Auguste Comte developed sociology based on the methods used in the physical sciences, after the French Revolution.
Steps to scientific process:
Define question or problem
Review the literature
Develop hypothesis
Choose a research design and method
Collect the data
Analyze the data
Develop conclusions
Report results and pose new questions
Operational definition: a clear, concise, and observable measure of the variable.
An institutional review board must approve a study before it is done.
Quantitative:
Secondary analysis – existing data, but may not be good for information
Surveys – Cost efficient but may not have enough responses
Experiments – more control but not as generalized data
Longitudinal – broad but expensive and need more time
Qualitative:
In-depth Interviews – Explores different angles but is time-consuming
Participant Observation – Unrestricting observations of social behavior but may be unethical or hard to document
Focus Groups – Quick results, but moderators can skew results
Content Analysis – Does not involve human subjects and cost-effective, but may be hard to document
Ethnography: a type of participant observation, a descriptive account of social life derived from the researcher being within a group of community for an extended period of time. Covert observation is when they don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’t reveal their identity.
Groupthink: The tendency of focus group participants to yield to the desire of the group rather than expressing individual ideas.
Quantitative aims to generalize results. Qualitative aims to find underlying motivations.
Snowball Sampling: a process in which people in the group being studied introduce the researcher to other people to study. It can be slower and worse for certain types of studies, such as those that follow participants over a long period.
Verstehen: an empathetic approach to understanding human behavior.
Anna Julia Cooper was the first black woman to write about feminism.
Beatrice Potter Webb wrote 11 books in sociology.
Sophonisba Breckinridge was the first woman in the Kentucky Bar Association.
Marianne Weber was a German feminist with 9 sociology books.