IndexI

Holographic Overview

PART

PART

AppendixesA

Contents in Detail

Prefacexvi

BibliographyB

AppendixesA

GlossaryG

Using the LibraryA

AUsing the LibraryA

PART

PART

PART

PART

PART

PART

PART

PART

BSocial Research in CyberspaceA

Social Research in CyberspaceA

An Introduction to Inquiry

An Introduction to Inquiry

1Human Inquiry and Science

The Research ReportA

Human Inquiry and Science

CThe Research ReportA

Introduction

Looking for Reality

Ordinary Human Inquiry

Tradition

Authority

Errors in Inquiry,and Some Solutions

What s Really Real?

GSS Household Enumeration

QuestionnaireA

DGSS Household Enumeration QuestionnaireA

The Foundations of Social Science

Theory,Not Philosophy or Belief

Social Regularities

Aggregates,Not Individuals

A Variable Language

Some Dialectics of Social Science

ERandom NumbersA

Random NumbersA

Idiographic and Nomothetic Explanation

Inductive and Deductive Theory

FDistribution of Chi SquareA

Distribution of Chi SquareA

Qualitative and Quantitative Data

The Ethics of Social Research

Normal Curve AreasA

GNormal Curve AreasA

Estimated Sampling ErrorA

HEstimated Sampling ErrorA

No Harm to Subjects

MAIN POINTS

Voluntary Participation

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

KEY TERMS

A Learner s Guide to SPSS 8.0A

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

2Paradigms,Theory,and Social Research

Research

Paradigms,Theory,and Social

Introduction

Some Social Science Paradigms

Social Darwinsm

Macrotheory and Microtheory

Early Positivism

Conflict Paradigm

Symbolic Interactionism

IA Learner s Guide to SPSS 8.0A

Ethnomethodology

Structural Functionalism

Feminist Paradigms

Rational Objectivity Reconsidered

Elements of Social Theory

Two Logical Systems Revisited

The Traditional Model of Science

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning:A CaseIllustration

A Graphic Contrast

Constructing Your Theory

Deductive Theory Construction

Getting Started

An Example of Deductive Theory:

Distributive Justice

Inductive Theory Construction

An Example of Inductive Theory:Why DoPeople Smoke Marijuana?

The Links Between Theory and Research

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

The Idea of Causation in Social

3The Idea of Causation in Social Research

Research

Finding Causes in Social Science

Introduction

Determinism and Social Science

Causation in the Natural Sciences

Reasons Have Reasons

Determinism in Perspective

Causation in Idiographic and NomotheticModels of Explanation

Twenty Questions a Journalist Should

Ask about Poll ResultsA

JTwenty Questions a Journalist Should Askabout Poll ResultsA

Criteria for Causality

Necessary and Sufficient Causes

Errors in Reasoning About Causation

False Dilemma

Suppressed Evidence

Provincialism

Hasty Conclusion

Questionable Cause

Associating Variables

Practical Problems in Measuring and

Linking Measurement and Association

Association

An Example of Measurement and

MAIN POINTS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

KEY TERMS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

ADDITIONAL READINGS

The Structure of Inquiry

The Structure of Inquiry

4Research Design

Research Design

Exploration

Introduction

Three Purposes of Research

Explanation

Description

Units of Analysis

Individuals

Social Artifacts

Groups

Organizations

Units of Analysis in Review

and Reductionism

Faulty Reasoning about Units

of Analysis:The Ecological Fallacy

Cross-Sectional Studies

The Time Dimension

Longitudinal Studies

Approximating Longitudinal Studies

Examples of Research Strategies

How To Design a Research Project

Conceptualization

Getting Started

Population and Sampling

Choice of Research Method

Operationalization

Analysis

Observations

Data Processing

Research Design in Review

Application

Elements of a Research Proposal

The Research Proposal

MAIN POINTS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

KEY TERMS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ANSWERS TO REVIEW QUESTIONS AND

EXERCISES,ITEM 2

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

5Conceptualization,Operationalization,and Measurement

Conceptualization,Operationaliza-

tion,and Measurement

Introduction

Measuring Anything That Exists

Conceptions,Concepts,and Reality

Conceptions as Constructs

Conceptualization

Indicators and Dimensions

The Interchangeability of Indicators

Real,Nominal,and Operational

Definitions

Creating Conceptual Order

An Example of Conceptualization:

The Concept of Anomie

Definitions in Descriptive and ExplanatoryStudies

Operationalization Choices

Range of Variation

Variations between the Extremes

A Note on Dimensions

Defining Variables and Attributes

Levels of Measurement

Single or Multiple Indicators

Some Illustrations of OperationalizationChoices

Operationalization Goes On and On

Criteria of Measurement Quality

Precision and Accuracy

Reliability

Validity

Who Decides What s Valid?

Tension between Reliability and

Validity

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

Indexes,Scales,and Typologies

6Indexes,Scales,and Typologies

Introduction

Indexes versus Scales

Index Construction

Item Selection

Examination of Empirical Relationships

Index Scoring

Handling Missing Data

Index Validation

The Status of Women:An Illustration

of Index Construction

Scale Construction

Thurstone Scales

Bogardus Social Distance Scale

Likert Scaling

Guttman Scaling

Semantic Differential

Typologies

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

MAIN POINTS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

The Logic of Sampling

7The Logic of Sampling

Introduction

A Brief History of Sampling

President Alf Landon

Two Types of Sampling Methods

President Thomas E.Dewey

Nonprobability Sampling

Reliance on Available Subjects

Purposive or Judgmental Sampling

Quota Sampling

Snowball Sampling

Selecting Informants

The Theory and Logic of Probability

Sampling Bias

Conscious and Unconscious

Sampling

Representativeness and Probability

of Selection

Random Selection

Probability Theory,Sampling Distributions,and Estimates of Sample Error

Populations and Sampling Frames

Frames

Review of Populations and Sampling

Simple Random Sampling

Types of Sampling Designs

Systematic Sampling

Stratified Sampling

Implicit Stratification in SystematicSampling

Students

Illustration:Sampling University

Multistage Designs and Sampling Error

Multistage Cluster Sampling

Sampling

Probability Proportionate to Size(PPS)Sampling

Stratification in Multistage Cluster

Disproportionate Sampling and

Weighting

Illustration:Sampling Churchwomen

Probability Sampling in Review

MAIN POINTS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ADDITIONAL READINGS

KEY TERMS

Modes of Observation

Modes of Observation

8Experiments

Experiments

The Classical Experiment

Introduction

Topics Appropriate to Experiments

Pretesting and Posttesting

Independent and Dependent Variables

Experimental and Control Groups

The Double-Blind Experiment

Selecting Subjects

Probability Sampling

Randomization

Matching

Matching or Randomization?

Preexperimental Research Designs

Variations on Experimental Design

Research

Validity Issues in Experimental

An Illustration of Experimentation

Natural Experiments

Strengths and Weaknesses of the

Experimental Method

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Survey Research

9Survey Research

Introduction

Topics Appropriate for Survey Research

Choose Appropriate Question Forms

Guidelines for Asking Questions

Make Items Clear

Avoid Double-Barreled Questions

Respondents Must Be Competent

to Answer

Questions Should Be Relevant

Short Items Are Best

Answer

Respondents Must Be Willing to

Avoid Biased Items and Terms

Avoid Negative Items

Questionnaire Construction

General Questionnaire Format

Contingency Questions

Formats for Respondents

Matrix Questions

Ordering Items in a Questionnaire

Questionnaire Instructions

Pretesting the Questionnaire

Mail Distribution and Return

Self-Administered Questionnaires

A Composite Illustration

Monitoring Returns

Follow-up Mailings

Acceptable Response Rates

A Case Study

Interview Surveys

The Role of the Survey Interviewer

Interviewing

General Guidelines for Survey

Coordination and Control

Telephone Surveys

Interviewing(CATI)

Computer Assisted Telephone

New Technologies and Survey Research

Comparison of the Different Survey

Methods

Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey

Research

Secondary Analysis

MAIN POINTS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

KEY TERMS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

Qualitative Field Research

10Qualitative Field Research

Introduction

Topics Appropriate to Field Research

Special Considerations in Qualitative

Field Research

The Various Roles of the Observer

Relations to Subjects

Naturalism

Some Qualitative Field Research

Paradigms

Ethnomethodology

Grounded Theory

Case Method

Case Studies and the Extended

Institutional Ethnography

Participatory Action Research

Preparing for the Field

Conducting Qualitative Field Research

Qualitative Interviewing

Focus Groups

Recording Observations

Validity

Strengths and Weaknesses of QualitativeField Research

Reliability

Research Ethics in Qualitative Field

MAIN POINTS

Research

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

11Unobtrusive Measures

Unobtrusive Measures

Introduction

Content Analysis

Sampling in Content Analysis

Topics Appropriate to Content Analysis

Coding in Content Analysis

An Illustration of Content Analysis

Analysis

Strengths and Weaknesses of Content

Durkheim s Study of Suicide

Analyzing Existing Statistics

Units of Analysis

Problems of Reliability

Problems of Validity

Sources of Existing Statistics

Examples of Historical/Comparative

Analysis

Historical/Comparative Analysis

Sources of Historical/Comparative Data

Analytical Techniques

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

ADDITIONAL READINGS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

Evaluation Research

12Evaluation Research

Introduction

Topics Appropriate to Evaluation

Research

Formulating the Problem:Issues

of Measurement

Specifying Outcomes

Measuring Experimental Contexts

Specifying the Population

Specifying Interventions

New versus Existing Measures

Operationalizing Success/Failure

Types of Evaluation Research Designs

Experimental Designs

Quasi-Experimental Designs

Qualitative Evaluations

The Social Context

Logistical Problems

Some Ethical Issues

Use of Research Results

Social Indicators Research

The Death Penalty and Deterrence

Computer Simulation

ADDITIONAL READINGS

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

Analysis of Data

Analysis of Data

Qualitative Data Analysis

13Qualitative Data Analysis

Introduction

Linking Theory and Analysis

Discovering Patterns

Grounded Theory Method

Semiotics

Coding

Conversation Analysis

Qualitative Data Processing

Memoing

Concept Mapping

Computer Programs for Qualitative Data

Leviticus as Seen through NUD*IST

Sandrine Zerbib:Understanding Women

Film Directors

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ADDITIONAL READINGS

Quantifying Data

14Quantifying Data

Introduction

Computers in Social Research

Coding

Developing Code Categories

Codebook Construction

Coding and Data Entry Options

Transfer Sheets

Edge-Coding

Direct Data Entry

Data Entry by Interviewers

Connecting with a Data-Analysis

Coding to Optical Scan Sheets

Program

Direct Use of Optical Scan Sheets

Data Cleaning

Possible-Code Cleaning

Contingency Cleaning

MAIN POINTS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

15Elementary Quantitative Analyses

Elementary Quantitative

Analyses

Introduction

Univariate Analysis

Distributions

Central Tendency

Dispersion

Detail versus Manageability

Continuous and Discrete Variables

Subgroup Comparisons

Collapsing Response Categories

Handling Don t Knows

Research

Bivariate Analysis

Numerical Descriptions in Qualitative

Constructing and Reading Bivariate

Percentaging a Table

Tables

Introduction to Multivariate Analysis

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

KEY WORDS

MAIN POINTS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ADDITIONAL READINGS

16The Elaboration Model

The Elaboration Model

Introduction

The Origins of the Elaboration Model

The Elaboration Paradigm

Replication

Explanation

Interpretation

Specification

Refinements to the Paradigm

Elaboration and Ex Post Facto

Hypothesizing

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

MAIN POINTS

KEY TERMS

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

Social Statistics

17Social Statistics

Introduction

The Danger of Success in Math

Descriptive Statistics

Data Reduction

Measures of Association

Regression Analysis

Other Multivariate Techniques

Path Analysis

Time-Series Analysis

Factor Analysis

Univariate Inferences

Inferential Statistics

Tests of Statistical Significance

The Logic of Statistical Significance

Chi Square

MAIN POINTS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

of Research

The Social Context

The Social Context of Research

Research

18The Ethics and Politics of Social Research

The Ethics and Politics of Social

Introduction

Voluntary Participation

Ethical Issues in Social Research

No Harm to the Participants

Anonymity and Confidentiality

Deception

Analysis and Reporting

Institutional Review Boards

Professional Codes of Ethics

Observing Human Obedience

Two Ethical Controversies

Trouble in the Tearoom

The Politics of Social Research

Objectivity and Ideology

Politics with a Little P

Politics in Perspective

KEY TERMS

REVIEW QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

MAIN POINTS

ADDITIONAL READINGS

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

The Uses of Social Research

19The Uses of Social Research

Introduction

Theory—Data Collection—Analysis

Everyday Uses of Social Research Skills

A Consumer s Guide to Social Research

Measurement

Research Design

Experiments

Sampling

Survey Research

Field Research

Analyzing Existing Statistics

Evaluation Research

Data Analysis

Reporting

SOCIOLOGY WEB SITE

INFOTRAC COLLEGE EDITION

Conclusion