methods of social research - Čzu of social...methods of social research winter semester 2015/2016...

METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH

Winter Semester 2015/2016

PEF CZU – EMN

2. seminar – Repeating the 1. Seminar, Conceptualization of the Research Problem, Content Analysis

Teacher: Ing. Jakub Petr

E-mail: [email protected]

Office:PEF/E229

Consultancy hours: Monday – 13:00/14:30

Wednesday – 13:00/14:30

All information are saved on the address: moodle.czu.cz

mailto:[email protected]




What is sociological research?

Explain briefly the following terms: "validity" and "reliability"

The basic research procedures include?

Describe the characteristics of "quantitative research"?

Describe the characteristics of "qualitative research"?

The cradle of scientific, methodological and sociological theory, supported qualitative research is considered which school?

Which of data collection techniques are suitable for quantitative research?

Which of data collection techniques are suitable for qualitative research?

Repeating the 1. Seminar


Conceptualization:

Determination of the basic terminology

Defining concepts, ie. hypothetical and theoretical

concepts, categories, relations between modeling and

systematically representing a phenomenon - a part of

reality - the area

This means that:

Logical balance (logic deliberation) of the subject and object

Logical research is one that

A) defines the subject of the given phenomenon

B) circumscribes the

C) is empirically receivable indicators

D) identify objects

What is the Conceptualization of the

Research Problem?


Conceptualization at QN and QL research:

1. at QN research: Conceptualization based on theoretical concepts that have been developed Sources are looking for in libraries, not only on the Internet

2. at QL research: Conceptualization is based on outside of scientific sources – literature belles-lettres, press, etc. (because the existing concepts are underdeveloped)

Conceptualization therefore vary according to sources (scientific and non-scientific)


Research Problem?


Need conceptualization? ……Ooooh Yes......

Another aspect of conceptualization are:

The complexity of the observed phenomenon

Existence of secondary data on the observed phenomenon

Develop conceptualization means

Orientate in the research task (problem)

The richly structured and interlinked information

Therefore, you must always make conceptualization

The Conceptualization is always necessary!

If you elaborate the conceptualization of the research, you

will orientate yourselves in the research problem of the

sociological empirical research.


Research Problem?


First steps to clarify:

Formulation (wording) of the theoretical

(general) hypothesis

What is the object (what will be studied)

What is the subject (who will be studied)

Which explaining variables will be the theoretical

hypothesis dissociated into

Which explained variables will be the theoretical

hypothesis dissociated into

How to conceptualize the research

problem in the QN research?


…..of the research….

How to conceptualize the research problem in

the QN research?

PHENOMENA OBJECT

RESPONDENTS SUBJECT


Research problem:

Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates.

Theoretical hypothesis:

Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates are

more affected by their family than by the college

where they graduated.

How to conceptualize the research

problem at QN research?


What and who will be studied?

1. Who (Subject)? Present-day graduates

2. What (Object)?

Family Is somehow Cultural outlooks

College where graduated affecting (more/less) of graduates

Explaining variables Explained variables

= independent = dependent

= cause = consequence

= affecting = affected

RP: Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates.

TH: Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates are more

affected by their family than by the college where they

graduated.

Because...

Family Cultural

College where graduated Outlooks of Graduates

…represent each group of variables (not a variable – not only one),

we look for theoretical concepts that help us these phenomena in their social contexts to analyze (decompose)

looking

we find

CONCEPT OF REPRODUCTION OF CULTURAL CAPITAL

(P. Bourdieu, 1979)

RP: Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates.

TH: Cultural outlooks of present-day graduates are more

affected by their family than by the college where they

graduated.

was a French intellectual, sociologist, anthropologist

His research investigated frameworks and methods, and introduced such influential concepts as cultural, social and symbolic forms of capital (as opposed to traditional economic forms of capital)

Bourdieu routinely sought to connect his theoretical ideas with empirical research and his work can be seen a „sociology of culture“ or, as he described it, a "Theory of Practice".

Bourdieu´s best known book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste (1979)

His key terms were „habitus“, „social field“ and „capital“

„Habitus“ – refers to the lifestyle, values, dispositions and expectations of particular social groups that are acquired through the activities and experiences of everyday life.

In other words, the habitus could be understood as a structure of the mind characterized by a set of acquired schemata, sensibilities, dispositions and taste.

Pierre Bourdieu (1.8.1930 – 23.1.2002)

Source of picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Pierre-Bourdieu-cover.jpg

Pierre Bourdieu


Is the analysis of texts of various types including

writing, images, recordings and cultural artifacts

In the social sciences, content analysis is a technique for

studying the content of written texts and artifacts

This research technique enables to describe obvious

content of communication.

It is systematic and quantitative characterization of

presented information.

The technique of content analysis enables the researcher

to include large amounts of textual information and

systematically identify its properties, such as the

frequencies of most used keywords by locating the more

important structures of communication content.

Content Analysis


Such amounts of textual information must be categorised to

provide a meaningful reading of content under scrutiny.

Analytical techniques of content analysis:

Summarize and represent

Discover patterns and relations in data and subsequently

tests hypotheses

Comparison of data from content analysis with data collected

by using of another techniques or with data coming from

another situation in order to validate of used techniques or

add missing information

Content analysis is a summarising, quantitative

analysis of messages that relies on the scientific

method

Content Analysis

LAG (The Local Action Group) NUTS3 Vysočina Region (NUTS =

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) codes of the Czech

Republic – three levels

Procedure

1. Research Topic

2. Operationalisation:

- choice of methods for research

- definition of observed variables

- determination of time intervals

- selection of media kind

3. Data Collection

4. Data Analysis

5. Interpration and conclusions

Content Analysis



Research topic:

Presentation of LAG in media with activities in region Vysočina

Operationalisation:

Method of research – quantitative content analysis and using of mathematic and statistic procedures in order to process collected data..

Period of time – 1.1.2007 – 30.6.2010

Observed media – regional newspaper and regional variation of statewide journals incluidng articles about LAG.

Code unit – an article

Content Analysis – LAG Vysočina

Research topic and operationalisation

METHODS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH Identifical variables:

Title of contribution: nominal

Extent (number of words): numerical

Frequency of „LAG“: numerical

Journal: nominal

No. of article: numerical

Year: numerical

Month: numerical

Day: numerical

These variables enable to identify contributions and to find back analysed articles. It provides possibility to correct mistakes, to control previous analyses and to clarify issues.


Analytical variables

Specialisation of LAG (Which activity is in article

described) nominal (+ defined cathegories)

Geographical impacts of LAG´s projects (Relation

between the size of region and impact of project)

nominal (+ defined cathegories)

These variables help to answer questions related to the research

topic. For some signs in article are formulated partially in abstract

form it is necessery to transform them in to understandable form.

This proces is called „Operationalisation“ = creation of indicators

We should be sure that determined variable reflects correct

connotation of phenomenon


„Operationalisation“ = creation of indicators

Converting general terms to the level observed characters

The transfer of concepts from the theoretical to the observational language

Operational – examples:

A) Sex (M/F)

B) Age (how many this year)

C) Level of Education (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary/higher – Bachelor´s Degree, Master´s Degree, Doctoral Degrees/Ph.D.

D) Types of Religion (Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam)

Operationalisation


Working hypotheses:

Each author of article is specialised on certain LAG

Each LAG is aimed at specific activity

The size of article (number of words) correlates with

frequency of word (or collocation) LAG

Intention of project depends on region of each LAG



TASK 1


Create a new table with identifical and

4 analytical variables like in example below


Variable Name Type Value

Identifical Number of

words

Numerical 200

Analytical Price of

project

Numerical CZK 2,-


Source: Journal of Slapy

Author: Jan Kudla

Waterpark in rural areas?

The village Turovec: Developer BMW a.g. helped with bulding of local waterpark. The company cooperated on this project with LAG Vivat Havel and municipality Turovec. Financial means are provided by municipality, know-how by BMW and realisation is conducted by LAG. Whole project costs 20 milion Eur. Within the first month, the waterpark was visited by 20 visitors only. Is it reasonable to build waterparks in countryside?

Content Analysis - LAG


TASK 2 = HOMEWORK NO.1


Content Analysis – Homework No. 1

FORMULATE 10 WORKING

HYPOTHESES AMONG VARIABLES

FROM TASK 1

THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION

AND

HAVE A GOOD DAY

SOURCES:

Majerová, Věra a kolektiv. Sociologie venkova a zemědělství. 4. vyd. Praha: Česká

zemědělská univerzita v Praze, Provozně ekonomická fakulta, 2009. ISBN 978-80-

213-0651-6.

http://slovnik-cizich-slov.abz.cz/web.php/slovo/konceptualizace

Patrick Baert and Filipe Carreira da Silva, Social Theory in the Twentieth Century

and Beyond, Polity, 2010, p. 34.

Douglas Johnson. "Obituary: Pierre Bourdieu | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved

2014-04-20.

Hodder, I. (1994). The interpretation of documents and material culture. Thousand

Oaks etc.: Sage. p. 155. ISBN 0761926879.

Scott, John & Marshall, Gordon (eds) A Dictionary of Sociology, Oxford University

Press, 1998

Nicholas Brown and Imre Szeman (eds). Pierre Bourdieu: Fieldwork in Culture

Robertson, David Bruce (1976). A theory of party competition. London and New York:

J. Wiley. ISBN 0471727377.

"Methods for Media Analysis". ReStore. Economic and Social Research Council.

Retrieved 13 June 2013.

http://slovnik-cizich-slov.abz.cz/web.php/slovo/operacionalizace

methods of social research - Čzu of social...methods of social research winter semester 2015/2016...

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