Soc&101 Ch.2

Front 1

Difference between sociology and common sense

Back 1

Science is a unique way of seeing and investigating the world around us

Personal experience & Common sense are often fine starting points for sociological research. Although it may mislead

Hint 1

Example is in the 14th century it was commonly believed that the earth was flat since it looked flat

Front 2

Difference between inductive and deductive reasoning

Back 2

Inductive reasoning: the process of generalizing to an entire category of phenomena from a particular set of observation

Deductive reasoning: The process of taking an existing theory and logically deducting if the theory is accurate, we should discover other patterns of behavior consistent with it

Front 3

Difference between qualitative and quantitative research

Back 3

Qualitative: Research that is characterized by data that cannot be quantified (or converted into numbers), focusing instead on generating in-depth knowledge of social life, institutions, and process

Quantitative: Research that gathers data that can quantified and offers insight into broad patterns of social behavior and attitude

Front 4

A good scientific theory has the following characteristics (2)

Back 4

• It is logically consistent

• It can be disproved

Front 5

Concepts

Back 5

Ideas that describe a number of things that have smth in common

Front 6

Variable

Back 6

A concept or it's empirical measure that can take on multiple values

Front 7

Operational definition

Back 7

A definition of a concept that allow the concept to be observed and measured

Front 8

If we find a correlation, have we found evidence of causation?

Back 8

Just because two variables are correlated, we cannot assume that one causes the other

Front 9

Correlation

Back 9

The degree to which two or more variables are associated with one another

Hint 9

Ex. Ice cream sales rise during the summer, as does homicide rates

Ice cream does not cause homicide

Front 10

Causation

Back 10

A relationship between two variables in which one variable is the cause of the other

Hint 10

Ex. Years of education and annual income demonstrates that the greater the education the higher the income

Front 11

How do test theories?

Back 11

Once there are defined concepts of variables you can test a theory by positing a hypothesis

Front 12

What do we mean by validity and reliability?

Back 12

Theories and hypothesis need to be accurate.

Consistent with the findings

Front 13

What is objectivity in research

Back 13

The sociologist should acknowledge personal bias and assumptions, make them explicit, and prevent them from getting in the way of observation and reporting

Front 14

Achieving objectivity

Back 14

▪Karl Popper's principle of falsification, which proposes that the goal of research is not to prove our ideas correct but to find out whether they are wrong

▪Invite others to draw their own conclusions about the validity of our data thru replication

Front 15

Sociological research methods (5)

Back 15

¤Survey research

¤Fieldwork

¤Experimentation

¤Working with existing information

¤Participatory research

Front 16

☆ Steps in the sociological research process (6)

Back 16

▪Frame research question

▪Review existing knowledge

▪Select the appropriate method

▪Weigh the ethical implications

▪Collect and analyze the data

▪Share the results