authoritative knowledge
Knowledge based on the accepted authority of the source.
For example, he notes that simply wearing a white lab coat brings to mind in the observer stock images of cleanliness, modernity, scrupulous exactitude and authoritative knowledge.
case study
In-depth analysis of a single event, situation, or individual.
We will look at three types of field research: participant observation, ethnography, and the case study.
casual observation
Knowledge based on observations without any systematic process for observing or assessing the accuracy of observations.
Instead, you would come to know what you believe to be true through casual observation.
code of ethics
A set of guidelines that the Canadian Sociological Association has established to foster ethical research and professionally responsible scholarship in sociology.
Demonstrate awareness of the Canadian Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics.
content analysis
A quantitative approach to textual research that selects an item of textual content that can be reliably and consistently observed and coded, and surveys the prevalence of that item in a sample of textual output.
One methodology that sociologists employ with secondary data is content analysis.
contingency table
A statistical table that provides a frequency distribution of at least two variables.
One of the common forms in which one encounters secondary data is the contingency table.
control group
An experimental group that is not exposed to the independent variable.
One is the experimental group and the other is the control group.
correlation
When a change in one variable coincides with a change in another variable, but does not necessarily indicate causation.
Variables are examined to see if there is a correlation between them.
dependent variable
Variable changed by another variable.
A key distinction here is between independent and dependent variables.
empirical evidence
Evidence corroborated by direct experience and/or observation.
Sociological researchers use empirical evidence combined with the scientific method to deliver sound sociological research.
ethnography
Observing a complete social setting and all that it entails.
We will look at three types of field research: participant observation, ethnography, and the case study.
experiment
The testing of a hypothesis under controlled conditions.
Sociologists make use of tried-and-true methods of research, such as experiments, surveys, field research, and textual analysis.
field research
Gathering data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey.
Sociologists make use of tried-and-true methods of research, such as experiments, surveys, field research, and textual analysis.
Hawthorne effect
When study subjects behave in a certain manner due to their awareness of being observed by a researcher.
Landsberger called the workers’ response the Hawthorne effect — people changing their behaviour because they know they are being watched as part of a study.
hypothesis
An educated guess with predicted outcomes about the relationship between two or more variables.
Typically, the scientific method starts with these steps, which are described below: 1) ask a question; 2) research existing sources; and 3) formulate a hypothesis.
hypothetico-deductive methodologies
Methodologies based on deducing a prediction from a hypothesis and testing the validity of the hypothesis by whether it correctly predicts observations.
Positivist methodologies are often referred to as hypothetico-deductive methodologies.
independent variable
Variable that causes change in a dependent variable.
In research, independent variables are the cause of the change.
inductive approach
Methodologies that derive a general statement from a series of empirical observations.
However, it is ideally suited to an inductive approach in which the hypothesis emerges only after a substantial period of direct observation or interaction with subjects.
institutional ethnography
The study of the way everyday life is coordinated through institutional, textually mediated practices.
Dorothy Smith elaborated on traditional ethnography to develop what she calls institutional ethnography (2005).
interpretive approach
A sociological research approach that seeks in-depth understanding of a topic or subject through observation or interaction.
However, how the hypothesis is handled differs between the positivist and interpretive approaches.
intervening variable
An underlying variable that explains the correlation between two other variables.
There must be no other intervening variable responsible for the causal relationship.
interview
A one-on-one conversation between a researcher and a subject.
It can begin from a deductive approach by deriving a hypothesis from theory and then seeking to confirm it through methodologies like in-depth interviews.
literature review
A scholarly research step that entails identifying and studying all existing studies on a topic to create a basis for new research.
The next step researchers undertake is to conduct background research through a literature review, which is a review of any existing similar or related studies.
nonreactive
Unobtrusive research that does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviours.
One of the advantages of secondary data is that it is nonreactive (or unobtrusive) research, meaning that it does not include direct contact with subjects and will not alter or influence people’s behaviours.
operational definitions
Specific explanations of abstract concepts that a researcher plans to study.
At this point, a researcher’s operational definitions help measure the variables.
overgeneralization
Knowledge that draws general conclusions from limited observations.
Knowledge based on casual observation, knowledge based on selective evidence, knowledge based on overgeneralization, and knowledge based on authority or tradition.
participant observation
Immersion by a researcher in a group or social setting in order to make observations from an “insider” perspective.
We will look at three types of field research: participant observation, ethnography, and the case study.
population
A defined group serving as the subject of a study.
Often, polls on TV do not reflect a general population, but are merely answers from a specific show’s audience.
positivist approach
A research approach based on the natural science model of knowledge utilizing a hypothetico-deductive formulation of the research question and quantitative data.
It is a research method suited to an interpretive approach rather than to positivist approaches.
primary data
Data collected directly from firsthand experience.
Field research refers to gathering primary data from a natural environment without doing a lab experiment or a survey.
qualitative data
Information based on interpretations of meaning.
It focuses on qualitative data, or the meanings that guide people’s behaviour.
quantitative data
Information from research collected in numerical form that can be counted.
This kind of quantitative data — research collected in numerical form that can be counted — is easy to tabulate.
random sample
A study’s participants being randomly selected to serve as a representation of a larger population reliability a measure of a study’s consistency that considers how likely results are to be replicated if a study is reproduced research design a detailed, systematic method for conducting research and obtaining data.
Their researchers ask a large random sample of Canadians, age 12 and over, to fill out a television or radio diary for one week, noting the times and the broadcasters they listened to or viewed.
sample
Small, manageable number of subjects that represent the population.
Their researchers ask a large random sample of Canadians, age 12 and over, to fill out a television or radio diary for one week, noting the times and the broadcasters they listened to or viewed.
scientific method
A systematic research method that involves asking a question, researching existing sources, forming a hypothesis, designing and conducting a study, and drawing conclusions.
Propositions which fail to stand up to rigorous and systematic standards of evaluation are not scientific because they can not withstand the criteria of organized skepticism and scientific method.
secondary data analysis
Using data collected by others but applying new interpretations.
Survey, experiment, field research, and textual or secondary data analysis (or use of existing sources).
selective observation
Knowledge based on observations that only confirm what the observer expects or wants to see.
This friend committed what social scientists refer to as selective observation by noticing only the pattern that she wanted to find at the time.
surveys
Data collections from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviours and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire.
Sociologists make use of tried-and-true methods of research, such as experiments, surveys, field research, and textual analysis.
textually mediated communication
Institutional forms of communication that rely on written documents, texts, and paperwork.
The ubiquitous but obscure mechanism by which this is accomplished is textually mediated communication.
traditional knowledge
Knowledge based on received beliefs or the way things have always been done.
Her knowledge was based on a family tradition (traditional knowledge).
validity
The degree to which a sociological measure accurately reflects the topic of study.
Researchers also want to maximize the study’s validity (how well the study measures what it was designed to measure).
value neutrality
A practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgment, during the course of a study and in publishing results.
Sociologists, he stated, must establish value neutrality, a practice of remaining impartial, without bias or judgement, during the course of a study and in publishing results (1949).
variable
A characteristic or measure of a social phenomenon that can take different values.
Once a proposition is formulated in a way that would permit it to be falsified, the variables to be observed need to be operationalized.
These terms were extracted from Introduction to Sociology – 2nd Canadian Edition by William Little, eCampusOntario (originally published by BCcampus, 2016) which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax (© 2013 Rice University), licensed under CC BY 3.0.