Summary
Book
Basics of Social Research: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches
Fien Wakim
Chapter 1 Doing Social Research Page 15 -39
Introduction
Social research = a way to find answers to questions and learn about social life.
Why do social research?
- To learn something new about the social world.
- To carefully document our guesses, hunches, theories, or beliefs about it.
- To better understand how the social world works.
How?
- Combine theories and ideas with facts in a careful, systematic way and this requires
creativity.
- In the process of social research, we combine principles, outlooks, and ideas
(methodology) with a collection of specific practices, techniques, and strategies (a
method of inquiry) to produce knowledge.
Alternatives to social research
Your knowledge about social life (what teachers, parents have taught you etc.) is often
correct; however, the knowledge from research studies is more likely to be true and to have
fewer errors.
the research-based knowledge is not perfect, but compared to the alternatives it has
fewer flaws and avoids common mistakes view the alternatives first
1. Authority
= when you accept something as true because someone in a position of authority
says it is true, or because it appears in an authoritative outlet, you are relying on
authority as a basis of knowledge.
this has limitations
- It is easy to overestimate the expertise of others
- Authorities may not agree, and not all authorities are equally dependable
- Authorities may speak on fields about which they know little about using the halo
effect legitimate expertise in one area might spill into illegitimate authority in a
totally different area see a movie star sell a car in a commercial?
- Misuse of authority organizations try to give an appearance of authority so they
can convince others to agree to something that they might not otherwise agree to.
- Too much reliance on authorities can be dangerous to a democratic society
promote strengthening their own power and position.
2. Tradition
= a special case of authority – the authority of the past it means you accept
something as being true because it’s the way things have always been.
, Example: many people believe that children who are raised at home by their mothers
grow up to be better adjusted and have fewer personal problems than those raised in
other settings.
some traditional social knowledge begins as simple prejudice.
3. Common Sense
= relying on what everyone knows and what just makes sense.
Example: makes sense that murder rates are higher in areas that do not have the
death penalty because it is common sense that people are less likely to kill if they
face execution for doing so.
- It is valuable in daily living, nonetheless allows logical fallacies to slip into thinking
- Common sense contains contradictory ideas that often go unnoticed because people
use the ideas at different times opposites attract and birds of a feather flock
together.
4. Media Distortion
= television shows, movies, and newspaper and magazine articles are important
sources of information
but it is adapted from reality
this is due to ignorance, or relying on authority, tradition, and common sense.
Distortion also occurs because their primary goal is to entertain, not to represent
reality accurately.
the mass media tend to pertuate a culture’s misconceptions and myths. most
people who are mentally ill are violent and dangerous (only small percentage is)
mass media hype can create a belief that a serious problem exists when it may
not, see example box 1!
visual images mislead more easily than other forms of lying
Example box 1
Is road rage a Media Myth?
despite media attention about aggressive driving and anger behind the wheel there is no
scientific evidence for road rage. The term is not precisely defined.
perhaps media reports fueled perceptions of road rage. After hearing or reading about
road rage and having a label for the behavior, people began to notice rude driving behavior
and engaged in selective observation.
advocacy groups use the media to win public support for their cause the polluting
example pollution is questioned because the media shows as much about scientific
research as about people who question it.
5. Personal experience
= if something happens to us, if we personally see it or experience it, we tend to
accept it as true.
can be mislead what appears to be true may be due to a distortion in
judgement.
the least informed people are more likely to believe they do not need to examine
research see Expansion box explains that low skilled people overestimate
themselves whereas highly competent people underestimate themselves.
,4 errors in personal experience that are the basis for misleading people
1. Overgeneralization
= when some evidence supports your belief, but you falsely assume that it applies to
most situations, too.
Example: I have met 5 blind people who were all really friendly, can I conclude that
all blind people are friendly?
2. Selective observation
= when we take special notice of some people or events and tend to seek out
evidence that confirms what we already believe and ignore contradictory
information.
Example: I believe that tall people are excellent singers I look at a chorus or top
vocalist and notice those who are tall.
psychologists found that people tend to seek out and distort their memories to
make them more consistent with what they already think.
3. Premature closure
= occurs when we feel we have the answer and do not need to listen, seek
information, or raise questions any longer.
4. Halo effect
= when we overgeneralize from a highly positive or prestigious source and let its
strong reputation or prestige ‘rub off’ onto other areas.
Example: I pick up a report by a person from Harvard and assume that it is a good
report since the person is from Harvard. I form an opinion and prejudge the report.
How science works
Social research relies on science it embraces a scientific worldview and follows scientific
processes to create and evaluate knowledge.
Science
= a social institution and a way to produce knowledge.
Data = the empirical evidence or information that one gathers carefully according to rules or
procedures.
social science data can be quantitative = expressed in numbers.
or qualitative = expressed as words, visual images, sounds, or objects.
Empirical evidence = refers to observations that we experience through the senses.
The Scientific Community
= is a collection of people who practice science and a set of norms, behaviors, and attitudes
that bind them together.
includes natural and social sciences.
at the core of the scientific community are researchers who conduct studies on a full-time
or part-time basis, usually with the help of assistants.
The Scientific Method and Attitude
The scientific method = is not one single thing; it refers to the ideas, rules, techniques, and
approaches that the scientific community uses.
, Steps in the research process
Seven steps
1. Select a topic
2. Narrow down the topic, focus the topic into a specific research question for a study
3. Review past research, or the literature, on a topic or question
4. Designing a detailed plan of how to carry out the study decisions are made about
the many practical details of doing the study
5. Gathering the data or evidence occurs.
6. Examine or analyze the data looking for patterns, and giving meaning to or
interpreting the data
7. Inform others in a report that describes the study’s background, how it was
conducted, and what was discovered.
the ongoing enterprise of science builds on prior research and adds to a larger,
collectively created body of knowledge.
Dimensions of research
Dimensions:
- How will you use study results?
- What is the primary purpose of your study?
- How will you incorporate time into the study?
- Which specific data collection technique and study design will you use?
Use of Research
Two primary uses of study findings:
1. Advance understanding of the fundamental nature of social life and knowledge over
the long term
researches who adopt a detached, pure science or academic orientation.
2. Apply study results to solve specific, immediate problems or issues.
researches who are activists, managers, or practitioners.
Basic social research
= focuses on developing, testing, and supporting theories that explain how the social world
operates, why social relations operate as they do, and how society changes.
Basic research = the source of most new scientific ideas and ways of thinking about the
world. it provides a foundation for knowledge that advances understanding in many areas
of study and across many issues over the long run.
Applied social research
= addresses a specific concern or offers solutions to a practical problem that an employer,
club, agency, social movement, or organization identified.
secondary concern: testing theory or connecting results to a larger theory
it helps with for example: should a company market a skin care product to mature adults
instead of teenagers?
