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Sociology Now: Chapter 4
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33
Sociology
Undergraduate 1
01/28/2010

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Term
causality
Definition
The term used when one variable causes another to change.
Term
cluster sample
Definition
sampling technique used when "natural" groupings are evident in the population. The total population is divided into these groups, then a sample of the group is selected. Then the required information is collected from the elements within each selected group.
Term
content analysis
Definition
Research method in which on analyzes artifacts (books, movies, TV programs, and so on) instead of people.
Term
confounding variables
Definition
The things that might get in the way of an accurate measurement of the impact of one variable on another.
Term
control group
Definition
In an experiment, the comparison group that will not experience the manipulation of independent variable.
Term
correlation
Definition
The term for the fact of some relationship between two phenomena.
Term
data
Definition
They are systematically collected and systematically bits of organized information.
Term
deductive reasoning
Definition
Reasoning that logically proceeds from one demonstrable fact to the next. It often moves from general to specific.
Term
dependent variable
Definition
The variable whose change depends on the introduction of the independent variable.
Term
detached observation
Definition
A perspective that constrains the researcher from becoming in any way involved in the event he or she is observing. This reduces the amount that the researchers' observations will change the dynamic that they are watching.
Term
ethnography
Definition
A type of field method in which the researcher inserts him or herself into the daily world of the people he or she is trying to study, to understand the events from the point of view of the actors themselves.
Term
experiment
Definition
A controlled form of observation in which one manipulates independent variables to observe their effects on a dependent variable.
Term
experimental group
Definition
In an experiment, the group that will have the change introduced to see what happens.
Term
extraneous variables
Definition
Variables that influence the outcome of an experiment but are not the variables that are actually of interest.
Term
hypothesis
Definition
A testable explanation for an event or phenomenon, that assumes a relationship between two or more variables.
Term
generalizability
Definition
Also called external validity or applicability, the extent to which the results of a study can be generalized to other circumstances.
Term
independent variable
Definition
In an experimental study, the agent of change, the ingredient that is added to set things in motion.
Term
inductive reasoning
Definition
Research in which one reasons to a conclusion about all or many members of a class based on examination of only a few members of that class. Loosely, it is reasoning from specific to general.
Term
interviews
Definition
Research method in which a researcher asks a small group of people open-ended questions.
Term
Likert scale
Definition
The most common form of survey coding; arranges possible responses from lowest to highest.
Term
literature review
Definition
Reading and summary of other research on or closely related to the topic of study.
Term
participant observation
Definition
Sociological research method in which one observes people in their natural habitat.
Term
predictability
Definition
The degree to which a correct prediction of a research outcome can be made.
Term
purposive sample
Definition
Sample in which respondents are not selected randomly and are not representative of the larger population but are selected precisely because they possess certain characteristics that are of interest to the researcher.
Term
qualitative methods
Definition
Inductive and inferential means to drawing sociological understanding, usually about less tangible aspects of social life, such as the actual felt experience of social interaction.
Term
quantitative methods
Definition
Numerical means to drawing sociological conclusions using powerful statistical tools to help understand patterns in which the behaviors, attitudes, or traits under study can be translated into numerical values.
Term
random sample
Definition
A sample chosen by an abstract and arbitrary method; each person has an equal chance of being selected.
Term
sample
Definition
A limited group of research subjects whose responses are then statistically developed into a general theme or trend that can be applied to the larger whole.
Term
secondary analysis
Definition
Analysis conducted on data previously collected from others for other reasons.
Term
stratified sample
Definition
Sample in which research subjects are divided into proportions equal to the proportions found in the population at large.
Term
subjectivity
Definition
The complex of individual perceptions, motivations, ideas, and emotions that give each of us a point of view.
Term
surveys
Definition
Research method in which one asks a sample of people closed-ended questions and tabulates the results.
Term
verstehen
Definition
Max Weber's term for "intersubjective understanding," or the ability to understand social behavior from the point of view of those the sociologist is observing.
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