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Chapter 2. Sociological Research Methods. Common Sense and Sociology: Suicide. Common sense may tell us that people who threaten suicide will not commit suicide. Sociological research indicates that people who threaten to kill themselves may attempt suicide.
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Chapter 2 Sociological Research Methods
Common Sense and Sociology: Suicide • Common sense may tell us that people who threaten suicide will not commit suicide. • Sociological research indicates that people who threaten to kill themselves may attempt suicide. • Common sense may tell us that suicide is caused by despair or depression. • Research suggests that suicide is sometimes used as a means of lashing out because of real or imagined wrongs.
Common Sense and Sociological: Suicide • Historically, the common sense view of suicide was that it was a sin, a crime, & a mental illness. • Emile Durkheim related suicide to the issue of cohesiveness in society. • Wrote that a high suicide rate was symptomatic of large-scale societal problems.
How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True or False? • In the United States, suicide occurs on the average of one every 18 minutes.
How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True • A suicide occurs on the average of every 18 minutes in the United States. • Men are four times more likely to kill themselves than are women.
How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True or False? • More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease combined.
How Much Do You Know About Suicide? • True. • Suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers and young adults. • It is the third leading cause of death among young people between 15 and 24 years of age, following unintentional injuries and homicide.
Question • Within the past 12 months, how many people have you known personally that have committed suicide?
Sociology and Scientific Evidence • Sociology involves debunking, unmasking false ideas or opinions. • Two approaches: • Normative • Empirical
The Normative Approach • Uses religion, customs, habits, traditions & law to answer important questions. • Based on beliefs about what is right & wrong • What “ought to be” in society.
The Empirical Approach • Attempts to answer questions through systematic collection & analysis • Referred to as scientific methodBased on assumption that knowledge is gained by direct systematic observation.
Sociology and Scientific Standards • 2 basic scientific standards: • Scientific beliefs should be supported by good evidence/info • These beliefs should be open to debate & critique
Question • The scientific method is based on the assumption that knowledge is best gained by: • direct observation • systematic observation • the support of good evidence • the possibility for public debate • all of these choices
Answer: e • The scientific method is based on the assumption that knowledge is best gained by: direct observation, systematic observation, the support of good evidence and the possibility for public debate.
Types of Empirical Studies • Descriptive studies: describe social reality or provide facts about a group, practice, or event. • Designed to find out what is happening to whom, where, and when. • Explanatory studies: attempt to explain cause and effect relationships and to provide information on why certain events do or do not occur.
Deductive Approach • Researcher begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory: • Theories hypotheses. • Hypotheses observations. • Observations formation of generalizations. • Generalizations used to support theory, suggest modifications, or to refute it.
Inductive Approach • Researcher collects information or data (facts or evidence) and then generates theories from the analysis of that data. • Specific observations suggest generalizations. • Generalizations produce tentative theory. • The theory is tested through formation of hypotheses. • Hypotheses may provide suggestions for additional observations.
Question • The _____ approach begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory. • inductive • deductive • quantitative • qualitative
Answer: b • The deductive approach begins with a theory and uses research to test the theory.
Understanding Statistical Data Presentations • Sociologists use statistical tables to present a lot of information in a small space. • To understand a table, follow these steps: • Read the title. • Check the source and explanatory notes. • Read the headings for each column and row. • Examine and compare the data. • Draw conclusions.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research • Quantitative research focuses on data that can be measured numerically (comparing rates of suicide, for example). • Qualitative research focuses on interpretive description rather than statistics to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.
Conventional Research Model • Select and define the research problem. • Review previous research. • Formulate the hypothesis. • Develop the research design. • Collect and analyze the data. • Draw conclusions and report the findings.
Question • With _____research, interpretive description (words) rather than statistics (numbers) is used to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships. • inductive • deductive • quantitative • qualitative
Answer: d • With qualitative research, interpretive description (words) rather than statistics (numbers) is used to analyze underlying meanings and patterns of social relationships.
Definitions • Validity is the extent to which a study or research instrument accurately measures what it is supposed to measure. • Reliability is the extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results when applied to different individuals at one time or to the same individuals over time.
Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Causal Relationship
Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Inverse Causal Relationship
Hypothesized Relationships Between Variables • Multiple-cause Explanation\
Question • In a medical study, lung cancer could be the _____ variable, while smoking could be the ______ variable. • dependant, independent • independent, dependant • valid, reliable • reliable, valid
Answer: a • In a medical study, lung cancer could be the dependant variable, while smoking could be the independent variable.
Qualitative Research Method • Researcher begins with a general approach rather than a highly detailed plan. • Researcher has to decide when the literature review and theory application should take place.
Qualitative Research Method • The study presents a detailed view of the topic. • Access to people or other resources that can provide necessary data is crucial. • Appropriate research method(s) are important for acquiring useful qualitative data.
Correlation Vs. Causation • A study might find that exposure to a suicide hot line is associated (correlated) with a change in attitude toward suicide. • But if some of the students who were exposed to the hot line also received psychiatric counseling, the counseling may be the “hidden” cause of the observed change in attitude. • In general, correlations alone do not prove causation.
Triangulation • Triangulation is the term used to describe the approach of combining multiple methods in a given study. • Refers not only to research methods but also to multiple data sources, investigators, and theoretical perspectives in a study. • Data sources include persons, situations, contexts, and time.
