3.10 Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned the many ways sociologists “do” sociology. Social science research draws on the scientific method and is important to the discipline. Along with the scientific method, sociologists must determine what research method is appropriate to use when assessing social life. We must consider the validity and reliability of our findings. Quantitative and qualitative approaches to research help us answer different types of questions. Quantitative methods use statistical analysis to quantify and measure social phenomena. Qualitative methods seek to understand the experiences of individuals or groups from their perspective by focusing on observable material such as texts, fieldnotes, photographs, and interview transcripts. There are strengths and limitations to every approach we’ve discussed in this chapter.
Social science research methods help us understand a great deal about society and human experiences. If we return to Matthew Desmond’s research on housing and evictions, we see how understanding those experiences allowed Desmond to make sound conclusions about housing in Milwaukee. For an optional, closer look into this topic, Desmond outlines some of the key findings related to policy that impact families with evictions here: Unstable Housing: Matthew Desmond [Streaming Video]. In 2017, Desmond founded the Eviction Lab, which is a project to collect national data on eviction as a means to address questions about residential instability, forced moves, and poverty in America. You can read more from the Eviction Lab [Website] if you wish. Desmond’s findings led him to advocate for a universal housing voucher. What do you think? Is housing a right? What would change if we understood housing as something everyone should have access to?
Chapter 4 will focus on micro-level sociology, exploring the frameworks sociologists use to understand how society shapes our understanding of reality. We will examine various theories related to the self and how practices of socialization are embedded in our lives.
Review of Learning Objectives
Key Terms
- Anti-positivism: the view that social researchers should strive for subjectivity as they work to represent social processes, cultural norms, and societal values.
- Causation: a change in one variable that directly has an effect on or causes another variable.
- Code of ethics: formal guidelines for conducting sociological research, consisting of principles and ethical standards to be used in the discipline.
- Content analysis: a systematic approach to record and value information gleaned from secondary data as it relates to the study at hand.
- Correlation: when a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable, but does not necessarily indicate causation.
- Critical sociology: a sociological approach that focuses on deconstruction of existing sociological research and theory. Critical sociologists view theories, methods, and conclusions as serving one of two purposes: they can either legitimize and rationalize systems of social power and oppression or liberate humans from inequality and restriction on human freedom.
- Ethnography: the study of people in their environments to understand the meanings they give to their activities.
- Experiment: the testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions.
- Generalizability: the degree to which the results of a study can be applied to a larger population.
- Grounded theory: an interpretive framework sometimes used in qualitative analysis with the goal of developing theory; an approach developed by sociologists Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (1967) that offers an alternative to positivism.
- Hypothesis: an explanation for a phenomenon based on a conjecture about the relationship between the phenomenon and one or more causal factors.
- Interpretive framework: a sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction; this approach is not based on hypothesis testing. Interpretive frameworks allow researchers to have reflexivity so they can describe how their own social position influences what they research.
- Interviews: one-on-one conversations with participants designed to gather information about a particular topic
- Qualitative research: research methods that work with non-numerical data and attempt to understand the experiences of individuals and groups from their own perspectives. With qualitative approaches, researchers examine how groups participate in their own meaning-making and development of culture.
- Quantitative research: research methods that use numerical data; the social world and experiences are translated into numbers that can be examined mathematically through statistical analysis.
- Reflexivity: the ability of the researcher to examine how their own social position influences how and what they research. Reflexivity requires the researcher to evaluate how their own feelings, reactions and motives influence how they think and behave in a situation.
- Reliability: how likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced.
- Survey: a method of collecting data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire or an interview. Surveys are one of the most widely used scientific research methods.
- Validity: how well the study measures what it was designed to measure.
Discussion Questions
- What types of questions are best answered with survey questions? What additional information might you gather by using qualitative interviews?
- What are some important skills for a qualitative researcher to have?
- In this chapter you learned about community-based participatory research. Learn more by listening to this talk from Dr. Blake Poland at University of Toronto Public Health Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) [Streaming Video]. Questions to consider while watching:
- What is community-based participatory research?
- How are research projects designed? What is different about this approach compared to traditional approaches to research?
- What are some of the skills needed to conduct this type of research?
- How might you use this type of research outside of the area of public health?
- Create a brief research design about a topic in which you are passionately interested. Now write a letter to a philanthropic or grant organization requesting funding for your study. How can you describe the project in a convincing yet realistic and objective way? Explain how the results of your study will be a relevant contribution to the body of sociological work already in existence.
- Why do you think the American Sociological Association (ASA) crafted such a detailed set of ethical principles? What type of study could put human participants at risk? Think of some examples of studies that might be harmful. Do you think that, in the name of sociology, some researchers might be tempted to cross boundaries that threaten human rights? Why?
- Would you willingly participate in a sociological study that could potentially put your health and safety at risk, but had the potential to help thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people? For example, would you participate in a study of a new drug that could cure diabetes or cancer, even if it meant great inconvenience and physical discomfort for you or possible permanent damage?
Additional Resources
- Evicted [Website]
- Eviction Lab [Website]
- You can learn more about Desmond’s research in this optional seven-minute interview with PBS here: The stories behind the unseen eviction crisis [Streaming Video].
- Saldana’s (2021) qualitative research resulted in Families Actively Improving Relationships (FAIR), a community-based program that provides services to people where they live and work. Learn more about the FAIR program [Website], and explore the ODI Clinic [Website].
Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
Open Content, Original
“Conclusion” by Jennifer Puentes is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
“Sociological Research Methods: Studying Social Life Question Set” was created by ChatGPT and is not subject to copyright. Edits for relevance, alignment, and meaningful answer feedback by Colleen Sanders are licensed under CC BY 4.0.
the scientific and systematic study of groups and group interactions, societies and social interactions, from small and personal groups to very large groups and mass culture; also, the systematic study of human society and interactions.
how well the study measures what it was designed to measure.
how likely research results are to be replicated if the study is reproduced.
a group of people who live in a defined geographic area, interact with one another, and share a common culture.
a person’s distinct identity that is developed through social interaction.
the process wherein people come to understand societal norms and expectations, to accept society’s beliefs, and to be aware of societal values.