SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Participant Observation, The Need, Sample Size Determination

• School: Emory University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 101
• Professor: Scott Tracy

Document Summary

Hypotheses use operational definitions (precise ways to measure their concepts: choosing a research method (research designs, collecting the data (survey, secondary analysis, documents, experiments, unobtrusive measures, participant observation) Validity: extent to which the operational definitions measure what you intend to measure. Reliability: if other researchers use your operational definitions, their findings would be consistent with yours. Six research methods: surveys, take random sample of the pop in interest, questionnaires: mailed to people => lots of bias ; lower cost. Howard schumann: sense and nonsense about surveys: sampling: how gallup achieved fame, literary digest did a poll to see if fdr would win election. Very biased as wealthy/ strong opinioned ppl would respond: george gallup used quotas to rep the diff economic strata and have a more accurate prediction. Answers can be synthesized: the need for comparisons, ** use framework of comparative data in evaluating the results.