Chapter 2: applying psychological research methods

Common sense and scientific reasoning

Sociology is often perceived to be nothing more than a body of common sense and personal opinions. For example: does Money buy
happiness? – As a student, there is a lot of demand on your life, exams, assignments, and on top of that trying to earn a living, and
what would ease the burden? MONEY. Using “common sense” = money probably buys happiness.

Don’t assume, common sense ideas and observations may serve you well in your immediate experience, but scientific ways of
knowing can better help you understand what circumstances your ideas about everyday life may or may not be accurate in the wider
context of society.

Sociology as a scientific method

Sociology = social science because as a discipline it seeks to enhance our knowledge of people and Society using empirical methods
(data collection methods that produce verifiable findings).

Social sciences also use systematic procedures, means that the steps taken to design and carry out research are organized,
methodical, and standardized in such a way that they are recognized by other researchers. The process must be clear that another
researcher could verify the decisions, processes undertaking, and replicate the study based on written descriptions.

Some scholars equate scientific method exclusively with positivism, others view it more as a rigorous means of developing new
knowledge through various approaches.

Sociological reasoning

Empirical research and theory are intertwined, each informing the other.

This interrelationship with empirical research that distinguishes sociological theory from common sense hunches: theories inform
research, can be tested and verified using scientific methods, and may develop out of research as an explanation for the findings.

Concept: principal components of any theory, abstract idea expressed as a word or phrase used to categorize a particular feature of
the social world. Example: social class, helps us categorize people into simpler economic levels based on income, and maybe used in
a theory explaining why certain groups are more likely to pursue a university education than others.

Variable: categorical concept that refers to properties of people or things that can differ and change over time or from situation to
situation. Example: online dating site, “single” refers to one category of variable “marital status”.

Deductive and inductive reasoning

Scientific method entails our circular process that is ongoing and can include inductive or
Deductive forms of reasoning.
Deductive reasoning: starts with theories and follows a top-down approach that ends with
research findings.
Inductive reasoning: is data driven or bought up, beginning with observations and
ending in theory construction.

Goals of sociological research

Sociological research rests on 1 of 5 main purposes: to explore, to describe, explain, evaluate an area of interest, to help empower a
disadvantaged social group.
Exploratory research: explores an area of interest that very little is known about. Think of this as: what is it like to be X? (X is a
category of people such as cancer survivors), or what is X like? (X is a social phenomenon such as the reoccurrence of cancer).
Descriptive research: is to note features and characteristics of a group, event, activity, or situation. Example: Census data tells us that
there are more people aged 55 to 64, people who are going to be leaving the workforce, then 15 to 24-year-olds who are entering
the workforce. This descriptive information is extremely important for decision-making and plans involving retirement funds and
Canadian pension reform.
Explanatory research: design to clarify aspects of a particular social phenomenon so that we can better understand what kind of
effects it has or doesn’t have. Example: conducting an experiment to find out whether posting Facebook updates produces
loneliness?: Findings showed that increased Facebook posts were associated with decreased loneliness for the experimental group,
decreased loneliness resulted from feeling more connected with others on a daily basis as opposed to receiving direct support in the
form of feedback from friends.
Evaluation research: conducted in order to help assess the need for or effectiveness of a social program.
Need assessment: evaluation research conducted to examine a social condition prior to the establishment of a program to
determine what kind of program is required. “What is the nature of this social problem?” And “what resources are needed
to address this problem?”
Program evaluation: evaluation research used to examine existing programs. It is interested in whether a program is working
as intended. Example: “did the program achieve its goals?” And “were the costs justified given the outcome?”
Empowerment research: undertaken in order to improve conditions within a particular social setting or for a particular group in
society.
Participatory action research: Field method involving participants in research that is designed to result in practical outcomes for the
participants.
Action research: starts with observations and measurements designed to identify key issues, then followed by some kind of action
(strategy), and then includes an evaluation component in order to determine whether improvements resulted. This research often
occurs in educational settings, and this requires active engagement with the group being studied. For example students.

The sociological research process

Steps for conducting sociological research
1. Research question: what interests you? – Questionnaire or issue you wish to learn more about.
2. Literature review: what is already known about this topic? – Important for identifying central concepts and framing a
research and trust in the most relevant theoretical context.
3. Narrowed focus. How can you make your research interest doable – interest questions are often too general or abstract to
allow for empirical testing? One can clarify their research question by operationalizing (process of defining variables in a
concise manner that is measurable) the main variables. Example: income is often measured as dollar earned, but researchers
still need to specify whether income refers to gross pay or net pay.
Reliability: consistency of a measure. Example: two different researchers should be able to come up with the exact same
value for self-employment income as stated on that person’s paystub.
Validity: how well the measure represents the intended concept (is it measuring what it is supposed?)
Hypothesis: once u have worked out the measurements issues, you can develop your research question into a hypotheses,
which is a testable research statement that included at least two variables.
4. Research design: what is your proposed research design? – Research design: detailed outline of all the proposed
components of a study. It should identify the research interest, or what will be studied, and how data collection will take
place.
5. Data collection: how will you collect your data? – Collecting the data (observations) that formed the basis of a study.
6. Data analysis: what can you do with the data? – Data in their raw form can be difficult to understand. Data analysis:
compiling observations into a form that helps us learn more about the research problem. Example: interviews are utilized,
data analysis would involve carefully recording all of the verbal responses and then going back over all the responses to
identify common themes.
7. Draw conclusions: what do the data tell you? – Data has been collected and analysed, researchers draw conclusions by
revisiting their original research question.
8. Report findings: how can you share the findings? Research process concludes with a dissemination of findings, to further
knowledge in an area of interest, researchers may present their findings at academic conferences or write up articles about
their findings for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
The importance of ethics in research
The tri-Consul policy statement: which outlined ethical principle and includes a set of guidelines that regulate research
carried out by sociologists as well as researchers from other disciplines.
Ethical conduct for research involving humans
TCPS 2 is respect for human dignity expressed through three main principles:
1. Respect for persons: recognizes the intrinsic value of human beings and the respect and consideration they are due. Means
that research participants are granted autonomy or the right to decide whether and how they will be involved in the
research.
  Consent is obtained from research participants ahead of time as a means to respect autonomy, consent = valid, participant
must be capable of freely giving it and must be aware that consent is ongoing and can be withdrawn at any time without
penalty.
 Where possible, participants should be anonymous and if not their identity should be Confidential. Autonomy: when their
names are left off questionnaires. Confidentiality: agreements regarding what will be done with the information once it is
collected, participant is not identifiable in any way to the public.
 In some cases, participants cannot be informed of all of the essential details at the time of consent.
 Debriefing: later disclosure of all relevant details, is mandatory in cases where participants cannot be told all the information
ahead of time.
2. Concern for welfare: well-being of research participants is a fundamental ethical principle, and researchers need to design
studies to minimize the potential for harm. Not always easy, for example it is easy to see how doing push-ups might lead to
injury, but it isn’t always clear how someone might be affected psychologically. Broader social, economic, and cultural issues
may need to be considered.
3. Justice: people will be treated fairly and equitably and with respect. Some cases, may wish to conduct research with
vulnerable groups such as prison populations, children, and certain other groups. In these cases researchers may need to be
especially careful to secure consent, explain the nature and purpose of the study, and ensure that safeguards are built into
the study to minimize potential harm and to uphold dignity.
Qualitative and quantitative methods
Sociologists distinguish two main approaches to research depending on the underlying purpose of the research, type of reasoning
used to frame the study, and the type of data collected.
Qualitative methods: goal is to better understand the nature (quality) of some phenomenon as framed by inductive reasoning and
data in the form of words or images.
Quantitative methods: employed to test hypotheses and measure (quantify) social phenomenon based on deductive reasoning and
numerical data.
 The difference in method is reflected in the techniques most relevant to them. Quantitative researchers already know what
they are looking for and use a technique that specifically addresses a hypotheses that has been developed. In contrast,
qualitative researchers may provide room for a theory to emerge from the observations (the data), using a technique called
grounded theory: a systematic strategy for moving from specific observations to general conclusions about discourses,
actions, interactions, and practices. Qualitative researcher applies a series of steps to make sense of the data in a manner
that unveils a theory that ultimately explains the findings.
 Qualitative researcher, likely to be the research instrument that collects data (interviewer who gathers opinions in the form
of statements), whereas a quantitative researcher is likely to utilize some kind of instrument like a questionnaire (obtain
opinions in the form of ratings such as levels of agreement) or some other measurement device (like a stopwatch to time
endurance for an exercise).
 Quantitative research generates numerical data that are amenable to statistical analysis. The approach is deductive in
nature, research process is linear, with data collection followed by data analysis. Qualitative research, follows an inductive
approach that involves gathering observations in the form of statements or images. Relationship between data collection
and data analysis is more circular, while collecting the data, the researcher may make notes of an interesting phenomena,
and he may interject that point into subsequent interviews with remaining participants.
 As with assessments of reliability and validity, qualitative approach must demonstrate rigour: the trustworthiness of the
research process and data collected. One of the main ways to achieve this is through triangulation: use of multiple data
gathering techniques within the same study in order to verify and substantiate the findings (participant says something in an
interview, also brought out by members of a focus group and that was earlier observed by the researcher).
 Rigour in qualitative research is also established through the credibility of the research findings. Rigour is enhanced using
audit trials, transparent, verifiable, and detailed documents outlining how research decisions were made and how
conclusions were reached throughout the research process.
Sociological research methods
Experiments: what is causing this?
Experiment: deductive research method for testing a hypothesis through the use of a carefully controlled environment and randomly
assigned conditions. They are means for carrying out experiment research based on a positive theorizing, which emphasizes
objectivity. During an experiment it is important to carefully control the environment (which rules out strenuous, or unintended,
variables that could affect behaviour, example: (distracting noises) and random assignment to conditions (which eliminates any
individual differences that may be present among participants).
 In an experiment, at least one variable is manipulated in order to see what effect it produces. Independent variable:
presumed cause, the variable that is manipulated in an experiment.
 Control group: subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable. This group helps establish what would normally
happen in the absence of the independent variable.
 Dependent variable: the outcome or variable that is measured in an experiment.
Strengths and limitations of experiments
 Greatest advantage of an experimental design: allows for tests of causality. Robust effects can often be established even
with fairly small numbers of participants, and the findings are generally definitive.
 Limitations of this method: artificiality, rarely in a lab can you study the precise real-life concepts or processes you wish to
learn more about. Example: you are intrusted in severe acts of violence committed against strangers, unethical/impractical
to imagine you will be able to control the variable you are most interested in.
 Field experiments: experimental designs constructed in real-life settings where the variables of interest are more likely to
occur naturally. Disadvantage: closer to the real world the research setting is, the less abled the researcher is to controlled
environment, and factors other than the independent variable can have implications for the findings.
Surveys: what is your opinion on this?
 Survey: quantitative research methods for gathering opinions or other details about topics of interest from the perspective
of respondents using questionnaires.
 Questionnaire: instrument that typically contains a series of calls and data or forced choice questions, participants are
prompted to choose from a list of answers. Can be administered in a number of ways: by researcher/Assistant, self-
administered, mail order, online, face-to-face.
 Respondents: people who consent to provide answers to surveys.
 Representative sample: small group that closely resembles a population of interest. Random selection: every person in the
population of interest has an equal chance of selection.
 Sometimes the population of interest is not fully identifiable (interested in people who commit certain crimes, since many
crimes go unreported, even the ones that are reported may not result in convictions). When not practical/possible to obtain
representative sample that is randomly selected, researchers may opt for a sample of convenience.
Strengths and limitations of survey research
Strengths
 used for descriptive purposes and have fairly high response rates, survey approaches are great for collecting a lot of rich,
detailed information in a relatively short time.
 Face-to-face and telephone service are useful in situations where establishing rapport may help acquire participants or
where questions require further clarification.
 Self-administered service, easy to utilize a wide range of response, and anonymity can be insured with ease, surveys are also
a good method for obtaining information on very sensitive subjects.
Weaknesses
 Difficult to verify the accuracy of findings, respondents might lie or otherwise misrepresent themselves.
 Potential problem begins with the wording of a survey. Face-to-face or/telephone surveys, opportunity to clarify a question
that has been posed, in contrast instructions and wording on a questionnaire are fixed, and if the participants cannot
understand the question, the response that is obtained may not be valid measures of the concepts being investigated.
Interviews: what you tell me about this?
 Interview: verbal question/answer technique to gather rich, detailed, firsthand information about a phenomenon of interest.
Structured interviews, conducted for descriptive research purposes.
 Interviews range in structure from highly standardized to the unstandardized. Standardized/highly structured interview:
follow a set format of predetermined questions with no additional questions or clarifications allowed.
 Unstandardized interview: no set format, order or wording of questions can be modified and the interviewer can add,
change, or delete items as warranted by the process. More likely to be conducted or exploratory/explanatory purposes.
Example: interviewer begin with something very open ended and subjective, the Nature of the response received will largely
determine what sort of question the interviewer poses next. This approach rely on interpretive theorizing, since the
emphasis is on how the respondents perceive and explain their experiences.
 Use of focus groups
 Useful for gathering information at one time from a small group that share some trait that is relevant to the topic of
interest.
 Used for empowering or exploratory purposes and can be based on interpretive or more critical forms of theorizing
 Main difference between focus groups and interviews: the responses obtained in a focus group are generated through
discussions rather than individual responses stemming from individual interviewees.
 Interviewer = moderator, responsible for introducing the purpose of the focus group, outlining the rules for how the
interview session will uphold, managing short question and answer sessions, and dealing with an unforeseen issues that
might arise. Highly organized/skilled moderator = essential for creating and maintaining positive group dynamics.
Strengths and limitations of interviews
strengths
 High response rates, and the answers provided better reflect the respondent’s actual views.
 Confusing questions can be clarified during the interview to further increase the validity of the responses.
Weaknesses
 Interviewing is a two-way process, as a result responses can be greatly affected by a number of considerations pertaining to
both the interviewer and the interviewee. Example: how comfortable is the interviewee with the interviewer?, How does the
interviewee feel about the subject matter, and how much of her or his time is the interviewee willing to contribute to the
research project?
 The interviewer needs to build rapport with the interviewee and put them at ease, and the interviewer needs to be mindful
of how questions are communicated and how information is elicited from the interviewee.
 Need to start off with easy questions, and the more sensitive questions should come later once the rapport has been
established.
Secondary data analysis: what inferences can be made from this data?
 Secondary analysis of existing data (archival analysis): research method used to examine information on a topic of interest
that was originally collected or created by someone other than the researcher for an unrelated purpose.
 Secondary analysis is often conducted using existing statistics from government agencies. Government has made statistics
Canada provides statistical information or Canada’s population, resources, economy, society, and culture as a whole as well
as for each province and territory.
 Content analysis: secondary analysis technique for systematically examining messages contained in text or portrayed in
images. Carried out using qualitative/quantitative methods for a variety of research purposes. Example: better understand
how the public health risk of mad cow disease in Alberta in 2003 was portrayed in Canadian media, researchers look at
newspaper articles following initial outbreaks.
 If the goal of the research is to examine how language is used, then the researcher is conducting discourse analysis: critical
examination of the ways in which language is used to convey social constructions and social relations. Discourse analysis can
involve the use of one or more methods such as transcribed conversations (conversational analysis), oral narratives
(narrative analysis), and messages within images from specific genres. Because discourse analysis is concerned about text
(how language shapes meaning) secondary sources are always included.
 Historical analysis: examining and interpreting historical forms of data in order to better understand past practices or groups
and/or Relationships between the past and present. Sources for historical analysis can include existing resources:
documents, photographs, journal entries, folklore, films, and life histories.
Strengths and limitations of secondary analysis
Strengths
 The data have already been collected and are available, which saves a lot of time and money, which would have been spent
on collecting firsthand data.
 It is nonreactive and unobtrusive (does not involve gathering information directly from people whose responses may be
affected by the very fact that they are taking part in a study)
Weaknesses
 Data were collected for a purpose other than the intended study, may be biased and incomplete (missing variables of
interest).
 Researchers had no control over how the data were collected in the first place, it is difficult to verify the accuracy of the
information and to determine how variables were originally measured, collected, and coded.
 Ethnography: what is it like to be a member of that group/doing that?
 Ethnography: broad term for various forms of fieldwork designed to describe everyday behaviour in natural settings.
 In some cases it is carried out in order to learn more about a particular subculture, other cases it is used to assess a social
problem within a particular subculture, with the objective of bringing about needed change.
 Participatory action: is a field method for pursuing improvement while studying a social system such as a school or a
community.
 Action research: in a wider community contexts tends to be problem focused and typically involves a period of assessment
followed by planning and interventions, community participation, and forms of monitoring and evaluation in order to
address social problems particular to that system.
Systematic and participant observation: what is happening?
 Systematic observation: researcher directly observes a social group or process but does not interact with the participants.
Observational research is used by qualitative/quantitative researchers and can take place anywhere a group of interest is
located.
 Participant observation: researcher collects systematic observations while taking part in the activities of the group being
observed. Some groups/activities are not particularly amenable to investigation by outsiders. Example: members of an
outlaw gang are generally unwilling to allow the non-members access to their business deals/rituals.
 Case study: an observational study (systematic/participant) that focuses on one particular group, event, or situation and an
example of some broader social phenomenon of interest.
Strengths and limitations of field approaches
Strengths
 Allow researchers to study areas of interest in natural settings. Participating in a group is one of the most straightforward
ways to develop rapport and to ensure a researcher is around when important events/behaviours take place.
Weaknesses
 Researchers need to be skilled in observing variable and people of interest while taking accurate field notes. Even if a
researcher is only observing a group, they will need to be where the group is in order to code variable of interest.
 Data are generally compiled by a single researcher whose own traits and life experiences impact on his/her perceptions and
make the researcher stand out as an outsider to the group being studied. Result: need to spend long periods of time in the
field in order to fit in and become accepted by the group before beginning to gain an insider’s perspective and find ways to
verify data collected on the group.
 Challenge for researchers, how to access and then later exited a research setting. Joining the group, establishing contact and
trust, and then leaving that group is tricky since the researchers have social relationships with those members.
Multiple methods and mixed methods
 Researchers routinely investigate phenomena of interest using multiple methods and certain methods utilize more than one
data collection technique and can be considered multiple method approach.
 Single case design: Case study research that focuses on only one person, organization, event or program as the unit of
analysis as emphasized by the research objectives.
 There are studies that have designs that specifically entail the use of qualitative/quantitative methods with equal priority.
Example: convergent design: qualitative/quantitative methods are employed in the same phase of the study so that the
researchers can compare different perspectives when assessing the overall findings.