Soc 280 Chapter 2 Test
Terms
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- Science
- a logical system that bases knowlege on direct, systematic observation
- Scientific Sociology
- the study of society based on systmatic observatoin of social behavior
- Empirical Evidence
- information we can verify with our senses
- Concept
- a mental construct that represents some part of the world in a simplified form
- Variable
- a concpet whose value changes from case to case
- Measurement
- a procedure for determining the value of a variable in a specific case
- Operationalize a Variable
- specifying exactly what one is to measure before assigning a value to a variable
- Reliability
- consistancy in measurement
- Valididty
- actually measuring exactly what one intends to measure
- Cause and Effect
- a relationship in which change in one variable (the independent variable) causes change in another (the dependent varible).
- Independent Variable
- a variable that causes change in another (the dependent variable)
- Dependent Variable
- a variable tha is changed by another (independent variable)
- Correlation
- a relationshp in which two (or more) variables change together
- Spurious Correlation
- an apparent, although false, relationship between two (or more) variables caused by some other variable
- Control
- holding constant all variables except one in order to see clearly the effect of that variable
- Objectivity
- personal neutrality in conducting research
- Replication
- repition of reseach by other investigators
- Interpretive Sociology
- the study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world
- Critical Sociology
- the sudty of society that focuses on teh need for social change
- Gender
- the personal traits and social positions that memebers of a society attach to being male or female
- Reseach method
- a systematic plan for conducting research
- Experiment
- a research method for investigating cause and effect under highly controlled conditions
- Hypothesis
- an unverified statment of a relationship between variables
- Hawthorne Effect
- a change in a subjects behavior caused simply by te awarness of being studied
- Survey
- a research method in which a subject responds to a sreies of statemnts or questions in a questionair or an interview
- Population
- the people who are the focus of research
- Sample
- a part of a population that represents the whole
- Questionaire
- a series of written questions a researcher presents to respondants
- Interview
- a series of questions a reseacher admininsters in person to repspondans
- Participant Observation
- a research method in which investigators systematically observe people while joining them in thier routine activities
- Secondary Analysis
- a research method in which a researcher uses data collected by others
- Inductive logical thought
- resoning that transforms specific observations into general theory
- Deductive logical thought
- resoning that transforms gernal thoery into a specific hypothesis suitable for testing