Types of Research - Social Research Methods - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology

Download Types of Research - Social Research Methods - Lecture Slides and more Slides Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! Types of Research 1. Types of Questions 2. Time in Research 3. Unit of Analysis Docsity.com Types of questions/research * Descriptive * Relational ¢ Causal Docsity.com Descriptive Sources: Rape (excluding sexual assault), robbery, and assault data are from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Docsity.com Relational research • When a study is designed to look at the relationships between two or more variables • A public opinion poll that compares what proportion of males and females say they would vote for a Democratic or a Republican candidate in the next presidential election • As such, this research is studying the relationship between gender and voting preference Docsity.com Food preferences (relational research) • Males • Females Docsity.com Poverty rates by education 30% High school dropouts 25% 7 20% + 15% 5 High school graduates 10% -po--c2eeeee ee ce eset eee teen teen teen eee tree gegin tet tyyfetee teeta 59 oo nnn ESSE iain Some college- NN College graduates 0% a 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 Year Source: March Curmnet Population Surveys Note: civilians 25 years and older Docsity.com Note: The solid area (in blue) represents the trend for the entire United States while the lines (in red) are the trends for each region Docsity.com Dangerous Times and Places for Homicide and Aggravate Assault Homicide • Evening hours (6pm-6a.m) (70%) • Weekends (39%) • Home/residence (35%) • Street/alley (39%) • Vehicle (10%) • Commercial places (6%) Aggravated Assault • Evening hours (6p.m. – midnight) (49%) • Within 1 mile of residence (54%) • Streets/parking lots (34%) • In or near victim’s home (28%) • Schools (5%) • Home of friend/relative/neighbor (9%) Docsity.com Domestic violence • Unfortunately, domestic violence against women is common • It happens to teenage girls and women of all backgrounds • As many as 4 million women suffer abuse from their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends or intimate partners in the United States each year. Docsity.com Breaking the cycle of violence is difficult • The abuser strikes using words or actions. • The abuser may beg for forgiveness, offer gifts or promise to change. • The abuser becomes tense, angry or depressed. • The abuser repeats the abusive behavior. Docsity.com Police responses • The most common police responses were to mediate the dispute, recommend a referral for counseling, or separate the parties. • Arrest was a relatively uncommon action. Docsity.com Experimental group I Arrest O1 X1 O2 19% Experimental group II Separate O1 X2 O2 33% Control group Mediate O1 O2 37% Minneapolis Domestic Violence Experiment 1. Victims have been interviewed every two weeks for the next 6 months, police records have been monitored as well 2. Most influential policy experiment 3. Arrest works more effectively in deterring domestic violence Docsity.com Time in Research * Cross-sectional studies ¢ Longitudinal studies Docsity.com What is a cross-sectional design? • A research design where subjects are assessed at a single time in their lives • In effect, we are taking a 'slice' or cross- section of whatever it is we're observing or measuring Docsity.com Types of longitudinal designs 1. Trend studies 2. Cohort studies 3. Panel data Docsity.com Trend studies • A trend study samples different groups of people at different points in time from the same population • Suppose that 2 months before a year-long gun control campaign, a sample of adults is drawn: 64% report that they're in favor of a strict gun control regulation and 34% report that they are not • A year later, a different sample drawn from the same population shows a change: 75% report that they're in favor of gun control and 25% report that they are not. Docsity.com Cohort Studies • A cohort is any group of individuals who are linked in some way or who have experienced the same significant life event within a given period • There are many kinds of cohorts, including birth (for example, all those who were born in 1985), education/graduation, employment, family formation, etc. • Any study in which there are measures of some characteristic of one or more cohorts at two or more points in time is cohort analysis Docsity.com Panel studies • Panel studies measure the same sample of respondents at different points in time • Depending on the purpose of the study, researchers can use either a continuous panel, consisting of members who report specific attitudes or behavior patterns on a regular basis, or an interval panel, whose members agree to complete a certain number of measurement instruments only when the information is needed • In general, panel studies provide data suitable for sophisticated statistical analysis and might enable researcher to predict cause-effect relationships. Docsity.com Panel studies • Panel data are particularly useful in predicting long-term or cumulative effects which are normally hard to analyze in a one-shot case study (or cross-sectional study) Docsity.com Example • In the early 80s', the National Broadcasting Company supported a panel study in order to investigate the causal influence of violent TV viewing on aggression among young people • The methodology in the study involved collecting data on aggression, TV viewing, and a host of sociological variables from children in several metropolitan cities in the US • About 1,200 boys participated in the study and the variables were measured six times for 3 year study period • The investigators concluded that there was no consistent statistically significant relationship between watching violent TV programs and later acts of aggression Docsity.com