STANBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

S O C I OL O G Y 1

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Introduction to Sociology

Week 5: Chapter 6 Review

CHAPTER 6Quantitative research-• Research that collects and reports data

primarily in numerical form.Qualitative research-• Research that is about exploring issues,

understanding phenomena, and answering questions by analyzing and making sense of unstructured data.

CHAPTER 6Literature review-• Surveys scholarly articles, books and other sources

(e.g. dissertations, conference proceedings) relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, providing a description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work.

Survey-• A technique for ascertaining the self-reported

attitudes or behaviors of a particular group, usually by questioning a representative, random sample of the group.

Self-administered questionnaire-• A set of questions given to respondents who read

the instructions and fill in the answers themselves.Open-ended vs. close-ended questions- • Questions + answer categories• Ex: are you____Male____Female?

CHAPTER 6Matrix questions-• Several questions with the same set of answers.

For example: Strongly Agree, Agree, or Strongly Disagree.

Demographics-• The characteristics of a population with respect

to age, race, and gender.

CHAPTER 6Field research-• The main qualitative research method and

involves the study of social life in its natural setting.

Observational research-• The gathering of primary data by observing

relevant people, actions, and situations.Participant observation-• An observation procedure in which the observer

participates with those being observed.  The observer becomes "one of them”.

Hawthorne effect-• The alteration of behavior by the subjects of a

study due to their awareness of being observed.

CHAPTER 6Reactive effects-• The changes in an individual or group behavior that

are due to being observed or otherwise studied.Accretion measures-• The measures are deposits of something left behind

(used in non-reactive observation)Content analysis-• The systematic coding and objective recording of

data, guided by some rationaleUnobtrusive methods-• Methods in which research respondents do not have

to be disturbed for data or gathered.Triangulation-• The use of multiple methods to study one research

question. 

CHAPTER 6Sampling- • The process of selecting participants for a study of

the population. The sample is then considered a portion of the population that is studied in order to make inferences about the entire population.

Heterogeneity-• The variability of the inputs and outputs of services,

which causes services to tend to be less standardized and uniform than goods.

Convenience sample-• A form of nonprobability sample using respondents

who are convenient or readily accessible to the researcher—for example, employees, friends, or relatives.

Random Sample-• A sample that fairly represents a population because

each member has an equal chance of inclusion.

CHAPTER 6Ethics-• Standards of right and wrong that transcend

economic and legal boundaries. Ethical standards deal with the way we treat others and restrain our own actions because of the desires, expectations, or rights of others, or with our obligations to them.

IRB- • A committee that reviews research proposals to

ensure that ethical standards have been met.