CHAPTER 4 - LECTURE NOTES

RESEARCH DESIGN

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this chapter, the student should be able to:

1. Identify the two major tasks of research design.

2. Define and illustrate the three basic purposes of research.

3. List three reasons for performing exploratory studies.

4. Contrast the idiographic and the nomothetic models of explanation by definition and example.

5. List and illustrate the three prerequisites for establishing causality in nomothetic explanations.

6. List and explain the three things that social scientists do not mean when they speak of causal relationships.

7. Differentiate a necessary cause from a sufficient cause by definition and example.

8. Define units of analysis and identify and illustrate each of the basic types.

9. Define and illustrate the ecological fallacy.

10. Define and illustrate reductionism.

11. Compare cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in terms of the advantages and weaknesses of each.

1. Differentiate among the three types of longitudinal studies by definition and example.

13. Explain how longitudinal studies may be approximated using the cross-sectional design.

14. Depict the research process in a diagram manner and describe the diagram.

15. Identify and describe the basic elements of a research proposal.

Chapter Outline

} Three Purposes of Research

} The Logic of Nomothetic Explanation

} Necessary and Sufficient Causes

} Units of Analysis

} The Time Dimension

} How to Design a Research Project

} The Research Proposal

} The Ethics of Research Design

} Quick Quiz

Three Purposes of Research

• Exploration

} To satisfy the researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding

} To test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study

} To develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

• Description

} Describe situations and events through scientific observation

• Explanation

} Descriptive studies answer questions of what, where, when, and how

} Explanatory studies answer questions of why

A. Exploration—oftentimes sociologists seek to familiarize themselves with a topic that is new to them or has not been well-studied by others.

B. Description—one of the most important contributions sociologists make is by carefully and systematically documenting important social phenomenon in order to understand it better.

C. Explanation—sociologists often seek to explain why the social world works the way it does. What causes some particular phenomenon of interest?

The Logic of Nomothetic Explanation

} Goal: to find a few factors that can account for many of the variations in a given phenomenon

Example: Legalization of Marijuana

Idiographic Approach

} Information from parents, teachers, clergy

} Previous experiences

Nomothetic Approach

} Political orientation

The Logic of Nomothetic Explanation

} Criteria for Nomothetic Causality - how do we know two variables are related to one another?

• The variables must be correlated

} Correlation – an empirical relationship between two variables such that changes in one are associated with changes in the other, or particular attributes in one are associated with particular attributes in the other.

} 1. Correlation—the two variables must change in unison.

• The cause takes place before the effect

• 2. Time Order—a change in the independent variable (the cause) must come before we observe a change in the dependent variable (the effect).

• 3. Nonspurious—the observed relationship between the two variables must not be due entirely to their shared relationship to a third variable.

• The variables are nonspurious

} Spurious Relationship – a coincidental statistical correlation between two variables shown to be caused by some third variable

} Nomothetic Causal Analysis and Hypothesis Testing

} Hypotheses are not required in nomothetic research.

} To test a hypothesis:

} Specify variables you think are related

} Specify measurement of variables

} Hypothesize correlation, strength of relationship, statistical significance

} Specify tests for spuriousness

} False Criteria for Nomothetic Causality

} Complete Causation

} Exceptional Cases

} Majority of Cases

} B. False Criteria for Nomothetic Causality—sociologists speak of causal relationships in a much more restricted way that is generally used.

} 1. Complete causation—one variable is typically not viewed as the sole cause of another variable.

} 2. Exceptional cases—a change in the independent variable does not always have to cause a change in the dependent variable for a causal relationship to exist, there can be exceptions.

} 3. Majority of cases—taken one step further, causality can exist even if it does not occur in most cases; a small percentage of cases that exhibit causality between the independent and dependent variable can be the basis for identifying a causal relationship.

Necessary and Sufficient Causes

} A necessary cause represents a condition that must be present for the effect to follow.

} A sufficient cause represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question.

} Most satisfying outcome in research includes both necessary and sufficient causes.

Unit of Analysis

} Unit of Analysis – the what or whom being studied (most often individuals in social science research).

} Individuals versus Aggregates

} Individuals - Most common unit of analysis for social research

} Groups

} Organizations

} Social Interactions

Unit of Analysis

} Individuals

} Students, voters, parents, children, Catholics

} Groups

} Gang members, families, married couples, friendship groups

} Organizations

} Corporations, social organizations, colleges

} Social Interactions

} Telephone calls, dances, online chat rooms, fights

} Social Artifacts

} Social Artifact – any product of social beings or their behavior.

Unit of Analysis

} Faulty Reasoning about Units of Analysis

} The Ecological Fallacy – erroneously drawing conclusions about individuals solely from the observations of groups.

} Reductionism – a strict limitation (reduction) of the kinds of concepts to be considered relevant to the phenomenon under study.

} Sociobiology – a paradigm based on the view that social behavior can be explained solely in terms of genetic characteristics and behavior.

The Time Dimension

} Cross-Sectional Study – a study based on observations representing a single point in time, a cross section of a population.

} Longitudinal Study – a study design involving the collection of data at different points in time.

} Trend Study – a study in which a given characteristic of some population is monitored over time.

} Cohort Study – a study in which some specific subpopulation, or cohort, is studied over time.

} Panel Study – a study in which data are collected from the same set of people at several points in time.

} Comparing Types of Longitudinal Studies - example: Religious Affiliation

} Trend Study – looks at shifts in religious affiliation over time.

} Cohort Study – follows shifts in religious affiliation among those born during the Depression.

} Panel Study – follows the shifts in religious affiliation among a specific group of people over time.

} Approximating Longitudinal Studies

} Researchers can draw approximate conclusions about longitudinal processes even when cross-sectional data is not available.

• Imply processes over time

• Make logical inferences

• Ask individuals to recall past behavior

• Cohort analysis

} Examples of Research Strategies

} Exploration, Description, or Explanation?

} Sources of data?

} Unit of analysis?

} Dimensions of time relevant?

How to Design a Research Project