Sociology 311: Introduction to Social Research, Professor Phillips

Study Guide for Exam #1

KEY CONCEPTS AND ISSUES

Note: This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to help guide and focus your studying.

The nature of scientific knowledge

Errors in everyday / non-scientific reasoning: overgeneralization, selective / inaccurate observations, illogical reasoning, resistance to change * key principles underlying process of science: empiricism, objectivity, control * the nature of scientific questions * criteria for "good" scientific questions: feasibility, social importance, scientific relevance * major goals / purposes of research: exploratory research, descriptive research, explanatory research, evaluation research.

Elements of research design

Relationship between theory and empirical research * deduction * induction * hypotheses * variables * attributes * dependent variable * independent variable * control variable * antecedent variable * intervening variable * qualitative variable * quantitative variable * unit of analysis * ecological fallacy.

Relationships and causality

Fundamental problem of establishing causality * relationships * strength of relationships * form of relationships * positive relationship * negative relationship * causality * general criteria for establishing causality: association, time order / direction of influence, nonspuriousness * mechanism * context * time dimension in research * cross-sectional study * longitudinal study: repeated cross-sectional design, cohort / event-based design, fixed-sample panel design * advantages and disadvantages of cross-sectional & longitudinal studies * response rate * panel attrition.

Measurement

Basic characteristics of measurement in the social sciences * conceptualization * operationalization * exhaustive categorization of attributes * mutually exclusive categorization of attributes * levels of measurement: nominal level, ordinal level, interval level, ratio level * random error vs. systematic error * measurement validity * face validity * content validity * criterion validity (concurrent or predictive) * construct validity (convergent or discriminant) * reliability * test-retest reliability * inter-item reliability (internal consistency) * alternate forms reliability * inter-observer or inter-coder reliability * index * scale * advantages of using an index/scale measure.

Qualitative methods / field research

Primary goals of field research * research setting * data collection in field research * field notes * participant observation * complete observation * complete participation / covert participation * research design in field research * reactive effects * appropriate topics for field research * major strengths / weaknesses of field research * Read chapter carefully!

Ethics of social research

Responsibility to the science * responsibility to society * responsibility to research participants * no harm to participants * privacy * anonymous vs. confidential * deductive disclosure * voluntary participation * informed consent * deception * power imbalances * Institutional Review Boards (IRBs).

Secondary Data

Advantages / disadvantages of secondary data analysis * census * vital registration system * sample surveys.