Sociology 3306A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Research Question, Null Hypothesis, Ecological Fallacy

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 3306A/B
• Professor: Teresa Abada

Document Summary

Challenging to come up with a research question (sets the boundaries for the study: not the same thing as a hypothesis. Quantitative methods have very specific and narrow questions. General area broad area of study. Research question specific research guiding what we look at and how we approach it. Hypothesis derive hypothesis(es) from the research question. Research questions should: be clear, researchable, have specific evaluation criteria, connect with established theory/research, have potential to make a contribution to knowledge on the topic. Contains the iv (independent variable), the dv (dependent variable) and expected direction of the relationship. Presents an expected, but unconfirmed, relationship b/w 2 or more variables. Tests of statistical significance: if test is significant, low probability that the relationship occurred by chance (significance indicates that there is some statistically relevant relationship) Problems occurring with the unit of analysis: ecological fallacy drawing conclusions about individuals based solely on the observation of groups.