Class: Research Methods
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Class Notes
Research in the social sciences works in a similar fashion to the natural sciences. We use the scientific method, involving the following steps: select a topic, generate a question, review the literature, formulate a hypothesis, choose a research method, collect the data, analyze the result, and share the results.
Let's say we've selected the topic college, and generate the question "Does working in college affect student grades?" Next we need to review the literature. The Library has great resources, including Sociological Abstracts and the Chronicle of Higher Education. After we've reviewed the literature, we formulate a hypothesis. Our hypothesis is "working full time during college lowers one's GPA." Hypotheses include an independent variable and a dependent variable. We also need consider spuriousness, as well as the operationalization and measurement of our variables. Next, we need to decide which research methods we use, including ethnographic methods, interviews, surveys, experimental methods, or existing sources. Our question lends itself most fully to using survey methods, and thus we need to be concerned about the sample and the population, the measurement of the variables, and the values and ethics of the project. Next we need to analyze the results. We need to be sure to take care with statistics, because seemingly minor inaccuracies can lead to flawed results. Finally, you share the results at conferences, in journals, and in class. Sharing these results can lead people (including yourself) to envision to new research topics, spurring the process again.
Required Reading:
"Numbers Don't Lie," Ruane and Cerulo (Second Thoughts, pp. 3-11)
"Concepts, Indicators, and Reality," Babbie (Sociology Reader, pp. 44-48)
"Sense and Nonsense about Surveys," Schuman (Sociology Reader, pp. 49-54)
Recommended Reading:
"Building Reality: The Social Construction of Knowledge," Newman (Sociology, only pp. 76-89)
Keywords: research methods, scientific method, hypotheses, dependent variable, independent variable, spuriousness, operationalization and measurement, ethnography , interviews, surveys, experimental methods, existing sources, sample, population, random sample, representative sample, snowball sample, variables, indicators, reliability, validity, Hawthorne Effect, and values and ethics.
