SYG2000Principles of Sociology Spring 2010 - Online : SYG2000Principles of Sociology Spring 2010 - Online Dr. Kristin E. Joos
ufsyg2000kristin@gmail.com
TA: Geovanny Perez
g8eo3@ufl.edu
Week 4Social Construction of Reality & Social Research Methods : Week 4Social Construction of Reality & Social Research Methods Agenda
Announcements
Review: Social Structure
Social Construction of Reality
Social Research Methods
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
6 Steps in the Research process
Mediasite Lecture: Ethnomethodology for Exercise 4
Week 4 –Announcements : Week 4 –Announcements -Kristin’s Office Hours: Wed 8th online & Thurs 4th-5th in-person in 3231 Turl. :)
-Geovanny's Office Hours: Wed 6th online & in person & Thurs 5-6th in person in 3309 Turl. :)
What's up on Campus & in the Community?
-Social Action Training: Miami Boot Camp (Sat. 2/6), apply to attend by Wed. 1/27 at http://www.dosomething.org/training
-Alliance for Students in Higher Education (ASHE) meeting Wed. 1/27 6pm in Reitz 276-277
-Peace Corps Environment GlobeTalk, Wed. 1/27 at 6:30pm in Hub Int'l Center
-ACCENT presents Meghan McCain, Wed. 1/27 at 8pm in Pugh Ocora Room
-SolarCycle Week Expo, Thur. 1/28 from 10:30-2pm on Plaza of the Americas
-SolarCycle Diaries Presentation and Q&A, 11:45-1pm in Library East Room 1A
-UF Amnesty International meeting, Thur. 1/28 at 7:20pm in NPB 1101
-Writing on the Wall Closing Ceremony, Fri. 1/29 at 1:15pm on Plaza of the Americas
-Hoggetowne Medieval Fair, Sat. 1/30- Sun. 1/31 & Fri. 2/5- Sun. 2/7 beginning at 10am at Alachua County Fairgrounds
-Celebration of Sociology Books with UF Sociologists, Tue. 2/2 from 11:45-1:15pm in Dauer 219
Reminders:
Discussion 4 first post due on Thursday at 9pm
Exercise 4 due on Friday at 2pm
Review - Social Structure: Organizations & Institutions : Review - Social Structure: Organizations & Institutions society: a population living in the same geographical area that shares a culture and a common identity and whose members are subject to the same political authority
social structure: stable pattern of social relationships that exist within a particular group or society.
Institutions: set of organized beliefs, rules that establish how a society will attempt to meet social needs
Organizations: large, complex network of positions, created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor.
Bureaucracy: Large hierarchical organization governed by formal rules and regulations and having clearly specified work tasks
“iron cage of bureaucracy” take on a life of its own & dominate every part of society
Social Construction of Reality : Social Construction of Reality Definition: the process through which the members of a society discover, make known, reaffirm, and alter a collective version of facts, knowledge, and “truth”
what we know to be true or real is always a product of the culture and historical period in which we exist.
Ex: earth is flat; cigarettes are harmless; disease is caused by demons; measuring time.
most of us assume reality is shared by others & can be taken for granted as reality.
actually, it is more of a matter of agreement or consensus rather than something inherent in the world
Social Construction of Reality : Social Construction of Reality There is no one absolute “Truth” or “Reality”, there are many truths and realities
How we define “truth” or “reality” is influenced by our perspectives
Examples
demonstration
optical illusions:
http://www.optillusions.com/
http://www.sandlotscience.com/SectionMaps/Ambiguous_Sec_Map.htm
Social Research Methods : Social Research Methods Remember - Epistemology: the science of how we know what we know.
In academia, epistemology tends to come from scientific method/positivism.
“Sociology is an empirical science”
empirical: relying on research (controlled, systematic observations and experiments in the real world)
Remember that Theory and Methodology are not separate.
Our perspective (i.e. our theory) influences how we frame the questions that we ask and the methods that we select in order to gather data.
Methodology : Methodology Quantitative Research
focuses on data that can measured numerically
Qualitative Analysis
uses interpretive description to analyze underlying meanings
… these are strongly influenced by your assumptions about the issues you are studying.
?
Methods: 6 Steps in the Research Process : Methods: 6 Steps in the Research Process 1. Define research questions/problems
2. Review previous research
3. Formulate hypothesis (relationship between variables)?
variable: concept with measurable traits that can change from person/time/situation/society
dependent variable: (DV) the concept/issue/factor we are interested in
independent variable: (IV) other related factors, may also be thought to “cause” the DV
4. Develop Research Design
5. Collect & Analyse the Data
6. Articulate the Results & Develop the Conclusion
again, this step is highly influenced by the researchers assumptions and the way in which they are approaching the study.
Methods of Data Collection : Methods of Data Collection Experiment: (experimental group--exposed to independent variable to test effects; control group—not exposed to independent variable) designed to elicit some sort of behavior, usually under closely controlled lab circumstances.
ONLY controlled experiments can determine Causation (& they're often impossible with social research so we mostly rely on...)?
?Why don't we ALWAYS do experiments if they are the ONLY method that can prove causation
all of the other methods we'll discuss today can only give us information about correlation, not causation
Correlation: association between two variables (change in one = change in another)
ex. Icecream & Murder rates (spurious variable causes both = hot weather)
ex. Time spent studying DIRECTLY influences performance on test
We manipulate independent variable to see if change in dependent variable
Methods of Data Collection : Methods of Data Collection field research: researcher observes events as they occur, 2 types:
non-participant observation: field research in which researcher observes people without directly interacting with them & without letting them know that they are being observed.
is a form of unobtrusive research: examine evidence of social behavior that people create or leave behind. Requires no contact with people
participant observation: field research which researcher interacts with subjects, sometimes hiding his or her identity
survey/interview: Researcher asks subjects a series of questions, either verbally or on paper
the majority of social research is conducted via surveys & interviews which are typically reduced to "quantitative data". however other forms have been increasing in popularity the over the past decade.
Methods of Data Collection : Methods of Data Collection secondary data analysis: data gathered by someone else for some other purpose
your text does not refer to this at all-- though it's important for you to know.
advantages: saves time/cheaper, huge samples
disadvantages: you can’t choose what questions are asked nor know for sure how people interpreted them
content analysis: data gathered by recorded communications & text (songs, tv commercials, ads, internet)
historical analysis: data gathered by existing historical documents
visual sociology: use visual images & media to gather data
Methods of Data Collection : Methods of Data Collection Triangulation: To combine research methods*
the best of both worlds! you can use large scale surveys (secondary data analysis) to get the "big picture" of the statistics, etc. and then use qualitative interviews to really get at the rich detail and what people mean...
Other Important Concepts related to Social Research Methods : Other Important Concepts related to Social Research Methods Sample: subgroup of larger population of interest
Representative Sample: Use statistical methods so that you can determine that the small group that you are studying is typical or "representative" of the population as a whole.
Random Sample: everyone in your population has the same chance to be in the study
Generalize the Findings: findings should fit everyone in the sample.
Other Important Concepts related to Social Research Methods : Other Important Concepts related to Social Research Methods Validity: study or research instrument accurately measures what it’s suppose to measure
ex. how do we measure "religiosity?" does church membership = religiosity? Maybe very spiritual/religious at home & in their belief system, but don’t belong to a church. Or go to church every week, but doesn't really "believe" in what the minister says.
Reliability: study or research instrument shows consistent results
ex. if someone else was interviewing, would they find the same things? What if you came back to the same person 6 months later, would they say the same thing? Were they having an off day?
Note: I think of validity & reliability like a dart board. A valid shot is one that hits the bullseye. Shots can be reliable if they all group together (even if its way far from the center).
Why are taken-for-granted assumptions so important? : Why are taken-for-granted assumptions so important? Charon Article
Defining the Situation
who has the power/authority to give a legitimate account of what’s going on?
Traditionally it has been those in power (privileged educated straight white men)?
Lets do some Social Research!
Watch the MediaSite lecture and then do the Discussion & Exercise.