Notes:
Scientific method: the process a sociologist uses to develop and test theories
American Sociological Association(ASA): a national organization for sociologist dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good
Peer review: process by which research is evaluated by a group of experts in the specific subject area
Independent variable: a factor that causes a change in another variable
Dependent variable: a factor that is changed by another variable
Validity: the extent that the study measures what it claims to measure
Operational definition: a clear, concise and observable measure of the variable
Reliability: extent to which a study yields the same result in repeated studies
Quantitative research design: data collection that focuses on exploring correlations by using systematic, numerical, and other objective measures to generalize across groups of people
Qualitative research design: data collection using interviews, fieldwork, observation, photos, text and other subjective measures
Representative sample: a subset of the population whose characteristics accurately reflect those of the larger population from which it is drawn
Institutional Review Board(IRB): a committee that reviews research proposals to protect the rights and welfare of human participants in research
Secondary Analysis: the use of data previously collected for other purposes
Survey: a series of questions used to extract specific information from respondents
Experiment: the use of two or more groups in which one group is exposed to a factor being examined
Experimental group: the study subjects exposed to the independent variable
Control group: the study subjects who are not exposed to the independent variable
Longitudinal design: the repeated observation of the same subjects over a duration of time, a research method that can require years or decades to complete
In-depth interview: a one-on-one open ended method that probes for deeper meaning and understanding of the responses of the interviewee
Participation Observation: method in which the researcher takes part in the social phenomenon being studied
Ethnography: descriptive account of social life and culture in a particular social system derived from the researcher being embedded over time within a group, organization or community.
Focus group: a small group interview or guided discussion using a moderator to gain insight into the participants opinions on specific topics
Groupthink: the tendency of group members to yield to the desire for consensus rather than expressing individuals or alternative ideas
Content analysis: systematic method of assigning codes to text, video, music and other media to analyze and infer patterns
Sustainability: the idea that current and future generations should have equal or greater access to social, economic and environmental resources
General Social Survey(GSS): a national survey on contemporary American society to monitor and explain trends and constants in attitudes, behaviors, and attributes
Time diary method: research method in which subjects track their actions at various points in time over several days
Hawthorn effect: the tendency of people to change their behavior when they know they are being watched
Ethics: principles of conduct, about how you are supposed to behave in a given situation
Debriefing: a follow up review of the research
Value neutrality or objectivity: the effort to eliminate bias from the research.
Sample of convenience: research sample based on the ease of accessibility of the research subjects.
Case study: an in depth analysis of a particular person, place, or event over a significant period
Verstehen: an empathetic approach to understanding human behavior