GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS - Roanoke College



GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS

Common to Sociological

RESEARCH METHODS, DATA ANALYSIS, THEORY, AND SEMINAR

(For distribution in SOCI 251, 252, 353 & 454)

Association is the connection or relationship of two or more concepts or variables. Two variables have an association if the distribution of one variable changes in concert with the other. See also causation, correlation.

Bias is any situation in which the accuracy, reliability, validity, etc., of data, findings, or conclusions are distorted by the researcher's or theorist's methods or presuppositions (e.g., moral, political, religious beliefs or ideologies). In statistical analysis, bias is a technical term for a difference between a hypothetical true value of a variable in a population and the observed value in a particular sample.

Causation is the principle that one variable (X) produces change in another variable (Y). It is based on the assumption that events occur in a predictable, nonrandom way, and that one event leads to, or causes, another. To establish causation, the two variables must be associated or correlated with each other; the first variable (X) must precede the second variable (Y) in time and space; and alternative, noncausal explanations for the relationship (such as spurious ones) must be eliminated. Events in the physical and social worlds are generally too complex to be explained by any single factor. For this reason, scientists are guided by the principle of multiple causation, which states that one event occurs as a result of several factors operating or occurring in combination.

Concept is a word or set of words that expresses a general idea about the nature of something. Anomie, relative deprivation, and mass society are among the more well-known concepts in sociology.

Conceptualization is the mental process whereby ambiguous and imprecise notions are made clear and more precise. A conceptual definition states the meaning of a concept.

Correlation is the mutual relationship or association of two or more concepts or variables, such that when one changes in value, the other one does also. Variables may be correlated positively (i.e., they change in the same direction) or negatively (that is, they change in the opposite direction). Correlation is necessary but not sufficient to demonstrate causation.

Deduction and Induction are processes of logical reasoning. Deduction involves reasoning from general principles to particular instances. In other words, it is drawing a conclusion from a set of premises or developing the specific expectations of hypotheses from a theory or theoretical perspective. Induction involves reasoning from particular instances to general principles. In other words, it is offering a premise or a theory about a category of events from observations of specific instances or from the results of hypothesis testing. It is the process involved in empirical generalization. Although deduction is fundamental to the scientific method, sociological analyses are rarely strictly deductive, even if they may claim to be.

Dependent variable: See variable.

Descriptive Statistics: Procedures that summarize the distribution of a variable or measure the relationship between two or more variables.

Empirical is a verifiable quality based on experience, experiment, or observation rather than on assumption, logic, inspiration, or any of the other ways by which we may understand the social world. According to a well-known story, purely rational considerations led to the conclusion that the bumblebee is aerodynamically incapable of flying. Empirical considerations force us to conclude, to the contrary, that bumblebees do a very good job of flying. Sociologists frequently argue that much of what is wrong with our understanding of social behavior arises from the tendency to deal with this subject on the basis of reasoning rather than observation. On the other hand, because social behavior is both very complex and generally symbolic in character, the application of purely empirical modes of investigation can only provide part of the social explanation for behavior.

Empirical generalization is the process by which the specific, observed results of research are held to apply to the general, unobserved category of events or population under study. It is a form of induction.

Hypothesis is a testable statement of a specific relationship between at least two variables. It is a statement of something that ought to he observed in the real world (i.e., it is an empirical statement) if the theory from which it is derived is correct. Ideally, hypotheses are drawn from or based on theoretical propositions; they are arrived at, in other words, through deduction.

Ideal-type method is a process of research, and of drawing conclusions from such research, that involves isolating the most basic characteristics of some social entity. As used by Weber, it is an empirical method that does not imply or generate the perfect or most desirable characteristics of an entity, but simply those that are most observed. Thus, Weber analyzed bureaucracy as an ideal type rather than as any particular case or example.

Ideology is a theory or theoretical perspective associated with the self-interest of a particular group. According to less common usage, it also refers to the set of ideas underlying and informing socio-political action.

Inferential Statistics: procedures that produce generalizations from samples to populations.

Independent variable: See variable.

Induction: See deduction; see also empirical generalization.

Measurement is the process of determining the value or level (either qualitative or quantitative) of a particular attribute of a unit of analysis. It refers to assigning numbers to concepts or variables. These series of assigned numbers can be used to 1) classify or categorize at the nominal level of measurement; 2) rank or order at the ordinal level of measurement; or 3) assign a score at the interval level of measurement.

Methodology is the logic of scientific investigation, including analysis of the basic assumptions of science in general and of sociology in particular, processes of theory construction, interrelationships of theory and research, and procedures of empirical investigation.

Middle-range theory: This term was coined by Robert K. Merton who believes in the necessity for sociological theory constructed between 'minor working hypotheses' and 'master conceptual schemes.'

Multiple causation: See causation.

Operationalization is the process of defining concepts in terms of simple, observable procedures. An operational definition states a concept or variable in such a way that it can be measured and observed. For example, religious devotion may be operationally defined in terms of frequency of attending church. The use of constructs and scales are other common forms of operationalization. For example, the Srole Scale of Anomie is one of many attempts to operationalize the concept of anomie, an idiomatic abstraction that is difficult to measure directly.

A Paradigm is a perspective or a frame of reference for viewing the social world consisting of a set of concepts and assumptions. Researchers describing the same aspects of the social world from two different paradigms may have very different interpretations. Paradigms differ in terms of assumptions, concepts, and problems they consider to be important.

Proposition is a statement or specification within a theory that describes a causal relationship between two or more concepts. A proposition may be translated into one or more testable hypotheses by operationalizing the concepts into measurable variables.

Reductionism: A sociological explanation is said to be reductionist when it attempts to account for a range of phenomena in terms of a single determining factor. It is said of some Marxian theories, for instance, that they are reductionist because they explain the diversity of social behavior by reference simply to the economy. Sociologists tend to be skeptical of anything resembling 'psychological reductionism.'

Reflexivity is present in research and/or theory which refers to itself.

Theories in the sociology of knowledge, for example, refer to themselves

since they argue that all knowledge, including sociological knowledge,

can be explained socially. A sociologist who considers his or her own role in a study, and how it influences and is influenced by the findings

may be thought of as a reflexive sociologist. Theories about the nature

of theory—‘meta-theory’—are also reflexive.

Reliability and validity are evaluative qualities assigned to empirical research methods. Reliability is the capacity of a research instrument to deliver an unchanged, dependable result or measurement when applied repeatedly to the same phenomenon. Validity is the capacity of a research instrument to measure what it purports, or claims, to measure. It generally is more difficult, both conceptually and practically, to establish validity than to establish reliability. An instrument can be reliable but invalid; in that case, it will give consistent results that do not mean what they are supposed to mean. However, an instrument cannot he valid but unreliable. If it is unreliable, it cannot measure anything adequately. The difficulty of establishing the validity of an instrument sometimes can he bypassed (or at least minimized) with a good operational

definition.

Research methods are the procedures of studying a phenomenon, including ways of collecting and handling empirical observations and data. Research methods commonly employed by sociologists include surveys, observation, and content analysis.

Social facts are the regularities of behavior within a social system. According to Durkheim, social facts are the proper units of study for sociologists, and they can be explained only by reference to other social facts. They exist outside the individual (i.e., they both pre- and post-date any one person's existence); they are coercive to the individual (i.e., their influence on a person's behavior cannot he willed away); and they are general and widespread throughout a social system. Common examples of social facts include rates of behavior, such as marriage, divorce, crime, suicide, employment, religiosity, etc. Public opinion and social attitudes are also important social facts.

Sociological imagination: The set of mind that allows individuals to see the relationship between events in their personal lives and events in their society. This term was popularized by C. Wright Mills.

Spurious relationships are those that are not genuine. The variables appear to be causally related, though they are not, because each is influenced by the same other variable. A classic example of a spurious relationship is that between levels of ice cream consumption and rates of rape. These two variables exhibit a very strong, positive correlation: when ice cream consumption increases, so does rape, and vice versa. Are we safe in concluding, then, that eating ice cream (independent variable, X) causes people to commit rape (dependent variable, Y) or, given that the direction of influence could just as logically he reversed in this instance, that rape (independent variable, X) causes offenders or victims to eat ice cream (dependent variable, Y)? No, that is not a safe conclusion. Both levels of ice cream consumption and rates of rape are strongly influenced by season of the year or by outdoor temperature. More directly, the season affects the degree to which people engage in certain kinds of behavior; in other words, many behaviors have a predictable temporal dimension. The observed correlation between levels of ice cream consumption and rates of rape is spurious, not causal, because each actually is dependent on a third, temporal variable. Many spurious relationships are far more subtle and difficult to detect than this empirical example.

Tautology: Circular reasoning; saying the same thing in different ways; redefining a condition and then using the redefinition as an explanation. Not all tautologies are regarded as useless; Durkheim's definition of religion (as 'all things thought to be sacred') is both tautological and enduring.

Theory is an explanation of some phenomenon. More specifically, it is an explanation of the relationship between two or more concepts or variables. A theory is not just a description of an empirical relationship; rather, it is an attempt to answer the question of why (and, sometimes, how) the relationship exists as it does.

Theoretical perspective is a set of interrelated assumptions about the way things work. More specifically, it is a broad view about the nature of society and of social behavior. A given theoretical perspective may generate any number of more specific theories, which then may be tested by any number of even more specific hypotheses.

Typology: A classification scheme; an examination of types. Merton's 'Modes of Individual Adaptation' and Sorokin’s ‘Sensate and Ideational Culture’ are well-known typologies.

Validity: see reliability.

Value-free research occurs when personal biases or cultural values are not allowed to affect either the conduct or the results of empirical study. It is usually thought of as an ideal to be pursued rather than as a standard to be met.

Values are broad-based notions about what people in a particular culture hold in highest and lowest regard. They are principles embodying ideas about what that culture considers to be right and wrong, important and unimportant, desirable and undesirable.

Variable is something that can change or vary, so that its opposite is a constant. A variable occurs in different degrees (or has different values) among individuals, groups, objects, and events. A dependent variable (Y) is an effect, result, or outcome; it is assumed to depend on or to be caused by at least one independent variable (X). A researcher or theorist uses the independent variable(s) to explain the dependent variable. In other words, changes in the independent variable(s) are theorized or hypothesized to be correlated with or to have caused the changes in the dependent variable. Researchers and theorists often specify their variables in the titles of their articles. For example, as you skim through a recent issue of Social Forces, you may come across an article titled "The Influences of Age, Sex, Income, and Marital Status on Church Attendance." It is safe to conclude that five variables were examined in this study: age, sex, income, marital status, and church attendance. In all likelihood, the dependent variable would be church attendance (Y), which would be presumed to be affected by the four independent variables of age (X1), sex (X2), income (X3), and marital status (X4).

[NOTE: The ability to identify and specify variables is essential for all students of research methods, data analysis, and theory. It is also of utmost importance to the practice of sociologically- informed critical thinking.]

Verifiability is the principle of science by which any given piece of research and, especially, its results can be duplicated or replicated by other scientists.

Verstehen is a method of research, proposed by Weber, by which we attempt to understand others' behavior by mentally putting ourselves in their place. (The closest English word for verstehen is empathize.) Verstehen is at the heart of many field research methods. It is most likely to be invoked by sociologists at the theorizing and conclusion-drawing (rather than during the data-collection) stages of research.

Wallace Wheel is a depiction, offered by Walter Wallace (1971) in his The Logic of Science in Sociology (Chicago: Aldine-Atherton), of the interconnectedness of theory and research. Ideally, the wheel turns in this fashion: theory leads to hypotheses which lead to observations which lead to empirical generalizations which are then used to revise or advance theory.

Definitions adapted from the following sources:

Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan S. Turner. 2004. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 4th ed. New York: Viking Penguin.

Babbie, Earl. 1992. The Practice of Social Research, 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Cuzzort, R. P. and E. W. King. 1995. Twentieth-Century Social Thought, 5th ed. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Healey, Joseph. 2000. Statistics: A Tool for Social Research, 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Jary, David and Julia Jary. 1991. The Harper Collins Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Harper Collins.

Lemert, Charles (ed.). 1993. Social Theory: The Multicultural and Classic Readings. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Levin, Jack and James Allen Fox. 2002. Elementary Statistics in Social Research, 8th ed. New York: Harper Collins.

Levine, John, Margaret Levine Young and Arnold Reinhold. 1996. The Internet for Dummies (2nd ed.). Foster City, CA: International Data Group.

Shepard, Jon M. 2005. Sociology, 9th ed. St. Paul, MN: West.

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