Examples of Research Methods

What Makes “Good” Research? Good research should be valid, reliable, and generalizable:

Validity: does the study measure what it is intended to measure?

Reliability: if you conduct the study again, will you get the same results?

Generalizability: will the findings of this study apply to some other population or group of people?

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Research Methods Research methods are standard rules that social scientists follow when trying to establish a causal relationship between social elements.

Quantitative methods seek to obtain information about the social world that is in, or can be converted to, numeric form.

Qualitative methods attempt to collect information about the socialworld that cannot be readily converted to numeric form.

Approaches to Research A deductive approach to research:1) starts with a theory.2)develops a hypothesis.3) makes empirical observations.4)analyzes the data collected through

observation to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory.

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Deductive reasoning is more narrow and is generally used to test or confirm hypotheses. 

Approaches to Research

An inductive approach to research:

1) starts with empirical observation.2) then works to form a theory.3) determines if a correlation exists by noticing if a change is observed in two things simultaneously.

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Inductive reasoning is more open-ended and exploratory, especially during the early stages.

Sometimes called a “bottom up” approach. 

In research it is often a combination..

His initial observations led him to inductively create a theory of religion, social integration, anomie, and suicide.

His theoretical interpretations in turn led him to deductively create more hypotheses and collect more observations.

He noticed that Protestant countries consistently had higher suicide rates than Catholic ones.

Causality vs. Correlation Causality is the idea that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor.

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Correlation is not causation.

Does it meet all three criteria? Spurious Correlation

Causality vs. Correlation Sociologists conduct research to try to prove causation. To prove causation, correlation and time order are established and alternative explanations are ruled out.

1.Correlation 2. Time order 3. Alternate Explanations.

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Variables – What Are We Studying?

A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain.

An independent variable is a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable.

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Example: a person’s income (dependent variable) may vary according to age, gender and social class (independent variables).

The Hypothesis (if…then) A hypothesis is a proposed relationship between two variables, represented by either the null hypothesis or an alternative hypothesis.

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Null Hypothesis (sometime called no-difference)•Hyperactivity is unrelated to eating sugar.

The null hypothesis is good for experimentation because it's simple to disprove. If you disprove a null hypothesis, that is evidence for a relationship between the variables you are examining.

Marijuana and serious mental illness (SMI) research

 Prevalence of Past Year SMI among Adults Aged 18 or Older, by Gender and Age Group: 2002 and 2003

Prevalence of Past Year SMI among Lifetime Marijuana Users Aged 18 or Older, by Age at First Marijuana Use: 2002 and 2003

 Research Methods in Context

Hollywood Goes to High School:Urban High School Films Central Theme

“utilitarian individualism”

High School High

Lean On Me Dangerous Minds

Suburban School Films Central Theme

“expressive individualism”

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Teaching Mrs. Tingle

The New Guy

Private School Films Central Theme“expressive and utilitarian individualism coexist”

Making The Grade Rushmore School Ties