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I. Basics of Sociological Investigation
.....A. Subjective Truth versus Empirical Evidence
..........1. Truth is that which you define it to be.
..........2. Empiricism requires verifiable evidence.
.....B. Common sense versus Scientific Evidence [The following are false.]
..........1. Poor people break the law more than rich people.
..........2. People in the U.S. are more or less equal.
..........3. Poor people don't want to work.
..........4. Differences between males and females are "human nature."
..........5. People change as they grow older and lose their distinctiveness.
..........6. Most people marry because tehy are in love.
.....C. Hurley's +3/-2 Rule of Scientific Research
..........1. The three positive effects that Good Science Achieves:
................a. Validity
................b. Reliability
................c. Replicability
..........2. The two negative consequences Good Science Avoids:
................a. The Hawthorne Effect
................b. The Self-fulfilling Prophecy

II. Elements of Science
.....A. Concepts, Variables and measurements
.....B. Aspects of Measurement: Reliability & Validity
.....C. Correlation and Cause: An example of a Spurious Correlation
..............Density of living conditions "CAUSES" Delinquency Rate
..............Unexamined intervening variable: Income level
.....D. Objectivity
..........1. Neutrality
..........2. Replicability
.....E. Measures of Central Tendancy: Mean, Median, Mode & Mid-Range
.....F. Limitations to Scientific Sociology
..........1. Human behavior is too complex to predict individual behavior.
..........2. Humans respond to being studied.
..........3. Social patterns constantly change.
..........4. Sociologists are a part of what they study.
.....G. The Importance of subjective interpretation
..........1. Politics and Research: Funding sources
..........2. Gender and Research:
...............a. Androcentricity
...............b. Overgeneralization
...............c. Gender insensitivity
...............d. Double standards
...............e. Interference
...............f. Feminist Research
.....H. Research Ethics
.....I. Conducting Research with Hispanics
..........1. Terminology
..........2. Cultural values
..........3. Family dynamics
..........4. Time and efficiency
..........5. Personal space

III. Methods of Sociological Research
.....A. Experiments
..........1. Hypothesis testing
..........2. Hawthorne Effect
..........3. Experimental illustration: Stanford Prison Experiment --
..............Conclusion: Violence is rooted in the character of jails themselves.
.....B. Survey Research
..........1. Population and Sample
..........2. Questionnaires & interviews
..........3. National Opinion Surveys
................a. Opinion Polls & databases
................b. Literary Digest's Poll
..........4. Lois Benjamin's Talented One Hundred

...............Sex.....Age.....Setting...Region....Educate...Occ Sec.....Income.....Pol Orient

.............Male.....-35..... Mostly.....West.......Doctor....Coll/Univ.... +$50,000... Radical
.............63%......6%.... Black.........6%..........32%.........35%..............64%...........13%
......................................71%
........Female...35-54...Mostly....North/.....Medical/.....Private,......$35,000-......Liberal
.............37%....68%....White...Central.......Law..........Profit.........$50,000...........38%
......................................15%.......32%.........17%..........17%.............18%

........................55+...Racially...South.....Masters......Private,......$20,000-......Moderate
.......................26%.....Mixed.......38%.........27%......Nonprofit.......$34,999..........28%
.....................................14%..........................................9%...............12%
.............................................Northeast..Bachelors..................................Depends on Issue
..................................................12%...........13%....Government.. Less than........14%
......................................................................................22%...............6%
...............................................Other..........Less.....Self-Employed....................Unknown
..................................................12%...........11%..........14%.....................................2% .................................................................................Retired
........................................................................................3%

.....C. Participant Obeservation
..........1. Fieldwork
..........2. Ethnology
..........3. Qualitative Research
..........4. An Illustration: Street Corner Society
...............William Foote Whyte & "Doc"
.....D. Secondary and Historical Analysis
...............An Illustration: A tale of Two Cities
...............E. Digby Bartzell's Puritan Boston & Quacker Philadelphia
.....E. Technology and Research -- Searching the Internet
.....F. Interplay of Theory and Method
..........1. Deductive Logic
..........2. Inductive Logic
..........3. Can People Lie with Statistics?
...............Poor Children living in household with one or two parents working fulltime, 18%
...............Poor Children living in household with one or two parents working parttime, 39%
...............Poor Children living in household with no parents working, 43%
...............a. People choose their data.
...............b. People interpret their data.
...............c. People use graphs to "spin" the "truth."
...........................SAT SCORES FALLING
...............480 480
...............460 ..... .. 475
...............440 ............. .. 455 ........ 450 .. 450 .. 450
...............420 ........................ 445
...............400
....................1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

.........................SAT SCORES HOLD STEADY
...............500
...............450 480 . 475 . 455 . 445 . 450 . 450 . 450
...............400
.................... 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

IV. Sociological Investigation
.....A. Research Methology
..........1. Define the Topic.
..........2. Review the Literature.
..........3. Assess the Research Methodology.
..........4. Specify Research Variables.
..........5. Consider Ethical Consequences.
..........6. Develop Research Design.
..........7. Collect Data.
..........8. Interpret Findings.
..........9. State Conclusions.
........10. Suggest Implications for Future Research.
........11. Publish the Study.
.....B. Research Ethical Issues
..........1. Rights to Privacy
..........2. No Deception of Others
..........3. No Double Standards
.....C. The Logic of Theory Development
................................Deductive Phase
....................................Hypothesis
............General Theory
..........----------------------------------------------------------
......................................................Specific Observations
...................................Generalizations
..................................Inductive Phase

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