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sociology 150
chapter 5
39
Sociology
Undergraduate 2
09/25/2011

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Term
positivism 
Definition
scientifically-based sociological research that uses scientific tools such as survey, sampling, objective measurement, and cultural and historical analysis to study and understand society
Term
social statics 
Definition
why societies remain the same 
Term
social dynamics 
Definition
why societies change 
Term
objectivity 
Definition
is the ability to study and observe without distortion or bias, especially personal bias
Term
agents 
Definition
people who use their agency to make choices based on their varied motivations 
Term
empirical 
Definition
means we are able to perceive it through one of the five senses of sight, taste, touch, hearing, or smell 
Term
population 
Definition
the group you are interested in researching 
Term
sample 
Definition
subset of the population 
Term
probability samples 
Definition
each member of the population has a known chance of being selected. 
Term
nonprobability sampling 
Definition
 members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner
Term
random sampling 
Definition
each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected.  
Term
Convenience sampling 
Definition
is used when you don’t have a list of everyone in your population so you choose participants because they are convenient to you.  
Term

quantitative data

 

Definition

data that is, or can be converted to, numbers-you can enter it into a computer program, typically SPSS (you’ll use this in your statistics class).  

Term

qualitative data

 

Definition

data that can’t be converted to numbers; data that is about the quality of something-you look for themes in the results.   

Term

validity

 

Definition

the study must actually test what you intended to test.  

Term
reliability 
Definition
the ability to repeat findings of a research study.  
Term
surveys 
Definition
 research instruments designed to obtain information from individuals who belong to a larger group, organization, or society
Term
Polls 
Definition
surveys which collect opinions, such as who one might vote for in an election 
Term
response rate 
Definition
the percentage of people who complete your survey 
Term
Generalizability 
Definition
results from the sample can be assumed to apply to the population as though the population itself had been studied 
Term
Valid survey questions 
Definition
are questions that are accurate and measure what they claim they’ll measure 
Term
Reliable questions 
Definition
 are questions that are relatively free from bias errors which might taint the findings
Term

Open-ended questions 

Definition

are questions designed to get respondents to answer in their own words.(e.g., “What might be the benefits of having a CSUN Lacrosse team?”_______________ . )

 

Term

Closed-ended questions 

Definition

are questions designed to get respondents to choose from a list of responses you provide to them.(e.g., “Are you married?”  Yes or No.) 

 

Term

Likert scale questions 

Definition

 are statements which respondents are asked to agree or disagree with.  They are the most common types of questions used in surveys (e.g., “How much do you agree that the president is doing a good job of running the country?” Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, Strongly Agree.) 

Term
Demographic questions 
Definition
are questions which provide the basic categorical information about respondents such as age, sex, race, educational level, marital status, etc. 
Term
Nominal level data 
Definition
is data with no standard numerical values. This is often referred to as categorical data (e.g., What is your favorite type of pet? __Reptile __Canine __Feline __Bird __Other).   
Term
Ordinal level data 
Definition
is categories with an order to them 
Term
Interval level data 
Definition
is categories with an order, but we add standard numerical values with regular intervals.   
Term
Ratio level data 
Definition
adds a real zero starting point for the numerical values.  
Term
Variables 
Definition
vary by respondent (one is male, the next is female, the next is female, etc.).  
Term
attributes 
Definition
possible choices.  
Term
Dependent variables 
Definition
change in response to the influence of independent variables; they depend upon the independent variables.    
Term
Independent variables 
Definition
are variables that when manipulated will stimulate a change upon the dependent variables.  
Term

mean

 

Definition

is the arithmetic score of all the numbers divided by the total number of students.

Term

median 

Definition

is the exact mid-point value in the ordered list of scores (e.g., 0, 1, 1, & 1 fall below and 4, 4, 5, & 8 fall above the number 3 thus 3 is the median). 

Term

mode 

Definition

the number which occurs most often 

Term

extreme valuesor outliers 

Definition

are the especially low or high number in the series. 

Term
Ethics 
Definition
 are standards of what is right and wrong.  
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