Social reading highlight Chpt2.

Key points ᇟ

• Methods allow us to systematically study the world scientifically, giving us more confidence in our findings.
• An audit study showed that having been in prison hurt job applicants’ chances of being hired, even when they were otherwise similar to other applicants.
• Skepticism is a key element of the scientific method; scholars constantly search for evidence that claims about the social world are wrong.

Key terms

• Audit study–Research experiment in which researchers match participants on key characteristics.【审计研究——研究人员根据参与者的关键特征进行匹配的研究实验。】

• Method–A systematic study design. ᇟ

• Confirmation bias–Tendency we all have to look for and accept information that reinforces what we already believe

• Echo chamber–A space where we interact primarily with people or information that hold or reinforce our existing beliefs.

• Human subject–Person who participates in a research study

• Nuremberg Code–First international guidelines establishing research ethics

• Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment–Long-term experiment on Black men in Alabama that demonstrates unethical research design.

• Informed consent–Voluntary agreement to participate in research based on a full understanding of the potential risks and benefits.

• Vulnerable populations–Groups that may need additional protections or considerations in order to give informed consent.【Children Prisoners】

Key points

• For research to be ethical, those who participate must take part voluntarily, must understand the risks involved, and must be able to stop at any time.
• The Tuskegee Syphilis Study shows how researchers can cause severe harm and even death if they don’t follow ethical research principles.

Key terms

ᇟ Quantitative data–Data in the form of numbers that reflect amounts
ᇟ Qualitative data–Non-numerical data ᇟ Experiment–Research method in which the environment is controlled to isolate the effects of one factor or characteristic.
Key terms ᇟ Survey–Gathering data by asking people sets of questions
ᇟ Structured interviews–Interviews that follow a set of pre-written questions that are the same for all participants
Unstructured interviews–Interviews that include follow-up or additional questions that arise based on a specific participant’s responses.
Participant observation–Research method in which researcher spends time among a group, observing and participating in their daily lives
Historical analysis–Analysis of existing historical records
ᇟ Content analysis–Analysis of existing sources, focusing on key themes and patterns

Key points

ᇟ Experiments allow us to isolate the effects of one particular characteristic. However, researchers may worry whether effects seen in the controlled world of an experiment apply outside of it in normal conditions.
ᇟ Surveys (whether online, by phone, or on paper) are a common and relatively inexpensive method of studying people. They allow us to gather information from many people. However, low response rates and wording issues can affect the accuracy of the findings.
ᇟ Participant observation involves spending a lot of time among a social group, directly observing their interactions and behaviors. This provides extremely detailed information about the group, but can be expensive and time-consuming. This method also only allows us to collect data on a small group.
ᇟ Historical analysis involves evaluating existing historical sources. ᇟ Content analysis occurs when scholars evaluate existing sources (such as newspaper stories or movies) to look for general patterns or themes. This method can identify larger themes. However, since it involves existing data, researchers are limited to whatever information the sources already contain.
ᇟ No one method is “best” for any topic. To choose a method, we have to consider our topic, what question we hope to answer, what resources we have available, and our research skills.

Key terms

ᇟ Research question–A question about a research topic that we can reasonably answer
ᇟ Unit of analysis–Item observed in a study (ex: individual people, cities, neighborhoods, apartment complexes, nations)
ᇟ Co-variation–Relationship between variables
ᇟ Independent variable–Variable that causes a change in another
ᇟ Dependent variable–Variable that changes in response to another
ᇟ Hypothesis–Statement about how variables are expected to relate to each other
ᇟ Population–The entire group of interest in a study
ᇟ Operationalization–Defining variables into measurable items
ᇟ Variable–Any characteristic that has more than one possible value.

Key terms ᇟ

Sampling–Selecting representatives of the population to study
ᇟ Ethnography–In-depth study of a group and its culture.
ᇟ Sampling frame–Method for choosing which members of a population will be in a sample.
ᇟ Random sample–A representative sample in which every member of the population has some chance of being selected.
ᇟ Generalize–Apply findings beyond the sample to the larger population.
ᇟ Non-random sample–A sample in which not every member of the population has a chance of being selected.
ᇟ Nonresponse bias–Non-representativeness in a sample caused by patterns in who does and doesn’t respond.

Key points ᇟ

In general, a research project follows several steps: 1) choose a research question, 2) state your hypothesis, 3) gather data, 4) analyze data, and 5) come to conclusions about what you found.
ᇟ Your variables are the factors you’re trying to explain. Your independent variable(X) is the characteristic you believe causes something; your dependent variable (Y) is caused by, or depends on, the independent variable. When analyzing data, we’re looking for co-variation between variables. Our hypothesis is a statement of what we think the relationship between the variables will look like. An hypothesis includes a statement about the population, independent variable, and dependent variable.
ᇟ Operationalization is a key element of research design. How you operationalize your variables will depend on what you’re trying to study.
ᇟ Random samples allow us to study a small group and have it represent the larger population. Non-random samples may not allow us to generalize outside the study

Key terms

ᇟ Correlation–A relationship between variables.
ᇟ Causation–One variable causes a change in another variable
ᇟ Direction of relationship–Which variable is affecting the other when a relationship exists
ᇟ Causal relationship–Relationship that includes causation between variables.
ᇟ Spurious relationship–When a third variable actually explains the apparent connection between two variables
ᇟ Validity–Whether questions accurately measure the intended characteristic
ᇟ Social desirability bias–Problems introduced to data when respondents give answers they believe are socially acceptable ᇟ
Reliability–Consistency of measurements

Key points ᇟ

Correlation indicates that variables are related in some way. It is easier to establish than causation, in which we can claim that one variable leads to a change in another.
ᇟ One way to establish causation is to see which variable precedes the other. ᇟ A spurious relationship exists when some outside variable we haven’t thought of explains the relationship between our variables. Research design should collect data on the most likely spurious variables in order to analyze their possible effects.
ᇟ Validity relates to whether we have measured what we intended to measure. Social desirability bias is a challenge to valid measures.
ᇟ Reliability refers to whether our measurements are consistent, so that different subjects interpret the question in the same way.