Foundations of Sociological Inquiry

1. Foundations of Sociological Inquiry Research Design

2. Today’s Objectives • Housekeeping • Three Purposes of Research • How to Design a Research Project • Units of Analysis • The Logic of Comparison • Necessary and Sufficient Causes • Questions?

3. Which ‘poet’ do you like better? • Paul Simon • Roger Waters

4. Which song do you like better? • The sound of silence • Comfortably numb

5. Are you ever distracted by other students talking in class? • Yes • No

6. Would you prefer to meet for lecture on Friday or have time to meet with your survey design group? • Have lecture on Friday; meet with group at another time • Don’t have lecture on Friday to allow time to meet with group

7. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? • Becky’s office hours are: • TUESDAY • 3:00-5:00 • Savery 224 You can always e-mail me at bpettit@uw.edu

8. Which of these are among the purposes of social research? • exploration • description • explanation • all of the above

9. Three Purposes of Research • Exploration • Description • Explanation

10. Three Purposes of Research • Exploration • To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding • To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study • To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

11. Three Purposes of Research • Exploration • To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding • To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study • To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study • Description • Describe situations and events through scientific observation • Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how

12. Three Purposes of Research • Exploration • To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding • To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study • To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study • Description • Describe situations and events through scientific observation • Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how • Explanation • Explain observed phenomenon in relation to sociological theories • Explanatory studies answer questions of why

13. How to Design a Research Project • Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory?

14. How to Design a Research Project • Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? • Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry

15. How to Design a Research Project • Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? • Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry • Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ?

16. How to Design a Research Project • Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? • Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry • Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ? • Analyze the data

17. How to Design a Research Project • Define the purpose of your project exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory? • Determine whom or what to study develop a research question or object of inquiry • Collect empirical data ethnography, survey, experimental, historical, ? • Analyze the data • Report your findings in relation to what we think we know

18. Scientific inquiry involves: • making observations • interpreting what you’ve observed • both of the above • none of the above

19. Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied) • Individuals • Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics

20. Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied) • Individuals • Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics • Groups • Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups

21. Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied) • Individuals • Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics • Groups • Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups • Organizations • Corporations, social organizations, colleges

22. Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied) • Individuals • Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics • Groups • Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups • Organizations • Corporations, social organizations, colleges • Social Interactions • Telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights

23. Unit of Analysis (what or whom is being studied) • Individuals • Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics • Groups • Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups • Organizations • Corporations, social organizations, colleges • Social Interactions • Telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights • Social Artifacts • Social Artifact – any product of social beings or their behavior.

24. If a researcher is interested in studying the effects of different training regimens on a team’s performance, the unit of analysis in this study is • the team member. • the team. • the coach. • the different training regimens. • the researcher’s perception of performance.

25. The Logic of Comparison • Most sociological studies involve comparisons • Experimental studies involve treatment/control groups in which an independent variable is typically manipulated to observe its effect on a dependent variable • Non-experimental studies typically compare the effects of some independent variable(s) on some dependent variable • It is critical to observe variation in both the independent variable (e.g., race, gender, parenthood, social class, years of schooling, period, cohort) and the dependent variable (e.g., income, employment, promotion)

27. A _____ is an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other. • momothetic explanation • regression analysis • correlation • spurious relationship

29. A _____ represents a condition that, if present, guarantees the effect in question. • hypothesis • sufficient cause • practical issue • necessary cause • dependent variable

30. Necessary and Sufficient Causes • A necessary cause represents a condition that must be present for the effect to follow. • A sufficient cause represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question. • Most satisfying outcome in research includes both necessary and sufficient causes.

32. Questions?