scientific versus unscientific thinking in everyday life...
TRANSCRIPT
Scientific Versus Unscientific Thinking
• In everyday life, our biases easily influence our observations.
• Biases often lead us to draw incorrect conclusions about what we see.
• Ten common errors are regularly found in unscientific thinking.
Types of Unscientific Thinking Unscientific knowledge can be based on:
1. Tradition
2. Authority
3. Casual observation
4. Overgeneralization
6. Qualification
7. Illogical reasoning
8. Ego-defence
9. Premature closure of inquiry
5. Selectiveobservation 10.Mystification
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• Sample • Population
Samples and Populations
• Examples?
The Research Cycle
Six steps in the sociological research cycle: 1.Formulate research question2.Review existing research literature 3.Select research method
4.Collect data5.Analyze data (most challenging step) 6.Publish results
The Research Cycle
Ethical Considerations
• Treatment of subjectsIs needed for
respecting rights of research subjects,
including: i. ...ii. ...iii. ...
iv. ...• Treatment of research resultsConcern
about plagiarism, especially with spread of World Wide Web.
Measuring Variables
• Sociologists need to translate abstract propositions into testable forms.
• Operationalization: • A variable:• Hypothesis:
Translating Propositions into Hypotheses
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THE MAIN METHODS OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Main Methods of SociologyThe four main methods in sociological research:
1. Experiments 2. Surveys
3. Field Research
4. Analysis of existing documents and official statistics
Experiments
• Experiment:
• Usesrandomization:
Variables • Dependentvariable:
• Independentvariable:
Steps in a Simple Experiment
• Reliability: • Validity:
Reliability and Validity
Surveys
• Ask people questions about their knowledge, attitudes, or behaviour either in a face-to-face or telephone interview or in a paper-and- pencil format.
Closed- and Open-Ended Questions
• Questionnaires may contain two types of questions:
1. ... 2. ... 3. ... 4. ...
Threats to Validity
Reading Tables• One of most useful tools for analyzing survey
data is the contingency table:
– A cross-classification of cases by at least two variables that allows researcher to see how, if at all, variables are associated.
– Allows researchers to examine effects of control variables on original association.
• A relationship:
Relationships
than 100,000
Watching TV and Approval of Violence (in percent)
Determining Causes
• To establish whether an independent variable causes change in a dependent variable, researchers must satisfy three criteria:
1. ... 2. ... 3. ...
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Relationship Test and Sequencing
1. Relationshiptest:
2. Sequencing:
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Non-spuriousness
• Connections between variables and people always exist in a context.
• Control variables :• Is used to control for spurious relationship:
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How Spurious Relationships Occur
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How Authentic Relationships Occur
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Sampling
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Probability Sample
• Researchers have to choose respondents at random, and the chance of choosing an individual must be known and greater than zero.
• A sample with these characteristics is a probability sample.
• Asamplingframe:
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Sample Size and Statistical Significance
• Large samples give more precise results than small samples do.
• Random sample of 1500 people typically will give acceptably accurate results.
• This level of accuracy is called the
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The Margin of Error in a Sample
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Field Research
• Field research
• Strategies used in field research:
i. Detached observation
ii. Participant observation
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Detached Observation
• Classifying and counting behaviour of interest according to predetermined scheme
• Methodological concerns:
1. Reactivity:
2. The meaning of the observed behaviour may remain obscure to the researcher.
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Participant Observation
• Involves carefully observing people’s face-to- face interactions and participating in their lives over a long period of time.
• Purpose:
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Participant Observation: Strengths and Weaknesses
• Strengths: Allows researchers to develop a deep and sympathetic understanding of the way people see the world.
• It is especially useful in the “exploratory” stage of research.
• Weaknesses:
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Measurement as Target Practice
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Analysis of Existing Documents and Official Statistics
• Existingdocumentsandofficialstatisticsare created by people other than the researcher for purposes other than sociological research.
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Analysis of Existing Documents and Official Statistics
• Strengths:
• Weaknesses: Not created with the researchers’ needs in mind. Often contain biases that reflect the interests of the individuals and organizations that created them.
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Strengths and Weaknesses of Four Research Methods
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING SUBJECTIVE
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The Importance of Being Subjective
• Sociological research questions often spring from real-life experiences and the pressing concerns of the day.
• However, before sociological analysis, we rarely see things as they are. We see them as we are.
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Summary
• Scientific ideas differ from common sense and other forms of knowledge.
• Need to understand strengths and weaknesses of various research methods and control for weaknesses where possible.