Chapter 2

Question 1

What is causality?

Answer 1

• The idea that a change in one factor results in a corresponding change in another factor
• must have THREE factors: correlation, time order, rule out all other factors

Question 2

What are research methods?

Answer 2

The standard rules that social scientists follow when trying to establish a causal relationship between social elements.

Question 3

What are QUANTITATIVE methods?

Answer 3

seek to obtain information about the social world that is in, or can be converted to, NUMERIC form

Question 4

What are QUALITATIVE methods?

Answer 4

an attempt to collect information about the social world that CANNOT be readily converted to numeric form

Question 5

What is a deductive approach?

Answer 5

• start with THEORY
• develop HYPOTHESIS
• make empirical OBSERVATIONS
• ANALYZE DATA collected through observation to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory

Question 6

What is a inductive approach?

Answer 6

• start with EMPIRICAL OBSERVATION

* then work to FORM A THEORY

Question 7

What is correlation?

Answer 7

When we observe change in two things simultaneously

Question 8

What is causation?

Answer 8

When we prove that a change in one factor CAUSES the change in the other factor

Question 9

What is a dependent variable?

Answer 9

• the outcome the researcher is trying to explain

* USUALLY ONLY ONE DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Question 10

What is an independent variable?

Answer 10

• the measured factor that researchers believe has a causal impact on the dependent variable
• CAN HAVE ONE OR MORE INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
• Key- the most important independent variable

Question 11

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 11

A proposed relationship between two variables

Question 12

What is operationalization?

Answer 12

Process by which a researcher specifies the terms and methods he or she will use in a particular study

Question 13

What are moderating variables?

Answer 13

Factors that affect the relationship BETWEEN the INDEPENDENT and DEPENDENT variables

Question 14

What are mediating variables?

Answer 14

• Factors that are POSITIONED BETWEEN the independent and dependent variables
• DO NOT AFFECT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIABLES

Question 15

What must the measures used to evaluate variables in a hypothesis be?

Answer 15

• valid and reliable
• outcomes must be generalizable to the larger population WITHOUT BIAS
• generalizations DO NOT make things valid

Question 16

What is feminist methodology?

Answer 16

• treats women’s experiences as legitimate empirical and theoretical resources
• promotes social science that may bring about policy change to help women
• conscious of the role of the researcher as that of the subjects being studied

Question 17

What are the types of data collection used in social research?

Answer 17

• participant observation
• interviews
• survey research
• historical methods
• comparative research
• experimentation
• content analysis

Question 18

Who sets the codified standards that researchers must follow?

Answer 18

• professional associations
• academic institutions
• research centers

Question 19

What must researchers guard against and how is this accomplished?

Answer 19

• researchers must guard against causing PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, and PSYCHOLOGICAL harm
• adhering to INFORMED CONSENT and VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION