SOCL 2001 Chapter : CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 2: Sociology
• One question only spawn another question
• Empirical observation: something you can actually observe happening
• Research methods
o Research methods are standard rules that social scientists follow
when trying to establish a casual relationship between social elements
▪ Quantitative – Numeric (statistical tools used)
▪ Qualitative –information without numbers (behavior and
meanings)
• Approaches to research
o A deductive approach
▪ Starts with a theory
▪ Develop a hypothesis
▪ Make an empirical observation
▪ Analyze the date collected through observation to confirm,
reject, or modify the original theory
o Inductive approach
▪ Starts with an empirical observation
▪ Then works to form a theory
▪ Determines if a correlation exists by noticing if a change is
observed in two things simultaneously
o BOTH lead you to the same place just with different starting points
(Figure 2.1)
• Causality vs. Correlation
o Sociologists conduct research to try to prove causation
▪ Causality is the idea that a change in one factor results in a
corresponding change in another factor.
▪ Very hard to prove this because there’s usually another
explanation
o To prove causality
▪ Correlation and time order (cause must come before effect) are
established and alternative explanations are ruled out
• Correlation exists when there is a simultaneous
variation in variables
o Alternative explanations
o Spurious explanations
▪ Looks like things should be related
(moving in the same direction) but
they’re totally different {ice cream and
homicide}
▪ Reverse causality
• When a researcher believes that A is causing B, when B
is actually causing A
