Chapter 2: Process and Problems of Social

Research

◦Question?

◦Strategy?

◦Theory?

◦Design?

◦Ethical?

The Question

• Do mandatory arrest policies decrease domestic violence recidivism?

• Does how much a person loves his or her dating partner influence the frequency of lying?

• What factors influence men’s and women’s level of retirement income?

What Makes a Question “Good”?

1. Feasibility

•Resources

•Time

2. Social Importance

• Make a difference

• Help understanding

3. Scientific Relevance

•Resolve contradictory research findings

•Modify social theory? *

Deductive, Inductive, or Descriptive?

The Strategy

Deductive research starts with a theory and deduces a specific expectation.

Strategy #1: Deductive Research

Inductive Research starts with data.

Strategy #2: Inductive Research

Inductive Research

• If police noticed that arresting at least one person from the scene of a domestic violence case resulted in fewer subsequent calls to that same scene,

• The police officers might develop a theory that mandatory arrests decrease domestic violence recidivism. *

Descriptive research starts with data and proceeds only to making generalizations, not

generating entire theories.

Strategy #3: Descriptive Research

Descriptive Research

• “How frequently do those arrested for domestic violence return to violence?”

• Description of social phenomena can stimulate more deductive and inductive research

• Good descriptions of data are the basis for scientific research process and

• An essential component for understanding the social world. *

The Theory

• Social theory: A logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality

• (i.e., the social world as it exists)

• Theories and Research

• Make connections to:

• Social processes (reality)

• Large bodies of research

• Creating and evaluating theory

Example of Theory

What Is the Design?

• Once you’ve chosen a:• Research question, • Strategy, and • Theory

• Decide on a research design

•Cross-sectional•Longitudinal

Cross-Sectional Design•Data collected at one point in time.

Cross-Sectional Design

Cross-Sectional Design Application

•To study the effects of mandatory arrests

•Take “cross-section” of all domestic violence cases and

•Examine whether arrests affected recidivism*

Strengths of Cross-Sectional Design

• Relatively quick and easy to conduct • Data collected on different kinds of

people in relatively short time.

• Good for descriptive analyses• Good for generating hypotheses. • Large samples enable use of inferential

statistics (e.g. to compare subgroups within the sample).

Weaknesses of Cross-Sectional Design

• Difficult to establish time order

• Unable to chart individual variations in development or changes

• Unable to chart changing social processes over time.

Longitudinal Designs

Longitudinal Designs: The Panel Design

1. A sample (called a panel) is drawn from a population at time 1, and data are collected from the sample (for instance, 100 arrestees from domestic violence cases are selected and interviewed).

2. Time passes, some panel members become unavailable for follow-up (move or refuse to continue participating).

3. At time 2, data are collected from the same people (the panel) as at time 1—except for people who cannot be located (the remaining arrestees are re-interviewed).

Weaknesses of Panel Designs

• Expense and Attrition • Expensive to keep track of individuals for long

periods of time • Panel members who can be located declines over

time.

• Subject fatigue • Weary of repeated interviews and drop out• Used to answering questions--Start giving stock

answers

Longitudinal Designs: Repeated Cross-Sectional Design (Trend

study)

1. A sample of domestic violence cases is drawn from a population of cases at time 1, and data are collected from the sample.

2. As time passes, some people leave the population and others enter it.

3. At time 2 a different sample of cases is drawn from this population.

Cases in Cases in

In a cohort study, the follow-up samples (at one or more times) are selected from the same cohort—

Cohort: People who have experienced a similar event or a common starting point

(Example: Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers)

Longitudinal Designs: A Cohort Study

Example of a Cohort

Real-life Example

• Data collected from high school students from Baltimore, Maryland

• Studies the difference in initiation of tobacco use between a cohort of adolescents that started working for pay and a cohort of adolescents that did not work.

• The results suggest that adolescents who work for pay have a higher risk of initiating tobacco use.

Ramchand, R., Ialongo, N. S., & Chilcoat, H. D. (2007). The effect of working for pay on adolescent tobacco use. American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 2056-2062.

Unit of Analysis•Major entity you are analyzing in study.

Any of the following could be a unit of analysis: • Individuals • Groups • Artifacts (books, photos, newspapers) • Geographical units (town, census tract,

state) • Social interactions (dyadic relations,

divorces, arrests)

Cases = individual arrests

Precinct #1Precinct #2Precinct #3

Cases =precincts

Individuals as Unit of Analysis

Groups as Unit of Analysis

Units of Analysis and the Domestic Violence Example

Two Research FallaciesA fallacy is an error in reasoning

•Ecological fallacy occurs when you make conclusions about individuals based only on analyses of group data.

•You measured math scores of a class and found that they had the highest average score in the district.

•Later you meet one of the kids from that class and you think "she must be a math genius.”

•Fallacy! Just because she comes from the class with the highest average doesn't mean that she does well in math. •She could be the lowest math scorer in a class that otherwise consists of math geniuses!

Two Research Fallacies

• An Exception fallacy is sort of the reverse of the ecological fallacy.

• Occurs when you reach a group conclusion on the basis of exceptional cases.

• This fallacious reasoning is at the core of a lot of sexism and racism (stereotypes).

• The man who sees a woman make a driving error and concludes that "women are terrible drivers.

• Fallacy!

Errors in Reasoning

Ethical Considerations• Honesty and Openness• Should not conceal motives to subject• Full disclosure of researcher identity

• The Uses of Science• How will findings be used?• Who controls final report?• Who controls publicity?

• Confidentiality• Informed consent agreement• Identifying information is available only to designated

research personnel for specific research needs

• Institutional Review Board (IRB)• Federally funded research

Conclusion: The Process of Researching the Effects of Mandatory

Arrests

Contemplate:

• the question,

• the strategy,

• the theory,

•the design, and

• the ethics of the project.

For Your Own Research…

Populations and Samples