domain. For example, a link to HyperRESEARCH allows the user to download and test a fully featured copy of this powerful tool for coding text and other media.
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/web.html The Qualitative Report: An online journal dedicated to qualitative research This site provides an excellent set of links to qualitative research and qualitative analysis. Topics include content analysis, action research, grounded theory, participant observation, phenomenology, software for qualitative data analysis, evaluation research and many other topics.