f:

il

DoW
Socidl
kseurch
THERESE L. BAKER
Qr
DePoul University
1

McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Nerv York St. Louis San Francisco Auckland Bogot6
Caracas Hamburg Lisbon London Madrid Mexico
Milan Montreal Delhi Paris San Juan
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I
 This book was set in Times Roman by University Graphics, Inc.
The editors were Stephanie K. Happer and Curt Berkowilz;
the designer was Jo Jones;
the production supervisor was Denise L. Puryear.
Drawings were done by Hadel Studio.
The cover illustration was by Pat Cummings.
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company was printer and binder.

See Acknowledgments on pages xxv, xxvi.

Copyrights included on these pages by reference

Dorng Social Research

Copyright @ 1988 by McGraw-Hill, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in
the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United
Srates Copyright Act of 1976. no part ofthis publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a
data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission ofthe
publisher.

4567890 DOCDOC 921

rsBN 0-07-003453-2

Library of Congress Cataioging,in-Publication Data nerese Baker is an associate professor and

Ba-ker, Therese L.
Doing social research/Therese L. Baker.
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
rsBN 0-07-003453-2
l. Social sciences-Research
H62.8286 1988
300'.72-dc19
former chairperson of the department of sociology at DePaul University and director
of its Chicago Area Studies Center. She is also the director of the Urban Studies pro-
gram. Born and raised in Minneapolis, she received her undergraduate
education at
Cornell University and graduate education at the University of C[icago (in whose com-
munity she has continued.to live). Her principal research interest is ii changing gender
differences in the educational and career aspirations and attainments of American
youth. In 1987, she was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Women
and
I. Title. Gender at Stanford university. she has been an ad'isory editor for Contemporary
so-
ciology and The Sociological Quarterly, and is currently on the editorial boards
87-17333
of The
Ametican Sociologist and. Gender and Society. Profesior Baker has taught
CIP social re-
search methods at DePaulsince 1975.

/
 Preface
xxl
Acknowledgments
XXV

PART ONE
The Form and purpose of Social Research
PREFACE

Introduction: The Art ofsocial Research

YOUR IROUBTES AS SOURCTS FOR SOCIAI 3
RESEARCH PROBTEMS
ORGANIZA]IONS AS SOURCES FOR SOCIAT RESEARCH 5
PROBIEMS
SOCIAT RESEARCH AS AN ARI 7
Developing an Appreciation for Social Complexity I
From Messy Beginnings 9

A Personal Example 10

RECOMMENDED READINGS 12
l4

C hapter 1 : Yarieties af Social - Sc ientific Research

t5
INIRODUCTION
SURVEYS
t5
High School Achievement The Second Coleman Report t8
19
The Causes of Delinquency
23
Some Characteristics of Surveys
EXPERIMFNIAT STUDIES
26
A Iaboratory Experiment 27
An Experiment in a Natural Setting 27
29
Some Characteristics of Experimenial Studies
FIETD STUDIES
3l
What to Look For When Reading a Field Study JI
33
Jelly's
Indusrrial Supplies Company (lndsco) 33
35
Some Characteristics of Field Studies
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL-SCIENTIRC S]UD]ES
3l
Commonalities 39
Creative Components ofthe Studies 39
41
Scientific Components of the Studies
REVIEW NOTiS
42
KEY TIRMS
43
STUDY EXERCISES I 44
RECCMMENDED READINGS 44
44
ix

I
 x c o NTENTS

Chapter 2: The Science ofSocial R.esearch 45 HOW TO INTENSIFY KNOWTEDGE ABOUT A TOP]C
92
INTRODUCIION 45 . Using the Library
92
WHERE SCIENCE STARTS 46 Using Written Records and Documents 93
How to Turn Common Sense into Science 49 Talking to Informed Others 93
THE SCIENTIFIC ETHOS 5l TURNING A TOPIC INTO A RESEARCHABTF PROBIEM
94
Avoiding Brute Empiricism 52 Step 1: Consider the Most problematic Aspects of the Topic
94
E1
THE SCIENTIFIC MODET Step 2: Define the Aim ofthe project
95
The Inductive Halfofthe Research Process 53 Step 3: State the Topic as a Series ofeuestions
95
The Deductive Half olthe Research Process 57 Step 4: Set Up a Hypothesis Based on One Alternative Answer 96
Testing Hypotheses 58 REASONS FOR STUDYING THE TOPIC
96
HOW RAIIONAL IS SCIFNCE? 60 WHOM OR WHAT TO STUDY-THE UNITS OF ANATYSIS q7
REVIEW NOTES 6l The Twin Traps: The Ecological Fallacy and Reductionism
99
KFY TFRMS 6l TIME DIMENSION OF THE SIUDY
r00
STUDY EXERCISFS 6l Period ofTime Addressed by the Study
100
RECOMMENDED READINGS 62 Time Frame in Which the Study is Carried Out r0l
PROPOSING A RESEARCH PLAN
r03
THE ELEVEN STAGES OF A RESEARCH PRO.]ICT 104
Chapter 3: The Uses and Abuses of Social Research 63 Stage 1: Define the Research Topic
104
Stage 2: Find Out What is Known about the Topic
INTRODUCTION 63 104
Stage 3: Clarifr Concepts and Their Measurement
THE USES OF SOCIAL RESEARCH 64 r04
THE ABUSES OF SOCIAT RESEARCH
Stage 4: Establish an Appropriate Data Collection Method
O/ 105
Stage 5: Consider the Purpose, Value, and Ethics ofthe Study
Primary Areas of Possible Abuse in Social Research 67 105
Stage 6: operationalize concepts and Design the Research Instruments
The Right of Privacy vs. the Public's Right to Krow 14 106
Stage 7: Select a Sample ofsubjects to Study
Means for Ensuring the Protection ofSubjects 75 106
Stage 8: Collect the Data
ETHICAT CONSIDERAIIONS 76 107
Stage 9: Process the Data
The Scientific Right to Study Any Subject of Interest 76 107
The Rights of Human Subjects Stage l0: Analyze the Data
77 107
Stage I 1: Present the Results
The Importance of Trust 78 107
REVIEW NOIES
GUIDETINFS 79 r0B
KEY TERMS
USES AND ABUSES RECONSIDERED 79 r0B
STUDY TXERCISFS
, REV]FW NOIES B2 t0B
RECOMMENDFD READING
KEY TERMS 82 r09
STUDY EXERCISES 82
RECOMMFNDED READINGS B3
Chapter 5: From Concepts to operationaligation to the Measurement of variables 110
INTRODUCTION
il0
CONCEPIS
ltl
OPFRAT]ONAI]ZING DEFINiTIONS
|2
PART IWO OPERATIONATIZAIlON AND MEASUREMENI
ll4
Measuring Happiness
The Design of Social Research B5 114
Measuring Authoritarianism
114
PRFFACE 85 comparing the Measurement of Authoritarianism to the Measurement
of Happiness
116
THE MFASURFMENT OF VARiABtES
Chapter 4: Defining A Raearchable Topic and Proposing A Research PInn B7 t17
DEF]NING MEASURFMENI
INTRODUCTION B7
1t7
VAi DIIY
SOURCES TO USE IN SETECTING A TOPIC BB
il9
Content Validity
Printed Sources 119
88 Criterion-Related Validity , , 120
Ongoing Social Research Projects and Available Data 89 Conslruct Validirv
t2I

I
 ::

xii CONTENTS ,

RELIABILITY r at
Quota Sampling
Measures of Stability 124 Snowball Sampling t57
Measures of Equivalence 125 DESIGNING A SAMPLE TO
159
MEET YOUR RESEARCH NFEDS
IYPES OF VARIABLES 125 REVIIW \OIES r59
Categorical Variables 125 KFY IERMS
r59
Numerical Variables 126 STUDY EXFRCISES
r60
LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT t27 RECOMMENDED READING
160
Nominal Measurement 128 t61
Ordinal Measurement r28
Interval Measurement t29
Ratio Measurement 130
PART THRFE
Comparing the Measurement Levels l3l The Methods of Social Research
MEASURING SIX COMMONTY USFD SOC]AL RESEARCH VARIABLES 163
r3t PREFACE
Twb Nominal Variables 132 163
One Ordinal Variable t32 Chapter 7: Surtey Research
One Interval Variable 165
133 INTRODUCIION
Two Ratio Variables 134 THE ART AND SC]ENCE OF SURVFYS
165
Variables: The Tools ofSocial Research t34 t66
Creative Aspects of Surveys
REVIEW NOTFS r34 Scientific Aspects of Surveys
t66
KEY TERMS 135 167
GENERAL COMPONENIS OF SURVEY RESEARCH
SIUDY EXERCISES r35 Modes of Eliciting Information t68
RECOMMENDED READINGS r36 168
Modes of Selecting Respondents
168
Modes of Returning information
ADMINISTER]NG SURVEYS. FOUR EXAMPTES
169
Chapter 6: Sampling 169
137 Example l: A euestionnaire Administered to a Group
169
INTRODUCTION r37 Example 2: A Mail Survey
Example 3: A Face-to_Face Interview 170
THE MERITS OF GOOD SAMPLING r38
110
HOW PROBABITITY SAMPTES WORK r38 Example 4: A Telephone Survev
171
A Consideration ofthe Statistics in the Example 139 DESIGN OF QUESIIONNA|RES FOR GilOUP OR
SEtF-ADMINISTRAIION
General Rules of euestionnaire Construction
17t
Sampling the Cookies 140
171
Sampling Enor t40 General Format of A euestionnaire
Types of euesrions 172
Drawing Repeated Samples from the Same Population 140
Pretesting the euestionnaire 173
The Sampling Distribution of the Sample Mean 142
t76
The Normal Curve t44 Questionnaire Distribution
Getting an Adequate Response Rate t77
SAMPTING TERMINOTOGY 144
177
POPULATIONS, SAMPIING FRAMES, AND SAMPLES 144 DESIGN OF FACE.TO-FACE INTERVIEWS
Preparing the Interview Schedule
tBl
DESIGN]NG A PROBAB|TITY SAMPLE 146
r82
METHODS OF SELECIING PROBABITITY SAMPTES 146 The Interview Experience
185
Simple Random Sampling (SRS) r46 How to Become a Good Interviewer
187
Systematic Sampling 148 DESIGNING A TETEPHONE SURVEY
Telephone Interview Schedules r89
Stratified Sampling 149
189
Multistage Cluster Sampling r50 Selecting a Sample
191
PPS: Probability Proportionate to Size Sampling 151 Telephone and Face-to_Face Interviewing
194
Weighting for Disproportionate Sampling t54 coMPUTER-ASStSTED TELEPHONE tNTERVIEWNG (CATIl
196
Deciding What Type of Sample to Employ 155 DECIDING IF A SURVEY IS APPROPRIAIE FOR YOUR IOPIC
r96
NONPROBABILITY SAMPTING 156 REVIEW NOTES
)97
Convenience Sampling 157 KEY IERM.S
t98
Purposive or Judgmental Sampling 157 STUDY EXERCISES
r98
RECOMMENDED READINGS
198

T
 xiv CONTENTS

8: Experiments 200 ANALYZING THE RESULTS

Chapter 243
2A0 Strategies for the Analysis
INTRODUCTION 243
VAt]DITY AND RELIABII|TY IN FIELD STUDIES
IHE ART AND SCIENCE OF EXPERIMENTS 241 244
2At A Case of Replicaring a Field Study )44
Creative Aspects of Experiments
202 Generalizability
Scientific AsPects of ExPeriments 2,16
202
VISUAL SOCIOIOGY
The Rules of CausalitY 217
204 The Purpose of Visual Data
TYPES OF FXPERIMENIS 248
204 Doing Visual Sociology
Laboratory and Field ExPeriments 248
205 DECIDING IF A REID STUDY IS APPROPRIAIE FOR YOUR TOPIC
True and Natural ExPeriments
REVIEW NOTES
TWO CONIRASTING EXPERIMENIS 206 249
KEY TERMS
A Laboratory ExPeriment 206 2s0
209 SIUDY EXERCISFS
A Natural ExPeriment 250
OBSTACTES TO AN EXPERIMENT'S VALIDITY 2| RECOMMENDED READINGS
251
Internal ValiditY 2n
External ValiditY 214
THE DAY AFTER. A HYPOTHETICAI EXPERIMENT 2t5
GENERAT COMPONENTS OF AN EXPERIMENI 216 Chapter 10: Methoils of Analyfing Available Data
252
Independent and Dependent Variables 2t6 INIRODUCTION
217 252
Experimental and Control GrouPs IHT ART AND SCIENCE OF ANALYZING AVAILABLE DATA ata
Pretest and Posttest 219 Creative Aspects
224 253
EXPERIMENTAT DESIGNS Scientific Aspects
220 254
True ExPerimental Designs SFCONDARY ANAIYSIS
222 254
Preexperimental Designs An Example of a Secondary Analysis
223 255
Quasi-ExPerimental Designs Whether to Use Old or New Data
ll5 256
DECIDING IF AN EXPFRIMENT IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC COMPONENTS OF A SECONDARY ANATYSIS
))1 t(o
RTVIFW NOTES Selection ola Topic
226 258
KEY TERMS Search for Available Data
227 258
SIIJDY EXERCISES Re-creation of the Data
227 259
RECOMMENDED READINGS Analyzing the Data and Comparing Results
259
Issues olValidity and Reliability 260
DFCiDING SECONDARY ANALYSIS IS APPROPRIATF FOR YOUR TOPIC
IF
26A
Chapter 9: Field Research and Observational Stadies 228 CONIENT ANATYSIS
261
INTRODUCTION ll6 FOUR EXAMPLES OF CONIENT ANALYSES
262
AEtD RESEARCH AND CASE STUDIES Violence on Television
262
ANTHROPOTOGISTS AND FIELD RESEARCH 225 Legal Briefs Submitted to the Supreme Court
262
THE ARTAND SCIENCE OF flEtD RESEARCH Family portraits Reflect Family Relationships
264
Creative Aspects of Field Research 229 Courtship Patterns in Song Lyrics
264
The Science olField Research 231 COMPONENTS OF A CONTENT ANATYSIS
GENERAI COMPONENTS OF A FIETD STUDY 23r Selection ofthe Content and the Topic
265
The Setting /JZ Developing a Scheme to Code the Content
265
A General Subject 232 Analyzing the Coded Content
266
A Time Frame 233 Issues of Validity and Reliability
266
Types ofThings to Observe 234 DECIDING IF CONIENT ANALYSIS IS APPROPRIAIE FOR YOUR TOPIC
266
aaa UNOBTRUSIVE MEASURES
THF DESIGN OF RELD STUDIES 267
The Role of the Observer 237 TYPES OF UNOBIRUSIVE MEASURES
268
Fjeld Work Preparation 238 Physical Traces
268
Entry into the Field 239 Issues in Validity and Reliability
268
Coliecting Information 240 DECIDING IF UNOBIRUSIVE MFASURES ARF APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
269
Organizing the Field Notes 243 HISTORICAT SIUDIES
269

I
 XVi \. CONIENTS

TWO HISTORlCAL RESEARCH STUDIES 27t REVIEW NOTES

The History of American Journalsim 296
271 KEY TERMS
A Case ofAbultery in Sixteenth-Century France 297
271 STUDY EXERCISES
COMPARING THE IWO STUDIES 297
272 RECOMMENDFD READINGS
COMPONENTS OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH 298
273
Defining a Problem ofStudy from the Past 273
Establishing and Collecting Sources of Evidence 273
Developing Means to Quantify Evidence
Historical Writing
274 PART FOUR
274
Issues of Validity and Reliability in Historical Studies The Analysis of Social Research Data 299
274
DECIDING IF HISTORICAI RESEARCH IS APPROPRIAIE TOR YOUR TOPIC 274 PREFACE
299
THF ANATYSIS OF EXISTING STATISTICS 275
A Research Project based on Existing Statistics 275 Chapter 12: Data Preparation
301
Using Existing Statistics 276 INTRODUCIION
COMPONENTS OF AN ANALYSIS OF EXISIING STATIST]CS 277 301
COMM]TMENT TO CARE 24")
Determining the Problem 277 DEVISING A CODING SYSIEM
Treating the Data 277 303
General Principles to Follow
Referencing Data 2',18
303
Prestudy Coding
Issues olValjdity and Reliability 278 304
Codebook Prepararion
DICIDING IHE ANALYSIS OF EXISTING STAT]STICS IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
IF 278 305
Types of Coding Strategies
PROBIEMS TO CONFRONT IN ANATYZING AVAILABLE DATA 279 3ll
Spot Checking for Errors
REVIFW NOTES 279 3ll
IRANSFER PROCESS
KFY TERMS 280 3tl
Final Written Code Forms
SIUDY EXERCISES 280 3l I
Making Data Machine-readable
RECOMMENDED RFADINGS 280 3r2
COMPUIER ENTRY AND PROCESSING
313
Nature ol Computer Equipment
3r3
ESTABLISHING A COMPUIERIZED DATA FItE
Chapter 11: Evaluatian Research
3r4
281 Computer Software for Data Analysis
314
INTRODUCTION 281 Setting Up an Initial Computer Run
315
FOUR EXAMPIES OF EVALUATION PROJECTS 282 Cleaning the Computerized Variables
316
An On-Going Evaluation: Head Start 282 DATA MANIPUTAIION PRIOR IO ANAIYSIS
A Cost-Benefit Analysis: Mentai Health Care 283 Handling Missing Data
317
A Community Impact Assessment: A School Busing Program 284 Recoding Variables
3t7
A Times-Series Analysis: The Effects of Gun Legislation 284 Data Preparation in Social Research
319
COMPONENTS OF AN EVALUATION RESEARCH PROJECI 285 REViEW NOTES
319
Clarify the Purpose 285
(tY IIRMS
3r9
Establish the Dependent Variable 286 STUDY EXERCISES
320
Determine the Independent Variables aa1 RECOMMFNDED READINGS
320
Set up the Research Design 288
Specify the Control Variables 289 :

Ethical Implications and Political Impact 289 : Chapter 13: Data Analysis: Learning from Others and Trying One of Aur Own
321
DES]GNING AN EVAIUATION RESEARCH PROJECT 290 ' INTRODUCTION
Experimental Designs 290 :
STRFNGTH OF RETATIONSH]P IN BIVARIATE ANATYSES
321
1)1
Nonexperimental Designs 290 ; DATA ANAIYSIS IN THE CAUSES OF DETINQUENCY SIUDY
Will Your Design Lead to the Real Effect That Must Be Evaluated? 2st i Do the Data Support the Strain Theory?
?t')
SOCIAT INDICATORS 292 i
Do the Data Support the Control Theory?
323
Definitions and Origins ofSocial Indicators 2e2 i Do the Data Support the Cultural Deviance Theory?
328
Social Indicators as a Form olEvaluation Research 295 ; TRYING OUT A DATA ANIALYSIS OF OUR OWN
329
DECIDING IF EVAIUATION RESEARCH IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC 296 ,i
High School Athletic participation and Educational Atlainment
33t
:.1
331
':
i
i
,1
t::

I
 xvttt CONTENTS CONTENTS XiX

UNIVARIATE ANATYSES 335 KEY TFRMS 390

Frequency Distributions 335 STUDY EXERCISFS 390
REVIEW NOTES 341 RECOMMENDED READINGS 3at
KEY IERMS 341
STUDY EXFRCISES 341
RECOMMENDED READINGS 342
Chapter 16: Elementary Statisticsfor Social Research 392
INTRODUCTION 392
USING AND MISUSING STATISTICS 393
OVERVIEW OF STATISTICAI CONCEPTS AND MEASUREMENT JYJ
Chapter 14: Bivariate and Trivariate Analyses 343 Measures of Central Tendency 394
INIRODUCTION 343 Measures of Variation 396
A NOTE ON TERMINOIOGY 344 DESCRIBING RELATIONSHIPS BEIWEEN VARiABLES 398
BIVARIATE ANAIYSES 344 MEASURES OF ASSOCIATON 398
Bivariate Tables for the Athletic Participation Study 344 Lambda 398
The Nature of Bivariare Relationships 349 Yule's Q 398
TRIVARIATE ANALYSES 350 Goodman and Kruskal's Gamma 401
Trivariate Tables for the Athletic Participation Study 351 Pearson's r 402
Condensing Trivariate Tables 356 INFERENIIAI SIATISTICS 407
I-LABOSAIION 357 The Chi-Square (x2) Test 407
Using Sex as the Test Variable 358 Statistical and Substantive Signifi cance 409
Determining Type of Elaboration 359 COMPUTERS AND STATISTICS 449
Using GPA as the Tsst Variable 360 STAIISIICAL TESIS IN THE AIHLETICS STUDY 4r0
Replication 361 Choosing and Using Statistics 416
Explanation 361 REVIEW NOIES 416
Interpretation 362 KEY TERMS 4t7
Suppressor and Distorter Variables 364 SIUDY EXERCISES 417
Elaboration: What Does It Tell Us? 36s RECOMMENDED READINGS 418
REVIEW NO]ES 366
KEY TERMS
366
SIUDY EXERC]SES aA7
Chapter 17: Presenting the Research Results 419
RECOMMENDED READINGS 367
lNTRODUCTION 4t9
FORMS FOR DISSEMINAIING SOCIAL RESEARCH 420
When to Decide on the Form 420
Chapler 15: Developing and Selecting Indexes and Scates 368 Basic Ingredients Needed lor a Research Report 420
INTRODUCTION 368 From Research Project to Research Report 421
BASIC DEFINIIIONS 369 Types of Research Reports 42t
CHARACTERISTICS OF INDEXES Multiple Dissemination Modes
371 424
An Example: The Work Orientation Index 371 CASTING IHE PROBLEM OF THE PAPER 424
SCATES J/ 6 ORGANIZING A SIUDENI RESEARCH PROIECT PAPER 425
Likert Scales 378 I. General Statement ofthe Research Problem 425
Semantic Differential Scale 379 IL Background ofthe Problem 426
Bogardus Social Distance Scales 382 IIL Design ofthe Study 428
Thurstone Scales 383 IV. How the Data Were Obtained 428
Guttman Scales J6J V. Analysis of Data 429
SFLECIING ATRFADY DEVELOPED INDEXES AND SCAIES 385 VI. Discussion 429
Occupational and Socioeconomic Scales 386 VII. Conclusions and Summary 430
WHETHER TO USE AN INDEX OR A SCALE 389 JUST BEFORE YOU RN]SH A RESIARCH PROJECT 430
REVIEW NOTES
389 RFVIEW NOTES 431
KEY TERMS 43r

I
 CONTENTS

STUDY EXFRCISES 43r

RECOMMENDED READ]NGS 431

Appendix A: Using a Library for Social Research 433

INTRODUCTION 433
USING IHE CARD CATATOG TO F|ND MATERIAI 434
WAYS OF FIND]NG RELEVANT PRINTED MATERIAI t1^

Book Reviews 434

Bibliographies 435
Special Encyclopedias and Handbooks 435
Journal Articles 435
.Unpublished Sources: Dissertations and Theses 440

Appendix B: Tablc of Random Numbers and Chi-Square Distribution 441

41
ni, i, a book that I could never have wril-
-.,if
Appendix C: Generating the Compwter Tables in This Text Using the SPSSX Computer Program
ten had I not taught a research methods course for.vears. It rests on my own experien.c
443
INTRODUCTION
of delivering the hows and whys of doing social research to college siudents. But jr is
443
HOW also the outgrowlh of suggestions from reviewers and other colleigues who have
SPSSI COMMANDS ARE WRITTEN 444 told
ENTERING THE DATA INTO SPSSX 445 me how they teach research methods, what they thint shouid be covired, and what
thcy
LABELING THE DATA 446 aim to accomplish in their own courses. I have also tried out parts of the manuscripl in
DAIA MANIPULATION STATEMENTS 447 teaching research methods at my university and have asked siudents to think about
RELABELlNG RECODED VARIABLES 449
rhc
merits of studying the subject in one way or another.
TEARNING TO DO FREQUENCIES 449
TEARNING TO DO CONDESCRIPTIVE 450
In writing the book, I have been guided by several principles. I am convinced that
TEARNING TO DO CROSSTABS 450 the way to get students interested in social research, and to recognize what it involvcs,
TEARNING TO USE PEARSON'S T 452 is to think seriously about some ofthe exciting social research st;dies that have alreadv
been done. To consider carefully what researchers did in carrying out their studies, ancl
Re lerences 454
what they found out, is to begin to understand. not only the tecirniques ofsocial research,
Glossary 462 but also the motivation for doing it. In other words, by trying to share the experiencc
Index 475 of doing research with previous researchers, a student cun corne to know why peoplc
are committed to this enterprise.
This doesn't mean that every research methods student has to do a study. But I
would like every student who reads this book to know what it would feel like to do social
research and to move in the direction of wanting to do it. So I have also tried to
en-
courage students to ask themselves, "Couldn't I do a study? what would I have to do
to be able to take a question that I find tantalizing and turn it into a research project?,,
To achieve this goal, I have tried in the introductory chapter to encourage students to
reflect on what they find problematic in their own lives and social situations, or in con-
temporary social issues, that might tempt them to study these matters.
I have also aimed to make this book eclectic in the wide range of methods discussed.
Olcourse, most individual social researchers tend to specialize, using a relatively small
range of methods almost exclusiveiy. And many instructors may prefer to emphasize

I
 xxii PREFACE PREFACE

some methods rather than others. But a text should give broad options and encourage who recognized my commitment to this project and encouraged me in the efibrt. My
students to explore the rich universe of social research. Although research styles and thanks, too, for assistance received from the Academic Computer Services staff at
preferences may differ, each of the methods described in this text has in the hands of DePaul.
some researchers produced studies of real fascination and value. In considering how I also want to acknowledge the many members of the McGraw-Hill staffwho havc
they might generate a study of their own, students are invited to decide if one type of worked on this book at various stages. My original editor, Eric Munson, helped mc
method or another would be appropriate to their interests. define the type ofbook this should be. Stephanie Happer served as the developmenlal
Finally, I wanted the tone of this book to encourage a sense of commitment to doing editor of the book for a period of time and returned as the general editor who has
social research. Other texts adopt a more humorous tone, or remain neutral and tech- brought it to publication. Her advice and support have been very helpful to me. Curl
nical. Neither of these have seemed right to me. Naturally, working on a research project Berkowitz did a wonderful job of supervising the editing of this book.
has its humorous moments, and nothing can be accomplished without appropriate tech- Finally, there are my friends and family to thank. I have lalked over, complaincd
niques. But these do not capture the essence ofsociai research. Students need to see- about, and womied through many aspects of this text with Bettina Huber, Barbara Las-
and wili be more generally engaged by-the choices, the chalienges, and the excitement lett, Anne cohler, and Judy Mandel. My sons, Julian and Felix, were going through high
of trying to study some piece of social action. And since the object of this book is to school and entering college as I was writing this book. I have benefitted from the livr:-
welcome students into the social research enterprise, students are encouraged to think liness of my dialogue with each of them. By trying to understand things as they see thcm,
that they can become social researchers, and that this is an activity, a way of thinking I have been better able to appreciate the way they approach problems and the timcs
and working, that requires and is worthy of commitment. they have been growing up in. The support I have received from my husband, Keith
This book was greatly enriched as a result ofthe suggestions ofa group ofreviewers, Baker. both in this project and in every endeavor I have tried, has been great. Togethcr
themselves social researchers and teachers of social research methods, from institutions with his own students, our sons, and others who have worked with him, I have gaincd
across the United States. Let me thank in particular Russell Schutt from the University from the clarity of his thinking, his exquisite taste in written English, and the depth of'
of Massachusetts at Boston, who read the whole manuscript and offered valuable advice his grasp of ideas. To him,I dedicate this book.
on some ofthe technical parts ofthe text. I am delighted that he has prepared the soft-
ware that accompanies the workbook and has joined me as its co-author. I also want to Therese L. Bakcr
thank Donald McTavish of the University of Minnesota and Jon Hoelter of the Uni-
versity of Cincinnati for sharing their methodological wisdom with me. George H.
Lewis of the University of the Pacific and James McCartney of the University of Mis-
souri provided helpful insights about the creative aspects and policy impiications of
social research. Scott McNall of the University of Kansas was very supportive while I
was in the planning stages, and James Jones of East Texas State University gave me
tremendous encouragement as I was nearing the end of my efforts. I also want to thank
my colleagues at DePaul, Effat Moussa-Hamouda, for advice on the statistical material,
and Judith Bootcheck, for help and suggestions in preparing the computer materials.
Important contributions were also made by reviewers who went over the manuscript in
part or in its entirety: Mark Abrahamson, University of Connecticut; Pamela S. Cain,
Hunter College; A. C. Higgins, State University of New York at Albany; Kathleen
McKinney, Oklahoma State University;Dennis R. McGrath, University of Baltimore;
Paul Montagna, Brooklyn College; P. Neal Ritchey, University of Cincinnati; Lawrence
Rosen, Temple University; Steven Stack, Auburn University; Richard C. Stephens,
Cleveland State University; and John Stolte, Northern Illinois University.
My colleagues in the department of sociology at DePaul have generously shared their
perspectives on the research enterprise and offered their consistent support while I was
writing the book. I especially want to express my appreciation to Dean Richard Meister,

I
s
QUOTATIONS
Pages 34, 35: Anderson, Elijah, A Place on the Cor-
rel, University of Chicago Press, 1978. Re-
printed from Elijah Anderson, A Place on the
Corner,by permission of the University of Chi-
cago Press, @ 1975 by the University of Chi-
cago. All rights reserved.
Pages 37, 56, 58: Kanter, Rosabeth M., Men and
Women of the Corporation, Basic Books, Inc.,
1977. From Men and Women of the Corpora-
tion, by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Copyright @
1977 by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Reprinted by
pernission of Basic Books, Inc., Publishers.
Page 49:"A Meeting of Biological and Philosophi-
cal Minds," March 13, 1983. Copyright @ 1983
by The New York Times Company. Reprinted
by permission.
Pages 59, 60: Merton, Robert K., I Theory and
^locia
Social Structure, Free Press, division of
MacMillan & Co., 1968. Reprinted by permis-
sion ofFree Press, copyright O 1968.
Page 133: Miller, Delbert C., Handbook of Research
Design and Social Measuremenl, 3d ed., David
McKay, 197'l . From Handbook of Research De-
sign and Social Measurement,3d ed. Copyright
O 1974 by Longman Inc. All rights reserved.
Pages I 87, I 88: Converse, Jean, and Howard Schu-
man, Conversations at Random. John Wiley
Sons, Inc. Copyright @ 1974. Reprinted by per-
mission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Page 240: Wax, Rosalie, Doing Field Work, tJni-
versity ofChicago Press, 1971. Reprinted from
Rosalie Wax, Doing Field l/orfo by permission
ofthe University ofChicago Press, O l97l by
the University ofChicago. All rights reserved.
Page 288: Weiss, Carol H., Evaluation Research,
Prentice-Hall, 1972. Carol H. Weiss, Evalua-
tion Research, @ 1972, pp. 39-42, 46-47.
Adapred by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
BOXES
Box 5-l on page I 15: Specified excerpts from ,,Thc
F Scale," in The Authoritarian personality by
T. W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Danicl
J. lrvinson, R. Nevitt Sanford, in collaboration
with Betty Aron, Maria Hertz l,evinson, Wil-
liam Morrow. Copyright 1950 by the American
Jewish Committee. Reprinted by permission of
Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.
Box 7-8 on page 186: Converse, Jean, and Howard
Schuman, Conversations at Random, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright @ 1974. Re-
printed by permission of John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Box 8-3 on page2lT Orenstein, Alan, and William
R. F. Phillips, Understanding Social Research:
& An Introduction, 1978, Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
Box l0-1 on page 265: Reprinted lrom James T.
"l'Changing Courtship Patterns in the
Carey,
I
 Popular Song," Anterican Journal o.f Sociology,
volume 74, pp.720-731,1969 b.v permission of
the University ofChicago Press. @ 1969 by the
University ofChicago. AII rights reserved.
Box I l-l on page 288: Weiss, Carol H-, Evaluation
H. Weiss,
Research, Prentice-Hall, 1972. Catol
Evaluation Research, @ 1972, pp. 39-42' 46-
47. Adapted by permission of Prentice-Hall,
Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Box l3-l on page 325 and Box l3-2 on page 326:
Reprinted from Travis Hirschi, Causes of De-
linquency, by permission of the University of
Calilornia Press, O 1969 The Regents ofthe
University of California.
Box 15-3 on page 382: From John B. Williamson et
al., The Research Craft: An Inlroduction lo So-
cial Research Methods, Fig. l5.l' Based on E.
Bogardus, Social Distance (Yellow Springs,
OH: Antioch Press, 1959). Copyright (o 1982
by John B. Williamson, David A. Karp, John
R. Dalphin, Paul S. Gray. Reprinted by permiv
sion of Little, Brown and ComPanY
Box l6-2 on page 400: Davis, James A., Etementary
Survey Analysis, O 1971, p. 49. Adapted by per-
mission of Prentice-Hall, lnc., Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.
FIGURES
Figure 2-1 on page 54: Reprinted by permission
the author and publisher from Walter L. Wal-
lace, The Logic of Science in Sociologlt (Aldine
de Gruyter, New York, l97l)' Copyright
1971 by Walter L. Wallace.
Figures 5-2 and 5-3 on page 127, Figure 5-5 on page
128: Reprinted from T. W. Anderson and Stan-
ley L. Sclove, The Statistical Analysis of Data,
2d ed., 1986. By permission ofThe Scientific
Press, Redwood Cit,v, Calif. Copyright O 1986.
Figure 10-l on page 263: Gerbner, George et al.,
"Cultural Indicators: Violence Profile No. 9,"
from the Journal of Communication, 1978;
28(3):176-207. @ 1978 Journal o;f Communi-
cation. Reprinled by Permission.
The Form and Purpose of
Figure lt-l on page 285: Zimring, Franklin E',
"Firearms and Federal Law: The Gun Control
Social Research
Act of 1968," pp.5ll-577 in Evaluation Stud'
ies Review Annual, ediled by Gene V Glass,
1976. Reprinted from The Jorunal of Legal
Studies, 197 5,4(1):133-198. Copyright @ 1975
by the University of Chicago. All rtghts re-
served. Reprinted by permission of Sage Pub-
lications, Inc.
PREFACE
TABLES
Table 8-l on page 208: Berkowitz, Leonard, and
Russell G. Geen, "Stimulus Qualities of the
Target of Aggression," Journal of Personality Out oi *trat concerns does social research
and Social Psvchologlt, 5:364-368, 1 967. Copy- stem? What types of accomplishments have social researchers achieved? What is the
right 1967 by The American Psychological As- justification for this type of activity? The first part of this text examines
the context for
sociation. Adapted by permission of the pub- social research. In the Introductionto this text, we will consider the ways in which topics
lisher and author. for social research emerge from our everyday ideas and thoughts. Such topics may grow
Table 13-l on page 324, Table l3-2 on page 328, from personal experiences in our lives, from the way we interact with others, uno fro1n
Table 13-3 on page 330: Reprinted from Travis
the social settings and organizations in which we iive. We will also consider how current
Hirschi, Causes of Delinquency, by permission
of the University of California Press, @ 1969 social issues may provide other new ideas for social research.
of
The Regents olthe University of California. In short, the Introductlon describes a quest for how to come up with a research prob-
Table ofRandom Numbers on page 441: Reprinted lem. We begin with you, or at least with a hypoth etical you. The intention is to puli you
@ from pages l-3 of A MilLion Random Digits into this activity of doing social research, to get you actively thinking about wh;t might
w,tth 100,000 Normal Deviates by The Rand be worth investigating. Unless you see the link between your own life and concerns
and
Corporation (New York: The Free Press, 1955). this activity, you will not do it with the degree of energy and commitment that it re-
Copyright 1955 and 1983 by The Rand Corpo- quires (and deserves).
ialion. Used by permission.
Modern social research methods have been defined and redefined as a result of the
successes and mistakes of other researchers, therefore in order to learn to do social re-
search you must familiarize yourself with examples of successful research studies. in
Chapter l, we shall examine a number of classic social research projects done in the
past, using three of the primary social research methods: survey reieaich,
experiments,
and field work. Next, Chapter 2 asks what it is about social reiearch that makes it sci-
entffic. Although it may appear that the scientiflc method could not be properly applied
to the study of social phenomena, in Chapter 2 we will examine what ii really means to
do science, that is, to carry out scientific research as a hurnan activity. This will enable
I

From a different point ofview, you could
base your decision on how you see yourselfin
the roles of both student and fianc6. If one of
these roles is more central to you than the
olher, this may determine what you decide to
do. In a decision iike this, you should try to
ifyou were a
take a perspective on yourselfas
different person looking at your situation.
From your perspective as an individual, the
choice focuses on the micro-level relationship
between a couple or between a student and an
instructor. Naturally, many other people in
the environment are making choices and tak-
ing actions which affect this relationship, but
to study this particular relationship from a Both these examples offered familiar situ_
narrow, individual perspective is to examine
it as if it were central to the question. This
kind ofanalysis is referred lo as a micro'level
analysis because it is a small-scale, zeroed-in,
focused approach. It highlights a two-person
dyadic relalronship or a small group-it uses
individual-level information (or data).
Ifyou were to consider the issue oftaking
the examinatio.n in terms of how your results
will be affected by others both known and un-
known, how examination results determine
entry to professional schools, how profes-
sional school credentials determine who can
enter professions-all these more complicated
considerations move the level of analysis to
one where specific individuals are less impor-
tant than the general character ofthe environ-
ment we talked about earlier. This level of
analysis is refened lo as a tnacro-level analysis
because it is large-scale, and focused not on
qualities or actions of individuals but on
larger social structures or patterns ofsocial re-
lationships in the society. Such analyses use
data not from specific individuals, but from
multiple soutces, including identical data
from numerous individuals, that have been
combined (or aggregated). You might think of
the microlevel analysis as being studied with
a zoom lens. and the macro-level analysis,
with a wide-angle lens.
Now let's consider a totally different type
of scenario and apply it to you. Suppose you
get a job in the summer at a fast-food restau-
rant. It's a type of restaurant with which we
are all familiar. The servers stand behind a
counter and take orders from customers by
entering the orders into a computerized cash
register. Then they turn around to fill the or-
ders from slots of packaged food and give the
customers their orders in exchange for pay-
ment. It's a fairly simple, repetitive job, re-
quiring little conversation between the staff
and the customers. In addition, servers rarely
need to talk to the cooks, unless someone
wants a special order (such as a hamburger
with no trimmings). After a few days on this
job, you feel that you understand thejob com-
pletely. What you like about it is that you can
carry out yourjob without needing to depend
on anyone else for assistance (as long as the
food is available when you need it). What you
don't like about the job is that there is not
much socializing with your fellow employees
or even much need to speak to the customers.
job, in fact, seems quite mechanical, and
The
you begin to think that a robot could do this
job as well as you.
Halfway through the summer you hear
that there is an opening (which will pay
slightly better) at one of the competitors of
this fasl-food restaurant, and so you switch
jobs. In this restaurant, there is only one
server, the cashier who stands at a micro-
phone and reads in the orders ofthe custom-
ers. The "crew" in the kitchen cook and fill
the orders. Since the restaurant specializes in
customized burgers, each customer can ask for
whatever combination of trimmings he or she
likes. As the cashier, you are more dependent
on the cooks to respond to your orders over
the microphone (the squawk box) and prepare
the sandwiches you have requested. The way
to be effective on this job is to get the cooks to
respond quickly and prepare exactly what you
have ordered. Now you find that yourjob de-
pends on talking to your fellow employees.
You begin to realize after a month in this
second restaurant that although thesejobs ap_
become familiar with as sources for subjects
pear to be very similar, the work experience is
of social research. The situations variei in
quite differsnt. The first restaurant was orga_
lerms of how you, the actor, could affect the
nized so that you had a fair amount ofcontiol
situation. In rhe firsr case, you seemed like a
over your work. you were largely able to meet
free agent able to follow one course of action
the needs ofyour customers without having to
over another, able to weigh which course of
interact directly with the cooks. There q;ere
action might be most beneficial for you. In the
occasional problems when customers placed
second case. your aclions *ara rora fullv con_
special orders or when the cooks got behind
lrolled by the organization ofthe work setting.
and some of the choices on the menu were not You needed to adapt to each restaurant's coi_
available in the slots from ivhich you pick up dilions and perhaps use your wits to
ger
the food. But for the most part, you were able
around the system a bit, but mostly you
to serve customers quickly. The major prob- couldn't alter the organization, und
you
lem with the first restaurant was not the rela_
largely had to accommodate yourself to it.
tionship to the kitchen, but the tedium that
developed from serving one customer after
ations that were examined carefully by con_
another without much need to talk either to
sidering the role ofthe individual. the nature
the customers or to the other employees.
ofthe social settjng. the potential changes that
In contrast, in the second rgstaurant vou might occur. You only need to develop this
had less control over your work and were
way of thinking more methodicallv and self_
more dependent on the cooks and the crew
consciously in order to start doingyour own
who prepared the orders. The rationale for
social research. The first examplelocused on
this style oforganization is to be able to offer
your own problems in relation to one or a lew
the customer a more individualized product
others and from here you moved to a consid_
(a hamburger garnished with whatever the
eration of the social setting in which your
customer chooses). But this meant that vou problem occurred. The second example fo_
had to put pressure on the cooks to produce
cused on the effects ofdifferences in the struc_
your orders quickly and on the crew t0 se1 up
ture oforganizations and suggested how such
the orders corectly. Over time, you learned to
differences might alter the experiences of the
get
_your orders done quickly by speaking individuals who act within them. In fact,
louder, faster, more urgently, or-*hen ai
these two examples-one starting from prob-
else failed-angrily. you also came to realize lems of individual choice, the other focusing
that some cooks were better to work with than
on tle struclure of organizations-suggest two
others. and you began to organize your work
of the major ways in which researcheis have
schedule so that you would be working with
approached social phenomena.
your favorite cook. While the first iob seemed
10 be one that a robot could do, in the second
job a robot would be largely ineffective unless YOUR TROUBLES AS SOURCES
it could develop very good relationships with FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
the rest ofthe staffl PROBI"EMS
These two scenarios (choosing between
The effort to understand the tension between
studying and meeting your fianc6's parents
our own individual life as we experience it
and switching yourjob from one fast_food res_
and the complex flow of the experiences of
taurant to another) have been presented to en_
others with whom we deal, both directly and
courage you to consider your personal expe_
indirectly, lie,e at the heart ofthe sociological
riences and lhe organizations vou have imagination. As C. Wright Mills described it,
T
 6 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research
the sociological imagination looks for the
linkages between our personal troubles (for
example: "How will I do on an exam?") and
public issues (for example: "How are stan-
dards established for selection to graduate
schools?") Mills wanted to remifid us that
every individual lives out his or her life in a
particular society and during a specific period
of history. Thus the features of that society
and the character ofthat period ofhistory nat-
urally affect how an individual acts and rea-
sons. But no society and no period ofhistory
leaves a person totally free to do whatever he
or she chooses. Conversely, no person is so in-
significant in a sociely or during a historical
time that he or she leaves no trace on history:
By the fact olhis living he contributes, however
minutely, to the shaping ofthis society and to
the course of its history, even as he is made by
society and by its historical push and shove
(Mills, 1959, p. 6).
For Mills, this need to understand how
one's individual life mingles with that of the
wider society, as, at the same time, one tries
to distinguish oneselfwithin it, lies at the base
ofsocioiogical concerns. Thus, three primary
questions occur to those with a sociological
imagination, that is to say. those who examine
"the problems ofbiography, ofhistory and of
their intersection within a society" (1959, p.
6). Mills stated these questions as foilows:
l.
What is the structure of this particular soci-
ety as a whoie? What are its essential com-
ponents, and how are they related to one an-
other? How does it differ (frorn other
societies)? Within it. what is the meaning of
any particular feature for its continuance
and for its change? (1959, p.6)
Here Mills is concerned with the inlerrelal-
edness and interdependence of the compo-
nents of society, such as the social classes, the
basic forms of work, the major socializing
pA R To NE
forces (the structure offamilies, education, so-
cial organizations), the rules and forms of so-
cial control rhal organize a society.
2. Where does this society stand in human his-
tory? What are the mechanics by which it is
changing?(1959, p. 6)
Here Mills is concerned thal we understand
the historical characteristics of our times. To
be ignorant ofthe special features ofone's era,
to assume that how things are today is how
they were previously, is to lack the quality of
historical sensitivity which Mills thinks is so
critical to a thoughtful social scientist. For ex-
ample, the average person may say that to-
day's families are less stable than ever before.
But such a statement ignores that the structure
of the family has changed and that it repre-
sents something different in this era from
what it represented in earlier times. For ex-
ample, years ago, marriages often did not last
as long because of the greater frequency of
early death, because children often became in-
dependent from their parents at an earlier age,
and because the role of sexuality in marriage
was very different because of fear of preg-
nancy or death in childbirth. It is this kind of
insensilivity to what is new about our own
historical period that makes some social sci-
ence research seem insignificant.
3. What varieties of men and women now pre-
vail in this society and in this period? In
whal ways are they selected and formed, lib-
erated and repressed, made sensitive and
blunted? (1959, p. D
Here Mills is concerned with the study of in-
dividuais: what their qualities are, how they
change, how they usually behave, and what
impact they have on society. The interplay of
the following factors-the structures of soci-
ety, the understanding ofhistory, and the be-
haviors and characteristics of individuals-is
what interests the sociologically sensitive per-
j'rtuoDUCrr;
son. Milis felt that the ability of individuals to
see themselves within sociely as if from the
outside was a particular quality that only ap_
peared in modern times. put more
simply,
Mills is saying that the sense you have of
yourself when you see yourself as an outside
obserr er would see you is not only the conse-
quence of a broader historical
process of
change and transformation but alsothe wav
in
which that process is expressed in vour indi_
vidual consciousness. This ,*nr. oi
vour in_
leraction as an individual with the particular
society you iive in, and in the particular pe-
riod of time in which you are liuing, is ihe
basis of your ability to understand sJciofog,_
cal problems which can then become tlr.
buii,
for social research.
Mills liked to call a problem defined in in_
dividual terms a personal trouble. Once a
problem can be linked to a large number
of
individuals, however, it can no longer be con_
sidered only a personal trouble and becomes
a
social issue. Take ttre example of unemploy-
ment. which Mills uses to show trow puUiic is-
sues are more than merely the aggregate of
personal, individual troubles. One man
with_
o"ul a job is an unemployed person. However,
ria narion has 100 million unemployed our of
150 million workers,
that is an issue, and we ma),not hope to find
its
solution wirhin the range ofopportunities open
to any one individual. The r.ery structure
ofop_
portunities has collapsed. Both the conect
statement ofthe problem and the range
ofpos_
sible solutions require us to considei the eco_
nomic and political institutions of the society,
and not merely the personal situation ana
cfrai_
acter ofa scatler ofindividuals
(1959, p. 9).
But what about a 7 or g percent level of
unemployment, the level which roughly char_
acterizes the United States in ttre lg8Ost
ts
that the basis of a social issue? Or is it ,.noi_
mal," as certain politicians and economists
The Art ofsoctal Rescarch 7
would contend? Everyone would agree that
for the individual unemploired perso'n. whai_
evcr the overall unemployment rare. being
unemployed is a personal trouble. But at whai
point do these aggregate personal troubles
be-
come a social issue? The Democrats and
Re-
publicans, and the .,supply_side',
and ,,dc-
mand-side" economists, disagree about this.
Their very disagreement about the meaning
<lf
the unemployment rate makes it u putli.
issue precisely because it is disputed.
Social research often begins by thinking
about what interesls and, troubles ylu in youi
own life and how these inleresls and rroublcs
take shape in the society around you, in rhc
organized social systems (universities. fami-
lies. companies) which coordinare and altcr
our actions. Social issues, however, are morc
than the sum ofindividual rroubles: rhe), takc
on new meaning in relation to the total
society.
ORGANIZATIONS AS SOURCES
FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
PROBLEMS
Society is characterized by organizations
ofall
sizes, but modern society n particuiartv
cf,ur_
acterized by large-scale organizations. The
fasrfood restaurants described in the examplc
are parts of large international restaurant
chains with hundreds, even thousands, ofres_
taurants in different countries.
The job descriptions offered in the earlier
examples were patterned on the actual work
expectations and behaviors which employees
carry out to a greatsr or lesser degree of con_
formity in these restaurants. The fast_food res_
taurant is organized to produce standardized
lood items in the most efficient munner. Such
fast-food establishments pride themselves
on
the speed with which the meal can be served
and the maintenance of standards of quality
which are consistent and predictabl.. Ho*
a.l
they able to create this eficiency and stan_
I

From a different point ofview, you could
base your decision on how you see yourselfin
the roles of both student and fianc6. If one of
these roles is more central to you than the
other, this may determine what you decide to
do. In a decision like this, you should try to
take a perspective on yourself as if you were a
different person looking at your situation.
From your perspective as an individual, the
choice focuses on the micro-level relationship
between a couple or between a student and an
instructor. Naturally, many other people in
the environment are making choices and tak-
ing actions which affect this relationship, but
to study this particular relationship from a
narrow, individual perspective is to examine
it as if it were central to the question. This
kind of analysis is referred lo as a miuo-level
analysis because it is a small-scale, zeroed-in,
focused approach. It highlights a two-person
dyadi.c relattonship or a small group-it uses
individual-level information (or data).
Ifyou were to consider the issue oftaking
the examinatio.n in terms of how your results
will be affected by others both known and un-
known, how examination results determine
entry to professional schoois, how profes-
sional school credentials determine who can
enter professions-all these more complicated
considerations move the level of analysis to
one where specific individuals are less impor-
tant than the general character of the environ-
ment we talked about earlier. This level of
anaiysis is referred to as a macro-level anal"vsis
because it is large-scale, and focused not on
qualities or actions of individuals but on
larger social structures or patterns ofsocial re-
lationships in the society. Such analyses use
data not from specific individuals, but from
multiple sources, including identical data
from numerous individuals, that have been
combined (or aggregatetf. You might think of
the microlevel analysis as being studied with
a zoom lens, and the macroJevel analysis,
with a wide-angle lens.
Now let's consider a totally different ti,pe
of scenario and apply it to you. Suppose you
get a job in the summer at a fast-food restau-
rant. It's a type of restaurant with which we
are all familiar. The servers stand behind a
counter and take orders from customers by
entering the orders into a computerized cash
register. Then they turn around to fill the or-
ders from slots ofpackaged food and give the
customers their orders in exchange for pay-
ment. It's a fairly simple, repetitive job, re-
quiring little conversation between the staff
and the customers. In addition, servers rarely
need to talk to the cooks, unless someone
wants a special order (such as a hamburger
with no trimmings). After a few days on this
job, you feel that you understand the.iob com-
pletely. What you like about it is that you can
carry out yourjob without needing to depend
on anyone eise for assistance (as long as the
lood is available when you need it). What you
don't iike about the job is that there is not
much socializing with your fellow employees
or even much need t0 speak to the customers.
job, in fact, seems quite mechanical, and
The
you begin to think that a robot could do this
job as weli as you.
Halfway through the summer you hear
that there is an opening (which will pay
slightly better) at one of the competitors of
this fast-food restaurant, and so you switch
jobs. In this restaurant, there is oniy one
server, the cashier who stands at a micro-
phone and reads in the orders ofthe custom-
ers. The "crew" in the kitchen cook and filI
the orders. Since the restaurant specializes in
customized burgers, each customer can ask for
whatever combination of trimmings he or she
likes, As the cashier, you are more dependent
on the cooks to respond to your orders over
the microphone (the squawk box) and prepare
the sandwiches you have requested. The way
to be effective on thisjob is to get the cooks to
respond quickly and prepare exactly what you
have ordered. Now you find that yourjob de-
pends on talking to your fellow employees.
You begin to realize after a month in this
INTRODUCTION The Art ofsocial Research 5
second restaurant that although thesejobs ap- -rnias sources for subjects
become familiar with
pear to be very similar, the work experience is of social ..r.uorr. situations varied in
quite different. The first restauranl was orga-
terms of how you, trr. urto., could affect the
nized so rhar vou had a fair amount of contiol siruarion.
I" d; il;-;r;i,you seemed rike a
over your work, you were largely able to meet free
agent aute to roio*ln. .ou.r. of action
the needs ofyour customers without having to over another, able to weigh which course of
interacr directlv with the cooks. There wire *d;";iil;;. n'"* u.".n.ial for you. In the
occasional problems when customers placed second
case, your actions were more fully con-
special orders or when the cooks got behind trolled
by th. of the work setting.
and some of the choices on the menu were not you needed ,o"A;r"tt"n
;;il;;;h restaurant,s con_
available in the slots from which you pick up ditions and p;.-h"p.";;; your wits ro ger
the food. But for the most part, you were able around the system a bit, but mostry you
to serve customers quickiy. The major prob- courdn't altei the org;iration, il ;;;
lem with the first restaurant was not the rela-
largely had to accommo'date yourself to it.
tionship to rhe kitchen, but the tedium that goth these ,*u-fi., on
.ed famiiiar situ-
developed from serving one customer afler ations that *r.. ;;;;;d carefuily by con-
another without much need to talk either to sidering
the role oiirt.-i"ji"iaral, the nature
the customers or to the orher employees. of the
Jociai il;;,;;;;rentiar changes rhar
In contrast, in the second resraurant you might occur. y""";;i;;;.d
had less control over your work and were r.v ro develop this
.r tirl"r.ing r".. r.irr"aically and self-
more dependent on the cooks and the crew
consciously in lrder to ,iart doing your own
who prepared the orders. The rationale for social
reseirch. rne nist e*ampie focused on
this style oforganization is to be able to offer your
own problems in relation to one or a few
the customer a more individualized product
lti,.., una fi"- h;; y;; ;oved ro a consid-
(a hamburger garnished with whatever the eration
of the social otting in which your
customer chooses). But this meant that you probrem
occurred. The second example fo_
had to put pressure on the cooks to produce
lused on the effects ofdifferences in the struc-
your orders quickly and on the crew to set up
ture oforganizations anosuggested how such
the orders correctly' over time, you learned to
differences might aiter the experiences of the
get your orders done quickiy by speaking
individuals wio act *iirrin trr.o,,. In fact,
louder, faster, more urgently, or-*,hen ai
these two exampres-one starting from prob-
else failed-angriiy' You also came to realize
lems of individual ,rroL.,"tr,. other focusing
that some cooks were better to work with than on the structure of organizations-suggest two
others, and you began to organize your work of the major *"y; il;il researchers have
schedule so that you would b^e working with approached social phenomena.
your favorite cook. While the first job seemed
to be one that a robot could do, in the second
job a robot would be largely ineffective YOUR TROUBLES AS SOURCES
unless
it could deveiop very good relationships with FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
the resr of the staffl PROBI-EMS
These two scenarios (choosing between
The effort to understand the tension between
studying meeting your fianc-s parents ou. o*n
_and individual life as we experience it
andswitchingyourjobfromonefast_foodres- and
the complex flow of the experiences of
tauranl to another) have been presented to en-
others with *io* *. a.uf, Uoti, directly and
courage you to consider your personal expe-
indirectly, lie,,s at the heart'ofthe sociological
riences and the organizarions you hive
i'maginatio\.As C. Wright Mills described it,
I
 6 TheFormandPurposeofSocialResearch
the sociological imagination looks for the
linkages between our personal troubles (for
example: "How will I do on an exam?") and
public issues (for example: "How are stan-
dards established for selection 1o graduate
schools?") Mills wanted to remirid us that
every individual lives out his or her iife in a
particular society and during a specific period
of history. Thus the features of that society
and the character ofthat period ofhistory nat-
urally affect how an individual acts and rea-
sons. But no society and no period ofhistory
leaves a person totally free to do whatever he
or she chooses. Conversely, no person is so in-
significant in a society or during a historical
time that he or she leaves no trace on history:
By the fact olhis living he contributes, however
minutely, to the shaping ofthis society and to
the course of its history, even as he is made by
society and by its historical push and shove
(Mills, 1959, p.6).
For Mills, this need to understand how
one's individual life mingles with that of the
wider society, as, at the same time, one lries
to distinguish oneselfwithin it, iies at the base
of sociological concerns. Thus, three primary
questions occur to those with a sociological
imagination, that is to say, those who examine
"the problems of biography, of history and of
their intersection within a society" (1959, p.
6). Mills stated these questions as follows:
l.
What is the structure ofthis particular soci-
ety as a whoie? What are its essential com-
. ponents, and how are theli related to one an-
other? How does it differ (from other
societies)? Within it, what is the meaning ol
any particular feature for its continuance
and for its change? (1959, p.6)
Here Mills is concerned with the interrelat-
edness and interdependence ol the compo-
nenls ofsociety, such as the social classes, the
basic forms of work, the major socializing
PART oNE
forces (the structure offamilies, education, so-
cial organizations), the rules and forms of so-
cial control that organize a society.
2. Where does this society stand in human his-
tory? What are the mechanics by which it
changingl(1959, p. 6)
Here Mills is concerned that we understand
the historical characteristics of our times. To
be ignorant ofthe special features ofone's era,
to assume that how things are today is how
they were previously, is to lack the quality of
historical sensitivity which Mills thinks is so
critical to a thoughtful social scientist. For ex-
'ample, the average person may say that to-
day's families are less stable than ever before.
But such a statement ignores that the structure
of the family has changed and that it repre-
sents something different in this era from
what it represented in earlier times. For ex-
ample, years ago, marriages often did not last
as long because of the greater frequency of
early death. because children often became in-
dependent from their parents at an earlier age,
and because the role of sexuality in marriage
was very different because of fear of preg-
nancy or death in childbirth. It is rhis kind of
insensitivity to what is nerv about our own
historical period that makes some social sci-
ence research seem insignificant.
3. What varieties of men and women now pre-
vail in this society and in this period? In
what ways are they selected and formed. lib-
erated and repressed, made sensitive and
blunted? (1959, p. D
Here Mills is concerned with the study of in-
dividuals: what their qualities are, how they
change, how they usually behave, and what
impact they have on society. The interplay of
the following factors-the structures of soci-
ety, the understanding ofhistory, and the be-
haviors and characteristics of individuals-is
what interests the sociologically sensitive per-
Irr-noDucrtoN The Art ofSocial Research 7
son. Mills feit that rhe ability of individuals to would contend? Everyone would agree that
see themselves within society as if from the for the individual unemployed persJn, wtrai.
outside was a particular quality that only ap_
ever the overall unemployment rate, being
peared in modern times. put more simply,
unempioyed is a personal trouble. But at whal
Mills is saying that the sense you trave of point do these aggregate personal troubles
is yourself when you see yourself as an outside bc-
come a social issue? The Democrats and Rc-
observer would see you is no1 only lhe conse_
publicans, and the ..supply-side', and ,,dc-
quence of a broader historical
process of mand-side" economists, disagree about this.
change and transformation but also the wav
in Their very disagreement about the meaning of
which that process is expressed in vour indi_
the unemployment rate makes it u pu[ti.
vidual consciousness. This ,.nr. oi vour in-
issue precisely because it is disputed.
teraction as an individual with the particular
Social research often begins by thinking
society you live in. and in the particular pe-
about what interesls and, lroubles ybu in youi
riod of time in which you are living, is the
own life and how these interests and troublcs
basis of.your ability to understand ,oriologi-
take shape in the sociely around you, in thc
cal problems which can then become the
bas"is organized social systems (universities, fanri_
for social research.
lies, companies) which coordinate and altcr
Mills liked to call a problem defined in in_
our actions. Social issues, however, are morc
dividual terms a personal trouble. Once a
than the sum ofindividual troubles; they takc
problem can be iinked to a large number
of on new meaning in relation to the lotal
individuals, however, it can no longer be con_
society.
sidered only a personal trouble and becomes
a
social issue. Take tire exampie of unemploy-
ment, which Mills uses to show trow pubiic is- ORGANIZATIONS AS SOURCES
sues are more than merely the aggregate of FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH
personal, individual troubles. One man PROBLEMS
with_
out a job is an unemployed person. However,
Society is characterized by organizations ofall
if a nation has 100 miliion unemployed out oi
sizes, bu1 modern society is plrti.ufu.lf .f,ur-
150 million workers,
acterized by large-scale organizationi. The
fasffood restaurants described in the examplc
that is an r'ssue, and we may not hope to find its are parts of large international restaur;nt
solulion within the range ofopportunities open chains with hundreds, even thousands, ofres-
to any one individual. The very structure ofop- tauranls in different countries.
portunities has collapsed. Both the correct
The job descriptions offered in the earlier
statement olthe problem and the range olpos_
sible solutions require us to considei the
examples were patterned on the actual work
expectations and behaviors which employees
nomic and political institutions of the society,
"co_
carry ou1 to a greater or lesser degree of con_
and not merely the personal situation anO cirar_
acler ofa scatter ofindividuals formity in these restaurants. The fast_food res_
(1959, p.9).
laurant is organized to produce standardized
lood items in the most efficienr manner. Such
But what about a 7 or g percent level of fast-food establishments pride themselves
unemplovment, the level which roughly char_ on
the speed with which the meal can be served
acterizes the United States in the 19g0s? Is
and the maintenance of standards of quality
that the basis of a social issue? Or is it ,,noi.-
which are consistent and predictable. Ho*
mal," as certain poiiticians and economists are
they able'to create this efliciency and stan-
I

dardization? By being run as a bureaucratic
organization.
It was the nineteenth-century German so-
ciologist, Max Weber, who defined the major
characteristics of bureaucratic organizations
(Gerth and Mills, 1946).' Weber described
four main characteristics of bureaucratic or-
ganizations. First, such organizations are hi-
erarchical. This means that positions in the
organization are fixed in a descending order of
authodty-in both restaurants, there was a
manager who was in the restaurant more or
less regularly. He (and it was a he) was the per-
son you had to turn to if there was an unex-
pected problem or a serious compiaint from a
iurtot.t. Bcnealh him there were supervisors
who were in charge of various aspects of the
restaurant, and one who served as the general
manager when the manager was away.
Second, bureaucratic organizations are
guided by a set of rules and practices which
are formally established; this feature was also
cleariy in evidence in each restaurant, where
the ways of serving customers, collecting
money, elc., were ali precisely laid down. The
third characteristic is that positions within a
bureaucratic organization are specialized,
such that one person's work in an organiza-
tion was clearly distinguished from, but often
dependent upon, the work of others. You rec-
ognized this quite quickiy in the fast-food res-
taurants where the employees were rather like
factory assembly-line workers, each doing a
small part of the job needed to move the food
from the kitchen to the customer. Fourthly,
Weber emphasized that the social behavior
within a bureaucratic organization is imper-
sonal. Those in authority must rule without
special favor, the organization must treat its
clients and customers with a fairness and for-
mality ttrat suggests that no one is receiving
I The discussion to be presented here rests largely on the
anaiysis ofWeber's works presented by Peter Blau
( I 956).
special favors or benefits. It would not have
been right to give .vour friends an extra ham-
burger when they came to your restaurant or
to charge them less money; it would not have
been fair ofthe manager to expect you to work
faster than he expected other employees to
work.
Weber's definition of bureaucratic organi-
zations seems to describe quite accurately the
basic organization of the fast-food restaurants.
The organization of these restaurants was hi-
erarchical; they operated on the basis of for-
mal rules; specialized workers and activities
were set up to accomplish the goals of the
organization; and there was a quality of im-
personality and fairness in the treatment of
workers and customers. However, in the day-
by-day running of these restaurants, you
noted that these characteristics were often al-
tered. In the first restaurant, the more effi-
cientiy the cooks kept the food flowing into
the slots, the less need there was for the serv-
ers to talk to them. Also, since speed in serv-
ing was one of the cardinal rules of the restau-
rant, little time was spent talking to the
customsrs. This tended to make the job bor'
ing, and you often gave customers the wrong
food items because you weren't paying suffi-
cient attention. In the second restaurant, your
friendliness with a certain cook made the
work setting when that cook was there more
personal, less bureaucratic. However, when
another cook was on duty, you found the sit-
uation more stressful, the job less satisfying.
These wa-vs of altering and going around
the formalities of a bureaucratic organization
are very characleristic ofhow organizations in
fact work, rather than of how they are sup-
posed to work. These suggest that the charac-
teristics identified by Weber were in some
ways ideals, not fully realized in the everyday
operations of organizations. For Weber, these
characteristics were believed to foster the
goals of the organization, tobe functional to
the fulfillment of the objectives of the organi-
INTRODUC]ION
zation and to its survival. (The Ierm func-
tional de.scibes something which maintains
the on-going existence of the organization or
other entity; it is a term borrowed by sociolo-
gists from biologists who might, for example,
describe the bright colors of male birds as
being functional to the survival ofthe species
by helping to attract mates.)
For social researchers, however, what is
often most interesting about studying social
organizations is not how well they operate ac-
cording to principles of bureaucratization, but
which characteristics do not seem to further
their goals (in other words, which activities
arc dysfunctional). Robert Merron (1952) flrst
stressed the importance ofbetter understand-
ing social organizations by examining not
only factors functional to their presumed ends
but those which seemed to be dysfunctional to
the attainment of their goals.
Problems for study by social researchers
abound in organizational settings. Many of
you have had job experiences, and in such
cases you have probably experienced a bu-
reaucratic setting ofone form or another. The
university or college you are attending is also
a bureaucratic organization (though one that
is not profit making). Sometimes the everyday
operalions of an organization are of interest;
at other times social researchers prefer to
study more unusual situations (such as a fac-
tory during a strike) because certain qualities
of the organization may be more apparent at
that point.
SOCIAL RESEARCH AS AN ART
Developing on Appreciotion for Sociol
Complexity
Some people say that social science is merely
the study of the obvious, but nothing is more
difficult to study than that which appears to be
obvious. Nothing is more intriguing than to
try to gain a clearer and deeper understanding
The Art ofSocial Research 9
of some subject about which you already
know a lot. For it is the desire to uncover
some truth, some measure of understanding,
that keeps all ofus digging around for answers
to social questions. The purpose ofthis text is
to help you in your digging. But you yourself
must decide what to dig into. You must fash-
ion the question worth asking. You must seek
that middle ground rvhich Mills defined be-
tween the story ofyour life and the bigger so-
cial stories going on all about you. And you
must bring to this ground, this area for study,
an appreciation of social complexity.
The sociological imagination grows best in
minds that are open to compiexity, in minds
that are able to examine an issue from various
poinls of view-some of which may seem Iess
familiar and natural than others. We all know
that everyone does not see the world exactly
as we do, but the sociologicaliy imaginativc
person must ask, "Am I not able to view a
problem from totally contradictory vantagc
points?" This does not mean that I must for-
get or disregard my values, but rather that I
can place my values in a framework where
they compete with contrary values. Learning
to appreciate the complexity of social situa-
tions can be enjoyable and profitable, for i1
can add to your repertory ofunderstanding; it
can make you better able to deal with future
events more effectively. Most jobs require that
you know how to deal with people and chang-
ing circumstances with understanding and
flexibility. While onlt'a lew srudents may end
up with careers as professional researchers,
everyone can profit from developing a socio-
logical imagination which can be applied both
to work and to personal life. What this means
is that you must cultivate your natural inter-
est, first in your own "troubles," second in so-
cial settings and organizations with which you
are famiiiar, and third in events beyond your
life's setting which strike you as intriguing,
puzzling, edifying. Box I-1 offers a set ofsteps
to help develgp your sociological imagination.
I
 The Form and Purpose of Social Research The Art ofSocial Research

BOX t-l issues) the beginnings of a research topic can veloping the rationale for a study. Much of thr
be found. I have also stressed that even the rest of the text will address various wavs ir
AN EXERCIST TO BUITD UP YOUR SOCIOTOGICAT IMAGINATION most seemingly simple issues may, in fact, be which research questions are specified by dc
much more complex if you consider them in veloping concepts, types of measurement, rc
Whot I will propose here is how to proctice building up your sociologicol imoginotion. While I hove orgued
thot we oll hove the bosis of such on imoginolion, you moy hove never recognized your own. As in ihe a wider context and ponder the various impli- search designs, samples of subjects to study
exomple of refleciing on the college exom, ony time we ihink obout how our ociions interocl with, meet up cations of an action, a fact, an opinion. The types of data collection, etc.-all of whicl
wiih, or ore oltered by those of other people, other orgonizotions, other stondords llows, strongly held problem in starting a social research project is make explicit what the research will in fact bc
belie{s}, we ore thinking sociologicolly. Whot I wonr to suggesl here ore cerioin woys you con strenglhen that you often feel overwhelmed by the range The originating question, in Merton'r
your noturol lendency to imogine sociologicol y. I will suggest four steps io recognrzing ond strengthening of ways in which you can look at a problem. view, often stems from a socialfact;that is tr
your sociologicol imoginotion. As Ronald Gross (1982) stated in his very use- say, some observation of a condition in soci.
ful handbook, most social research starts from ety that can be measured and is subject lc
Step /, Stop to think oboui some topic ihot mokes you feel very upsei, or ongry, or eloled-o topic to "messy beginnings." change. He gives as an example increasin6
which, in short, you hcve o sizoble reociion. For exomple, toke the problem of AIDS. Now osk yourself, do Let me try to spell out this process of be_ rates of rnental illness in the United Statcs
I reoct so strongly to this topic becouse (1 ) it moy offect or choroclerize me personol y; (2) it chcrocterizes ginning a research project. First, 1'ou generally (1959, p. xiv). Our example of the changing
or ofiects sorneone close to me; (3) it involves some oreo obout which I hove quite o lot of knowledge; or
(4) it supports or runs counier to o strongly held belief of mine.
start with something in your experience or beliefs about how a society should treat thosc
with a topic that for one reason or another in- with certain diseases, such as AIDS, is of this
Siep 2, Nome the topic in writing os it opplies (or mlght opply) to you. For exomple, "l hove X problem terests you. Gradually you try to think type. In both cases, there is factual evidcncc:
ondthismeonsthot...."or"lflwere...,lwould(not) beobleto..,."lmoyfeel repelledorhorrified through the questions you are posing in order that could be ascertained about these issur:s,
by the lopic of AIDS, or I moy feel very understonding ond sympolheiic to lhose who suffer from this to form a centrai, or main, question that and then a question could be posed in relation
currenily incuroble diseose; bui whotever my personol feelings or my morol reociions, I con lry to opply seems to capture what you are really con- to these facts. Merton also suggests that orig,i-
the topic to myself in order io think obout ii more closely ond more deeply. cerned about. This is rarely a single step be- nating questions can grow from considcring
Step 3, Now deflne the lopic os o sociol issue. Beyond the implicotions of the issue Ior yourself or for ony cause you usually have to reject and refor- the relationship between a certain social facr
other individuol or set of individuols, how con you describe this issue os it oppeors wilhin lhe wider socieiy? mulate many early questions before arriving and the society as a whole; for example, asking
Whot ore the mojor difrculties thot this situoiion poses {or ihe society os o whole? How hos the society at the question that seems to pose your con- what it is about a certain type ofsociety that
oiiempted to deol with this issue? Are there sociol volues lhot ore iested by this issue? cern most precisely. Second, you move to would determine the types of crime that might
The sociol issue of AIDS hos become on issue o{ mcior concern. Becouse there is no known cure, be- chalienging 1,our idea. "Is this question worth occur there (1959, p. xv). For Merton, prob-
couse it is usuolly fotol, the presence of the diseose ond the sense thot it is spreoding hove coused greot studying?" "Hasn't the answer already been lems for sociological study do not come ,,oul
feor. This meons thof even though there is o sirorrg medicol consensus on how it is ironsmrtled, ihere hos established?" "Who cares about this subject?"
developed o foirly skong feor of contominolion from even cosuol exposure lo onyone known to hove the
of the blue," but are grounded in factual
Third. assuming that you can convince your- evidence.
diseose. Thls is why there wos o controversy obouf whether o schoolchild wilh AIDS could be quorontined
self that the problem is worth studying, you Recall how Mills placed the sociologic:al
from school.
must then move to a consideration of how to imagination at the intersection of your own
Step 4, Moke two lists. On the flrst, iot down whot socjol foctors moy help io bring fhis issue obout {its do the research that will enabie you to answer biography and the historical conrext in whit:lr
couses); ond on ihe second, lisi whot ospecis of ihe society ore offected by it. this question. Naturally, at any one of these you are living. Merton also recognizes the ccn-
stages you may extensively revise your plan
or trality of the individual in the defining of rc,
you may ditch the effort completely and start search problems. Noting that a prominent his-
over again. lorian once stated that while everyone mighr
The tone of social research is that of gen- be expressed in-indeed, that it is indispens- Robert Merton suggested very similar like to be his own historian, few feel they havc
uine concern for the subject under study. This able to-a scientific and disciplined st.vle of in an article on problem .findittg in so-
stages sufficient knowledge of the past to do so, Mer-
is easy if you study what genuinely concerns investigation. ciology. The "three principal components in ton argued that this is not the case with soci-
you. Such an attitude is not incompatible with the progressive formulation of a problem', ologists. "Here, everyman, confident in his ac-
the style ofresearch we call scientific. Science (1959, p. xiii) are (1) an originating question, quaintance with the society of which he is
From Messy Beginnings (2) a rationale, (3) the specifying questions.
does not mean thal the creative. sponlaneous inevitably a par|, develops firm opinions
interest in a subject must be squeezed out. On In this chapter, I have suggested to you that in This introduction is really about coming up about how it works" (1959. p. xv). Ofcoursc,
the contrary, I
shall argue that a creative, ar- most ofthe thinking you do (about your per- with an originating Erestion.In Chapter 3, on these assumptions about society may be
tistic, committed interest in social issues can sonal troubles and experiences, about social the uses of social research, we will discuss de- wrong, apd "getting the facts" may force the

I
 12 The Fortn and Purpose ofsocial Research
social researcher to reconceptualize a research
problem.
But the fact that people think they know
what's going on in society often adds to the
messy state of trying to start a research pro-
ject. Let me offer a final exampie of how I
started a recent research project, in the hopes
that my messy beginnings may offer you some
guidance to how You may start.
A Personol Exomple
I have been very interested in the great in-
crease in the number of women working dur-
ing the past 25 years. My interest is not sur-
prising, since I graduated from college in the
early 1960s, precisely when this increase
began. This increase reflected a change inthe
way in which women viewed work and their
place in the working world. I no1 only knew
about this change, in some abstract way, but I
felt it happening to me and to other women I
I
knew. could see that most of the young
women I knew-from high school, from col-
lege (even more), from my early years beyond
I
college when worked, from my graduate
school years, from the neighborhood where I
settled as an adult, and from among the moth-
ers of my children's friends-were becoming
committed to careers that they planned to fol-
low throughout their lives.
As a young girl, I had, of course, known
women who worked. But most of the impor-
tant adult women in my life (like my mother)
had not had careers 1o which they were com-
mitted. They might have worked for a while
to ease economic burdens before they married
or to assist their husbands (as my mother did).
But they had not dertned themselves in terms
of the work they did. What was new about
women in the 1960s and 1970s was that they
placed work, that is to say their careers, at the
center (or at least near the center) of their
lives.
Women {iom my era, reaching maturity in
P A R ToN
the 1950s when working women were not
dominant model, must have undergone some
change in order to become so committed to
having a career. In most cases, they could not
use their mothers or other women who they
had admired when they were young as exam-
ples (or role models) of successful career
women. There must have been some other
impetus behind this change.
Now it occurred to me that if you would
compare how women in the 1960s became
motivated to pursue a career with how young
women did so a decade later (when there were
many successful career women about) you
might find what had caused this change in
women. It could be the case, moreover, that
role modeis are not important, or maybe fe-
male role modeis are not important; maybe
there were changes in women's education, in
their personal lives; maybe the changes were
in the wider society, and women were more
receptive to societal pressures (now it was be-
ginning to get really messvl.
Let's slow up and think again about the
first fact that "tantalized" me: more women
were becoming committed to careers over the
past 25 years. I knew I needed to think about
what that fact has meant in my own life and
in the iives of individual women I knew (a
microlevel analysis). However, I also needed
to consider the changes in society that may
have caused the increase in women's commit-
ment to careers (a macro-levei analysis). I had
to take Mills's advice and try tosee the inter-
section between the personal and the histori-
cal. I had to follow Merton's suggestion that a
little fact finding might tell me whether my
hunches were accurate. This early stage of
thinking about a topic that I found exciting
and absorbing would represent the first step in
the sociological imagination process described
in Box I-1.
From the personal perspective, could I ested me to the formuiation of the questions
view my own life and compare it to the iives
of my contemporaries. I could consider what
E
INTRODUCTION
a I knew about the differences among those
women.who were very cornmitted to their ca-
reers, those who were only somewhat com-
mitted, and those without careers. There was
also the issue of success. Somehow it seemed
that women who appeared to be very com-
mitted to their careers were also successful in
them (of course, I had to be careful here to
clarify more fully how commitment and suc-
cess were to be measured).
A central factor in forming the outlook of
the women I knew seemed to be how young
they were when they married. Another was
the length time between the date of marriage
and the birth of the lirst child. A third factor
was the husband's career. (Had the woman
worked to help her husband complete the cre-
denlials for his career, had his career "come
first"?) I could also think about th e personalily
differences among the women I knew well that
might account for their commitment to work:
Did they have a high opinion of themselves?
Were they competitive? Did they have a need
to achieve at what they were doing? Were they
lrardworking or lazy, responsible or carefree,
independent or immature? How well had they
performed in other parts of their lives, like in
school? What were their parents like? Had
they supported their daughter's ambitions?
Were they fearlul for her? Did they expect her
to marry early and carry out a very traditional
female role? I recognized that all these possi-
ble reasons lor a woman's career commilment
could be studied, assuming that I kept the
number manageable and organized into clear
groups-according to background factors, so-
cial-psychological qualities, characteristics of
the woman's personal iife as an adult, work
qualifications. etc.
These factors were possible causes of
women's changing commitment to careers. To
move from the original probiem that inter-
above required not only thinking, but writing
down my ideas and plans as I went along. This
The Art of Social Research
follows Steps 2 to 4 in Box I-1 in which thc
topic is written down. The topic is then de-
fined as a social issue (why was this happening
to so many women). Finally a set of potential
causes, and possible results, is laid out.
But the central problem in the originating
question was to be sure that I knew what I
meant by cereer commitment. I looked
through studies on this subject. What I found
were primarily studies on career aspirations or
expectations and, on the other hand, on oc-
cupational status attainment (in other words,
degree of career success). Looking harder, I
found a few studies that had been done on ca-
reer continuity among women, that is, how
long they had worked; career atltpicalily, lhal
is, having a career that is unusual for a woman
(which might suggest career commitment):
and career salience, thal is, placing the impor-
tance of a career high in comparison with
other aspects of one's life. This last conccpt
was getting close to my sense of carccr
commitment.
I realized that career commitment would
vary by degrees from one woman to another.
This meant that some women would not bc
career-committed, and some would be less ca-
reer-committed than others. The concepl of'
career commitment suggested one end of a
spectrum from committed to uncommitted.
Maybe it would be better to have a more neu-
tral concept that would not suggest that thoso
without this quality were somehow lacking.
Now when I returned to looking at earlicr
studies, I looked for a more generic term to
describe an attitude about one's work that
might suggest commitment or lack of
commitment.
What I came up with was work orientation.
What was good about this concept was that it
was broad, it was not biased (it did not suggest
what type ofwork orientation was preferable),
and it referred to work rather than a career. I
had been told, mainly at meetings I had at-
tended outside the United Slates. that careel
I
@ofror,o,^*o*
was a term that, in some countries, would
rarely be used by a woman to describe her
work, that it was too success-oriented, too
driven, and that it refened to being on a track.
Work was a more general term. If I were to
study women in all types of work activities,
many might not consider themselves as hav-
ing a career, but only as working. Therefore
work orientation seemed a better concept to
study.
Now I was ready to clarify my originating
question. Let us reiterate what I had done.
First, I had thought of a fact that interested
me: How was it thal women had become more
committed to having a career? Second. I had
considered the recent historical context in
which these changes had occurred, from the
1960s to the 1980s. Third, I had reflected on
my own experiences and those of my lriends
and acquaintances to considsr career commit-
ment among those I knew. Fourth, i had tried
to single out the factors which distinguished
those women who were committed to careers
from those who were not. Fifth, I turned to
earlier studies on women's work to try to find
how other people had studied career commit-
ment. Sixth, I reconsidered the concept ofca-
reer commitment and decided to switch to the
more neutral concept of work orientation. I
was now ready to pose my research question.
RECOMI'4ENDED READINGS
l. Berger, Peter L.: Invitation to Sociology: A Hu-
manistic Perspecthe, Anchor Books, Garden
City, N.Y., 1963. Berger's stress on sociology as
a pastime and as a lorm of consciousness fits
very well with the perspective ofthis chapter. A
very readable book.
-3
2. Blau, Peter M.: Bureaucracy in Modern Society,
Random House, New York, 1956. A very con-
cise book on the development and characteris-
trcs of bureaucratic organizations. It ofers a
good introduction to Max Weber's writing on
this subject.
3. Bransford, John D., and Barry S. Stein: Iie
IdeaL Problem Solver: A Guide for Improtting
Thinking, Learning, and Creativity, W. H. Free-
man, New York, I 984. This book addresses how
effectively you think aboul things. It discusses
how to understand what you learn, make logical
arguments, enhance creativity, and communi-
cate effectively.
4. Gross, Ronald: The Independent Scholar's
Handbook, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass.,
1982. Rich with examples ofhow independent
scholars practice their craft and survive, the dis-
cussion in this handbook on how to turn "messy
beginnings" into serious research inquiries is
one ofthe best available. In addition, Gross of-
fers highly practical advice aboul such matters
as locating resources and seeking out lellow
researchers.
5. Merton, Robert K.: "Notes on Problem-Finding
in Sociology," in Robert K Merton, leonard
Broom, and Leonard S. Cottrell, Jr. (eds.), So-
ciology Today, Basic Books, New York, 1 959. In
this short essay. Merton suggests which ingredi-
ents are necessary to the makeup ofa sociologi-
cal problem. He also discusses the conditions
that are likely to lead to the discovery of new
sociological problems needing research.
6. Mills, C. Wright: The Sociological Imagination,
Oxford, New York, 1959. Milis's vibrant
work that was used so heavily in this chapter
includes marvelous chapters on grand theory
and emprrical work in sociology. However,
the part of the book that will probably be the
most helpful in your efforts to initiate a re-
search project is the appendix on "intellectual
craftsmanship."
Varieties af Social- Scientific
Research
INTRCDUCTION
To aogood research, you need to know
what good research is. To whet your sociological appetite, yo, n..O
A.licious sociolog-
ical studies to chew on-studies with exciting. uiuid, memtrable
o.rignr. This chaplcr
will describe six such studies, which are characteristic of many of the"most
inte.esiing
carried out in the last 20 years. These studies will be described in
enough detail so thar
you will develop some ievel of familiarity with them. In later
chapters, examples fronr
these studies wili be used to explain various aspects ofresearch
design ano analysis.
These particular studies were selected because they represent
a bioad array oisocial
research methods. The researchers in each of these siudies maintained
a certain inlen-
sity ofengagement in their research projects so that the studies have
a iiveliness and a
sense of personal commitment that make them memorabie.
I should add that in sonrc
cases, the studies are particular favorites of my own.
The studies discussed here are examples ofthree of the major methods
currently uscd
in social research: survey research, experiments, and field work. These are
not the only
three social research methods, as this text will clearly show. They
are, howerrer, threc
central types ofsocial research, which represent very different styles
ofresearch method.
To begin by contrasting these types will help you to appreciale the range
of ways in
which a social researcher can choose to study a subject. Let me
offer a brief and sum-
mary description of these three types:
Survey research can describe the attitudes and behaviors of a population
of people
by selecting in a representative way a sample of individuals ano solic^iting
their respon-
ses to a set of questions. Such descriptive surveys are familiar
to you in the form of
polls. Social researchers, however, often use survey research
to attempt to explain phe-

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 The Form and Purpose of Social Research
erwise take the risks to elaborate on the con-
ditions of their work environment. After all,
the organization is the source of their eco-
nomic security. For this reason, field research
turns out to be one of the best means to come
to understand a large corporation, since it
takes immersion in a large company by the re-
searcher before he or she can discover the un-
derlying rules that govern organizational life.
One way social scientisls gain access to
corporations is in the role ofconsultants. Rec-
ognizing that social scientists who have stud-
ied organizational behavior and structure can
offer interesting and valuable advice to com-
pany executives, large companies often hire
such individuals as consultants to study and
then report on various aspects ofthe firm. As
consultants, social scientisis are in a position
to observe the organization from a social-sci-
entific viewpoint in order to gain information
and ideas necessary for ofering advice and
consultation to the company.
It was in the role ofconsultant that Rosa-
beth Kanter (1977) first entered the headquar-
ters of the lndustrial Supplies Company (Ind-
sco), a multinational corporation. Over
penod of 5 years, she consulted, collected ma-
terials, read, and observed in various sectors
ofthe central ofrce oflndsco, gathering infor-
mation to address her concern "with individ-
uals and their work experiences" (1977, p. 4).
Kanter used both quantifiable and qualitative
data in her study. One feature of her study is
that she used a wide range ol methods to col-
lecl data. Some olthese involved (1) survelu:
a mail survel' of a sample of male sales work-
ers and managers; a survey of office employees
(primarily women) on their attitudes toward
promotion; (2) interviews and discussions
with the first 20 sales women to join the com-
pany and with a small group of informants
whom she came to know well over her years
observing at the corporation; (3) group discus-
sions wilh workers discussing male-female re-
lationships and other problems in the work
setling, with
managers about management
probiems and techniques. and with groups of
wives and husbands about relations between
home and work; (4) attending meetings and
training prograns; (5) examintng writlen ma'
Ierials: company documents, publications,
and performance appraisal forms completed
by clerical workers (Kanter, 1977, pp' 293-
296).
By these rather complex means, Kanter
was able t0 build up a picture of"life" at Ind-
sco. Her analysis begins with an overview of
the peopie in the corporation and with the set-
ting itself. She then looks at the various work
roles of managers; secretaries, and managers'
wives who, though they have no formal func-
tion at Indsco. are nevertheless called upon by
1he company to serve in various socially sup-
porting roles and must be prepared to move
their homes and alter thcir social lives in
order to accommodate the company's needs.
Finally, she locuses on organizational struc-
tures and processes-lhe opportunity ladder,
the power structure, the significance of"num-
bers" in the creation of minority and majority
a types in the organization. Kanter concludes by
reintegrating her empirical observations into a
theoretical framework for understanding how
organizations work (and fail to work)
effectively.
A simple obserr.ation of any large corpo-
ration in the United States would quickly turn
up the evidence that few women hold posi-
tions of authority or power in such organiza-
tions and most women employed in them are
secretaries or other types of office workers.
One of Kanter's objectives was to come to un-
derstand women's roles in major corporations
and how some women were able to scale the
male hierarchy into managerial positions.
Such women, Kanter believed, served as lo-
icens: They took on an importance as symbolic
representatives of a group or class of persons
that went beyond their personal standing as
individuals. As such, they were affected by the
perceptual reactions that tokens call forth:
they got attention, their differences were ex-
aggerated, and their characteristics were al-
tered so as to fit generalized perceptions of
what women are supposedly like. In other
words, they were stereotyp ed (1977 , pp. 2 1 0-
211). Women managers often responded to
these perceptual reactions in a way that ful-
filled the expectations imposed upon token
women: they either overachieved, accen-
tuated their female differences, or became as
socially invisible as possible. Here Kanter sug-
gesledthalfear of visibility may be the source
ofwhat others have called fear ofsuccess.
Underlying their strictly formal roles
within the organization, Kanter found women
managers encapsulated in a set of four ster-
eotyped informal roles that allowed them 1o
interact with their male colleagues in ways
which were meaningful and easily understood
by the men:
Two of the roles are classics in Freudian theory:
the "mother" and the "seductress.,, Freud
wrote of the need for men to handle women's
sexuality by envisioning them either as .,ma-
donnas" or "whores"-as either asexual moth-
ers or overly sexual, debased seductresses. . . .
The other (types), termed the "pet" and the
"iron maiden," also have lamily counterparts
in the kid sister and the virgin aunl (Kanter,
Iqt7, p.233).
The woman manager as "mother" was one
to whom the other men could turn with their
problems: she was the nurturant woman
whom the men could depend on for advice
and encouragement. She was even expected to
come to the rescue if a button needed sewing.
The woman manager as "seductress" was in a
more difficult position to interact closely with
several men, since she ran the risk of being
considered moraliy loose (whatever the reality
of her behavior). Instead, she was more likely
to develop a single sponsor among the male
managers who would shepherd her through
srtuations. Such a man would need to have a
high enough status in the group that the other
men would keep their distance from
the
woman.
The third type into which women manag-
ers were sometimes cast in their informal
roles was the "pet." Women who were so
fussed over often lacked real authority in the
organization. Men reacted to their efforts by
considering them as either "precious or pre-
cocious-a kind of look-what-she-did-and-
she's-only-a-woman artitude" (1977, p. 235).
Finally, a woman who refused to be the com-
passionate listener, to be responsive to sexual
innuendoes, or to be coddled was considerecl
"tough" and unapproachable. She was treatcd
with undue respect and a sense of distancc.
Such "iron maidens" were, in Kanter's obser-
vations, the most successful in the managerial
role, though they paid a price in terms of ap-
pearing to be more militant and standoffish
than they actually were.
Thus, by means of her diverse field tech-
niques, Kanter was able to conceptualize how
women "lived" in large corporalions and
what were the causes of their problems. By
comparing observations made at different
points in time and in different sectors of the
corporation, she was able to build up a picture
of how women and men interacted in the se1-
ting and how each was enabled or disabled
through this interaction to achieve organiza-
tional objectives.
Some Chorocterisfics of Field Studies
How does Kanter's field study compare to
that of Anderson's? Kanter's setting for her re-
search was morc forntal-that is to say, the
boundaries between what she was studying
and whal she was not studying were clearer.
Anderson also selected a fixed setting, but it
was one in which no one (except, perhaps,
Jelly himself) was a full member; rather peo-
ple came ang left at wili, though Anderson
I
 38 The Forrn and Purpose o;fSocial Research
recognized that the "regulars" had a special
reiationship to the hangout that was different
from those of others wlio came only on
occasion.
Yet while their research took place in dif-
ferent settings and therefore required some-
what different techniques, both researchers
present their findings in substantialiy similar
ways. In each case, the central qualities ofthe
social environment are developed so that the
reader can get a clear picture ofthe forces that
are operating. People are not mere numbers in
such studies but, rather, their situations ex-
emplify the roles within the social structure.
At points, the Anderson study reads like a
novel; the characters are so finely developed
that the reader would probably recognize Her-
man or Cleo in Jelly's. In comparison, the
characters are not developed so individualist-
icaliy in the Indsco study. Each author seeks
out types of individuals either to exemplify
specific role patterns or to distinguish groups
in the setting. Anderson develops the typology
of the "regulars," the "wineheads," and the
"hoodlums." Kanter delineates the informal
role models into which women managers
slip-the "mother," "seductress," "pet," or
"iron maiden."
As to ths conduct of the researchers, nei-
ther researcher did anything to deceive those
under observation. Anderson presented him-
self as a graduate student; Kanter served as a
paid consultanl to the corporation during the
time of her research. Anderson developed
very close acquaintances who served as pri-
mary informants on the environment being
studied and who helped to legitimate his role
as a researcher. Kanter developed more for-
mal ties with certain people she encountered
repeatedly whom she also found to be highly
informative about the corporation under
study.
In each case the researcher tried not to in-
trude on the scene. The object was to see the
social environment as it is, not as the re-
searcher might presuppose it to be. Thus the
field researcher must be somewhat unobtu'
sive; Ihat is, he or she must not make tireir
presence too forceful, but rather blend in with
the others in the social setting so as to gain
their trust and not make them self-conscious.
In addition, the researcher must hold a natu-
ral sympathy for the environment being stud-
ied. He or she must be understanding and able
to encourage frankness among those being
studied. In this sense, the field researcher
must be a very fine informal interviewer gain-
ing the confidence of those interviewed so as
to elicit introspective considerations and eval-
uations of life within the environment being
studied.
Furthermore, a fleld study has a certain
openness in its design. Rather than entering
the setting with very speciflc, fixed questions,
the researcher usually begins with a few gen-
eral questions, a vague sense ofdirection, and
then lets the experiences direct his or her
course ofresearch. This is very different from
the highly contrived and prearranged design
ofan experiment or the precision and defini-
tiveness of a questionnaire. The course of a
field study may vary depending on what hap-
pens in the field. If Anderson had not met
Herman and entered into his close confidence,
what he would have learned about life at Jel-
ly's might have been quite different. Kanter's
research was more formally carried out, using
a wider range ofdata-gathering techniques be-
sides observation and person-to-person con-
versations, yet she also notes that the informal
conversations were among her very best
ofinformation on life at Indsco (l 977,
sources
pp.295-291).
The choice of a field setting must also rep-
resent a case considered to be t,vpical of a
group of other cases. Jelly's could be a bar in
any black ghetto area; Indsco is a characteris-
tic multinational corporation. Thus while
fie1d studies cenler on the unique, the single
setting, their aim is to iell a tale of many set-
tings. In order to do this, the social scienlisl
must turn the parlicuiar into the universal.
the personal experience into a role experience.
The specific events must be understood
as
representing regular patterns of happenings.
However, many social scientists wiuld
challenge the contention that field studies
are
representative ol the environnrents and indi_
viduals they portray. A critic might ask how
would we know if the men at Jelly;s were char_
actedstic of bar people in the ghetto in gen_
eral? And even if they were representatjve
of
bar clie_ntele, how represenlative would they
be of ghetto residents in general? Since field
settings consisl of a particular environment.
their typicality can often be questioned.
The chalienges are serious, but field re_
searchers would probably claim that their pur_
pose is less to represent a common phenome_
non than to uncover the deeper mianing of
the particular situation being studied and g'ain
an appreciation of sone human social setting.
The reader of a well-done field study usuatt"y
feels closer to-and warmer about_the
en_
vironment, more understanding of the situa_
tion, more desirous of gaining additional in_
sight into the world being examined. Field
research is not a cold, microscopic view
ofan
environment, but rather a keen, sensitive ap_
preciation of some fragment of the human
plcture.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL-
SCIENTIFIC STUDIES
Commonolifies
This chapter has examined characteristic
studies using three types ofresearch methods,
as a^nteans ol exemplifr.ing the major aims
and features ofsocial science research. We can
now ask what characteristics they have in
common. First we can say that thev all seek
regularitics. In field research, the conlusion of
evidence must be sorted out 1o form patterns
1o help understand the interconnectedness
of
activities in a particular setting. At Jelly,s, the
regulars were designated in contrast to
the
nonregulars, who were then defined in
terms
of their diferences (not having ..legirimatc;;
jobs) from regulars. In the experimenis,
the re-
actions studied*fear of success and work pat_
terns of those receiving welfare_were regular
responses to a prearranged stimulus. In
studies, it need only be shown that a large
such
enough number of subjects respond in
a cei_
tain fashion to support the reguiarity ofthe re_
action. Finally, the surveys used a iarge num-
ber ofrespondents to determine regulirities
in
relationships between various faitors. Thus
regularity is gleaned from particular situations
in field studies, inferred from common ,es_
ponses in experimental studies,
and extracted
from extensive evidence of similar character-
istics and relationships in survey research.
The second common quality of social re_
search studies is that they examine individu-
ais and social units representalive of wider
numbers of individuals and social units.
Sur_
ve1,s do this most cleariy by using probabilitv
samples to represent statistically the popula-
tions on which they are drawn. Expeiiments
assume that the reactions ofindividuals
serv_
ing as subjects are representative ofhuman
re_
actions in general; and by randornly assigning
subjects to the experimental anO controj
groups, the possible effects ofunique individ_
ual characteristics affecting the eiperimental
outcome are minimized. Field studies selecr
sites that represent typical social settings and
human situations of wide social interesi.
Thirdly, these studies all develop concepts,
or apply existing concepts, to express the ieg_
ularities noted among the representative sub-
.1ects. Anderson developed lhe concepts of
regulars, wineheads, and hoodlums to
iitrer_
entiate those who came to Jelly,s. Kanter
plained the effects on women promoted
ex_
to
marginal positions in management in terms
of
the concept nf tokenism. Hirschi studied dp_
I
 40 The Form and Purpose of Social Research
linquency by operationalizing it 1o mean de-
linquent acts either formally recorded as vio-
lations or informaily self-reported by the
youths. Coleman defined the level of discip-
line in lbe high schools in terms of students'
responsibility to the school for property dam-
age, rules about student dress, measures ofthe
strictness and fairness of discipline in the
school.
Anything that rarjes or is prone 1o varia-
tion can be studied as a variable. Studies sin-
gle out specific variables for consideration.
For Kanter, the major variabies studied at
Indsco were role positions and forms of ac-
commodation to such positions. Horner mea-
sured variations in leveis of the "motive to
avoid success." ln addition, variation was
built into her study in the competitive-non-
competitive experimental conditrons. Cole-
man used large sets of variables to represent
each component in the possible determina-
tion of a student's achievement in high
school: the student's home background; qual-
ities of the student's school (its curriculum
and disciplinary climate); and the sludent's
course selection, exlracurricular activities,
and ability level. However, once the variables
were initialli' examined, the analysis concen-
trated on those most strongly related to edu-
cational achievement.
Each study begins, on the other hand, with
cerlain consta.nls. These are common features
that tend not 10 vary in the study. Anderson's
subjects all went to Jelly's. Kanter's subjects
were employed by (or were wives of empioy-
ees of) Indsco. Horner's subjects were all col-
lege students.
Each study either built upon or helped to
lesl a theorv, an explanation for a set of coor-
dinated occurrences or relationships. The ex-
perimental studies had explicit theories de-
fined initially: fear of success and the culture
of poverly. The field researchers developed
theories out of their observations: Anderson
PART ONE
concluded that the strength ofthe social rela-
tightly designed. But the field researchers did
tions established at Jelly's Bar heiped to sus-
not go inlo the field blindly: sufficient preplan-
tain the precarious social existence of the
ning was necessary to prepare the observer
often-unemployed, vagrant men who "hung
know what to look for and to whom to talk.
out" there. Kanter developed an explanation
Furthermore, in a field srudy the design (the
for women's relative lack of career success in
plan and the strategy) evolves over the-course
the management hierarchies of large corpora-
of the research.
tions on the basis ofthefu scarcity in such po-
sitions (which meant that women who did
move up to managerial positions were treated, Creotive Componenfs of the Studies
and thereby came to act, as tokens). The delin-
Each ofthe studies we have considered
quency survey tested three possible explana- bears
the mark of its researcher. Of course. the field
tions for delinquency. The Coleman survey
studies mav seem 10 be tlte rnost dependent
addressed a public policy issue about the rel-
on the qualities of those carrying thim out.
ative merits of public and private high
Because they began with less fully precon_
schools. However, the authors stated that its
ceived designs and because the couise of the
"greater Iong-range contribution is likely to be
research altered as the researcher proceeded
on the mors general question ofwhat charac-
with the project, the special interesti ofthe re_
teristics ofschools affect achievement, and the
searcher guided the course of the study.
question ofwhat is the appropriate way ofor-
Clearly. Kanler's inreresl in women.s chani_
ganizing education" (1982, p. xxx).
ing roles in corporate organizations gave a dl_
Each study followed a preconceived de-
rection to her efforts. Her intuitive insight
sigrz. A research design is both a plan and a
into the meaning of being a token member-of
strateglr. As a plan it encompasses a set of
an organization enabled her to discern subtle
steps to follow and a kind of ideal model of
differences in behavioral reactions to to_
what should occur. As a strateg-v, a research
kenism.
design must search out the potential obstacles
Anderson uncovered a corner of biack
to the study and consider wa.vs 10 avoid or
ghetto life by immersing himself in
confront these obstacles. The strategy aspect a specific
context where he could develop insight about
of a research design suggests the "active"
th^e forms, strengths, and constraint,
quality of developing a project, the need to otgh.tto
life. Such insight requires taking dow"n the
make things happen, to make requests of oth-
protective covering which insulates the
ers, to gain support, to possibly intrude on the ob_
server from the observed, approaching strang_
privac-v and work of others to carry out a re-
ers openly without preconceived notioni.
search objective. The experimental studies
Such a process is both shocking and eye open_
had the most precise designs: every step was
ing. It loosens fixed ideas, shakes up the giv.
prearranged, carefully ordered and controlled.
enness ofbeliefs, and makes situations
The expected results were considered in the apfear
to be more susceptible to change. Generatiy,
design, and variations were set up in the ex- a
person is more open to what is familiar.
perimental procedures io elicit diflbrences in ihe
danger is that we can be so familiar with a sit-
response. The surveys were the next most
uation that we are unable to see it with ..fresh
heavily predesigned. Questions were written
eyes." Whether an insider or an outsider is
so as to represent all phases olthe analysis to
more perceptive in understanding a social en_
be carried out. The field studies were the least
i ironnrenl is debatable. An outsider enters an
unfamiliar environment with a desire to un_
derstand it so as to account for what upp.o.,
to to be surprising or unusual. Anderson spent
many evenings in a ghetto bar in order to
come to know the patrons so closely that he
became a trusted confidante. He was an
oul_
sider turned insider.
Both experiments had creative qualities.
Horner's cues to elicit reactions to achieve_
ment imagery were created to capture
the in_
terest and imagination of college students.
The influence ofthis created stiniulus was
ro
be delermined by measuring its supposed
J
fects. The crux of the creativitl, in ii-,is
stuOy
was in the believability of the experimental
design. The income maintenance exp.rirnent
used.a set ofpsychological scales to try
to de_
termine the pathologies of poverty that might
have overpowered the individuals being
stJO-
ied. The recognition that financial urri"rtun..
may weaken the work motivation of some,
while strengthening that of others, showed a
crealive awareness ofthe meaning ofpovertv.
The surveys may seem the leasr creariul.
Foilowing the old dictum that if you wanl
t;
find something out, ask, the survey tries to
Ue
explicit and largely unambiguous. yet the se_
iection ofquestions, the wording of questions,
the combining of diff'erent items to-rn.uru..
more complex concepts lsuch as Hirschi.s
ol questtons to tap delinquent behavior or
sct
Coleman and colleagues'queslions on thc dis_
ciplinary climate of high schools) all suggesr
areas where creativity has played a part i;1he
design of specific questions and of sets of
questions.
Field studies allow for spontaneity on the
part of the researcher to change direitions
in
reaction to some aspect of the studv. This
spontaneitl makes lhe fieid srudy appear
more imaginalive. In experiments'und 'rrr_
vevs. hov,ever. the creatjvity must be built
into the srudy design. Neither method de_
pends on spontaneity. Instead, consistencv
is
I
 42 Thc Form and Purpose ofSocial Research
the hallmark of both good experiments and
good surveys.
Scientific Components of the Srudies
What is scientific about the six studies de-
scribed? First, the meaning of science must be
clarified. You may think of science as a bodv
of knowledge, as something more or less fixed
that could be learned. I would prefer you to
think of science in more dynamic terms as an
octittity, a means of finding things out. To
carry out scientific activity means that the sci-
entist must do something. There are two pri-
mary characteristics of scientifrc activity. The
first is that what is studied needs to be ob-
sened. Science, in other words, is empirical.
It is based on observable evidence (what the
field researchers saw. answers lo questions. re-
actions to experimental stimuli) which has
been carefully recorded and presented so as to
make it as close to ths actual observation as
possible. This attention to recording and pre-
senting the observalions carefully and pre-
cisely is a part ofthe effort to make these stud-
ies scientific.
Precision in the measurement of what is
being studied and clarity in the presentation
of the data are both necessary in science be-
cause science depends on a system ofrules for
thinking and using language which is logical
and rational. Much of this book will be about
tlie different kinds ofrules appropriate for the
various kinds of research methods to be de-
scribed. The cardinai rule is to make the
means appropriate to the ends of a study.
Thus definition is a critical part of science.
What is being studied must be clearly defined
in order to determine whether a finding has
been made.
Thus the purpose ofeach study is to seek
to know something better, more deeply. more
cleariy, by applying rational, logical rules of
analysis to the empirical evidence gathered
PART ONE CHAPTER
ltarieties of Sociat-scientific Research
43
through observation. In some cases, these how one variable related to another_some_
rules were alread.r' defined in lhe hypotheses turn in the following chapter to a
times approaching a
cause_effect model_ more com_
prehensive consideration of
set prior to carrying out the study. In the fear- serves as the primary plan for analyzing
the
tn. r.i.rr.rJro-
of-success study, for example, those with cial research.
results of the study. This is central
to tfr. *_
higher ievels of fear of success were expected entific method. In most cases, there
are no
to do less well in competitir.e situations than cast-iron findings. Because social occurencei REVIEW NOTES
in noncompetitive situations. This study ex- are so complex. it
emplifres lhe deductive method where a hy-
is difficulr ro find sinsle . Surveys may be used to describe
causes which are inalterably n...rrury "ro attitudes
pothesis is derived from a theory in order to and.behaviors, 1o explain ..futionsfrrps
bring aboul cenain effects. tn if,ai
test the theory against specific evidence. In study ol public and privare scnoois,
rle 6;;;; test hypotheses and challeng.
tlr.o.iei-o. L*
other cases, an explanation is built out ofthe
fo, .l_ evaiuate institutions and programs.
ample, where students' act ieuement'1ti,at
accumulated evidence. In the field study by
is, . Survey data are gathered iirriugl
their cognitive abilities as measured interview
bv test or carefully designed sets of r.lt uArnlnlr-
Kanter, a theory ofhow tokenism operates to scores) u.as defined as the desired
or,.orn. oi tered questions, questionnaires.
weaken the effectiveness of minority persons schooling, the object was not to discover
in managerial roles was developed out of the one . Social experiments may be set
cause of educational achievement up in labora_
---
but to de_ tories or organized in a natural
range of observations made at a multinational termine among various possible pr.O"to., setting.-
corporation. This inductive approach uncov- ior . An experiment is based on rnuniputiting
causes) which were the ones that
were most stimulus to produce a response,
,
ered behavioral patterns (such as detaiiing the highly associated with differential which
responses of women in management) which
.ar.rrl"r.i then measured. Generally rfr. ,rlj..i,
is
results. *fro
indicated that what first appeared to be inef- receive the stimuius (tire .*p..i*.niuf
lective and self-destructive forms of exercis-
. One olthe simplest means oldererminins group) are compared to those
whelher a srudy has scienrific quafiries
ii'ii *iro C" nui
ing authority were, in fact, quite adaptive (the control group). To
ask whether it could be replicated measure the eflecls
(though often counterproductive). Thus the
ty .""tfr.. ot lhe slrmulus. Iests are often taken
person in the expectation of belore
reaching similar the experiment (pretests) to fe
inductive approach is one in which the re- results. How can you know if a compareJio
searcher reasons from particular cases to more
,trdy;o;d;; those taken after the experimenl (porrt"rr.l
replicated? First, it has ro be describetc;;
general, ideal cases; from a few instances ofa in order ro determine rhe amouni;fuh;;;;1
fully enough so that someone else coutd
class to all members of the class.
repro_ . Field studies atlempt to understand
duce the design. Secondtv, ttre conAltioni'Jf an e"n_
Each study zeroed in on specific phenom- lrre soclal field in its own lerms.
the study must not be so unusual
ena which were subject to variation under cer-
or esoteric
that their could not be reestablisheO.
. Field researchers must immerse themselves
Vetifrere in the field
tain conditions. These selected variables be- is a_distinction between a study bu1 must remain aware of
tt.i,
tirat is actuaify particular vantage point. They
came the central focus of the study. How the replicable (that is, that someone
eise would
."rt;t;;;
to have an impact on rhe held th;;
variables were measured is emphasized in carry out an exactly similar study, ;;.
a repiica of studying-that
great detail in the studies, for ifthe variables the first study) and one that .un"t. is. they must be unobtrusive.
O.|..,UJ . Jocrat_sclenlrtic research studies
are inadequately measured, the validity of the as if it were replicable (so that regularilies
study, that is to say its ability to represent
l, *,ehi"b. in social life by examining represenlative
comparable to other studies). This in_
what it claims to represent, is jcopardized. abiiity to dividuals, groups, and institutions.
reglicgle or nrake comparable i,
The ultimate challenge to such studies is to
u f<.V io'rir. . The creative aspects of social research
screnlrhc qualiry ofa srudy. Once rhe can
argue that the effect being studied is not really
irudy is be seen in the imaginative qualities
replicared, those findings rvfri.t of a re_
the effect at all. Was Hirschi's operationaliza-
rupporiit. search.design, a data_gathering
onglnat hndlngs are then shou.n lo
be gener_
inrt*rn.nt,
tion of delinquency as self-reported delin- an analysis.
alizable. Ifthey can be generalized
quent acts valid? And if it was, did the set of ,o u ,!.ona
lest. they. should rhen prove to be generaliza_
. The scientific activity ola social researcher
questions on committing delinquent acts lncludes ga.thering empirical
ote 10 a thrrd. a fourlh. or a fifth evidence (what
test. rs observed) and applying logical
serve as a valid indicator ofdelinquency? Having picked out the scientific qualities and raiio_
Finally, the association between variables, nat rules to this evidence lo tesl
of studies like those described fr.r., *.-*ifi a predicred
outcome.
I
 44 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research P A R ToN E

KEY TERMS pire to go on to college than non-

athletes?
concepts
constant
How do residents living in a public
housing project feel about their living
deductive
conditions?
empirical
evaluation
Are men or women more persuasive? The Science af Social Research
experimental research
2. Which of the six studies described in this
field research
chapter do you think would have been the
hypothesis
most difficult to carry out? Why? Which
inductive
would have been the most interesting for
regularities
you to have worked on? Why did you make
sampie
this choice?
secondary analysis
survey research
theory
INIRCDUCTION
RECOMMENDED READINGS
variable
L Denzin, Norman: SociologicaL Methods: A
Sourcebook, Aldine, Chicago, 1970. This selec-
tion ol readings contains man) very important
STUDY EXERCISES
articles that have addressed problems in doing
Doingsocial research involves a range c,f
1. Consider the following six research ques- scientific practices, varues, and modeis. This chapter
social research, including Herbert Blumer's will begin by asking where scienctr
tions and select which of the three methods starts and what it is about human inquiry that
"Methodological Principles of Empirical Sci- can make it iuufi'|, ur;,r.ience.,, To do
(survey, experiment, or field research) ence," and Ralph Turner's "The Quest for Uni- this we will examine rhe. meaning of icientific paradigms""d
;l;; theii function ro
would best be employed to study each of versals." issues in survey research, experimental guide the direction ofscientific activitv.
them. Justify your selectjons. design, and participant obsen ation are covered. Next we will consider how close a relationship
there is between scientific thinking
a. Has the Medicare program (providing 2. Hammond, Phillip E.: Sociologists al Work: Es- and common sense. we will then look at the way
savs on the Crafi of Social Research, Basic science becomes more explicit and
financial support for medical care to formal than common sense through the developmenl
older Americans) improved the health Books, New York, I 964. Includes twelve contri- of a *or. pr..i* language, which
permits us to formulate and.describe things
ofthe elderly? butions from major social researchers reflecting
and specific means for studying phenomenl.
more carefuiiy anjfuf, *t more detailed
on their experiences doing research.
b. What is it iike to run a marathon, and
Third' the social rules governing scientific activity (often
3. Riley, Matilda White: Sociological Research: A
why do people do it? called the scientiftc ethos)
Case Approach, Harcourt, Brace & World, New will be considered. and we *iJi u:k io what degree rhese
c. How are attitudes toward drinking al- York, 1963. This excellent methods textbook rules actuaty seem to guide the
behavior of scientists. we will also examine ile
cohoi related to attitudes toward use of combines selections from significant research debate over how far stciat research is
positivist, a term that means striving to
illegal drugs? studies with commentary on the methods and
ing explanations.
accumulate facts as tfr. ,"f. *r-s of establish_
d. Do high school athletes more often as- anall,ses used in the studies.
Finally, we will consider in detail a scientific model
covering inductive scjentjfic in-
quiry (which moves from observations to generalization,
-wrucn u, u ,''*n, of deveroping the_
ories) and deductive scientific inquiry
1ln hvpotheses are oeauceo from theories
and tested against observarions). we wiir then consider
the designs of some social research studies discussed
how this ;;l;l;....d to guide
in Chapter 1.

45

I

46 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research
WHERE SCIENCE STARTS
When you think about doing social-scientific
research, the question that comes to mind first
is "How do you start?" Do you need to de-
veiop your own theory to test? Should you de-
sign an experiment, collect a set offacts, go to
the library, or what?
In thinking about this question, you
should remember thal scientific work never
starts from scratch. The scientist doesn't just
discover some exciting facts in the laboralory.
Instead, the very work that is done in the lab-
oratory rests on already developed assump-
rions which are widely shared (though possi-
bly contesled) as well as on established ways
of sludying certain subjects and of presenting
the flndings both orally and in writing These
shared assumptions and ways of knowing
lorm what the philosopher-historian of sci-
cnce Thomas S. Kuhn (1970) has called a sci-
enlific paradigm.
In general terms, paradigms are "univer-
saliy recognized scientific achievements that
for a lime provi<ie model problems and solu-
tions for acommunity of practitioners"
(Kuhn, 1970, p. viii). Newtonian ph-vsics is
perhaps the most obvious example. Genera-
tions of natural scientists, for whom Newton's
discoveries represented the ideal of scientific
achievement, were happy to quote the words
ofthe Engiish poet, Pope:
Nature and Nature's laws la1, hid in night,
God said, "Let Newlon be." and all was iight.
As this quotation suggests, Newton's name
was associated not only with the discovery of
particular iaws of physics, but with more fun-
damental assumptions about space, time, and
the order ofthe universe. Until Einstein trans-
formed those basic assumptions, thereby cre-
ating an entirely new range of scientific prob-
1ems, the majority of physical scientists
worked within the framework of understand-
P A R ToNt
ing laid down for them by Newlon, solving
the puzzles and filling the gaps that still re-
mained in our knowledge of the universe as
Newton had established it. For practical pur-
poses, of course, many of us still base our
thinking about space and time on assump-
tions that are largely Newtonian, even though
scientists are exploring ideas about relativity
that make the Newtonian world view scientif-
icaily obsolete.
The precise meaning of Kuhn's concept of
paradigm, its utility as a general description of
the way scientists think and work, and its par-
ticular relevance for an understanding of the
social sciences have all been the subject ofex-
tensive debate since his work first appeared.
In the course of that debate, it has become
clear that Kuhn's original formulation of the
idea of paradigm was rather ambiguous; in-
deed, one scholar has claimed to discover at
least 21 different meanings of the term in
Kuhn's initial discussion (Masterman, 1970).
However, Eckberg and Hill (1979) have sum-
marized and conceptualized what seem to be
the three principal meanings of the concept,
and we will follow the main lines of their dis-
cussion here.
In the broadest and most abstract sense, a
paradigm can be understood as a sel of un-
questioned presuppositions underlying any sci-
entific activity. These would comprise the
metaphysical and philosophical foundations
upon which that science rests. In the case of
Newtonian science, for example, these presup-
positions might include the assumption that
the universe is basically orderly and works ac-
cording to certain universai laws of matter
and motion, in ways that can be known (at
least potentially) by the human mind. As-
sumptions such as these help determine the
rules according to which certain kinds ofstate-
ments are accepted as offering a true descrip-
tion of the nature of the physical universe.
This means that they also serve to direct the
preferred method of scientific work. In the so-
i
,:l
'19::
:i
::
...
::
cial sciences, presuppositions about the true the outcome of the scientific work could chal_
nature of
human behavior-for example, lenge, refute, or redefine these generaiizations,
whether life in society is thought of as ulti_ they are already present and taken for granted
mately reducible, or no1 reducible, to essen_
at.the slart ofany scientific endeavor. Second,
tially individual, psychological processes; or, scientific work in a specific field usuallv has an
for another example, whether human beings agreed upon model which guides the design
are assumed to be basically rational or irra_
tional in their social interactions_would
and. execution of any new scientific prolelt.
Such models may be analogies to other ctm_
come under this most general sense of para_ monly known systems. For example, medical
digms as metaphysical assumptions. ihey, scientists have often tried to understand the
too, help determine the kinds of questions io workings of the body as if it were a machine.
be asked about social life, the kinds ofanswers
talking about bodily organs and their func_
to those questions accepted as serious ot true,
tions as if they were so many pumps and pul_
and the kinds of methods ftat social scientists
leys. Third, scientists must share certain'val-
are expected to follow in their search for such
ues as lo what makes a specific theory good.
answers.
These values would include general sclentinc
.Ifthis first meaning ofthe tsrm paradigm
. intended assumptions that a scientific theory or expla_
is 1o clarify some of tire metaptrisi_
nation be (as far as possible) u..u.it., .onrir_
cal and philosophical aspects of science. ihe
tent, broad in its scope, simple, and fruitful.
second meaning draws attenlion toward its
Scientists working in one field might have
more sociological aspects. This is the sense of quite a different idea ofhow a panicular
a paradigm as a disciplinary matrix_in the_
other ory could be practically applied than scientists
words, the body of assumptions, theories,
working in another area.
ideas, models, tgst cases, and values shared
bv The existence of a disciplinary matrix
a particular community of scientists workini
means that, as individuals enrer a
in any particular field. In this more sociologii ianicular
field, they learn what kinds of problems estab-
cal sense, then, a paradigm includes all t"he lished scientists in the field regard as the most
habits of thought and practice that scientists
difficult and important. Further, they learn
in
a given
field take for granted; the customary
the ways in which it is most appropriate for
ways in which they interact with one another
them to proceed in carrying out their own
as members of a single disciplinary commu_
work and presenting their theories and results
nity; the things that any newcomer to the field
to their colleagues. How, in fact, do they learn
would have to learn in order to become a
these things?
practitioner of thal particular scientific discip_
This question brings us to the third and
line rather than another.
most concrete meaning of paradigm, often as_
Eckberg and Hill distinguish several differ_
sociated with the idea of an exemplar. Exem_
ent types of sltared ttnderstandings within the plars are the "concrete accomplishments
broad disciplinary matrix. First, ihere are the of a
scientific communiry" (Eckberg and Hill,
theoretical assumptjons which Kuhn de_
1979, p. 926), the ciassic studies or experi_
scribes as shared syrnbolic generalizations.
menls that young scientists are taught to ad_
This means that the language, the terms. the
mire and emulale, and the *uy, oi thinking
mathematical symbois with which an individ_
that go along with them. When, for example]
ual scientist begins to lvork are already iargely
a high school lab assignment repeats the fa-
established within the particular aiscipline
to mous experiment in which Newlon passed a
which he or she wishes to contribute. While
ray of light thiough a prism, the student may
I

think that he or she is simply learning some-
thing about the nature oflight rays. In facf"al'
though this may not be made explicit, the stu-
dent is also learning how to act and tliink like
a scientist, how to view the world in a way
that seems most appropriate for the contin-
uation of the kind of scientific work thal New-
1on's achievements exemplify. Scientific text-
books are fu1l of exemplars in this sense of the
term: often, for example, they describe the so-
lution to a particular scientific problem, and
then prescribe a series ofexercises (or problem
sels) for the students to work on until they
have mastered the specific principies and pro-
cedures involved. By showing the problems
that have already been solved in a particular
fie1d, ofcourse. the textbooks are aiso in effect
defining for the student the outstanding prob-
lems that remain to be solved and the kinds of
procedures that may be available to solve
them. Thus, as Kuhn states, the exempiar is
"the concrete puzzle solution which when em-
ployed as models or examples, can replace ex-
plicit rules as a basis for the solution of the
remaining puzzies of normal science" (Kuhn,
1910, p. l7 5).
Note that in this last quotation Kuhn uses
the phrase, "remaining puzzles of normal sci-
enca," to describe the outstanding problems
in any particular discipline. We can think of a
puzzle as a difficulty, inconsistency, or obscu-
rity that is posed within a given framework of
ruies and assumptions (i.e., a paradigm) and
must be resolved within that framework. By
speaking of puzzles in this sense, then, Kuhn
meant to emphasize that normal scientific ac-
tivity involves working out the difficulties and
extending the implications of an already es-
tablished view ofthe world, rather than think-
ing oiradical alternatives to it. Only in peri-
ods of crisis, when paradigms break down and
produce problems that simply cannot be
solved within the structure of rules and as-
sumptions upon which they depend, does nor-
mal science give way to a scientific revolution
:E
!
:'i.
that eventually introduces a new paradigm to
replace the o1d.
Relatively few historians and philosophers
of science are now inclined to accept Kuhn's
initial view of scientific change as involving
revolutionary shifts from one paradigmatic
world view to another one. Few scientific dis-
ciplines have the kind of unitary paradigm
that Kuhn at first seemed to envisage as the
foundation for normal science in any field;
and many ofthem seem to have been shaped
by a process ofcontinuous interaction among
several competing paradigms, rather than by a
succession of revoiutionary shifts from one
paradigm to another. Certainly, there is no
singie paradigm that defines the fleld of soci-
ology, which is still characterized by extensive
disagreement about what the truly important
questions are, whal the most appropriate
methods for answering them might be, and
what an acceptable solution migirt look like.
Nevertheiess, the debate stimulated by
Kuhn's notion of paradigms has been a very
useful one. It has illuminated the philosophi-
cal complexity ofthe actual practice ofscience
and made its sociological dimensions far
clearer. For your purposes, as a reader of this
textbook, the value ofthe concept ofscientific
paradigms is that it will help you realize that
ail scientific work (and cerlainly any social sci-
ence research you perform) is built upon an
aiready existing foundation of assumptions,
models, values, and ruies.
What is common between the natural and
social sciences is that they both begin with as-
sumptions, lvith expectations, and with wa-vs
of doing things that are already accepted. A
person trying to contribute to this enterprise
picks up some strand of this endeavor and
moves ahead using the established systems of
support which ate available. A11 of it gets
worked out within the context of what is al-
ready there in the field ofstudy. Now all this
ma)'seem very difficult. You may be wonder-
ing: "How can I ever do a research project ifI
have,to know the paradigm in which that
sub_
ject falls?:'Let us say that recognizing
,o_._
-at..aOv
thing as a good subject for research
implies some paradigm rhat gives ir reteuanc-J.
Initially you may begin with un la.u *frl.f,
stems from your store of commonsense
obser-
vations. What science tries to ao i, *ul.
much more explicit and, s])stematic the wafs
ofthinking we already have. As you purt
vou
commonsense notions too.ard greater
explic_
itness, you will be clarify.ing the paraOigrilin
the.terms of which you u..lhinking uni
vou
will bedeveloping the sryle of tnougit *..uii
scientific.
How to Turn Common Sense into Science
When Thomas Kuhn was asked by The
New
York Times in i9g3 whether he igreed that
science is_.defined by its scientifi. rnrtfroj,
Kuhn replied "I don't believe there is some_
thing specifiable as a scientific method
that is
not pretty much what common sense
calls for
in most cases." Dr. Joshua Ledert*g,-rir.
Nobel Laureate who is president of no."t
.iel_
i9r University. continued this rrain of
thought "scientists use methods we should
recognizein daily life, but that we rnuy noi
push to the ultimare." Kuhn concluded:
"You're right. Science is more systemadc.
But
its logical structure is very much the logical
structure of common sense" (Z/ze New york
Times, March 13, 1983, p. gE).
But what is considered to be common
sense may vary. It is now common
sense to
think ofa cold as the result ofa uirus; it us.J
to be common sense to think a cold was
the
result of bad vapors. When people disagree
over what is common sense, they uru-utty
argue over the meaning of words. For
exam-
ple, some think it is common sense
for chil_
dren to be punished ifthey disobey Brtl;i;
also considered common sense not to physi-
cally abuse children. What ls .or.on^r.nr.
in this context depends upon how you define
punishmenl and how you define abuse.
Thus
thinking.about things in a commonsense lash_
lon requrres making more precise lerms to
de-
scribe the things you are thinking about.
Furthermore. whal you observe in the role
ol^a sclenllst. Jike what you observe as an or_
dinary person, depends substantially on what
1,ou already know about and expect to find in
the world you are dealing with. But
scientific
observadon is planned and organized
,o u, oo
make it as accurate and as unembroidered
as
possible. As a sociologist of science,
Michael
Mulkay, states:
Science differs lrom commonsense knowiedge,
not in the elimination ofpreconceptionr,
Uui'in
the precision with which ,orn. oiilr.r.
i...on-
ceptions are lormulaled and the
aetait wiif,
which they are used to guide observation
(1979, p.47).
Two procedures must be carried out to
aiter one's commonsense notions in such
a
way that they become scientific or, as Kuhn
would say, to make common sense more ..sys-
tematic." First, the assumptions with which
you a-re dealing rnust be made more
explicit
and .formal. To be explicit, tne assumpiions
must be precise and clear. To be
formil, rne
assumptions must be stated in geniral
and ab-
stract terms which do not reier to specific
ex_
amples, but are stated as general propositions.
Second, once the assumptions are to.matireJ,
they must be tested against evidence. These
two procedures are always interrelated, and
they are always bound up in common
sense.
Commonsense notions are both deductive
(that is, they make assumptions on
how the
world works on the basis of accepted princi_
ples.andsystemaiic ideas) and iniucrive
(thal
ls. they draw general conclusions about what
to expect in the future on the basis of experi_
elce ofthe past). In recent years, for example,
there has been growing evidence that ba;ie;
who are breast-fed have a higher immunity
io
I
 50 The Form and Purpose of Social Research
disease. Thus the widely held assumption that
it is good for infants to be breast-fed can now
be defended on the basis ofsystematic obser-
vation of an empirical phenomenon-the reg-
ular association between breast feeding and
immunity. This is a case of inductive reason-
ing, grounded on repeated observation. Now
iet's imagine a woman who decides on the
basis ofthis evidence that the longer her baby
is breastfed, the more immunity to disease
the child is likely to acquire. Her reasoning in
this instance would be based on some idea
about the nature of the causal relationship be-
tween breast feeding and the acquisition of
immunity. In fact, she would be deriving from
this idea the hypothesis that the ionger a child
is breast-fed, the greater the immunity it
would acquire. This is a case ofdeductive rea-
soning, in which one proposition is generated
as a logicai consequence from a prior
proposition.
Of course, most of the standard, wide-
spread beiiefs of any society are general in
form, but they are not necessarily different in
this respect from scientific knowledge. As
Barry Barnes, a sociologist of science, states:
"The greater part of the beliefs which consti-
tute our accepled knowledge are readily
shown to derive from theories rather than
being entirely the product of experience"
(Barnes, 197 4. p. 9). In formal scientific activ-
ity, ideas are scrutinized more carefuliy and
systematically. Nevertheless, they are guided
by an accepted picture ofthe world. In short,
a scientist hoids a theory of the world which
the scientist, like the layperson, has not "de-
rived from the world but imposed upon it"
(Barnes, 1974, p. 10).
The experience which forms the facts of
science must be systematized as well, so that
it can be compared from one observation
point in time to another and from one ob-
server to another. Thus the language in which
the observations are presented must establish
categories which can serve to organize the ex-
perience. Flere there may need to be changes
P A R ToN
made in the scientific use of language, as com-
pared to its use in everyday life. To take an
example suggested by Barnes, Ihe terms flower
and petal mean something different to the lay-
person and the botanist in certain cases: What
the iayperson calls the flower ofthe poinsettia
are clusters ofbracts, and what the layperson
describes as petals on a clematis are to the bot-
anist not petals but sepals. The botanist cate-
gorizes terms in reference to functions per-
formed for the plant, the layperson by their
color and shape and their relative position on
the plant (197a,p.16).
Adjectives may also be used differently in
formal science. For the nonspecialist, the
lerms hard and. soft refer to the way things feel
when touched: steel is therefore harder than
foam rubber. However. as Barnes points out,
there are contexts in which the designation of
hard or soft is not appropriate: for operators
of ultrasonic drills, foam rubber is hard and
steel is sof (Barnes, 1974,p.17). As scientists
studied physical bodies more intensively and
systematicaliy, they came to define the adjec-
tives hard and soft in various ways in reiation
to various factors of the material being stud-
ied-its composition, degree of impurities,
and temperature. Eventually, it was found
that the many exceptions to the rules would
disappear if the scientist considered only the
hardness of single crystals. "The hardness of a
substance. . .'really'corresponded to the ease
of penetrating a single crystal of it" (Barnes,
1974, p. 17). Now with a generalizable prin-
ciple such as this, the scientiflc definition of
the term hardness could more effectively link
theoretical statements referring to any sub-
stance with empirical statements as to how
the hardness of the malerial was being
measured.
Take the concept of middle c/css. Here is a
sociologicai concept that is popularly ascribed
to by most Americans thinking that there are
clearly people "above" them and others
"below" them, so that they must be in the
middle. Sociologists have developed much
E
more precise means for determining whether
a person would be considered middle class
(such as the prestige level ofoccupation, edu_
cational attainmeni level, and income). This
is not to say thar sociologisrs mighl nor also
be interested in the perception of class posi_
tion that someone has, but this would then be
an indicator of social class identifi.cation, not
of actual social class membership.
Thus scientific knowledge is built up out of
the ordinary experience ofthe world and ..for_
mulated in the conventional forms of a spe_
cific language system" (Mulkay, 1979, p. i5).
As Barnes indicaled, scientists add on to and
alter the meaning of terms in the language.
H^owever, they must begin with the language
of general use. "scientific observation, thin,ls
fundamentally dependent on language', (Mul_
kay. 1979, p. 45). Or. as rhe eighteenrh_cen_
tury French philosopher, Condillac, put it, a
science is nothing but a well-made language.
. In summary, science and language are in_
timately interrelated. Creating i science
means creatinga language, and doing science
means using such a language as precisely and
rigorously as possible. Sociologists and other
social scientists are often criticized for relying
too heavily on jargon. One reason for this is
that the social sciences usuaily deal with
everyday, ordinary events, and therefore a sci_
entific vocabulary must be developed to de_
fine terms and clarify concepts that manv of
us take for granted in everyday life. Even in
this respect. however. scientists are nol acting
differently from people in everyday situation{
many ofwhom end up arguing about the pre_
cise meaning of words as they apply to human
affairs.
THE SCIENTIFIC ETHOS
Robert Merton, a sociologist of science. has
specified four primary ruies, or whal are called
norms or institntional itnperatives, for the sci_
entist (l 973, pp.270-278). These principles of
scientific behavior which are thought to pro_
tect the integrity of the scientific enterprise
have been referred to as the scientffic ethos.
Before considering these, let me warn vou that
there have been serious challenges to ihe con-
lention that these imperalives operate as rules
guiding scientists. Instead, it has been argued
that the scientific ethos serves more as a set of
ideals that scientists may aspire to, rather than
as rules which are normally applied. Let's con_
sider what they are and how they should ide_
ally operate among scienrisrs.
Universalism, in contrast to particularism.
refers 1o the principle that ideas and knowl_
edge in science must be evaluated on the basis
of their merit, not on the basis of the status of
the persons who estabiish them. Similarly, sci-
entists should themselves be evaluated iolelv
on the basis of meritorious achievement. and
any olher factors should be considered whollv
irrelevant. Scientific findings must be tested
on a purely impersonal basis with no sets of
findings considered to be favored or above
refutation.
Communism indicates thal knowiedge is
not knowledge unless it is shared by a relevant
community. Creating knowledge is therefore a
public act knowledge cannot simply be the
property of one person. On the other hand.
people claim a righr to their ideas in terms nor
ofproperty but ofpriority. This wouid expiain
the claim of a scientist to recognition ai the
first to make a particuiar discovery or to for_
mulate a particuiar idea. Thus communism in
science implies the common availabilitv of
scientific work on the condition ofrecognition
of individual contributions.
Disinterestedness refers to the principle
that scientific activity must be done with a
sense of neutrality: the scientist must be able
to be impartial and receptive to any unex_
pected observations which might occur and to
be open-minded in considering the work of
others.
Finally, uniike reiigion, science fosters the
norm of organized skepticism..what has been
accompiishe-d is not the goal of science but
I
 52 The Form and Purpose ofsocial Research CHAPTER 2
The Science of Social Research
5-1

only a way station to be left behind when new lishing an explanation-what C. Wright Mills alreadl'predefined in terms of
some theoreti_
flndings supersede o1d ones. Everyone's work called abstracted empiricisrn (1959, pp. 50- cal. notions. In other words, for
potheses which requir.e
a better test. Such a re_
must be scrutinized and challenged. Scientific 75)-is neither possible nor profitable in sci- rhe il;;;_ search process has often
b.."
ence. To think otherwise is the error of the
tivisr, all facrs are socially .o"".rri.J'ii"ji cycle in which the various "ir;;;';r;
authority must be regularly reappraised. a. particularly imponant
.onriO.ration phases are;;.:
While most scientists believe that these positivist who seeks oniy empirical evidence
(the facts) unimpeded by prior theoretical no-
cial research where the pfr.nor"*
in^so_
-rtuOr."j
ryd.:.l.r:d
rnrre.
beginning p"i"r
th-e i;l;il;;;;
values are important to protect the integrity of
tions. We know from everyday life that there
usually consisr ofthe actions
oittrlnki;;, j;: .Walter Wallace,s
scientific process has been
tiSir;,oo.i'"il;
scientific investigation, careful studies of sci-
can be no facts without interpretation of some
terpreting beings. While we
will tuk ;;;;t adapted to depict the research
*iC.rv*.j'""J
entific activity have shown, as mentioned to gather facts, vou must srarr .v.f.. ft *iflf.
above, that scientists often operate quite dif- kind. llys
recognltion that the facts lhemselva,
wirh the described here ro help you
lo gain a luller con_
Take, for example, what we call mental ill- ura no, ceplton oj the scientific enlerprise.
ferentiy. For example, Ian Mitroff (197 4), in a the ulrimare goal of social research.l;l; ffr.n ,om.
What facts would you gather to prove a rh. of rhe studies which wcre prescnled
study of the Apollo moon scientists who were ness. rnlerpretation of these facts, in Chao-
case of mental illness? Suppose you say being
the r..ogni,ior.oi rer I will be considered ;n rrr. riehi
the first to examine the materials brought nreanings ana relaionsrrlns, oi ihi
back from the moon landings, found that the overly suspicious of others (paranoid) is one ll::,:o*q,.^
and the understanding ofthe model.
wav fu.,, u....._
principles guiding the behavior of the scien- /cci supporting mental illness. But a poiice of- aled social Iile tilat produces Figure 2-l shows the Wallace
.in social model. It
tists were often counter to those which Mer- ficer may be trained to be suspicious of others rc_ contains what Wallace called .,five
search.This position does not deny
the ini_ p.i".jpri
ton had described as normative. Rather than as a protective stance in his job. What might information components rfror.
t.unrfor*'i-
carefuily obraining .rplri.rr
being disinterested, teulral seekers of the be used as a fact ofmental illness in one case t?..i1::: ,of
rvruence. rrut rt conlinues to slress
tion into one another are controlled
the iignil- principai sets of methoor.
bi, six
truth, Mitroff found that, over a 3l-i'ear pe- wouid not be construed in this way for a po- icance of the interpretation
of ttre actsl io The inlormation componenls
.,, f istl, p'rii
riod, none of the scientists interviewed lice officer. This shows that facts can mean al1 r"r,. tormaily how rhis ,.i."iin. prol
are the basic
changed their positions; instead, most became sorts ofthings depending on the interpretation :11T.?.
cedure works. lel us lurn to a considcration crentents ol sclence: observations.
enrpirical
even more committed to their "pet" hy- they are given in panicular instances. a model ofthe research cycle.
of generalizariuns. rheories.
unO t uport,..is: rti.
potheses (1974, pp. 586-587). Furthermore, Considering again the case of mental ill- melnods.are thc wavs of moving
from one
there was great secrecy among the scientists, ness, in a study ofpsychiatric wards, to be dis- stage ol the scientific process to the next.
Be_
counter to the norms of communism (accord- cussed in geater detail in the next chapter, THE SCIENIIFIC MODET rore oescnbrng this model in
some detail, let
Rosenhan and his colleagues (1982) posed as me state lhat researchers ma)
ing to which ideas shouid be shared) and uni- A model of science must include not go throush
both theories even
versalism (according to which ideas are inde- mental patients (by claiming, among other and observations, both conceptuaiizing stageofthis proccss in a single r.r.urit
pendent of the statuses of those who have things, that they heard voices). They were ad- data garhering. and borh generarizini and
i.i y:j*t; In one study a researchei mav
onjv
mitted to a psychiatric ward and were fully ac- mo_ve from observation to
developed them). Mitroffconcluded that these specifying. The process
r.i.".* l, ,"rruiiy un .*pi.i.ut g.n'_
counter-norms to those prescribed by Merton cepted as mentally ill by the staf. This sug- "f
thought 1o be either inductrve eralization. Over a series of
,tuii.r,-u";_
gests that even among those working most or deductive. searcher may move through
were most evidentin areas of science where By.inductive, we mean that
the ,.i.;d-;;_ tfre entre fcfe.
the problems being studied were "ill-struc- closely with the mentally ill (those with exper- velops generalizations based Mosl.researchers seem to begin
th;l;;;_
tise in mental illness), the abiiity to discrimi-
on a f;mit.O "" and work_
tive side. starting with a hypothesis
tured," and therefore open to challenge. How- amount of data aboul a class of event, B,;;r:
nate false facts about mental illness was not lng out a research plan to test
ever, in areas where the research was better- ductite, we me.an that hypothese, it. The object in
evident. Instead, the staffapplied such facts as
ur. O.-r;l[O taking. you rhrough the enrire
defined, the classic norms were more often rrom a generalized explanation (thar .y.f. ir-io ,..
hearing voices to fit an already constructed di-
is to cx how the scientific process works
practiced (197 a, p. 594). a tneory). In pracrice. it is
difficuit ro iuf fy se _ across tine
agnosis of schizophrenia; they did not ques- arate.. these two procedures. and manv projecis, not lo suggest
the steps
tion the credibility of the facts presented to
The ..r.u..t
has a prior rogical_rariona;
i. that each project musr go rhrough.
Avoiding Brute EmPiricism them. Again, this suggests that facts generally ::::lliu, ser of. hlporheses ;;;;i
IrJln . (or proporilion,
What you should have concluded from the take on their meaning within some interpre- arout the reJationship between ,rro'o,
discussion in this chapter is that you can tative scheme or framework. gurdrng rhe design otrhe
,or. The lndirctive i{clf of the Reseorch
srudy u,hich Process
never simply collect raw facts in an unpianned A hard positivisl might argue thal it is only 11.",91:l
developed prior ro the dara
y^t
rng. i::,r
garhe;_ Wallace chose to discuss the
manner and hope that by piling them up you the present state of our imperfection which t l'lrs model. however, cycle beginning
usually und*ergoes at the borrom of the circle *iti
will arrive at something called a finding' The makes it difficult to directly comprehend the change_as the evidence otrrriiioii,
facts. The antipositivist argues, on the con-
is broughi ," U."i a principal information component.
act of accumulating facts and information as the.problem. and the lormal "" Not that
trary, that empirical evidence (the facts) are
resrine of r.i il.. rhar this was nccessarity the
if this material were the sole means of estab- potheses gives uay ro
u ,.lorrulu;;;;i;i_ 5?.I1::O Uegin_
nrng ot lhe research process. bur rarher
ihai

I

54 Tlre Form and Purpose o.fSocial Research
one could start at any point. Wallace recog-
nizes, as I have argued above, that observa-
tions cannot be made independently ofideas,
irypotheses, ways of thinking estabiished ear-
iier. Yet scientists often try to control the
amount of prior influence that may be im-
posed on their observations so that they are
not blinded by their past impressions and
opinions. You as a researcher couid go to a
neighborhood bar and see what you have been
programmed to see, or you could go there to
discover how far what you see is consistent
with hypotheses and assulnptions explicitiy
set up and recognized in advance.
Keep in mind that stafiing with observa-
tions and moving toward hypotheses, the in-
ductive process is perhaps somewhat messier
and more difficult than beginning with a hy-
pothesis and testing the hypothesis through
observation. It may well take a kind of imag-
pA R ToN
FIGURE 2.I
Wolloce's model of sclence, the
principol informoiionol componenis,
methodologicoJ conirols, ond
informotion tronsformotions of the
scientific process. Note,
lnformolionol componenis ore
shown in white reciongles,
meihodologicol controls ore shown
in shoded rectongles, ond
in[ormoiion ironsformotions ore
shown by orrowslWolloce, 1971,
p. t&.
ination or creative leap to move from gener-
alizations derived from obsen'ations to con-
cepts themselves. There are different kinds of
observations. Some are more clearly created
than others. In a field study, you observe what
is happening around you. In an experiment or
a survey, you create what you observe. In the
fie1d, you must be open-minded enough that
what you see can modify your views. In an ex-
periment or a survey, you help to produce
what you observe much more directiy.
A great deal ofcare and clarity ofpurpose
must go into the creation ofa questionnaire or
the selection of an experimental situation. In
the income-maintenance experiment and the
laboratory fear-of-success study, the observa-
tions were based on responses to certain stim-
uli. In the surveys, the observations are the
responses to the questionnaires, the data gen-
erated from written records. Note that in this
i;
:l
I
E
case the nature ofthe questions asked will de-
termine what observations will be produced.
Say, for example, the survey researcher forgot
to ask the respondents their sex; then sex
wouid go unreported and therefore be unob_
served and unknown. But let's assume that
the researcher has the names of the respon_
dents, on the basis ofthese names, the sexual
identification of most of the respondents
could be observed but not in all cases (are Les-
lie and Terry males or females?).
Thus, what is observed will be determined
by (1) what the scientist sets out to observe,
(2) how effective the scientist is at observing
what he or she is trying to observe (here the
scientist's lack ofability to perceive. to see ac_
curately, to discern, may dramatically alter
what is in fact observed), and (3) how favor_
able the context being observed is to this ob_
servation process. Note here that, in suryevs.
ifrespondents skip some ofthe questions, this
will alter the observalions, or, in a field set_
ting, ifthose being observed deliberatelv con_
ceal things or distofi their environm.ni ro u,
to make a certain impression on the re_
searcher, then the observations will not be
represenrative ol the environmenl.
Bu1 observations must be presented in the
form of measurements. Here we can distin_
guish the form of the measurement (its scale)
and the taking of the measurement (which is
virtually the same as rhe obsen.ation irsel0. A
scale of mcasurement is based on a st.stem in
whicli different symbols (usually numters) are
given to different observations of the same
thing. Consider a few exampies. Scales may be
very simple: the scale for the observation of
age is merely a self-reported number of vears
since birth. Scales may also be very .o*pl.",
in the Hirschi study, the measure of delin_
quency was based on direct responses to the
question whether the subjects had ever carried
out six quite different types of acts. No1e. in
this_latler case, that a good deal olconrroversy
has been generated as to the ..vaiid.ity', of self_
reported delinquent acts as compared to re-
corded delinquent acts from police files (see
Hindelang er al.. I 981). Turn to Box l3-2 lor
the "delinquent act" questions.
The way in which observed measurements
are summarized is aiso a very imporlant pan
of the measurement in any study. In a survey,
each response is, in and ofitsel{ only a part ol
the findings to the degree thal it represents the
sample being studied. It is presented in a sum_
mary form representing the aggregation ofthe
responses of the members of the sample. So,
for example, the average age of the .erpon_
dents to the sample may be 20.6 years, or 62.5
percent of a sample may agree that the presi_
dent is "doing a goodjob."
It is necessary to reduce the data to man_
ageable proportions by using summarizations,
but the strength of the summarizations will
depend on the quality ofthe scales being used.
In addition, these summary measures musl bc
appraised in lerms of the plausibie limits for
that measurement. What are the range of val_
ues which could be expected? Against what
slandard are the measured observations in
this study high or low, common or unusual?
Here statistical tests may be employed in cer_
tain cases to help make these determinations.
In Chapter 16, we will discuss in more detail
how this is done. In certain instances a single
observation may serve as an estimate: this
would be true in a case studlt. Cleariy, it is
more difficult to base a generalization on a
single observation; replication is preferable
(Wallace, 1971, p. 41).
In this quarter ofthe cycle, during the in_
duclive effort, the scientist is moving from
s-eeing to knowing, from observing to naming,
from taking in the variety and range ofsighis
to soriing these out into the patterns that
make the variety comprehensible. The one
certain reiationship between observations and
generaiizations is that the scientist is looking
for regularities. This was the first commonal-
ity which (I su,ggested in the last chapter) was
T
 56TheFormandPurposeofSocialResearch
shared across all the studies described. Even
in a case study such as that done at Jelly's, it
was the regularities Anderson saw in the
men's behavior in the bar that indicated the
nature of their social world; and there were
many regularities. In the experiments, the reg-
ularities were the common reactions to stim-
uli; in the surveys, they were the common re-
sponses to questions. However, the process of
moving from observation to generalization is
only part of the inductive process. The next
quarter of the cycle moves the scientific pro-
cess from generalizations to theories.
As Wailace recognizes, it is more difficult
to explain how one moves from empirical
generalization to theories. He describes two
different views of the, procedure (Wallace,
197 1, p. 50). In the first view, which has been
developed by the philosopher, Karl Fopper,
theories do no1 automatically foliow from
generalizations. On the contrary, they require
a kind ol imaginative leap, a creative or irra-
tional element which does not spring from
empirical evidence or from the generaliza-
tions derived from the evidence (1961, p. 32).
According to the second view, which is
represented by Merton (1968) and Kuhn
(1970), the inductive process is rnuch more
central to the development of new theories,
which spring from unanticipated observations
and surprising exceptions to generalizations
(anomalies) that occasionally occur in the
course of scientific research. This confronta-
tion with anomalies has been called the ser-
endipity factar and will be discussed below.
Suffice it for now thai coming up with the un-
expected. in the process ofobservation, forces
the scientist to bring new ideas to the forming
and understanding of theories-in shofi, to
alter and possibly create new theories.
To the degree that generalizations lead to
the creation of theories, this is accomplished
through the formation of concepts and prop-
osilions. Kanter's generalization about what
she saw happening to women as they climbed
pART oNE
up the managerial iadder in a large corpora-
tion was conceptualized as tokenism, an idea
that not only made sense of Kanter's data but
could also be extended to the position of any
member of a minority group operating in a
majonty situation. This process of naming
generalized observations may be based on a
greater or smaller number of actual observa-
tions as well as on unobservable factors.
Following the development of concepts,
propositions can be set up in the "if. . . then"
form [if a woman manager in a "token situa-
tion" can "segregate conflicting expectations
and has strong outside suppofi groups with
which to relax, then perhaps a potentially
stress-producing situation can be turned into
an opportunity for ego enhancement" (Kan-
ter,1977, p. 2a0)1. This hypothesis sets down
conditions under which Kanter's theory ofthe
effects oftokenism may not have negative in-
dividual effects. I{owever, Kanter stresses that
most individuals in tolcen positions do not
have such outside suppofi groups, and lhere-
fore her theory of tokenism holds up. In es-
sence, once a theoretical proposition has been
estabiished by a researcher, it takes on a defin-
itiveness and permanance which may make it
resistant to change.
Theoretical propositions are also ordered
into a system following the rules ofiogical de-
duction. Once this is accomplished, theories
can be used to either explain empirical obser-
vations or Io predict fitture observations (Wal-
lace,1971, p. 57). In the case ofthe token the-
ory, it was used to explain the behavior of
women in management positions, and il was
used to predict the likelihood that similar ef-
fects would continue to occur in the future. In
addition, a theoretical concept applied in one
area of observations may be predicled to be
applicable to a slightly different arena. Kanter
began by indicating the evidence for the ef-
fects of Ihe manlt on lhe few in her earlier
studies oflsraeli kibbutzim where sex equality
was espoused but where the scarcity of women
CHAPTER 2
tended to force them into the traditional po_
sitions of child caring, cookin g, etc. (1977, p.
208).
As Wallace stresses, theories have two pri_
mary functions. They help to isolate the
viri-
ables to be_ observed; in other words, they pre-
pare for the observation phase ol researcll.
They also structure how the findings will
be
expressed for the purposes of generalization.
Taking the fear-of-success tireory aeuelopeJ
by Horner, we can see that the tneory
both-set
up new variables to measure behaviors
which
bgen widely observed among *o..n
faf
(what Wallace calls the preresearchhnctionj
and provided a comprehensive explanation
oi
various findings which were alreaiy
available
(the postresearch function of a theory;
1WA_
lace, 1971, p. 58).
The Deductive Holf of the Reseorch
Frocess
This half of the research process stafts with
theories at the i2:00 position on the research
clock and moves rhrougt tt.,. pro..r,
oi O._
ductlon back to obsen.arions. This is
rhe
phase ofthe cycie in which already ae".topeJ
theories are used to generate hypotheses
thai
can then be tested with new obseivations.
The
first steps which Walace suggesrs are (l)
to
scrutinize the theoq for its own .onrirr.n.y,
(2) to compare it to olher theories
in orOe. io
deterrnine whether it is preferable to
them,
and (3) to analyze the consistency of tn.
.*-
pirical generalizations which led up
ro iir. a.-
velopment of the theory *ittr t ypottreses
ti,at
seem to flow from the theory (1971, p.
63).
if,e je-
Once there is confidence rn tfre tt eory,
ductive process may begin.
Generating hypotheses is a form ofsetting
predictions. But Wallace argues
that hyl
potheses in social research urJ rno..
i.pi-
tant for derermining the precise observations
to be made lhan for predicting the actual
out_
come of such obsenations. Imagine Horner
The Science ofSocial Research
making deductions about the implications
of
the fear-of-success theory. fne implcatlons
oi
the theory are such thal she can arrive
deduc_
tively ar the following hypothetical chain:
If ... (l) Men wirh high levels of achievement
motivation tend to perform better in competi_
tive situations than women with similar ievels
ofachievement motivation: (2) lear olsuccess
is higher in women lhan in menl
13.1 women
higher in achievement morivation will be
higher in lear of success; (4) fear ol success
is
more likely to be aroused in competitive
than
in noncompetitive situalions.
Then . . . Women with high fear ol success
will
perform better in noncompetitive situations;
women with low fear of success will perlorm
better in competitive situations (Hornir, 1968,
pp 31-35).
The importance of rhis hypothesis is
not
simply that it predicts an outcome but
that it
specifies the measurements to be carried
out
in order to test the theory. The process of
de_
veloping instrunents to make these
measure_
ments is nct an easy one. In the case
of Hor_
ner. an instrument was needed to tap
a sublle
psychological dimension-fear
of success. Be_
cause of reported problems with the uses of
pictures in this kind of research,
Horner de_
cided to use verbal rather than pictonal
cues.
A statement [..After first term finals John
(Anne) finds himself (herseifl at
the top olhis
(her) med school c1ass" Horner,
196g, p. ,ti
was given 1o the subject, who was
asf.eO to
complete it. The topics of tiie verbal
cues had
been derived from ones which Horner,,
..n_
tor, Atkinson, had developed with pictorial
cues; and the methods for scoring
thi content
ofthe stories were aiso derived f."o- u ,l,ri.rn
used by Arkinson ( lq5g). In rhis rype
oliruOy,
the respondenls are not forced inlo u
,*t ,aui-
ing procedure, usually the case with
survey
questlons; rather, the scaling of
the score.s
comes after the responses have been
read and
scored by a number ofjudges. (Let
me add
I
 5E The Fot'nt and Purpose ofSocial Research pAR ToN E

that there are some who are highly doubtful only be relieved by finding other (illegitimate)
Even when a hypothesis
about the meaning of such projective tests, means to fulfill them. Such a theory can help is testable in princi_
ple, it must also be testable
who would chalienge whelher fear of success to explain why disadvantaged groups may rn practice; that is ;flniti.'brcomponenl of research, i.e., the dis-
had been measured by responses to the verbal turn to crime to achieve success goals which 3..i1^ttt1 19":'.u'v data rrom
and,h", ;h.";;,h
;t;;,t""; ::,::y. chance
wrrrch were nol
or sagaciry. of
soughr n "uliO
I..rJir,
At*,"i.'-lnii-.,p
cues.) other less disadvantaged groups might be able :Ht^,b,., :"b]Tnabie # Ji;
The choice of the sample on which the hy-
pothesis will be tested is also a critical part of
to accomplish through law-abiding means. llf.".::T:: data musr be known
for the researcher.
#ffi;i:
But Hirschi also had to point out what was
the methodological procedure. The researcher
must first decide the population to be studied,
logically incompatible with this theory: If
frustration is the primary source of crime,
once rire-,,'r0",r,.::l
musl be accepted or rejected .been
has
lv , pr".." resr of one
resred. ir |::i::l,i"tl? ffir:;;,:;,:;!.#:.;,lf:
that is, the group about which one wishes to
determinarion in which ." d;;il;ir";,"rds an unexpecred
"i
make generaiizations. A sample must then be
why does delinquency also occur among those
from advantaged classes? Here the more gen-
original theory, how the hvpotheses;;#: ltselarion #ni.o
"*.rr-i"i "ii,,"J
question wi,en irr.
upon rheories nor in iiil,
mutared, rhe merhods used ,r"r.-rn was begun,, (Mer_
selected according to procedures that will eral deduction that it is the discrepancy be- ro *u;; ;;- ron, 1968, o. isi,j. s".i""n
make it representative of that population. We
will consider issues of sampling more fully in
lween aspirations and expectations which
i.lli"'J',i,Ti,irl,;;l:l':"J.';.#;i ;il :""-l'"^';A;*;
observarion is arso
eirher because it
Chapter 6.
leads to deiinquency can be used to explain
middie-class delinquency as weil as lower- s.
*ii o;;; ;ffi;;{}q:ft$ti::.j;:
This process of rnoving deductively from class delinquency. The hypothesis that youths
.1ecred. rhe implicarions ot.rhis
musl be broughr ro bear
."".rrri." fiIr,il^i:Ti:;u;m*l*i:t:[#
Finaily. M.n;;;;;;;0, rtur rt. surprisine
theory to hypotheses and then operationaliz- with a greater discrepancy between their as-
are a number of wavs in
on ,rr. rrr*ry.irr... facr m'ust;; ],).*
;;ch rhal rhe observei
ing the hl,potheses for the purposes of re- pirations and their expectations will be more which ,h" d; ;ffi; can relate suJ ."""ir.*"ri"n
rhe theory. r;;; ""
hypolhesis may bear on to some uni_
search will be illustrated again by going likely to turn to delinquency can be tested by versal explanarion.
Meno gtves the example
through the steps Hirschi used in his study of translating the concepts into scaiable vari- l. ornttuo *r,o to-#
Lend confirmation to Iha
"-" the theorl;by
theor'v bv not dis- #;::"
cielinquency. You will remember that I-rirschi
began with three contrasting theories ofdelin-
ables. In doing this, the researcher may only
be able to approximate the variable that he or 2'
confirming ir,
- Modify rhe rheorv hv rtice^.G*.;-^ ,-
'o
11; 1oneu.':'u,
sclous
ffi;:.:;T;l[;i;l;?il:
uutnJt";;#;l;r|i',ji"oou-'int tt, *rrv uppr,ra ;."$#::o:rt:H:
stales. In other w<
quenc).. These theories were: she actually desires to measure. For example,
Hirschi could measure the gap between aspi- ^ ovenhrow *, ,t,io,nl
3' :i':f,:
expal.d a rtreorv ire *.r-ji*,"0,"r]
disconfirming
Strain theory: a person is forced into delin- rations and expectations, but he had no way it at a cruciai poinr in
^ii.
irs togicar srrucl ;:it:1"
quency because of legitimate desires that can-
of telling whether the discrepancy between ture' or in irs comperiri". li*:".r.t.na;pity.*il'u,nrno*restsofhl:
pared with rival tn *l;.-;: ;;;:
n^ol-heses rt..m-ing i.oir-
not be met otherwise; oo. rheory
them makes a youth feel deprived (1969. p. 9). orir^--tiroiio^ri, some cases r.uo to m. o.velopment can in
Control theory; a person is free to commit 197r, p B2r. of new,
delinquent acts because ofthe weakness ofties
eren.quiie,*ri"gry;"r.raled.
rheories.
10 the sources of conventional social support Testing Hypotheses
which would discourage delinquency; The final step in the research cycle is to test i:#::i;:. 1T.#1",y has11il"d?,fJ*ffi:il:,:rf.iln*x.
of a hyporhesi s
Cultural deviance theory: a person who
commits delinquent acts is mereiy conforming
to a different set of rules supported by a sub-
the hypotheses in order to determine whether
they should be accepred or re.jected, and then
establish the implications of these tests for the
senrari veness;; ;; #il"#lli #.#",T:
ered belore accepting
rhar
to the popularion ro which
the
ffi:*T;r, xHHl* t{J"::'fi
t.rti, uoo'i.uur. ri. ,..;a.nr, g.r""g.J',",,*ore
j*ij
culture within the society (Hirschi, 1969, p. 3). rh. *;ilil;;r: sociarions in rr,,i, colmru-nity
voruntary as_
theory upon which the hypotheses depend. If than rhey had in
Next, Hirschi sought to identify the con-
the research findings conform with what was
;;:i fl
**',T;j'fi
:i,"Hl'# i#;';: liruru* :TH#i*n.. :,
r n u o o ;i,n,
expected on the basis of the hypothesis, then
T'::f ;i*':ff,'.$i:,:'J[ 1lt ;;ti*"nn, r; ,h";;;t,T'#Xi, :ffi:'#ll
ditions that followed logically from each of
it is confirmed. However,
as Wallace stresses,
these theories and those that were incornpati-
some hypotheses are more amenable to test- i:,::'*r
srudl design As menrilned
ble with them. For example, in considering
ing than others: Merton called rhe por.n,Lli,y
uf"".r non.,i Jl
the lcgical implications of strain theoryt, flly-
outcomes orrhis kind
tu;r;;;..*d i,on :i"fii*j,,|r#:,T#1'J,H';L*xi
,or. difficutr. il;;.;;rrs parenrs
schi noted that the theory had been used to
cxpiain the apparentiy irrational aspects of
A hypothesis is highly testable in principle scre'lific
the serenctipitl
research: urt.o.i,o*lh;;;,:r; were
rh;;;r;;;;rr"nir. ri,.y
craimed
when it can be shown to be false by any of a that rhe presen* of ,iuny
crime in terms of its relationship to frustra- teenagers in the
large number of logically possibie empirical communitY made getting
tion. Desires that cannot be met through legit, findings and when only one or a lew such find-
Fruirful empirical research
not only tests theo- i uutv-ritr.r .uri.r.
Menon and his cotteagu.s
imate means lead to frustration which can ings can confirm it (197 l, p. 78). ::::lllt acr;ueo-hvpoihises: ir arso originares .r.,Yl-utl' oii.*-
nev/ hyporheses n is
migr,r u.,.,,.jii?::,.,1 ;;:,ll :l:Ti,#XJT.::XTi jijtlij*J:t;

I
 li

60 TheFormandPurposeofSocialResearch pART oNE

teenagers in the community; rather, Craflown issue of the rationality of science has been of
ro131. wirh rhe presenl srare
was full of young adults and smail children. In great concern in recent years. Some scholars lh:r ofrhe social to empirical generalizations
encesl, perh
scr ps social scient to theories: and
fact, the proportion of teenagers in Craflown have criticized Kuhn's concept of the para-
a
istr ru, fr.. if,rul_, a deductive half moving ,il
was decidedly lower than it had been in the digm on the grounds that it suggests that sci-
"capturing more rrurh abour
rhe ;;;il,,;;; h1'potheses to observations.
,h*;;;;
positing numerous social
worlds uUout *t i.f, .
communities from which most of the resi- entific theories are largely constructed and there are a great varietv The serendipity factor in sciendfic
then replaced through the operation of non- research
dents had come. "fofr.n_.ontroAi.tory
truths. For 1ruth is an assessment explains how tests of hypotheses;;;;;
How could Merton and his colleagues ex- rational factors. But many sociologists of sci- of the value theory can somelimes f.iO
un answer gjys5 ro a question. ro tf.,. 0.".1""_
plain such an anomalous finding? Their con- ence have tended to support a view of the llal are revised
tlons
A, q;r: ment of quitc unrelated theories.
clusion-the "strategic" leap they made-was nonrationality of science, at least in some re-
in the course of..r.u..f,,
what might earlier have U..n
described in the following wa,v: spects. Mulkay argues that, since facts cannot ,onriO..iO'u
trulh may no longer salisfy rh.
be independent oftheories, theories cannot be ;;;;ffi". KEY TERMS

ll:n::i di.ftill,
quesrions *;rt ,".r.our
Jit_ already.developed assumptions
It is not that there are objectively more adoles- proved by an assessment of the facts. Rather terenr "1ruths." The rheoreticrl
cents in Craftown, but more who are intimalely he stresses the relativism ofthe understanding diflb;r; ;;- anomalies
known and who, therefore exisl socially for par-
scieniisrs. how lar trr.v ,rur.rio.
of facts, which may mean different things not ]1.'..-t.::.jrt antipositivist
ro posltlvrsm. will affec{ the
ents seeking aid in child supervision (1968, p. only to scientists and laypersons, but even to types olresearch brute empiricism
questions they pose and
16 1),
members of different sectors of the scientific they seek to uncover.
the-types ,i;;;;; communism
communiry (1979, p. 35). disciplinary matrix
Craftown was the kind of community where Newton-Smith (1981) has tried to counter disinterestedness
reciprocal intimacies were more easiiy devel- empirical generalizations
the arguments about the nonrationality of sci-
oped than in the urban settings from which REVIEW NOTES exemplar
ence by reminding us of its relatively limited
most of the residents had moved. Such a find-
aims. While the ultimate objective of science . A scienlific paradigm in its hard posilivist
broadest sense is
ing then was applied by Merton to the more a.set of hypotheses
is the discovery of truth, he has argued, sci- unquestioned prnrurporiiiiir""on
general theory that "social perception is the which scientific activity resrs. observation
ence can be considered rational ifits theories In u nro.. ,*
product ofa social framework" (1968. p. 162). ciological sense. a paradigm organized skepticism
In other words, an unexpected finding (that
only get nearer to tlte trulh.
body o.l rheories. ideas, models,
,.ft.;';;';; paradigm
parents of young children were particularly lesl cases.
For a theory to have explanatory power it must a1.d va]ues. shared by rtre positivist
active in voluntary associations) demanded
scienrihc-.;;;;_
latch on to something about the world. In the nrry {what has been called rationalitl, and science
a disciplinarr mi_
an explanation. The residents offered an ex- long run the ultimate test as to whether one the- lrzx). Frnally, a paradigm scientific ethos
planation (the availability of teenagers) which ory has more successfully latched on to a facet
,.;;f.;;;. scientific ianguage
to
could not be substantiated with factuai evi- of the world than another theory is their rela- larroyly a specific, concrete scientific ac_
complishment, an exemplar. scientific model
dence. This created an anomalous finding tive observational success (Nev,ton-Smith, . Scientific knowledge is built serendipity factor
which needed to be understood by relating it t981, p.223). upon the ordi-
nary experiences of the world, shared sym bolic generalizarions
to broader theories ofthe social procoss. mulared according ro a precise
but it lr-i;; tneones
What Newton-Smith means by obseruational uno ,ig;ro;,
language. universalism
HOW RATIONAL IS SCIENCE?
success includes two factors: the ability ofthe . Merton's scientific ethos is based unq uestioned presupposi
rions
theory to generate "novel predictions" and its on four
principles of scientifi c
The model of the research cycle stresses that ability to "account for known observations" mfruuio., uniu.rJu'i_
rsm, communism, disinterestedness.
science rs a rqtional activity. What is meant (Newton-Smith, 1981, pp. 223-224). Accord- and or_ STUDY EXERCISES
ganized skepricism. There
by this? For science to be rational, it must ing to these criteria, Newton-Smith contends that these principles serve
is ,;.;;Jio;;; 1. Write out brief definitions
have a goal toward which scientific activity is that science has produced many good theo- more as ideals of the three
than as established praclice. meanings of paradirm.
directed (to develop true theories which have ries, and he concludes that science is based on . shoutd you u,ioiO U.ur. empiricism?
The
high explanatory powers or which are useful a temperate rationalism which is gradually .ultimate goal
i: no1
of social_scientific
only ro seek empirical evidence
re_ ,3 llt oi'rh.e Ch^aprer I studies and
for making predictions, Newton-Smith, 1981, capturing more truth about the world. ii*l posirivisr *ouro ool r,ut
,,^u::.:r.
lo grve examples of how each
of rhe
rry
But while Newton-Smith's four
p. 4). In addition, there must be some agreed- conclusions l::l:11:1. lrs ^the
r() lnrerpret the facts. yfincittal informational rorponiiri"in
upon rules which can be used to determine about the virtues of "temperate rationalism" . Wallace's circular model of Wallace's model (Figure:_f
whether one theory is superior to another. The may be well-suited to the natural sciences, do science includes toicur.eO. por
an inducrive half moving exampte. you might start with
norn oUr..uuii" observations
or theories.

T
 ig.":
t:d
:1
_
:l
:.
l
;:
The Form and Purpose of Social Research

If you start with observations. suggest: RECOMMENDED READINGS

(1) What was observed? (2) What general-
izations grew out of the observations? (3)
Was a theory developed out of the gener-
alizations? (4) Did the researcher develop
hypotheses from the theory? Ifso, give one.
Or, if you start with theory, begin with: (1)
What theory did the researcher start off
with? (2) What hypotheses were developed
to test the theory? (3) What observations
were collected to measure the hypotheses?
(4) What generalizations were deduced
from the observations? (5) Was the theory
proved or disproved?
l. Barnes, Barry,: Scienlffic Knowledge and Socio-
logical Theory, Routledge & Kegan paul, Lon-
don, 1974. The influence of scientific thinking
and models on sociology and social research.
2. Kuhn, Thomas S.: The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions, University of Chicago p.err, Cili
cago, 1970. This influential work on the human
The {-lses and Ahuses
activity ofscience focused great attention on the
role olparadigms in the development ofscience.
3. Ritzer, George: Sociology; A Multiple paradignt
af Sociat nesearih-
Science, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1975. Ritier
examines how far, and in what ways, paradigms
can be applied to sociological research.

INTRODUCTION

where along your

war, ;^ -^^^ 1r,, nu, not occurred
to
j;:ir;:l;JJ:',T,'Ji;:S,:.iTf:l r
rr,,s
'ruJy2;?
suastye answer. yet
i::.yri, ,,r ,*,ll,i:$rfl, ij,'iffi
n"ir,
vour purpose ;,;;.Tn#;:r*i:ffi1 [ililfil;:,'#:1' "." oJ]i
menrs. ora .o;;;
iu, ,r,u rhis parricuiar-",r^1li:,_lor ;; ;;ilf;."n:#,:i:#:l
p'lece orresearch?
whv tt'is suu;ecrt io*an-
;ffifffi:ffii:;: t:l,n9d u;,;;;;i;

;ffl*i*mnCi'ul*r:iffi
il;
atso have
of rhe research yr
-ft iti:il*l::
lar.use
research*r;d;,ii'*:l*;1,;.#;il*.yi,,ff
l!];f; ,TJ,f;:;:::
j:l;*j:
''r;
j,qi;,JL:'il*:"';;Ti?,'.'ff T;iJ.li'x:'"",Txfilx*
nTi'i:l to remembe
lmpoftant tnun to defend practices'
rhoughr and
tn^1] tnt^ td; ;; ":[l
r"rtt',li'i,
to cairy ou
expressio"t
i.es5ffi :",:;:11.i'
r'. u. i. "u-"
i;il,: :"T,T:;l'i,l ?Ji*t;f fi l,T;;i
,:f ff ii"T,::T?Tfr
pubrrc ro be inrormed
th'.i'i:{TJ!:il:I.T:l.tu,'"*.,,''",r,l,"',,hr#il';;l
or come into conflict
*iti ont;t';;
,;t^1.113rttr-rffiil.,l
boulrhe*,i"iil,'iio;ifr
i#:i.?:,"Jfo"l.#J,i,ln:r.lm,,f

63
 'i
:il

I o4 fne Form and Purposa ofSocial Rescarch P A R ToN I-

Social researchers. moreover. want more than their right to practice their profession. re.1gar9! is to accomplish borh ends*thar
ir musl pay heed ro the significance
They demand to be taken seriously. They want their work to be understood as contrib- will add ::1]:l*
the body of knowledge rn
to-
th;;;: rnls rtme lrame. The
of
uting to the advancement of knowledge and social progress, and they would like their cipline and rhar ir has pracrical .iri ,, *.jj. l9g0s is nor necessarily
a typical-decade; rather it expresses
actions to be free from continual attack based on ethical objections. They cannot expect JVlosi socral research has some practical Uo,f, ii.
results ofearlier years anA
this to occur without continuing attention on their part to the challenges posed by the import. it forestraa;;;;;;
For social research to be held in and new ways of fiuing r.rri.ir'ln
uses and abuses of social research. esteem, its ffgtlems
pnor years were ofless concern.
social value should be made clear
in unu'.._ the.popular preoccupatlon wilh
n- a*urpl.,
search project. Here are four broad avoidinp
qr;r,1;; nuctear drsasler which reached
a
that might be used in considering
;h;ri*r; of anxiery in rhe early 19s0,
suctr a t'r.i"sl,i
prop.osed study has a useful
funJton in tt J sucn greal concern in the
il;;l;#;;
continuing development of tfr. ro.iuf rwo previous
THE USES OF SOCIAI RESEARCH purpose which Merton recognized, 1959, p. r.i.n.., ades (the 1970s or the 1960g.
dec_

xx). Yet the knowledge generated may be rel-

and/or in the society. Clearly, they
Jo;;;;;;: R.rh.;,"il
At the end of the Introduction, I described gest the orly possible reasons roots of this social movement
lay in rhe gSO.-
evant to other aspects of the social sciences. for decidirip lairlf
small bul uo.ut groupi;;;;;;;
i
how I began a project on women's career com- whelher a projecr mighr be
mitment and how I came to pose the ques- I\4erton states that
wrl serve as a good start, you "r.rrL
Jri'ii.i ther
$e.s,1eT Europe and the Unir.C"Sur.r.
can then add to T,
I nen
tions which set the course of that study: What the list some reasons of your own. tne rssue seemed to fade. Was
The scientist may regard his deep interest in a the west_
rvere the characteristics and qualities of a ern world safer during ti,. lnt.*.niog
question as reason enough for pursuing it. But 0.._
ades? Why \\.as lhere a-resurgence
young woman's experience (personal, educa- sooner or later, if the question and its answers L Does.the study offer evidence
about the of concern
in the 1980s? It is a search
f".,
tional, and work) that fostered an increasing are to become parl ofthe science ralher than re- changing nature of society? ii..fy f".",
commitment to a career? How couid I know maining a personal hobb-v, they musl be shown ]f ln. ,.y:.*langing pafiern of sociat exjs_
whether this topic had a purpose: a use, a to be reler.ant to other ideas and facts in the dis- tence which gives much ,oriuf ,.r.u..ir-u .i.u,
Most social research sludies focus
on lhe ores_ relevance_
value? A number of broad qriteria ma1, be cipline (1959, p. xx).
used to determine the rationale of a study,
en1 rime. Iear ing to historians
past. Yet what is current
lh.,,ily;"f'il
today is, lv i"*"._ 2.
that is to say, whether the study has a vaiid Here, Merton's rationale for research is that it row. history,. So the social ..r.ur.t.r Does.the_study address
a subject on which
L utrvu",i*
purpose. To seek to understand the purpose of contributes to s)'stematic knowledge in the triing to grasp the present i" social nolicres are (or may
ULI O.u.fop.j,
a study is, in itseif, a valuable effort, for it discipline. This 1.vpe of research is referred to stand the contributions ofthe past";;;,;;;;;'r_ or on which decisions must
be based?
pushes you to explain your interest, to clarify as basic research. to the probable conditions oftfr. "rrd;;;;;
But there is a second rationale which Mer-
iutu...itl, Social organizations and institutions
why you are curious about something. In seek- this dy.namic aspect of social."irt.;;;i; devise
policies to order and
ing an explanation as to,vour purpose, you are ton presents which is that the study may have is critical ro an understanding of control ,oriuf .u.oir.
some practical use (1959, p. xxi). Merton
tfr. so"iui
already beginning to think ofways to address mechanism. Sociologists refer usuaily aim ro bring ouour ,p._
your question, to establish a research design to stresses that many social research topics have srudy of social change. Subjecrs
rotht;;il; IHt:J:ll:,.r
oojeclrves o1'rhe organizarion. Often. io-
rfrui-f.nC fl'r,c
get at the evidence. Or, alternatively, you may double relevance; they have import to both ural organrzatlons formally
the srudy of rhe changing narure require and estab-
conclude that your research topic lacks suffi- systematic knowledge and practical use. l1.lt9,u.r.to
or socrely rnclude studies of social
iish research procedures to
piocesses evaluate the
cient purpose and value to make it worth -vour Where practical use is an outcome of a re- eflecti veness of some new policy
rer ision (e.g., race r.turionr, or social nro_
llder,eoine ..orr_ gram. For example. rhe
time and effort to study. search project, it would be an example of ap- sex relalrons). social institutions federally fr;;;i;;_
which appear come maintenance experiment. ^in
Robert Merton (1959), in writing about plied research. An example he gives is in stud- b. un.dergoing radicat chang. A;scrrs.O
how to start a research project (discussed in ies of particular professions (teachers, l: , drvorce. small
rnrough ifb;il; Chapter I. was an euaiuation
,h;;ft;;i
businesses {hrough
the Introduction) had stated that the devel- physicians, the clergy). The issues ofpreparing consolidation and bankruptcy),
effects ofne"w
cash transfer payments
to try"fto understand
opment of a rationale was second only to pos- individuais to fulflll roles to serve social ob- political and social rules on undel ytru1 conditions *.lfu.. p;G;;;
social structure might reduce- or support rtre
ing the originating question. Since the socio- jectives is a practical necessitl in any socicti,: (for-example, affirmalive action, inceniiue io
fegaiizatlon
logical imagination is so broad, research at the same time the study ol this process- ofabonion or pressure ro rescind ii Ly,'-1" .ili rederat governmerit
generally re_
O.r.n.._ qurres thal programs funded
topics can be based on any aspect of human that is, the study of adult socialization-is of galion. gun control legislation). with government
affairs. Your reason for doing a parlicular theoreiical import in the social science discip- lnonigs have an evalualion .;;;.;;;i,' ;;
study may be that you wish to know the an- lines (Merton, 1959. pp. xxi-xxii). Many so- If. srudy ofchange always highlights rhe
timeliness.of rhe subject: a srudl: thal rhe *resulrs" of spending
ru* *on.1,'lo."l
shiuld be purpose can be determtneO.
swer to a question for its own sake (this is a cial scientists claim that the purpose of their grounded in a clear time :?..,19
frame, a"d th;; 11 will describ6 how evaluarion lCirafier
..;;"i;

I
 +:i=
:j
i

66 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research P A R ToN E

carried out.) Moreover, a lot of privately an opportunity to compare more familiar from alternate perspectives, or
to step outside plans need to be altered
planned research also appraises the effects of (often Arnerican) beliefs and practices to those rook ar your umi;u,iom or radically changed
social policies and Procedures. of less familiar cultures. Single case studies of f1::tlTg
oeuels lrom some dislance
will
o. you to.
T.:1 erhical srandards belore ,h.y
;;#;;
enable you to with thejr. projects. For rhis
Furthermore, social research may address specific foreign or less familiar American cul- extract the significance of your r".uron. il.l. Jir]
some aspect of the social structure or social tural groups have also served to uncover as- from.your memories and perspectives.
._;*;;; cussion of research ethics
has b.."
early chapter ofthis text. ;;;;
behavior on which judgments wili be formed pects ofother cultures which shed light on our This potential for the inilusion-of
self- The following sections address
(legislation enacted, referendum supported). practices and beliefs. analysis differentiates the social ."O (1) the pri-
rfr.
Whether your state will buildadditional Sociologists have been fascinated with so- ural sciences. Those who can "li_
focus on ,iru*,
mar-y tvpes of abuses. (2) rhe erhical .oniiJ_
prison facilities may depend on how far the cial groups that break with conventional they.know best with both insight.ra eratrons required to evaiuate
Oiri"*_ and avoid rc_
volers are convinced that overcrowding in norms (nudists, members of communes) or esled objectivity can make search abuses, and
special contribu_ 13) specific guiOeiines
prisons fosters further crime. Suppose you, as that impose on their members requirements tions to the overall understaridi offered bv professionai associationsio
rng of human abuses.
il;j;
a social resgarcher, are hired by your com- which appear to be punitive or restrictive (re- society.
munity government to carry out a study to de- ligious cults). There are dificulties in studying
termine whether an environmental protection unfamiliar groups, because they may resist
THE ABUSES OF SOCIAI Primory Areos of possible
organization is having any positive effect in being studied. On the other hand, the study of
Sociol Reseorch
Abuse in
groups without their knowledge through co- RESEARCH
your community. You would need to consider
the objectives and strategies of the organiza- vert means is open to charges of unethical Since social research can have You may be familiar with certain studies
as iis subiect sociology where very private
in
tion. You would also try to determine who practices, which will be discussed in the next
3n,v
fa5et of rhe srudy of lurunio.i.;;;;; as homosexual encounlers
il;;i;;';;;
rvas being influenced by the organization and section of this chapter. However, many iess oenavlor, a social research proj..r or nude trrf,rg.
,uy l.rJ iJ have,been observed. you
what changes in policies and practices in pro- familiar aspects ofour culture are easy to ob- in r arious ways. By delvi"e may even have been
serve and study: the rationale and practices of
l,Uyses irl; 1'h. ,;: asked to participate in a survey,
tecting the environment occurred as a result crat expenences ofindjviduals.
groups. or or_ as I was as an
undergraduate, to reveal
of the activities of the organization. in short, vegetarians, the role relations ofparents who gan izations. socia I
rcsearch.rr r-igh,;;;;; *.y"p..r""rfj"i".
mation about your iife. you
irou would have to develop some way to mea- are employed by their grown children, the so- or harm those they are studying.
i"; il;;;;_ may h;;;;;;
sure the group's effectiveness. This second cial status of a maie nurse-subjects such as son, there has been widespieaj.;ir*; dered whether such research
is fegitirnatet in
purpose signifies research whicb may alter these would pose little threat to anyone. the past decade that ,o.iuf i; ofthe survey on sexuat experience
policies and judgments. sider, prior to carrvins r
..r.ur.fr.;;;: ]1.::lt.-l
ln wntch I was asked to panicipare,
a research projecr' I won_
4. Does the study make use of experience you .ri;J;;.:;, ;iill,':l which mav
dered wherher I should gi".
i"i"rr.ii"; ;;;_
3. Does the study seek to develop a better and have had or particular knowledge you have possibry raise erhicar esuy. Queslrons ran through
q".:;:Ti:n my mind, such
as:.Should I answer the questions
fuller understanding of some unusual so- gained, so as to capitalize on your potential For sludenls who have nol yet
done anv is this person dorng rhe
;lii ffi;
cial evenl or social practice, a less familiar for making unique contributions to social social research. such a dir.rrri;;';;'r# surucy: Oo"i f rist ani
group: or a group whose characteristics and research? overly.cautious and premature. narm to myself by cooperaring wirl
As a J";;;;, request?
his
activities have undergone change? probabty carry our a
t:_, Tll srudy in which
Here you may think thatas a novice you have rile suDJecls are at ljltle. ifany,
risk. C)r r.n,,
-u
,-so.Or.youperhaps.
lf
this is all new ground to vnrr
wilt flnd some ollhe il;;;;;i
Studies that bring into view aspects of one's nothing originai or special to bring to a re- may reanalyze already coliecred
Ouru ,i types of
own society which are unfamiliar in the dom- search project. Yori are wrong! Each of you study where ),ou are yet a funher abuses described ir..., uno .^'u.J.,
Oirr.".. ofstudies that have been subject
inant consciousness, studies that anail'ze has a wealth of knowledge about family iife, from the subjects under stud-v.
I" til;;;; t" .h";;;:';;
groups which are in a marginal position, or your ethnic or religious group, your ciry or abuse will be derailed. The"object
however, the emphasis is
on the ,toing;|-;;_ pornt,a finger ofblame
;;"";;
studies that delve into the makeup of foreign neighborhood, or your job that can be used as and. as a modern, up_ro_dare. at specific research...l
societies enable the researcher and the readers a starting point for a research subject. Ifyou :?r:h'
nrng researcher. you musl
begin_ ror- wnerc abusc has been
charged. there have
U. pr.pur.O ro ."on_ always been counterargumenls
of the research to gain a fuiler understanding are able to develop the subject for the study so sider all rhe possible erhical
of human society and social practices. In that you can relate your depth of experience
lssues
1'our study that the most experien..a
,lfr.irry someaspects of the method
supponinp
of ,er.ur.tl *t icli
,o.lui would jusrify the possibl
American society, because of the wide diver- 10 some specific research queslion, you ma) research would be req uired ro .on riO*.. pul_
er.
Ho*.".r, i' io ;;"i;;",".'Jr'i::'i::
sity ofethnic and racial groups, there has been
an emphasis on ethnic studies and minority
be able to generate unique and valuable per-
spectives on this topic. Here the ability to re-
rner.. rn the l9g0s. social
consider the erhical aspects
research.r, ,ri, of the primary concerns *hi.h diilb;;
ilTll
of rn.ir. ,tuOi., rgsearch methods pose.
;;;
relations. Cross-national research has offered flect on ))lur own experience, to view your life and decide whether their proposed
research 3j and in order ro do
so. il ts necessary lt_r give
sonre cxamples ol

I

Research
68 The Form and Purpose o.fSocial
studies that have raised ethical queslions.
Whether you think the charges are fair will ul-
timately be Your decision.
There are three types of research proce-
dures which raise ethical concerns: covert re-
search, which usually entails some forms of
deception; studies in which there is coercion
of subjects to participate in certain ethically
questionable practices as a part of the study;
and research that is considered an invasion of
privacy.
Covert Research. In principle, any area of
social life, any group ofindividuals, is open to
a searchers? Did the entry ofthe pseudo_patients
study by sociologically imaginative re-
searcher. However, there are social institu-
tions whose activities are considered so im-
portant that social scientists have wanted to
uncover more fully the nature of social inter-
action and influence in such environments,
even in institutions where open study would
clearly affect their proper functioning. (A jutf,
with its special emphasis upon the closed and
confidential character of the jurors' deiibera-
tions, is a very good example of an institution
like this.) It is with an interest in studying
such social phenomena that social scientists
have undertaken covert methods of observa-
tion. These may involve carrying out the re-
search without the knowledge or consenl of
those being studied; or they may involve the
researcher misrepresenting his or her role as a
researcher in order to enter the environment
to be studied as an actual participant.
Kai Erikson has argued "that it is unethi-
cal for a sociologist to deliberately misrepre-
sent his identity for the purpose ofentering a
private domain 1o which he is not eligible; and
second that it is unethical for a sociologist to
deliberatell, misrepresent the character of the
research in which he is engaged" (1967, p.
373). The first concern is relevant to field
studies where researchers have entered envi-
ronments as fu1l participants. The second is
also implied in covert participant observation
studies, but may appl,v as well to surveys or,
:t
ri
.l
i.
P A R ToN
E
especialiy, to experiments. Here are some ex-
amples of studies about which issues of the le-
gitimacy ofcovert research have been raised.
On the psychiatric ward, Covert research
often takes the form of giving false informa-
tion to or about subjects so as to deceive them
into believing something for the purpose of
studying their reaction. in a study of mental
hospital wards, for example, Rosenhan and
seven other researchers posing as patients en-
tered mental hospitals in various parts of the
United States (1982). Each pretend patient
called the hospital for an appointment and ar-
rived with the same story of having had an
hallucination in which they heard voices that
were "empty," "hollow," and like a "thud."
False names and employment status were also
given. Beyond these deceptive pieces ofinfor-
mation, all other details of the pseudo-pa-
tient's life and experiences were truthfully
given, including the quality of interpersonal
relationships with family, attitudes, and de-
sires. Ail eight were admitted to psychiatric
wards with a primary diagnosis of "schizo-
phrenia." In each case, while one or two se-
nior members of the hospital staff knew the
real identity and purpose of the pseudo-pa-
tient, the staff of the ward did not. In every
case the ward staffgave the same trealment to
the pseudo-patient as to the other patients;
and in no instance did a staffmember uncover
the sanity of the pseudo-patient (though fe1-
low patients often questioned their insanity).
In this covert role, Rosenhan and the other
pseudo-patients were able to carefully observe
the behaviors on the psychiatric ward-the
frequency ofinteraction between the staffand
patients and the quality of care and compas-
sion for the patients. By this means, Rosenhan
deterrnined the high degree of powerlessness
olthe patients and the depersonalized manner
in which the staffreiated to them.
A nurse unbuttoned her uniform to adjust her
brassiere in the presence of an entire ward of
CHAPTER 3
viewing men. One did not have the sense
that
she was being seductive. Rather she
didn,t no_
ticeui (Rosenhan, 19g2, p. 33).
The staffs inability to recognize sanitv at-
tested to the .,stickiness of psychodiagnostic
labels" (Rosenhan, 19g2, p. i2). On;e rhe
pseudo-parients were labeled as ..schizophre_
nic," there was nothing they could do ..to
overcome the tag,, (1992, p.22).
Could rhis finding have been established
without the use of covert methods? Were
the
rights of the mental hospital staff. infdngeJ
upon by the coveft activities -re_
of the
into the world of the mental ward altei the
en_
vironment in such a way that un a.cu.ute
ob_
servation of its workings could not be made?
These were the questions that Rosenhan
and
his fellow researchers were obliged to
address
by their critics.
In the classroom, In their study ofpsychiat_
ric wards, Rosenhan and his urro.iu,ar-_ir_
represented their identity as researchers
and
offered false information regarding
their men_
tal state. In other cases, covert research
has
not misrepresented the identity of the re_
searchers as such, but it has involved
their of_
fering a false account of their proj".tr.
An o_
ample of this type of study irlne on..aoi.a
out by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacob_
son (1 968) in a grade school in Massachusetts.
The researchers wanted to test the theorv
of
how a sel,f:fuffilling prophecy might operate
in
a classroom, particulariy in relation
to minor_
ity students. They falsely described a stan-
dard. bur unfamiliar. Ie rest as a Tesr
of In_
liected Acquisition_a test thar could
supposedly determine which pupils mighl
be
expected "to bloom', within the n.*i
uru_
demic year. Under this prstext, the test
was
administered to students throughout
th;
school in the spring ofthe school yiar.
. The following autumn, the teachers were
given a short list of names of pupils
in Urelr
The Uses and Abuses ofsocial Research
69
current class who had supposedly received
scores on the Test oflnflected Acquisition
in_
dicating their propensity to bioom. Thc
names on these lists were, in fact, selected
purely
a1 random and bore no relation ro abil_
ities measured in the test. Furthermore. the
lest was nol a measuremenl of potenlial
lo
bloom, for such a measure does not exist
and
educationai psychologists have no evidencc
that such a propensity even exists in human
behavior.
, Was this deception harmful to the teachers
who received the faise lists? Was it harmful
the pupils whose names were randomly left
to
off
the-lists thereby impl.ving that they n,ould
irol
be bloomers? Rosenthal and Jacotson,s
find_
ing that such a false prophecy actually raisecl
the test scores ofthose pupils on the list
abovc
the expected gains, when they were retested
the following year, led the researchers to
con_
clude that the teachers had unknowingly
helped the lisred pupils to fulfill the faisl
prophecy of intellectual growth. If
teachers
could be influenced to alter pupils' behaviors
by slips of papers with names on them from
research team, how much more might
a
they bc
influenced by deeply held prejudiJer unjur-
sumplions aboul how cenain types of
stu_
dents mighl perform?
This study prompted not only attacks of
-
ethical questionability, but also the charge
that the contrivance of the study Aisto.tJj
whatever processes might have been occurring
in the classroom. How could the researche.i
even isolate the influence of the list of names?
Was the cosl of deceiving teachers worth
lhe
benefit olsrudving a prophecy which mighr
have been largely meaningless io rhe
ieacheisi
Those u,ho saw the study.s findings as very
probiematic thought the benefits were
clearlv
not worth the costs. Others disagreed.
On the jury. In the 1950s, with the full ap_
proval of the judge and law1,ers, hidden
mi_
croph.ones were placed in a jury room
in
Wichita, Kansas, as a means oi stuAying jury
I

70 Tlte Form and Purpose of Social Research
deliberations. The jurors. however. were not
informed that their discussions were being re-
corded. The social scientists and law profes-
sors who were carrying out this research were
interested in the human behavior ofjurors as
they interacted during their deliberations.
They believed that such knowledge would
lead to a greater understanding of the legal
system. The researchers also took extreme
precautions to hide the identities ofthe jurors
and to handle the tapes with care. However,
once this research became known, a Senate
subcommittee held public hearings on the eth-
ics oftapingjuries, which led to the passage of
a law forbidding the recordings of delibera-
tions ofjuries. (For a detailed presentation of
the differing positions in this case, see Katz,
1972.) While jury proceedings are essential to
our system of public justice, and the precise
nature oftheir operation therefore a matter of
considerable potential interest, can it be said
that this interest is more important than
maintaining the principle of absolute confi-
dentiality regarding jury deliberations? The
forced termination of this project implied that
it was not.
Summary. In the mental hospital study, the
role of the researcher was covert and decep-
tive; in the classroom study, the teachers were
deceived about the significance of test scores;
in thejury study, thejurors were deceived not
by teliing them a falsehood, but rather by
withholding from them the information that
they were being taped during the jury deiib-
erations. ln none of these studies did the re-
searcher foresee any major harm to the sub-
jects. Moreover, in all three cases, the
presumed benefils ofgreater and closer under-
standing of socially important contexts (men-
tal hospital wards, ciassrooms, jury delibera-
tions) seemed to outweigh any potential costs
to those being covertiy studied. Critical dis-
cussion ofthese and similar studies has raised
concerns about the "costs" ofcovert research.
'je''
ii
',
Some would point out that there is no clear
penalty for doing covert research and that
many such studies (including a number of the
above) have been considered classic research
eforts. Others have concluded that such re-
search should be avoided.
Coercion of Subjects. Another major proce-
dural technique that raises ethical questions in
social research is the coercion (either explicit
or implicit) ofsubjects to participate in a spe-
cific study, to engage in behaviors that might
lead to psychological or physical harm. Sub-
jects who are in some ways "captive," such as
prisoners, children, or mental palients, may
not be able to wrthhold compliance from an
authority figure who requests them to coop-
erate. Such helpless subjects may believe,
whether or not they are so informed, that fa-
vors may be granted to them for compliance.
ln other cases, even where subjects are not in
a powerless position vis-d-vis the researcher,
they may, nevertheless, be pressed to partici-
pate in a research project or to comply with
the researcher's requests during a study. Sub-
jects are often persuaded that the benefits of
the study (for society as a whole, for the re-
searcher's career, for some group) far out-
weigh any inconvenience to themselves or
other subjects as individuals.
Stanley Milgram's research on obedience
(Milgram, 1965) will be described here as a
classic example of a study that has raised
questions about the ethical problem of coer-
cion ofsubjects. Out ofthe experience ofthe
Holocaust in Germany and other atrocities of
the Second Worid War, there grew the belief
that many, if not most, people would obey or-
ders given by a superior to carry out atrocities
against innocent people. Furthermore, they
would justify these actions on the grounds
that they were ordered to carry them out,
thereby refusing to accept personal responsi-
bility for their actions. Evidence from the his-
tory of the atrocities of Nazi Germany sug-
CHAPTER 3
The Uses and Abuses oJ'Social Research 7l
gested that it was not difficult to get people to portion, 12 percent, refused to administer
follo.w orders of any kind. Milgram's study of any
more_shocks once the pupil began kicking
obedience was set up to test this notion. Iiin_ thl
wali. When the experiment was over, the sub_
dividuals couid be easily made to harm others
Jects were told that they had in fact not been
as.aresult of complying with aulhority, could
administering real shocks, and thev were
this be tested in an experimental situation?
given an explanation as to the true purpose
Milgram brought adult men from various of
the study. Some subjects,tut.d thui thev had
backgrounds to a laboratory setting where
aciually felt the pain themselv.r, ,o.. .*p.-
they were asked to participate in an- experi_
rienced a high degree oftension foilorving
ment on learning. Each subject drew lots with ih.
experiment; and a few had uncontrollble
a "confederate" researcher posing as another
seizures.
subject for the study, to see who would
be Covert methods had been used in this
"pupil" and who would be..teacher." The true
study to disguise the identity ofthe pupil and
subject always drew the teacher assignment.
conceal the purpose of the study; und, rnor.
The teacher was placed in front of a-control
importantly, subjects had been successfullv
panel and told to read word pairs to the pupil.
coerced, in many cases without much pres'_
Ifthe pupil made an error, the teacher *"rln_
sure. inlo "harming" an innocent person. Thc
structed to administer an electric shock bv
ethical issue raised by ftis expiriment in_
turning on switches on the control panel thai
cluded the morality of duping a subject and
graduated from "Low', to ..Danger_Severe
then persuading him to comply with an ex-
Shock." At the same time, the pupil was taken
perimenter's wishes, even when the possible
into the next room and strapped into a chair price of such compliance was harm to
where electrode devices were attached to ih. pry_
the chological well-being of the subject. Of course,
wrists.
all the subjects had to do 1o protect them_
The teacher would begin reading the word
selves from the negative feelingi which many
pairs. Each time the pupil made un .,ro.,
u of them experienced was to refuse to go on
iight on the conrrol panel would tignt up: ihe
with the experiment. Milgram argued that the
teacher was then expected to administer
the knowledge thereby gained had been worth
shock, beginning at the ..Low" level and grad_ the
costs to the subjects, which. though temporar_
ually progressing toward the level of ,,ban-
ger-Severe Shock." The confederate pupil
ily painful, had no lasting edcts. Others
al_ disagreed.
ways carried out the same set of behaviors,
including screaming for mercy, begging for the
Invasion At
experiment to end, kicking ttre walt,-anO fi_ .of Privacy. some level, every
study with human subjects can be considered
nally making no sound at alt. All these reac-
as invading someone's privacy. yet certain
tions were, ofcourse, faked by the confederate
areas of life are generally regarded as more
pupil. The eiectric control panel was merely
a private than others. In the United States.
piece of scenery. However, the subject
acting question *Where were you born?.' is rarely
the
as the leacher did not know this.
considered an invasion of privacy; yet were
In the first experimental setting which Mil_
this asked of an illegal alien, it .nigfrt U. u
gram established, two-thirds of the subjects
threatening question. The question .1.. you
carried out the instructions of the researcher
a homosexual?" would widely be considered
to shock the pupil when he was wrong and
as addressing a private matter, not something
continued doing so through all the lev"els of
that a person would expound upon to
shock up to the highest. A much smaller pro_
stranger, not.even something that people who
i
I

72 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research
are very close to each other (mother and son,
husband and wife) mighl discuss. Yet such be-
havior became the subject ofa study that has
been widely viewed as raising ethical con-
cerns. In the mid-1960s, Laud Humphreys be-
came a covert observer of male homosexual
liaisons in men's public restrooms (1970).
Since such encounters are illegal as weli as il-
licit and yetare carried on in public places, the
consenting pair depend upon a third person
acting both as a voyeur and a guard to warn
them if others are approaching. Humphreys
took on this role, cailed a watchqueen in lhe
lingo of the homosexual world, and thereby
observed the pattern of homosexual activity
in this context.
In addition, Humphreys noted the license
plate numbers of the men he observed. With
this information and the cooperation of the
police, who gave him acccss to license regis-
ters (though without their knowledge of his
purpose), he was atrle to ferret out the names
and addresses of most of the individuals ob-
served. Then, as part ofanother study on gen-
eral health issues in which he was involved, he
disguised himseLf and went to interview these
men, among others, on matters relating to
their health, career, and family. In this way, he
discovered the very "normal" and wide-rang-
ing backgrounds ofthe men he had observed
in the restrooms.
While the identities of the men were never
made known, and Humphreys believed that
none had recognized him from his earlier role
as a watchqueen, one can ask whether social
scientists should practice such deception in
order to observe very private behavior ofthis
type. Was this not ethically dubious conduct
(both as a threat to the privacy of the individ-
uais and as a questionable activity in itself.l for
a scientist to be engaged in? Defenders ofthe
study argued that though the behavior ob-
served was private in nature, it had occuned
in a public place. lvloreover, the researcher
P A R ToN
had taken on the watchqueen role and carried
out the senices such a person would regularly
canf' out were he not a sociologist, without
any intention of harming those he observed
by divulging their names.
But even if it were legitimate to observe
this private behavior in a public arena, was it
acceptable to copy the license numbers with
the intent of determining the identity of the
participants observed? This is cleariy the type
ofdata that could nothave been gathered with
the consent of the participants. Further, Hum-
phre-vs could not have remained an overt out-
sider and also be permitted to observe the en-
counters. Was the benefit of learning about
the backgrounds ofthose who engage in casual
homosexual encounters worth the risk (how-
ever unrealized) of potentially exposing these
men's private, and illegal, behavior?
Matters such as the nature of sexual be-
havior, religious beliefs, attitudes toward mi-
nority groups, or the sources and amount of
one's income are frequenlly considered pri-
vate and rarely detailed to casual acquaint-
ances (though there are great variations
among people of different social statuses and
life stages as to their propensity to divulge
such information). A college professor might
easily ask an undergraduate how much he
earned on a part-time job (this might be con-
sidered an expression of the professor's con-
cern for the student's economic well-being).
On the other hand, an undergraduate asking a
professor how much he earned as a part-time
consultant would not be construed in the
same light. Rather it would appear as intru-
sive, and not the business of an undergradu-
ate. Why is this so? Because the status of the
professor vis-d-vis the student is such that the
income that a professor might be abie to earn
because ofhis or her special expertise must re-
main unknown, part of the mystique of the
person of knowledge. Requesting this infor-
mation would imply a lack of deference to-
$r'.+i
:l
E
ward the professor on the part ofthe
student,
an intrusion on the professor,s p.luui.
domain.
Tampering with Results and piagiarism.
Ethical issues also arise in the reportirig
oiso_
cial research. Cases have come to lighiwhere
the handling ofscientific data has b;.n q;.;:
tioned. In the well-known research on
Ieand
heredity, Cyril Burt,s evidence on tire
Jone_
lation. between Ie scores of identical
twins
reared apart as compared to identical
twins
reared logether had been used by nu_..ou,
other researchers as the foundation io.
urgu_
ing that hereditary factors are more importint
than environmental ones in aetermining
i;_
telligence. After Burt's death, other pry;hoi;_
gists looking at Burt's evidence
*o.. .uof"if"
came to question it. Burt had first repo.ted
on
21 pairs of twins reared separatety in
DS:; in
1958, he published evidence on
over 30 pairs
oftwins separarely reared; and in i 966,
h;h;;
Iocated 53 pairs of identical twins'reareO
apart. What was peculiar was that in
everv
case the correlation he found between
the IO
scores of rhe rwins u.as.77l. yer ir would
bi
highly improbable statistically to arrive
at the
exact. same correlation (Chapter 16
explains
correlations) using different sets ofd.ata.
There
were a few other strange factors about
Burt,s
material: One was that he gave very little
other information about the twins ire iraJ
studied (their sex, age when tested) or
the tyfe
of IQ test given them. In addition, some
of liis
work was coauthored by two women.
Mar_
garet Howard and J. Conu,ay, who
did not
seem to exist.
Sir Cyril Burt was a famous and promi_
nent British psychologist. Why would
he have
tampered with results? Two possible
expla_
nations were offered. The friendlier ."pl*u_
tion was that Burt as he grew older became
careless and inattentive to details. perhaps
the
correlations were misprints, or perhaps
he had
merely carried over the findings from
earlier
studies to the newer ones. Weri the unknown
collaborators pseudonyms for Burt himselfl
The "less friendly" view was that Burt,s
work
was a fraud. As Leon Kamin, the psychologist
who had first detected the pec;l;arities";i
Burt's work, proclaimed: ..[The evidence
on
the IQ scores of twinsl was a lraud linked
ro
polrcy liom the word go. The
data were
cooked in order for him 1o arrive at
the con-
clusions he wanted" (Wade, 1976, pp. qiO_
919).
The desire to have the evidence match
the
preconceived hypotheses and notions
of the
researcher is_naturally strong. In
some cases,
the career of the scientist may seem in jeop_
ardy unless the resuhs turn out as he oi
shc
had expected. Researchers may feel pressured
by the agencies who fund thiir reiearch to
produce "exciting,, findings. That
is how peo_
ple become established as scientists. yei
no
other unethical activity threatens the sciences
as much as this. If scientisrs commit
fraud, if
they flagrantly disregard the scientifrc ethos
discussed in Chapter 2, not only will
the pub_
lic lose confidence in the uutue otrcienc.iUut
the institution of science itself may ,un".,
,._
rious damage itseli ,,Because intentional
cre-
ation of eror is so antithetical to the aims
of
science. cffecis {of fraud) may be
beyond loss
ol'confidence ro a sense ofdisoricnlition
and
despair" (Weinsrein, 197 9, p. 64g).
Closell related 1o altering rhe resulls is rhe
incorporation of someone else,s work into
l?t1..oyn without proper acknowledgment.
This is the act of plagiarism, which occurs
in_
frequently in the writings ofsociai researchers.
ll is also an unethical activity kno*n urnong
some students. Students'reasons for plagiarl
izing are usually different from ttrose ofsJciat
researchers. In the case ofstudents, the
action
is usually a shoncut to meering th* ,i;;;
ments for the course without actually doing
the required assignment. Students oit."
Ai
I
 r,l
rl

74 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research pA R ToN E

not reaiize that using someone else's work because she was performing consulting ser- M-eo1s for Ensuring the profection
(their writing, their ideas, their point of view) vices for them and because she was able to es- of subiects
--"'rv 'rE r rsrscrron because the researcher is
not familiar with it
without acknowledging that they are doing so tablish a relationship of trust with a number rn survey research,
destroys their integrity as students and under-
mines the trust which must be at the basis of
ofindividuals in the organization who served
as hermajor informants and supporters. It has
proaches 1o ensuring .I* :..
the protecrion
various ap_
;h.;;- :IirTi,iff
#l.,ll1H'j:#i:,}ffi
rionnui.. ,.,nui"r'."r0,"r,
,?Trl,ff
anonymous. rhe
spondenrs. euestionnaires "f
the relationship between students and teach- more often been the case that social research-
marion regarding attituoes "n* .ii.ir'irr"r_ researcher *iil ue u;uir. to determine who
ers. Ifa researcher is suspected ofusing some- ers have studied those with lower status than towa;';j;;.,r, r,u, uJ*rro'rr;"n;;;;r*..rd;
one else's material without citation or of themselves rather than higher. Indigent and
soups. rerigious beriefs and u.l,u"io.rl
r."*i lbri"*rp;;;";;, il f,i ,.n, unorherefore no

chealing in the collection or presentation of poorly educated people do not have the re-
of income' and sexual ,.ti"i;;;l;'";;;;
requested in popularion_ydi::)
of nonresponse can be esrabrished. no parerns

data, that person's career can be ineparably sources or knowledge, the lavryers, or the S"*.;;;1 *y. Thus,

damaged. "I'm too busy" excuses to fend off social

searchers have long recognued ""*lrit,i"'rr*r,
that such ques- urri.u.a, it lr'"rir.ii,
research can be
tlons may dster some respondents *iven in certain cir_
researchers. pleting the instrumenr'
r.o.n loir- cumstances, ,urh u, *iran "t, questionnaires are
Whatever the status of the person 0r group vi, o.p.noi,u';; in groups. Insread, researchers
objectives of the survey research, lflinistered
under investigation, ifthere is potential harm
marion may be vital. iemem#;;;
".
,u.i inror- preferin most caJes to orer
confidentiality as
The Right of Privocy vs. the Public's Right to the right of privacy of those being studied, mation on specific individuats ;il_ ir,. ,"r.e"r.Jr"rii. *i*o,"" of subjects.
to Know that harm must be considered in relation to is
It is the aggregate datarepresenting
;";';;.;;,.
By focusing on the protection of individual the right to know. As Cassell (1978) puts it, tne enirre Confidentiality. Confidentiality
rights, are we confining social research to the the risks of doing the research must be
sample thar inrerests.th.
..r.r;;;. d;;
rohn Doe earned in re8^0"rsof'rtr;il;:l
to.keep tire ijenti-#'Jitne
is a promise
surjects known
study of those who have nothing to hide or to weighed in relation to the benefits. In research onrv.to th; ;;;;;il;.-ano perhaps
bu1 the median income serected
those who lack the power to refuse to be stud- involving deception, both those being studied o.f emproved
the United Strtes is of substantiai -"r* ;;
,,' members hl; ;i;; slan ano ro minimize
ied? Consider how journalists operate. Their and the researcher confront risks. The re- ;.*r;.
Most porenriar respondents
"f
in any avaitabte way ttre possible exposure
of
primary value is the public's righl to know. search project itself may be threatened if the *.rrJ'""]
u. ,rbr,.;,;;;;;t;;.rd;1, oft.n done bv rhe
They have secured their right to search for in- subjects suspect that they are being deceived.
concerned abour having
-'**i""i'rtti "use oicode ;;;;'.;r^;;"rveys
infb.ruri;;';;;;; or of pseud_
formation on people in public positions and In field studies, subjects may also suffer emo- lH i:ffi !ffi:i ;i'"' onvms for p*ro"r'u^o^'praces
public organizations. The courts have decided
that those who serve the public may be subject
tional risks in their relation to the researcher:
if the researcher has developed "friendships"
group But i.*
reed? Three
;
;;; ;j:l*i"; !{f:1
principles .un b. ur.i
; ;;rr;_ ifl:l,Fl,;,"".,TnJlil*#hi
rhar might be

to greater scrutiny than others. The Watergate
story was uncovered by the press. By using
unnamed informants and other tactics to get
at the story, those in power were made ac-
countable. Galliher (1980, p. 303) warns that
the study ofthose in power shouid not be left
solely to journalists. for "social science offers
a unique type of interpretation of events not
usually found in . . . American journalism."
Yet powerful individuals and institutions
have means for warding off the intrusion of
among those being studied, his or her depar- tablish such privacy: anonymity,
tions distani ft;;;il;r.;f the research, and
ture may be painful for the subjects. On the
other hand, benefits may be gained by the sub-
,rv, and inrormed consenr .onnJ.,i,iui access to this list i, ,tri.try [mited to the re-
jects in a study. Cassell suggests that there x;l;l?:tifil:jliSi"*:.T#tril
may be material benefits (help, money), intel- -Anon5'miq. Granting informarion
iectual benefits (an opportunity to understand ,o some_ ,ljil:iifi:xxi;illil.'f;,:;T.lT:T.l.;lf
more about one's social circumstances), and ;i::ill,Tfr}:::liilJ:1.T,1'emain com- ,..n uy ir,.'..,..,#.1,''.onna.nriuriry
can
emotional benefits (the pleasure of talking to
somgone interested in your social world, your
you can receive rhar
invaded. Anonvmity
r""ffJffiii:nT:
i*pt.s
.i!""rir,lil::lrilrJ.l,ffi:ff:*:?f;Jf
rh.;";-;;;, Iu..r. In some fieid stuJies where
attitudes and opinions) (1978, pp. 137-139).
So please keep in mind as you read this
even rhe researcher. courrr
connecr ";;
v";;;;;; riutity r,us il;;;;;#.'rhe confiden_

those seeking to study them. Corporations

abour,"".-H;;;;il;i; resurring pub-
discussion ofways ofreducing abuses in social ilJT#..r,"..*arion 11.,$,,;;*,#;,;;#.ress, make ir pos-
protect their privacy carefully, and to uncover Ir questionnaires are,,TlrTd
information in a corporation requires that the
research that this concern should not result in
choosing to carry out studies only on "safe" .
dents who return them withour l: :espon- :i{ifjh?:Jl;;teffi:,tr|;:1,n;t'#f?
social researcher provide a needed service to subjects (that is to say, on those with tittle
any form of ,irurti* a.".1;;;i;#;e
code or identifying informario" publication of
the organization and establish trust among power). In addition, you should treat all your they are complerely anonymous. ";1i.",,;; Ir,o", uio*r, ;:rr.r",s
those with whom he or she deals. Remember subjects fairly and uniformly, regardless of
(This as_ u-r1u1 to*n, """i?;;; study of
sumes, of course,thar rhe re.spondent,s
hand-
s*-oit-i-oirn-i a^, society, in
that Kanler was successful at studying Indsco their status. writingcannorbeidentifiedb;iil;;;ffi;;, isoo. so'nr;ir;;;#;;ii"dividuals in the
r','uo, *... quite easily identifiabre
to mem_

I

tl
bers of the community. This was a case in
which confidentiality had been promised but
not maintained. While names and obvious
identifying characteristics had been altered,
roles and situations made it quite easy for sub-
jects to be identified by others. Thus when you
conduct a study, you may want t0 warn par-
ticipants that although confidentiality is the
goal, under certain conditions the identities of
certain persons and places may be recognized.
Such a warning might form a part of an in-
formed co nsent statement.
Inforrned Consent. At the heart ofthe whole
issue of social research and infringement of
privacy stands the concern for whether the
subject has knowingiy agreed to the research
in which he or she is participating. Ifthe sub-
ject knows what the study is, understands his
or her level of confidentiality in the study,
comprehends the objectives ofthe study, and
agrees to cooperate, then the onus ofinvasion
of privacy is lifted and the problem of coer-
cion avoided. What is crucial here is that the
subject be truly informed. First, the researcher
should give the subject accurate and complete
information as to the nature and purpose of
the study and the part the subject u'ill play in
it. In a mail survey, subjects are often asked to
respond and complete the entire question-
naire at the same time that they are explicitly
informed that they need not do so unless they
choose. The quality of volmtariness must be
cleariy recognized by the subject in order for
it to be acted upon.
Second, informed consent also presup-
poses that the subject is capable of under-
standing what he or she is consenting to and
has been given a clear explanation of what
that is. College students, adults with a college
education, and many others may weli be able
to understand the nature and purpose of a so-
cial research project. Others may not. In these
casss, greater care must be taken to explain
the study in a comprehensible fashion. (in the
=1'-
PART oNE
I
case of studying children, informed consent is
often solicited from parents.) As mentioned
above, people with lower status and less
power are often less capable ofrefusing to be
studied. They may not understand the mean-
ing of the informed consent statements, and
they may think that they have no option but
to agree to a request by a higher-status, edu-
cated social scientist. Naturally, the social
researcher does not want to emphasize too
emphatically tlie potential dangers or
inconveniences of the study. The social re-
searcher cannot tell a person that he or she is
incapable ofunderstanding whether or not to
participate. The only sensible course ofaction
seems to be to develop an informed consent
statement appropriate for the intended audi-
ence in mind.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The elhical considerations raised in this chap-
ter can be reduced to a simpld question.
Whose rights are more sacred, those of the sci-
entist. those of individuals or institutions who
might be studied by scientists, those of the
public to learn from the research? in this sec-
tion, these rights will be compared.
The Scientific Right to Study Any Subiect
of lnleresl
The right ofsocial scientists to study whatever
they deem to be of scientific interesl is fun-
damental in a free society. This right, how-
ever, carries with it the responsibility that the
research conform to scientific rules and that
these rules include the protection of human
subjects. We will here consider both the im-
portance of maintaining high standards in car-
rying out research and the need for full
disclosure.
Use of High Technical Standards. Anything
may be a possible subject ofstudy, bu1 topics
CHAPTER 3
must be studied according to the highest tech-
nical standards of the methods aiailable to
the researcher to obtain the necessary data.
To
maintain high technical standards, researchers
must be famiiiar with both the range of types
ofresearch already available on a giu.n
6pi.
and the methods used to stuOy llis top;c.
They must know which stuCiei trave been
most successful in gaining the desired infor_
mation, and they must understand precisely
the procedures by which these studies havl
been carried out.
A researcher with technically high stan-
dards not only knows how to do what he
or
she is doing, but can be critical of his
or her
own method. In other words, a researcher
must consider the possible alternate wavs
of
carrying out the study in order to upp...iut.
the advantages and disadvantages'ot tte
method chosen. In this text, acceptable stan-
dards for each method will be detailed.
H;;_
ever. no formal set of procedures can
ever
cover all the possible contingencies that
may
arise in setting up a research project.
Therl
will always be situations *t .r.it.
..r.urJ.,
u,ill need to exercise discretion in implemeni_
in-g any method. It is precisely *itirin jf,i, a..a
of discretion that ethical considerations mav
arise.
Full Disclosure. Science requires that all ev_
idence generated and analyzed Oe maae
avait_
able to the relevant scientific community.
This means that all aspects ofa research pro;_
ect must be open for the inspection and
un_
derstanding of others. In cases where confi_
dentiality has been guaranteed, this somewhat
reduces the full measure of disclosure.
Usu_
ally, however, the information that is guaran_
teed to be confidential (names and addresses
of subjects) is without scientific interest
anyway.
Full disclosure of method and findings
re_
quires rhar negarive and insignificant
uJ*.lt
as positive findings be presented. The
objec_
The Uses and Abuses of Social Research 77
tlve mllst be to make the procedures and
find_
ings of a stucly fully enough available
to the
reader that he or she could replicate
it. In
Chapter 2, in the discussion of ihe scientists
who studied the evidence from the Apollo
missions, it was suggested that this scientific
norm was often not followed and that secrecv
and lack offull disclosure was characteristic
of
much scientific activit.v. Thus it would
seem
that while full disclosure is an ideal of,rien_
tific researchers, and that social researchers
should aim to disclose whatever they find,
this
goal is not always characteristic oi
rcientinc
research as it is practiced. Beginning
research-
ers should design and carry out their research
with the intention of making all their ..r.ur.h
available. In this regard, ii ls important
io
keep careful records of al1 steps of
u ,ar.urrn
project so that you are iater able
to disclose it
fully.
The Rights of Humon Subiects
Human subjects have the right not to
be phys_
ically or psychologically abused. ffr.y -frauc
the right of priracy and prorecrion of
their
reputations. While the right to protection
from physical abuse seems seif_evident.
the
case for lhe protection of privacy is
more
complex. A substantial case can be
made for
the rights of privacy of individuals. Uo*eve,,
this concern can lead to practices which
are
overly cautious. Now that institutions in
which most scientists do their *ork .equire
that all research on human subjects be
ap_
proved by a human subjects review
board, aid,
all grants received from the government
must
also go through such an appraisal, there
is fear
that the concern t0 prolect the rights of indi_
viduals may have rurned inlo un oUr.rrion
uith privacy precluding many imponanr
a.reas ol research. Again. as in so many
of
these ethical areas, there are trade_offs.
The
ethical issues arise where the choices need
to
be made.
I
 78 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research P A R ToN E

Whose Rights? Many would contend that able behaviors. Some would argue that with-
titiously on a specific group, but will the pub_
the rights of individuals to privacy and to out such techniques, the investigation ofwhal limelight as, say, doctors, yet
lic evidence of this foreclose o. tirnlt'ii. their misbehav-
freedom from harassment and harm su- Erving Goffman (1959) called "backstage" iors have often brought thlm
research possibiiities of later researchers? to p,rbiil;;-
persede the rights of scientists to seek knowl- human interaction is seriously constrained. tlon more than their accomplisirmentr.
edge. They therefore preclude the practice of Some social scientists have devised ways -
Better that each researcher establist;
level this reason, the establishment
e*
of trust amongparticipants necessary and rnuinr._
covert research in which the researcher de- of studying the problems and topics in which in *trai_ nance of public trust is a more
ever social environment is being pressing con_
ceives subjects by misrepresenting his or her they are interested that have avoided the po- stu;i;, ;; c.ern
role. They preclude experiments that coerce tential abuse of deception. For example, in thar those being studied underslnd
th; th; low among social
than it has been before.
scientists in ,ili i;a;
rights are being protected and
subjects to react in
ways that may be detri- studies where research as a covert insider may find *.;;;: Numerous professional associations
ticiparion in^rhe srudy beneficiat. have
mental to their sense of well-being. Further. seem to offer the only practical means ofgath- n,lori-iiii- revised their codes of ethics
they preclude research that invades areas of ering data, the researcher should consider the
vlouals are tascinated with their
own lives ," il;;;;
major moral concerns of their discipl;;;.
individuals' lives that are a part of their pri- alternative possibilities: (1) acting as oveft
u,irh their own social membershifs
a; soJ; 3-1 presenK two parts ofthe
d;;
vate domain, unless, ofcourse, the individual outsider, frankly stating one's role as a re- environmenrs. To share thi,
k";il;;.;;; firs1,..ri*
freely and knowingiy gives up this right. [For searcher (as Rubinstein, 1973, did in his study
an interested and sympatheti.
o"triA#*iorn
Revised Co^de of Ethics (most
relevant to the "f,i.
they-liave come to trust is, f", concerns of research methods)
an eloquent defense of the individual's right of the Philadelphia police force) or (2) acting ;;;;,";;_ uporou.a i,u
warding experience. the membership of rhe Rmericaniic,"r"ui#
to privacy, see Shils (1982).1 in the role ofa covert outsider, as Cohen and Association in 19g1.
It may not be possibie for you
As we stated above, however. some people Taylor (1972) did in serving as lecturers for ,
rhe.trust necessary to study a"a.,
to establish
are "more equal" than others. Social scientists prisoners' courses as a way of observing ,"oia"r""
prison life (see Bulmer, 1982, for a discus- nno lnlerestlng. but you should
should not limil their research only to those seleci an en_ USES AND ABUSES
vlronmenl for your research
who are unable or unconcerned to protect sion). Neither of these roles requires that the that allows vou RECONSIDERED
ro be lorrhrighr aboul who
their interests (real or perceived). There are researcher pose as some individual he or she vou ur., *r,ui iJu This chapter has raised issues
are u.p tol and why someone ofcentral con_
many important aspects of social life in which is not. instead, one either accepts the overt ejse should"ac_ cem to the social sciences. ft
cept involvement in your study tas on"e.ea sug-
the participants ma-v resist being studied for role of the researcher (many claim, with Rub- as U.n.n.iul. gestions as to how to determine
various reasons; and the researcher will need instein, 1973, that doing so makes little differ- ro,being
less problemarj. th. .aironail
Ll,i19it*" or u.se ofa study, and lt irus p..seotJpoiiis
will";;;;;:
rur ror your subJecls.
to think seriousiy about the research strategies ence to insiders, once their trust has been such a study be eas_ ofview on the ethical issues confrontirg;;;i;;
gained) or takes on another vaiid role as an ier for you in the long run as
that might be available to counter such resis- well.
Clearly. it is nor rhe pr.poJ;i
tance. There may be instances in which it is outsider that is compatible with the conduct ffsearch.
crat research lo trample on
s;_
the righls of inOl_
necessary to study individuals without their ofthe research as a secondary activity. GUIDELINES vloua,ls. and this chapter
has tried lo make
explicit permission, in order to secure the you think seriously about
Many colleges and universities these .igfrt" U"*_
public's right to know. Perhaps the best mid- have institu- ever, it has also raised the irru."oi
The lmportonce of Trusl tional review boards which ,J"iri."ig"ij._ irr. u.-
dle ground is to try to gain access to "difficult- countabiliry of people in public poslrioos
to-entor" organizations and situations by Since social science is an interactive human
Iines lor research carried out
in. unO UV
"rn.rn_
the need for social researchers
aii
serving in a role different from that of activity, meaning that it requires the scientist l.t of the insritution;
research proposals
they also ;;;l;;;;
in order to.nrur. it ui*t'ilJ
from srudies of rhe powerfui
no, t'o,frn
;;;r;J;;;i
u*ri
researcher. to act in relation to other human beings, it cre- greater means of maintaining
rights of human subjects are prorecled. their nrivacv.
Unfortunately, there are real losses to so- ates its own behavioral by-products. This These Some social scienrisrs t .iu
cial research when all research that may re- chapter has pointed out that some ofthese by-
Doards may review student projects
as well as
rno*i'n..1'ro
reveal how power is exercised
quire covert activity. coercion. or an invasion products may be, or appear, unethical. The ac- faculty-initiated research. On.
ff tf,. ori_r* in o;.. ;;
respon s i b i I i r i es of a pro fessi maintain privilege and the sktus
cumulation of too many of these negative by- on ur u r ro.i-u t'i o i lr, quo. If they
ofprivacy is baned. The studies, such as Ro- cannot gain access to the organizatio",
senhan's study of the treatment of mental in- products could make it difficult for social re-
to proclor the activiries of its
memberi;;;;; power is held. rhev feel
;h;;;
to continue their activities. they are not accused of acting
i" dir;;;;;; morally jusrified in
stitution patients or Milgram's classic study of searchers The garnrng. rnlbrmatjon
ro rhe prof,ssion. through *hitiu., *.uns
obedience, offered keen insights into impor- work ofsocial scientists, like that ofany other 1v-a1s-derrimenlal
prolessional
il;h.r,, are avaiiable. In cases such
as that, ,h;;;;:
tant institutions and forms of human behav- professionals whose work involves human associations rry to monitor
the seeks to srudy individuur,
behaviors (read, reduce tfr. o, orgu"l_
ior that might not have been gleaned by an- subjects, depends ultimately on the trust 0f rn"U.ir"r,i_l'"i :::,Tl:r
rauon:..yhg resisr being srudied or wnJwiit
their members so as to protect
other method. Covert research methods have those with whom it deals. One covert re- or enhance not wtlllngly consenl to being
their nrolession in rhe pubtic eye.
enabied researchers to study socially undesir- searcher might be abie to collect data surrep- S*"l-"t srudied, the
entrsts have never been as risk-benefit dilemma becomes
fully in rtre puUilc most acute.
Does the vaiue to be gained
from the studv

I
 B0 The Form and Purpose ofSocial Research P A R ToN E

BOX 3-l BOX 3-l (conrinued)

AMERICAN
TWO SECTIONS OF THE REVISED CODE OT ETHICS OF THE
soclotoGlcAt ASSOCIATION ]y.", j,TEBIiijr'Jilliljif
,coDEoF"",.r-ffi ,n,*,.o*

I, SOCIOTOGICAT RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 9. When severol sociologists, including

studenrs, ore involved in jornt
proiects, there should be mutuolly
o..uptua'"*p-ti.it ln)""runo,
A. ObiectivitY ond lntegritY preferobly wri'en, ot the outset
with respec'o'Ji"iril"n of *orl,
Sociologists should strive io morntoin obieciiviiy ond iniegrity in the con- compensotion, occess fo doto, rights of outhorship, ond other
duct of socio ogicol ond reseorch proclice' rights ond responsibrliries.
of coursie, ,r.n loy n""d
1. Sociologisis should odhere to the highesi possible iechnicol ston-
.
to be
^ When modified os the proiect evolvss. "il'r;its
dords in their reseorch. When {indings moy hove dlrect implicotions 10. ir is likely thot reseorctr fino,ngs wirr
beor on public pol,cy or
{or public policy or for the well-being of subiecfs, reseorch should deboie, sociologisrs shourd toke poirrcuior
.oru ro ,ioi" ott ,ignif
not te undertoken unless the requisile skills ond resources ore ovoil- iconr quolificotions on the findings
ond ,*rp*"i,"*'"f ,fr",r.
oble to occomplish ihe reseorch odequotely' reseorch.
2. Since individuol sociologists vory in their reseorch modes, skills ond
experience, sociologists should olwoys sel forth ex onle the disci- E. Re.spect for the Rights of Reseorch populotions
plinory ond personol llmitoiions thot condition whether or not o re- l. lndividuols, fomilies, households,
kin ond friendship groups thot
seorch proiect con be success{ully completed ond condiiion the vo- subleos of reseorch ore enrirled ore
," ,,gLl, O,"g';fhi.ol
Id'iy o{ lrdings. ity. Orgonizotions, iorge collective, "i *igiiirl.,ooa.,ononyr-
,J.h o,
3. Regordless o{ work setiings, sociologists ore obligoted to report groups, or religious denominotions, u,Lri.
corporotLnr, gouernmentr,
finJings fully ond without omisslon of slgnificont doto' Sociologists public ogencies, pubiic onlcrots,
persons in the public eye,
shoulJ olso disclose detoils of their theories, methods, ond reseorch entitled outomoiicolly ro privocy ore nol
ond need nor'[" J*runded ,.ou-
designs thot might beor upon interpreiotion of reseorch findings' ljnely guorontees of prlvocy
ond confidentrolity. lto*"u"r, if ony
4. Sociologists must report fully oll sources of finonciol suppori in their guorontees ore mode, they
must be honored unress there
publicotions ond musi noie ony speciol reloiions to ony sponsor' ond compeiiing reosons not to.do ore creor
5. bociologists should not moke ony guorontees to subiecis-individ- -
2. lnformotion obout persons obroined
so.
fro, records rhoi ore open to
uols, groups or orgonizotions-unless lhere is full inteniion ond obil- public scrutiny connot be protected
by groroniu", ;f privocy or
ily to honor such commitments. All such guorontees, once mode' confideniiolity.
musi be honored unless there is o cleor, compelling ond overridlng 3. The process of conducting socrologicol
reseorch must not expose
reoson not io do so. subjeci to substontiol r.irl or. p"rroili
6. Consistent wiih the spirit of full disclosure of method ond onolysis,
h._. Wh"* ,"aest risk or
horm is onticipoied, informej
sociologists should moke their dolo ovoiloble to other quoliffed so-
.
4' To the extent possibre in o given
.on.un, rnuri lu olro,"ua.
study, reseorchers shourd onrici_
ciol scientists, ol reosonoble cost, ofler they hove completed their pote potentioi threots to confidentiolity.
Sr.hrnuon, o, th" r"rouol
own onolyses, except in coses where confidentiolity or the cloims of of identiflers, rhe useof rondomized ;J;;r;;;j.rher
o fieldworker to the privocy of personol notes necessorily would be col solurions to problems of privocy' ;;;;
stotisti_
violoted in doing so The timeliness of this obligoiion is especiolly oppropriote.
;; irua *n"ru
criticol where the reseorch is perceived to hove policy implicotions' 5. Confldentiol informotion provided
by reseorch porticiponts musl be
7. Sociologists must not occept gronts, controcts, or reseorch ossign' treoted os such by sociorogists,
even when this ;nfoniJtion unioy,
ments thot oppeor likely to require violotion of the principles obove, no legol prorecriop 6r privilege
ond rusol fo,.e i,
ond should dissociote themselves from reseorch when they discover ligoi;on ro respeo con.ioenrioliry *oi"O. ,fr"
orso"oppl;e, i" ,i'5ri".s "U
o vroloiion ond ore uncrble to ochieve its correclion. seorch oroonjzotions (jnt'erviewers, ,"_
coders', cleric;l sr;fi, etc.)"fwho
B. When finoncio suppori for o proiect hos been occepied, sociolo- hove occess to fhe inform_orion. lt
is rhe responsibility .f;;"'#";
gists must moke every reosonoble efiort to complete ihe proposed invesrigotor ,o insrruct stof members ,"
on fhi, poin,l
work, including reports lo the funding source.
Source; Americon Sociologicol
Associolion, Code o{ Ethics, I 9g4, pp,

I
(either to the advancement of knowledge in methods, research which involves coercion 3. Which of the studies mentioned in
.,charged', this patlon observation studies
of subjects, and research procedures that chaptgr as being and considerations
the discipline or for practicai reasons) out- with abuses ol the ethical issues raised.(in""ri";
weigh the risk to the subjects, the relationship may be considered an invasion ofprivacy. seems to you to bear the greatest
ethical
;i;i;;;
freedom. resrricrrons on research;.
ofthe social researcher to subjects. the main- . Unethical practices that may arise in the re- problems? Why did you make
this choicei ,r. i.^L9.:rf
Lewrs. George H.: Fist_Fights
porting ofsocial research are tampering with in the Kitchart;
tenance oftrust between the field ofsocial re- A1lanners and Methods in
Sociat R;;;r;;i
search and the society it seeks to study? Don't results and plagiarism. Goodyear, pacific palisades, Calif,
RECOMMENDED READINGS 1975. Thi;
veer away from a subject simply because you . In the study of persons in public positions very lively reader includes considerations
ofeth_
think it may raise some ethical issues or diffi- and public organizations, the right of pri- 1. Bulmer, Martin (ed.): Social
Research Ethics, ,,s*, in expen_menrs, the righrs ,r;j;;
Macmillan, London, 19g2. This l._u]
culties. But make sure that you think through vacy must be balanced against the public's cole.tion oi.rl and Irvlng Louis Horowitz.s expos6 "f
ofthe"gov_
says includes both appraisals ernmenl-sponsored project Camelor.
those issues and difrculties thoroughly before right to know. of .o"..t-purii.i-
you proceed. Social researchers need not be so . Measures for ensuring the protection of sub-
timid and so deferential that any challenge to jects in a research study are anonymity, con-
their plans sends them running. Instead, talk fi dentiality, informed consent.

to others about it-your professors, the re- . Many institutions and professional associa-
view board at your institution, those whose tions who sponsor research have drawn up
opinions you value. Think through the uses of guidelines to follow in ensuring the rights of
the study, consider the potential abuses' Then human subjects.
decide if the vaiue of the study is worth its
risks. Research demands not only caution but
KEY TERMS
courage as well.
anonymity
coercion of subjects
REVIEW NOTES confidentiality
. A rationale for a research project is a sound covert research
reason for selecting the particular subject fuil disclosure
and method for carrying out the research informed consent
based on some value or Purpose. institutional review board
. Merton's two rationales for research are that invasion ofprivacY
the study will contribute to syslematic plagiarism
knowledge in a discipiine (that is, basic re- rationale
search) or that it wiil be of some practical right to know
use (that rs, apPlied research). right of privacy
. Four questions that may guide you in devel- rights of human subjects
oping a rationale are: whether the study of- tampering with results
fers evidence about the changing nature of
society: whether the study addresses a social
STUDY EXERCISES
policy topic; whether the study will broaden
knowledge of an unusual or unfamiliar l. Add one more use to the four uses given
topic; whether the researcher has particular that seems to you to be an important ratio-
knowledge or expertise which may enable nale for deciding whether to do a specific
him or her to make unique contributions in social research project.
the research effort. 2. Select two ofthe studies described in Chap-
. The three types of research procedures that ter I and decide which of the uses is best
raise ethical concerns are clvert research exemplified in each studY.

I
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The DesigTt
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.: of Social Reseqrch

PREFACE
tT-l
-.,r/ f,. nru section of this text was intended to
provide you with a broad understanding ofthe foundations for the
social research cn-
terprise. Here, in the second section, the components of a research design will
be laid
out. chapter 4 will examine how a topic can be turned into a problem for
social rc_
search; and it will outline. a plan covering all the components of a research project.
chapter 5 is concerned with concepts, measurement, and operationalization.
bn.. u
topic is selected and the research plan is proposed, a careful ionsideration
ofprecisely
what concepts will be studied and how they will be measured is necessary. when
thl
major concepts in the study have been determined, the research project must
conceive
of a way to make these concepts observable-in other words, to ipeiationalizethe
con-
cepts. Once the concepts have been operationalized, the issue ofconcern
moves to find-
ing an appropriate set ofsubjects (people, events, institutions, or whatever)
to observe
or question' The selectiol of these subjects requires a knowiedge of the principles
of
sampling, which will be the subject of Chapter 6.

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Defining
A Researchable Topic
and Proposing
A Research Plan

INTRCDUCTICN

To rturra research project, you first need 1o

develop a clearly defined research topic. Then you must set out the necissary steps that
you will follow to produce the final research report; that is to say, you need a detailed
research planwhich may form the basis of a written research pripisat. The first objec-
tive of this chapter is to help suggest ways of finding topics and lurning them into re-
searchable problems. It will suggest sources oftopics, offer criteria to be uied in selecting
a topic, indicate wa1's to intensify knowiedge about a topic, delineate how a topic oT
interest can become a researchable probiem, consider the rationale for doing th. itudy,
discuss the subjects to be studied, and set the time dimension required.
The second objective of this chapter is to propose a plan to follow in doing your
research project. Once a research problem has been formulated and subjects for a siudy
have been determined, the actual means for carrying out the research project must be
delineated. This is the proposal-writing stage ofthe research process, when the overall
plan for the project must be set out in logicai order.

87

I

88 The Design of Social Research
SOURCES TO USE
IN SELECTING A TOPIC
In the Introduction, I emphasized that what is
going on in your own life and in the sociai
world around you, what troubles you, what in-
terests you, what your life experiences are-all
these areas of concern are full of possibilities
for social research projects. Follow C. Wright
Mills's notion that for a social research project
to be sociologically imaginative, you need to
draw upon your personal resources to relate
issues in the society to your own experience.
What Mills was stressing is that social re-
search is not just a matter of dry numbers and
charts, or even ofcareful descriptions or intri-
cate theories: instead, social research should
have a relevance, a depth of concern that
raises it above what is mundane and uninter-
esting to a level of intellectual commitment.
However, you cannot begin to get committed
to a project until you have selected a lopic for
study. Besides your own experiences and
ideas, there are many sources to which you
may turn in trying to identify a research topic.
Social research topics need not derir.e from
your own experiences and interests; they can
come ftom more formal efforts at finding a
topic. To find a topic, you musl expose your-
self to some potential sources for ideas. These
sources might be already published materials,
other people, or research projects which are in
progless.
Frinted Sources
The studies described in Chapter 1 werg ex-
amples from the vast iiterature on social re-
search that is already published. Such stud)es,
can provide many ideas for projects. But
where can you find these published sources?
The results of many research projects have
been published in book form. For example,
the Coleman study on public and private
schools became the basis of a book, High
School Achievement (1982). Coieman and his
'$:i1: I
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PART TWO
colleagues also disseminated their findings in
a number of articles in academic journals, and
their results were noted in popular magazines
and newspaper articles.
A large study reported in a book hoi<is
many ideas for smaller projects. Consider the
Coleman study. You might want to consider
onl.v" one of their findings: that private school
students do more homework. In that case, you
would want to glean from the Coleman study
what role homework played in the students'
lives, what they associated it with. (It was in-
troduced in a section on Involvement in
School under the larger heading of Student
Behavior. The time spent on homework was
presented first, followed by a table showing
the time spent watching television and one
showing the percentages of high school stu-
dents who claim to be "interested in school"
and "like working hard in school.") In other
rvords, Coleman and his associates used time
spent on homework not as a measure of stu-
dent ability, bu1 as a measure of student com-
mitment to school. You may or may not con-
ceptualize homework in this fashion. The
important point is that reading the work of
other researchers and figuring out how they
designed their study, measured concepts, etc.,
should help you to formulate your project.
In the Kanter (1977) study you might find
the subject ofthe careers ofsecretaries in large
corporations ofinterest. How are their careers
tied to their bosses? How do their roles mimic
those of the wives of their bosses? How does
a secretary's role change if her boss is a
woman? Or if the secretary is a man? You
might read Kanter's study with your question
in mind and try to flnd (1) if she speaks di-
rectly to your interest or (2) if her findings
might suggest a slightly different topic. Take
the issue of how having a female boss might
change the role of a secretary. While Kanter
does not directly discuss this, it is clear from
her study that the kind of "emotion-laden re-
lations of individual loyalty" (1977, p. 101)
which characterize a secretary's relation to her
boss might be altered if the boss were a
woman. What significance is there" for exam-
ple, in the fact that in a session during which
secretaries and their bosses discussed .,expec-
tation exchanges," one secretarial supervisor
"insisted that, in her words, 'The girtis there
to serve the man' " (p. 80X
There are so many already pubiished stud-
ies that for any idea which you rnight think of,
numerous other researchers will have alreadv
been at work on it. Don't feel discouraged by
this. No two researchers ever produce the
same study. An area in which there has been
a lot ofresearch is by definition an important
area. Juvenile deiinquency would be a good
example of a heavily studied area. New ap-
proaches and new points of view, however,
can generate valuable new findings, and new
findings will be more valuable if they have
been informed by earlier studies (such as Hir-
schi's 1969 classic study on delinquency car-
ried out 20 years ago).
Appendix A offers a detailed description of
how 1o use a library in order to look for a topic
or to intensify knowledge about a topic once
it has been selected. We will now turn to a dif-
ferent source for finding a topic, namely, con-
necting your efforts to an ongoing project.
.:t
Ongoing Sociol Reseorch Proiects ond
Avoiloble Dofo
One way to discover a topic is to find a project
currently under way; taik 10 the people doing
the project and see if they can suggest some
aspect ofthe project that you might study fur-
ther or some aspect from which you might de-
velop a researchable idea. Alternatively, you
might look for already collected data which
you can use for your purposes.
Finding an Ongoing Project. How can you
find ongoing projects? First you might find out
what kind of research .trour professors are con-
ducting or what the graduate students are
studying. Another very good way to hear
about current research is to attend a scholarly
meeting in socioiogy, education, political sci-
ence, psychology, or whatever discipline you
think most likely would address your inter-
ests. Such meetings have printed schedules
giving the titles ofall the papers, their authors,
and the times and places they will be given.
Remember that you need not attend a na-
tional meeting. Many regional associations
have conferences, and there are special inter-
est groups who hoid meetings (the Law and
Society Association, Women's Studies Asso-
ciation, etc.). Individual universities and re-
search centers often sponsor meetings wherc
papers are delivered or where roundtable dis-
cussions are held, which may be directly of in-
terest to you.
Never assume that you would be unwel-
come. While there are a few exclusive confer-
ences which only invited participanls may al-
tend, they are very rare. Generally, students
are welcome at professional meetings, and
usually there are special registralion fees for
studenls allowing them 10 panicipate at re-
duced rates. Don't feel shy about asking a
question either during the discussion follow-
ing the presentation of the paper or afler the
session has formally ended. Nothing makes a
researcher happier than finding other people
interested in his or her research project. Many
professional meetings make available photo-
copies of papers which have been delivered.
These may be purchased at the meeting, or
you might write directly to the author and re-
quest a copy.
Finding Available Data. A topic for a social
research project may stem from an available
dataset. You may be surprised that a topic for
a study could grow from a set of data already
produced. But nationwide surveys (like the
one Coleman used in his public school-pri-
vate school study) are usually so broad and
may include ;o many items, that a multitude
of projects could be produced from a single
I

90 The Design ofSocial Research
dataset. Don't think that simply because a
book has already been written which was
based on a national survey, all the data must
have been analyzed. Most survey data are
vastly underutilized. Even the same sets of
questions may be analyzed in so many differ-
ent ways that no two researchers are likely to
produce identical analyses. (It is, ofcourse, le-
gitimate to replicate an earlier study with dif:
ferenl data; but most replications usually add
new twists to the earlier design.) Many social
research projects rely on data that were col-
lected for other purposes. Chapter 10 will spe-
crfically examine studies that use alread-v col-
lected data sources. Here I will suggest where
to find some of these sources.
Government-collected data. The most ob-
vious source for data is the government. For
an index to statistical material, see the Amer-
i.can Statistics Index...A Comprehensive
Guide and Index to the Stqtistical Publication
of the United States Governntent, which ts
published annually with monthly supple-
ments. This index is also atailable online,
which means that if the library you are using
has the facilities to carry out computer
searches, you might check whether this index
is available.
Census data can be used as lhe basis for
many social research projects. Remember that
census data include informalion covering the
nation as a whole or many subsections of the
nation. To get some idea of the types o{ data
available. consult The Statistical Abstract o{
the L'nited Starrs. This book will show you ta-
bles that represent a wide range ofsubjects-cin
which the Census Bureau has data. If you
want data for a specific city or community,
consult Cottnty and Citlt Data Book: A Statis-
tical Abstract Supplement. The Census Bureau
also ccrmpiles data on smaller areas within cit-
ies. For example, in Chicago, data are avail-
able on the city, on Cook county, and on com-
munity areas within the cit1.
The Census Bureau aiso has comparative
,$.:
ia
.l
PART TWO
historical data which you can find in Histori-
cal Slatistics of the Uniled States; Colonial
Times to 1970. The United Nations offers
data yearly on counlries throughout the world
in the Statistical Yearbook.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics regularly
publishes statistical material and interpreta-
tions on topics concerning workers. For ex-
ample, there are numerous published reports
on women workers, minority workers, or un-
employment data. Crime statislics are regu-
larly available from the U.S. Federal Bureau
of Investigation in Unifurnt Crime Reports for
the United States.
Nongot'ernmental datasets. Besides data col-
lected expressly by the federal governn.rent,
there are many sources of data produced for
various social research projects which are now
available to the public. Probably the best-
known set ofsurvey data available is that gen-
erated by the General Social Survey, which is
carried out yearly by the National Opinion
Research Center (NORC). The data from
these yearly surveys may be purchased for use
on a wide range of different types of comput-
ers. Most large datasets from surveys funded
by a federal agency ultimately become avail-
able to the public. To take an example already
discussed, Coleman's study is based on a na-
tionwide survey of high school sophomores
and seniors of I 980 who are being followed up
biannually o\rer a 6-year period. The data
from this survey, High School and Beyond,
can be purchased and used for different types
of analitses. The study on women's commit-
ment to work, which I described in the Intro-
duction. was carried out using lhe National
Lottgitudinal Study of the High School Class
of 1972, which had been followed up five
times during the 1970s. The data tapes for this
survey lr€re available from the Center for Sta-
tistics of the U.S. Department of Education.
Many universities have iarge survey data-
sets available to students, such as the General
Social Survey. in other cases, you may read
Defining a Researchable Topic and proposing a Research plan
about a dataset that has been used for a par- couraged for there are many datasets which
ticular study and which you realize might are not very expensive and are readily
meet the needs of your study. While some da- available.
tasets may not be available to you or may be Box 4-l offers three criteria to consider in
too expensive to obtain, don't get easily dis- determining your topic.
BOX 4-l
CRITERIA TO USE IN MAKING THE FINAT SETECTION OF A TOPIC
There ore three moior criterio to keep in mind when seleciing o topic,
THE TOPIC SHOULD BE FEASIBI"E TO STUDY
lf you con't corry oui the project io study the topic, then however fine the
topic, it is not ihe right choice. Some people opprooch reseorch projecis
pessimisficolly. They moy feel thot no one wili give them perm ssion to study
whot interests them, thot no one will ogree io being inierviewed, or rhot
they could never get the money or the help they need io corry out o pro-
ject. Others ore overly optimistic; they moy be sure thot everyone will be
foscinoted with ihe project, thot people will rush to poriicipofe, or thot sup-
port will be eosy to obtoin. The truth obout most reseorch projects is prob_
obly somewhere in between: You con generote the lnterest of others ond
their help in your projeo, bur you will not be oble ro geilhe supporr of oll.
Some resources you moy woni moy not be ovoiloble. Some individuols moy
eiiher refuse to help you or moy noi be obie to provide you wiih the help
you need. The bottom line for most reseorch projects is thot you must be
inventive; you must odopt your methods i[ cerioin plons do not work out.
Feosibility must therefore be considered in ierms of time, cost, efiorts, ond
skill. Eoch of ihese must be ovoiloble in sufilcient omounts to moke rhe re-
seorch pro ject ochievoble.
THE TOPIC SHOUTD BE OF GENUINE INTEREST TO YOU
So mony things con be studied effectively thoi unless you ore doing o com-
missioned study or working on someone else's projeci, you shouid corry
out o study on o topic which reolly inlerests you. I hove orgued thor this
sense of involvement in o reseorch project is whot difierentiotes sociol re-
seorch from ploin old foct-{inding, or routine, Iifeless studies. The lniroduc-
tion io thls tex'i wos written to encouroge you to explore your own inierests
ond get in touch wjth whot excrtes you os o woy to begin thinking obour o
sociol reseorch project.
YOUR RESEARCH SHOUTD ENHANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETY
While this moy sound corny to some, your study should be designed to
offer some new insights or perspectives on the topic which moy positively
contribute io the body of sociol reseorch. While you moy feel emborrossed
to stoie thot your study wil enrich our undersionding of society, you should
keep this in mind in designing your study, for it will tend to push you toword
the more relevoni ospecis of the topic, to ground your study in ihe ,,reol
world" of sociol reolities, sociol problems, ond lhe seorch for solutions.
I

92 TheDesignofSocialResearch
HOW TO INTENSIFY
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT A TOPIC
Once ,vou have selected a topic, you will need
to get more information about it. There are
many ways to do this.
Using the Librory
Both the above discussion and Appendix A
address how to use a iibrary to find a topic.
Very similar methods are used to intensify
knowledge about a topic, once you have cho-
sen it. The major difference is that in this stage
of the project, you must be more selective.
You cannot look at everything that has been
written on this topic. Instead, you must con-
tinually make choices aboul what to look up,
what to scan, and what to read in detail.
Let me describe how, in preparation for
designing a study, I "reviewed the iiterature"
on a topic of how a predominantly white col-
lege affects biack students. The sludies on
biack Americans in predominantly white
America were numerous. Since my subject
concerned biacks in $redominantly white ed-
I
ucational instilutions, needed to look at
studies of blacks in mixed racial environ-
ments, in educational settings, and in institu-
tions that people had entered to enhance their
opportunities. Some of the earliest works'I
found were studies done early in this century
on the experiences ofindividual blacks at par-
ticular institutions. Since I planned to study
two universities in a large northern city which
had always had some black students. I would
not really be looking at institutions where en-
forced integration had taken piace. Neverthe-
Iess, I decided that studies on the effects ofin-
tegration might suggest how blacks reacted to
an environment in which their sensitivities to
the meaning of entering a predominantly
white environment were heightened. What I
was doing at'stage one:',was 'to look at.other
studies that addressed similar research topicS.
PART rwo
At this point in the project, I did not know
what type of ffict I would be looking for. I
began by looking up studies, books. articles,
and data related to two subtopics of the pro-
jecl Coliege Effects and Blacks in White
America. The first subtopic had been a very
popular one in the 1960s with the vast expan-
sion of colleges and universities. Such re-
search came under the general disciplines of
social psychology (the effects of college were
usually measured in terms of some attitude
change) or of education (in this instance the
subfleld might be higher education or the so-
ciology of education). I needed to consider
two things: one was which efect I would
study, and the second was which potentiai
causes of the effect I might be interested in
studying. The causes include'such things as
the influence ofsignificant others, the types of
activilies and behaviors of the students, the
background characteristics of the students,
and their abilities and aspirations for being at
college. The effect to be studied would be the
dependent variable, the causes the indepen-
dent variables . Here a!'stage two ,:t was deter-
Imiiling the.dependent aiid indebendent t;ari-
':ablesin the study.
In the course of my reading, I found in
number of studies a scale which had been used
to measure the effects of college on students,
often in conjunction with a number of other
scales. The scale which appealed to me was
called the Autonomy Scale (Heist and Yonge,
1968). I thought the items which comprised
the scale were measures of the types of atti-
tudes that I wanted to study in black students.
My advisor was more suspicious of this scale.
He wanted to know more about it. This took
me on a very interesting search for the origins
of this scale. It turned out thal Ihe Autonomy
Scale was a great-granddaughter ofthe famous
F-Scale of authoritarianlsn (Adorno et al.,
I 950), though it was a measure ofits converse,
nonauthoritarianism. Finding out about the
concept of authoritarianism and how it was
rx.
CHAPTER 4 Defining a Researchable Topic and Proposing a Research ptan 93
measured by the F-Scale (which will be de-
scribed more fully in Chapter 5) led me back
through a fascinating history ofhow this con-
cept had developed and how it had been op-
erationaiized. With a much firmer grasp of
what the Autononry Scale was actually mea-
suring, I felt more confident in using it. Now
al stage three, I selected a means for measur-
ing thc dependent variable.
For the search I have described, I used a
university library to look up books and arti-
cles. I also used a collection ofdifferent types
of tests, available in a research library, to se-
leclthe Autlnzmy Scale and to look at its ear-
iier versions. I also ordered a lew earlier dis-
sertations on topics similar to my own which
were available on microfilm from {Jniversitv
MiuofiInts at Ann Arboi,,Michigan.
[,!sing Written Records ond Documenfs
Many topics can be investigated by examining
the records or documents prepared by an or-
ganization for their own purposes. Suppose
you plan to study an organization. Let's sa-v it
is a neighborhood community organization.
Well, such an organization will probably have
a minutes of its meetings; it may have some
founding charter under which it was orga-
nized; it is also likely to have a clipping file of
articles that appeared in the local newspapers;
it may well have a newsletter describing its ac-
tivities; it will have files of correspondence,
memos sent between different members of the
organization. There may also be copies of
studies that they, or others, have done about
some aspect of their work. Can you get access
to these materials? The best way to find out is
to ask. Minutes from meetings may be consid-
ered public or private. Probably records from
the past will be more available to see than
mote current records.
Many researchers need to gather informa-
tion from government documents. Specific
Iaws may need to be examined, proceedings of
Congress, policies of governmenl agencies.
Various bodies of the govemment collect data
and analyze them for many reasons. Some of
these were suggested above in the discussion
ofgovernment data. Ifyour subject touches a
professional field, say medicine, law, or teach-
ing. you may want to look at materials from
the professional associations of these organi-
zations such as the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the American Bar Association, thc
National Education Association. Organiza-
tions such as these tend to have research de-
partments which carry out tarious studies;
they often have newsletters or other informa-
tional publications which will mention the on-
going research.
Tolking fo lnformed Others
One of the best ways to intensify your knowl-
edge about a topic is to talk to "people in the
know." But who are these people? There arc
three categories to consider. The first are rel.
evant researc.hers.'those who have studied top-
ics similar to your ownr The second are in-r
siders,'panicipanrs in the very field which yt_ru
are srudying. The third are intellecrual con.r'
rades; people with whom you talk easily and
fruitfully abour 1,our ideas.
Relevant Researchers. Many students movo
into areas of research similar to those of the
professors with whom they study. This is a
logical thing to do. In graduate school, stu-
dents generally choose to work with faculty
members whose ideas interest them. As an un-
dergraduate, you may select courses, attend
lectures, and try 10 get to know professors
whose ideas you find exciting and stimulating.
If you know a professor who has done re-
search in the area of your topic for study, go
speak to her or him. (Let me repeat how re-
ceptive most faculty members are to talking to
students interested in their research.) If you
can read an article by the faculty member, or
I
 94TheDesignofSocialResearch
hear a lecture about the research before speak-
ing to the person, you will be a better conver-
sationalist. Remember, researchets may get
ideas from students as well. Don't feel shy to
try out your ideas on the faculty member.
Does the topic sound plausible? What prob-
lems might you run into? Are there particu-
larly important studies that you shouid look
up?,'{f the conversation goes well, you might
ask the professor whether you could show him
or her your proposal for the project once you
have it drafted.
{nsiders' Ifyou will be studying a topic that
may require a field study or if you plan to
study an organization. an institution, a neigh-
borhood, a special event, or an ethnic group,
you should seek out its members to see if they
are willing to give you the "inside scoop."
ifhese informants can provide you with a
basic knowledge about the nature of life in,
that institution, or whetever; Now as you
know, insiders do not necessarily have an ac-
curate picture of things, but they do have
some picture, however slanted or biased. You
will want to consider what they tell you in
terms of who they are and what their role is in
the social environment.
Recali from Chapter t how Kanler (1977)
got some of her most salient information from
certain people at Indsco who served as special
confidantes to her. In a formal setting, like a
business organization, you wiil need to be
very discreet with the information which an
insider offers to you and not pass it on to oth-
ers. In short, you must generate trust in others
in order for them to want to talk to you, and
to get insiders to continue to lalk to you, they
must see you as trustworthy.
trntellectual Comrades; All of us know peo-
ple with whom we talk easily, people with
whom we can discuss our ideas, our work.
You should select one such person and pour
out all your ideas about what you are planning
to study and why, and iet the person react
P ART TWo
however he or she might. Often such a discus-
sion is best held in a casual environment, over
a cup of coffee (or whatever). Tell this person
your major worry-why you think the study
mighr fail. Then see ilthe person tries to re-
convince you that your topic is a sound one.
He or she should know you well enough to
sense whether the topic sounds feasible given
your abilities, your motivation, your other
commitments. The very process of talking
your ideas through with someone you are
close to. somsone who is creative and whose
judgment you respect, will help you to for-
mulate your ideas better. Because social re-
search almost aiways involves dling some-
thing in the real world, the very processes of
thinking about it are often enhanced through
interaction; that is, talking it through with
others rather than thinking it through on your
own. Remember, talking about it is not a
wasle of time; it is the beginning of doing the
research. And the most valuable talking you
can do is with those with whom vou talk most
effectively.
TURNING A TOPIC INTO
A RESEARCHABLE PROBLEM
Social research topics don't come neatly pack-
aged as clearly defined subjects. Your very in-
terest in the topic may lie in its complexity, in
the myriad ways in which you can think about
it. Thebest way to begin exploring a topic
more systematically is to narrow i1 down to a
researchable question or group of questions.
This process of turning ideas into questions,
and then refining these questions until you
have a research problem, involves a lot oftrial
and error. I will suggest the steps you might
follow in doing this.
Slep l: Consider the Most Froblemotic
Aipects of the Tqpic
'Think,cif.ail the::nost,troubling:aspectS of your
,topia Where do the roadblocks seem to lie?
Don't be afraid to immerse yourself in the
lot of advice. When a project addresses largellt
problems of the topic until
.vou think the topic uncharted areas. i1s aim is to exptore. e gloi-
seems the most ..undoable" you could imag_
exploralion of a topic may provide u ,.ut-rt
ine. Then, try to pull our the centrai probleir oi
=material for:sthers.to dhink about.'
that underlies the whole issue. In the study If a project
carried out on the effect of college on Utack
i geeks to.carefully detail evidence
so rh;t a
clearer picture can.be seen and therefore
students" I had fett beaten down by a whoJe a
firmer understanding can be gained, its aim
variety of concerns: Could I study this if is'
were not black? What was I really trying
i ta describe.,Other projects set.out to test some
to specific idea-to see under what conditions i
find out?
The central issue that came forth was:
phenomenon will increase l;;;.;;;.:
What, in fact, were blacks getting from
".
whelher it wiu matter more omutta,
l.rr.
-""
their The aim of such srudies is rc;plr;;'*
efforts to achieve a higher educutionl f t
ii . One way 1o tell ivhat your aim is in study_
convinced (perhaps naively) that the real goai
ing a topic is to think abour what you ;;;ld
ofa college education was more than u.r.J.n-
like to be able to repor-t on once the project
is
tial, more than a lot of information wtrich you
completed. Do you want to sav why iome_
learned. 11 was the development of a kinj
oi thing occurs (to explain)? Do you *uni to
self-consciousness, an ability to reflect
yourself, your world, so that you could
on carefully and thoroughly show tlre state ofthe l
think, srluarion you are studying (to describe)?
read, talk about ideas with a freslin.rr, Do
,n you want to uncover some new knowledge
or
opennessr a sophistication, not characteristic
$ome new idea which may excite or surlrisi
ofthose who have not been asked to consider
others (to explore)?F
ideas carefully. I found this an interesting
question to pose about blacks in white
coi
leges, because there seemed to be Step 3: Stote the Topic os o Series of
several pos_
sible outcomes of that experience. On tf,e 'Questions
one
hand, they might be disadvantaged in achiev_
dolvn a1l the questions that your lopic
ing this autonomy if as outsiders, thev were {ot
gi-oses. It is best to express
unable 1o fully panake ol their college envi_ these c-oncerns'in
,the form of questions,
ronment. On the other hand, the potential cul_ because questions de_
'rnand answers; And thinking of your study
ture shock which a predominantil,white col_ as
a quesiion (or a set of questions) to be an_
lege might create for them could help to
swered will propel you to the nexl stage
develop the kind of self-consciousness and of,
thinking,
ability to _namely, how you wilt go aboui air_
.see things from a muitiplicity swering iti Once the questions hive been
of viewpoints which is the essence of down, try to wrile an answer to each one.
set
au1onom1,. This
is, in a '*'ay, both the beginning aoO
ena oia
research project. The methods apply
to the
Step 2:iDefine fhe Aim of the proiect middle. For each question posed, indicate
what would need to be known (what
'The aims.of a research project will data
vary with would need to be collected and analyzed)
yhal_ca1 be accomplished by the study- nab_ to
try to answer the question.
bie (1986, pp. 72-74) suggests three general
Now look at the different questions. Which
purposes of any research project. Many
field one do you think the study you envision
studies map largely unknown territories.
would be best able to address? is there
There_may be very lew guidelines in pursuir a sec_
ond question,,which the study might
olsuch a problem. though there is usually also
a pose? Could it be combined with in, n.rt
I
 ,'r'.
!a

96 TheDesignofSocialResearch P ART TWo CHAPTER 4 Defining a Researchable Topic and proposing

a Research ptan 97

question and thereby strengthen the focus of
the study?
Step 4: Set Up o t-lypothesis Bosed on
One Aliernotive Answer
If the aim of the study is explanation, a re-
search question can usually be the basis for es-
tablishing a number ofhypothesesl These hy-
potheses set one possible answer to the
research question as the stated expectation to
be studied. For example, a research question:
Do commuler students poriicipote less in extrocur-
riculor oclivities on compus?
could be the basis for a hypothesis:
l{ commuter students spend less time on compus
thon residentiol siudents, lhen commuiers will hove
lower rotes of porticipotion in compus exirocurri-
culor octivities thon studenis living on compus.
The hypothesis sets up a preciiction to be
tested which is iogically derived from the re-
search question. The research question merely
poses the subject ofinterest.
Using the black college student study, the
research question was:
Are block students from segregoied high schools
(susceptible io experiencing culture shock in o pre-
dominontly white college) more likely to undergo
o chonge in ollltudes thon bJock students coming
from integroled high schools?
Stated as a hypothesis, one ofthe potential an-
swers to the research question is used to form
the hypothesis:
lf block students ore in o more rociolly diverse en-
vironmenl in college {o potentiolly culturolly shock-
ing environment) thon they were in high school,
then they would be more likely io hove chonges rn
oiiiiude {oso result o{ their cuhure shock) thon
block students coming from rcciolly diverse high
schools.
The variables here are the differences in racial might consider. Replication studies can also
composition of the high school and college test hypotheses. Ifyour study is baseO
on a try-
and the atlilude change occulring over a pe- pothesis. the object ofyour study
is ro iesf this
riod of time at college. More simply, the hy- nypolhesls. Since a hypolhesis is based
on a
pothesis would state: rheory. or explanation of some ,etarionJip,
hypoth.esis testing can either add
to a
or challenge it. Descriptive and exploratorv
th;;;
Block students {rom segregoted high schools
wou d be expected to hove greoier otiitude sludies may also add or detract f.o*^tt.o.ieJ.
chonge in o predominonily white college lhon While the evidence from an exploratory
field
lhose from integroied high schools. study may not be able to fully ,.fur. u ,f.,**.
it may offer dara thal could seiiously
.h;i;;;;
Note that once a hypothesis is formulated, the a theoretical explanation. Finally, roriui."._
agenda for the study is determined: What data
search projects may lead to the-forming
will be needed and how the variables will need of
new theories..you may be able to ngur.
to be related has been clarified. In short, the new explanation which
o"ut u
direction ofthe study is established by posing a nnding ..r.,i*,it'J.i:::1il,1'; *1
". "
a hypothesis. It should be added that studies ory building.
are often guided by many different hypotheses
or by alternative hypotheses. Recall that Hir-
schi's sludy ofdelinquency compared three al- WHOM OR WHAT TO STUDY-
ternative theories of delinquency by testing THE UNITS OF ANATYSIS
diferent hypotheses derived lrom the Generally, before a topic is fully clarified,
the
theories. researcher has in mind the type ofsubjects
or she will need to study. Mosr .orronly,*_
he
crat researchers take individuals as rheiisub_
REASONS jects._ Remember, however,
that people are
FOR STUDYING THE TOPIC not the only subjects of study irr,o.iut
.._
Once your topic is selected, and the research search. You may study grorpi. progro^r, o-r-
question 1or hypothesis) has been posed. you gant:altlns, larger contmurriies (states,
should consider vour rationale for the stud1. tions.J, arttfact& as well as,jndividuats
na_
ihiie
Looking back to Chapter 3, _vou might think would be rhe unirs of anallsis *,* ,irjr.
over what purpose will be served by the topic "f thul ;;ll;;
They are the collection of '.rlrings'.
of the study. Now that the research question studied. Box 4-2 gives examples of
studies
is defined. you are able to think through the that would be based on each ofrn.,yp.r-oi
research design and determine what you will units ofanalysis.
trl, to accomplish by carrying out this study. Depending on the research question
lf it is an exploratory project, you may posed, a more or less specific set
of iubjects
help to clarify a largely undefined area. Your may be suggested. Some research questions
observations and analyses of these data can only be answered with a probabiiity
sam_
should add to earlier, related efforts of study. ple representative of the population
of suU_
jecls to r.r,hom the findings refer.
If it is a descriptive study, it may expand the for.^ffi..
body olwork in this area. Your study may re- rl vour research quesrion is ro ask whether
peat an older study, in which case it is referred auto accident deaths in the United
States are
lo as a replicalior study: This is a veq' hon- largely caused by drunken drivers,
th.n t;,
orable practice in all the sciences, and one you data must represent those auto accidenti
na_
tionwide. A study of the auto accidents
in
your community would not answer
this ques_
tion, nor would the driving patt.in,
of i.*_
age youlhs in a local high school.
Note thal
data from these two examples migirt
be abie
to address.jnteresting research que:stions;
they would not provide evidence bearing
but
on
the question as posed above.
Often there needs to be an act ofbalancing
the.kinds of subjects you can feasiUly
stuai
against the research question
Vou *irf, to uO'_
dress. In some cases, the queition
rnuu n..a
to be restated. However, Oon,t .rrtrlri
uou,
scope too much in considering a set of sub-
jects forstudy. Start by
definin! th.,..y;;;
set of subjects you could imagrne
i" th; ;;;;
of all possible worlds (that'i the *"rlJ;
which everyrhing is possiblel). That
*"V,1",
will have the characteristics of th. ;;;pl;
which are both desirable una n..rrruf
ijty
laid our.. Now ask yourself ,f.,ici, of
rf,.i.
cnaraclerrstlcs are absolutely essential
to you
in answering your research question. ire
there some qualities which wouid
to .vour study but which would not
d;;";;
be abso_
lutely vital to its success? In short,
;;pd,
the clearly essential from the uOruntugrou,
but nonessential qualities.
. Remember that if you use already col_
lected data (census data or survey
data), you
should read the materials ttrat exptain'iio*
these samples were formed to
be sure that thev
represent the popuiations you want
to ad'_
dress. (Chapter 6 will addreis ,arptinglec[_
niques and sfategies in detail.)
plan to carry out a field study
E;.r;i;;;
oia,ingt. rur.,
you will in.effecr be srudying,orn.
,irpt. oi
some.popularion. The problem here
is that rhe
dennttton olthe sample and of the population
may never be fully clear. you must
ask your_
the people you observe,.pr.i.,1,.
:.lfyhg
Jelly's Bar. described in Chapter i,
tn
th. rn.n
rep.resented_black. largely unemployed.
urban
resrdents. While ihey were observed
in Chi_
cago, they might well have been
characteristic

I
 :?'F n
ti
rl;
98TheDesignofsocial Research eART TWo
BOX 4-2 of similar men in other large metropolitan
EXAMPTES OF DIFFERENT UNITS OF ANAI.Y515 areas. Allhough this study was ciearly ola par_
ticular bar, the choice of the bar wis seen as
somehow rspresentative of bars and citv
INDIVIDI]ATS
hangouts in the ghetto areas of large cities in
Most studies in the sociol sciences oddress individuols. Hirschi's study o{ delinquency took os its primory
general.
units of onolysis delinquent ond nondelinquent boys. Even when individuol meosures ore oggregoted lo
form group scores, lhe units of onolysis would be individuols. My study of black college students in pre_
dominantly white colleges included onlv two
GROUPS colleges (ones to which I had access). I ciearly
Sociol reseorchers ore ofien inieresfed in sludying groups such os gongs. A study comporing ihe type of could not assume that my findings would be
leoder-member interoction or the degree of cenirolizotion of leodership would use o meosure of o group generalilable ro the narion as a whole. I had
process os o chorocteristic of the group. These would be different from Hirschi's efiort where individuol
to recognize the particular qualities of the col_
delinquency octs were ihe primory unit under onolysis.
leges studied: They were both in an urban
PROGRAMS area. One was iargely a commuter college, the
Evoluotion reseorch (to be discussed in Chopter I 1) generolly hos progroms os ihe units to be onolyzed. other residenlial. One was a state institution,
The income mointenonce experimenl, described in Chopter I , hod indlviduols os the units of onolysis. How- the other private. I also needed to consider the
ever, i{ o study hod compored o number of different income-mointenonce progroms in terms of their flnon- proportion of black students in these colleges:
ciol odvice services, ond the finonciol services were meosured by funds spent on flnonciol counselors, the Was it
higher or lower than the nationai av-
units of onolysis would be the progroms themselves. erage for black students in white colleges? Did
ORGANIZATIONS OR INSTITUTIONS
it differ appreciably from the proportion of
blacks in the areas studied? In the nation as a
ln Colemon's survey of public ond privoie schools, when comporisons were mode on studenfs within
whole?
schools, the units of onolysrs were individuols. When comporisons were mode of quolities of the schools
{resources), the units were the schools. The imporfoni thing lo remember here is thot if the voriobles being It was also important to assess how repre_
onolyzed from the orgonizotion ore bosed on oggregoted doto of indivlduols, the units of onolysis ore sentative the particular black students I siud_
indlviduols. lt is when the voriobles ore bosed on meosures of ihe orgonizoiion or institulion thot ore not ied were ofblack students at the colleges stud_
reducible io individuols (such os resources, finonces, or physicol ond siructurol chorocteristics o{ the orgo- ied (in terms of social background. aiademic
nizoiion) lhol lhe units ol onolysis will be the orgonizoiion.
aptitude. earlier educalional experience_es_
pecially whether their prior education had
COMMUNITIES, STATES, NATIONS
been in segregated or integrated schoois).
Politicol scientists ore likely io use communities, sioies, or notions os their units of onolysis. In their clossic
Then I could also see where the black studenis
cross-notionol study of politicol porlicipoiion ond ottitudes, Almond ond Verbo i1963) compored liolions,
Briions, Germons, Mexicons, ond Americons in terms of such foctors os their levels o{ politicol informotron,
I studied fit among black students nationwide.
membership in voluntory ossociotions, ond o subjeciive sense of "compeience" (when on individuol be- Were they unique in some ways? Were they
or she con hove poliiicol influence, p. lBl). Usrng nolion stoies os the units of onolysis,
Iieves thot he quite typical of blacks atrending white coi_
Almond cnd Verbo were oble to show the distinctiveness of the Americon ond British sense o{ politicol leges? This kind of thinking, which tries to
competence. place the subjects you plan to study in a larger
framework in order to understand who tf,ey
ARTIIACTS
represent, must be done in the early stages of
Content onolysis, to be described in Chopier 10, o{ten tokes os its units of onolysis oriifocts. Artifocts moy
the project design.
be onolyzed ot the individuol or oggregole level. Whot this generolly refers to is thot culrurol items {such
os piclures, newspoper orlicles, songs, ielevision odveriisemenls, short stories, etc.) ore selecled ond their
contents compored using o set of criterio.
The. Twin Trops: The Ecologicol Follocy
ond Reductionism
Once the units of analysis have been deter-
mined. it will be important 1o hold firmlv to
these unirs throughout the srudy. Ofrcn ihere
is a tendency to move from one unit of anal_
ysis to another. This is a particularproblem in
the analysis stage when the findings of the
study are discussed. Nevertheless. it is essen_
tial to consider these potential traps when you
are designing your study so that you can seiect
a unit of analysis which wiil meet vour later
analytic requirements.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you
want to be able to discuss the causes ofillegal
drug use. You have the rate of drug use by
state, and you have the per capita income
level. Let's say that you note that those stares
with the higher rates of drug use also havc
higher per capita income. Ah hal you con_
clude this to mean that rich people are morc
often drug users. Such a conclusion would tre
an example of the ecological fallacy. you do
..,rzol haver
evidence:oii:"ther iiicomei:'of the ln_
diViduals whorse,drugg.which,would be re-
"
,quired: tO draw
a' conclusion like, this1. Rather,
you have commilled rhe ecological fallacy by
'itaking data ataLyzed. at the state (or group)
level and applying these findings ro th; indti
widual level. It could well be that it is the poor
people in the "richer" states who are mor;
fre_
quently drug users.
Let's take another example. Suppose you
are studying high school dropout rates. you
find that dropout rates are higher in school
districts where there are lower proportions of
intact families. Can irou conclude thal chil_
dren from single-parent families are more
likell'to be high school dropouts? No. not on
the evidence you have. Doing so would be an_
other example of the ecological fallacy, be_
cause il could be that in areas that have fewer
intact families, it is the students from homes
with both parents who drop out. you cannot
reach conclusions about individuals (in this
case. dropouls) using evidence lrom a group
level (in this case, family patlerns in commu-
nities). In short,:data,based on groupJevel
units olanalysis cannot be. used to reach coR_
clusions about indi viduals.
I
 l00TheDesignofSocialResearch
Reductionism (the tendency to reduce;
complex social phemomena to a single cause)
is in some cases the reverse of the ecologicaJ
fallacy, since it may involve drawing conclul
sions about the behavior of groups on thei
basis of evidence regarding individuals. A
common example of reductionism is to use
individual personality measures to explain the
behavior of groups. Consider these conclu-
sions: (l) Nazism took over in Germany be-
cause German boys hated their fathers; (2)
The slock market crashed tn 1929 because of
the sexual looseness ofpeople in the 1920s; (3)
American women have attained so few elected
offices because they have lower self-esteem
than men. In each case, a group-level occur-
rence is being reduced to an explanation at the
individual level. Complex phenomena like
the rise of Nazism, the stock market crash,
and the election of officials in the United
States cannot be reduced to the effect ofan in-
dividual attribute (hating fathers, sexual be-
havior, or female self-esteem), even though
such an attribute might possibly be a factor in
explaining them. There are surely other fac-
tors that need to be considered.
iExplaining .social phenomena solely in
terms of individual psychological characteris'
tics is a kind of psychological reductionism.
Another common form of reductionism is:
econonric feductionism, or the tendency 1o ex-'
plain social phenomena purely in economic
terms.", In this case, Nazism might be ex-
plained as the result of inflation in post-
World War I Germany, the stock market
crash as the resuit of capitalist accumulation
without reinvestment, and the sparsity of fe-
male elected ofrcials as the result of the eco-
nomic dependency of women. While these
may or may not be important factors in ex-
plaining the particular phenomena, it is overiy
simplistic to reduce such phenomena 1o a sin-
gle cause or to try to account for ail phenom-
ena in terms of a single kind of explanalion.
PARr TWo
TIME DIMENSION OF THE STUDY
Once a research topic is defined, you need to
determine the time frame in which the study
will be carried out. The first question to be
considered is: What period of time does the
study question address? Will a present time
frame be sufficient? Does the study need to
make projections into the future? Does it need
to take into account material from the past?
The second question concerns the time period
over which you will do the study: Will all the
observations be carried out during roughly the
same period? Or will you plan to make obser-
vations at different points in iime?
Period of Tirne Addressed by rhe Study
Aimost all social research projects take into
account some elements of the past. What you
are now studying was probably not estab-
lished the day you showed up. Thus there is a
general need to get some background infor-
mation about the setting (the group, the organ-
izalion, the neighborhood) you are studying.
All social researchers must also in some wa.vs
be historians. As such, they must abide by the
norms of historians which require that they
respecl the past and lry to interpret il accu-
a rately. (Chapter i0 will describe historical re-
search methods.)
If you are studying an organization, there
are records, as mentioned earlier, which can
be used to offer evidence of the past. Of
course, informants may also be interviewed.
But, generally speaking, written records made
at the time that is under consideration are
more accurate than the memories of those
who were there. (This, ofcourse, is not always
the case; records may have been writlen to be
deliberately misleading; and some individuals
have very good memories.) It must be kept in
mind that any source of information regard-
ing the past will have some biases. An individ-
ual's memories will tend to center around his
]cHrerER
4 Defining a Researchable Topic and proposing
or her participation in the event, and as a re_
sult, the person may see that area as more cen_
tral. Written records may be biased bv the
views ofthe recorder or by those ofthe person
in power who may have gone over the min_
utes (or the newsletter copy) to edit out ma_
terials that were considered harmful to the
purposes of the organization. Thus it is im-
portant to keep in mind that materials from
the past must not be taken as pure facts: thev
are also interpretations made at the time. and
may also include some distortions and half-
truths. One of the best ways to get a fuller un_
derstanding ofthe past is 1o see differenl types
ofrecords or to interview several persons who
played different roles in the organization
vou
are srudl ing. This diverse data gatlrering may
help to build up some elements of a picture
about which there is a lot of agreement.
Ifyour subjects are individuals, they have
pasts as well. Almost all surveys elicit
in_
formation about some aspects of the re_
spondents' pasts. The information sought
is usually about the family of origin iits
socioeconomic status, the number ot-siUlings
in the family, the region of the countrv in
which the individual grew upJ religious affili_
ation, etc.); but it may also include evidence
about schooling, peers, or activities engaged in
during childhood and youth.
A content analysis study (to be described
in Chapter l0) may have as jts daraser a col_
lection of magazines (or other materials) from
different periods of time, from which ihe re_
searcher hopes to extract patterns ofmeaning.
Such studies have clear historical time framei.
A study of current television commercials,
however, would have a present time frame.
For the study to have any lasting relevance,
the researcher should offer some introductorv
general description both of the time in
which
it was carried out and ofwhat was happening
in,the society during this time which mighi
help to explain these advertisements^
a Research ptan I0t
Time Frorne in Which the Study
ls Corried Out
There are two major ways to set a study in
lime. From one point of view, the study may
be considered as occurring in a single period
of time (though it rarely is completed in a day
or even in a week). Such one-time studies are
referred to as cross-sectional studies. The
other possibility is that the study has two or
more data collection periods which are set at
different times for the specific purposes of
studying changes that may or may not have
occurred between these points in time. Such
multiple-time studies are referred to as longi_
tudinal studies.
Cross-Sectional Studies. This term means
that whatever is being studied is being ob_
served at a single point in time, as if a seition
of time were being cul out for observation.
Perhaps a good comparison would be with a
medical procedure such as a biopsy or an x-
ray. These diagnostic procedures are done at a
specific point in time to discover the state of
the body at that moment (from which it is
possible to infer what has happened to the
body previously to bring itto its current
state). It is possible, of course, that they may
detect signs that help predict what rnuy t up_
pen in the future.
A c,ross-sectional study can accomplish the
.aim ofexploration or description. Itian also
be used for explanatory studies since back_
ground information and retrospective data
can be related to current statuses, and current
statuse-s to future expectations and aspira_
tions. Studies that aim to describe the current
state of something-the reading abilities of
eighth-graders in a city, for example_usually
have a cross-sectional time frame. (Howevei,
it is very characteristic ofsuch studies to com_
pare these scores with those oflast year,
which
then gives them a longitudinal time frame.)

102 The Design ofSocial Research
Longitudinal Studies. There are three pri-
mary types of longitudinal study designs:
trend studies, which compare data across time
intervals on different subjects; cohort studies,
which compare data on subjects across time
whose age differences parallel the time inter-
vals (so that 15- to l9-year-olds in 1960 are
compared to 25- to 29-year-oids in 1970);
panel studies, which compare changes in the
same subjects as they occur across time. Let's
consider as an example a national survey of
drug use. The simplest design would be to sur-
vey people once and report on these findings:
This would be cross-sectional. The three lon-
gitudinal designs would be characterized by
the qualities described below.
Trend study. The data from this year's na-
tional survey of drug usage could be set
against data from the last 5, 10, or more.vcars.
In this way, comparisons could be made
across time. However, the national sample se-
lected for study this year would not be the
same as that selected last year, 5 years ago, or
whenever. Thus if there were a reporting of
higher drug use this year, we could not say for
certain that this was due to an increase in drug
usage, because it might only mean that our
sample this year tended to draw dispropor-
tionately on drug users. Such changes may
come about because of the effects of factors
such as migrating and mortality which pro-
duce differences in
samples across time.
Neverlheless, data from more than one time
point can, across time, offer strong evidence of
changing trends.
Cohort study. A cohort is a group ofpersons
who were born within the same time period.
Sometimes we refer to such groups as gener-
ations. We would refer to those born in the
1930s as depression-era babies. We also often
refer to groups who participated in an histor-
ical event; those who were young men and
women during the First World War are part
liT11
PART TWO
of the war generation. Note that in this ex- increase. (Now there couid still
be various
ample, such war generation individuals would planations for this. perhaps
ex_ sophomores were then seniors and
the 19g0
have been born approximately 20 years before th. senior,s were
the war.
has more access to the finances "l;;;;;;
needed to buv
2 years bei,ond high school. A
third follow-up was canied out in tqg+ ana
this expensive commodity.
We are also familiar with referring to the H"r.";;,;;; ;;i fourrh in 1986. Nore rhat by 19g4, those
a
could not be sure whether th. ,".1i;.;;;;; l9g0
1960s as a special era. But who was the gen- were continuing rheir habir anO seniors who had gone directly to college
joinJ and
eration ofthe sixties? Those born in the 1950s being slayed would be graduating; anO Uy
by others or whether th. .udi.;-;;;;, DSO
who were growing up in the I 960s, those born dropped it and the current group
;;; those sophomores in l9g0 *i,o tuO
ione to
in the 1940s u,ho were young adults in the .onsist.d oi college in 1982 would be graduating.
earlier nonusers.) Cohort ,trOi.,
1 960s, or those born during the i 960s who are
._plrurii. Responses to the varjous,uruay, must
qualities of age groups over be
time.
the 1960s cohort? Probably we consider those linked so that the responses from tr.iary
lones,
born in late 1940s and eariy 1950s, who were Panel study. One of the best wavs to who was a sophomore in 19g0, are paiied
with
young adults and leenagers in the 1960s, as mea- her responses in l9g2 when she *ur
.I3ne. is to srudy the same u ,.niol,
being most characteristic of the sl"xlies l.rt. f trsl.you
lme. iropl, ;;;, with her responses in 19g4 *ir.n ,fr" .ornl
sample a group al one poinl
generation. in pleted a community college, and
ltme and lhen retum al a later iime with her re_
Cohorts are usually studied not in the time to ask rhe sponses in 1986 when she was employed
same questions again. Then in a
period they are formed, during their birth by b.inging io_ large organization. As ,tut.a uUoul,
gether the responses of the ,u.t
years, but at a future time. Furthermore, they see whether a characteristic
subjects, ;#; linked dara on individuals provide *;.iG;t
are usually studied comparatively with an ear- ues or whether it is taken up,
o, uir;ruA. .*ir- material for the study of change. One
can
lier or later cohort. But what should form the and dropped, study changes in attitudes for the same per-
over lime. you are in a much ,,ro"g.,
confines of a cohort? Often instead of speci- p*i sons over time and changes in aspirationi
try ro relare rhis parrern (a chingeor as
fying the birth years to form a cohort, age :':1,o
contrnuatron)
a the individ.uals are exposed to different
expe_
to other qualiries of the in-OiviO_
groups are used. ual. panel studies lend themselves nences and statuses across the course
of life.
Returning to the example of a study on to much In fact. a whole new interest in sociologicat
more rigorous forms of analysis re_
drug users, the data for such a study wouid *ran otfte, search in the ,.life
course', often depJnds on
types of studies.
probably be given within age groups. [.et's say the analysis of panel datasers (a few-of
In considering a panel study on which
it was reported in age groups: 15-19,20-24, ,
data from a sample oljunior frigf-r
drug use. have followed the same lnCivlOuals from
25-29,30-34,35-39, etc. Assume that a sim- c€nls mrght be collected. rhen the
,.fr""j ,i* childhood to old age). Individual ..r.ur.t.r,
ilar study was done five years ago: those who respondents
ro urrs sample mighr be followed rarely collect their own panel data, because
it
were in the 15-19 age group five years ago up both dur_ ls tlme-consuming, expensive, and diftcult
ing and after higJr school. Follod,r, to
would now be ih the 20-24 age group, those in sample ofrespondents would not
;;; do. However, many fine panel datasets
have
Ihe 20-24 age goup five years ago wouid now b..;rt.
might need access ro ,.r,oot inro.*uiion
t;; been made available to researchers at
modest
be in the 25-29 age group, and so on. Ifcom- find out ifthejunior high school
lJ costs.
parisons were made within these age cohorts, students vou
were looking for were currentiy
there would be somewhat greater evidence in u pu.ti.uL,
high school. you woulcl also want
upon which to base conclusions about change. ; PROPOSING A RESEARCH PIAN
Remember, however, that the 20-24 age
respondents themselves to provide ";k;;
their Once a research problem has been formulated
home addresses during tire first
su.ue,v so tl;i and subjects lor a study have been
group cohort is nol comprised of the same in- you could locate them for lateruuru.yr. deter_
dividuals as the 15-19 age group studied five mrned. the actual means for carying ou1
The dataset thal Coleman and his the
years ago. associ_ research project must be established.
ates used for the public_private This is
sci.loot sruOu the proposal-writing stage of research when
Assume that five years ago, 10 percent of was the fircI. wave of a longitLrdinaf
the 15-19 age group reported using cocaine, pan-i the overall plan for the project must
study. It was a narional sampli be set oui
but now 1 5 percent of the 20-24 age group re- of high sihooi tn logical order to see if it makes sense. For
sophomor-es and seniors in 19g0.
port such usage: this suggests that among that ti"r, io* many researchers, the object of this proposal
studenrs were then followed ,p
age cohort ofthe population there has been an
i^ f SgZ,--ih. writing is to try to obtain a grant to cover the
second wave of the study, wtren ttre iq80 expenses of tlie study. Whether or not you
are
I

l04rheDesignofsocialResearch
applying for a grant, writing a research pro-
posal should be useful. Using a method simi-
lar to one developed by Julian Simon (1969),
I will lay out a series of stages that you must
move through in order to complete a project.
Describing how you will carry out each stage
to meet the objeclives ofthe research project
comprises the research plan or proposal.
THE ELEVEN STAGES
OF A RESEARCH PROJECT
Stoge l: Define the Reseorch Topic
in your proposal the research topic should be
posed in such a way that it is clearly grounded
in the general social field relevant to it. lfyou
are studying alcoholism. you need to put your
research question into a framework which
suggeststhat you know something about al-
cohol consumplion and abuse. If you are
studying the effects of using computers in el-
ementary schools, you should offer some pre-
liminary information aboul the prevalence of
such equipment in the schools and what it is
used for, etc. In short, topics must be
grounded in
some already-known factual in-
formalion which is used to introduce the topic
and from which the research question will
stem.
Stoge 2r Find Or.rr Whot ls Known Aboul
the Topic
The beginning of this chapter has suggested
wa-vs for you to immerse yourself in material
relevant to the topic you want to study. Social
research topics are usually embedded in so
many different kinds of materials that the re-
searcher musl be careful to select the best ma-
terials to examine. Whiie everyone goes down
some blind alleys, you need to keep the central
meaning of your lopic in mind to guide you
through your search of the literature in the
rlF
PART TWo
field. It is also important to examine different
types of materials where relevant; quantita-
tive data interpretations, studies using various
methods.
For the research proposal, you should refer
to the most salient findings you have uncov-
ered which seem to raise significant questions
or which offer suggestions for avenues for you
to follow lor your project. You must be able
to draw out these findings from the studies in
which they are embedded and summarize
them succinctiy in such a way that someone
unfamiliar with the study can easily grasp
their meaning and importance. To help you to
do this, you should look at the background lit-
eraturc revicw sections which generally come
at the beginning of published research articles.
Most ol ihese reviews are very condensed;
they extract a few salient points from numer-
ous studies, summarizing them in a way that
is relevant to the study in question.
Stoge 3: Clcrify Concepts ond Their
Meosurement
This will be the subject of Chapter 5. The dis-
cussion of the language of science in Chapter
2, as well as the conceptual stage of the re-
search model developed in that chapter, are
relevant to this stage. Precision in conceptual-
ization is critical in the social sciences. and it
is not easy to achieve. Concepts like alcohol-
ism, autonomy, juvenile delinquency, and to-
kenism may all seem to be familiar terms.
However, the precise meanings you attach to
these concepts must be defined. and then an
appropriate way to measure concepts must be
found or devised.
In the proposal, a clear definition of the
main concept or concepts must be given. The
general question of measurement should be
discussed so that it is clear that the potential
problems in measuring the concepts have
been thoroughly thought out. These inciude
two crilicai rssues: validi.ty, that is, whether
the measurement ofa concept in facip.oAuces
a resultthat truly represents what the concept
is, supposed to mean, and reliability, th;i ;,
whether the measurement would l.ad
to .on_
sistent enough outcomes, were it to be re_
peated, that one could have some
confidence
in the results.
S^tqge : Estoblish on Approprioie Doto
Collection Method
Chapter I considered a number offine studies
representing three primary means of data col_
lection in the social scjences. Chaprers 7 to
9 wiil study, and whar shopping mall,,froufd
are devoted to explaining these methods in
detail so that you can use them to design and
carry out a survey based on questionnaires
or
interviews (Chapter 7), experiments in labo_
ralory or nalural settings (Chapter g), and
frcld merhods using different rypes of obser_
vation techniques (Chapter 9). Chapter t0
de_
scribes different forms of what might be
called
data selection procedures for using data that
have already been coilected. In reiding
rhese
chapters, remember that the same topi-c
may
often be studied with a variety of methods. '
Kanter's sludy of Indsco was an example
^ Once the topic, the background, the ciarifica_
ofa
research project that used more than one
method (questionnaires and interviews. as
well as participant obscrvation.; in irs design.
In addition, she examined certain compa"ny
records and other already available marerials
( company newsletters).
For rhe proposal. vou must describe how
you will collect data and which sources
of
available data you will actually use. Issues
of
access to the data are important to
discuss.
After all, you must be able to get the data you
propose. If you anticipate problems
in secur_
ing the desired data, these problems should
be
discussed and possible alternate ,ou...,
of
data might be suggested. Most studies have
one central type of method to be used (a
sur-
ve,v, an exp-eriment) though they
may also
draw on a few other data sourcis to *lO.n
their scope.
You must also plan how you are going
to
anaiyze the. data. Do you intend to
irniur.
with men, to contrast one drug riha_
-I-omen
bilitation program with another, to .*pjo..
the difference between length of rime
,dti;
a shopping mall by the average shopper in
terms of whether it is a covered or
out_of_
doors mall? Such inrenrions require rt
at tn.
planned czntrast be set inro tt.
,urnpfng Ji-
sign. Will you have comparable samplJs
of
*gp.n and men, which drug programs you
L.
selected?
In addition, you need to consider which
variables you plan to relate to one
another. in
Hirschi's study, he knew that he would
necJ
to measure sets ofvariables to test
each ofthe
theories he posed. So he had to ,.t.rt
u Oulu
collection merhod that could get the
data he
needed.
:
Sfoge 5: Consider the purpose, Volue,
ond Ethics of rhe Srudy
tion of concepts, and the major methods of
data collection have been presented. it is
time
1o address the purpose, value, and ethics
of
the study. In this book, discussion of these
kinds of questions was deliberateiy presented
early (in Chapter 3), before the discussion
of
concepts, measurement, or types of methods.
This was done to help you think through how
you would justifu your study in terms
of both
its rationale and the ethiial issues thar it
mightraise. But in a proposal the study design
must be presented before lhe rationale
aid
ethical issues involved can be discussed.
Re_
member that the rationale for doing
the p.oj_
ect will be accomplished only jf th;
sru;y-il
done well. By.showing that you have
devised
I
 106 TheDesignofSocial Research
a plan to study your topic that looks plausible
and seems feasible, you reinforce the sense
that the purpose will be achieved. The value
of the project lies not only in what it alone will
produce, but also in how it may add to or
challenge other research in the area.
The ethical issues are often confronted in
the data collection stage, for example, in
maintaining the confidentiality of the data,
in gaining access to the field, and in avoiding
deception as to the role of the researcher. If
these will be major issues in your study, they
should be addressed. Many universities and
colleges require students to have their projects
reviewed by a human subjects review com-
mittee. In any proposal seeking pubiic fund-
ing, potential ethical issues are ofgreat impor-
tance, and researchers who ignore such
subjects may be penaiized. Often it is neces-
sary to complete special protection of human
subjects forms. (This may be true for already
collected data that you plan to use as well as
for data you will coliect.)
Stoge 6: Operofionolize Concepfs ond
Design the Reseorch lnsiruments
This refers to the "nuts and bolts" of the
studl'. In a survey. the qucstionnaire or inler-
view schedule is the operationalized survey.
In an experiment, the operationalization of
the independent variable is the actual stimu-
lus. In field studies, this process ofoperation-
alizing occurs rather differently. It often must
wait until the fleld notes have been gathered.
Then the researcher may find evidence that
suggests certain meanings, at which time con-
ceptualizations are formed to describe and ex-
piain observations. Tc test whether the re-
searcher is accurate, he or she may go back to
the field to see if another instance of this op-
erationalized concept occurs. Chapler 5 will
address this subject.
Concepts are sometimes better measured
using more than one indicator ofthe concept.
PART TWo
Chapter 5 will also describe how measuring
multiple indicators of a concept can
strengthen your study. Developing indexes
and scales to measure complex concepts, a
topic to be addressed in Chapter 15, can help
to accomplish this goal.
In a survey, how the concapts are opera-
tionalized in the questionnaire will determine
what will be produced from the survey. Ifthe
concepts are poorly operationalized, the best
national sample and the fanciest statistical
routines wiil not make something useful of the
data. In the proposal, the actual way that the
concepts will be operationalized should be
spelled out. If a survey is to be carried out, it
is usually appended to a proposal. in addition,
the critical questions that measure the most
important concepts in the study should be dis-
cussed and their level of adequacy addressed.
Sroge 7r Select o Somple of Subiecis
to Study
The selection process for deciding what or
whom you will study rests on a large body of
thought about the nature of sampling. This
subject will be addressed in Chapter 6. Re-
member that even if you study your parents,
the residents of your block, or the dog next
door, all of these represent elements in some
type of sample. Many studies want to be able
to generalize their findings to others beyond
those studied. When probability samples are
used, it is possible to determine how represen-
tative your sample is of all the others out there
(the population) who might have gotten into
your study. Sampling plans may be very com-
plex or quite straightforward. When the rules
of probability are not followed and you mere-
ly select a sample of subjects who seem to ful-
fill the needs of your study, you have a non-
probability sample. For many studies, such a
sample is sufilcient; and for some, it is the best
that can be achieved. Whater.er the design of
your sample, it needs to be explained in detail
.L
in your proposal. It should be so precise that
someone else could generate a similar sample
by following your procedures.
Stoge 8r Collect fhe Doto
The separate chapters on the different meth-
ods (Chapters 7 to ll) will give many different
types of procedures that might be followed.
Each form of data collection has its special
concerns which need to be considered fullv
belore doing the srudy. This is why pretesrini
is so valuable, because it helps you to finO anj
address potential problems before thev enter
your study and cause bigger problems.
For the proposal, the plans for collecting
data should be described carefully. In a field
project, it is alwal's more difficult to be pre_
cise, and you may need to make changes once
the field is entered. Nevertheless, it is better to
have a clear plan that can be altered as you go
along than only some vague ideas that subse_
quentiy you cannot be sure you have
fol_
lowed. For an experiment, data collection pro_
cedures can usually be described u.ry
precisel,v. Thisis also true of a survey. Mail
surveys tend to have mirltiple stages in the
dala collection procedure to increase the r.e_
sponse rate. If you are usin! aheady available
data, you need to describe at this stage how
you will obtain the data.
Sroge 9: Process the Doto
Once the data are collected, they must be put
into a form which will enable them to be ana_
lyzed. If they are quantifiable data, you usu_
ally have to prepare them for the computer. If
they are field notes, they must be organized
and categorized. The chapters on the different
methods each describe preliminary forms of
data handling. Chapter 12 will examine how
quantifiable data are processed.
In the proposal, a concise statement mav
be included to address this subject. It may de_
scribe what type of computer facilities are at
the disposal of the researcher, what possible
sources of assistance are available. and whal
efforts are being made to increase accuracy
in the handling of the data. There urc no*
some technologicai advances in data gathering
which speed the process from data gatherin[
1o data entry. An example is the CATi
(Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing)
method-to be described in Chapter Z_now
becoming quite common for telephone sur_
veys. Interviewers cail from a computer ter_
minal and answers to the questions are di-
rectly entered into the computer by thc
inierviewer as they are given.
Stoge l0: Anolyze the Doto
How you plan to analyze the data must bo
thought through carefuliy while the study is
being designed. It is true that once the data arc
collected, there may be some changes in these
plans. Nevertheless, it is better to hive a strat-
egy that can be adapted than to end up wilh
piles ofdata for which you have no organized
plan. There are numerous analytic tJols lor
studying quantifiable data. A number ofthesc
will be described in Chapters
13 and 14.
The proposal should indicate the analvses
planned; il may suggesl thar some analytic
strategies will depend on how earlier ones turn
out. In a field study, only very preliminarv
plans will probably be possible.
Sroge I l: Fresent the Results
The data for an entire study may be collected,
but the research is not complete until the re-
sults of the study have been writren up. For
research projects which are funded, final re_
ports must be written. Most social research
projects become the basis for articles,
books,
chapters in books, or unpublished papers of-
lered at professional meetings. a singL stuAy
may lead to_.many and varied types of publi_
I

The Design of Social Research
cations and presentations. Chapter 1 7 will re-
view how the results ofa research project are
assembled for Presentation.
REVIEW NOTES
. Sources for finding research topics include
printed sources (books, journals, magazines,
newspapers), ongoing research projects, or
already available datasets.
. Three criteria to use in making a final selec-
tion ofa research topic are that it should be
feasible to study, it should be ofgeneral in-
terest to the researcher, and it should con-
tribute in some way to a greater understand-
ing of society.
. To intensify knowledge about a topic, con-
sult a library, use other written records or
documents, and talk to informed others.
. Other persons who may help to intensify
knowledge about a research projecl. arc rel-
evant researchers who have worked on such
projects, insiders who are familiar with a
field or subject, and intellectual comrades,
who are the persons with whom the re-
searcher can most easily and profitably talk.
. The four steps for turning a topic into a re-
searchable problem are (l) consider its most
problematic aspects; (2) define the aim of
the project; (3) state the topic as a question
(or series of questions); (4) develop a hy-
pothesis as one (amorr.3 many possible) al-
ternative, hypothesized answers to the re-
search question.
. The units ofanalysis in a study are the sub-
jects to be studied. They include individu-
ais, groups, programs, organizations and in-
' stitulions, larger communities (states and
nalions), cultural anifacls.
. Studies in which the data are gathered at a
single point in time are called cross-sec-
tional studies; those which gather data at
multiple points are longitudinal studies.
. The three types of longitudinal studies are
trend studies, in which data are compared
across time points on different subjects; co-
tr:i-.
l
CHAPIER 4 Defining a Researchable Topic and proposing ptan
i a Research 109
:
hort studies, in which data on subjects from aspects, (2) define aim, (3) state as re_ ing^Press., Morristown, N.J., 1976. This very
one age cohort (that is, individuals born searchable question, (4) develop hypoth_ useful guidebook discusses library research and
within a certain period of time) are com- esls. sources ofdata. Includes a glossary olstatistical
pared at different points in time; and panei 2. Assume that you have defined a research_ terms.
studies, in which the same subjects are com- able topic to be that "Urban police are less 2. McMillan, Patricia, and James R. Kennedy, Jr.:
pared across time. satisfied with their jobs than police work_ Library Research Guide to Sociologlt, pierian
. The eleven stages ofa research project are: ing in the suburbs." Briefly write out how Press, Ann Arbor, Mich., 19g1. A praiiicalguidc
l. Define a research topic. you might carry out the next six stages
lor linding and using resources in the librarv for
2. Intensify knowledge about the topic. a social research project. Includes uerv *eli dc_
3. Clarify concepts and their measure- - (ltaees two to eight) ofthe research project.
3. What would be the best tirne veloped illuslrations of how to use panicular
dimension to reference works.
ments. use in
designing (1) the college athletes'
3. Reed, Jeffrey G., and pam M. BaxIer; Librarl,
4. Select a data collection method. study? (2) the police srudy? Use: A Handbook for psychologv, American psv_
5. Consider the purpose, value, and ethics chological Association, Washington, 1 9g3. Thls
ofthe study. work considers how lo define a topic. use psy_
RECOMMENDED READING
6. Operationalize concepts and design the chology abstracting serr.ices, search lor maicii_
data collection instruments. l. Bart, Fauline, and Linda Frankel: The Sludent als-(including carrying out computer searches),
7. Select a sample. Sociologist s llandbook,2d ed., General Learn_ and psychological tests and measures.
8. Collect the data.
9. Process the data.
10. Analyze the data.
11. Write up the results.
KEY TERMS
available data
cohort studies
description
explanation
exploration
cross-seclional time dimension
govsrnment-collected data
longitudinal time dimension
panel studies
planned contrast
printed sources
research plan
research proposal
researchable problem
trend studies
units of analysis
STUDY EXERCISES
1. How might you turn the topic of college
varsity athletes not graduating from college
into a researchable problem for study? Go
through the four steps: (1) list probiematic
I
 .
:rl
i
'l
From Concepts lo Operatioilalization to the
- CONCEPTS
We use glgpllall the rime in everyday life.
@sweemplovtoexr
plgn
From Concepts term like happiness. We learnlillrelatively
early age that happiness means the state of
to Operationalization being happy. We also learn to use this term in
evaluating experiences and phenomena which
to the Measurernent we perceive as making us happy (or unhappy).
Thus, the term happiness represents a con_
cept, or abstract idea, which we apply to par_
of Variables ticular situations.
But wait a minute. Ask yourself, what is
happiness? When did you iast see il? !\'ho
has
it? Where do you get it from? Can you get
rid
of it? How can you use a concept all the time
that seems so vague and so diffcult to define
INTRODUCTION th-at it is not easy to think about it carefuily?
What would be a satisfying definition of this
concept? John Stuart Mill, the English philos_
opher, suggested this kind ofproblem wien he
1- remarked that in asking ourselves whether we
,[ he object of this chapter is to introduce are happy we immediately cease to be so. In
you to the central intellectual effort required by social research: How to move from fact, the happiness that we refer to ail the time
abstract concepts to operational definitions and from operational definitions to the spec- is not a concept which we could easily define.
ification and measurement of variabies. Once this process has been described in general In everyday life, of course, we rarely need
terms. it wili be illustrated and elaborated in some detail by an examination of how two to ask ourselves exactly what a conce;l like
happiness means in general terms. It is usually
very different abstract concepts came to be measured by social researchers. The reason
enough. for us to say (with Snoopy) that.,hap_
for concentrating on a history of the development of the two measures is to help you to
piness is . . . [a parricular thing];iin
see what kinds of strategies may be emploired when trying to develop operationally de- short. *e
don't often ask what happiness is apart from
fined measures for abstract concepts. The two concepts were selected because (1) they
the things that make us happy. We simpiy
use
represent different starting points in conceptuaiization (one is a sin:ple everyday term, the term to describe or evaluate particular sit_
the other an artificialiy constructed term) and (2) because the t1,pes of instruments de- uations. While hqpa-inesl
ir
a psycholosical
l'eloped to measure these two concepts represent contrasting solutions to the measure- rqr[lq]4!sd-,!93gare--ql!sinsq ris
ment problem. eruUall! lsed to desc
We will then move from this more specific discussion to a more general considera- rql?r.renr;ht-ps qmong_giliyilqb_ol_heilAn
tion of measurement, describing the central ways to assess the quality of measurement, i ndryri u-als-and gloups or o.e"o r,,;1 fi;.
namely, validity and reiiability. In the course of the discussion on reliability, brief at- TUuqc4n qlbel_heppiLetlis_ofteilh€Ie
sqlt-gl so_qlq&s(ql-sge!_uilesr. our u nEr-
tention will be paid to classical test theory which underiies its meaning. Subsequently,
standing of the concept develops as we im_
the four different levels of measurement will be compared and expiained. Finally, the
prove our ability to relate it to particular
measurement characteristics of six commonly used social research variables will be
phenomena. To say ..I am happy"'or ..This
presented.
makes me happ-v" refers to u speiific piece
il0
Medsurenlenl oJ L,ariables
expenence. It only makes sense, however,
to
describe particular experiences in this way'be_
cause the idea of happiness logically impties
the possibiliry ofits opposite, nirn.ty, unilup_
d piness. At the same time that we
apply the
concept to particular, concrete experiences.
we are aiso relating it in an abslracl
other concepts. Ifhappiness were not defined
wav to
logically in relation to other concepts. it would
simply make no sense for us to use it. In other
words, a czncept involves logical relations.
Now let's consider a more unusual con_
cept, that of authoritarianism. This is not
a
term we use in everyday life. instead. it is a
concept that was developed by sr_rcial scien_
tists to explain a phenomenon which came
to
be recognized after the Second World War:
the state of mind that disposed individuals
accept lhe kind of authoritarian regime
appeared most dramatically in Nazi
to
that
Ger_
many. In this case, a number of beliefs
and
opinions, which appeared to be logically
nected to one another and to the tinO
con_
lf U._
havior the social scientists were trying to ex_
plain, were drawn together to form
concept-auth oritarianism.
i single
The effort to make sense of things by delib_
erately constructing general .on..pt, (which
seems to be lhe cor,"ect way 1o describe
the de_
velopment of the concept of authoritarianism)
m-ay seem in some respects to be the aonu..r.
ofthe way in which the concept ofhappiness
is used- Happiness may seem to be pari
tf ou.
basic repertory ofideas, which can-be
singled
out and applied in specific inslances ,here*ap_
propriate, while authorilarianism,uu,...
at to be a much more technicat ana artinciat
vention. Remernber, however, that in
ln_
devel_
oping the concept of authoritarianirm, ,o.iul
- scientists were not just drawing tt ei.
iOeas out
of thin air. They were reflecting on ott ., ..-
iated concepts and on the appiicabiiity
of
these concepts to particula. pt.no*.nu
in
everyday life in order to develop a new
con_
of cept which r/buld mcre accurately capture
the
I

ll2 TheDesignofSocialResearch
complex nature of the appeal of antidemo-
cratic ideology.
OPERATIONALIZING
DEFINITIONS
Our concern about whether we could define
happiness occurred because happiness is a
concept which refers not to a specific thing
that can be seen or heard, but 1o an abstract
idea that is not easy to put into general terms.
In the philosophical study ofthe meaning and
use of definitions, three types of definitions
have been isolated: real definilions, nominal
inirion of a triangle as a .tir1e.e-q4!9{--1 gyre.'
Outsfie ttie abstract realm of mathematics, -
however, philosophically real definttions may
be sought after, but rarely achieved. We could,
for example, define happiness as a feeling of
well-being, but that would tell us very litlie
about its ultimate nature or essence. From
this perspective, Snoopy's definition of hap-
piness-"happiness is ... [whatever]"-is an
ironic commentary on the fact that a real def-
inition ofhappiness, taken in the abstract, al-
wavs seems to elude us.
When nineteenth-century English philos-
opher John Sluart Mill said, "By happiness is
intended pleasure, and the absence ofpain; by
unhappiness, pain, and the privation of piea-
sure," he was providing not a real definition
but a nontinal definirion, one that specified
themeiiinfand components of the term for'
-
lhe Dumoses oI ngorous pnllosopnlcal ln-
@tupp*.rt
in positive terms, on the one hand, as the
pleasure resulting from some form of good
fortune and in negative terms, on the other
hand, as an absence of problems (or pain).
ji
PART TWo
Both these aspects could be embraced in a def-
inition ofhappiness as a feeling ofwell-being.
If we decided to use Mill's definition, we
would have established a nominal definition
of happiness. N_ote-that we wguld not hare-de-
fiqgd the esqeglqglybat h4ppiless is. but-we
would have moved tow4$ a-w-qkiqg&)fini-
ti rus,".b1illcat-andJrecise.
"Alryfire]i:itt
As social researchers, however, we would
not only want to develop a nominal definition
of happiness. We would alsolanllg iglglqp
a way of studyindJillniTFEr:wolds. Ye would
want t0 'operationalize" o-!rr dejfrnition. that
ix we woutd rlalt to devels1snJlp!!4lJonal
'd,ejlllpn.How could we do this? One thing
we could do would be to go back to our obser-
valion that there might be two qualities of
happiness, the pleasurabie feeling resulting
from good fortune and the absence of prob-
lems (note that these are not the converse of
each other, but two separate qualities). We,
. woulcl call these two differenl qualities tbgdr-
r?r'@@Ho*
couroG in.n .iplort tE6iAmensions more
fully? What empirical observations could we
make in order to sludy the experience ofhap-
piness? In answering these questions, we
Let's take an example of a situation illus-
trating the positive dimension of pleasure re-
sulling from the presence of good fortune. We
might assume that someone who won a lot of
money in a state lottery would have been pre-
sented with "good fortune." Suppose we see
on television a group offactory workers who
have shared a large lottery prize. They are
smiling, throwing their arms around each
other, and they seem to be quite elated. Nat-
urally, we assume that these winners
are
happy. But what if we wanted to measure /zon,
happy they are? What couid we look for that
would indicate their degree of happiness? We
might obsen'e the degree of their smiling, hug-
ging, or o.ther behavior indicating the deoth of
their happiness. Or we might question them
and find out just how much they think their
winnings will matter in changing their eco-
nomic situations (in altering their fortunes).
From efforls like these, we might conclude
that the winners were very happy, or quite
happy, or not so happy. Ofcourse, in making
this judgment, we would in effect be compar-
ing their behavior with the behavior we would
expect from similar winners in similar
situations.
Notice that in observing these winners, qe;
have identifred a number ofactions or behav-
iorsrha@a-
lorsttharis,m@
happy the winners are. In social research
terms, we hal,e operationalized the good for-
tune dimension ofour definition ofhappiness
by identify'ing indicators of it. We have used
variations in these indicators, such as the de-
gree of smiling, etc., as measures of the win-
ners' degree of happiness, and we have done
so by implicitly comparing what we have seen
in this case with what we would expect to
have seen in others. Of course, there might be
some variation among the winners in their de-
gree of happiness. and if we observed olher
winners of big lotteries, we might find more or
less similar reactions, which we woulcl then
label as indicators ofhappiness.
If some winners are ill or have some other
personal problems. for example, they might be
unable to respond to winning the lottery with
as much happiness as winners without such
problems. To appreciate more fully how
happy the lottery winners are, we might also
want to ask them about the absence or pres-
ence of problems in their lives. These indica-
tors ofthe second dimension ofhappiness (the
absence of pain or problems) would reinforce
our sense that what we were labeling as hap-
piness realll,was happiness. In such cases, if
we had evidence on both the presence ofgood
fortune and the absence of problems, we
would have,!
! !t!!l
d!:gJ9f_ot happi ness.
(Latcr ln the chapltr, when we discuss relia_
bility of measures, we will see thal multiple in-
dicators make the measurement inslrument
more likely to have higher reliability or con-
sistency.) The more complex a concept is, the
more desirable it is to have multiple indica-
tors, since they are more likely to cover ail the
dimensions of the concept.
Let's recapitulate our discussion of the
concept of happiness. First we started with
John Stuart Mill's definition of happiness as
the presence of pleasure and the absence of
pain (a nominal deflnition). Then we recog-
nized that this definition distinguished 1wo
separate,'dimensions of |he concept of happi-
ness. Next, we operationalized the definition
by taking each ofthe dimensions ofthe con-
cept-the feeling of pleasure deriving from
good fortune and the absence ofpain or prob-
lems-and looked for actions or behaviors to
serye as,indicators of them. (Of course, con-
cepts do not necessarily have two dimensions.
They may be unidimensional-they may have
.o$y,9ne, dirfr ension-r-o f ' thdt' may"b- muh i
1dimgnsio_nal-they may have b' numberiof
dimensions.)
Finally. we observed variation in the mea-
surement of the indicators which suggested
that h.appine-ss_occlus_u-Jarying_degrees. In
social research terms, this means that ge
m.olld_lism_ha pp i n ess-as_a_eotcqplle_h4p-
prne_ss as a
lg!!Ae.Lel's say rhar we u'anted
to go oneltep d;her and ask what orher dif-
ferences there were between winners who ap-
peared to be "very happy" (as measured by
our indicators) and those who appeared to be
"pretty happy." In that case we would be
using happiness as a measured variable, and
we would be asking how variation in this
variable might be related to variation in
another variable (which would have to be
I
I

I ttq fncDcsipnofsocialResearch pART Two

t""
defined and measured by the same process of through precisely what happiness is, they took tists at_Berkeley. This research
cuiminated in BOx 5-t
operationalization). a shortcut through the philosophical discus- the wetl-known work, fn,,suiloiitir;iir-
sion to find a way of getting al a measure of n
!! ),,(! ll y p u
s 0 t 9.6.9: orj gin a sr,.O n- i e 01.
Ur i o*,,o*,ANrsM As
happiness. In the language which we have rn rhinking abour prejudiced artirudes
I S
Ilh3lj[:$,iii"?:,tilf
OPERATIONALIZATION AND used so far, Bradburn and Caplovitz first de- such as anlisemilism and
MEASUREMENT dogmaric tendency ro glorlfy
eihnocenr;r_ ,;; The nine dimensions include,

";; ;;;;;;
cided to use a respondent's self-report as an
indicator ofhappiness. Then they had to work a-no cast aspersions on
In considering how one might operationalize other groups), rh--e au- L Conventionolism, Rigid odherence
out a way of measuring variation in that in- to
the concept of happiness, we have talked 1lo1r
,h.gygtrt rhey saw a common
fearure in ventionoJ, middle-closs volues.
con_

dicator. They did this by devising a series of ari rne drlterent types of prejudice
about the example of a group of factory work- they srud_ 2. Authoritorion submission,submissive,
leq: a more general. unquestioning uncriti_
ers winning a state lottery (an event that oc- categorical responses to the question "Are you Uetief ;n col ottitude toword ideolized
morol ouil.Lori_
curred in New York in 1985). We suggested happy?" (Actuaily they dressed the question authority, to which they gave the name
ties of the group.
that if one were to do a study of iottery win- up a littie bit by asking: "Taking all things to- authoritarianism. 3. Auth,oritorion oggression: Tendency
to be
ners like this, one might try to measure such gether, how would you say things are these What were the dimensions on ihe lookout for, ond fo condemn,
of this new reiect,
indicators as the expression of their joy, the days?"). Then they simply gave the respon- .?1.1n1: Box 5-l gives rhe nin. uriituC., ond punish people who uiolot"
.onuuntionoi
wnrcn the researchers came volues.
absence of other overriding problems, etc. dents the option of replying that they were 10 deflne as the di_
4. Anti-introception; Opposition
This would be a pretty good way of measuring "very happy," "pretty happy," or "not too mensions ol aurhorirariarir,".
DJ;;;'i;; to the subjec-
dimensions involved thinking tive, the imogjnotive, the render_minded.
happiness ifone were only interested in study- happv." -
5. St,perstition ond srereorypy,
ing lottery winners. Social scientists, however, Once they had it measured, the researchers series of attirudes thar might "b";;;ffi;
b" ;;";i"t.; The beliel in
mysticol derermi,lonls o{ the ;ndivid,ol,s
could examine the other qualities of those mth rhe concept and examinling
would probably want to look for a more gen-
ship to
rh.i;.;#; fore; the disposirion to think in
rigid ;e-
eral way of operationalizing the concept of who were more or less happy. In other words, one another. This process
would en_ gories.
happiness, one that could apply to a wide Bradburn and Caplovitz were able to relate able them to establish a comprehens;u. 6. Power
-*ii.t
opr._ ond toughness, preoccupolion wifh
range of particular circumstances. For this the response to the happiness question, their ational nition of authoriiu.iuoir.
defi dominooce-subm.ssion, sr"ong-weok,
leoder_
logically seemed to fit the abstract
reason, I would now like to turn from the hy- dependent variable, to a host of other factors.
authoritarianism.
.;;.;;;; lollower dimens on; idenrificolion
Iigures; overemphosis on thu
with power
pothetical example we have been using to a In the discussion of validity later in the chap- .onuuntionol_
Having identified the dimensions ized ottributes of the ego; exoggeroted
real attempt to operationalize happiness in a ter, the efforts taken by Bradburn and Caplo- of their os-
seriio" ot st.engrh ond roughne5!.
social-scientifi c study. vitz to validate their measure of happiness new concept, the researchers
next had to de_ _
/. ueslruclir'eness ond cynicisn, Generolized
will be considered. y3v: of measuring rhem. A g."ro .Oi,
l.loP
rrantel
f nosrili'y, vilillcotion or ,he hurron.
J. Levrnson. a psychologist in-the
re_
-
B. Prolectivity: The disposiiion to
Meosuring Hoppiness search team. prepared a series believe thot
Meosuring Authoritorionism
of statements wlld, onf dongero..rs tnrngs
go on in
When Norman Bradburn and David Capio- expressing the attiludes in each tl^e
dimenrlon. *n wor,d; the projecl.on outword
o{
Earlier in this chapter, I lalked aboul autLtor- thar respondenrs could uncon_
vitz at the National Opinion Research Center b. ,rk;J
their levei of agreement o. alrug...*.ni.-O"ii:
i;'.;; sctous emolionol jmpulses.
(NORC) undertook a project in the mid-1960s itarianism as a concept developed by social 9. Sex, Exoggeroted concern wiih
sexuol
to measure the concept ofhappiness in a sur- scientists to try to make sense ofthe appeal of ferent groups of statements
therifore ,.;.;;; " goings-on. "

vey, their efforts were met with some ridicule. antidemocratic ideas. The concept was for- the indicators of each dinr.nrio;.-i;;.;;;
At some level, the idea that social scientists mulated by members of the Institute for So- "Yo.ung people sometir.,
:111i1.1,, g.r ,._ Source, Adorno er ol., 1969, pp.
can measurs a concept like happiness seems cial Research established in Frankfurt, Ger- bul as they grow up rhey ougnr 255_257
,r^.,,lLrr ld-."i;
ro_ get over them and
ludicrous. How could one possibly measure so many, in 1923. Forced into exile with the rise settle down.,.'Unier
"personal and subjective a phenomenon"? of Hitler in 1933, the researchers came to the which.dimension do you rhink
ir *oul; lulji "A person who has bad manners,
Bradburn and Caplovitz decided upon a very United States and continued their work, first rlnce lt.relers to the giving up habits, and
ofrebellious or
at Columbia University in New York and unpopular ideas, as the proper can hardly expecl to
straightforward approach: to ask people di- thing for a ma_ 9:::9:*people" I.as
oecent
ser along wirh
rectly how happy they were. later at the University of California at Berke- ture person to do. it suggests seen as an indicitor af
approval oferrr_ c0nveiltionalisra. Notice that
Ihey did not join the ley. Their efforts led to a series of studies of tng tn 10 those in control. Thus the
scores of philoso- agreem"ent was written jn a way that placed Uur.*.nl
phers who have pondered the true meaning of prejudice (antisemitism and ethnocentrism) with this statement was a high;r;
considere d" ;;;; on gelting along with other people.
the concept of happiness. Instead, avoiding conducted by T. W. Adorno, in collaboration cat or of aut hor it a r ian sub mi ss io n. ^; this desire for conlormity a
anO guu.
the potential hang-up of trying to think with a team of psychologists and social scien- Similarly. agreement with the
statement Dy usrng such loaded rerms
moralisric oualirv
as bad and dec.eii.

I
 I 16 The Design of Social Research
(It may seem a little humorous to you, be-
cause atlitudes like good breeding are no
longer laken as seriously as they were in the
1950s, but think about how briiliantly the
statement was de\.ised in order to tap under-
lying attitudes without making them too ex-
plicit. I will say more later on about the art of
devising good ilems like this.)
Working in this way and testing the effec-
tiveness of different statements as they went
along, the researchers eventually agreed upon
a set of statements for each dimension to rep-
resent the overall concept of authoritarianism.
The respondents' level of agreement or dis-
agreement with each statement was measured
on a seven-point scale from *3
(strongly
agree) to (strongly disagrr:e). The total
-3
score, based on averaging the score for all the
statemenls, then became the measure of the
respondents' degree of authoritarianism.
This way of operationalizing and measur-
ing authoritarianism was called the F-Scale
(Fascism Scale) by its inventors. it became
one of the most widely used and most influ-
ential attitudinal measures ever developed.
One of the fascinating things about the F-
Scale is that it played such a large role in the
development of other measures of complex
concepts in social psychology. Unsatisfied
wilh certain aspects ofhow the concept ofau-
thoritarianism had been operationaliy de-
fined. a stream ofother researchers moved out
to develop new measures that reflected varia-
tions from or refutations of the original con-
cept. In this continuing process of operation-
ahzalion, the concept itself was refined and
redefined.
Comporing the Meosuremenf of
Authoritoriqnism to the Meosuremenl of
l-loppiness
Ifwe compare the efforts to measure authori-
tarianism with those of measuring happiness,
we see a very interesting contrast. Happiness
PART TWO
is a commonplace concept that everyone uses
all the time and no one bothers to define. In
fact, happiness is such an abstract concept
that it would be extremely hard to define it" in
any satisfactory way. What did Bradburn and
Caplovitz do with this abstract concept? They
merely took the concept as largely given, and
operationalized an indicator by asking per-
sons to report how happy they were. In other
words, they greatly simplified the con-
cept-to-operationaiization phase and moved
swiftly to the operationalization-to-measure-
ment phase.
In comparison. the operationalization of
the concept of aulhoritarianism was a much
more complex matler. Adorno and his col-
leagues virtually invented the concept of au-
thoritalianism (which was not used in every-
day life) as a means of measuring the
underlying dynamics of prejudice. They then
defined the concept operationally by devel-
oping a set of indicators to represent what
they had defined as the various dimensions of
authoritarianism. This operationalized con-
cept, developed first as a measure of the po-
tential for antidemocratic ideology, came to
be applied more widell' and diversely to dif-
ferent tirpes of social situations and experi-
ences. Thus, for Adorno and his colleagues,
the concept-to-operationalization phase was
cenlral to their efforts. The operationaliza-
tion-to-measurement phase was a secondary,
though very important, effort.
This contrast is also representative of two
of the most important trends in the develop-
ment of measurement in the social sciences.
The efforts of Bradburn and Caplovitz to mea-
sure happiness are characteristic of the rela-
tively simple and straightforward (and some-
what nonphilosophical) means that survey
resealchsrs have deveioped lor measuring
concepls, by devising simple questions that
require self-reports. The efforts ofAdorno and
his colleagues are higirly characteristic of the
more ambitiorrs (if never fully satisfactory) ef-
CHAPTFR From Conceprs ro opcrationalization tu rhe Measure,.tenl
o.f-rlariabre.s
forts by social psychologists 1o operationalize them. However, the whole authoritarianism
complex.psychological concepts by develop- scale (the F-Scale) can also be considered a
ing scales. variable because the measured responses can
be combined into a single measure of
variation.
THE MEASUREMENT OF
VARIABLES
Measurement is the central concern olali sci- DEFINING MEASUREMENT
ences. As we saw in Chapter 2, measurement The most common definidon of measuremenl
appeared in Wdlace's scientific process model presented in the literature is one first offered
between observations and empirical general- by S. S. Stevens:
izations in the inductive half of the model and
between hypotheses and obsenations (de-
fined as instrumentation and scaling) in the
deductive half of the model. Th_1{ogrnglglion
that measurement is not Let's look at this definition carefullv. It con-
tains two.parrs.
end. Without good measurement, the @a_
goali oficientific research are unatrainable. In 4,oilf aa
s9le,T,e11,,iq
? ienfi;;;m-
bers-whiqh inuolu.r o.ifnr-ing rffio,
'social research.
lhe r:esgarcher must rt.r.uil sequenrially. Secondjt specifies that whar you
nsons. and aredoingmusffil
w h j ch lays o u r t h e pri n udero-ifin=FGEai, re=
m€nt system (Borgatta and Bohrnstedt, 1990,
good measurement is to capture variation in p. i5l).
an operationally defined variable. This section
will discuss what is at stake in trying to do
Therq is also a thi'd rivirv
whie_h is imnlied in rhis clefinition: rh;iiii;
this.
irter thrr e"id. m.ar O";nn
.As shown in the previous section. meaj .$autishinga t
surement requires the identificarion otiri- observed ix-iLii-si-furr-.taglg
.qr1cs lr-a,'iab1" is a t.m ffi word
srmeruUUyancr one resull orrnii[d
tsrpcan plenomena,(or, tv0eS'ijf pheiioiiienhl are
:i,':?t;:ii.lfl':91"i111"'
Dled to anvthing th th:
be ep; G.
scieiitific Study..For example, in tir. n-ppiniil
t:: ,l "humbar (nohrnsteJi,
1983, p. 70).
study, the question "Taking all things to_ Here's an example. Suppose you are mea-
gether, how would you say things are these
suring the variable Educational Attainment.
days?" produces measurable variation by of_ You decide to use Number ol years of Edu_
fering the response categories: Very Happy, cation Completed to represent the variable of
Prett-v Happy, and Not Too Happy. fne que5_
educational attainment. A person finishing el-
tion (with irs set of possible ,iupo"rri; i, ementaiy school would be assigned an g (for
therelore thoughl of as a variable. In the au_
8 years of schooling). a person r.r'ho droppcd
thoritarianism study, each of the separate out of high school in tenth grade would be as-
statenents might also be considered a varia_
signed a 10, a graduate of a 2-year college
bie. since they too are capabie ofcapturing
the would be assigned a 14, a holder of a masterls
measurable variation in the responses 1o
degree would,'be assigned an 18.
I

I l8 The Design ofSocial Research
Now let's go over the steps in this mea-
surement process:
1. You define a phenomenon, educational at-
tainment, as a variable which includes dif-
ferent levels at which education is termi-
nated to which you assign conesponding
numbers according to the number of years
of education completed.
2. You observe that a particular subject has a
particular educational attainment level.
3. You select the number representing the ed-
ucational termination point which corre-
sponds to the educational attainment level.
That is a measurement!
However, in the social and behavioral sci-
ences, many of the variables that interest us
(as we saw with Happiness and Authoritari-
anism) are not as readily convertible to a nu-
merical scale as educational attainment. In
fact, many are no1 at all the "objects and
events" that Stevens spoke of. Carmines and
Zeller state the problem with Stevens's for-
mulation very cleariy:
Phenomena such as political efficacy, aliena-
tion, gross national product, and cognitive dis-
sonancg are too abstract to be considered
"things that can be seen or touched" (the defi-
nition ofan object) or merely as a "result. con-
sequence, or outcome" (the definition of an
event). In other words, Stevens's classical defi-
nition of measurement is much more appropri-
ate for the physical than [for] the social sciences
(1979, p. 10).
In place of this definition, they offer an-
other definition of measurement as an "ex-
plicit, organized plan for classifying (and often
quantifying) the particular sense data at
hand-the indicants-in terms of the general
concept in the researcher's mind" (Carmines
and Zeller, 1979, p. 10). What has changed
here is that "objects and events" have been re-
placed by "the general concepl in the research-
Tr:{
11
PART TWO
er's mind," and "numbers" has been leplaced
by "indicants." In other words, measurement
is the process by which empirical data are or-
ganized, in some systematic relationship to the
concept being studied. This definition of mea-
surement fits better with the kind of activity
in which social scientists engage when study-
ing phenomena which are not directly
observable.
Let's give an example here of trying to
msasure an abstract concept which has no
clear observable indicator. Suppose that we
are carrying out a door-to-door survey and are
required to determine the happiness of the
families being interviewed. Now how will we
iink our concept of family happiness to some
empirical evidence in these households? It
could be the case that when you go to the
Jones's door, Junior Jones has just thrown a
frying pan at his sister, and Mrs. Jones is
shouting at Mr. Jones, who is crying. In this
instance, our ability to link the behavior we
observe to our abstract concept offamiiy hap-
piness would be quite straightforward. But
this is not what we could expect to find at
most households.
What indicators could we use that would
fairly measure happiness from one household
to the next, and would these indicators be
truly iinked to our concept of family happi-
ness? Suppose we had decided to adopt Brad-
burn and Caplovitz's measure of happiness
and change it slightly to refer to howhappy a
family was. Now what if we went to the
Jones's house (with the frying pans flying) to
interview Mrs. Jones, and she claimed that
the family was "pretty happy"? Would we be-
lieve her? Wouldn't this response introduce
error into our careful measuring process?
All measurement leads to some error.
Measurement theory contends that, however
precise our instruments for measuring (and in
the social sciences our instruments are gener-
ally quite crude) and however careful our ef-
forts of observation, there will always be some
error introduced into our measurement. In
fact, the central formulation of measurement
theory siates that an observed measure (or
score) is equai to the true score plus the error
necessarily occurring in the process ofobserv-
ing the phenomenon. In short, all megsure;
:ment, contains some _deeree of {{!o;;.Al.a
meesuremcm erro-r. Epp though il is impos_,
sible to abolish all error,iEe aifr-is ro-Tedlce
it aSmuch as bossib
The most important criterion of the good_
ness of a measure ts its vgfufuy, tha_t_ls,
w@!rg(!rrnea.s_g,reisggglgqle_yvlat_illt_
te ndilqmeasqls jill?e*_ffiU!1]lef
,
measu relre censrslqn_L$lh_.lhar *nen ir i ile-
pegtgfu_qlqd. ir wiil lead ro rne same ,iiutts.
T h i s co n sl$cryy-il-a-easuremdii
s- r.ef-elred
ro-asJelablliUL. However, if a measure is nlt
valid, it is irrelevant if it is reiiable. Thus we
will first lurn to a consideration of validity,
before turning to a discussion ofreliabiiity.
VATIDITY
Put mosl simply. validiry addresses the oues_
ti w -A[1 mlglglle y!eurbdr;*;*-
sgnlg?" The validity of rhe previouslv dis_
cussed F-Scale of authorilarianism has been
challenged repeatediy. In developing instru_
ments to measure abstract concepts, the issue
of validity is critical. The questions that are
designed to tap an abstract concept must do
precisely that.
The validity of a measure depends upon
the correspondence between a concept and the
empirical indicators that supposedly measure
il. In short, validity is a property of a measur_
ing instrument that you want to test for. While
reliability addresses the consistency in mea_
surement, validity addresses the even more
critical issue of the "crucial relationship be_
tween concept and indicator" (Carmines and
Zeller,1979, p. 12), It should also be recog-
nized that validity is not synonymous with re_
Iiability. It is possibie for a scale to be reliabie
(i.e., it repeatedly produces similar responses
in similar situations) and still not be viid. As
mentioned above, a reiiable but invalid mea-
sure would be worlhless. There are a number
of methods to test for validity by determining
the association between a concept and the em-
pirical indicator(s) chosen to measure it. The
three methods described here test for content
validity, criterion-related validitv. and con_
srruct validity. (See the American psvcholog-
ical Association, 197 4.)
Confent Volidiry +
The most basic method of testing for validity
is to carefulll' examine the measure of a con_
cept in light of its meaning and to ask voursslf
seriously whether lhe measurement instru_
ment really seems to be measuring the under_
lying concept. This form of careful consider_
ation and examination is
a method of
establishing face validity (or what is some_
tirnes called "armchair" validity). In some in_
stances, an instrument may need to appear to
be measuring what it purports to measure,
even if another instrument which looked less
relevant-bul actually was valid-could
bc
used. For example, Allen and yen (1979, p.
96) suggest that in a test used to screen appfi_
cants for a job, it may be essential (for pur-
poses of public relations) to have questions
that seem to be relevant to the job even
il
other types ofquestions would be just as good
for selecting the best applicants.
HowJuer,
face validity is not an adequate test ofthe con_
tent validity of a measure.
Another method of testing for content va-
lidity asks whether the empirical indicators
(tests, scales, questions, or whatever) fully rep_
resent the domain of rueaning of the underlv-
ing-concept being studied (Bohrnstedt, 19gi,
p. 98). A simple way of understanding this
type ofcontent validity is to consider the ex_
ample of an achievement test. Suppose we are
developing a college board achievement test
I

l20TheDesignofSocialResearch
in American history. The issue is whether the
test items fairly represent the range of topics
and ideas that should be covered in American
history courses throughout the country. A test
that has content validity would be one that
samples fairly (selects without bias) from each
of the different parts of the domain of mean-
ing covered by the study of American history,
or that is truly representative of the full con-
tent ofthis subject taught in high schools and
presented in high school textbooks. This form
of content validity is often called sampLing tta-
lidity, because the object is to sample accu-
rately from the various domains. It is used
widely by educational psychologists and test
developers. Carmines and Zeller stress (1979,
p. 21) that for purposes of establishing sam-
pling validity, it is always preferable, in test
development, to create a greater number of
items for each part of the content domain
since i1 is easier to discard items than to add
new ones once the test is formed.
When the concept to be measured is more
abstract (as in the example of authoritarian-
ism), it is much more difficult to establish
content validity. This is lrue because the full
domain of content of such concepts has usu-
ally not been as fully agreed upon. In addition,
even when the domain is fully laid ou1, it is
much more difficult to develop a pool of items
large enough to represent each part ofthe con-
tent domain. Without a sufficient number of
items in each stratum, sampling from each
stratum cannot take place. For these reasons,
sampling validity is rarely tested for in vali-
dating measures of abstract social science
concepts.
Criterion-Relqted Volidity
Why are coliege board examinations given?
One reason is so that admissions omces can
select entering students. But how does the ad-
missions staff know that the college board
exams are measuring anything relevant to a
J',0,
i
pART TWo
student's success in college? The answer is
that college boards have been shown to be
highly related to students'academic success in
college. This is an example of criterion-reiated
validity. In other words, the vaiidity of the
college board examinations can be established
by showing that their results are highly asso-
ciated with a particuiar outcome, academic
success in college, which serves as Ihe crite-
rion of their validity.
In
such cases, two measures need to be
taken: the measure ofthe test itself(the set of
empirical indicators) and the criterion to
which the test is supposedly related. The usual
procedure is to use a correlation (to be de-
scribed in Chapter 16) between the measure
and the criterion to determine the criterion-
related validity. In the example given, the cri-
terion-academic success in college, usually
measured by college GPA-would be mea-
sured subsequent to the original measure of
college academic potential (the college board
examination). In such an instance, the crite-
rion-related validity is referred to as prediclive
validily, for the test scores purport to predict
future academic perlormance. I
In other cases, a criterion may be mea-
sured at the same time as the concept. Bohrn-
stedt offers the exampie of measuring religios-
it,v in terms of the seriousness of commitment
to religious beliefs and relating it to the fre-
quency ofattendance at church (or other place
of worship). In this case, a measure of the ar
titudes expressing a person's religious com-
mitment is related to a piece of evidence
about a person's religious behavior (attending
church). Because these are measured at the
same time, they are said to have concurrent
validity.
ICarmines and Zeller warn that since the sole reason for
accepting the criterion-relaled validity ofa concepl is the
strength ofthe correlation between the test and the
crilerion, even a nonsensical criterion (ifit could be
shown to be related to the test) would be proofof
criterion-related validit.v (1979, p. l8).
CHAPTER 5 From concepts to operationalizarion to the
Another example offered by Bohrnstedl
uses a technique for testing for validity based
on membership or affiliation wtlh a known
group, that is, a group known to support cer-
tain values, beliefs, and practices (19g3, p.
98). Suppose you develop a set ofquestions io
measure antiabortion attitudes. The validity
ofthese questions might be established bv re-
lating the responses to membership in rrght-
to-life organizations or fundamentalist reli_
glous groups.
The problem with criterion_related valid-
ity for much social-scientific research is that it
is often not possible to determine a relevant
criterion. Remember that the criterion must
represent not just some outcome that mighl
logically be related to the concept, but rather
a criterion ofevidence thal can serve as proof
that the measured concept (or test) represents
what i1 claims to represent. It is because of the
difiiculty in determining criteria for theoreti-
cal variables that construct validitv has been
developed to address this need.
Construct Volidity
Criterion-related validity is based on getting
some empirical evidence (such as college
grades) to serve as the basis for judging
thit
what is being measured (college board eiams)
really measures what it is supposed to mea_
sure (ability to succeed in college). This is an
empiricalh based form ol validiry, in which
some observable evidence can be used to con_
firm the validity of a measure. With more the-
oretical concepts, however, the form ofvalid_
ity testing itself must become more
theoretical. This is what characterizes con_
struct I'alidity.
Construct validity is based on forming hy_
potheses about the concepts that are
being
measured and then on testing these hy
potheses and conelating the results with the
initial measure. Carmines and Zeller offer a
fairly easy example to describe this. Suppose
Measuremenl oJ variables I2J
you have a measure of sel-f_esteem which you
want to validale. you might begin by devel_
oping hypotheses that set up expectalions
about what self-esteem might be likely to vary
with. If you hypothesized that self-esteem
would more likely be high among students
who participated in extracurnculai activitics
at schooi than among those who did not. then
vou mighr correlalt the self-esteem scale with
participation rates
in school activities as lr
means ofgathering one kind ofevidence that
the self-esteem scale was measuring what you
believed to be a part of the theoretical con_
struct of the meaning
of self_esteem (Car_
mines and Zeller, 1979, p. 23).
Box 5-2 describes how Bradburn and
Caplovitz tried to validate their measure o1.
happiness. Their efforts to relate responses
to
.feeling states (feeling bad and feeling good) to
their measure ol happiness is an eiarnple ol.
aiming for construct validity. By hypot^hesiz_
ing hou' their happiness measure should relatt:
to .another measure, and subsequently
by
seeing how far this turneci out to Ue ttre casc,
Bradburn and Caplovitz were able tr';
strengthen confidence in their own measure of
happiness and to offer evidence of construct
validity for the measure. In the course of
trying to establish the validity of their mea_
sure of happiness in this way, they came to
better understand the meaning ofthe concept
(or construct) of happiness itself
Naturally, you could offer greater support
^ construct validity if you
for tested a gieater
number of measures that you hypothesized
to
be reiated to the concept in question. Con_
struct validity increases as numerous
searchers correlate different measures based
re_
on hypotheses about the probable relations of
a concept. In some cases, ofcourse. these cor_
relations may turn out ro be negative. Over
time, such negative evidence (if iiis based on
theoretically sound hypotheses and carefully
developed measures to test the hypothesesj
may challenge the construct validitv of a
concept.
I
 ',3t'''i
I
i

I
I
BOX 5-2

VATIDATING THE MEASURE OF HAPPINESS

To strengihen the evjdence lhot their meosure of hopprness wos voltd,

Brodburn ond Coplovitz reloted it to siotements designed os "more de. Il [the measured concept, the scale, or would give the same response to
whateverl behaves inconsisiently the two ques_
loiled meosures of well-being." One set of stotements wos devised to meo- *ith th;;;_ tions over and over again?
sure "subiective feeling stotes which were conceptuolized os hoving posi- ical expecrations, rhen it i, uruoity
inirrl"i"tnut
tive ond negotive poles" lBrodburn ond Coplovitz, 1965, p. 15). Simply the empirical measure does
tended theoretical concept."nt,;p*r;;i;r;;_
- Consider first the variable ofage. This is a
faclual queslion for which tne
put, this meons thot Brodburn ond Coplovitz developed o series of sfote- Inste;d, it i, .on_ onjy ._;;;
ments, the responses to which would serve os indicotors for feeling good cluded that the measure lacks conrt*.f *fr,liiy change mighr be thar a person.;
birrhdav
that particular concept (Carmines might have occurred and rherefore
obout something, on the one hond, ond feeling bod oboul something, on .for _
Zeller, 1979, p.2Z).
and th; p;;;
ihe other hond. The following cotegoricol responses lBrodburn ond Cop- would be a year older. ffris *orfa
noi- oi
lovitz, 1965, pp. l6-171 were offered in onswer to the questron "How course be an example of unreliabilitv.
ore you feeling?"
Ho*-
Construct validity can also be ever, i/ou might find thal some
strength_ indlviduajs
ened if rhere is more than one empiricai ;;_ gave quite varying responses
each time vou
FOR THE POSITIVE SET: dicator being used 10 measure the
underlvins asked. Some elderly individuats
Pleosed obout hoving occomplished something
migi,i Ue u"nl
concepr. When rhis is the case. sure of their ages as a result of
Proud becouse someone complimented you on something you hod
each of the inl
dicators can be correlated wiih tfr.
,oifrrionl,
._i..""f foryetfulness. Orher individuut,,;;
done variable being used to test
il';;r;_
gling between the "socially O.riruOf..:rrg.?
for.onrtu; ;;li;:
On top of the world ity. If the two indicators relate in aine.ent sound younger (or. ilyoung. older)
and rhe rc-
ways to the external measure, allsltc urge 10 state a facl as one
Porticulorly excited or interesfed in something this suggests knows it.
that the two indicators are not in fu.t These examples suggest that..rpona.nrr;
Thot you hod more things to do thon you could get done
ing, the..same underlying concept
rnJirur- i..i
(Carmines 'nfl Tuy change their answers in wavs lhat
FOR THE NEGATIVF SET: and Zeller. 1979, p.26). will affect rhe reliability otrire responses "'*'
Voguely uneosy obout something without knowing why . i-or the question about presidentjat elhc_
tiveness, one would expect greater
So restless you couldn't sli long in c choir variation
RELIABITITY over time because the question rn.urur.r'un
Bored
,frung.l j"
Put simply, reliability is defined
auitude (which is often iubject to
Very lonely or remote from other people as the degree comparison ro a facl f*hich should
Depressed or very unhoppy
to which a procedure for measuring prodrices b! iess
subJecl to change). For slaunch
similar outcomes when it is repeateiis.;-C_: supponers ol
the President or, conversely, Ib.
Responses io the iiems in eoch set were combined to {orm on index (o form mines,and Zeller, 1979, p. f f Wf,V'm,eht
l.
,;;;h;;:
ponents of the president, responses
of meosurement to be described more fully in Chopter l5). This produced construcred queslion rn*;r;ri;;' ^ would 6e
o positive feelings index ond o negotive t'eelings index. Brodburn ond Cop-
::..gfilly
vanable nol produce the same
; expected to be at the extreme
level and
measured re_ changes would be less likely
lovitz were then in o posrtion to compore respondents' scores on eoch of spons€ ea-ch time it is given to particular
a re_ changing events. In other words,
to o..*
*itil
these indexes with their responses to the hoppiness quesiion. They found spondent? Let,s say that you t those wittr
aOa uery sto,t stronger attitudes to a subject
thot it wos the bolonce of these positive ond negorive feeling indexes lhot questionnaire which asked people should be less
oniv two susceptible to change. However.
wos reloted io the responses to the hoppiness question. When ihe positive queslions: ..Whar is your ag;?,. f", if,r"*
feelings index wos higher ihon the negotive feelings index, rnore of the (fo, *fri.'f, u \\1tn tess slrong commilmenls
specific number ofyears was to be givenj for or againsl
respondents cloimed to be Very Hoppy. When ihe negotive feelings index anJ the Presidenr. changing polirical
wos higher thon the posrtive, more respondents stoted thot ihey were Not
"Lhur]r your opinion about the .6oiu.n.r, ."."r, ;i;;
alter atrltudes over time. If attirudes
Too Hoppy. When there wos o bolonce between the two indexes, so thot
of the President?', (to which ti . rn.uru.J-ri- shilted
from one day to the next, this would
there were roughly equol levels of pos tive io negotive feelings, the re- sponse_s were Very Effective,
Somewhat Effec_ evidence of
b;;.;;;;;
spondents lvere more likely to report being Pretty Hoppy. They believed rive,
f^or
Too Effeclive. and Nor At Al1;fl.e;_ .unreliability rhan if rht illfu;
Over a month's or over 6 months,
ihot the imporlonce of the bolonce in positive ond negotive feeling stotes lrve). ll you worked for a polling time.
organization if the question had been uUout utti_
in deiermining one's generol level of hoppiness could help exploin why and went door to door on a particulir .What
street to tudes toward the effectiveness
some people who seemed to hove mony problems were nevertheless gen- ask indjviduals.rheir age and rheir ofthe S.;;.i;;
opinionl of the Interior? Such a question *outA
erolly Pretiy Hcrppy, while olhers who seemed to hove very few problems aboul the effectiveness of the president .aisl
reporled being Not Too Hoppy (Brodburn ond Coplovirz, I 955, p. 2 1 ). and greater worries about unreliability.
then returned at intervals o".. Many in_
th; ;;r; ; dividuals would not know who tfri,
months to ask the same question,
fro* fit.fy ,...Jtu.y
was or what he or she was responsible
would it be that each person you for, let
surveved alone whethei the secretary \i/as performing
t22

I
I 24 fhc Dcsisn
1 of Social Rcscarch
adequately. A question such as this would
lead to unreliable responses because many re-
spondents would not want to admit lack of in-
formation to answer the question, and would
just offer some answer. Because the answer
was not based on any factual knowledge, or on
any developed opinion, it would be unlikely
to remain stabie over time.
Ifa question is itelevant to a respondent,
if it is loo complicated, or likely to be misin'
terpreledby the respondent, such a question is
likely to produce highly unreliable responses.
Thus, the aim of developing measured vari-
ables is to produce ones that present material
understandable to the respondent on topics
which should be familiar to the respondent,
rather unconplicated, and easy to interpret.
The researcher should be careful on questions
that may encourage a respondent to respond
in what might seem a socially desirable
manner.
As stated above, there will always be some
error, however carefully the measurement
procedures are carried out. Neverlheless,
there are ways to reduce measurement effor.
For example, as mentioned in the section on
authoritarianism, if you use more than one in-
dicator for each concept, that is. if you collect
data on muhiple indicators for each abstract
concept, you can develop more reliable mea-
sures ofthe concept. (Note that for the F-Scale
of authoritarianism, numerous questions were
developed to measurc each of the scale's di-
mensions. It was the combined score on the
set of items that determined the level of each
dimension.)
Why should multiple indicators produce
grealer reliability than single indicators? Any
observed (or measured) score is equal to the
"true score"-the "hypothetical, unobserva-
ble quantities that cannot be directly mea-
sured" (Carmines and Zel\er, 1919, p. 29)-
plus the error. Since we can never be sure that
our observed score is equal to the true score,
PARIIWOI
the best that can be achieved is to retest the
measures over and over again (an "infinite
number of repeated measurements," 1919, p.
30) and use the response givon most often as
the true score. The assumption made about
measurement error is that in repeated mea-
sures of the same phenomenon, the enors will
sometimes be higher (more posilive) than the
lrue score and sometimes lower (or more neg-
ative), but over time they would cancel each
other out and thereby produce an average
error score of0. For this reason, the measure-
ment error is referred to as random n'Leasure-
nlent errlr, or simply random error. The lhe-
ory of random error forms a central pafi of
what is caTled classical test theorlt. For a more
complete. and advanced, presentalion. see
Carmines and Zeller (197 9, pp. 29-34).
The preceding discussion has described re-
peated measurements of the same phenome-
non on single individuals. 11 could also apply
to repeated measurements across different in-
dividuals on the same measure. In this case,
1,ou would need to look at the range ofscores
in relation to the overall mean from all the
scores. This is called variance (lo be described
more fully in the Chapter 6). Two general pro-
cedures can be used to reduce the amount of
random error and improve the reliability of a
measure: measuring for stability and measur-
ing for equivalence.
Meosures of Sfobility
Reliability tests that determine how much
change will occur in the responses ofindivid-
uals from one testing time to the next are mea-
suringthe stabiliti of the measurement instru-
ment. This is often called tesl-retest reliabilitl;.
There are different possible explanations for
unreliability from one testing time to the next.
As described in the above examples, unrelia-
bility may be due to the varying states the in-
dividuals are in when the measure is taken:
] CHAPTiR 5 From Concepts to Operationalization lo the Measurentefi
They ma-v be more or less alert, healthy, con-
centrating, etc. Or, unreliability may be due to
weaknesses in the measuring instrument:
Re_
spondents may be uncertain as to what is
being asked and yet offer an answer to avoid
appearing unintelligent. Under such condi_
tions, reliabiiity may be weak from one test to
the retest. On the other hand, changes could
occur during the period between the tests:
Then the different answers given al each test
do not signify lack of reliability, bur true
change. An example ofsuch true ciange could
be found in achievement tests, where the in_
dividual actually learns more between the
testing times.
Meosures of Equivolence
Another way to test for reliabilit1,, instead of
comparing scores on lests given at different
times, is to compare parallel items at the same
point in time. This provides an on-the_spot
form oftest-retest. Ifone has two indicatori of
the same concept, comparisons of these items
can help to derermine the retiability of the
measure. For example, let's assume you are
trying to measure the concept of inomie,
meaning normlessness. you decide to select
two items from Srole's lru omia Scate (1956) (a
scale to be discussed at greater length in the
final section ofthis chapter) which ire two of
the five indicators of anomie which Srole de_
fined (see Miller, 1977. pp. 375-377 for rhe
scale). The two items are ( I ) ..In spite of what
some people say, the lot of the average man is
getting worse," and (2) .,These days a person
does not know who he can count on." you
test these items on a sampie of respondenls.
The responses lo Lhe 1wo items are equal to
the same true scorc: the differences a.. ih. .._
sult of random error. Therefore, the correla_
tion (a statistical procedure to be described in
Chapter l6) between the two items measured
at the same time offers an estimate of the re_
ofL,ariables t25
liability ofthe scale. It also follows that since
the random errors will cancel each other out.
the rnore items tested, the better the estimates
of reliabiliry.
TYPES OF VARIABTES
One essential feature of measurement is that
it
depends upon the possibility of variation.
Another way of saying this is that measure_
ment requires the identiflcatio n of variables, a
term that we have defined before as somelhing
that varies. One result of this definition of i
variable is that the term can be applied to anv_
thing lhat is measured in a social_scienridc
study. Variabiss can be measured in two gen_
eral ways: they are eilher categorical
or
ntmterical.
Cotegoricol Voriobles
Occupation, religion. gender, voting prefer_
ence are all examples ofcategorical variables.
These variables are made up of sets of cate_
gories (or attributes) which must follow two
rules. in the first place, the categories must be
distinct from one another; that is, they must
be mtttuall"v exclusive. This means thai no re_
spondent should be able to place himself or
herself into more than one category. Let,s say
that. for the variabie olreligion. you included
the following categories: Catholic, protestant,
Christian, and Jewish. In this case, your.ut._
gories would not be mutually exclusive, be_
cause the term Christian would subsume both
Catholic and Protestant, and a choice among
them would be meaningless.
In the second piace, the categories of a
variable must be exhaustive. This means that
they should cover all ofthe potential range of
varialion in a variable. In other words. even
respondents with a very extreme position on
one variable should be able to place them_
selves comfortably within one of the catego_
I

126TheDesignofSocialResearch
ries. In the religion example above, you would
need to add the categories of Other and None
to Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish in order to
have an exhaustive list appropriate to an
American sample. When a variable has a po-
tentially different or extreme response, there
should be a catchall category at the end to pick
up extreme cases (for example, "favor none of
the above candidates" might be the flnal
choice in a voting preference variable).
In a categorical variable, the categories (or
attributes) of the variable are given numbers.
For example, for gender, males may be desig-
nated by a l, females by a 2. This use of num-
bers, however, does not imply that the cate-
gories represent numerical quantities that can
be manipulated mathematically. The num-
bers are merely used as a way to code the cat-
egories for analysis on a computer. (Chapter
12 will describe coding.) For analyzing cate-
gorical variables, the primary forms of arith-
metic that can be used are simple counting
and percentages.
Numericol Voriobles
Numerical variables, as distinct from categor-
ical variables, are broken down into units in
which the numbers used to represent each
unit of the variable carry mathematical mean-
ing. For example, achievement test scores,
personaiity scale scores, age, and labor force
participation rates are all variables in which
the numbers represent not merely category la-
be1s, but mathematical measurement of the
variable. In otherwords they represent a scale.
The numbers represented by a numerical
r.ariable may be erther disqete or continuous.
If the variable is Number of Chiidren, its
range of numbers are discrete (1, 2, 3, etc.),
which is to say that they cannot be broken
down continuously into smaller and smaller
fractional quantities. For example, consider
the discrete variable of number of children. It
rarely makes sense to use decimals in describ-
i:a i
.:
PART TWo
ing family size (the average family has 2.35
children). In some statisticai reports, how-
ever, discrete variables are treated as though
they were continuous. However, if the varia-
ble is Weight, the measurement il represents
is continuous. The weight may be 2.35 or 2.36
pounds.
Bar Graphs, Histograms, and Frequency
Polygons. A bar graph is a graph on which
categories of a variable are presented on the
horizontal axis, and the frequency ofthis cat-
egory is presented on the vertical axis. Then a
bar the height of each frequency is drawn.
These bars have gaps between them on the
scale. Figure 5-1 gives a bar graph ofthe reli-
gious affiliation of students at a hypothetical
college.
A histogram, sometimes mistakenly called
a bar graph, is used to depict the frequency
distribution of a numerical (preferably a con-
tinuous) variable, such that the bars have at
their centermost point the value being pre-
sented. The edge of each bar is halfway to the
next centermost va1ue, and therefore it
touches the edge of the bar next to it. A his-
togram of the weights of students in a class
couid be made. Histograms are often used to
represent discrete numerical variables as well.
For example, if the discrete variable of num-
FIGURE 5-I
Bor groph of religious ofilliotions.
c
J vor'rcble lAnderson ond Sclove, t986, p. 3il.
o
't
o
E ,i .20
n
."{.'
:
:
i lcHrerens
I
From concepts to operationalization ro the Measurement of variables
I27
ber of children is used, the bars representing
one child would actually depict .5 ro 1.5 chil_
dren, the bar for two children would cite from
1.5 to 2.5 children, etc. Figure 5-2 shows a his_
c
togram for a continuous variable of weight,
6L
and Figure 5-3 shows a histogram for a dis_
crete variable of number of children per .F
j
family. EL
Consider the histogram of weights. In 1
order to form a graph from these weights, you
would first need to group the weights into 140 i45 t50 155 160 165
110
classes: 137.5-142.5, 142.5-14i.5, 147.5_ Weight (pounds)
152.5, etc., as you can see in Figure 5-2. Then FIGURE 5-4
you would find the midpoints of these groups Frequency polygon of weights in Figure
5_2.
(140 and 145, etc.) and build a graph with the
midpoints. In each class of weights you would
count up the students who fell inlo that class graph that can represent the same thing as
a
and register them on the vertical axis. histogram. However, instead of presenting
A f'equency polygon is another type of bars with the centermost point for each valuc
on the horizontal axis, the centermost poinl is
where the top ofthe bar would be, and the bar
FIGURE 5.2
Hislogrom of weights, using continuous varia6)e lAnderson is not drawn in. Such a dot graph makes it eas_
ond Sclove, 1986, p.45t. ier to draw lines connecting the points that in-
dicate the shape of the distribution. Figure 5-
4 presents a frequency pol-vgon for the weights
in Figure 5-2.
The distribution of continuous variables
can be described by a fulier range ofstatistical
measures such as the mean and the standard
deviation, which will be described more fullv
in the next chapter on sampling and in Chap-
ter 16. Discrete variables can be described by
a narrower range of statistics, such as the me-
dian and mode, although many analysts em-
ploy the mean as well in describing the dis-
FIGURE 5-3 tribution ofa discrete variable.
Hisiogrom of number of children per fomily, using discrete
LEVELS OF MEASUREMENT
b
c
.40
3
g,
.so, In the social sciences, four types of scales for
measuring a variable (two q/pes for categori_
'i.ro,
j
a 0-
01234
cal variables, two types for numerical vari_
ables) have been delineated. These scaie types
(or levels of measurement, as they u.e usuiily
Number of children per familV called) are usqful in helping to classi{-v and cat-
T

I 28 The Dcsign of Social Research
alog variables in a study, as well as in design-
ing questions to measure variables.
It is often possible for a variable to be mea-
sured at different levels. In deciding how to set
up the variable (that is, how to "operational-
ize the variable") you are also making the re-
lationship between your measured variable
and the underlying concept more precise. Of
course] your choice of measurement catego-
ries will also determine the quality of the re-
sponse data you get. Both the reliability of a
variable and its vaiidity will depend on the
operational decisions made in the design of
the variable. If the measurement of the vari-
able is not a good fit with the underlying con-
cept you are trying to measure, then the data
gathered on this variable will be invalid. Ifthe
variable is imprecise or unclear. it will not
produce reiiabie responses. In short, poorly
measured variables will produce meaningless
data, which will in turn make your analysis a
waste ofeffort. Once your data have been pro-
duced, it will be too iate 1o decide that your
measurement categories should have been
quite different. Therefore, you should apply
the principles of measurement in designing
your data-gathering instruments.
Figure 5-5 gives a diagram of the four
scales or levels comprising the classification of
variables. Two of the levels (nominal and or-
dinal) are used for categorical variables; two
FIGURE 5.5
Clossiflcotion of voriobles, ihe four meosuremeni levels
lAnderson ond Sclove, I 986, p. 29.
Numerical
Nominal
/\
lnte.val
Ordinal
scale scale scole
{rf '
P A R T Tw o
(interval and ratio) are used for numerical
variables.
Nominql Meosurement
A variable with a nominal level of measure-
ment consisls ola set ofdistinclive calegories
that imply no specific order. Consider the
variable ofgender (or sex). This variable can
take only two forms, male or female. There is
no real order between the categories: respon-
dents must simply be one or the other. Or take
the variable of religion. Here in the United
States there are three major categories. But
note that it would make no sense to place
them on a type ofscale from high to low, be-
cause they are just different choices with no
particular rank order among them. (For reli
gion, not oniy would the malor religious
groups be given, but also a catchall category
for Other Religions would need to be in-
ciuded, and a category for None.) In sum-
mary, a nominal variable must have at least
two categories (but may have as many as are
needed), and these categories must be charac-
terized as having no prescribed order.
In sociological research, many olthe vari-
ables we are most interested in studying-
race, sex, religion, nationality, for example-
are expressed in terms of nominal measures.
For this reason, we must understand this type
of measurement and recognize how to handle
such variables properly. Chapter 16 on statis-
tics wiil offer specific statistical tests that can
be used in stud.ving relationships between
nominal variables.
Ordinol Meosurement
\/ariables that have lwo or more categories
with an inherent order among them are mea-
sured at an ordinal level. Consider the varia-
ble of Social Class. However man) categories
are used, they suggest an order. Even a two-
Ratio
scale category breakdown of High Class and Low
j cHAPTER 5 FromConceplstooperationalizationtotheA[casuremeltolvariables
Class implies an order from high to /ow. For
most purposes, ofcourse, two categories seem
too few for the variable of social class. The
simplest form of ordinal scale generally used
to measure social class has three points:
Upper Class, Middle Class, and LowerClass.
But more complicated nine-point scales have
been created, by identifying three categories
within each ofthe initiai three groups (Upper_
upper, Middle-upper, Lower-upper; Upper-
middle, Middle-middle, Lower-middte;- Lp_
perJower, MiddleJower, Lower-lower).
How many categories you use in setting up
your variable will depend on how much vari_
ation you expect to find ou1 there among your
respondents, and how far these differencei in_
terest you in terms of your research. If vou
wanted to study the fine differences betwlen
the upper-upper classes (those perhaps with
"old money") and the middle_upper classes
(those with "new money',), these categories
might be very important. Il howeverl you
were only planning to use the variable oflso-
cial class in fairly broad terms in your studv.
then the three-caregory variable might be
preferable.
Although many variables cannot be con_
verted into ordinal scales, a great many can.
In some cases, ordinal measures can be joined
together with nominal measures to intensifv
an understanding ofa concept. Take the con_
cept of religion. To find out someone's reli_
gious affiliation, a nominal variable is needed.
To find out how religiously observant a per_
son is, however, an ordinal measurs should be
used, such as "Do you attend religious ser_
vices:. daily. wcekly. a few times i monrh,
monthly, a few times a,vear, 1'early, less often
than once a year, never?"
The most common forms of ordinal vari_
ables are attitudinal items to which level of
agreemenl is assessed. For example, an index
(that is, a combined set ofvariables added to-
gether; see Chapter 15) of Job Satisfaction
might include this item: ..I consider my job
]29
rather unpleasant,', to which the respondent
musl select one ol rhe following: Srrongly
Agree, Agree, Undecided. Disagree, Strongfy
Disagree (from Brayfield and Rothe. 1951.-i;
Mlller, 1971, pp.368-370). These categories
are generally given code numbers of I to 5.
These numbers imply order of agreement, but
suggest nothing about the distance between
the numbers (is Strongly Agree further from
Agree than Agree is from Undecided?)
Attitude scaies such as the one described
above are ordinal scales. However, they are
often treated as continuous variables such
that the average seorc of all respondents to thc
item might be given as 2.3. Or, as in the case
of the Job Satisfaction Index, a set of items is
summed, and then the average scores and
measures of variation among the scores are
computed. In this way a variable with an or_
dinal scale of measurement is actuallv trealed
lihe an interval scale. This practice has raised
some questions about the rneaning and utiiity
of ordinal measurement.r
lnfervol Meosurement
To picture an interval scale, think of a ther_
mometer. 11 has lines marking off points on
the scale to register the changing tempera_
tures. However, there is no true zero point_
no point at which there would be na temper-
ature. If it is a fahrenheit thermometer. the
zero on the scale will be at 32 degrees below
the freezing point ofwater; ifit is a centigrade
thermometer, zero on the scale will be at the
2Borgatta
and Bohrnsledl have strongli, argued thal
ordinai measures are really weak fcrriri oflnrervai
measures, in which the information on the distance
between the intervals has been ,,lost.,' Since ordinal
variables are generally described with statistical
measures that assurne continuous numerical scales,
Borgalta and Borhnstedt think it makes much morc
sense 1o treat ordinal variables as imperfect interval
variables (1980, pp. 153-160) than as separale levels
of
measurement.
I

130 T'he Design ofSociaL Research
freezing point of water. In neither case, how-
ever, will the zsro refer to a point where there
is no temperature. An interval scale is a cre-
aled scale that has clearly defined intervals be-
tween each point on the scale, and it has
order; bu1 i1 has no true zero point.
An example of an inten al scale would be
a scale oftest scores, such as an IQ score. The
SAT examination has scores ranging from 200
to 800 (again no true zero point): the ACT is
also an interval scale. but with a very different
number range of scores. What happens with
these tests is that the raw score achieved by an
indivrdual on a test is converted into a test
score based on test norms deveioped from
knowledge about how others have scored. In
some cases, parts of a test are weighted more
highly than others.
Because the scores from social-psycholog-
ical scales, such as the F-Scale ofauthoritari-
anism, are generally treated as continuous
measures, such scales are often considered as
interval scales. Some methodologists would
disagree and classify scales of this type as or-
dinal scales, since they are based on an accu-
mulation of ordinal items-items to which
1he respondent usually offers a level of agree-
ment.3 Scores for the F-Scale are computed by
cumulating the levels of agreement (*3
to
*3) for the 38 items. Since it is not possible
to have a zero on the F-Scale, ratios cannot be
eslabiished. Thus it is inappropriate to de-
scribe one person as twice as authoritarian as
another because the score is twice as great.
In summary, interval scales are created de-
vices which assist us in ordering things quite
rSome melhodologists would not consider psvchological
scales of this type as true interval-level measures,
because they are based on an aggregated set ofordinal
measures. However. as footnote 2 above sutes, other
rrr:lhodologists consider all ordinal scales to be weak
forms ofinterval scales. Suffice it to say that there is
controversy in interpreting the meaning ofordinal and
interval measures.
':€:
PART TWO
precisely, They have separate categories, like
nominal scales, and they also have ordered
categories, like ordinal scales; but in addition,
the distance between the points on an interval
scale can be determined mathematically and
precisely. Interval scaies are used for contin-
uous variables that can register very small dif-
ferences between categories. Most mathemat-
ical operations that are carried out in statistics
(see Chapter 16) can be done with interval-
level measures. The lack of a true zero point
is not usually regarded as a critical deterrent
to car4'ing out many statistical tests.
Rotio Meosurement
A ratio scale encompasses all.the qualities of
the earlier forms of scale: it must have more
than one category; it must have an implicit
order; it must be able to determine the exact
distance between the intervals. In addition,
however, it musl have a true zero point.
Think olvariables such as income, age. num-
ber ofchildren, cost ofhousing, etc. Note that
the ralio levei of measurement can be applied
to either continuous or discrete variables.
However, strictly speaking, in the examples
given and in most other social research vari-
ables with ratio levels of measurement, the
variabies would be discrete. Income cannot be
broken down further than to cents; age is usu-
ally given in years. Questions about these
variables could be answered on a scale with a
true zero point. Your income could be noth-
ing; your age before you were born was zero;
you might not have children; your lent could
be free, etc. For these kinds of questions, a
ratio scale is appropriate.
While there are advanrages ro using a ratio
scale, in fact variables (like income) u'hich
could be expressed by a ratio scale are often
converted into ordinal scales by grouping pos-
sible categories of income: e.g., 0 to $a,999;
$5.000 to $9,999; $10,000 to $14,999; etc.
Ratio scales are most commonly used in con-
vertrng ratioJevel variables jnto rates. Exam-
ples.of these will be given in the foiiowing
section.
Cornporing fhe Meosurement levels
Box 5-3 describes how information about
viewing soap operas and altirudes roward
such programs can be coliected using vari_
ables measured at different levels. Box 5-3 has
used the different leveis of measurement and
presented different types of questions.
Ifyour analyses were to be based largely on
two-variable, or bivariate, tables for cross-tab-
ular analyses (to be described in detail in
Chapters i3 and 14), then it would be better
to have a ratio variable converted into a cat-
egorical variable (either at the nominal or or-
dinal level). For a multivariate analysis, where
you planned to use a form ofanalysis such as
multiple regression (where variables need to
BOX 5-3
SOAP OPERA VARIABI.ES: EXAMPTES OF
MEASUREMENT LEVELS
RATIO
How mony lelevision soop operos did you
wotch lost week?
INTERVAI-
Estimoie the lQ score of the hero or heroine of
your fovorite soop opero.
ORDINAI-
How true io life ore the soop operos you
wotched lost week?
Very true, somewhot true, not too true, not
ot oll true
NOMINAI.
Which of the following types o{ soop operos do
you wotch?
Medicol themes, household dilemmos, etc.
be at least at the interval level), then it would
be preferabie to have interval or ratio-level
variables.a
Some variabies can be converted
into dif-
ferent types of levels of measurement which
might be selected depending on the type of
analysis you hoped to do. An example might
be educational attainment. For cross-tabular
analyses, it would be better to present the
variable in ordered categories (less than hrgh
school, high school graduate, some college,
coliege graduate, etc.). For other types ofanil_
yses, it might be preferable to convert this var_
iable into Number of years of Schooling
Completed, which would be a ratio variable.
MEASURING SIX COMMONTY
USED SOCIAI RESEARCH
VARIABTES
As a developing social researcher, you need to
learn how to select, work with, and develop
variables for studies you are doing. Because so
much social research has aiready been carried
out, you rarely need to start from scratch.
Generally you can find ways of measuring
concepts that have been tried out bv others.
Always remember, however, to determine
carefully whether your measure is actuallv
aOne
thing that ),ou should keep in mind about nominal
variables is thal any concept that can be operationally
defined into a vanable can be measured bv a two-
crtegory nominal level of measurement. The frrst
category- would represent the presence (or possession) of
the quality. The second category would represenr the
absence (or Iack ofpossession) ofthe concipt. in
research analysis, setling up a variable in this either-or
method is referred to as creating a dummy variable. In
the case ofreligion, rhis variabli would uiuallv be
measured in terms ofa series ofcategories repiesenfing
different religions. However, for some purpoies, it migit
make sense to have a variable for religionlhut h"d onjv
two categories. for example. Catholic or non_Carholic.
Or you might take the variable on voting preference for
a specific candidate. and have either-or caiegones: favor
Republican candidale; not favor lLepublican-candidate.
I

I32TheDesignofsocialResearch
measuring what you want it to measure (the
validity issue), whether your measure is suffi-
ciently clear that it is likely to produce consis-
tent results (the reliability issue), and whether
the scale of measuring the variable is appro-
priate and best-suited for your needs.
In the next section, we will examine six
commonly used variables in social research
which represent different levels of measure-
ment. You will find that there are a number of
different ways to measure some variables, and
you must choose the one that best serves your
particular research purpose. For other vari-
ables, there ma,v be only one agreed-upon way
to measure them. When, for example, a vari-
able measures a phenomenon defined by law
(say, crime rates), then it must meet the spe-
cific criteria laid down in the law. In other
cases. social researchers have over the years
developed certain ways of measuring social
indicators that have become widely accepted.
For example, the unemployment rate is deter-
mined in a precise way, and you could not just
come up with what seemed to you to be a had a course in sociology, you probably
good way to determine an unemployment rate
and use yours instead.
Two Nominol Voriobles
Marital Status. This is a nominal variable
which generally inciudes fir'e categories: Sin-
gle, Married, Widowed, Divorced, or Sepa-
rated. Olten the last three calegories are
grouped together, creating a three-category
variable measuring Never Married (single),
Currently Married (married), and Previously
Manied (widowed, divorced, or separated).
Even in this latter case. there is no clear order
among the categories.
Type of Housing. Housing types are desig-
nated by the United States Census Bureau as
(1) public housing, which refers to housing
units owned by a local housing authority or
olher public agency and operated as public
tl
l
PART TWo
housing, (2) private housing, which refers to
all other lrousing units, and (3) subsidized
housing, which refers to private housing in
which the occupant pays a lower rent because
a federal, state, or local government program
pays part ofthe cost ofconstruction, building
mortgage. or operating expenses (Social Indi'
cators III, 1980, p. 574). One might see these
three categories as characterized by some
order from wholly private, to partially pri-
vate/partially subsidized, to wholiy public.
However, such a variable would best be cate-
gorized as a nominal variable.
One Ordinql Vorioble
Occupational Status. Identifiring the job a
person holds is the main way we determine
that person's social status. lf someone tells
you that she is a bank president, or a garbage
collector, or a shoe salesperson, you fit this
person into some sense of the overall social
hierarchy of the society. Without ever having
thought that bank presidents had more status
than garbage collectors and that shoe salesper-
sons had less status than bank presidents but
more than garbage collectors. How did you ar-
rive at these conclusions? Probably because
you connected a number of other factors to
the meaning of a specific occupation: that it
suggested a certain level ofeducation and that
it carried with it different rewards in terms of
income, prestige, benefits. In short, the mea-
sure ofoccupations-which could consist
merely of a set of job titles (a nominal varia-
ble)-also suggests more complex, ordered
measures.
In the first place, to use the simple nomi-
nal level ofjob titles leads to numerous prob-
lems. Tirere are so many job titles that you
would need to use some system in order to
group people with the same types of jobs in
the same categories. The most usual source for
job titles is that used by the Census Bureau,
CHAPTER 5 Front Concepts Io Operationalization to the Measurement of Vari.ables I 3 3
which lists numerous job categories under
seven major occupational groups:
Professional, technical, and kindred
workers
Managers, oficials, and proprietors (ex-
cept farm)
Clerical, sales, and kindred workers
Craftsmen, foremen, and kindred workers
Operatives and kindred workers
Service workers, including pri\.ate
household
Laborers
These categories, and thejob titles encom-
passed by each, have an inherent order; those
in the top categories impli' higher levels of ed-
ucation, and higher rewards than those in the
lower categories. Therefore, if you subdivide
occupations into these seven groups, you have
an ordinal scale. However, greater differentia-
tion is often preferred s0 that actual job titles
can be given a rating to distinguish them as
either higher or lower than another job title
within the same general category.
Fortunately for the social researcher, few
variables have received more attention, in
terms of developing measures and scales, than
occupation. Occupational prestige scales
(based on the relative ratings of occupations)
and socioeconomic indexes (based on income
and education data, as well as in some cases
on prestige ratings) have been developed to
"measure" occupation. These occupational
scales will be described in grearer derail in
Chapter 15 on indexes and scales. 11 will be
enough to say here thal these scales and in-
<iexes enable the researcher to collectjob titles
from a study and to score the jobs on a se-
lected scale or index (an inten'al measure).
This scale or index can then be used to deter-
mine the mean and range of occupations, etc.
If you use an occupational prestige scale or a
socioeconomic index, the variable ofoccupa-
tional status will be measured at the interval
level.
One lntervol Vorioble
Srole's Anomia Scale. This scale, which was
referred to earlier, is presented here as an ex-
ample of the many social-psychological scales
available in the literature. (Refer to footnote
3, which discusses the reservations which
some methodologists would have in consid-
ering this a true interval scale.) Srole defined
this scale as representing "the individual's
generaiized pervasive sense of seif-to-others
belongingness at one extreme compared wilh
self-to-others distance and self-to-others alien-
ation at the other pole of the continuum"
(Miller, 1977, p.375). We have already sug-
gested above that the F-Scale of authoritari-
anism and occupational prestige scales are
treated as intervallevel measures. Srole's An-
omia Scale, rvhich is also an interval scalc,
consists of five items (see Miller, 1971, p.
376):
l. In spite ofwhat some people say, the lot ol
the average man is getting worse.
2. It's hardly fair to bring children into thc
world with the way things look for the
luture.
3. Nowadays a person has to live pretty much
for today and let tomorrow take care of
irself.
4. These days a person doesn't really know
who he can count on.
5. There's little use writing to public officials,
because often they aren't really interested in
the problems of the average man.
The respondent either agrees or disagrees with
these five items; the responses are cumuiated.
Validation studies have shown that this scale
correlates quite highly with the F-Scale ofau-
thoritarianism (r = .47),and with measures of
socioeconomic status (r = .30). (See Chapter
16 for an explanation ofthe correlation coef-
ficient, Pearson's r.)
I

The Design of Social Research
Two Rofio Vqriqbles
City Size. This is the first variable given that
would be unlikely to be self-reported by a re-
spondent. in other words, it would be based
on a group (a city) unit ofanalysis. The size of
the city, town, or rural area would be deter-
mined by the most recent census figures. Note
that these sizes might be used to set up ordi-
nal-level variables of this type: cities of more
than I million, cities of 500.000 to 999,999,
cities of 100,000 to 499,999, etc. Or such a
measure could be the basis of forming another
type of ordinal variable: iarge cities, moder-
ate-sized cities, small cities, towns, rural areas.
When it is based on an exact estimate of the
number of residents of a city, it is a ratio
variable. Again the type of measurement level
a researcher would choose to use would de-
pend on various factors: the types ofanal,vses
planned, how important it was to be able to
make fine discriminations between respon-
dents in terms of the sizes of their cities of res-
idence, etc.
Labor Force Participation Rate. This is a
measure determined from the v'ork status of
individuals. lt is a rario measure. with a pre-
cise, agreed-upon definition as to how it must
be measured. The labor force participation
rate is based on the number ofpersons in the
civilian labor force per 1 000 persons ( I 6 years
old and over) in the civilian noninstitutional
population (Social Indicators III, 1980, p.
576). h is often reported separately for men
and women, for whites and various minority
groups, and for those fiom different regions of
the country or from different cities.
Vorioblesr The Tools of Sociol Reseorch
Note that for all these six variables, as for all
others, it is important that definitions are es-
tablished and used consistently throughout
your study. If you are doing your own study
and are gathering your own data. vour mea-
-t!'i
qpitn s ,F/ornConccptstooparatiottarizariontorrtc.r4casur?n1e*;;;;:*
lc-t
sures may be your own. Even in this case. you tests of correspondence between the con-
need to follow common procedures for defln-
face validity
cepts underlying the measure and the
em_ frequency polygon
ing variables (though there are often choices pirical indicalors. Content validitv.
crite_ hisrogram
that can be made). If, on the other hand, you rion-related validiry. and constuct ralidity
interval ievel of measurement
want t0 use an established rate or a population offer different means
for assessing this measurement
figure, you must get that information from the correspondence.
measurement error
appropriate source (as described in Chapter 4) . The reliability of a neasure is determined
measures of equivalence
and be cerlain that you are using the oficial by whether repeated measuring procedures
measures of stability (test-retest)
definitions. A study that uses established vari- produce similar results.
multidimensional
ables in a way that does not conform to ac- . The measurement of categorical variables
cepted definitions of those variables will not
multiple indicalors
assigns numbers to dislinct categories
that m ut ually exclusive calegories
be taken seriously. must be mutually exclusive of one another
nominal definitions
Many of the six variables offered could be and exhaustive of the range of possible
nominal level of measurement
transposed into different levels of measure- meaning. The numbers assigned .i..u no
operational defi nitions
ment. Take employment. If it is se1 up in mathemarical signifi cance.
operationaiization
terms ofa rate (labor force participation rate), . Numerical r ariables assign numbers ro ordinal level of measurement
it is at the ratio level; if it refers to an ordered units which have mathematical meaning. predictive validrty
set ofwork involvement (work full-time. work These numerical scales may represenl dzi-
random measuremenl error
part-lime, not work), it is an ordinal variable. crete data based on whole numbers (e.g.,
ralio level of measurement
This work of measuring variables is one of the number of children) or continuous dita
real definitions
primary tasks of the sociai researcher. You which has a conlinuous range ofvalues (e.g.,
reliability
need not start from scratch, for there are many weight).
sampling validity
good examples t0 use. However, i/ou must be . Variables are classified according to four single indicator
certain that the variables you choose and mea- commonly defined levels of measurement: unidimensional
sure follow the accepted procedures and serve for distinct categories with no
nontinal,
validity
your needs. order; ordinal, for ordered categoies; inter_
val, for numerical scales with mathemati_
cally defined intervals between points on the STUDY EXERCISES
REVIEW NOTES
. The measurement of concepts is a major
scale, but no true zero point; and. ratio, for l. Consider the concept ..educational aspira-
numerical scales with mathematicallv de_
challenge in social research. It proceeds tions" (which is different from ,,ed^uca_
fined inten'als and a true zero point.
from defining terms, to developing opera- tional attainment,').
tional definitions, to preparing instruments a. Give a nominal definition of this
concept.
which can measure the variation in the KEY TERMS
b. Now develop an operational definition
concept. bar graph
. oflhis concept.
Social research concepts can be common- categorical variables
place or verv abslract. Thel can have onc or (l) Determine how many dimen_
classical test theory
many dimensions. Single or multiple indi- concepts , sions it has, and what they are;
(2) Develop an indicator for
cators of these dirnensions need to be iso- conceptualization each
lated in order to develop an effective instru- dimension;
concurrent validity
ment to measuri the full domain of the (3) Turn the indicators tnto a varia-
construct validity
concepl. content validity
ble which can measure the
. Measurement involves assigning numbers continuous variables
concept.
according to rules of correspondence be-
2. Considering the ..educational aspirations,,
criterion-related validity
variable,
tween defi nitions and obserlations. discrete variables
. The validity of a measure is determined by a. How could you determine its criterion_
exhaustive categories
related validity?
I

136 TheDesignofsocialResearch
b. How might you se1 up a test of predic-
tive validity?
3. Give one example ofa variable common in
social research that would be measured at
the nominai, ordinai, interval, and ratio
levels. (You might consider variables pre-
sented in the surveys or experiments de-
scribed in Chapter 1.)
RECOMMENDED READINGS
1. Allen, Mary J., and Wendy M. Yen: Introduc-
lion lo Measurement Theory, Wadsworth, Bel-
mont, Calif., 1979. The authors describe this
il:1
I
t
.:
p ART TWo
text as an attempt to bridge the gap between a
"cookbook" on measurement and a mathemal
ically rigorous discussion of measurement the-
ory. It can be quite easily followed with some
mathematical background.
2. Burgess, Robert G. (ed.): Key Variables in Social
Investigation, Routledge &
Kegan Paul, Lon-
don, 1986. Essays on 10 commonly used vari-
Sampling
abies, reviewing their underlying concepts and
how they have been operationalized.
3. Carmines, E., and R. Zeller: ReliabiLity and Va-
lidity Assessment, Sage, Beverly Hills, Calif,,
1979. A brief and clear presentation of the
meaning of and tests ol reliability and validity;
an explanation ofclassical test theorv.
INTRODUCTICN
s er ec ri o n. rn soci al ..,:1^*,.
I l:, _, :.
u,"{p,i#6.:',m f, ili:ti# ?i:Xil:
?,ff
sampling methods are usedlo select.espond.ntr; for a conteniunutvrir, a sample of
materials (or f'conrent") is serected to
the representativeness ofthe subjects
ur anutvr.;. il ;;i". *riirr*is to expand
stuJi#
The chapter begins with an example of
*nv orgu3litty glmpling is advanrageous.
a sampre is selected u.:orgi$. ro the rules
oipiobability'6 i;;"p;Labitity sampre),
If
then it is possibre to calcurate ho* ..pr.*t"t'ive
the ,unrpt. i, orJil. *o.r population
from which the sample *r.d**I.
rrri"rrt"pt* w'r first;;;rh.;;t;.ipr.s
gou.-ing
probabiiity sampring and then describe
ai#rert.tvpes.orp.ouauitiiv'ru'npr.
(simple random sampring, srratified designs
r";pri;;;;yrtemalic sampring, murti-stage
sampiing, ppS: probab'itv proportionate to slle sa.npringi. cluster
of the exemplary studies frgm bnapte,
su,irprJ'd;;L", used in two
t
In some studies, probability samples *nnoi
*ltit.
gru.n.
u. set up. In such cases, samples rnust
be designed on the basis of rutls.other
trrun prouuHlity; such sampres are
nonprobability sampres. The major methoJJoi referred. to as
nonprobability r..pii"g (convenience,
purposive, quota, snowb:lll:tti
ue oescriueo, and exampl*;i;;;;r:requinng
sampling designs will be grven. such
t1/
I
 138 TheDesignofsocialResearch PARr TWo

THE MERITS were so accurate requires an understanding of TABTE 6-I

OF GOOD SAMPLING
On November 5, 1984, on€ day before the
presidential election, the Galiup poll offered
this prediction (based on its poll of 1,985
"likely voters"):
Reagan-Bush.................59?o
Mondale-Ferr aro...........410/o
The election results on November 6, 1984
(based on the actuai popular vote in the
United States of 53,428,357 votes for Reagan-
Bush and 36,930,923 votes for Mondale-Fer-
raro), were:
0/o
Reagan-Bush.................59.
1
Mondale-Ferraro.......... 40.90/o
How could the Gallup poliing based on infor-
mation from fewer than 2000 potential voters
be so accurate in predicting the voting behav-
ior of more than 90 million voters? The an-
swer to this question is that the Gallup polling
organization had a good sample, and they sur-
veyed the sample effectively.
The survey method the Gallup
used is quite easy to describe. For their final
preelection poll, they interviewed 3456 adults,
of whom 1985 were determined to be likely
voters. These respondents were from 300 se-
iected election precincts across lhe country.
Respondents filled out a "secret ballot"
which stated:
TODAY for President
Suppose you were voting
and Vice-President of the United States. Here
is a Gallup Poll secret ballot listing the candi-
dates for these offices. Will you please MARK
that secret ballot for the candidate you favor
today-and then drop the folded ballot into the
box.
Then they counted up the ballots. That was
their survey. Bul exactly how did they get such
an accurate prediction? To learn how they
probability sampling. For it was by following
WEIGHTS OF A POPUI,ATION Of I5
the principles of probability theory that the COOKIES
Gallup pollsters were able to make such ac-
Chocolote Chip Peonut Bufter
curate guesses about the voting behavior of Coconul
Cookie No.
American voters. These guesses are referred to Weight, oz Cookie No. Weight, oz Cookie No,
Weighl oz
as inferences, and the object of probability l
sampling is to be able to make accurate infer- 2
7 5 t2 5.5
3 8 2.5 t3 4
ences from evidence gathered on a relatively 3 2 I 4
t4 6
small sample to a much larger population. 4 3.5 t0 4.5 t5
5 3.5
Why didn't the Gallup organization sur- 4 ti 3
vey the entire population of American voters?
6
Totol lZi
On the one hand, it would have been very Averoge 10
l9 t9
time-consuming and costly to do so; and, on Grond Totol
J.O 4.7 5
the other hand, it is likely that if they had Grond Averoge .1. /
tried, their findings would have been less ac-
curate than they were from drawing a proba-
bility sample of the voting population. The
equal weight since you sell them at a set price
coconut cookies are on average the heaviest
foliowing discussion will expiain why this is per pound, and customers like to think
rhev (4.75 ounces) and the chocolati chip
so. are getting a fair number for their money. the lighi_
One est (2.9 ounces); (2) that the heaviest coJkie
This chapter will begin by explaining the day the boss comes in and weighs the l jcook_
(No. 14) is 6 ounces and the lighrest (No.
basic principles of probability sampling. lt ies that are cunently for sale on the counter. 3) is
2 ounces; (3) that the peanut buttei cookics
will offer an explanation of why probability Table 6-l presents the weights he finds for
tend.to be more representative of the average
samples are representative ofthe populations these cookies.
cookie jn weight than the other two
from which they are drawn. It will discuss
These findings describe both which type
type"s.
how you can determine the representativeness
of a sample. Then it will describe different
A Considerotion of cookie was more likely to be near the'mean "i
people the Stotisfics in the Exomple weight and which types were further
methods for drawing a probability sample. a greater range) from the mean. This
away (a1
The final section of the chapter will describe Arithmetic Average (Mean). Table 6_l subject
ofthe range or dispersionofttre weights from
the principles and methods of nonprobability shows us a number of things. It gives
all the the average weight is measured in-terms
samples, often called judgrnental sampies. weights for of
each type of cookii, the total variance.
weights for each type, the average weight
of
each.type, and the grand total weigiri
ano
HOW PROBABILITY SAMPLES grand average weight of all the cookies.
The
Variance. Variance is a way of measuring
average weight is the arithmetic average (or how far different units which have been usei
WORK
mean) for each type. (you probably...uil 1o esnblish a mean vary from the mean.
Suppose you are working in a cookie store.' thut The
principle is rhat you rake the difference
an average is determined by adding up the
Your store sells three types of cookies which be_
quantities of each unit and then dividing tween every measure and the average mea_
you and your coworkers prepare, bake, and by
the number of units.) The average ,eigiir sure, square these differences, sum them,
then (hopefully) sell. The cookies for sale are: of and
the chocolate chip cookies was 2.9 ounce-s: the then divide this sum by the number of mea_
chocolate chip, peanut butter, and coconut.
peanut butter cookies, 3.8 ounces; the sures-considered. Thus, in Table 6_1, you
The cookies are supposed to be of roughly coconut
would proceed in rhis fashion
cookies, 4.75 ounces. The grand average
ofall
the cookies was determined by sumriing
ali
the weights and dividing Uy tS
iSS.STrS =":.i
(2.5 - 3.7)' + (3 - 3.7)'
lThe cookie store example is modeled after a different ounces per average cookie). Variance =
+ (2 - 3.7)'+ (3.5 - 3.7)'
l5
example offered by Slonim ( I 966)' The findings ofTable 6-l show (l) that the
1.29

I
 SfF,rI
,,i

In the case of the cookies, you are taking
the differences in the weight of each cookie
from the average weighL, squaring these differ-
ences, adding all these squared differences up,
and dividing by the number of cookies. This
neasure of variance tells us about the spread
(or dispersion) ofall the values ofthe different
cookie weights from the average cookie
weight. More commonly, thS-Sgna$-+eet-of
rhe vqflgggp, called the sJWkAklstlHQtA. ls
EffiTdered (we will discuss this more fully
later in this chapter and in Chapter 16).'?In the
above example, the standard deviation wouid
equal f.i4 (which is the square root of 1.29).
Sompling the Cookies
Returning to the cookie example, suppose
that the boss said it would take too much time
to weigh all fifteen cookies, that you should se-
lect only five ofthe cookies and determine the
average weight from the five. You know that
your selection should not be affected by any
personal biases, that it should be random.
Therefore, you number every cookie from 1 to
15 (as you see in Tabie 6-1), write down num-
bers I through 15 on index cards, shuffle the
cards, and then draw five cards and select the
cookies represented by each number. (We will
consider this selection method below, but first
let's consider the sample you actually draw.)
TabIe 6-2 presents your selection.
You can see that the average from the sam-
ple offive cookies (Nos.2, 6,7,11, and 14) is
sliehtly higher than the total average for the I 5
TABTE 6.2
WEIGHTS OF A SAMPTE OT 5 COOKIES
Cookie No, Weight, oz
2 3
6
7 5
tl 3 ent combinations of five numbers within the
6 15, we would be able to get thousands of dif-
14
Totol lor somple r 9.5
Averoge lor somple
Sompling Error
The difference between the mean you deter-
mined from your sample of 5 (3.9) and the
mean of the population of l5 (which was 3'7)
is .2. This .2 is the sampling error of your sam-
ple. Thus sampling error is not the result of
mistakes you have made, but is a measure of
the variability of the sample from the popu-
lation. Sampling elror must be distinguished
from nonsampling errors, which are due to
other types of mistakes that may be made in a
study. In the cookie study, if a cookie is
weighed inaccurately or if your method of se-
lecting the sample is somehow faulty, these
mistakes will
produce nonsampling errors.
We will come to see that the larger your sam-
ple is, the more likely are your sampling errors
to be small. Howevet, larger studies (in which
larger samples are generally drawn) often cre'
ate more possibilities for nonsampling errors.
(This is the reason why a poll of all American
ple drawn from this population to be represen-
tative of the cookies, that is, a sample using
methods to randomize the selection of the
cookies which will be discussed in detail
below.
We could repeatedly select five cookies
lrom the i5. Because there are so many differ-
ferent samples (for example: we could select
Cookies 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5 or 1 , 2, 3, 4, 6, or Cookies
1., 3, 5, 7, 9 or I 1, 12, 13, 14, i5, etc.). Each
sampie of five cookies would produce a differ-
ent average weight for the cookies and a dif-
ferent range from the heaviest to the lightest
cookie. Examine Table 6-3, which presents
two other possible samples (Samples L and
H). In Table 6-3, we see that the average
weight of a cookie in Sample L is 2.5 ounces,
while an average cookie in Sample H is twice
the weight, 5 ounces. Now look back to Table
6-1 on the average weight ofthe i5 cookies,
which was 3.7 ounces. Clearly, if you had
drawn Sample L as your sample, the average
weight would have been too low by quite a bit
(3.7 - 2.5 = 1.2 ounces); and if you had se-
lected Sample H, the average cookie weight
would have been too high (3.7 - 5.0 =
- 1.3). In short, neither of these two samples
would have been very representative of the
TABTE 6-3
WEIGHTS OF COOKIE SAMPTES T AND H
population. Each would have had a substan-
tial sampling error.
But in Table 6-2, we saw that the sample
we drew first was much closer to the actual av-
eragc of the 15 cookies (3.9 as compared to
3.7). Would we be more likely to draw one
sample rather than another? Not if we use a
random method of sampling. On any one se-
lection, any ofthe thousands ofpossible sam-
ples could be selected if we use a random
method. However, if we did repeated samples,
we would tend to have more samples for
which the average was closer to the grand av-
erage than to the extreme averages seen in
Samples L and H.
Suppose we drew 100 samples offive cook-
ies from the 15 cookies and determined the
mean for each sampie. Then we set up a graph
in which the horizontal axis repiesented the
average weights of the five cookies in each
sample and the vertical axis represented the
number of samples, or frequency, in which
that average weight appeared in a different
sample. (Recali that there are many different
combinations of cookie numbers that could
produce the same average weights, since some
of the cookies are of the same weight and
many combinations of cookies would equal
the same total weights.) For each of the aver-
age sample weights, we would enter a narow

cookies. Naturally, had you selected a differ- voters would be less. accurate than a probabil- Somple L Somple H
ent five cookies you wouid have gotten a dif- ity sample of these votersl)
ferent average weight. Cookie No. Weight. oz Cookie No. Weight oz
i
Drowing Repeoted Somples from 5 4
2 3
the Some Populotion 7
3 2 t0 4.5
The terminology used here should be made 6 12
2The standard deviation is favored over the variance
precise. We are considering the l5 cookies as 8 2.5 14 6
because it is more useful for advanced slatistical
the population of cookies with which we are Totol weight 12.5
analyses since it can be manipulated algebraically Averoge weight
(Levin, 1 983). concerned; the five selected cookies ate a slm- 2.5 5

I
 ------------r

142 TheDesignofSocialResearch pARr TWo

CHAPTER

column or bar on the horizontal axis where it
belongs. Each time we find another average
weight of the same magnitude, we must ex-
tend the height ofthe bar upward to represent
the frequency of the samples with that weight.
What we are producing in this graph is a his-
tzgram (as described in Chapter 5) which fig-
uratively presents the array and frequency of
average weights in the sample.
The Sompling Distribufion of
the Somple Meon
Figure 6-l represents what the distributions of
the means for repeated samples from
the
cookie population would hypothetically iook
like. An understanding of this distribution of
the sample m€ans is "the fundamental con-
cept in sampling theory" (Williams, 1978, p.
57). This is true because from this distribu-
will be narrow and crowded around the grand
mean, and the likelihood of your sample
mean being close to the population mean wili
be high. Ifthe distribution is wide, the iikeli-
hood of your sample mean being close to the
popuiation mean will be lower, and the stan-
dard error will be larger. This graph based on
samples measuring a continuous variable (the
weights of cookies) comes to look like a bell-
shaped curve (or what is called the normal
curve),the greater the number of samples that
are drawn.
How representative your sample is of the
population from which it is drawn is impor-
tant when you want to use the findings from
your sample to infer to the nature of the pop-
ulation. If you compute a mean, a variance, or
a standard deviation from a sample, these
numbers which describe the central tendency
and distribution of the sample are refened to
mal curve is that it makes it possible on
the
basis of probability theory to calculate
what
proportion of the sample statistics (the
esti-
mates from each sample drawn) will
fall
within a given distance from the mean of
ttre
popuiation (1he mean parameter).
This distance from the mean is the stan_
dard error of rhe sampling distribution
1ih;t
ls. the standard deviation of the sampling
dis_
tribution mean). Thus within one ,t""*"ra
error, just over 34 percent of the sample
esti_
mates will occur. If you consider one
sLnaa.a
error in each direction from the mean,
then ig
percent of the sample esrimates
*ouia m.tf
occur. Two standard errors above and
below
the mean wouid account for 95 percent
offhe
samp,le estimates, three standard arrors
uboua
and below the population mean would
ac-
count for more than 99 percent of the samfie
creases as the sampling size increases.
Wc
examine how the size of the sample affect
sults again when we consider various typt
sample designs.
What we want to know, whenever we
d
a sample, is how much confidence we
have that the mean of that sample is rear
ably near rhe mean of the popuiation (oi
other words, that the sampling error is nof
large). However, it is usually the case (l)
I
we do not know the population mean
and
that we have not drawn numerous saml
from the population in order to deternrint:
sampling distribution. This is where thc n
mal curve comes to be useful. We can rcpl,
the population mean with ttre sampte
m,
and the standard error of the sampiing dist
bution with the standard deviation"of
r

sample mean.
tion, the range and frequency of sample as statistics, that is, summary descriptions of estimates.
To return to the cookie weights example
means (which determine the variance of the particular variables in a sample. (Statistics What you can infer from this, in the
-
of a singie random sample, is ttrat your
case the sample mean were 3.7 ounces ancl t
mean) can be studied. The square root ofthis wiil be discussed in greater depth in Chapter sampte standard deviation were 1.14, that wor
sampling distribution mean, lhe standarddg- m^e1n has, for example, a 99.9 peicent
16.) If the sample was selected according to chance mean that between .28 ounces (3.7 _ l.l4
sarronnr&@
the standard error.
the rules of probability, a statistic (such as the of falling within three srandard .rro., oiit .
population parameter, a 95 percent !4. lJ4 = .28) and 7.12 ounces (3.7
!I.l4 :
average of a particular variable) wilI be an es- chance of +1,14 *
l.l4)-or three standard tr
l%ffiffii*tfifs standard enor is very im- timate of the true mean of that particular falling within two standardrerrors of til;;:
viations above and below the
portant. If it is small, then the distribution variable within the population, which would rameter, and a 68 percent chance of falling ,..n_i
could be 99 percent confident that our
within one standard error of tne poputatioi samp
be called a parameter. In most cases, since mean was within three standard errors
parameter. These are the confidence of il
flGURE 6-r only the statistic (such as the average ofa par- levels that mean from the popuiation. This would
aresearcher can use. So, for example, you bc tl
Histogrom of cookie weights. ticular variable) from the sample is known, it confidence interval we were using, and
must be used to make estimates of what the might claim to be 6g percent connOeni v
inat could say that at the 99.9 confidenci'level,
30 the mean from the sample drawn is within tl
parameter really would be in the population. confidence interval would be between .2g
c
;^_ one standard error of the mean o{' ihe 7.12 ounces.
an
Pl5 population.
!
Or, more narrowly, the confidence intervr
The Normol Curve The size of the standard
E20
E
_
both
error is affected of 4.84 to 2.66 ounces (which would be rxr
The distributions from continuous variables by the variance ofthe population unO
UV standard deviation above and below th
(like the cookie weights) approach the normai the size of the samples drawn. The
larger the mean) would represent the 6g percent conl
o
curve as samples are repeated or as the sample sample size, the better the normal curve
will In this case, we could be 6g pcr
dence lev^el.
Jro approximate the sampling distribution
o size increases.3 What is useful about the nor- oi cent conident that within that interval th
!
means. (This follows mathematically from
E5 sample mean we found would be no mor
f what statisticians call the central lim'it theo-
z than one standard error from the populatio
3The sampling distribution of a binomial variable (one rem.) Since the variance of eaci sample
0
mean mean. Figure 6-2 gives a graph of the norml
with only two categories: success or failure, yes or no, is divided by the sample size, the b;gg;4il;
support or no support) also approximates $e normal curye representing a sampling distribution
sample size, the smaller the varianJel o
Average weight in ounces curve as the sample size increases.
I
In a differences from the mean as a probabilit,
I
sampling distribution, the standard error
I
de_ distribution.

1,

I

c
q
-3SD-2SD.1SD O +1SD+2SD+3SD
1 i Lu,,u*)
1 population. In short, the frdme is the empiri-
I
1 be the criteria used to determine the list? Is
- ii,l^i-
|
FIGURE 6-2
The normol curve. stondord deviotions, ond confldence
iiervols Levin, I 983, p. I 29.
We can choose the confidence interval that
satisfies us. Ifwe want to be 95 percent confi-
dent that our sample mean falls within a spe-
cific distance from the population mean, then
we must move out two standard deviation in-
tervais away from the sample mean in each di-
rection to achieve that certainty. In the cookie
weight example above, with a sample mean of
3.7 and a standard deviation of 1.14, the 95
percent confidence interval would fall be-
tween .42 and 5.98 (as described above). In
this instance, .42 would be the lower confi-
dence limit, and 5.98 would be the upper con'
fidence limit.
SAMPLING TERMINOLOGY
A sample is a selected set of elemenls (or
units) drawnfrom a iarger whole of all the ele-
ments, the population. This population may
be fuliy enumerated or it may only be hypo-
thetical (in the case of an agricultural re-
searcher sampling a set of tomatoes from a
population of "all tomatoes" or "all tomatoes
raised on Farm X.") In neither ofthese cases
could the population of tomatoes be actually
enumerated. (You simply cannot draw up a
completely accurate list of all tomatoes on
Farm X.)
The enumeration of the population (that
is, the "list" of the population) is the sampling
frame. A small population might be precisely
enumerated, but many large populations-
could never be completely enumeratedl there
will always be some names left ofr'and some
on the iist who should not be ther6. Therefore,
the sampling lrame is the best allempt that
can be made to enumerate thd members of the
cal representation of the population. What
this means is that the sampling frame (the list)
is what is used to represent the popuiation
empirically (the known, observed, listed
members of the population). When a sam-
pling frame is prepared, the sample is a subset
selected from this frame.
If the sample is to be drawn directly from
the sampling frame, without considering
subgroups of elements within the population,
then every unit is considered at each selection
of the sample members. If the units are to be
grouped first, then the groups would be the
first or primary sampling units and the indi-
vidual elements within the groups would be
the second, or secondary sampling units'
POPULATIONS, SAMPLING
FRAMES, AND SAMPLES
The quality of a sample, however carefully it
is selected, can be no better than the sampling
frame from which it is drawn. If the sampling
frame is not truly representative of the popu-
lation it supposedly enumerates, then the
sample cannot be representative ofthe popu-
lation. In fact, samples are only really repre-
sentative of sampling frames. Therefore, in
designing a sample, you should consider the
possible mismatches of sampling frames to
popuiations.
As I witl discuss in the next chapler on sur-
veys, telephone directories, which may seem
to be good sampling frames, are notoriously
weak sampling frames for city residents.
Poorer people are much less likely to have
telephones, and many people in large cities
have unlisted numbers for reasons ofsecuritv.
In rural areas, telephone directories u...on_
sidered to be much more representative of
rural households, and therefore can be used
more effectively as sampling frames.
Any list that is used as a sampling frame
should be given careful scrutiny. Suppose you
want a list of all the students at your college.
Thal seems unproblematic. But what should
the student population at your college based
on all students registered for courses in a par_
ticular term? Do these students need to be de_
gree-seeking? or would nondegree students
be
included as well? Are students who have not
paid their tuition for that term excluded from
the list? Most colleges can generate different
lists oftheir students, depending on the crite_
ria requested. But in drawing your sample,
and in discussing your findings, you need to
keep these criteria in mind.
. A sampling frame of students at a college
is like It represents an ai_
a membership list.
sociation which is of fairly long duration.
Membership lists of this type often make the
easiest and best sampling frames. Let's con_
sider the characteristics of some other lists
prepared to record the participation of indi_
viduals which may lead to better or worse
sampling frames.
For example, a sampling frame could be
based on a list of persons who came to a par-
ticular lype ol institutjon in one srale (say, a
blood bank in Texas), who ordered a certain
product (tulip bulbs from Holland), who par_
ticipated in a single event (the ..Hands Acioss
America" demonstration to raise monev for
the poor and homeless). Let,s considei the
problems inherent in each of these lists which
would need to be considered in deciding if
such lists could be used effectively as ,urnpling
frames.
For the blood donors, we would first need
to get a Iist ofall blood banks in Texas so that
we could select at random a number of blood
banks that would be representative of the
whole group (the technique for doing this will
be discussed later). Then we would need to ge1
from these blood banks the names ana aO_
dresses ofall persons who had donated blood
during a particular period of time. We would
need to consider the possibility that thesc
blood donor lists might not include all thc
persons who donated blood at the selected
banks during that period of time (in orher
words, we would want to know the match be_
tween the sampling frame and the popula_
tion). Since blood banks would be uniikely ro
let persons give blood withoul recording ihis
information, irou might expect that blood
bank lists would be composed of an accuralc
compilation of donors.
A list of those who order tulip bulbs would
also probably be quite a good one, since such
orders would require paying for them and this
would generate names and addresses. etc.
Marketing firms use such lists to generalc
more customers for other products. The issue
with these lists would be whether these buvers
represented some definable larger population.
Would it be appropriate to assume that such
a lisl comprised a representative sample of
tulip lovers? Were orders for these bulbs a re-
sponse to an advertisement? Where did thc
adverlisement appear? (Was it in a regional
publication? Did it appear in a special-interest
magazine?.1 ln other words, were cenain t1.pes
of people more likely to have been exposed to
this ad than others? In this case, the list of
tulip bulb customers might be an accurate list
ofthose who ordered bulbs, but it is not ap_
parent whom, exactly, these customers might
represent.
Finally, Iet's consider the ,,Hands Across
America" participants. What type of list
might be available? It is likely that rhe names
of those who volunteered would have been
written downoand registered in some manner.
However, a iisl of these names could not be
I
 146 TheDesignofsocialResearch
assumed to be the persons who actually par-
ticipated (many volunteers may not have
shown up, and many nonvolunteers may have
come). If you specified that the sample was
drawn from a sampling frame of those who
formally volunteered to participate, that
would be a fair description. On the other
hand, if you tried to generaiize from a sample
drawn from formal volunteers to the partici-
pants on May 25,1986, you might be quite far
off the mark.
Much of the issue of the relationship be-
tween a population and a sampling frame is
that the frame must be truthfully described.
But in many sampling situations, no sampiing
frame can be established. Here's an example.
Suppose you want to sample peopie who have
gone to Disney World. You fly down to Or-
lando and interview people there for a few
days. Clearly you have not drawn their names
from any sampling frame, for a list of all peo-
ple who go to Disney World does not exist.
This is not to say that there is no population
of Disney World attenders, it only means that
there has been no effort to keep records of
their names. There is obviously some record
of who goes to Disney World maintained by
marketing companies, and ttris may give you
some ideas as to what types of people (by age,
sex, race, geographical residence) they are.
You might then be able to use this informa-
tion to select a quota sample (to be explained
later) representing these different types ofper-
sons. However. since this sample has no sam-
pling frame, it is not a probabilit-v sample, but
a form of nonprobability sampling, to be de-
scribed below.
DESIGNING
A PROBABILITY SAMPTE
Suppose you plan to carry out a survey of stu-
dents at Gungho College (GC) concerning
their satisfaction with their extracurricular ac-
tivities. Let's say that there are 5000 students
PART TWo CHAPTER
at GC, and you decide to select a sample of BOX 6-l
I00. Now you need to do three things: ( 1 ) you
HOW TO GENERATE RANDOM NUMBERS FROM A
must define who the popuiation of students COMPUTER
will include (all students registered in the cur-
rent term, full-time students only, degree- GETTING RANDOM NUMBERS TROM A COMPUTER-
seeking students, or whatever); (2) you must Most home ond lorger computers use o longuoge colled
BASIC, which hos
secure a list of these students; and (3) you in it o pseudo-rondom number generotor. A progrom
such os the following
must select a method for sampling these stu- will provide rondom digih, one ot o rime, betieen speci{ied
limiis. The
some string of rcndom d;gits will be given unless o
dents so that your sample is truly representa- difierent storter dio t is
given.
tive ofthe population.
You have to think hard about the nature
Check with your computer's BASrc monuol on how to enier
of the population of students you will be
following progrom.
ond use ihe
studying in relation to the survey you plan to
carry out. If you consider what factors might 10 PRINT il******** RANDOM NUI{BERS ********[
affect students' attitudes toward extracurricu- 15 PRINT
lar activities, one question seems very impor- 20 PRINT ,'GIVE AlIy STARTER lr]IItEER";
tant: Do students live on campus (or stay 25 INPUI N2
around campus) in such a way that they are 30 PRINI ''HOW MANY RANDOM NUMBERS,,;
exposed to extracurricular activities and to 35 INPLTT Nl
other students engaged in such activities? This 40 PRINT "RANGE = (L0WEST)";
question implies that there may be gloups of 45 INPUT N3
students characterized by their living arrange- 50 PRIMI " (HIGHEST)";
ments or by their on-campus presbnce who 55 INPUI N4
may be more likely to be exposed to extracur- 60 SEC=VAL(RrcHTg(Tn@$,2 ) )+r,iZ
ricular activities. In terms of living arrange- 65 FOR I=1 TO SEC
ments, it would seem important to consider 70 DUMMY=RND(1)
whether students live on campus or off In ad- 75 NffiT I
dition, it would seem relevant to know 80 FOR r=1 T0 NI
whether students are employed during the 85 No=RND(1):r(N4-N3)
schooi year. Those employed would probably 90 NO=INT(N0)+N3
have less time for extracurricular activities. 100 PRII\IT 'lpRESS IlIfER";
These group differences couid be measured by 105 INPUI X
two variables: the living location (1 = on 110 NDff I
campus; 2 = offcampus) and whether the stu- 115 PRINT "MORE NUMBERS'';
dent works during school year (1 = yes; 2 = 120 N$=LEFT$tn$,U
no). Now you are ready to consider different 125 IF N$ = ttYrr THEN 10
types of sampling methods. 130 E{D
METHODS OF SELECTING Note, Omit lines 100 ond l05 if you do not wont to press
enter to ger eoch
rondom number. BASIC on sorne computers moy use
PROBABIIITY SAMPLES slightiy difierent com-
monds. Check with your BASIC monuol.
5imple Rondom Sompling (5RS)
Suppose that you are able to get a list of the *D. McTovish
ond H. Loether, Descriptive ond lnferentiol Stotisfics,
3d ed., Allyn &
5000 students registered spring term at Bocon, I 988, lorihcoming.
Gungho and that you decide to ignore the
I

subgroups of students we have mentioned'
You might number the students on the list
from 0001 to 5000, and then use a random
number series to seiect your sample. This
would be simple random sampling (SRS).
Today there are numerous computer pro-
grams, such as SPSS' (which is described in
Appendix C), that will generate random num-
bers for you (after you have specified the range
within which these numbers should be drawn)
and select a sample based on these random
numbers. Box 6-1 describes a method for de-
vising your own computer program to gener-
ate random numbers, using BASIC. If you de-
cide to use SRS, you might use one of these
methods, or find out if your computer center
has a different method for generating random
numbers.
The more traditional method of selecting
random numbers has been to use a random
number iist. There are books printed with as
many as a million random numbers (Rand
Corporation, 1955). A single page from such a
book is included in Appendix B, Box 6-2 de-
scribes how to use a random number list'
Whichever method you use to select the
random numbers, every number has an equal
chance ofbeing chosen. Each time you select
a number, the corresponding student on the
numbered iist is drawn into the sample. How-
ever, the feasibility of carrying out a simple
random sample may depend on the type of
sampling frame that can be provided (a con-
secutively numbered one is most helpful)- For
this reason, it is less commonly used than sys-
tematic sampling.
Systemotic SomPling
A mole common form of selection for a prob-
ability sample is to seiect every rth person
once you have made a random start. This
method is simpler if you are working by hand.
Let's say you want the sample of 100 from a
population of 5000. In this case, you simply
BOX 6-2
SELECTING A SAMPLT FROM A RANDOM
NUMBER tIST
Assume thot there ore 5000 siudents on lhe list,
numbered from 000,l to 5000. You wont o som-
ple of 1OO. look ot the rondom number list in
Appendix B. Nole thot there ore sets of flve 2-
digit numbers in columns ond rows. Since you
wont io select from omong 4-digit numbers
ronging from O0Ol to 5000, you must decide to
combine two 2-digit numbers to form 4-digit
numbers.
But how to stort. You must flrst determine
whlch sets of two 2-digit numbers to use, where
to begin on the toble, ond which direciion to
move in. lt mokes no reol difference whot
o ron-
choices you moke os long os you moke
dom stort. You could close your eyes ond
merely poini to o ploce on the toble; you could
ihrow dice to determlne how mony sefs lo move
down or over; eic.
Le1's soy you decide to use the lost four num-
bers in eoch set (2533 would be the lost 4 digits
in the lirst sei], to begin three whole seis down
ond four whole sets over {with 3433), ond to
move down the column in moking your choices.
Since 3433 is lower thon 5000, you would se-
lect the studeni numbered 3433 {or your som-
ple. The next number down is 4201, which is
olso within the ronge, ond so thot siudent would
be selected. Then you would likewise select
0610. The next number down is 6493; since it
is higher thon 5000, it is skipped.* The next
number I 368 would be selected, bui the nexi
two numbers, 7l86 ond 8253, would need to
be skipped. When you reoch the bottom of one
column, you would merely continue to the top of
ihe next column. You would proceed in this fosh-
ion until you hove selected 100 siudents.
'This exomple describes rondom seleclion ryifhoul
replocenenl. Mony stotisticions conslder rondom
sompling wlth replocentent lo 6e pvrer'
CHAPTER
pick every fiftieth name after beginning with
a pling or with systematic sampling (the more
random start. How do you select where to
usual choice). For our hypothetical studv at
begin with your list of names? Since you want
Gungho Coilege, we might order our sample
one-fiftieth of the names ro upp.ui in vour
first by whether students live on or off ca _
sample, you should start somewhere among
pus. In effect, we would make two lists from
the first 50 names and then consider the lisi
the sampiing frame. One would be for on-
continuous, so that when you reach the bot_
campus students, the other for oflcampus stu_
tom you will go back to the top. In this uay,
dents. From each of these lists, two sublists
every element on the list will have an equal
would be drawn up-one for those with jobs,
chance of being selected. the other for those without jobs. As a result,
You might select a number randomlv be- the original sampling frame would have been
tween I and 50. Let's say it,s 23. you wilitake
broken down into four lists. Box 6-3 depicts
the 23rd name on the list, then count down 50
how this could be set up. Thus your sample
more and take the 73rd name, the 123rd would be comprised of 80 on-campus stu_
name, the 173rd name, etc., until you have se_
dents, 25 ofwhom work, and 55 ofwhom do
lected 100 names.
not; and 20 oflcampus students, l5 of whom
Remember that the sampling frame list
work, and 5 ofwhom do not.
must not be ordered in a way that sets up sys_
To get the same proportions in the sample
tematic intervals. If there is some fixed, ie_ as are in the population, you merely need to
peated interval in the list (such as a sergeant
group the names together by category, and by
always iisled prior to every 1 00 privates) then
categories within categories. With one contin-
such a lisl would nor produce an unbiascd
uous list broken down as shown, you could
sample. Usually lists are alphabetical and
use the same procedure as for a systematic
present no problems.
sample and select every nth name in each caG
egory. This would produce the desired one_fi!
Srrofified Sompling tieth (.02) ofthe popuiation from each subcat-
egory. Or, ifyou four separate lists, you
set up
Stratified sampling is a variation on the forms
could employ simple random sampling tech-
ofsampling discussed above. It can be used in
niques until you had a sufficient number from
conjunction with either simple random sam-
each subgroup.
BOX 6-3
SIRATIFYING A SAMPTE OF COLTEGE STUDENTS FOR A STUDY ON
SATISFACTION WITH
EXIRACURRICUTAR ACTIVITIES
Sonpling frome (somple
= 5000 = IOOJ {ljsr of oll students or Gungho College}
Locotion o{ Residence, on compus = 4ooo (sompre = B0}; off compus = 10oo {sompie
= 201
I
 l50TheDesignofsocialResearch
BOX 6-4
HIRSCHI'S STRATIFIED SAMPTE IN THE
DETINQUENCY STUDY
ln Hirschi's (1969) study of iuvenile delinquency,
described in Chopter i, the somple wos drown
from the populotion o{ I 7,500 studenis eniering
the public lunior ond senior high schools in
Western Coniro Costo County (ocross the Boy
from Son Froncisco) in 1964. This populotlon
wos st'rotified occording io roce, sex, school,
ond grode. Certoin subgroups were sompled
more heovily thon others l85 percent of block
boys, 60 percent of block girls, 30 percent ol
non-block boys, 12 percent of non-block girls).
Thjs form o[ disproportionote sompling \de-
scribed below) wos corried out to ensure tho'l
sufticiently lorge numbers of key subgroups
would be ovoiloble {or onolysis. This procedure
produced o somple size of 5545 siudents.
let me mention ot this iuncture thot Hirschi's
octuol (or reolizedi somple ended up only three-
quorters the size of the intended somple. This
reduction wos due lo losses o{ members in ihe
selecled somple, which ts lermed oltrilron.
The ottrilion occurred for severol reosons. The
school system reouired porentol permission for
o student's porticipotion in the survey. Leiiers
seeking opprovol were senl lo porents, ond if
there wos no response, o {ollow-up leiler wos
sent. Finolly, o fie d worker would visii the por-
ents who siill hod not responded. Despite these
efforts, 6.5 perceni of the porenis refused per-
mission; 5.5 percent could not be conlocled.
Anoiher couse of otkition wos due to the
time log beiween when ihe sompling frome for
the survey wos put iogether in the foll of 1964
ond when lhe survey wos odministered in the
spring of 1965. During this period, 6.2 percent
of the siudents chosen for the somple hod either
tronsferred out o[ the county or hod dropped
out of school. Another 7. I percent were obsent
during the odministrotion {ond follow-up odmin-
istrotions) of lhe survey. Once the surveys were
comp eted, o screening indicoted thot 1.2 per-
cent hod to be excluded becouse of involid re-
sponses on the onswer sheet. All in oll, 26.5
percent of the originol somple wos "losi"
through these vorious forms of ottritlon (Hlrschi,
I 969, pp. 35-37).
PART TWo
Stratified sampling sets up homogeneous
groups and then seiects within these groups to
the proportions in which these groups are rep-
resented within the sample. Box 6-4 describes
the type of stratified sample Hirschi used in
his juvenile delinquency study, presented in
Chapter 1. If you desire to make the groups
even in size once the sample data are col-
lected, this can be done by weighting, which
willbe described in the section "Weighting for
Disproportionate Sampling. "
Multistoge Clusler Sompling
Cluster sampling differs from stratified sam-
pling in thal stata are homogeneous groups
created for the purpose of sample selection,
while ciusters bring together heterogeneous
groups that are usually already formed as es-
tablished groups, for example, organizations
(such as schools) or residential locations (such
as blocks). Characteristics of individuals are
often the criteria for the strata (sex, race, etc.);
social organizations of comparable types are
often the basis ofthe clusters.
What is most important about cluster sam-
pling is that the list of all elements required
for the final sampling units need not be avail-
able in the beginning, but only the list of all
clusters. Usually the clusters are sampled first,
and then the units within the clusters. The
sample drawn for the High School and Beyond
suney (see Chapter 1), which Coieman and
his colieagues analyzed for their private
school/public school study, had a multistage
cluster design described in Box 6-5.
As was true inthe High School and Beyond
sample, cluster sampling is often combined
with stratified sampling: in this case, clusters
are sampled first, then subgroups (strata)
within the clusters, and then individual units
within the strata. A conlmon form of multi-
stage cluster sampling with stratification is
used when researchers want to carry out sur-
veys of areas (cities, states). This is what you
could do to sample a citi,:
CHAPTER 6 Sampling
1. Get a list of all the census tracts in the
city. (Census tracts are the subdivisions
the Census Bureau develops to collect the
census.)
2. Using either the SRS or the systematic
method, select census tracts.
3. Get a list ofall blocks in each census tracr
selected.
4. Select the same number of blocks from
each tract.
5. Get a list of each household on the selected
blocks. (This may require going out to the
blocks.)
6. Select households within each block.
7. Get a list of the members of each house-
hold. (This would probably be done during
the interview itself.)
8. Select a member of that household to in-
terview using some random method. (Usu-
ally there will be definitions of what types
of household members can be selected for
the final sampling units. For example, they
may have to be age 18 or older.)
When there are so many seiecrion stages,
errors are likely to increase. Since the mem-
bers of a cluster tend to be more like one an-
other than like members of other clusters, it is
usually bettor to sample a greater number of
clusters (as was done in the High School and
Bel,ond sample) and a smaller number of ele-
ments within each cluster. However, this is a
more time-consuming and costiy method of
sampling, since each different cluster requires
a new sampling procedure within it.
PPS:Probobility
Froportionote to Size Sompling
When clusters to be selected for a sample con-
tain greatly varying strata within them, a
method can be employed to select strata
within clusters proportionate to their size. If
you want to sample households in a city, you
might first draw a sample of city blocks. If the
city has 5000 blocks, and you select a sample
l5l
of 100, you will have given every block a 2
percent chance of being selected., However,
there may be great diversity within the blocks
in terms of the number of households. Some
blocks may be made up of high rises with
hundreds of families in a building, others of
large single-family homes with only one fam-
ily per building. Let's assume that there are
200,000 households in this city and that you
want to seiect 10 households per block.
To enabie every household to have an
equal chance ofbeing drawn into the sample,
blocks should have a probability ofbeing se-
lected into the sample proportionate to thc
number of households on that block. This
means that a block with 500 households
should have five times the chance ofbeing sc-
lected into the sample than one with 100
households. PPS is a sampling method thar
will first select clusters proportionate to sizc,
and then give the strata within the clusters a
chance of selection proportionate to their
number.
This is a two-stage process. Returning to
our example, let's say that in a city with 5000
blocks and 200,000 households, we want to sc-
lect 1000 households (100 blocks selected at
the first stage, and 10 households per biock sc-
lected at the second stage). Here is how we can
be assured that every household will have an
equal chance ofbeing selected.
First we need to select the 100 clustcrs
(blocks). To determine the probability of any
particular block being selected, divide the
number of households on that block by thc
number of households in the city and multiply
this by the number of blocks to be selected
(100). IfBiock X has 50 households, the fol-
lowing formula would determine its probabil-
ity of being selected from the 200,000 house-
holds in the city.
50
r00 x20ofu: .025
aThe
example here is similar to one used bv Babbie
(1986. pp. 161-169).
I
 ,"q,'o'
i:i;:::

Itiili BOX 6,5

iiit!a 1

i
BOX 6-5 {continued}
MULTISTAGE CLUSTER SAMPLING IN THE HIGH SCHOOT AND
BEYOND SURVEY

As you moy recoll, colemon's study {described in chopter lrwos bosed / -"''",urrelemenl*R
iUnocceptoble*r'""l,".";,..==.l=:*','.n,u,n"ots
j+"lr,:$ffi
II{'l on o rorge, norionol suruey of
high school sophomores ond seniors in i980, colled High school
I
ond BeyorarHssr."r1-,,u Nolionol opinion
Reseorch center (NoRC) wonted,to develop o somple of students for
lo oll students in the country. But how does one go obout finding such
HSti from whom onu.orra generolize ;#l;fi f :J;iIt*i;fi:1::,,""1,::;r#.",;:1fr ffi il
ropresentotjve rrrauntri one logicol
woy to find high school students representotive of rhe notion os o whole

,;,1"iif ,'5ir'#ii:[f iltrfi";,,',,.:",,"'9 l;iij$#d$*##r,:r;":":l*

li;{ is to begin by finding high schools
ill ropresentotive of rhe counfry. But occording to.whor princip'es
do you rur;.irh:r"gl ,.;"'"rra And from
whot source do you get o l:st of the high schools? 'cognitive
, srudenrs were unovoiloble tt^T* *os to sompl'i,.i)i,' ''o"" ourcomes in publ;c
ond
let me restore whot r hove iust soid, using the terminorogy of sompling but o6iv
of tontinrJJ"o;::1.:'Y"""' o few uniis w;ri
given before. The NoRC re_ rnenonresponse
seorchers wonted ro produce o probobirity somple of high ,.[oor orono ,h".?"-lo"u
of the populotion of oll high school sophomoru, ond ,"iiorc in Unired
,ophoro"r* ,".[rr, represenrotive
stotes high"^a ,chools
in the spring of
1980. The elenents of rheir somple would be individuol srudenrs;
Ur, *"v *irfj-.JJj ro ,"l"ct th"ru
elements oi rhree sfoges. Firsfihey wourd serect schoors (rhe
.trrr"r, tt,ot *Lt d ;r;',;;,^ory sonpring
unilsl; ihen they would select sophomore ond senior siudents
within schools {the stroto thot would form rhe
secondory sonpling unitsl; ond then they would select the individuol
,traunt, *itt,in ,t olu ,l'noot, ond those
closs levels hhe tortiory sonpling unitsl.
The list of oll schools would.comprise. lhe sompling
home. Thusthe first step in constructing ihe somple
**
wos to find o list o{ oll high schools in the United sftes
ro serve os the sompling frome from which rhe
somple could be drown. Where would the reseorchers
flnd such o tirta rt *orrJiui";;;';"r, to flnd
of oll public schools, for eoch communily would hove such o lisr. o list
n"ruruu,; to*"u"r, ir,Jirrronc *onr"a
o// schools, including privote schools. Privote schools, however,
ore not necessorily port of some centrol
system. some ore religiousrv ofiirioted (mostry cothoric); IABI.E 6-4
some,hove no ."rigiou, oo,rl;;; ;,n" serve
very
speciolized iypes of students {schools for boller doncers.
schools for tn" .niar". diplomots). sA'r,!FiE cF S.HOO|.s
Where would o list exist thot might include oll privote high
schools? "ii"reign r*o"
Finding o list is often the mojor chore of sorpring.if os Drown Corrsgls6
eosilv occessible list, rhen sompling wourd be o snopr irere's
onry every ',whore,,were printed our on some ;:J::gj::T* rhroush Reprocemenr,
e 'v''uLoirreul'ondqsReolized'ondSomple
ond os
r,,o*,t," Nonc ,'";;jf,,.r';;; rogerher rheir -- oI Studenls os Drown
ljst of schools. They creored whoilhey coiled o schoor
.oll
sonpling unitsfrom which the somple might be drownl. To develop
universe fie rthor is, ;;;;;" risr of o1 the
rhis file, they" reli"j""'i'ru which hod
.-- Item
Torot
been creoted by othe's. A common procedure in sompring is ro I. Totol numbcrq I rubtic Cotholic Ofher private
rrock down r,sts ;r";;; by orhers which ^f "-r.. H.P.
moy be relevonf for your somplhg design. This ,niu"rr" "fil" somnle by
wos bosed on t*o listi
privote schools prepored by difierent orgonizotions ond iwo of 2. size
lnitiol somple 20,316 15,766 r (7r
{Colemon et ol., i gg2b, High "iogli,.
pp' l5-16)' on the bosis of lhese lists, NoRC buih o cumulotive School Achievenent,
j )r',0* of ei'eible schooh 1,t22 98; '";; 26,e66 t2
list represontotive of oll schools nomed 4 Number of eligibles ofre, I ,0 I
893 38
on ony of the lists. *plo.ing
r'-""'v
I
;; 12
ln oddition, they wonted o speciolsubsomple _ tnerigibles
S
28 lz
of high-performonce public ond privote schools. Finol reoljzedsomplesize l,ll8
developed in somewhot difterent woys for the public lnj priuote This wos
schools. For the privoie schools, the i 1 schoor Response
Rores i'oii 333 ff l!27 t2
high schools with the lorgest proporlions of lriotionol
privote school flle (but no more thon I school wos
Merir semiflnolists were chosen from rhose in
the
a ^
/9 l'?,n
,n,,,or
"r,s,;;,.iJ;, (,.* .,
ir
selected from o single stot"r. ioi it,""prrri. ,.i rrnor role neglecring -'
'/ t .70
once the iniliol somple wos drown, o subsomple of l2 oorr, substirurjon .7g .JU
high-per{ormonce"public ,.t *t, JrJ*n on
fhe some criterio (perient of Notionol Merit semifinolist, "oni exocily 4)
trow 5/row .50 .75
no 2 schoors from the some stote) were se- '91 9l
-^, I:Tb"r of studenrs .9s
" lolol,e'igible
lected (colemon et ol., 1g'2b, pp.9-r0). {Note thot o J
.7s
/
these rwo subsompres ore nol comprerery
compo- studeni( .92
roble-the privole school subsomple wos drown from the so,npling
frome ,epresentot*" .iir," populotion elisible I finor school 70't7o 62,a27 s,e6s
of oll privote high schools; while the public school rrurorpt"
*oidro*n trom ttre setectea somple of the I0
,tT:lJ"'"'
,I sennrs r 3Bt 7e1
public high schools ond wos therefore representotive
olrh! somple, bur less direcrlfr"ir""l*roriu" of the eiigible in linol school 35,338 ? r '
populotion from which the somple wos diown.J , r, Sophomores,n,'nor,o,oru--,'o'or"
2 Sen'o.s in finol so"nple - li{:i ililJ ?3;t ,:l 3es
I
19,280 26,44g --\)
2E'4so 24'8e1 ) Aa1
somple hos some problems. The imporlont thing
. ,Fu"'I
in describing your sompling design. colemon
problems with their sompling design. lt wos
is to recognize whot fhey ore ond to stote
ond his collJogrus jdentifled the following os
difiicuho g".lr""
them
one of the mo jor ,, ,"ri1i;"111'iffi;iT* ;';;; !:l
396

:i?
o reoliy good list of privote schools, be- 14. Seniors kow lZlrow'ld) .86 o.
couse ol the noture of such schoors. Non-cotholic .9J
privite schoors oru'piui.utortylii"rr""in qrotity
from etite, rons-esrobrishod rchoor, to cosuoilv
run ,.r.,i"rr tr-,"i.i"i
ona '82 .8 r
aa

.;; pr" e4
ffi';;Hil::e drsoppeor
"rr" "ra i;;r'io;;;;1";;'o''n'nn '7'
d Privors 5.h..1,
ao.oo,u4l]ffi
t52

I
 TheDesignofsocialResearch
154
In this equation, 100 represents the number of
blocks to be selected, 50 the number ofhouse-
holds on Block X, and 200,000 the number of
households in the citY.
If Block X is drawn into the sample, then
each ofits 50 households would have the fol-
lowing probability of being selected.
l0 (selected from each block) _,
50 (households on Block X)
If you multiply the probabilities for the block
being selected (.025) bV the probabilities of a
household on the block being selected (.2),
you get the overall probability ofeach house-
hold on Block X being selected (.025 X .2 =
.005) as 5 in 1000.
It turns out to be the case that whatever
the number ofhouseholds on a block, the PPS
method will produce the same probability of
each being selected. For example, on Block Y
there are 200 households. Here the probability
Y
of Block being selected for the sample
would be
200
100X200p00=.1
In this equation, 100 is the number of blocks
to be selected,200 the number ofhouseholds
on Block Y, and 200,000 the number of
households in the city. The probability ofany
particular household on Biock Y being se-
lected would be
l0
= 'ot
200
ln this equation, 10 is the number of house-
holds to be selected from each block and 200
the number of househoids on Block Y. Hence
if Block Y is selected, every household on it
has a 5 percent chance ofbeing drawr into the
sample.
Thus the overall probability of the two-
ART TWo
P
stage process (.1 X .05 = .005) leads to the
same result. In short, the overall probability
of any one house being seiected from the
larger Block Y (the block with more house-
holds) is just as good as any one house being
selected from the smaller Block X (the block
with fewer households). This is because the
larger block has a higher probability ofgetting
into the sample, but a lower probability of any
one household being selected on the block. On
the other hand, the smaller block has a lower
probability of being selected in the sample,
but ifit is selected, the households on it would
have a higher probability ofbeing selected at
the second stage.
Mathematically, this occurs because the
number of households on each block serves as
the numerator in the first equation and the de-
nominator in the second equation. Therefore
the differential number of households per
block is canceled out. Thus, the overail prob'
ability for a househoid being selected in a city
of200,000 households, where 100 blocks and
10 households per block would be selected,
would be
l0
100xffi='005
Because blocks tend to have similar-type
housing on them, they tend to include homo-
geneous households. For this reason, it is not
necessary to sample too many households on
any one block. Instead, it is preferable to sam-
pie a greater number ofblocks.
Weighling for Disproporlionote Sompting
Many probability samples employ a weighting
technique to give subgroups their fair share of
weight in the analyses. (In mathematical
terms, all samples are weighted since, if the
sample sizes are used directly, they are
weighted by one.) Suppose you are doing a
study comparing the academic performance
l.norrr*u
of foreign students and American students at
American colleges. Naturally there are many
fewer foreign students than American stu-
dents. Let's say you plan to select 50 Ameri-
can students per campus. You may decide for
purposes of comparison to select 50 foreign
students as well. However, at a college of 1000
students, where 100 are foreign students, you
would give the foreign students a 50 percent
chance of being selected for the sample, but
the American students a 5.5 percent chance of
being selected. In this case, a subgroup would
have been "oversampled" in order to get a
large enough number to study from an under-
represented group in the population. This
method might well be a good strategy if you
compensate in the analysis stage ofthe study
by weighting the findings.
The foreign students in this example are
just over nine times as likely to be selected for
the sample as the American students. Since
the Americans make up nine-tenths of the stu-
dents and the foreign students one-tenth, you
could determine the weights by multiplying
this fractional proportion times the number
selected from each group. Thus at the college
described, the findings from the 50 foreign
students would be multiplied by one-tenth,
and those from the 50 American students by
nine-tenths. This means that in weighted
terms 5 foreign students were equivalent to 45
American students. This wouid be the same as
simply weighting the American sample by
nine. Most computer package programs allow
for simple procedures to weight a sample or
parts of a sample. Or you might compose ta-
bles separately for the foreign students and the
American students and then muitiply the
American data by nine.
Hirschi's (1969) sample for the delin-
quency study used a form of disproportionate
sampling for the different race and sex
subgroups in the study. Each black female in
the sample represented about 8.0 other black
females, whereas each black male represented
Samplinel|Sl
only 1.2 other black males (Hirschi, 1969, p.
37). (You may recali that the delinquency
rates for the girls in the sample were so low
that they were ultimately excluded from the
analysis, even though they had been a part of
the sample design.)
Weighting may also be used to cancel out
the effects of differential response rates from
different subgroups. Considering the response
rates of the various subgroups-recall that
this refers to the proportion ofthose sampled
who responded-Hirschi used the following
weighting procedure. If white girls had an
overall response rate of 65 percent, and in a
particular junior high school they responded
al a rute of 70 percent, 5 percent of the re-
sponses from the particularjunior high school
would be selected randomly and discarded
from the analysis (Hirschi, 1969, p. 38).
Deciding Whot Type of Somple fo Employ
If you wish to do a survey in which the re-
sponses to your questionnaire can be general-
ized to some more widely defined popuiation,
then you must develop a probability sample.
You cannot generalize your findings to some
wider group without a probability design. In
addition, many slatistical tests (some of which
will be discussed in Chapter 16) assume that
the data have been collected from a sampie se-
lected according to the rules of probability.
This means that some statistical tests will be
meaningless if they are applied to findings
from a nonprobability sample.
Survey research is often based on proba-
bility samples. Content analysis (discussed in
Chapter 10) may also use a sampling design
for choosing contents to examine based on the
rules of probability. Experimental designs and
field research rarely use probability samples to
select subjects for study. Subjects in experi-
ments are usually volunteers. However, data
from experiments can be tested with statistical
measures ifthe subjects have been assigned to
I
ij;
';i
il
i'i

The Design ofSociaL Research

CHAPTER

the experimental and control groups by a pro- analysis has become one of the most common ple of interest. Nonprobabitiry
cess of randomization (see Chapter 8 for samples are questions were too sensitive
a forms of research currently done in sociology, olten used, lor pretests of large to be given to a
broader discussion of this). In field research, surveys where stranger on a street corner. In
precisely because it enables the researcher to the cosr and effort of selecting pr"Urtiili" otf,ei*o.Oi. ;t
probability samples are virtually never work with data based on a high-quality sam-
, is always beuer ro consider..*irilv
employed.
sample may be considered *iJ,r,*
The design and objectives ofthe study will
pling design that the individual researcher purposes of the pretest. """;r.r;;tf";il; the people you plan to use
as respondents are
would be unlikely to be able to collect person- Nonprobability sampling may likely ro comply with your request
also be ef_ and give
determine what type of sample is needed. ally. In short, secondary analysis allows many " careful consideration to your questions.
recttvely used in studies that seek to
Coleman wanted his findings on public and researchers to work with data based on very explore
ideas that are still undeveloped.
private high schools to be representative ofall good samples. fn ,ur[-.*l
studies, rhe objecr may be to g.n.._ Purposive or Judgmentol Sompling
such schools in the United States. Thus he re_ When the researcher wants to collect his or l]:i?]"'T
are theones or hypotheses that
quired a national sample which would be rep- might th"en be Assuming that you are still trying
her own data, and it is not feasible to draw a studied 'singprobability sample. Here
a to do the
resentative of schools and the students within probability sample, there are a number of a few study on.prostilutes. you migtrt
A"eciAe io-nn
them (this led him to a multistage cluster de- nonprobability techniques that can be used. lomlonll.gyptoyed types of nonprobuUiiitv
samples ro a certaln street or to a particuiar
will be described bar and l'ry
sign). Naturally, he needed a probability sam_ Such samples often have serious iimitations; to interview persons who seemed
ple; otherwise he wouid not have been able to to you to .*,_
nevertheless, they may be satisfactory for emoll!, the typical prosrilure.
claim that what he found in his sample was ffrrJ i"r,
representative ofhigh schools in general.
many types ofstudy designs and objectives. Convenience Sompling sampling generally considers
mon characteristics of the type
th, ;;';;;: "f
Hirschi, on the other hand, was studying
Assuming that you have little
access to a sam_
it is a.rir.O-io
sample, tries to figure out
qle_of prostitutes, you rnigt t .fr."g. whire,u.f, inOirO_
the conelates of self-reported delinquency NONPROBABILITY SAMPI-ING V*. a._ uals can be found, and then
among youths. A national sample might have
un9,tw to srudy arlirudes t";;;;; tries to siuJu
In many instances probability sampling is l]91
ruuon. Now 11 would seem to rnem. Another method is to
look for f tre un_
been desirable, but a smaller area survey was simply not feasible. Although many stitistical be easy io find
dsviqnl, individuai R;ril;;
regarded as suftcient, on the grounds that a tests require such sampling, in certain cases
a sample ofrespondents prepared
to give vou :f]:rl,untypical
rrom .or.
respondents allow a compari_
representative local sample of urban youths,
answers to such a sludy. (you coulO.' oi
nonprobability samples are the best that can son with typical cases.
course, design a probability
wherever they were from, might exemplifo rhe sample i"_
be achieved. It is important that you under- clude in your survey a queition "ni . A-student of mine once wanted
to studv
factors related to committing delinquenl acts stand whether you can select a probabi_iity ;" the cha.racteristics of n.utt.s
iunr. e[ffii
as well as any other. However, Hirschi did uti_
sample, and that, ifyou cannot, you consider
toward prostitution.) "rrir";; many individuats fir rhj, d;ilp;;,";.
But let's assume thal you need
lize a probabiiity sample (a stratified sample) the best means for developing and explaining your infor_ probiem is to know where
in order to be able to relate his evid.ence to de_ quickly,so that designd;;;;;;;- to find ihe;. T;;
a nonprobability sample. Many groups might Tatlon
rty sample is out of the questiin. j" stu-dent came up witb a good
strategy. ; ;;:
linquency records in the area. be interesting to study, but, for various ria_ words, you need ,,warm bodies,,*ffi"g
;;h; rron-al "tsealles fan conference
was going 1o be
In any study, two important factors in de_ sons, no sampiing frame could ever be devel_ t" u"_ h:19 wenr off ro rhis confer.n..
swer your questions without
too muchiassle. -Y..questionnaires i*.j
lermining what type of sample to employ are oped for them. Imagine that you want to do a Try your coltege cafere,i".
with 250 and found , ,il;;
feasibility and cost. probability samples .e_ study of prostitutes. Certainly there is no list If ;;;^ ofrespondents. Although tn,
quire finding or developing a sampling frame.
whoever you happen to
come upon jn vour ",*;; ,urpi. *irrj
available (or unavailable) ofindividuais who r'oltege catetena, the sample the average n.ul. fun, ii *ouij
When such lists are unavailable and unattain- you wll get will fft-renrese.nl
be group
engage in prostitution. However, you might be_.a.convenience sample. a highly motivat.o ro..rpono
roliil
able, then probability sampling may not be be able to draw together a sample useful -for wrr* ."rGg, i"- survey.
feasible. In addition, large-scale sampling ef_ reqxest a college class to ,"rp"f.t.
your purposes by using a form of nonproba_ :tructor:
survsy f61 the professor's research, u
forts may be very expensive ana may be Ue_ bility sampiing. thev are
yond the reach ofmany researchers. sample. rnis is mereiy an Quoio Sompling
The rationale for using nonprobability :::i_i:o"*"ience
avarlable sample which appears able
Because ofthe great expense in generating sampling is that it is the best form of sampling to offer Quota. sampling is a form of nonprobabilitv
answrrs ofinterest to your study.
a national probabitity sample, many researchl that you can use for the study you are deslgni ,uTpiilq thar is of,en
ers reuse data that have been collected in na- ing. While a study based on a nonprobability . Naturally, a convenience sample
cannot
misraken
probability sampling. This
f;;;;;;;
tional surveys by large survey organizations. ofjusr anyone. fr *ouia p.oUa_ is becaus",h.;;;;
sample has disadvantages (especially the fact !1.:llor.O
Dry not be a good idea an attempt to select certain_sized
,uUru_pt.,
Using an already collected dataset for a new to stand on a street cor_
that its findings cannot be generalized to a de_ people walking down the
from. clearly defined groups.
fhe Oiff.erence is
study is called secondary analysis and will be finable wider population), it nevertheless can :.:: :t".q street, and
sampling. sampling frames from
discussed in detail in Chapter 10. Secondary
survey them on their attitudes toward
prosti_ ]la.t
wnlcn ln 9uota
be an excellenl way to study a particular sam_ tution. Many would feel that to select the sample are not set
answers to such uD.
Rather, the groups ur. o.nn.J,
,nJir,. ,JJ,

T

158 TheDesignofsocialResearch
specifred, and then individuals who fit these
descriptions are selected to fill the quotas
wherever they can be found.
Quota sampling generally begins by setting
up a matrix ofthe characteristics desired: sex,
age, tace, etc, Let's say you want to do a sur-
vey ofthe student body at your university in
order to find out whether they would prefer to
change to a trimester system (or if you are al-
ready on one, to a s€mester system). you rec-
ognize that such opinions might vary for those
in different colleges, for those in different
years in coilege, and for those with (or with-
out) jobs offcampus, etc. You would begin by
trying to get ffom the administration the per-
centages ofstudents (t) in each college, (2) in
each year, (3) who work offcampus. Let's say
that you find out that 65 percent of the stu-
dents are in liberal arts and 35 percent in busi-
ness. Considering a different variable, yor:
find out that 30 percent are freshmen, 20 pet
cent are sophomores, 25 percent are juniors,
and 25 percent are seniors, Considering a
third variable, you discover that 40 percent
work offcampus and 60 percent do not. Now
you decide to get a sample of 100 students. Of
these 100, 65 should be from liberal arts and
35 from business; there should be 30 first-year
students, 20 sophomores, 25 juniors, atd 25
seniors; 40 should work offcampus. Be sure to
TAELE 6.5
MATRIX FOR A QUOTA SAMPTE OF COILEGE STUDENTS
Iiberol Arrs & Sciences Students
{65%: N = 65)
Work Off Compus Do Not Work
Yeor in College l40Vol
Freshmon 300 7.81'8)
Sophomore 20% 5.2{51
Junior 250 6.5t7)
Senior 2SVo 6.5t6)-
Totol N I 00%o 26
*Rounded
numbers in porenlheses designote the octuol numbers to be sompled. They must sometimes be rounded
lo produce the needed row ond column totols.
pART TWo
remember that these divisions overlap. Thus,
ofthe 65 liberal arts students selected, 35 per-
cent should be first-year students, 20 percent
sophomores, etc., and 40 percent should be
employed offcampus. By setting up a matrix,
as seen in Table 6-5, you can set out all the
various subgroups that you need.
The procedure for quota sampling, once
the quota sizes are determined, is simply to go
out and fill the quotas. Since you see in the
matrix that you need 5.2 (5) sophomores who
are liberal arts students and who work off
campus, you merely seek out 5 such students.
You do the same for the 7.8 (8) sophomores
who are liberal arts students and who do not
work off campus. Note that you figured the
first-mentioned quota by multiplying the 65
Iiberal arts students by .40 (a0 percent work
offcampus), which equals 26;then multiply-
ing these 26 oflcampus workers by .20 (20
percent sophomores), which equals 5.2 and
rounding to 5.
Don't be fooled into thinking thar rhis will
get you a probability sample. you may re-
member hearing about the famous polling
error made at the time of the 1948 eleclion by
the Gallup organization, which predicted a
victory for Thomas Dewey over Harry Tru-
man. That poll was based on quota sampling.
Because the subgroups are not selected from
Business Students
(35%; N = 35)
Work Ofr Compus Do Not Work
(60%l (400/ol (60%) Toiol N
I | .7U2t 4.2t41 6.3{6)
7,8t8t 2.8(3) 4.214)
9.75(9r 3.s{4) 5.25(5)
9.75{ r 0} 3.st3)- 5.25(6)'
39 )4 21
100
up or down
sampling frames representing the population
of all members of the subgroup, the selected
subgroups do not establishi known probaUit-
ity of every member in the subgroups being
included in rhe sample. This mJansihat thJ
selection ofcases wrthin the quota groups can
be biased. As a result, you cannot make valid
inferences to a wider population from a quota
sample.
Snowbqll Sompling
This refers to a form of sampling in which you
flrst flnd a few subjects who are characterized
by the qualities you seek, you interview them,
and then you ask them for names of other
people whom they know who have the same
qualities or other qualities that interest you.
In this manner, you accumulate more and
more respondents by using each respondent
you get as a source of new names for vour
sample.
This approach might be a way to select
subjects for the prostitute study. If you were
able to find a few prostitutes willing to talk to
you, you might ask them for the names and
locations of others they know who might also
be willing to be interviewed. Sampling of this
type has often been done in studies of elite
groups, either those in power in a community
or members of upper classes. In community
studies, there has often been the sense thai
only those in power really know who else has
power. Because there is no sampling frame
listing all those who are powerful (as there
would be a listing of all those who hold office),
a snowball sampling technique might lead you
from one power holder to another.
DESIGNING A SAMPI-E TO MEET
30 YOUR RESEARCH NEEDS
20
The object ofthis chapter has been to give you
25 some help in understanding the meaning of
probability and nonprobability samples, the
proper terms to use to describe your sample,
and the methods of drawing a decent sample.
\
As mentioned earlier, the design and objec-
tives of your study will determine the type of
sample you need. Perhaps the best way to
begin to design a sample to serve your pur_
poses is to draw up a design of the ideal sam-
ple you would like to get if you had all the re-
sources possible. Of course, you will be
unlikely to be able to actually draw that sam-
ple, but at ieast you will understand the ideal
characteristics of a sample that would meet
your highest purposes. you can then think
about which parts of the sample design might
-to
be most feasible (and least feasible)
achieve. Finally, you can begin to redesign a
sampling model that can meet your most crit_
ical needs, even if it abandons some charac_
teristics of your ideal design. Remember that
another strategy is to consider using an al_
ready collected dataset, which may be based
on a very fine and very ambitious sample that
you would not be able to carry out yourself
This is the approach of the secondaryanalyst,
which will be discussed in detail in Chapter
10.
Howevef, if you do carry out your own
sample, whatever the design you ultimately
implement, remember to keep careful records
ofexactly what you do. It is essential to your
final research report that you be able to ex-
plain exactly how your sample was drawn.
Note how forthright Coleman and his col-
leagues were in providing their own criticism
of the weaknesses of their sample. This com-
mitment to careful explanation of your sam-
ple design and of the problems you may have
in- implementing your design is a crucial part
of the sampling process itself.
REVIEW NOTES
. Data gathered from probability samples
make possible accurate inferences to the
larger population from which the sample
was drawn.
. Probability samples are based on the rules of
probability theory, which allow a determi_
 I'
160 TheDesignofSocialResearch
nation of how likely a particular sample is to
be representative of its population.
. 3. Now reconsider this sampling design for
Simple random sampling (SRS) is a form of
probability sampling in which computer-
generated or published lists of random num-
bers are used as the criteria for selecting
sample members from a sampling frame.
. Systematic sampling is a form of probability
sampling in which every nth member on a
sampling fr"ame is drawn into the sample. as-
suming that the list has no biased order and
the first selection is based on a random start.
. Stratified sampling involves stratifying the
sampling frarne into separate homogeneous
subgroups based on characteristics of inter-
est (such as sex) prior to selecting a sample
within the subgroups using SRS or system-
atic sampling selection procedures.
. Multistage cluster sampling selects hetero-
geneous clusters (such as schools) and then
selects members of the cluster using a ran-
dom selection procedure.
" Nonprobability sampling does not foilow
the principles of probability theory. The var-
ious types of nonprobability sampies in-
clude convenience samples, judgmental
samples, quota sarnples (not to be confused
with stratified sampling), and snowball
samples.
KEY TERMS
attrition
clusters
confidence interval
confidence levels
convenience sample
ilisproportionate sampling
element
heterogeneous grouPs
homogeneous groups
inferences
judgmental sample
mean
multistage cluster sampling
PART TWo
fully what you would need 1o do to accom_
nonprobability sample desired sample sizes, types of probabilitv
plish this.
nonsampling error sanr pies.
2. Stephan, Frederick F., and philip J. McCarthv:
normal curve
the first-year writing program and set up
population a .9antpling Opinions; An Analysis of Survcy prl_
primary sampling unit nonprobability sample.If you decide to use cedures, Wiley, New york, 1963. A classic on
a quoto sample, describe what you would the principles of designing samples for survevs.
probability sample
purposive sample need to do to get a sample of sophomores Discussion of how sampling and measurement
as defined above in eueslion 1. are interdependent.
quota sample
3. Williams, BiIl: A Sampler on Satnpling, Wltey,
random numbers
New York, 1978. A very readable, Uui serious,
sample RECOMMENDED READING discussion olthe principles of sanpling. Begin_
sampling distribution of the sample mean ning with examples of ..bad samples," Wittiim
sampling error l. Slonim, Morris J.: Satnpling, Simon and Schus_
goes on to give very lucid explanations
ter, New York, 1966. A briefand colorful of the
sampling frame explo_ normal curve, types of probability sample cle_
ration ofhow probability sampling works. A
secondary sampling unit dis_ srgns, common types of bias in sampling,
and a
cussion of sampling and nonsampling errors. final how{o chapter.
simple random sampling (SRS)
snowball sample
standard deviation
strata
stratified sampling
systematic sampling
unit
variance
weighting
STUDY EXERCISES
1. Consider the kinds of sampies that you
might use to carry out the evaluation of the
basic writing course (or some other first-
year program) in your college. If you de-
cide to use a probability sample of all soph-
omores in your college representative of
every major field within the college who
began at this college and never attended
any other college,
a. What isthe population of this sample?
b. Describe lhe sampling .frame you
would need to select this sample.
c. What would the primary and second'
ary sampling units be for this sample?
d. Describe the elements of this sample.
2. [rt's say that for the above sample, you de-
cide to carry out. a stratified sample using
the principles of svstematic santplinglo se-
iect each element. Describe carefully and
I
 The Methods
of Social Research

PREFACE

tothemajormethods,seg^::".:"1*,-"fr
research, the most widery used method,
;nff ffi ,11."'&T;liTT?,f n'.i:;
and examin. tt. ,Jrrg.
can be designed and delivered. Chapter 8 presents
or;;i" which surveys
experimental methods. Because these
methods follow scientific rures, a cireful
e*a,nrnution n..o.o to perform
social experiments and of th-e challeng.r
to itr. validity"Ftir.-.ct.r.
of experiments are given. Since
social research questions often cann'ot
u. ,tuoi.a. ;
yit'g il.-*^p*.n.nrur design,
preexperimental and quasi-experimental
designs widely used in social research will
examined. chapter 9 raises. issues in the be
desTgning uno field research
projects, with many suggestions on "uffii ""r'"r in the fierd
methoos a'nd approaches roiolr.*ing
and how to turn the evidence gathered intoa
research report. There is also a discussion
ofthe field ofvisual sociology.
studies based on a range oimethods that utilize
already collected data are the subject
of chapter I 0. Exampies of studies una *u1o
oi oorng ,.ronJu.,u ,*L*;r, content anar_
yses, analyses of unobtrusive measures,
historical or-".ur.rr,unJ";"rril orexisting
tistics are given. Finalry, chapter r r'uaor.rr., sta_
evaluation research, which is not a
method but a purpose for doing research. Both
experimenr.al and nonexperimentai evar_
uation projecrs are described, ind a oisrursion-;i;;;;,".,.ir"?i.rors
scale evaluations ofnational trends is includeJ. for rarge_

163

I
 Suwey Research

INTRCDUCTICN

Su.u., research is a method of collecting

data in which a specifically defined group of individuals are asked to answer
a number
ofidentical questions. These answers form the dataset ofthe study. Survey research is
the most common type of social research, probably for both the rigtrt and wrong
reasons.
As the old dictum states: "If you want to find something ou1 asiil" There
is something
simple and straightforward about seeking information through questions. yet
we all
know that to many questions there are no answers, that answersio questions may
be
wrong, and that a question may be incorrectly asked so that it cannot elicit
the desired
information. All these possible probrems, which frequently confuse everyday forms
of
communication, also confront surveys. Furthermore, many topics cannot bL properly
studied by simply asking questions. Many researchers may atso find it difficult
or im_
possible to set up a survey which will meet the basic requirements
for a respectable
survey.
In chapter 1, we looked carefully at two surveys in order to give you some idea
of
what a good survey might accomprish. In chapter 5, we consideied ho*
l to ope.airon_
alize variables, which are the building blocks of a survey. seiecting the group
I of indi-
I
!
viduals to be questioned was the subject of chapter 6, in which s"ampling techniques
I were discussed' In this chapter, we will first consider the creative and
I
I
scientific dimen-
I
sions of a survey. Next the components of a survey will be laid out. The major
types of
1

survey research will then be presented and compared. Finally, we will consider
I
I virious
I
ways of determining whether a survey is the best means to study your intended
l topic.
i
I
i
I
I
I
t

I
I
165
,l
I
 ;qr.
I'l
I
i

166TheMethodsofSocial Research pART THREE I

CHAPTER 7
Survey Research 167

THE ART AND SCIENCE
OF SURVEYS
Creqtive Aspecis of Surveys
On the face of it, a survey may not seem to be
terribly creative. After all, you may think,
anybody can put together a set of questions.
That may be true, but not just anybody can
put together a set of questions which ( 1 ) get as
precisely as possible the information the re-
searcher wants, (2) are clearly understood by
all the respondents to mean the same thing,
and (3) comprise a unified whole (that is, a
questionnaire or an interview schedule) that is
pleasing enough to the respondents that they
are willing to spend the time to compiete it
and sufficiently engaging that they will not
give superficial or misleading answers. To be
able to produce a survey that meets these cri-
teria is, first ofall, an art.
The most vivid and direct forms of com-
munication are produced by artists. Great art
is art that touches and moves many people
deeply; it is a presenktion which forces one to
react. Now don't think me strange if I argue
that a superb questionnaire should also be ir-
resistible to the respondent. He or she should
feel that these questions mustbe answered. If
the questions are given by an interviewer, the
presentation ofthe questions should also be so
inviting that the respondent again feels fuliy
engaged in the process ofanswering. In inter-
viewing, the relationship between the ques-
tions as written for the interviewer and the
questions as presented to the respondent re-
sembles the relationship between the score of
a symphony and the symphony as played. The
score (or the set of questions) must be won-
derful if the symphony (or the survey) is to be
wonderful. But a wonderful symphony can be
massacred by a poorly rehearsed, badly
trained orchestra; and a wonderful survey can
be destroyed by bad interviewing.
Let's first consider the questions them-
selves. They must be worded so carefully and BOX 7-t
questronnaire which appears
unambiguousiy that the questions measure to have been
the concepts which the researcher intends. If g_yflprys To MEASURE sErF-REpoRTED nlepared by an amateur may arouse less
sus_
DETINQUENT ACTS prcro.n and more cooperation
they do, they are valid meastrements of the than u ,,ra"
concepts being studied. Ifthey do not, they are When Hirschi (i969) wonted to wnlch seems more formal
meosure delin- and aulhorirative.
useless. Thus, the designing of questions is a quency, le creoted o sei or qlr651;a., because a questionnair. i,
gelher lorned on "jndex' ol
which io- l:1n*,
rts appearance will also determine
un oUj..l
criticai phase of the survey. This design of
Ihese six items were;
delinouency.
treated.
h";-i;l;
questions requires creativity so that the gap
between what the researcher wants 10 measure
and what the questions produce for measure-
l. Hove you ever token little rhings
{worrh less Scientific Aspects of Surveys
thon $2) thor did not belong
ment is as narrow as possible. Box 7-l pre- ^ to you?
In the research model considered
2. Hove you ever token things of
in Chapter
sents Hirschi's (1969) survey questions to (berween g2 ond gS0)
some volue
2, the design of a survey would
measure self-reported acts of juvenile *or aia not l"tonj fall into-the
to you? phase ofthe research process
delinquency. utr.l. i,ypoirr.r.,
3. Hove you ever roken things of lorge
voiue nave been Jormulaled. Wallace
This ability to ueate questions to tap ideas lworrh over gSO) rhor dtd nit Uutonjro
refers to il as
. yori insrrumentarion (1971. pp. 6g_69).
that may be on the surface undesirable to an- 4. Hove you ever ioken o cor for Th. i;;
o riai *iii,oui rorms ol rnslrumentalion which
swer. or lacking in interest. requires an anjsric the owner's permission?
those. based solely on .,human
he defines arc
touch. But this touch can be fostered by care- 5. Hove you.ever bonged up someihing
Inoi gans" (such as ..seeing" ttringg
;;il;;:
fully re-creating the best types of questions did nor belong to you on purpose? anC itrose
. based on *rechnologicaliy
which one has used in everyday life. We don't 6. Nol count,rg lghts you moy hove nod
wi,h
*grririr,.J r."1".,
organg The first type would
often ask peopie outright: Are -vou a car thief? o broiher o' s.sler, hovs y6{, ever
beolen up . be best rep-re-
senred by parricipanr observarion,
Instead, we pose questions in such a way as to
on onyone or hurt onyone on purpose?
rne researcher's primary inslruments
i; ,;;l
generate the information we desire without
or her eyes or ears. The second
are his
unduly upsetting or annoying the persons
Hirs_cl'i oc,uo,ly rrying ro ,op wl-eiher
wos ryp. *ouiO U.
,
yourhs hod comnrtled crimes. re.nresenred by a
',i,iri.f, . qr."
asked. So too, in a survey. While we don't Since mony peo- survey in
ple.would be reluctonilo tell you .!11
lronnalre or an jnterview schedule
know the people whom we are surveying, we whether they suppons
hod committed ony crimes, fh" qr"rtion, the basic sensory data collectors
must, in many ways, design our survey as if sc.ibe the ocrs w,fhout ony inlimorion
J"'-
thot Marilda White Riley explains the
we did. wrrte. o, ihe ouest.on disopp.oves
lhe differ-
of ,hese ocis er^ces between the data generated from partic-
Finally, the way in which the survey is pre- or regords tl-em os very serious. Norice
how rpanl observalion (which we will
sented, either in spoken form as an interview, sleoling o cor is described os ,.161;ng consider in
o cor for Lhapter 9) and that from quesrionnaires
or in written form as a questionnaire to be an- o ride without permission." This is o
euphemism
in
the iollowing way:
swered by the respondent, must be creative. for "steoling o cor.', Furthermore, it
moy more
Interviewers must be engaging, but not to the closely represent the woy in whjch
the deiin-
quent teenoger considers the Data from observation reflect
point that they would strongly affect the re- oc| os on essen_ the network of
tiolly,hormless octivity in which a_clions and reactions among
group members_
sponses given. Nole that I haven't said to the the youth *os
the objective properries oi if.,.
merely hoving o bjt of fun. ,yu.rn.--Ouru
point where they would have no effect. This is lrom questioning reflect the ,rU..ii".
because it is impossible for an interviewer not of. orientations and interpersonal ".t*"rt
relation-
to have some effect on the ti,pes ofresponses ships-the underlying ideas and feelings
of the
generated. We will discuss the style of the in- members,,lheir dispositions to
terviewer below. For the moment, it is enough . ,A questionnaire. too. expresses a cenain
slyle. lt may look crowded and wordy.
act toward the
others and to define and evaluate
or Irese otfr..,
to remember that an interviewer will always and inviting. ri," typ, oi printine
un_ in various ways (1963, p. I84).
affect in some ways the meaning and interpre- :1y:*q
tation of the questions being asked by his or Tll ]""k
officiat and precise, or it mav
mrnreographed
be
copy which toots moie tiLe
i In other words, while observing the
behavior
her personal style. rne worl( ol an amaleur. Remember ofpeople on a city street corner,
an observer
that a may see someone ask another person
a ques_

I

The Methods of Social Research
tion. .ludging bir the behavior olthe two peo-
ple, the observer might interpret that the ques-
a
tion concerned soliciting geographical
direction. But the field researcher would not
know what question was asked or why it was
asked. Questions in a questionnaire or in an
interview try to get at the underlying atlitudes
and dispositions (the orientations) surround-
ing a piece of information. Surveys generally
go beyond merely asking people who they
voted for or what their religion is to asking
wh.v lhey voted for a particular candidate and
low religiously observant they are.
Does this make survey data more or less
scientific than data based solely on observa-
tion? Surveys are more focused and pre-
planned. They go after very specific pieces of
information, or, in an interview situation,
they may probe around an issue-but always
with the intent of embellishing a specific picce
of information. On the other hand, surveys
may be very badly designed such that they are
ambiguous and produce misleading data.
When this is the case, the scientific value of
the study is undermined.
Surveys aiso may be based on much mors
precise samples than an observation study. As
we saw in Chapter 6, probability samples en-
able a researcher to relate findings based on a
specific sample 1o a much wider population.
Much of the popularity of surveys and polls
rests on the ability 1o generalize the findings
so widely. Finally, survey questions can be de-
veloped so that their reliability levels are quite
high. This means that questions will tap the
same responses from people ifrepeated again
and again.
The analysis ofsurvey data rests on a form
of scientific logic based on relationships and
changes in relationships associated with the
introduction ofnew factors. In certain types of
surveys, those based on panel data, where the
same respondents have been surveyed at
more than one point in time, a clear time
dimension can be established. and certain
'!.1:t)
types of causal analyses may be carried
out. Chapters 14 and 15 will describe how
survey data may form the basis of scientific
analyses.
GENERAL COMPONENTS
OF SURVEY RESEARCH
flrXodes of Eliciting lnfornrolion
There are two primary modes of doing a sur-
vey: using questionnaires or giving interviews.
Both methods are based on a set of questions.
In the questionnaire, these questions are writ-
ten down and the respondent reads them and
gives written answels. In an interview, the in-
terviewer asks the questions as they are writ-
ten in an interview schedule and then records
the respondent's answers either by writing
them down or recording them electronically.
Interviews may be face to face, or they may be
carried ou1 on the telephone.
frfiodes of Selecting Respondenls
In Chapter 6, we discussed the various types
of samples that night be used for a survey.
Tire first consideration in choosing among
them is whether a potential set ofrespondents
will be able to give answers to the types of
questions to be asked. The relevant issue here
is what is the appropriate population to which
your questions apply? Ifyou are doing a stuciy
of farm abandonment, you will probably want
to suruey farmers, ex-farmers, and others who
live in rural areas. ifyou wanl to survey col-
lege students about attitudes toward ROTC,
then you will want only students, probably
more male students than female, and you ma1,
want to concsntrate on those students who
have been in ROTC.
Secondly, it will be important to design a
survey which will be appropriate lor this sam-
ple. It should include questions which such a
group could and would answer. That is, the
questlons must be presented
in language fa_
miliar to the sample and phrased sJ that
members of the group will understand them.
The questions must also be acceptable to the
qample; they cannot probe
into subjects which
the respondents would refuse to consider be_
cause the questions make them look sociallv
undesirable or stupid. Ifthe questionnaire wiil
be received in the mail, it must have an ap_
propriate cover letter designed to encourage
lhe respondents to participate. Ifan intervie"w
is to be given, the opening remarks must also
encourage participation and mollify any con_
cerns which a potential respondent mayhave.
In short. rhe mode of eliciring information
must support the selection ofrespondents.
Modes of Returning lnformotion
Once a questionnaire is completed, there must
be clear instructions as to how it is to be re_
turned. In most mail surveys, return self_
addressed envelopes-which are usuallv
stamped-are included with the question_
naires. In this case, the questionnaire need
contain very few instructions about its return.
Interviews, once terminated, need to be fully
converted into information which may be
processed as a part ofthe study. Usually,
the
interviewer completes an inteiview schedule
which is basically like a questionnaire. In cer_
tain cases, interviews may be taped. When
this occurs, the information on the tape must
be transcribed. The sooner this is done follow_
ing the interview, the more accuratelv the in_
lerviewer will recall the exacl derails of rhe
interview.
This brief review of the general compo_
nents of surveys is set up to make you u*ir.
ofthe whole scope ofsurveys. Befoie we take
them apart and examine them carefullv in de_
tail, Iet me go over the general issues jn ad-
ministering surveys using examples from four
surveys which had different types of data_
gathering procedures.
ADMINISTERING SURVEYS:
FOUR EXAMPLES
Administering a survey is the fourth step in
the research process. The first step, defining
the problem, was discussed in the Introducl
tion and in Chapters 4 and 5. The second step,
selecting an appropriate sample, *u, ud_
dressed in Chapter 6. The rhjrd step. designing
the questionnaire or interview scieduiel witi
be the subject ofthis chapter. The fourth
step,
on survey administration, will also be de_
scribed here; and the fifth step, analyzing the
data from the survey, will be pr.r.nt.i in
Chapters 13 and 14.
There are two primary ways of administer-
ing a survey: using questionnaires or giving
interviews. Questionnaires may be aOminisl
tered to a group or sent to individuals to
be
filled out on their own; interviews may be car-
ried out in a face-to-face exchange between
the
inlerviewer and the interviewee. or they may
be given on the telephone. Whether to"use
a
questionnaire or an interview and
how 1o
carry it out will depend very much on lhe cir-
cumstances of the particular project you
are
designing. Four actual suru.y, each using
a dif_
ferent type ofdata collection technique ivili
be
presented here for purposes of comparison.
Exomple l: A Queslionnoire Adminislered
to o Group
In order to study the effects ofability grouping
on the social status ofhigh school studenis, i
gained the cooperation oftwo large suburban
high schools which had different types ofabil-
ity grouping practices. In North High, stu_
dents were rigidiy placed into abilitigioups
.i*".
on the basis of test scores with little to
select a different group or to change groups
if
they thought they had been misplaJed. i.ur_
thermore, ability grouping was practiced in al_
most all academic subjects. In South High,
grouping was much less rigid. Students
cor]ld
I
 170 TheMethodsofSocialResearch
select different classes with advice from teach-
ers, and certain academic subjects had no abil-
ity grouping at all.
With the support of the school administra-
tion, I administered the questionnaire to the
entire senior class of South F{igh during a se-
nior assembly, a regular gathering held weekiy
at that school. in North High, where senior as-
semblies were not held, questionnaires were
distributed in senior homerooms by the
homeroom teachers using the same instruc-
tions I had used for the group administration.
Exomple 2: A Msil Survey
To determine whether attending a predomi-
nantly white college increased the autonomy
of black students as compared to white stu-
dents, I surveyed black and white students at-
rcnding two different predominantiy white
colleges. The questionnaire included a set of
questions from an autonomy scale which was
used as an indicator ofautonomy. The survey
in that the respondents an-
was a panel study,
swered more than one questionnaire over a
period of time, and the data from the ques-
tionnaires were linked to each respondent.
This study had two questionnaires which
formed the "two waves" of the data collection
procedure: the first queslionnaire was senl out
at the beginning ofthe first year ofcollege, be-
fore the effects ofcollege could have occurred;
the second, at the end ofthe first year. Infor-
mation at more than one point in time was
needed so that any changes in level of auton-
omy (the hypothefical result of being at col-
lege) could be measured.
Since one ofthe institutions to be studied
was a large, state university, I knew I could
not survey the entire first-year class. I there-
fore needed to select a sample of students that
would inciude a sufficiently large number of
black students. However, since the university
did not have lis1s of students identified by
race, there did not seem to be any way for me
PART THREE
to draw up my two samples. Finally, I discov- gather information on this
subject from face_ and then one of these adults
ered that there was a listing of which high to-face interviews with youlhs was randomly se_
schools the students had attended. Since most
aged
represenlalive of those wirh the greatest
fi
to-ii. iected. to be the person to t.
inte*ie*eO on
came from local city high schools, I could get gree of unemployment. Interviei
Je_ the telephone.
a reasonable number of black students by ,.fr.juf.
were prepared that included questions
about
. Over a 3-week period, the telephone inter_
vtews were carried out with
sampling students from ail-black high schools; rhe_ yourhs' educarion and the selected indi_
skilis, ;;pilror viduals (numbers ofren had
and I couid balance these with a sample of stu- andjlans, job searches, aoa.'"ort ," il;;;#;
dents from all-white high schools. Since I also e*pi;.r*;: number of times in order to
. The-pubiic opinion laboratory
a.i* u,r* real ,h.;;.:
ular person needed for tt. ,r*pfrl.-it 'r"_
wanted to have black students in the study ple of 50 blocks in the ciry.
who had attended integrated high schoois, my *pr"*"il"e ;. dergraduate interviewers recorded
lower half of the income iirt.iu"ri""-"? the inter_
third sample could be drawn from racially in- city. Interviewers were selected, ir*a,-*j
ii'. view information on schedules.
legrated high schoois. The final designation of
race could be determined by self-reporl on the
trained from among college students
on surn_ - In each ofthese four surveys, the collected
data w-ere entered into a computer,
mer vacation who were roughly and anal_
questionnaire. In the other university, a direc- sinlita, io oith.
those being interviewed findings *.rJ ;r;p;;;.
agsr"egale
tory with photographs of first-year students ;" igl it"..:
rnus. ln each ofthese surveys
""O-,"..1
Teams.consisting of a few inter;ie;;.; the researchcr
was available, and I was able to select students ended up with sets of answers
by race from this directory.
supervisor went to the selecled
Uto.t, "*i;
[-inl queslions. The differences
to the same
tervie-w every youth berween th. in these ru*"* i""
Selected firsl-year students were senl ques- ug;; ;;'i; rn lerms of how the data
and.24 currently residing tir..e. had U..n .o1i..r.f,.
tionnaires through the mail shortly afler the f"irey-ufro These. brief descriptions
tried.to
-secure
appointments *itfr
Vouifrs on
of surveys rh;;
rn lnelr slyle of adminislralion
;;;
fall term began. The first mailing included a the block who were away at the havs 69sn .l:
letler explaining the survey, the questionnaire lime of rheir fered as an overview of the primary
vtsrl. B/ocks were revisiled three forrn,
and four
itsell and a stamped, return envelope. Those rl: monlh p.,ioo oitni.*i.*i".g. surveys. "f
who did not send the questionnaire back l1j::::f
I he matenal from the interview *as
recorded
How to choose the appropriate form
. ofad_
within 2 weeks received a postcard reminder on a schedule by rhe inrcrvi.*.. mlnrstratron fbr your survey will
Aurinlit * depend on
requesting them to complete the form and re- course of the interview. Ine type ot'problem you are studying.
your ac_
turn it. A third maiiing, to those who had not to a sample to study, your resources,
::ss and
returned the questionnaire within a month's yo.ur personal preferences.
We will oo* .u.._
time, included a different cover letter urging Exomple 4: A Telephone Survey over how ro design und pr.pur. qu.*
the person to complete the survey, another
ll]Iqg
uonnalre surveys for
Sociologist Steven Klineberg and in_person and self_ad_
copy ofthe questionnaire, and another return his under_ ministration questionnaires, and
graduate students at Rice Uniu..rity frlu. we will then
envelope. A second questionnaire, which in- descri be i nterview surveys
cluded the same measure of autonom.v, was
been carrying out annual ter.prrone
suri.vJoi for face_lo_f;;.
ierephone srruations. you will
;;;
residents of Houston to measure need this infor_
sent at the end ofthe spring term to every per- their atti_ mation if you decide to do a ,rru.f -ir
tudes.loward the changing conditions
oftheir help you select
*lff
son who had compieted the fail survey. Again,
expanding ciry. To elicil views repre_ the most appropriate type of
two follow-up requests were sent to those who l1p]d])'
senlatlve survey for your panicular circumstancesl - "
ofall adult Houslonians. the group
did not return the initial questionnaire. had to be sure that it had a ..pi.r*iuti"i
slmnle first year of the ,u*.y, u ,o,ut
In. the
oI over 1400 Houston_area telephone
Exomple 3: A Foce-to-Foce lnterview
bers were randomly selected (using
num- ?lslcry oF QUEST|oNNA|RES FoR
.unJorn- GROUP OR SEtF-ADMINISTRATION
A civic organization, hoping to address some digit diating ro be
of the causes of youth unemployment in a
discussed iatir in rhe Generql Rules of euesfionnsire
chapter): of rhese nearly 700 nurnn.r,
major city, acquired the sen ices of the North- Duslness or disconnected lines
,.r. Construction
ern Illinois University Public Opinion Labo-
or were un_
workable for other reasons. For
ratory, headed by political scientist Jon numbers, the number of adults
the *ortunte L lnclude only questions which
will address
Miller. Miller and his colleagues were to residence over the age of 1g
li"i"t;; ;; your research concerns and
*u, ur.."ni..O, which you plan
to analyze. .'
I

2. Make the questionnaire as appealing as
possible to the resPondents.
3. Keep the questionnaire as short as will suf-
fice to elicit the information necessary to
analyze the primary research concerns. Be
sure, however, to include questions on all
aspects of the research problem that you
wiil need to address.
4. If the questionnaire is self-administered,
keep the instructions brief, but make sure
they contain all the information required
to complete and send back the ques-
tionnaire.
5. Consider in advance all the issues that a re-
spondent might raise when he or she re-
ceives this instrument. Be sure that the
questionnaire addresses these issues.
Generql Formol of o Questionnoire
A questionnaire should include a cover letter,
brief instructions on how to complete the
questionnaire, the questions, a clearly defined
space and method for the respondent to reg-
ister answers to the questions, possibly codes
for transcribing the data onto a computer once
it is collected, instructions on how to return
the questionnaire (as well. as a stamped, ad-
dressed return envelope), and a final thank
you to the respondent for the time and effort
expended.
Cover Letter. The primary objective of a assist.
cover letter is to teli the respondents the pur-
pose of the questionnaire and to request that
they participate. The purpose of the study
should be stated clearly and simply. There are
often two diferent types of purposes in a
study: the first is the more general purpose of
collecting information to address specific re-
search questions or hypotheses; the second is
to accomplish the objectives ofthe researcher,
who may be a student carrying out a study in
a methods course, a graduate student seeking
data for thesis research, a government re-
searcher coiiecting data for reporting, a mar-
qI=
'l
I
keting researcher who is exploring the tastes of
potential clients, or an academic researcher
who is collecting data on some topic'
Whoever is doing the study wants those
who receive the questionnaire to complete it'
Will the potential respondents be more likely
to complete the instrument if the cover ietter
stresses the importance ofthe research project
itself (its contribution to scientific under-
standing) or ifit stresses the importance ofthe
needs ofthe researcher as a person? In the first
case, you are trying to convince the respon-
dents that valuable information can be gained
through survey research and that by partici-
pating in this study he or she may be helping
to do science. This has been called an egoisti-
cal approachbecause it assumes that a respon-
dent who consents to participate has been
convinced that participation will better soci-
ety as a whole, the state of scholarship, and
thereby, indirectly, the respondent also. In the
other case, where you are stressing your needs
as a researcher, you are banking onlhe altrtt-
rsn of the respondents to motivate their par-
ticipation. If the respondents are convinced
that their help is really vital to the study, then
out of a sense of generosity, they may volun-
teer the time needed to complete the survey'
Usually the significance of the study is aiso
stressed. Further, if the researcher is a student
and makes an earnest request for help with the
study, respondents may be encouraged to
Whatever the pitch of the covering letter,
the researcher must decide how it will sound
to potential respondents. Sometimes a very
matter-of-fact letter succeeds' If respondents
have very little time (for example, if they have
high-pressure jobs), it may be wise t0 stress
both how important the data are for studying
the subject and how short a period oftime it
will take to complete the form. It is important
that the suggested time of completion be rea-
sonabiy accurate. Ethical issues should aiso be
considered. The letter should describe how
the protection ol human subjects will be ac-
CHAPTER 7
complished (whether anonymity or confiden_
tiality will be offered).
Instructions. In a self-administered ques_
tionnaire, all the information necessarv to
complele the form accurately and completely
must be given. The following is a list of issues
that might need to be addressed in the
instructions:
i. How and where does the respondenl give
his or her answers? (Check the box, circle
the correct response, etc.) In this case, the
questionnaire should be consistent so that
all the answers can be given in the same
way.
2. Ifthere is a separate answer sheet which is
machine-readable, very clear instructions
must be given about how to move from
reading questions on the questionnaire to
providing responses on the answer sheet. If
a special kind of pencil is required, this
must be made absolutely clear. Generall.v,
separate answer sheets are not desirable for
a self-administered survey because of the
possible problems of confusion and error
in using them. Questionnaires themselves
may be printed on machine-readabie
forms; this simplifies the processing of the
data, without sacrificing the ease of having
respondents place lheir responses righl
next to the questions. (Of course, some
groups, such as coilege students, probably
have had extensive experience at taking
lests where the responses must be filled in
on machine-readable forms, but other
groups may not have had much experience
at filling out such materials.) The most ap-
propriate way of administering a survey
using machine-readable lorms is to a gion, you might offer as possible responses:
group. Then the use of correct pencils not
only may be clearly slated by the adminis-
trator, but the pencils themselves may be
made avaiiable to those who do not have
one.
3. Clear instructions for contingency ques-
tions (described below) where respondents
are allowed to skip certain questions or
specifically answer certain questions must
be given throughout the instrument as they
are needed.
4. Clear instructions for returning the ques-
tionnaire are aiso necessary. These may be
given in three different places: in the cover
letter, at the end ofthe survey, or at the be-
ginning of the survey. The best policy is to
have the instructions on the survev itself.
If the cover ietter is, in fact, the top sheet
ofthe survey, the method ofreturning the
questionnaire may be mentioned in the let-
ter. If the letter is on a separate sheet of
paper, however, it may accidentally be dis_
posed ofbefore the respondent finishes thc
survey. Thus the return instructions are
best printed on the survey form itself.
Types of Questions
Chapter 5 gave some examples on how vari-
ables were operationalized in terms of devel-
oping questions. Here we want to consider the
different types ofquestions which a question-
naire might contain.
Closed-Ended and Open-Ended euestions.
Closed-ended questions force the respondent
to select a single response from a iist (for this
reason they are often called/o rced-choice ques-
lioizs). Such lists of responses must cover the
entire range ofpossible answers; that is to say,
they must be exhaustive. An exhaustive ques-
lion includes a broad enough range of respon-
ses so that every possible answer to the ques-
tion can be fit into a category. For example (as
we gave in Chapter 5), if you ask about reli-
Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Other, and
None. This would determine the major reii-
gious groups in the United States. Or vou
might wanl to include specific smaller ieli-
gious groups such as Hindus or Moslems.
Even in this case, however, you would still
I
1 174 The MethodsoJ Social Rasaarch
I I
want to keep the Other category for anyone
who did not feel that they couid comfortably
place themselves in any specific category. For
an attitudinal item, such as "How good a job
do you think the Secretary ofState is doing?"
where the range of choices is Excellent, Very
Good, Good, Fair, and Poor, you would want
also to include Don't Know or No Opinion
for those who are actually unsure.
One other condition which must be met in
a closed-ended set of responses is that those
responses must not overlap one another in
such a way that a respondent might think he
or she should appropriately select more than
one category. This requirement means that
responses must be mutually exclusive. Using
the example offoods, ifthe categorical choices
offered were Meat, Fruit, Vegetables, Ba-
nanas, Dairy products, and Grains, then ba-
nanas and fruit would overlap. In other
words, since a banana is a subcategory of a
fruit, it is being measured twice in this list. Be
sure that the terminology you use clearly dis-
tinguishes one category from another. (Of
course. in certain instances, multiple answers
may be allowed: e.g., "What are your favorite
sports?").
Open-ended questions state a question and
leave room for the respondent to write out an
answer. If a specific number of lines are left, a
suggested length for a response is more precise
than if only an amorphous space is ieft. It is
also possible that handwritten responses
might be clearer if lines are printed on the
questionnaire. On the other hand, if, in the
opinion of the respondent, too many or too
few lines are left, he or she may be more likely
to skip the item.
Closed-ended questions with forced-
choice responses are more likely to be com-
pleted by respondents than open-ended ques-
tions. Questionnaires with numerous open-
ended questions are often returned with many
questions left blank. Remember, it
takes
much more time and thought for the respon-
PART THREEI
dent to generatg a written response, than to
merely check an offered response (see Box 7-
2). Furthermore, open-ended questions are
much more difficult to code (see Chapter 12
on this subject). However, there may be cer-
tain queslions to which only an open-ended
response seems reasonable.
Contingency Questions. Questions which
depend on the responses to earlier questions
are referred to as contingency questions.
you want to ask a person how many cigarettes
he or she smokes a day, such a queslion
should be contingent on an earlier question:
Do you smoke cigarettes? Box 7-3 shows how
such a set ofquestions might be set up.
Mahix Questions. Matrix questions allow
for the answering of sets of questions with
simiiar types of responses. Usualiy the ques-
BOXT-2
EXAMPI.E OF A CTOSED- AND OPEN.ENDED
QUESTION
OPEN-ENDED QUESTION
How much does your iob os o progrom mon-
oger chollenge you-in the sense of demond-
ing your skills ond obilities?
CI"OSED.ENDED OUESTION
How much does your iob os o progrom mon-
oger chollenge you-in the sense of demond,
ing your skills ond obilities?
I J Completely demonds my obiliries
[ ] Demonds most of ihem
[ ] Demonds obout holf
[ ] Demonds some of my obili|es
[ ] Demonds very few of them
Source, Worwick ond Lininger, 1975, pp. 135-136.
tions are similar, for example, a set of atti_ questionnaire, the first questions should be in_
tudes with which the respondent is asked to
teresting so that the respondent is encouraged
either Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree,
_ to begin (and hopefully complete) the ques_
Strongly Disagree, or Have No Opinion.-Ms_
tionnaire. (In an interview the early questions
trix questions help conserve space in the ques_
often ask for simple nonthreatening demo-
tionnaire and make it easier and quickei for graphic information such as ,.How many
the respondent to give answers. The fear with
adults over the age of lg live here?") Thi:
matrix questions is that the respondent will other rule is that quesrions which the respon_
stan 10 answer questions in a patlern. lor ex- dent may be reluctant to answer (on incomc
ample. checking Strongly Agree to every irem. or race. for example) should come near thc
If This problem. which is called response rot, ,un
end ofthe questionnaire. This is to discouragir
be minimized by clearly reversing the mean- respondents from refusing to complete thc:
ing of some questions so thal consistency in form.
response requires agreeing with some ques_
Questions on the same subject are gener_
tions and disagreeing with others. Box 7_4pre_ ally grouped together to keep the respondcnt
sents a matrix question. thtnking about the same material. In ,on.,.
cases, a set of questions on a specific topic:.
Ordering of Questions. There are two simple (let's say, educational background) may bcscr
rules to remember. In a self-administeied
offin a separate section.
BOX 7-3
EXAMPIE OF A CONTINGENCY QUESTION
1 . Do you currently smoke cigorettes?
No I J {skip to Question 3)
2. How mony crgoreties do you usuolly smoke
dov?
Less thon 5
About holf o pock
A pock
A pock ond o holf
Two pocks
More thon two pocks
3. Hove you ever smoked in the oost?
No
Yes, heovily
Yes, lighrly
I
 176 The Methods of Social Research PART THREE CHAPTER Z
Sun,ey Research 177

BOX 7-4 however, is to examine patterns of response. An explanation ofthe purpose ofthe sur_
For this.reason, you will want to have a suffi_ vey must be given. This should be brief and
EXAMPTE OI A MATRIX QUESTION
ciently large pretest sample. Look fbr the fol_ neutral: "Today, you will be participating in a
How for do you ogree with the following stolements obout your comnunity? Do you strongly ogree (SA), lowing types ofresponses; (i) questions that survey about college students, attitudes and
ogreelA), orc you uncertorn (UN), do you disogreelD), or slrongly disogree (SD)? {Circle one response many people have skipped (Were they parts of interests." Again, the researcher must decide
on eoch lrne.) contingency questions? Should they have what pitch to use. When the audience is pres_
been skipped?); (2) questions that everyone ent. it may not be as necessary to try to sell
SAAUIdDSD seems to answer alike (if there is no variation the benefits of participating. It is much more
This communiiy is o good
in response to an item, it will not prove to be difficuit in a group environment for a respon-
plocetoroisechildren, I 2 3 4 5 very useful in the analysis); (3) open-ended dent to throw out the questionnaire or refuse
questions that have been answered ambigu_
I feel sofe in lhis communily. I 2 3 4 5 to participate.
ously (for example, the answers to ,,Whai is The instructions for completing the sur_
The cost of food in this your occupation?" may often be very impre_ veys must also be given. If the survev re_
community is obout the
cise); (4) "response set" to marrix+yp. qu.r_ searcher will not be giving the instructions,
some os onywhere else in

theciiy. 1 2 3 4 5 tions where the respondent seems to have then she or he must be certain that the pcr_
merely circled all the same numbers without son(s) administering the questionnaire is (arc)
lf I hod o chonce to move
seeming to have read the items carefully. properly trained.
oui of my communiiy, I

wouldmove. 1 2 3 4 5 Revise your questionnaire on the basis of

Comnent, Note thot in this question, {or some stotements the Agree cnswers suggest posilive otiitudes
toword the community; in other coses, they suggest negotive oliitudes. Any person reoding the iiems core-
fully would be unlikely lo circle, for exomple, oll the Is.
PretestinE the Questionnoire
Once you have a draft of the questionnaire,
you should pretest it to determine its effec-
tiveness and its problems. This preliminary
pretest might be with friends or acquaintances
who will agree to take the questionnaire. The
questionnaire form might be typed with large
margins and spaces between questions. Ask
the respondents to go through the question-
naire as ifthey had received it from someone
they did not know. Then ask them to go
through the questionnaire again and point out
(possibly by witing comments adjacent to the
questions) any probiems they noted with
questions. Were there some questions that
they did not understand? Did some of the
questions seem particularl"rr stupid?
After going over the responses ofyour pre-
liminary pretest and making changes that
seem advisable, it is time to have your;formal
pretest.For lhis pretest, you should 1ry to have
a trial administralion that is as similar as pos-
sible to the actual survey administration. If
you are planning to mail out your surveys,
you should mail your pretest to a small sam-
ple of individuals who might have been se-
lected for your actual study (but were not). If
you plan to administer it to a group, find a
similar group and see if you can administer it
to them. This pretest questionnaire should
look precisely the same as your actual ques-
tionnaire will look. In a group administration,
you rnight ask them following the completion
of the questionnaire to write comments on it
or 1o discuss with you any problems they
found with it. in this formal pretest, be sure
not to tell the respondents that this is a pretest
until it is over.
The main purpose of the formal pretest,
the preliminary pretest and the formal pretest. Mail
The revised form might be given again to a
Questionnaires. Most mail surveys
contain the survey itsell a cover letter (which
few friends to be sure you haven't inserted may form the top page of the survey), and a
new questions that have problems. It is worth
spending the extra time to carry out the pre_
return envelope which is addressed and
stamped. Ifthe survey is to be printed, the re_
tests and consider the comments and pattgrns turn envelopes may be printed as well. Thc
of response. Remember that once you send size ofthe return envelope should adequately
out the final questionnaire. it is too late to hold the completed questionnaire. The envc_
alter any problems in the questionnaire lope in which the survey is sent may either bc
design. stamped and sent first-class or printed with a
bulk-rate permit. Bulk-rate mail must be or-
Quesfionnoire Distribufion dered by zip codes and must include at least
250 pieces. You should check with your local
On-Site Adminishation. There are various
post, office for any changes in mailing
precautions to consider in administering a regulations.
questionnaire to a group. The atmosphere of
the session must be sufficiently serious that re_
spondents complete the questionnaires objec_ Geiting on Adequote Response Rote
tiveiy. Sometimes, with a student audience, Various conditions affect the number of re-
an amusing question or a joke by the admin_ spondents who complele and return a
istrator may touch offa mood of frivolity. The questionnaire.
light mood could have serious effects on the
results ofthe questionnaire. A researcher must ,A.ppearance of the Questionnaire. The ap-
aiwavs consider whelher an instrument has pearance ofa questionnaire will have an effect
been filled out in jest. Thus the tenor of the on the respondent. A potential respondent
persoll administering the questionnaire will react to a questionnaire initiaily in terms
should be matter-of-fact and serious. of its overall appearance. Crowded qucsrion-

I
 178 The MetltodsofSocialResearch
naires, which look wordy and squeezed to-
gether, generally draw fewer responses than a
slightly longer questionnaire which appears
more spacious. This does not mean that all
mailed questionnaires must be professionally
printed. In fact, a questionnaire that looks iess
official may serve certain purposes better.
What is important is that the audience for the
questionnaire be carefully considered.
Ifthe questionnaire ii being prepared by a
student, a well-typed questionnaire that is
then photocopied may be perfectly adequate.
Such a homemade survey must be neat and
well-spaced. with every word correclly
spelled. A sloppy-looking survey will turn off
most respondents. (..If the researcher can't
prepare a better-looking survey than this, why
should I bother to fill it out?") However, a
ciear, accurate, but amateurJooking, survey
may encourage certain respondents to com_
plete the survey thinking thar the d.ata will be
used primarily to help a studenl complele an
educational project. Now that word proces-
sors aro quite widely available, you may be
able to use one to prepare your survey. With
different print formats, right alignment, and
other features, a questionnaire piepared on a
word processor may incorporate many of the
features characteristic of printing. If you have
access to a laser printer, its copy can hardly be
diff'erentiated from actual priniing.
ln some cases, a more professional_looking
printed survey may seem preferable. When
the survey is quite long, a printed form will
conserve space, thereby making the survey
seem shorter. Printing also allows for varia-
tion in type. Italics can be used for emphasis.
Separate sections of a questionnaire may be
printed on different-colored. paper for empha-
sis. As discussed above, priniln! will make the
form appear more official; typi.rg and repro-
ducing will make it look more the work of an
amateur. The reason to do it one wav or the
other will be based both on cost and .,o u .on-
sideration of whether prinring will enhance
PART THRIE
the response rate. However it is produced,
neatness and spaciousness are important.
Nature of the Request to Respond. To en-
courage a potential respondent to respond is a
critical aspect ofsurvey design. The best-look-
ing questionnaire which does not lead to a cases, a dollar has been enclosed and the rc-
strong response rate may have been harmed
by a lack of carefui consideration on how to
request cooperation from respondents. As de-
scribed above, the cover letter is generally
used to ask the respondent to answer the in-
strument. You might decide to keep your ex-
planation very simple, expressed without so-
cial-scientificjargon. Here are a few exampies:
. This survey is being carried out to try to dis-
cover what the residents in your community
think are the most serious local problems.
. College students need adequate financial
support to complete their studies. This sur-
vey asks how students get this support.
. What are the attitudes of parents to various
childrearing practices? The purpose of this
survey is to ask parents their views.
Personal appeals. As stated before, the sur-
vey researcher may appeal to the potential re-
spondents for assistance in order that the
study will be a success. Such an appeal is prob-
ably more effective when the researcher is a
student and the audience receiving the ques-
tionnaire can be assumed to be familiar with,
and sympathetic to, the needs of students. If
they are not, appeals of this type could
backfire.
Sponsorship, Ifthe study is being sponsored
(paid for) by some organization, funding
agency, or other group, this shouid be told to
the respondent. An alumni association of a
university, a marketing research firm, a gov-
ernment sponsorship for research-all suggest
different objectives for the study. The station-
ery used for the cover letter may indicate the
CHAPTER 7 SurveyResearch 179
BOX 7-5
EXAMPTES OF SPONSORSHIP DESCRIPTIONS
The Center for Public Broodcosting is interested
in finding out wheiher Americon college students
regulorly wotch television news discussion
shows.
The Alumni Associotion of Hoppiness College
wonts io know to whot degree groduotes of
Hoppiness hove found their educotion benefl-
ciol to their coreers ond personol lives.
This study is being supported by the Notionol
lnsfitute of Child Heolih ond Developmeni in the
inieresl o{ furthering on understonding of the e{-
fects of fomily size on lhe coreers ond personol
lives of porents.
source ofsponsorship. Researchers should al-
ways consider what the title of the sponsor
may mean to the respondents. If they are un-
likely to know or understand who the sponsor
is and why the sponsor is supporting this pro-
ject, an expianation should be given. Box 7-5
presents some brief examples of how such ex-
planations might be presented.
Other indacements to participate. The pur-
pose of a study should never be stated falsely.
However, every objeclive of the study need
not be mentioned. The major aim, however,
should be stated clearly, and respondents
might be told that if they would like more in-
formation about the survey, they may contact
the researcher "at the foliowing address or
telephone number." In relation to the full-dis-
closure aspect of surveys, respondents are
often told that they will be sent (automatically
or upon request) a summary of the survey's
results. Such promises should be given only if
the researcher fully plans to make good on
them.
Financial inducements are sometimes sent
with a questionnaire to try to encourage a re-
spondent to reply. The argument for such a
plan is that many respondents will feel more
compelled to complete a questionnaire if it
comes with such an inducement. In some
spondent told that five additional dollars
would be sent once the questionnaire was rc-
turned. In other cases, a larger sum (say, two
dollars) has been sent initiaily. Of course,
some respondents may merely keep thc
money and discard the survey. However, thc
position favoring financial inducements is
thal respondents who are disinclined to com-
plete the questionnaire may feel guilty keeping
the money and wili therefore complete tht:
questionnaire in order to reduce this feeling.
On the other hand, some respondents may bt:
angered at the small amount of the inducc-
menl, feeling that their time is worth morc
than the token amount of money sent. Finan-
cial inducements must therefore be consid-
ered in relation to the type of people being
surveyed. Young people may be more likely 1<l
appreciate a small fee than older people. Peo-
ple with higher incomes may be more an-
noyed with a small fee than those with lowcr
incomes.
Anonymity and Confidentiality. Surveys
usually ask some questions which are personal
in nature. They almost always ask about atti-
tudes which a respondent might not want to
make public. Respondents, therefore, may not
want to divulge their identities. Ifthe survey
asksfor no identification and includes no code
number, then when it is returned it will bc
completely anonymous. When a survey is
anonymous, the researcher is not able to iden-
tify the respondent. Naturally, this means that
the researcher would not be able to determine
which respondents had completed the ques-
tionnaire and which had not. In such a study,
no follow-up materiais couid be sent to the
I

The Melhods of Social Research
nonrespondents and no study of nonrespon-
dents could be made.
For this reason, most researchers do not
want to have respondents compietely anony-
mous. They prefer to have the questionnaires
coded so that returned forms can be checked
offagainst a list of names and follow-up efforts
directed toward the nonrespondents. Also, if
the survey is a panel study, where it wiil be
necessary to get back to the respondents and
where the questionnaires from the different
surveys will need to be linked, then the sur-
veyer must know which questionnaire belongs
to which respondent.
In such a case, a researcher can promise re-
spondents that the data from the question-
naire will be confidential. In this instance, the
respondent may be told that no one other than
the researcher will be able to associate the re-
spondent's questionnaire and name, and that
once the follow-up efforts are complete the list
of names will be destroyed. Whatever the re-
spondent is told should represent what the re-
searcher actually plans to do.
Studies have shown that respondents are
usualiy not worried about confidential han-
dling of the questionnaires. In some cases,
questionnaire forms request that the respon-
dent sign the form. Many respondents do not
objecl to this. In other cases, a detachable
postcard is attached to the questionnaire. Re-
spondents are asked 1o detach it, to fill in their
names and addresses, and to send the post-
card back separately from the questionnaire.
This enables the researcher to know who has
responded, without being able to associate the
respondent with a particular questionnaire.
(This plan, by the way, would make the sur-
vey anonymous). Of course, this plan could
also be foiled. Respondents might send back
the cards without returning the questionnaire.
In such a situation, the researcher wouid have
no idea who the actual respondents were.
Attempts to hide the coded number (for
example, with invisible ink or as a phoney
IYff:'J'
'j
room numbet on the return envelope) raise
ethical issues ifthey are accompanied with a
promise of anonymity. I once knew a student
researcher, desperate to increase her response
rate, who wrote the code number in invisible
ink under the stamp on the return envelope
with the plan of steaming offthe stamps of the
returned questionnaires. One respondent dis-
covered this method and wrote back furiously
to object. Such deception is inadvisable.
Type of Enclosed N{aterial for Return
Mailing. A return envelope which is ad-
dressed and stamped should accompany every
survey. These envelopes may be printed with
business-reply postage which will be charged
only ifthe respondent sends it back. Some be-
lieve that stamped envelopes are preferable to
business-reply envelopes, possibly because the
respondent may be less likely to discard an en-
velope with an actual stamp (especially if it is
an attractive, commemorative one). It is not a
good idea to use a metered postage marking
because they are dated and ifthe survey is not
returned quickly, the post oftice may refuse to
deliver it.
Type of Mailing Procedure. The type of mail
delivery and the timing of the mailing may af-
fect the response rate. Many researchers have
found that surveys mailed special delivery are
more likely to be answered. First-class postage
seems to improve the response rate over bulk-
rate mail (possibly because some people are
likely to throw away nearly all material sent
bulk rate). Here the relative costs must be
weighed against the relative benefits. As with
the return envelope, a prestigious-looking
stamp on the outgoing envelope may stimu-
late the interest ofrespondents and discourage
them from throwing away the survey without
opening it.
When to send out a survey should vary
with the intended audience. General rules
would suggest not sending them near major
CHAPTER 7
holidays, especially Christrnas, when people
are often inundated with mail. Beginning of
school and end ofschool periods may also be
undesirable ifthe respondents are students or
leachers. As for the day ofthe week, a consid-
eration of the respondents should be taken
inlo account. Studies have found that surveys
to organizations are better received early in
the week, but those to home addresses may be
better received nearer the weekend, when
there may be more free time to fill them out.
Follow.up Frocedures. Nearly all surveys
which are serious in nature follow up the ini-
tial questionnaires with two or three addi-
tional maiiings as well as telephone calls to in-
crease the overall response rate. Generally. the
second follow-up occurs 2 to 3 weeks after the
initial survey was sent out; sufficient numbers
of surveys have usuali,v been returned by then
to allow the researcher to make up iists of
nonrespondents. Second follow-ups generally
do not include another copy of the question-
naire. In some cases, a postcard is used to re-
mind the person to complete the question-
naire and return it. In other cases, a letter is
sent reexplaining the purpose ofthe study and
reiterating the importance ofhaving every re-
spondent reply to the survey in order to make
it a representative study.
Third follow-ups often include another re-
quest lelter and a copy of the questionnaire
which may be assumed by then to have been
discarded or misplaced. Third follow-ups are
sent out 1 month to 6 weeks after the original
survey. Telephone reminders may come be-
fore or after the third follow-up; and these
calls may be used to find out n'iy the survey
was not returned (it was misplaced, thrown
out, the respondent refuses to answer it, the
respondent would be happy to answer it as
soon as time is availabie, etc.). Some surveys
have had as many as six foilow-ups. Gener-
ally. it is found that the first follow-up will in-
crease the response rate by one-fifth t0 one-
Sun,ey Research IBI
fourth. Each additionai follow-up brings in
proportionately fewer respondents (even
though the pool is narrowing as the follow-ups
continue).
Assessing the Response Rate. What is a rc-
spectable response rate for a survey? There is
disagreement on this point. With a carefully
selected sample, a researcher would hope to
have at least halfofthe respondents respon<1-
ing in order to feel confident that the respon-
dents were somewhat representative of thc
sample (though the researcher might try 1o dc-
termine whether respondents are represcn-
tative of the sample by gathering somc
information on the nonrespondents and
comparing them to the respondents). Survcys
without foliow-ups are uniikely to surpass 50
percent response rates. Of course diffbrcnt
types of surveys and, more particularly, ccr-
tain types of individuals sampled will yield dif.
ferent response rates. A survey to a group o{'
people who are professionally concernc<i
about the results may yield a high rate. For cx-
ample, a survey in a university to study tht:
effectiveness of graduate programs yielded a
much higher response rate from the faculty in
the program than from the graduate studenls.
Clearly the faculty had much more to lose or
gain by responding. The students felt that lcss
was at stake for them in responding.
The best response rate is the iargest onc
that you can produce given your time, your fi-
nances, and your persistence. Many research-
ers have been able to get response rates in ex-
cess of 90 percent. In such cases. the analyses
are greatly strengthened because the re-
searcher can rest assured that the responses
are truly representative ofthe people sampied.
DESIGN OF FACE-TO-FACE
INTERVIEWS
The difference between interviews and paper-
and-pencii questionnaires is simply that con-
I

ducting an interview involves having one per-
son address questions to another. The spoken
responses are then recorded by the inter-
vierrer. In the self-administered questionnaire
procedure, the respondent first reads the ques-
iions and then writes responses. This differ-
ence must be kept in mind when designing an
HIRED-HAND INTERVIEWERS
Roth (1966) worned of the possible effecis of
hiring interviewers to collect doto Roth gives his
own experience os o hired interviewer os o A structured interview schedule is very simi-
cose in Point'
One of the questions on the interview schedule
osked for flve reosons why porents hod put their
child in on inslitution. I found most people con't
think o[ flve reosons, One or iwo-sometimes
ihree. Ai ffrst I trled pumping lhem for more reo-
sons, bul I never goi ony of ihem up io five. I didn'i
wont ithe director) to ihink I wos goofing off on the
probing, so I olwoys filled in oll five 11966, p
t91).
Cheoting of this type occurs, Roth orgues, be-
couse persons hired to corry out inlerviews
rorely hold ihe "dedicoted-scientist" (p. 191)
norms thol ihe originol reseorcher holds. ln-
steod o hired inierviewer wouid tend to do his
work much like workers ;n most other seiiings
Iby shoving down the lob bit by bit to "iust
enough to get by" {p. I 92)l Roth olso coutions
thot this type of slocking ofi is not o morol lssue,
"rother, it is expected behovjor of workers in o
production orgonizotion . . . [ondi there is no
reoson io believe thot o hired hond in the sci-
entific reseorch business will behove ony differ-
ent" {p. 1 92).
The best sofeguord ogoinst this, Roth con-
tends, rs to lie hired honds os firmly into the re-
seorch project itse { os is feosible. l{ those work-
ing on o proiecl feel committed 10 iis execution,
they ore less likely to behove like ordlnory hired
help.
-t-
":!:Iii:i
I
interview schedule for an interview. Because
the interview involves two people, the nature
of the relationship developed between these
two people before and during the interview
will have a great effect on the success of the
interview obtained. Whether the interviewer
is the actual researcher or someone else may
affect the outcome of the interview. Box 7-6,
which discusses the effects of hired-hand in-
terviewers, should be kept in mind in consid-
ering seeking assistance with interviewing.
Preporing the lnterview Schedule
lar to a questionnaire. A questionnaire may be
converted into an interview schedule and vice
versa. An interview schedule should be pre-
pared in accordance with these rules:
1. Instructions for the interviewer to follow
must be clearly given.
2. Questions should be worded so that they
can be easily read out by the interviewer
without distorting the response which will
be given. (They should offer no threat, and
be totally neutral.) Furthermore the re-
sponse categories should be carefully con-
sidered so that they offer a meaningful
range of possibiiities but are not so vague
that the respondent cannot easily select a
category.
3. Questions ought to be ordered so that the
respondent is quickly engaged in the inter-
view and so that interest is maintained
throughout.
interviewer needs clear and
Instructions. An
precise instructions about how to give the in-
terview. While many instructions may be
spelled out during practice sessions, the inter-
view schedule should include all ofthe basic
rules that the inten'iewer needs to follow in
order to carry out the interview successfully'
(If you plan to do your own interviewing, you
Ct-l APTER Z SurveyResearch Ig3
should apply these suggestions to the instruc-
tions you write for yourself.) The form should
ask for information regarding the time the in-
terview began, how long it took, where it oc-
curred (ifthis varies), and on what day ofthe
week the interview was held. Early questions
may serve as the basis for including or exciud-
ing individuals from the survey: These may
request information on residence, age, mem-
bership, or other factors. Interviewers should
be informed as to how to end an inten'iew
quickly with a person who does not meet the
requirements for the study.
Instructions on how the inlerviewer
should proceed through the instrument must
be given. When there are contingency ques-
tions which do not apply to the respondent,
the interviewer shouid be able to see at a
glance where to move for the next question.
The form should include places for responses
such as Don't Know, No Opinion, or No An-
swer. Naturally, the interviewer should en-
courage respondents to give an opinion or a
response when they seem to have one that
would apply. Usually the interviewer does not
offer Don't Know as a selection category to
the respondent; rather, it is oniy recorded
when the respondent cannot pick a response
from those given.
Wording. Questionnaires and interview
schedules often read somewhat differently. In-
terview schedules may include little transi-
tionai expressions to make the interview pro-
ceed smoothly such as "Now I wonder if you
could tell me . . . ," or "We would like to know
what you consider. . . ," "Please tell me . . . ,',
"We are interested in how . . . ." An example
ofthe use ofthe last expression could be in an
introduction to an assessment offinancial se-
curity: "We are interested in how people are
getting along financially these days." This
could then be followed by the question: "Fi-
nancially, are you (better ofl worse ofl or
about the same) than you were 5 years ago?"
Types of Closed-Ended Questions. In order
to have respondents select from a group of
possible responses, the choices of responses
must be made available. There are a number
of different techniques for doing this: rating
scales, rank ordering, paired comparisons, se-
mantic differentials (some of which will be de-
scribed in Chapter 15 on scales). The card
sorting method is one that can be done only
in a face-to-face interview situation. In this
case, numerous cards with different state-
ments (measuring attitudes) are given to the
respondent who is asked to sort them into
piles on a board which signifu different levels
of agreement or disagreement. A variation on
this method may also be used to get respon-
dents to select a category from a list printed
on a card which the interviewer hands to the
respondent after a question is asked. Consider
the income question asked in two forms in
Box 7-7.
BOXT-7
EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS ON INCOME
FORM i
Pleose tell me opproximotely where your onnuol
household income fell in l9-, before toxes;
thot is, the income for oll members of the house-
hold. Stop me when I reoch the cotegory thot
includes your household income. (The inter-
viewer then slowly reods the vorious income
cotegories beginning with the low end.)
FORM 2
For ihe purposes of our survey, we need to hove
o rough indicotion of the income of your fomily.
ln which of ihese groups . . . (The interviewer
honds the respondent a cord with the various
cotegories of incone delineoted in o column,
eoch preceded with a letteil. . . did your totol
fomily income, from oll sources, foll lost yeor in
l9- before ioxes? .Just iell me the leiler of rhe
group.
I

184 TfuMcthodsofsocial Research
Each ofthe ways ofasking the respondent
about income avoids the personal question
"Tell me how much?" in the fus1 method, the
interviewer reads off income categolies and
the respondent tells the interviewer when to
stop. In the second, the respondent selects an
income category from a card. This second
method, developed by the National Opinion
Research Center (NORC), is probably less in-
trusive and easier for an inexperienced inter-
viewer to handle (Bradburn and Sudman,
1979,p. t82).
Social Desirability. Questions that address
potentially threatening topics or raise the pos-
sibiiity that the respondent is being asked to
divulge something personal and derogatory
may be construed by the respondent in such a
way to make the individual look more favor-
able. Such responses often tend toward offer-
rng the normative response. Sudman and
Ilradburn found this was more often the case
when the respondent did no1 relate strongly to
the topic being addressed, that is to say, when
tire respondent knew less about it and was less
affected by i1 (1914, pp. 36-39).
if your interview will include potenlially
threatening questions about criminal activity,
sexual behavior, or personal habits which may
seem negative, it will be important to prepare
such questions carefully in order to make
them as nonthreatening as possible to your re-
spondents. If you do not do so, your respon-
dents may answer in ways that appear to make
themseives look socially acceptable. Tech-
niques have been derieloped for asking very
sensitive questions in interviews (see, for ex-
ample, the Random R.esponse Model of Brad-
burn and Sudman, 1979).
Minimize Open-Ended Qerestions. When
open-ended questions are asked, the inter-
viewer shouid write down the answers. Obvi-
ousl-v, there is a potential for shifts in meaning
and emphasis between what the respondent
l:r:-$E:-
PART THREE
says and what the interviewer writes down.
Open-ended questions should be worded to
encourage brief responses and a greater degree
of precision. Interviewers are not psychoan-
alysts who know how to interpret the deep
thoughts of respondents.
Use of Quantifying Words for the Responses.
The response categories often contain quanti-
fying adverbs which may be vague. Bradburn
and his colleagues found that choices such as
Verl Often, Pretty Often, and Not Too Often
may mean quite different things to different
individuals (Bradburn and Sudman, 1979, p,
159). When the events referred to occur more
frequently on the average, the responses are
higher for everyone; when the responses refer
to a flore positive event, they also tend to be
higher than for a negative event. You should
try to see in pretest interviews whether re-
sponses seem to be skewed in this way. You
may want to add one or rnore quantifying cat-
egories or, possibly, delete one.
Ordering Questions in an Interview Schedule.
An interview should try to capture the initial
interest ofthe respondent; therefore, the inter-
view should begin with a question which tries
to engage the interviewee. Demographic ques-
tions, especially those of a personal nature,
should come at the end of the interview.
Many interviews start with a queslion or two
to determine whether the person being ad-
dressed meets the criteria for being inter-
viewed in terms of age, registered voter, resi-
dent of a community, city, household, or
whatever. Actual questioning sometimes
commences with an open-ended question
which seeks a global response to the maior
issue of the study: "What wouid you say is the
major problem confronting people in your
communit,v?"
One advantage to an interview as com-
pared with a self-administered questionnaire
is that the interviewer can lead the respondent
through the questions in exactly the order
they are presented, whereas in a self_adminis_
tered questionnaire the respondent may jump
around the survey or skip sections complltety.
Interviewers should lherefore be encouraged
to present the interview exactly as it is or_
dered. This will help to standardize the inter_
view situation from one interview to the next
and among different inlerviewers.
The lnterview Experience
An inten'iew is a piece of social interaction
with one person asking another a number of
questions and the other person giving an_
swers. Everyone has, in a number of different
situations, been an interviewer. Small chil_
dren are always interviewing adults: .,Mom.
why do I have to go to bed?', .,Why do you
have to go out tonight?" ,,Why does Maryget
a new doll and not me?" As we mature, u,e
tend to become more leary of asking people
too many questions and may consider people
who seem too inquisitive to be nosev. intru_
sive, and certainly not cool. On ttre ottrer
hand, our world would come to a standstill if
we were unable to ask anyone anything. We
must ask people questions in order to carrv on
with our iives.
Now this general type ofquestioning is dif_
ferent from a formal interview, but not en_
tirely different. We have all learned that to
find out what we need to know requires asking
the right question. This means that we need tI
think through what our question will mean to
the other person in order to be able to phrase
the question so thal we can expect the respon_
dent to give us the answer we need. Further_
more, we must ask it in a way that will not
confuse or turn offthe person to whom we are
speaking and therefore produce an invalid
answer.
This is not so different from the situation
in a formal interview, a situation which vou
probably all have had. Many of you will have
had job interviews, interviews with college ad-
missions people, or others. In such cases, we
are generally trying to put our best foot for_
ward and iook good so that the person inter-
r,'iewing us will be impressed. yet we all know
that if we brag about ourselves too much, if we
try to make ourseives sound too wonderful,
we may not seem very believable and the in-
terviewer may conciude that we are insincere
and shallow. Thus we have all developed
some techniques for answering other people's
questions aboul ourselves. our interesls, our
attitudes, our characteristics so that we appear
to be honest and forthright.
Some of you may have been interviewed
in a survey. The major difference between an
interview for a job, for admission to a college,
or for a survey is that the interviewer in the
survey has nothing to offer to, or withhold
from, the respondent. Ifthe respondent thinks
that the interviewer cannot affect his situa-
tion, cannot do something for the respondent,
she or he may conclude that giving all thesc
answers is a big waste of time. The reason why
so many individuals agree to being inter_
viewed is that the interviewer sel/s the inter-
view effectively (Downs, Smeyak, and Martin.
1980. p. 364). The interviewer musl convince
the respondent that it is in her or his personal
interest to participate. As Downs and his col-
leagues state (1980, p.364), the tactics offered
to motivate interest include telling respon-
dents that
(a) A neighbor or friend has participated,
(D) A person's opinion is really sought,
(c) The report is important enough to be pub-
lished or to be used in makng important
decisions,
(@ You really need the person's help.
Stressing the usefulness ofthe answers in the
aggregate for the study of some subject may
ease the respondent's fears of exposure, but
the interview situarion itsell may bring back
I
 186 TheMetlndsofSocial Research
unpleasant memories of earlier interviews.
Such interview experiences, possibly for a job,
may have been threatening and anxiety-pro-
ducing; it is this situation that the prospective
respondent may recall when considering
whether to 1et the interviewer proceed. Thus,
the interviewer needs to fully consider how to
make the request for an interview nonthreat-
ening and the experience ofbeing interviewed
as enjoyable (and even as enriching) as
possible.
The Desirable Interviewer. Sociologist
David Riesman once described the ideal in-
terviewer as the person who could adapt the
standardized questionnaire to the unstandar-
dized respondent (1958, p. 305). This ability
to handle a two-way conversation under vary-
ing conditions. without losing the central
meaning of the survey in any of these condi-
tions, is the art of interyietuing. There seems
1o be a certain schizophrenic quality about the
advice given as to how to be a good inter-
viewer. Interviewers are technical specialists,
but ordinary persons; they must be prudent in
widely varying situations, but they may also
need to be persistent to the point ofbeing an-
noying in order to get the responses they need;
they must probe, but remain neutral; they
must be interested in what the respondent
says, but seem oblivious to the implications of
what it may mean.
This ability of the interviewer to respond
1o the answers given with a kind of "friendly
obliviousness" (Converse and Schuman,
1974, p.32) sets up a mood ofnonchalance in
which the interviewer seems no1 to be
shocked, surprised, or amused or to react in
any strong way to the respondent's answers.
The cardinal tenet ofinterviewing, state Con-
i'erse and Schuman, is to restrain prejudice. to
sLrpprsss one's own opinions (p. l2). Ifthe an-
swer is incomplete, the interviewcr must
probe for greater depth and clarity in the re-
sponse, but without seeming to tre personally
pARr THREE
concerned. Interviewers must veer away from
becoming too emotionally involved with the
respondent; tiris is what Converse and Schu-
man refer to as "overrapport" (p. 54). Box
7-8 gives an example of a situation where an
interviewer ioundit very dificult to remain
impersonal.
Converse and Schuman offer four reasons
why many people are happy to be inter-
viewed. The first is that most people enjoy
telling their opinions to a good listener. Inter-
viewers are terribly good listeners (they even
take notes!). Secondly, interviews tend to be
about a person's personal experiences and at-
titudes (their career, their family, their politi-
cal attitudes)-all topics about which most
people spend a lot of time thinking to them-
selves and talking to those to whom they are
close. Thirdly, an interview costs the respon-
dent nothing. Whether the respondent thinks
he or she is doing a favor for the interviewer
or whether the respondent gives the informa-
tion to conform to the interviewer's request,
nevertheless, the interview is free: The only
BOX 7-8
THE NEED FOR NEUTRATITY IN INTERVIEWING
This occount of on inierviewer's experience, of-
fered by Converse ond Schumon, is on exomple
of how interviewing moy require much sel{-re-
slroinl on the port of the inleri,rewer:
When the respondenl soid, "Women shouidn't go
posi the flrst grode; ihen. they couldn't foke iobs
owoy from men, " I lthe intervjewerl foiled utterly
lo subdue my feminist spirit. I soid, "Whot if she
never morries or whoi iI her husbond dies or de-
seris her ond she hos children?" 1 lopsed instonrly
into silence, I hod blosed the interview, in thot I
hod reveoled myself even more thorouohly io be
the kind of femo e the respondeni mosi obiecied
to: not only wos lworking-l wos in fovor of
women workingl lConverse ond Schumon, lgZ4,
pp. l2-13.
terviews may, Converse and Schumin think,
CHAPTER Z
cost is the time spent. Finally, interviews can
offer fresh insights and be stimulating (Con_
verse and Schuman, 1974, pp.55*56j. Most
people do n.ot normally converse with
strang_
ers about their attitudes; but ften strangeis
are rarely interested in your attitudes! Inlhe
interview situation, these attitudes
plored in ways rhal open up new ideai
-uu U.."_
ro the
respondenl.
. {s the Survey Research Center (SRC) at
the University of Michigan tells its inrerview-
ers, interviewers must be both diplomats
and
boors. They must be able to make the
mosi
difficult situation seem comfortable. How-
ever, they may not let the respondent feel
so
comfortable that he or she is allowed to skip
pertinent questions. R.ather, the good
inter'_
viewer. must be ready 1o elbow his-or
her way
into whatever questions must be asked (Con_
verse and Schuman, 1974, p.31). The
SRC
manual states that the interviewer must
be
both a human being who ..builds a pe.missi,r.
and wamt relationship with each reipondent.
and a "technician who applies stand-ard
tech_
niques and uses lhe same inslrument fol.
each
interview" (Reported in Converse unO S.t
u-
man, 1974, p.30).
Whatever the siruarion, the inlen,iewer
must get his or her questions answered
bv
everyone. This may in some cases lead
to
what Converse and Schuman refer to as ..1he
comedy of questions.,' Consider this example:
You. sit in a lady's living room, look
through
cracked, broken-out windows at blocks
aiJ
blocks olgufled ..has-been,'
homes. you
*alk
across a sagging creaking floor, and
look into
narrow eves peering a1 you lrom beneath
a
dresser. Not a dog, nor a cat_no, a
chiid. Now
you ask the big question in the
neighborhood
problem section: ,.Have you had
aiy troubie
because of neighbors not keeping up
their prop-
ert"v?" (1974, p. 27).
The very rationality which is sought in in_
Survqr Research 187
lead to its own biases. Because the interview
asks for opirtion, it denies feelings.
eueslions
have tended to be worked up i"Juch-a *av 2,l;
to filter out emotion, The one_1o_on. ."p.ri-
ence denies lhe more normal effects
of others
beyond this dyad. There is a stripping u*uy
ui.
spontaneity by the formality in the wording
ol
the questions. The very ultrareasonablenesi
ol.
the interview makes it a little artificial (Con-
verse and Schuman, 1974, pp.73_74).
This
distortion seems to be the price tt at *usi tc
paid accomplish the social
.to
interview.
ur.u.u
['"low to Becorne c Good lnferviewer
Five basic rules must be followed in order
to
become a good interviewer: (l) understand
the inlerview material, (2) make a commit_
ment to complete the interview, (3) practicc
enough to feel confident and comforiable
wirh
the interview, (4) try to reduce the eitects
tt ai
your personal quaiities might have
on the in-
lerview situation. and (5) use comm0n
scnsc
tn dealrng wrlh potentialll difficult siruations.
Rule l: Understand the Interview. Naturally,
the interviewer needs to know what the
intcr-
view.is about. Ifyou are to be doing
the inler-
viewing, you should know why tlJquestions
being asked are included. To know tdr;;;;;
that you have a solid understanding of thc
purposes of the resear'ch. If you
designed thc
study, you will be more likely to know
why
queslions are included than ifyou
are working
on someone else's project. However, there
is a
lendency.to lhrow in questions which may
seem obvious to include, but even you,
the de_
signer of the project, are not sure why
they
have bden included.
An interview should not seem to be a fish_
ing qxpedition where any material that
might
possibly appear intercsring is included
on ine
chance thar it might be used. If rhe
study is
seeking alternale explanations of a ptrenome_
T
 --l:.:.
I
I

l\sTheMethodsofsocial Research PART THREE I

i
I

non, then you should understand why one set
of questions-very differenl from an earlier
set-has been included. The reason the inter-
viewer needs this self-understanding is that if
the respondent asks why a specific question is
being asked, the interviewer can quickly ex-
plain its importance to the overall survey. It
is not acceptable to say that the question
might prove useful or that it is inleresting.
Every aspect ofthe interview must be consid-
ered vital to the study.
Rule 2: Make a Commitment to Complete the
Interview, Interviews may occur at incon-
venient times. In some cases, an inten'iewer
may try to reschedule a session. However,
whatever the nature of the situation in which
the interview occurs, whether there is a baby
crying in the background, a dinner burning on
the stove, a person about to go out, once the
interview has begun, the interviewer must
persist and try to complete the interview. This
can be more easily accomplished if the inter-
viewer remains cornfortable. Clearl"v, short in-
temrptions may need to take place. The inter-
viewer should be gracious, but should stress
the importance of completing the interview.
One problem in trying to complete total
interviews is that respondents may give in-
complete answers. In this case, the interviewer
needs to probe for more information and clar-
ification so that the response is fully under-
standable and useful. This tendency to give
less than fully developed answers parallels
everyday speech. Nevertheiess it is also very
common in everyday conversation to try to
get the person wilh whom you are talking to
flesh ou1 what they are saying.
Converse and Schuman (1974, p. 50) sug-
following lypes of responses to jncom-
gest the
plete answers that appear exactiy as they
might be in everyday conversation:
Could you tell me a littie more about that?
This question is requesting additional infor-
mation, an expansion of the material that has
,Ijr
been given.
How do you mean, exactly?
This is a request for clarification, for a better
explanation ofwhat was said.
Wh1' would you say you feel thal waY?
This is a way to seek out an elaboration ofthe
answer given.
In examples like these, the technique of
the interviewer is not to be satisfied with in-
complete answers. If you don't think you fully
understand what the respondent means, if
there might be multiple meanings, if the an-
swer is confusing at the time of the interview,
it wiil mean even less at a later point when
you are trying to code and analyze the data.
That is why the interviewer must get full and
complete information that will be clear and
fully interpremble later on.
Rule 3: Practice the Interview. Interviewers
must practice by reading the interview and ad-
ministering it to others. In the first step, the
reading should identify any areas of misun-
derstanding which the interviewer has. Here
the adequacy ofthe instructions for the inter-
viewer wiil be made evident. The first practice
might be to interview yourself, as Converse
and Schuman (1974, p. 18) suggest. This
should heip sensitize you as to how you might
react t0 the intervieW. This is a way to explore
your own personal attitudes and see whether
you have biases that might be aroused if the
respondents reply in certain wa1's.
The second practice might be with a friend
or fellow workers with whom you feel com-
pletely comfortable. Genuine pretesting of the
interview with the types ofrespondents to be
studied should also be carried out. Depending
l
on the size and complexity of the inlervjew.
I
ress may calm down when the interviewer
you should pretesl the interview ar-
on u f., plo_ rives. Whatever the event, the interviewer
ple (and in a few situations) ..p.eu.ntatiriJJf
must always rely on common sense as
the prospective respondenis unA ,izuutionr. the ul_
timate factor in deciding what to do.
These practice inrerviews
f*fricfr sfroulJ noi This brings us to the point ofstating
be announced as practice sessions)
*ili infb;; how
to end an interview. Naturaily, the
you as to what problems are likely
to confront
respo"ndent
should be thanked for the time unA
you in the interviews. .fo.t pui
into the interview. Iiresults are to
be ont oui.
this should be explained to tfre responaeni.
Rule 4t Minirnize the Effects of your personal
Try to end the interview;n poritlui
Characteristics, your sex, age, race, u upU.oi
accent, lashion so rhat the respondeni Oo*rn.,.nj
dress-all of your personal chiracteristi.;;;; up
wtth negalive feelings aboul the e*p.rien.e.
styles will, in some way, affect the
intervie- Remember, another researcher may'want
situation. Although you cannot change your tir
interview lhis respondent in ,o.. futur.
sex, age, or race, you shouid be
aware of the survey.
possible effecls tirat they may have
on ,.rpoo_
dents. (For example, studies have
,fro*oifrut
whites intervieu,ing blacks oft.n ....1u. DESIGNING A TELEPHONE
Oif_
ferent responses from inrerv;e*ins
Utact<s SURVEY
blacks.) you should consider
VouI. upp.urun.! There are two printary tasks in organizing
and grooming. Different types of intewiew a
sit- telephone survey. One is to design the
uations may malte cenain-types of survcv
u,r". O._ instrument itself. The other is to ,.f..,
sirable. In a formal door_to-door int..ui.*, u ,., ,,'i
u respondents.
businesslike appearance may be
best: how_
ever. college-student atrire (jeans) may
be
fully acceptable for many types of interview Telephone tnterview Schedules
settings.
Telephone interview schedules are not
so dif_
ferent from in-person interview schedules.
Rule 5: Ahvays Use Common Sense. This is In
both cases, the schedule must include instruc_
a quality that everyone needs to traue
.eaAf to tions to the interviewer on how to proceed
be used when difficult situations
a.ise. tt is es_ with the inlerview and questions which
pecially important for interviewers.
ff tfre in_
the in_
- terviewer realizes lervlewer ls 10 read offto the respondent.
that the situation is becom- The
language of the telephone interview
ing.dangerous, perhaps that the ..rpona.orl, ,.fr.ari.
may need to be a little different from
.making menacing remarks, tfre inte.viewer person interview schedule.
the in_
must use good judgment about whether It may require a
to dis- lew more verbal clarificarion sutements
continue the interview. No one wanh such
t;;;-
danger onesell simply to get an interview.
a-s "OK?' "Did you understand?" .,Is
that
clear?" or "Can we continue?,, int..rp..r.J
fiowever. common sense can often tell you
throughout the conversation; these ui.
wfen a situarion is just a fitUe aoultfrrl f.r,
anj necessary in the face-to_face situation,
yfen_ it is truly ominous. Mor.ou.., tir. the interviewer can seg the
because
lriendly neutralily of the intervi.*.r'rnru respondent,s
reactions.
oflen serve to defuse a difficutr ,;ruaion.'l
household in which a family fiChr Questions that depend on visual cues pre_
i;il;;;;: sented on cards, as described above.
can be

I
 .m:t:t-
'.1

190 Tlte Methods of Social Research PART THREE

adapted to a telephone format. Groves and In the unfolding method, the respondent is BOX 7-t0
Kahn offer two primary ways to accomplish led along to more specific questions on the rHE NI.,,MBERED.SCAI.E METHOD
this: the unfolding method and the numbered- basis of responses to earlier questions. This
scale method. Boxes 7-9 and 7-10 give exam- makes it less necessary for the respondent to
ples of each of these methods. remember too much at one time and reduces Now l'd lil(e to get your feeljngs toward
some political leaders.

BOX 7-9 i:,jt,iiiir""#ii.:":"s l""s:Ji;"Ti;:,J'::":'::,.J:;#::; lJ:i:::^,:.",. on ,he,hermorere, ,,.a, sr,ows

THE UNFOTDING METHOD
[,Jff f:1"":?:'":.lJl,:,:i,?";i::;";"i]0d&;#:';;J';"il:T:iil'':l''"?[ffij#';""i,['J'::ili::J'
ls it all clear?

How about you (or anyone in your family) -

will you probably buy or lease a car in the next 1 2 months, is there an
even chance you will, or do you think you probably wonTFbuy or lease a car in the next 12 months) ?
E G0 TO Bsa

|r.ilt;.:srB!ffis:!rr:a-::qi. ' lljaf ii*lrlrJtti* ui:r-:{5,:

!;. i:ir.:i, i: t};ifti:1!dr .:a _. !:
i' pnorinstv
:

. CRoensLv woN'r
' He'e..is how it wolks. lt you dol
,.:r,,-,.i.',-.wtr-t-
.. ,
ri.ilEVEN:61"!ANcE :.;r
iJ!ii.!;::ii!{i'il
i'*l'.ii
i:ii'i' ;i '. :: "-- .'*. middle of the thermometer, at the
t feer oarticularJy warm or cotd roward a pe6on,
50 deqree mark.
,;;::-;:-..
np^6n then .. -l in
you should place him the
i,itfait
af{ij!_itiiir" t#lij:'.- -!i:i:-l.t:'-
lf you have a warm feelrnq toward a o
Would you say it's almost Would you say there's a Would you say that it's very
uei*e.n so.anJ ioo;,;;;,il;;;";i'Jff*,il';::l;.T;i' j?ff:|":il,l".:#",d sive him a score somewhere

certain you will buy or just better than even charce you unlikely, just that you
that you probably willu will buy, less than even probabl-y won't buy a car, or is, ir vou
chance, or iust an even do you-hink that you will
?J,il,Ti!?li:Ji;,llLT*T.:JiX#JIJ;ilitli:".ffJ3,:*rson-that don'r care too much ror him-then

chance? never buy one? 0f course, if you don't know too much about
a person, just tell me and we,ll go on to the next
:.:rt ::::-,i : .l name
f':r::r::.1i-t
BETTER THAN'EVEN] ] 7. VFRYUNLIKELY
Bsa 0ur first person is George wailace. where wourd you put him on
-.3.:r:'rr.i! : :* ::.,:. t :i:f
- rhe thermometer?
, ij:ar,f:
5. LESSTHANEVEN ..7
r:i i.:
6. PROBABLY'WON,T

I
INEVER.WILL
tt 4. EVEN CHANCE I 8, BUY
the presentation of irrelevant material
II
tt respondent.
to the Open-ended questions tend to be
answered
tt more perfunctorily on the telephone.
++
tl In the numbered_scale method, the re_
spondent is asked to think of a scale
of num_ tion (such as, ,.What
If the in-
terviewer wants multiplc answers to ques_
a
are the most irnpo.tunt
bers and register where on the scale
Would it be a brand new car or a used car? A12. How long do you think it may be before you his or her problems in your community?"),
(IF TWO CAR PURCHASES PLANNED, (or anyone in the family) buy or lease a car? response would fall. In Groves and lt *ili u. oir_
*thermometer" Kahn,s ficult to get more than two responses
USE I\4ARGIN FOR SECOND,)
scale to rate various political on the
telephone (Groves and Kahn, iSZS, p.
figures, they found that responses l3g),
::;,::,r :0.NEVER to these Probing in a facero-face situation
8: .DK r, .Wll-L ,-
:1,::--.-r:.r sgaJ99 on rhe telephone tend
to be nrrnU.r, ai_
iri,, o#
..: ..t :.'. .. BUY '.
visible by 10, whereas in an in-person
duce more responses.
tl lnt..-
view. respondents tend to select numUe.s
A1 1a When do you think you might buy or leas€ TURN TO P.5. A13 tlat
this carT
are actually given on a thermometer presented Selecting o Somple
A1 2a. Do you think this would be a brand new car
on the show card 1 I 979. p. I 2l). fnese
or a used car? e*am_ Getting a Sample of Telephone Numbers.
ples suggest rhat when visual
material is There are numerous ways of selecring
(MONTH AND YEAR)
:,l.,:NEWtt,t: t::. 2..USED given, the respondent will attend u r.i'ot
. .:.:r.. . ,t:r ,. ::: | '..- it : _:::
to i,, .u.r. numbers to represent rhe popula_
Without such material. a respondent ]9le0no1e
on the llon to be sampled. The method you'.hoor.
telephone must utilize orher wa),s to
simplify will depend on the size of tfr. urru
responses. urc Vou -
sampling as weli as the size of the
survey.

I
 192 rheMethodsoJSocial Research
Using tekphone directories. In the early days
of telephone interviewing, telephone directo-
ries were largely used. In rural and nonmetro-
politan areas, where most households are
listed in the directory, this list may still serve
as an effective sampling frame. In large cities,
however, directories may exclude (because of
unlisted numbers) more than one-third of the
residential telephone numbers. To get around
this problem, Sudman (1973) suggested a
method according to which only the last three
digits of numbers selected from the directory
are replaced by randomly selected numbers.
This is a two-stage project: first numbers are
selected from the directory, then the last three
digits in each are replaced with random num-
bers. In this way, unlisted numbers will have
a chance ol being selected.
Most iocalities also have cross-index tele-
phone directories (which are usually available
in public iibraries). These directories list
phone numbers by address or by numerical
ordering. Such directories may be especially
useful if you are studying a particular neigh-
borhood. They may also distinguish between
residential and commercial numbers by, for
example. printing the commercial numbers in
bold type.
If directories are used, a means for ran-
domizing the selection numbers should be
ernployed. There are computer programs
which will select a page numlrer (once you
have given the maximum limits), a column
number, and a selection number within the
column (once you have specified the number
of telephone numbers given in each column).
Random-digit dialing. The newer way to se-
lect a telephone samDle does not use tele-
phone directories at all. lnstead, the use of
random-digit dialing (RDD) obviates the
need for the telephone book. RDD uses a
computer to select the numbers to be called. If
the sample is to represent some regional area
of the United States or of the country as a
PART THREE CHAPTER /
Survey Research 193
whole, there will usually be a desire to get re- The model followed is one developed by Kish The first thing the interviewer does is ask how
sponses fiom across the area in a random (1949). Box 7-li describes how Steven Kline-
many people there are in the household. list-
fashion. This can be done by stratifying the berg in his Houston Area Survev used the ing them in rhe summary box by age. Then
computer's choices, first, cln the basis of the Kish tablc to randomll selecl one person from
considering the iasr digit in tne riteptione
area codes (the three-digit numbers that must each hoLrsehold to be interviewed. To put it number, the interviewer turns to the Selection
be used first 1o call long-distance) and, second, more fol'mally, it is a method to randomize se_
Table and selects the appropriate number of
on the basis ofthe three-digit local exchanges lection within households of varying sizes. the person listed in the Summary Box list to
or prefixes which precede the last four suffix
numbers. Presently, there are about 100 area
codes in the United States and 30,000 ex-
changcs. The area codes are given in most BOX 7-11
telephone directories, the exchanges may be
SELECTING AN INTERVIEWEE AT A TETEPHONE
selected from telephone directories or ob- RESIDENCE
tained from the local telephone compan-y. n:l^T"nuleople vrng in this househord ore over the oge of rB?
If you want to be exact in your sampling !o*,
tN suMMARy BoX.) How ord (wos rhot peison/were
Who's rhe oldest ,;;;,h"
design, Groves and Kahn suggest that you T::i:l!l'.f lrt vort on [,iy'h",7your) rosr birrh-
i:.fYh: I m" nexi ordesr person in rhe househord? Erc. . . . LIST Nirr,rii rN on"or; d; ;6'l, ;;",il,i[]8
also secure the vertical and horizontal (V & WIIH THI OIDESI, DOWN IO AGE 18.
H) coordinates, which the phone company
uses to determine long-distance charges. By Summory Box Selection Tcble
line No. Nome 1234567890
stratifying the chojces of area codes, then the
exchanges within the area code, and then the I ttttttll
V & H coordinates in a rotated fashion so that
people with the same exchanges are selected 2 l1222112 I 2
randoml-v from across their locale, a represen-
3 3 2 2 2 2 3 3
tative sample of telephone numbers can be
drawn (see Groves and Kahn, 1979, pp. 21*30 4 4 2 3 3 2 4 2 4
for a more comprehensive discussion of this
5 5 2 I 3 2 4 5
method). Once this ordering is done, a sys- 3 4
tematic sample of every nth six-digit number 6 l 6 2 6 4 5 3 2 4 5
(area code and exchange) is drawn. Ofcourse,
for a regional study, many fewer area codes Now, let's see: Thot's {READ NAMES llsTEDl. is rhor
everybody over rhe oge of lB who usuolly lives here?
(possibly only one) are needed. The number- iHove I missed onyone?)
of exchanges varies greatly within an area
code. The final four numbers are selected ran- 1 ,25%
domly using a random-number generation
NUMBER OVER AGE ]B 2 , 5\o/o
progfam or a list of random numbers as de- 3-6, l7o/o {OVER 18)
Now let me see whom I'm supposed to interview next
scribed in Chapter 6. .. .
{FROM IHE IAST NUMBER I.ISTED IN THE SUMMARY
BOX, GO TO THE CORRESPONDING ROW
ON THE
Selecting a R.espondent from a Household. SELECTION TABLE, THEN GO TO THE COIUMN
CORRESPONDING TO THE IAST DIGIT OF THE
TFLE.
A telephone survey will not be random ifany PHONE NUMBER, AND DRAW A IINE STRAIGHT DOWN TO THE ROW ASSOCIATED WITH
THE I.AST
PTRSON LISTED. THE RESPONDENT'S NUMBER
person who answers the phone is interviewed. IS THE ONE THAI INIERSECTS BOTH LINES.)
Rather a selection within the irousehold of in- According lo my seleclion toble, lhe person I need ro
inrerview nexr is /RFSpoND ENT,S NAMT.tls (he/she)
dividuals who meet certain criteria (usually there? could r speok ro ihim/her), preose? When
do you expect {him/her) ro be in? Etc. . . . l
age) is used, and then among those members {Klineberg, Houston Areo Survey, I 983)
of the household, a random choice is made.
I
 l
l94TheMethodsofSocial Research PART THREE CHAPTER 7
Survey Research 195

interview. Nole that in the Seiection Table the
numbers change depending on the number of
pcrsons in the sarnpling unit.
Let's again go over how the selection ofthe
person to be interviewed in the household is
made. Say that it was a household ofthree and
that their telephone number was 123-4561 .
You would go to Row 3 and across until you
go1 to Column 7. Here you see the number 3.
That means you will inleniew the third per-
son on the list. Now, let's try another one (you
would, of course, need a different summary
box for each household): say you inlerview a
household of two, whose teiephone number
was 123-1234. You would go down to Row 2
(because there are two persons in the house-
hold) and then move across to Column 4 (to
correspond rvith the last digit in the telephone
number). Here you see the number 2. Thus,
you would interview the second name in the
summary table.
Once the person is selected, that person is
the only one to whom the interviewer will
speak. In many cases, this requires calling
back at a time when the person on the tele-
phone thinks the respondent will be available.
ifthe desired person cannot be reached, he or
she is not replaced by someone else in the
household.
Telephone ond Fsee-fo-Foce Interviewing
Advantages of the Telephone Surve.v. Inter-
viewing respondents over the telephone has
become increasingly popular in recent years.
It is easier to call individuals on the telephone
than to go out to interview them in their
homes or on the street. This form of survey
has been revolutionized by the more sophis-
ticated means for drawing a sample represen-
tative of a specific area that have become
available and by more fully computerized
ways (CATI: computer-aided telephone inter-
viewing to be described below) of carrying out
the whole interview over the telephone.
The advantages of telephone interviewing
as compared with face-to-face interviewing
are primarily three in number: (1) teiephone
surveys are cheaper to carry out, (2) tele-
phone surveys take less time and effort, (3)
telephone surveys are more impersonal than
face-to-face interviews. When these condi-
tions are deemed to be advantageous, then
telephone interviewing may be preferable.
Cost. Estimates of the comparative costs of
in-person and telephone interviewing all lead
to the same conclusion: Telephone interviews
are less expensive than face-to-face inter-
views. In a careful comparative study, Groves
and Kahn (i979), of the University of Michi-
gan's Survey Research Center, found that a
survey ofapproximately I 500 individuals cost
more than $84,000 for in-person interviews,
nearly $38,000 for telephone interviews. This
meant the in-person interview cost about $55
per interview, whiie the telephone interview
cost $23 (Groves and Kahn, 1979, p. 188).
By keeping careful track of the costs in
each area, Groves and Kahn found that the
costs of selecting the sample were only 2.5 per-
cent of the total budget of the telephone sur-
vey, while the costs were 10 percent of the in-
person survey. Training and prestudy work
for the field staff in the in-person study was
twice the cost ofthe teiephone survey (11.2
compared to 5.4 percent). The cost of fleld
staff travel made up nearly 20 percent of the
in-person study, while there were no travel
costs in the telephone survey. On the other
hand, the telephone charges made up 41 per-
cent of the costs of the telephone survey,
whereas various communication charges
(telephone and postage) made up only 7 per-
cent olthe in-person interviews.
Time and ffin, Sitting in an office calling
respondents saves time and expends less en-
ergy than going out to jnterview in person.
Groves and Kahn (1979) estimated that the
total hours spenl in the telephone survey of
1500 by all participants equaled 5419
as com_
p?red with 13,522 in the in-person
,u.u.u.
This averaged out to 3.3 houri per int.*i.,
for the telephone survey ana f.Z frou.,
terview in the in-person study. Ctearly,
f.. ln-
iess
time is necessary to contact people by phone
than to go out and talk to them, e*"
*r""gf,
it may take many telephon. .uil, to ;.i* ;
contact.
i^*::o^!t qaatity af a tetrephone swrvey.
If-n
.Eecause the interviewer cannot see the re_
spondent, the respondent may feel more
will_
ing to divulge personal information ,frun
;r^u
face-to-face encounter. Bradburn
and Sudman
(1979) found that in a metropolitan
,u.u.y
containing threatening guestions (reeardins
arrests for drunken driving or bankruitcy
exl
perience), respondents were more
Iikeiv to co-
operate by telephone than in the flace_ro-face
situation. On the other hand, there is
a two_
edged problem, as Bradburn and Sudman
see
il: ''overreporting of sociaily A.ri.uUfr- u.i,
[being a registered voter, having a iitrary
cardl might be highest for the more p..rooj
methods, whereas underreporting of
sociailf
undesirable acts might be highest for tf,.
rnorl
anonymous methods,' (1979, p.9). In
other
words, it seems to be easier to deny
to some_
one on the telephone that an undesirable
act
occurred than to deny it to someone facing
you; but, on the other hand, there is less templ
tation to try lo enhance your image ro
a teli_
pnone lntervtewer.
Disadvantages of Telephone Surveys.
Three
djsadvantages to telephone iot.ruir*iog
;."
(1) selecting telephone numbers
tlrut u.iuuify
lead to completed.inten iews inuotues
a targe
number of tries to achieve a small number
successes. (2) There is iess motivation
if
gener_
ated among respondents in a telephoneinter_
view because of the reduced stimulation
of
not seeing the inrerviewer in person. (3)
FaciJ_
ilating certain questions by giving the iespon_
dent a iist with the choices, cards to sort. or
some other cue or form of visuai assistance,
cannot be done in the same manner in
a lele-
phone survey.
Getting working hoasehold numhers. In
the
past. telephone surveys usually
selected num-
bers on a random basis from telephone
direc_
tories. As related above, for many .auron,
tt .
use oftelephone directories for selecting sam-
ples is undesirable. yet the use
of .uijor_
digit dialing (RDD), described utou.,
duces many teiephone numbers that
f.o-
areior
residentiai households. This creates *frut
flu,
been called the dross rate. Dross ,u^tuu
those which for one reason or another
iri
do not
lead to househoids. The ratio of gooA
num_
bers to dross numbers is about tiS
1Crc,vc,
and Ituhn. 1979. p.46). If rhe firsr Oigit
oitfic
su{fix (rhe final lour numbers in a rltephonc
number) is selected from directory listings
as
a "used" digit, then it can be asiumed"ttrai
numbers in that set are being assigned.
Using
only a random choice for ti
turtit.e. Algiii
has led to a ratio of good to dross
ngarer to one to two. "ilb-;;;
Lack of, motivation on the telephone.
interview has begun, it is much easier
Once an
for re-
spondenls to hang up than 1o djscontinue
lntervrew with the interviewer sunding
an
(or
sitting) right across from tt.m. ne.aure
if,...
rs no eye contact in a telephone
interview, it
is more difficult for the inlervie*e,
to assess
the interest level ofthe respondent.
Therefore
it is necessary for the inlerviewer to
keep the telephone conversation flor"id
d-;;
that the respondent doesn't huu. time
;;
to ion_
sider whether he or she is bored or too
brusy.
This means that it is more difficult
to oUiuin
in-depth information from an open_ended
question in a telephone survey.
Qaestions which depend on viswal cwes, As
we described eariier, some questions
are well
a.sl,ed by presenting the pcssible
answers ro
{he respond_ent on a card (for example,
in_

I

196TheuethodsofSocialResearch
come). Ina telephone interview, possibie re-
sponses must be read offto the respondent for
a selection. In some cases, where reactions to
pictures or other visual cues are desired, the
telephone is not appropriate. Most questions,
however, can be adapted for a telephone in-
terview (recall the unfolding and numbered-
scale methods described above). The advent
of the video telephone would probably alter
the receptivity of respondents to being inter-
viewed on the telephone. Whether individuals
will be more receptive or less receptive to
being interviewed on video, however, will
have to be seen.
COMPUTER-ASSISTED TELEPHONE
INTERVIEWING (CATI)
This new technique of interviewing on the
telephone invoives the interviewers sitting at
a computer terminal with a screen (a CRT).
The computer may first generate a list of tele-
phone numbers for the interviewer to call.
Once a respondent is reached, the interviewer
reads the questions which appear on the com-
puter screen. The answers given are directly
entered into the computer by the interviewer,
who types them into the terminal. Once an in-
terview is completed, the interviewer calis an-
other number, the questions reappear, and the
process is repeated.
By this means, a machine-readable dataset
is prepared. The data from the interview are
directly entered into the computer without the
intervening steps of writing the data down on
an interview schedule, coding it, and then
transferring it onto a computer disk. You will
see in Chapter 12, in the discussion ofcoding
and transfeffing data to computers, that the
CATI method would greatly reduce the time
to carry out an interview survey as well as re-
duce the possible errors which the coding and
transferring ofdata usually generate. Thus the
CATI system, which is already being used at
,:i
PART THREE
some institutions, is a much more efficient
system than other forms of interviewing.
DECIDING IF A SURVEY IS
APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
Surveys are undoubledly the most common
form of research method in the social sci-
ences. Surveys generate data useful for a great
range of study topics and lend themselves to
wide-ranging forms of analyses. What they
provide the researcher with is a set ofrespon-
ses, often to fixed-choice questions, which in
the aggregate can be used to measure the char-
acteristics and attitudes ofsome definable so-
cial group. The substance ofthe material col-
lected in survey rgsearch includes responses 10
questions, aggregated across many respon-
dents. These responses tend to tap subjective
attitudes and orientations, as well as more ex-
ternal indicators of the respondents' personai
and social situation. As I suggesled in Chapter
1, survey research tends to be the method of
choice for those who want to look at the broad
patterns of social life or who want to describe
widespread social reactions (to candidates or
to social policies). Ifthese are your goals in a
study, then a survey may be your best choice.
Remember, however, that there are disad-
vantages as well as advantages to the sun'ey
method. As I said in Chapter 1. surveys focus
on attitudes, opinions, pieces of information
about the conditions oflife, and the categories
that define and differentiate individuals. But
there are other phenomena to study in the so-
cial sciences and other ways to study these
phenomena. It is not as easy to get a sense of
a whole cultural group by interviewing them
than it is by living among them. Consider the
people ofa foreign country. Suppose you de-
cided to do a survel'ofthe Balinese (the peo-
ple who live in Bali). Would that be a good
way to find out all about them? Possibly not.
You would probably not know what questions
CFI APTER Z
to ask them, whal is important to them. or
how to queslion them properly. For such a
study, field research would be preferable.
though once you underslood more aboul
thc
Balinese, then you might be able to use more
formal interview techniques.
Or let's say you wanted to understand
under what conditions individuals mav be_
come very aggressive to a stranger. It would
very difficult to get such information from
questionnaire (though you might
develop
scenarios of aggression-producing situationi
and ask respondents what they *outO dn),
but
in this case an experimental design
preferable.
-igirt-b;
This is not to caulion you too much on
the
use ofsurveys. They can be used in
a myriad
of ways to study very many subjects. While
suryeys may be done very poorly, a well_con-
structed survey administered effectivelv is
poweful means for gaining knowledge
aboui
the sociai world around you.
REVIEW NOTES
. Survey research is a method of data collec_
tion in which a defined group ofindividuals
are asked to answer a number of identical
questions.
. The components of a survey inciude select-
ing a sample ofrespondents and presenting
the survey questions to the sample eittrer ii
an interview or in a self_administered
questionnaire.
. Rules for questionnaire design are: (1) in_
clude only quesrions pertinenl to tire re_
search; (2) make the questions appealing; (3)
keep the questionnaire shorr: f4) haue [rief,
but clear, instructions; (5) preconsider all is_
sues that a respondent receiving the ques-
tionnaire might have.
. The format of a mail questionnaire should
include a cover letter, instructions on how
Surver- Rcsearch 197
to complete and return the questionnaire,
the questionnaire itself, a stamped and
preaddressed return envelope.
.
There are two slrategies for soliciting coop_
eration in a survey; either stress thelmpor_
tance ofthe research project itselfa, u.on-
tribution to science or stress fhe needs ofthe
researcher.
be . Pretesting of questionnaires should be car_
a ried out to determine problems before thc
actual data collection begins. When revicw_
ing a pretest, look for widely skipped ques-
tions, questions thal produce little variation
tn response, open_ended questions that are
ambiguously answered, and response set.
.
The loliowing faclor.s rnay increase responsc
rate to a mailed questionnaire: (1) its
ap_
pearance, (2) the request ro partioipate,
(3)
personal appeais, (4) sponsorship, (5)
othci
a inducements (possibly financial) in'the sur_
vey. (6) pnomises o1'anonymity or confiden_
tiality, (7) type of return mailing enclosures,
(B) type ofrnailing procedure,
1l; foilow_up
procedures.
. What is considered a respectable responsc
rate for a mail surv'ey varies, but rates ielow
50 percent are undesirable. Since lew sur_
veys reach a 50 percent response rate
on the
first mailing, follow-up mailings are advised.
. Successful interuiews are highly dependent
on the nature ofthe relationship developed
between the interviewer and the inter_
viewee.
. Interview schedules should have simple in_
structions for the interviewer 10 follow. the
questions should be worded so that thev
can
be easily read, and the order of quesiions
should quickly attract the respondent and
keep her or him interested in completing
the
survev.
. The cardinal rule ofinterviewing is 10 sup-
press one's own opinions.
. An interviewer must build a warm relation_
ship with each respondent at the same time
as applying'standard techniques of asking
I
 198 TheMethodsofSocialResearch PART THREE

each respondent the same questions in the response sst thesetypes ofsurveys. It
stresses ways to win
same way. social desirability spondent participation. re_ authors are expens on
survey development.
. The four rules for becoming a good inter- sponsorship 3. Marsh. Carherjne: The Survey ll,tcthod; The
Subjecls addressed here in.t
uO. qr.rtio"n'oJ.r,
viewer are (1) understand the interview, (2) telephone survey Contributio n of Surveys to S"ii"t"eirrt-Eip'i- open.and closed questions.
no opinion onlions
commit yourself to completing each and nation, Allen & Unwin, Boston, and rone of wording.
every interview, (3) practice giving the inter- presenls a history of
19g2. This book
the use of ;"*.yr,
,< l:quresc11tce. F^ and Etrzaberh"Marrin
a very interesting evaluation u;;;; lyj.l"ll:Ch:.Jes
ru.:v:yng 1eds.):
view, (4) use common sense in difficult STUDY EXERCISES ;;-;;;;;; Subjeoive phenomena.2 vols., Rus_
have conrribured to rhe "f sell Sage, New york, 19g6.
situations. 1. Using the hypothesis: "Students who com- phenomena.
,"d.rr;;;;'"f ,;r;i These
cuss the central methodofogi.uf
,"f"_.r^Oir-
. Interviewers may need to probe for deeper mute to campus will participate iess in ex- *orri.r'*hi.i
4. Schuman, Howard. and Staniey presser: leaders in the survey research
and fuller responses. tracurricuiar activities than those who live tions and Answers in ,4ttitude
I)zpc_ ::I.T
pnse. An excellent reference enrer_
. Selecting a telephone survey sample from a on campus," write a short questionnaire to
Surv;;; ,i:::; sxnng atriludes. conceptual
on irru., ofrn.u_
nruts Form. Wording. urliguirv
telephone directory to represenl an area is it. Destgnlwo closed-
gather the data to test ,on .euestion
Iext, Academic press, New veys., rnterviewer_respondent
lr'rrr_
not a very desirable method because so Vo.t, f "r;""t';;
q8i ii. retat,bns, anO ttc
ended questiont to measure the variables social use (and misuse)
ofsurvevs.
rnany individuals are unlisted or without mentioned in the hypothesis. In addition
telephones. to these, include questions to measure sex,
. Comparing telephone surveys with face-to- means of commuting to campus, time re-
face interviews shows three advantages of quired to commute to campus, and work
the former: telephone surveys are cheaper; status of student. Try to set up the three
they take less time and efforq they are more questions concerning commuting as con'
impersonal. The three disadvantages are tingency questions.
that they often require many calls to com- 2. If you were administering the above ques-
plete a single interview, that there is less mo- tionnaire to students in a college class-
tivation to comply or complete a telephone room, you would need a brief set of in-
interview, and that fewer facilitation tech- structions at the top ofthe questionnaire to
niques can be used in gathering sensitive or inform the respondents how to frll it out.
complicated data in a telephone survey. Wriie out such instructions.
3. Now assume that you are pianning to mail
this questionnaire to students. You would
KEY TERMS
need to enclose a cover letter. Compose a
closed-ended question (forced choice) cover letter for this questionnaire encour-
computer-assisted telephone interviewing aging students to participate (assume that
(CATD your reason for doing this survey is to ful-
contingency question fill course requirements for a research
dross numbers methods course).
face-to-face interview
follow-up procedures
hired-hand research RECOMMENDED READINGS
interview scheduie
mail survey
l. De Yaus, D.A.: Sarve)'.t in Social Research,
Allen & Unwin, Boston, 1986. This very nice
matrix question short text on survey research includes a lot of
open-ended question useful designs and hints for constructing ques-
pretesting tionnaires, building scales. Includes exercises.
questionnaire 2. Dillman, Don A.: Mail and Telephone Sumeys:
random-digit dialing (RDD) The Total Design lIethod, Wiley, New York,
response rate I 978. This volume tries tc cover every aspect ol

I
,t|_LJADTTDO
I
CHAPTER B

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF

qurres the most creative effort.
EXPERIMENTS This is a vari-
able not only to be measured, tut
to Ue pro_
Creofive Aspects of Experirnents ductive of something else.
The choice of an experiment as the
In certain experiments_more often those
Experiments use for your research will depend
rhe study's primary goal
method ro

""
*h;;;;
in real-life settings_the na.p.na.ni
may be a particular educadbnal prog.ur,
uu"lUi.
i, ro .*urin. u-rfl_ social welfare benefit (such u, tir.
u
crnc reactron or effect. Experimenral
design
i".or.
maintenance project), a medical tr.utrn.ni.-
must focus on that occurrence, that ol.
happ# sonre other event which is occurring
ing. that moment when a cause
supDosedlv
in rhc
real wo^rld; and the object of the._p.;;;;;;;
brings fonh an fficr. tr is rhis pr"d;A;;i;;.
to see ifthis independent variable
observarion) of an effecr whictr is h f,.rl"e ii,
,i"-i.ilri
ment and this production must be created
supposed effect. In other experiments_m"orc
or often taking place in laboratories_rfr.
INTRODUCTICN observationally selected out of on_going
currences by the experimenter.
As the twi ex_
;_ pendent variable must be created
will resemble the
so
i"1.,
thaiit
periments described in Chaprer supposed .uur. ot*nuiih*
f inji.ut.O, researcher is srudying. This creation
designing an experiment ..quir., or
,u"ip"# tlon ol an independent variable which
isola_
/ ing situations (often those which
are u.tin.iuf lead to the effect to be studied is
may
-fln experiment based on social phenomena copies of real situations) to rry to
bd;;; problem in the design of experiments
the cen-trai
is not uniike an experiment based on natural phenomena. For this reason, experiments an effect.
The literature ofsocial psychology
parallel methods of natural sciences. We will In the natural sciences, this situalion is full o1.
in the social sciences most closely the the or ex_ many lascinating (and ,orn.iirn., JOj..rionr_
perience is called a stimulus,
begin our discussion by considering the creative and scientific aspects of experimental and the
1o it is called a response. In the
..;;; ble) examples ofindependent uu.iulf.i
ior.r_
melhods, including a discussion of causality in experimentation. Because experimen- social penments. Stanley Milgram's (1965)
tation is a rather difficult form of social research, its methods are perhaps best described
havioral the causal conditio" ";J;;:
i;;;; research,
which was briefly discuss.O in bfrupll.l,
-sciences,
erally referred to as the independent ,orioi,
ulated a shock machine, a teaching
,lrl
by laying out precisely the characteristics and procedures ofactual experiments. For this (the IV). and what is supposedly clevice
affecred is re_ which was used to stimulate tne subjlcis
reasonl two contrasting experiments on the effects of mass-media violence on aggressive Ierred to as the dependent variable (the wfro
DV). *lonC_u^1yers b1 punishmenr (a
behavior will be described in detail. One of these experiments was carried out in a social The area olexperimenlal design *fri.t 9:u. shock).
rnrri H.orner's (1968) experiment. described
psychologist's laboratory, and the other was based on an analysis of statistics reporting be most creative is that part which in
addresses Chapter 1, developed verbal cues..uningfui
reallife occurrences. the design ofthe indepenOe"t uarialte.
iirus enough_1o the subjects that they
The greatest challenges to experimentation in the social sciences (as in the natural the type of topics which can U. ,u...rriutiy *.r. ,upfor_
edly able to generate fear of ru.r.rr.
sciences) are the obstacies that threaten the validity ofexperimentation; such obstacles studiedwith an experimental design u.. tfror. R;;;;_
thal and Jacobsen's (196g) classro"-
will be examined in detail. Then, a simpler exampie of an experiment, one which a where the cause-occurrence (IV) and
the J ment (explained
.r*;_
fect-result (DV) are of primary concern. in
Chapter 3) described a
student might devise, will be offered. This example will be used to consider the general test's phoney potential as an independent
This focusing in experiments gives them var-
components of an experiment and to contrast the major types of experimental designs a iable to try to alrer
narow, highly specified, quality. The teachers, ,*p..tulon,
which are generally classified as: true experiments, preexperiments, and quasi-experi- re_ about student performance. Note that
searcher must zero in on the ..ntiul in two
ments. Finally, the grounds for choosing to do a parlicular experiment wili be ..uni,ig of these examples, whar I have .uff.J
of the subject of studi,. In contrast to survev u frlgiriy
considered. independent variable invol ved an"ele'_
c r e at i v e
research, where variables tend to
be numer_ menl of deception. Thus, while the..r.u.ih..
ous, experimental research generally
has only needs. to. be free enough to try
two primary variabies. With so nru.h to cook up a
,onr.n'_ slimulating event which can cause
tration on these two variables, their quatitles the desired
effect. the subjects musl remain
become highly significant. As ,ru,.O some*ha1 un_
ufou., aware of the experimenter,s slrategy
the independent variable is the one or their
th;ir;: reaction may not be a genuine ..rplnr.
to ifrc

200

I

202TheMethodsofSocial Research
independent variable. For this reason, exper-
imental designs.often generate difficult ethical
consideratious.
Scientific Aspects of Experirnents
The experiment is the quintessential scientific
method. Our most general idea of what sci-
ence entails probabiy involves a figure (in a
white lab coat) in a laboratory. He or she is
pouring some mixture into a test tube, setting
it over a fire, watching it change (color or
whatever), and recording these observations.
And we have it essentially right! The social-
scientific experiment, however far from this
chemist's iaboratory it seems to be, is essen-
tially following the same scientific model. It is
setting up (or isolating for observation) a con-
dition in order to be able to obseive how one
factor identified as the stimulus, or indepen-
dent variable (the heat ofthe fire), will bring
about a change in another factor, identified as
the response, or the dependent variable (the
composition or other characteristics of the
mixture in the test tube). Of course, the sci-
entist still has some of the original mixture in
another test tube which was not heated so that
he or she can compare qualities ofthe heated
mixture to those of the unheated mixture.
This littie experiment possesses the three
primary qualities of a classical scientific
experiment:
I nde p endent and de p endent v ariab les
Pretest and posttest
Experimental group and control group
The object of the experirnent is to determine
what (if any) effect can be identified in the de-
pendent variable as due to the treatment of
the independent variable. The need to have
measures taken before the experiment (pre-
test) and compared with measures taken after
the introduclion of the independent variable
T
e ART THREE
(posttest) is to try to isolate the specific effects
of the stimulus. The reason for rnaking obser-
vations on part of the sample which has not
undergone the experimental treatment (the
control group) and comparing them with
the part of the sample which has undergone
the experimental treatment (the experimental
group) is to see how different the experimental
group is from a group which was not exposed
to the experimental treatment. Again this dis-
tinction between experimental and control
groups helps to isolate the experimental
effects.
One of the major differences between ex-
periments ofnatural scientists and those ofso-
cial scientists is that social scientists must in-
teract with their subjects while natural
scientists need not do so. There is a major
problem in experiments where the experimen-
ter must talk to the subiects. What should he
or she tell the subjects about the purpose of
the experiment? If the fuil intention of the ex-
periment is described, then the subjects may
try either to bring forth the experimental effect
or possibly abort it. This means that experi-
menters are rarely frank with their subjects:
some type of deception is a common element
ofmost laboratory procedures in social exper-
iments. This problem of the need of the ex-
perimenter to interact with subjects is one of
the major confounding issues in social exper-
imentation. This will be discussed al glsater
length below when we discuss obstacles to
validity.
The Rules of Cousolity
The experimental method, more than any
other type ofsocial research method, forces a
consideration of causality. Let's return to the
chemistry lab example. How does that simple
experiment exemplify general principles of
causality which would be likely to apply in
any kind of experiment? Recall that in the ex-
CHAPTER B
periment, the experimenter poured
a mixture
into a test tube, heated it, and then otrr.,r.J
changes that had occurred in the mixture.
One characteristic of this experiment is
tlrat it foliowed a known tinte_ordered se-
quence. First. the experimenler had
a mixture
in a tube (and naturally observed the charao
teristics of it); second, the experimenter
placed the tube over a flame to t.it
it; ti,fd,
the experimenter observed the mixture after
the heating and noted the changes that
had oc_
curred. The object of the experiment was
to
look for changes thal occurred as a resuit
ofa
second factor being introduced after observa-
tion ofa first factor.
A second characteristic of the experiment
is the association between rhe treating of
ihe
mixlure and the change in the mixtu"re. The
chemist would correlate the occurrence
of this
change with the heatofthe fire; anO tre or stre
would be iikely to carry out the experiment
again and again to show that the association
between these factors occurred repeatedly.
The chemist would also observe ttrai tne
un_
heated mixture did not change, which wouid
also support the selection ofhiat
as the causal
factor in bnnging about the cnange lteai i;
conelated with a change in the miituie;
lack
of heat is corelated with no ctange in il;
mixture). It is the evidence ofa conitant cor-
relation (though not always the exact same
level of correlation) between two factors
that
strengthens the contention thal there is a studied.
causal relation between them.
However. an event that precedes a change
does not necessariiy have to be the cause
the change. It could be that another, unob-
if
served {actor is bringing about the change.
When this can be shown, then the correlati"on
between the two initialiy observed faclors
is
considered spurious. (A much more
devel_
oped discussion of spurious relationships
will
be presented in Chapter 14 when the elabora-
tion model is described..) Thus, a third char_
acteristic of an experiment is to search for
possible additional factors that could
explain
the observed experimental effect.
These characleristics of an experimental
design {bllow the rules for determining caus_
aiity. A causal relationship between tw"o vari-
ables means thai one variable (the indepen_
dent variabie) brings about a second variablc
(the dependent variable). Such a relationship
is held to exist if (i) there is a time_ordercd
sequence between the variables so that
dependent variable precedes the dependenl
the in_
variable in time, (2) there js a corelition
tween the two variables so that a change
bc_
in
one variable is related to a change in
the ithcr
variable, and (3) there is no evidence
that thc
relationship iretween the independent and
de_
pendent variables is spurious, such
that whon
the influence of a third variable is examinecl.
the original relationship disappears.
To apply these rules to a social research ex_
periment, let's consider the income_maintcr_
nance experimenr described in Chapter
l. Thc
independent variable (or stimulus) in ttrat
e*_
periment was the cash transfer made
to cer_
tain subjects (the experimental group). Thc
dependent variable (or response) *u, u .t
ung.
in work incentives (or hours worked) occu"r_
ring after this cash transfer. Recall as well that
there was a comparison group of individuals,
the control group, who were not given caslr
transfers but whose work behavior was
How were the rules for delermining caus-
aiity followed in this experiment? Firsi there
was a known time-ordered sequence (the
cash
transfer preceded the observation ofwork
in_
centives and hours worked which had
been
measured both before and afler the cash
trans_
fer so that changes could be determined).
Sec_
ond, the associatjons between rhe giving olthe
cash transfers and the changes in work-incen_
tives using evidence from the many indiviJ_
uals to whom these translers ,ere giu.n *ere
I

determined (these are the correlations
be-
and dependent vari-
tr..n tft. independent
be com-
ables). These correlations could then
fared with changes in
work incentives for
(the
ihose who were not given cash transfers
control grouP).
Third, there was a search for spurious fac-
tors that might account for the correlation of
cash transfers to changed work attitudes and
behaviors. An exampie here was the study of
personality characteristics (culture-of-poverty
iraits; of the subjects. It was shown that for
those characterized as having culture-of-pov-
erty traits, such as a high level of anomie, cash
transfers often led to a lowering in work in-
centive. Converseiy, for those wilh lower lev-
els of factors such as anomie, cash transfers
often strengthened work incentive' This indi-
cates an inleraction ffictbetween the receipt
of cash transfers and the personality charac-
teristics of the receiver. This means that the
effect of receiving cash transfsrs interacted
with the personality characteristics of the re-
cipients in affecting how they would respond'
These personality traits did not, however,
explain away the correlation between cash
transfers and work incentives' Had the rela-
tionship between receiving cash transfers and
subsequent changes in work attitudes and be-
haviors disappeared when the influence ofthe
personaiity factors was controlled (that is,
when the original relationship was considered
under each condition of the third variable)
then the original relationship would have
been considered spurious. Thus all three rules
for determining causality were followed in
this social experiment: the time-ordered se-
quence, the study of correlations between the
independent and dependent variabies, and the
searcii for, and analysis ofthe effects of, other
variables which might explain the observed
original relationship between the independent
and dependent variables.
The rules for establishing causality do not
appiy only in experimental designs, though
'1S',.ir:,
{
experiments are usually intended to demon-
strate causality and therefore most often fol-
low these rules. Surveys also frequently seek
to show causal relationships. This is especialiy
common when survey researchers use panel
data in which measures have been taken on
the same subjects over a period of time' It is
then possible to determine the time order be-
tween different observations.
Finally, it should be noted that social re-
searchers are often uncomfortable with the
concept of causalitl' because they recognize
that observations and measurement of human
behavior and attitudes are frequently impre-
cise and subject to a lot of variation' This
means that the correlations between variables
may be quite unstable' In addition, it is very
didcuit to determine, let alone control for, all
the possible factors that might influence a cor-
,elaiion between two variables. And the time
order between variables may be difficult as
well to establish. However, when an expert-
ment is being designed, a researcher shouid
carefully consider whether the experimental
design will meet the criteria for determrning
causality.
TYPES OF EXPERIMENTS
LoboroforY ond Field ExPeriments
As we have stated before, experimental re-
search may take place in a laboratory, where
extraneoui factors can be controlled most ef-
fectively; or it may take place in the real
world, where some phenomenon not con-
trolled by the experimenter can be examined
in reiation to its possible effects. Note that in
the natural sciences certain types of scientific
subjects (for example, chemistry) lend them-
selves to being studied in a laboratory, whiie
other subjects (for example, astronom,v) re-
quire real-life settings to be studied' In some
,ur.t, u subject can be studied either in the
laboratory or in the field. Geology would be
an exampie. One may study the effects of ero-
CHAPTTR 8
slon on certain types ofrocks in a field setting,
or one may take rocks into a laboratory for ex_
perimental research. In the laboratory, ap_
proximate conditions of erosion b. ...-
ated to replicate those which happen^uyin nature
(falling water, different levels ofacidity), and
their effects on the rocks may help to explain
how erosion occurs. Note that the primary
goal here is to be able to generatize ne nni-
ings noted in the laboratory to those
one
would expect in the real world.
True ond Noturol Experiments
In a true experiment, the experimenter pro_
duces a set of conditions (the independent
variabie) and then measures its effects (the de_
pendent variable). The variarions in the in_
dependent variable are expected to lead to dif_
ferences in the dependent variabie. On this
point, Anderson states that ..the defining
char-
acteristic ofa true experiment is the nrisence
olan IV (independenr variable), that an IV is
a variable. manipulated by the experimenter.
and thal manipulalion of a variable involves
both estabiishing the experimental conditions
and assigning the Ss (subjects) to these con_
ditions" (1971, p. 39).
In the experiment designed by Horner, de_
scribed in Chapter l, recall that she
-unipu_
iated the fear-of-success cues (the Iv) by ask_
ing subjects to complete a story from an
opening iine cue in which a woman or a man
was at the top of the medical school class. In
addition, she assigned subjects to different
competitive and noncompetitive, single-sex
and cross-sex game situations in order to test
whether women who had a strong fear of suc_
cess would perform worse in competitive and
cross-sex conditions.
A natural experiment, on the contrary,
would involve no manipulation on the part oi
the experirnenter. Instead, the experimenter
would observe one condition (the predictor
variabie) and relate it to another condition
Experintents 2A5
(the criterion variable). The major difference
between these two forms of experimentation
(true and natural) is in the area of controls.
. In the true experiment, the experimenter
tries to control as many other factbrs as pos_
sible in order to eliminate those factors that
might have a possible influence on the depen_
dent variable (DV). The usual procedure in-
troduces changes in one control condition
at a
time so as to see how this alters the experi_
mental effect. In contrast to this, ,,the naiural
experiment begins with a siluation in which
ail variables are free to vary and allows con_
trols to be introduced one at a time" (Ander_
son, 1971, p. 40). The adequacy ofcontrols
in
an experiment and the problems addressed
in
trying to establish sufrcient controls without
making the experiment hopelessly artificial
are the major challenges to experimentalion
as a method.
One of the primary differences between r
lrue and natural experiments is in the prob-
Iems they confront. that is to say. the types
oi r
errors thal are likell'to occur in these experi_
ments. In a natural experiment, where litile is
controlled during the experiment itselfl, cer_
tain constant errors may occur and effect thc
whole experiment. In a true experiment. the
experimenler tries to conlrol all potential
sources oferror. This is done by setting up dif_
ferent conditions of the IV and by aisigning
subjects to the various IV treatments u..o.al
ing to a system of randomization (to be de_
scribed below) designed to ensure that any
special characteristics of subjects which mighi
affect the outcome are randomly distribuied
across all the groups.
laboratory experiments have been char_
acteristically used by social psychologists to
study specific types of social behavior in a
highly focused manner. Sociologists and other
social have more frequently used
^scientists
real-iife situations and occurrences as the
bases for experiments. Sometimes these real_
life experiments take place in actual social en_
I

" l"ti:l':"fJ;L il,:, T:3 ;iL'Ji' l;l
;*il:* [ illil'il:'];ll# i,iJ.lliLil;
Y:;;;
't] Recall rirat cxperiments like these.
place in real settings' are relerred
l,T'iir'itt.
e^'Periments'
'" astnfeld
rc
other iur.r, to*a occurrence in social
life (such as a regularly scheduled television
program) may be isolated and related to some
ittl, o..ut.nces (perhaps changes in atti-
tudcs). In this case, rhe erperimenter is sin-
sline out specific parts oi social aclion lo see
it tri.t. is a causal relationship belween lhe
sub-
observed social phenomenon and some
seouenl evenl or condition' This type ol
ex-
perimentalion is natura!. Note that a natural
e*periment is generally based on real-life oc-
currences, but it need not take place in a
field
setring. Similarly, a field experiment may be
(such as the
based on natural occurrences
strike example)' but it may aiso be based on
experimentaliy contrived occurrences' For ex-
ample, the income-maintenance experiment
Oesiribed in Chapter 1 was a field experiment,
but not a natural exPeriment.
Different types of experimental methods
ques-
can be used to study similar research
tions. A laboratory experiment is often used
possible, extra-
in order to reduce, as much as
neous factors that might alter the reiationship
between the experimental independent
the
varia-
depen-
bie and the specific consequences,
dent variable. However, the laboratory always
has a somewhat artificial quality that chal-
lenges the applicability of the findings to
wiJer social spheres. The field or natural ex-
oeriment, on ihe other hand' may be affected
ty other factors in lhe real world u'hich can-
nft be sufficiently controlled' Thus it may be
more difficult in a nonlaboratory experiment
to be convinced that it was the independent
variable that brought about the change in
the
variable. in other words' that there
dcpcndent
between the 1wo'
was a causalrelationship
llere we will carefully examine a labora- BOX 8-l
tory experiment and compare it to a natural
questlon THE BERKOWITZ-GEEN
O',*iliffi
experiment. Each tries to address a
EXPERIMENT ON THE
ofgreat social significance: Can violence
por-
in-
',,,.,,
tra"yed in the mass media lead to actual
INSTRUCTING THE SUBJECTS
ABOUT THE FXPERIMENI
creases in aggressive behavior?
t mer bv ihe experimenter ond onother subiect (who
5]$ril?'"?rlos wos in focr o confederore of
2 The experimenter sioled fhoi rhe
rhe
TWO CONTRASTING experimeni wos obout "probrem solving
3 The subiect wos told fhot slress
would be produced Ly receiving mild
ond siress.,,
EXPERIMENTS ele.ric shocks from the other
subject in response to how weil or to*
poo,if t-," *"ilor"
to solve o set of probrems
A LoborotorY ExPeriment good solution, iO for o very poor soluiion). shock for o
'
Can Aggression Be Aroused by a Film? In
a
social psy- THE EXPERIMENT
s.ries oi laboratory experiments,
chologist Leonard Berkowitz and his col- ' The subject wos seporoted from rhe
1
confederore. He wos given o problem
to solve (designing o con-
leaguJs O963, 1966, 1967, 1973) used the
odverrising compoign for o siore) *hile
hi, porinei trr'r".onrua"ro,"] *"r
pre-sentaiion of a pize fight film as the ;:tjff: rroo"*ar, **.n-
independent variable to try to arouse aggre,s-
2. The solution he gove wos then (supposedly)
token to the other subject for opprois_
sivetehavior in the subjects being studied' In
one of these experiments, Berkowitz and ' l;f:il';::ff;::;:ff'on the subject ond he received z shocks
rrom rhe orher subjecr (oc-
Geen (1967, pp. 365-366) had 90 male sub- 4'
Then the subiect firred our o questionnoire
jects (University of Wisconsin undergradu- ro determine his mood.
5. Now it wos the subjeci's turn to see the
ates who volunteered to participate) foliow
fflm.
o. Two-thirds o{ the sublecis sow o prize
the experimental procedure outlined in Box
fight scene from o film.
ir) Holf of ihese were tord thot rhe h"ero t*t o *outa
l. be beoren up in the fight) wos o bod
8- person. This wos the justified aggression
condiiion.
Note first how complex and intricate an ,r, were told tholheiero *o, o
s;oa person. This wos the /ess Tusrife d oggres-
experiment this was. Each step of the
proce,-
ll;:|f; i:tf
dure *as engineered to produce the desired ef- t ihird sow o nonoggressive film obour
l*r;,tf:
o rrock roce. This wos
fect which the researchers were studying' As
the nonoggression
you can see, Berkowitz and Geen wcre trylng 6. Afier the lllm, eoch sublect's,mood wos meosured
by
io study how lar aggressive acts seen on a film
7' The confederote come inro rhe subjeci's ,oo*.oy'.g o second mood questionnoire.
iu ioa frnirh"d his probrem.
B. The experimenter osked th(
might iranslate into aggressive acts in real be-
haiior. the primary independent variable
ihe co n f edero re ,; ;;; ;;'n:TJi
?l
ff ff
9 For those subiects who hod seen the prize ngh, ft;
:"I3lll 1'$i;ll ;"g:*:"1:,, so m e c oses,
was the prize fight film; the primary depen- hod o confederote nomed Kirk, rhe
menter menrioned ihot ii wos coincidenior ";; who took
rhJ the hero
experi-
dent variable was the number of shocks ad- *u o"oting in t-hl nir,r"o, rr" nt,n
octor, Kirk Douglos.
ministered to another subject after viewing
3. The confederoie then returned to his room.
the fi1m. A prefilm mood questionnaire deter- l. The sub,ect wos given the con{edero,e,s solurjon (develor
.
mined the aggressive levels ol the subject be- i' a"#
fore seeing the fiim. This could then be com- ilJf;H: ::f',1';' 'n"in" '"'
il" ;'*:i:?"iffi:::i;:;J]:i::Jffr:'Jil:
pared to the postfilm mood questionnaire to ?. The subiect wos left olone to odminisier the
shocks.
l' A flnol questionnoire wos Qiven lo evoluote how the subject
ietermine how much the film had altered the
fe/r obout the confederote,s
subject's moods. Thus the mood question- ' l[nn::;ffi d"';.il;il decepiions
soiution.
*J;,k;; ;;
naire served as a controi in the experiment' ffi;,'::;;0"1',T;'*' suble.t not io
This experiment attempted not only to
show that moods may change with exposure
I
 I

atrso that aggressive behaviors TABLE 8-I havior and had used a mass-media form
to a fi1m but liim) to try to elicit
(a BOX 8-2
themselves can be aroused and turned
into ac- EXPERIMENTAT FINDINGS
aggressive reactions. fie
BERKOWITZ-GEEN
and his colleague concluded that ..availabie
tio" r. u result of viewing violence' The full
'irirri-r,or,ot (Meon Number of Shocks to Confederoiel
target persons who are associated with
THT.PHITTIPS EXPERIMENT ON
VIOTENCE IN THE MASS MEDIA
THE EFFECTS OF

treatment was seeing the prize the vic_ RAIES

ON HOMICIDE
"justifred" aggression ver- 1im ofobserved violence receive more
frs'hr ntm wirh the Roce urru.t,
ol from angered individuals than do
.l"on ortn. stori' and learning that the name Confederqte's Trock
was tilm "the;-;;;:
sible. targels lacking this associatio",; L
the confederate subject in the experiment Nome 6;;_ Using the stondord reference work
thol rec-
kowitz and Geen, 1967, pp. 367_36g). ords, prize flghts, phillips selected
"Kirk." The full control treatment was expe- heovy-
rienced by the group who saw the track race
Totol somple" A more socioiogical concern is io deter- weight prize fighis which rook ploce
Krk s.87" I s.l3.b 4.t3b .
mine how lar violence in the mass ,.Oia twee. I 973 ond 9ZB.
be_

(nonviolent) film. There were also other inter- Bob 5.00"b 14.67,h 4.60"h muu
1

mediate control groups (those who heard the Omitting 5 mosi
plot
"less justified" aggression version of the
and those who were told that the confederate
thev were working with was "Bob")'
Berkowitz and Geen lound that there was
a definite correlation between viewing vio- "N = l5 in eoch group.
lence in a film and greater aggressive behavior
bN
No/e: Cel s huv'rq o subs
in the viewers. First they saw. by comparing ,;"f',;;
the pre- and postfilm mood questionnaires,
ronoe lesl.
that the pnze flght frlm had had little effect on .Souice, Berko* tz onc Geer' 1966, p' 367
increasing the anxiety, anger, or worry of the
subjects. On the other hand' those who had
r..n th. pnze fight film administered more
shocks to their feliow subjects than those who
had seen the race track film. This was espe-
cially true for those who had been in the
who
strongest experimental conditions (those
had hiard the justified aggression version and
who had also been told that their fellow sub-
ject was Kirk). From this the authors con-
aggressive behav-
.tud.d thut a film showing
ior can trigger aggressive behavior particularly
against those who appear to be simiiar to the
victims portraYed in the film.
faUle 8-t offers the primary results of this
experiment. Examine the top row of numbers'
It reports on the average (mean) number- of
shocks administered to the confederate after
viewing the film. Note that it presents sepa-
rate figures for those who were told that the
lead to actual violent crimes. rhe 2. He determjned the dote ond doy of the
mosr ,o.;;lli,
week of eoch fighr.
rypes of aggrcssion. David phitii;i
onxious men in 9..].^t^.riol: 3. He then exomined rhe homicide rote for
(1983) addressed rhis issue in his
eoch groupb stuOy oitie
Klrk 64.
Aa
I soo
I /.?.'b
4.4a
4.7r
potentiai effects of hea.rryweight prize
nlfrt, .
4.
ecch of rhe lO doys following eoch 0ght.
He used o times-series regression onolysis
i;r;;""
Bob r.eb i the homicide rares in th; UniredSrar.r.
(to be described below) to
see whether
carefully examine the very difi.erenf
e*peri_ there wos on unexpected rise in homicides
mental design he used.
= l0 in eoch group. fol.ow,ng the prize fight5, gqq i{ so,
on wl-;ch
'pl ;n (omron ore nJl
u di1",""r, ot 1"s QJ lsvsl, cv
Duncor mul'rple-
doy ot e. rhe lighr it octur.ed.
A Nofurcl Experimenf 5. ln this onolysis, he estoblished conirols for
doys ol ine week, horidovs, ond monihs
of
Can Mass Media Trigger Violent Behavior? ihe yeor {using s.orisrrrol rechnjques)
be_
I o srudy rhe widespread social c ouse oT the known vorioi,on i.
effect ol vio_ lrequerc,es
jects (determined on the basis of the mood Ie.nce experienced through the
mass ,.Jiu . of homjcides by doys, ho/idoys, ond monrhs.
on 6. He olso compored
questionnaire) have been exciuded' The top vrolent behavior in the society fights held wirhin rhe
at large. phil_ United Stotes io ihose heid in other
row shows that the experimental group which lips selected a particular type of vioiJnce
de_
coun_
which tries, ond rhose lights which hod been
saw the justified aggression version and picted in the mass medi4 namell,
dis_
h.auf- cussed on television news wlth those
was told that the fellow subject was named weight prize fights-the same type which
of violent had not lPhillips, 19B3, pp. 56t_563).
Kirk gave the greatest number of shocks' Note stimulus that Berkowitz and Geen had
used_
that tle name K-irk was more strongly related and then related the timing of these fights
to
to increased shocks when thejustified version changing homicide rates in the UniteC-states
homicides and the expecred number
was shown. In the bottom half of the tab1e, as a whole. Instead ofbringing subjects into a is rhen
determrned. You can see in Table g_2,
which excludes the most anxious subjects- laboratory, he used available infoimation thaf lor
on 13 of the 18 fights, the observed
they were excluded on the assumption that the the.dates of prize fights and aggregate nurU.. of
crime homicides 3 days after the fight exceeas-tne
most an*ious subjects might inhibit their statisticsto do his study. nox g_2 fr"y,
ort iii.
p' expected number. In other rvords,
aggression (Berkowitz and Geen, 1967, steps in this experiment. more mur_
more vivid' In ders usually took place 3 days after
:O?)-ttte results beiome even Phillips found that there was an unex_ u n ujo,
heavyweight prize fight rhan woutd
this case. a substantially greater number of pected rise in homicides 3 days
after prize pected on those days.
Ue Lx_
shocks were given by those in ihe experimen- fights. Table 8-2 gives the actual ;;;;;
Checking the possible ..personal experi_
tal group Iustified condition and Kirk confed- (called the observed. nunber in tfr.
tutt.j-oi ence" hypothesis, that actual attendance^at
erate) than by those whose confederate was homicides occurring 3 days after eacl,
ot'tt prize fight might trigger violence
a

confederate was named Kirk and those who

called Bob or who saw the iess justified
prize l8 flghts,.then the expected number
e
*o.. tt un
fiim' lbaseO on exposure through mass media, phillips
were told he was calied Bob. In the lower half
fight film, or who saw the race track a statistical prediction of the number of pared the homicide rares 3 days
com_
Berkowitz, a social psychologist, had been homicides Jikely ro happen on that
ffe after a fight in
of the table, mean numbers are given for each day). the United States with those 3 days aiter
primarily interested in studying aggressive be- difference between the observed a
ofthe groups after the five most anxious sub- fight in a foreign country (which Americans
";6;;i

I
TABLE 8-2
form of quasi-experimental design), pretests experirnent that distorted the true experimen_
and posttests and experimental and .ont.oi
PI.,iIttIPS' EXPERIMENTAT FINDINGS tal purpose.
groups are not set up. phillips was
{Flrcruorion o{ u.5. Homicides Three Doys After Eoch Heovyweight
Prize Fight, 1973-ls7Bl able to Cook and Campbell isolated numerous
enter a series of controls regarding the
fight types of problems that may occur
Observed ExPected obserued HeldFight on Network (for such factors as the day of tfr.'*..t. to challenge
Minus Outside iir. the inrernal validity of an cxperiment
No. of No. of Evening month. whether it occuned on or near and su'g_
Nonre of Fight Homicides Homicides Expected U.S.? News? a holi_
day, its location. and the race of the fo;;;i.
gested means of reducing or
controlling fJr
their potenriai effects. (In i broader ,.nr.]
55 42.10 12.94 yes yes However, he had no control at all over ,n,
ForemonlFrazier the tnternal validity ofany type ofresearch
_J.4J yes no fight itself or how the public might fr. design
Foremon/Romon 46 49.43 ."por.J can be challenged, and many of the probleis
55 <-d ?'? .67 yes no to it.
Foremon/Norton to be considered below would also ^be proU-
Ali/Foremon 102 82.0l 19.99 yes yes
lems in other types of research designs.)
44 46.78 no yes
Ali/Wepner The problems to be countereA-migtif
54 47.03 6.97 no yes OBSTACTES TO AN Ue
Al/Lyle groupe^din the lollor.ving ways: obstacles stern_
Al /Bugner 106 82.q3 23.07 yes no EXPERIMENT'S VATIDITY
mrng lrom who is in the experinrent, what
Ali/Frozier t0B 81.69 26.31 yes yes
The problems of errors in experiments happens during the experimental pro..Ou..
54 45.02 8.98 yes no are a
Ali/Coopmon serious concern. Any time the dependent (from the pretest, through the experimeniai
43.62 no no var_
Ali/Young 41 -2.62 iable (or crirerion variable) in un .^p..i^*t Irealm€n1. to the postlesl). and whar problems
Ali/Dunn 50 4t.47 8.53 yes yes
is affected by anything other than
th. l";;;;;_ arrse due to llme changes or statistical
64 5l.J / I 1.43 no yes laws
Ali/Norton denl variable (or predictoruu"uUf.l uiJ.. (1979, pp.5t-55).
Alli Evongelisto 36 42.1I -6.1 I no no
study, there is experimental error.
66.86 no no Naturalll,, Froblems concerning who is in the
A1i/Shovers 66 -.86 no experimental design can completelv sttuiy;
B9 78.96 r 0.04 no yes efiml-
Spinks/Ali nate all error. Nevertheless. the objecr 1. Selection-Are there differences between
Holmes/Norion" 48.97 4.03 no no ol a
Ali/Spinks 59 52.25 6.76 no yes
good, experimenral design is ro
reduce
much as possible by recognizing how it
;;r; the two groups being compared? In the
mav Berkowitz study, we mighi ask whether
Hclmes/Evongelisto' 5l 5A.24 1.76 no no
occur and by choosing a design thar will the subjects who saw the prize fight fllm
min_
osponsored by World Boxing Council; other fights sponsored by the World Boxing Associoiion
rmrze it. The primary obsracles to were somehow different from those who
o11 scjenrific
Source, Philiips, I 983, p. 563. validity in experiments have been laid out saw the track race film. In a real-life ex-
in
very influential works by psychologists periment of the effectiveness of
Don_ a social
ald Campbell and Julian Stantey program (such as a remedial reading pro_
were unlikely to have attended). The compar- federate researcher. Philiips compared the fiSOli-d
Campbell and Thomas Cook (19i9). O.a*lng gram), where the experimental group
ison showed that homicide rates were even race (white or black) of the loser of the prize iub-
upon their discussions, we will consider jecrs getring lhe rrealmenr
higher when the fight took place outside the fight to the race (white or black) of young male hori tthe iV; are rhe
these obstacles were handled in the two ones who need the program and the
United States. Testing a "modeiing" hypoth- homicide victims; and he hypothesized that if exper- con-
iments described. trol group are the ones who do not
esis, that the greater the publicity for a fight, modeling occurred, homicide victims would need
more often rnatch the racial characteristics of
it,problems of selection are necessarily
the higher the rise in the homicide rate, he present. Recall that in the income_main_
found that those fights covered on network the prize fight losers (victims). This turned out
to be the case. When the prize fight loser was lnlernol Volidiry tenance experiment, described in Chapter
teievision news were related to much higher 1, this potential obstacle was avoided
postfrght homicide rates than those receiving white, there was an increase in white male According to Campbell and his associates,
in_
by
assigning subjects randomly to groups
less television coverage. homicide \rictims; conversely, when the loser ternai validity must be the most central
con_ which either received or did not ieceiue
Another test of the modeling hypothesis is was black, there was an increase in black cern ofthe experimenter. To consider
internal income increments. In such a design, se_
similar to one Berkowitz and Geen employed homicide deaths (Phillips, 1983, pp. 564- validity is to ask whether ttie investigator
can lection effects can be reduced
in their laboratory experiment when they 566). be confident that rhe experiment acluallv
2. Mortality or loss of subjecls_Will all sub-
matched the name Kirk, the actor playing the Note that in this type of experimental de- caused what it appeared to cause or
whether
sign (which wili be described below as one there were other factors in the conduct Jects remain in the
study? If the experi_
prize fighter who lost in the film, to the con- ofthe ment occurs over an extended period
of

I
 CHAPTER 8
Experiments 213

ables based on different types

time some of the subjects may no longer given to those in the control group that of rates very difficult to determine
were being compared.
be a part of the study. In the income- iould weaken their potential reaction' Of 7. Irnitation ol r,:carnrcnt_ln tudes toward safety were
how far atti_

maintinance experiment, some subjects
dropped out of the program' some moved
o. di.O, and others were simply not avail-
able at the end of the experimental
course, subjects usually do not know a siruarion or to the actual event.)
due to the fiim
where the control group might
which grouP they are in. However, if ;;;;;
exposed to a treatment Prgbleys of interaction
those assigned to the control group per- o. ,onCition ,i_- of selection with
ilar to the.independent r,rrj;;,
pe- ceive that they are not supposed to change
oe lmpossrble ro isolare the
;;';1il; other.factors;

riod. Ifthe subjects who drop out are fun- or that they are supposed to change less effecr of ihe 11. Interactions with selectior_These
independent variable. C""k
damentally different from those who than the other group, they may actually ;;;'i;r;: cles occur in situations
obsta_
fulfill the prophec]'. This phenomenon
be1l give.an exanrple
,,ral Ji *h;^;;;il-
remain, then the two groups may not be "f,
rc('rs oI Iegalrzing abortion "fif,.slale tion of subjects utr .r, ,nuturi,;;
truly comParabie. may work in reverse for the experimental
where residenrs of a
in one leclion_maturalion tnleraction) ;';_
An example of how such experimental group, where individuais who are ex- ,i.i. (a selecrion_history
or hisrorv
".lgi,rU".i"e
were to be used as a control inreracrio;; ;; ;;r;;;1
pected to react may help to bring about group. fir.r_
mortality might afect a study might be idenrs of the neighboring menhtion (a selection_inrourn.ntu,ion
the case of an experiment intended to this expectation. (This latter phenome- quentlv lor abortions to
,d;;;;; #_ tnteraction). Selection_maturution
pretest non, *iti.h is referred to as the detnand the state beins *."._
cover an entire academic year: the srudied. rhen rhey wouid action occurs when the *p..irn.*"i."a
characteristics of an experiment, will be no1 ,;k; ;,;;:
would be given in the fall, the students rsraclory control groups are maturing
discussed in a later section.)
conlroi group (1979, p. 541.
. \ otnp(nsqtion diff..;;;
would then be exposed to some program' 6. to the control group_In
rates; a selection-histo.y "t
ini..urtion-o._
and the posttest would be given in the Probl.ems concerning the experimental experiments, such as the inco;_;;in;: curs when.differenr groups
come lrom dil:
spring. In such a study, students who procedure: nance experiment, where rerent seltlngs and are
thereby exposed to
year the experimen_
dropped out of college during the tal group is benefiting differenr historical changes.
i.iJ,i";i;:
would not be available for the posttest' 5. Testing-The effect of what subjects fi"*;*;";i strumental effects may tat
learn on the pretest upon their perfor-
which the control group is
Ueing-Oe_ . ptu.e ii ti,.
This would be a case of mortality of sub' prived, there may be a experimental and control grou'p,
fr*. ruf,
jects. Note that if there were more drop- mance on the posttest tends to be a prob- tendency to
equalize the benefirs ro rh..onr.ot
ir, I ficiently differenr means on
tuts from the experimental than from the lem in experiments where ability or e.;uol used as lhe prerest. e
rhe rest beinc
achievement tests are to be used as the de-
Sociat programs. which
." i.i J" ."ilire .ff..;tlr;i
control group, the comparability of the "rr.ri, occur when one of the group,
pendent variable. If a pretest is given, ro increase equiru. ofrendj;,;il #oli ,.or.; li
two groups would be aff'ected'
3. Rivilry between subjects in experimental iome subjects may become overly famil-
oi expenmenters who are trying
how effecrive rhe benefirs
to slud; l]gJt
ralse 1lr.l
ir is nor porribr. i.,
thelr scores sufficjently in rhe
il;; i;
and control groups-If members of the iar with the test itself and perform better
providing
r;;;l;;;;;i Iest. Afloor
posr-
effect occurs,"t.n u grlurc,
forms of
control group recognize that their perfor- on the posttest. The effects oftesting also cr touutt- proportion of the scores
mance ii to be compared with that of an show up when attitudinal scales or per-
zarion ro the conrror
!illi1tu'oo ln on.
groups is at the lower end
otir.
oftt
sonality tests are used as pre- 0r posttests' rs true of the other group (Cook tlan
e scate
experimental group' they may outdo Problems concerning fime:
themselves in trying to show that they can 6. I nstrument ation-Y alidity problems due Campbell, 1979, p.
and
9. l[aturation_Between the pre_ 53).
perform as effectivelY. to changes in measurement, imprecision and post_
tests, the subjects may grow Problems of statistical regression:
of the measurement instruments. or of the older or more
4. Demoralization of sttbjects receiving less
treatmenl-When some control person measuring (or obsen'ing or scor- :l|enenced,
or rhey may change in terms
12. Statistical regression_There
desir able
ing) could result in a false indication ofan
or tnleillgence and physical
srrengrh. This is a ten_
gtoups receive no treatment or an unde- dency for the scores of
sirable treatment, they may become re- experimental effect. In other words, an e.f
rs more often a problem
;n un .ri.rir.ni low scorers on a pretest to
high ;..; ;;;
present when what - that spans a number ofvears. b;,n";;,"bJ.;;
sentfu1 and perform differently from the .fect may appear to be _
10. Historl.-Belween the pr._ to. errors than the scores
has actually occurred is a shift in the in- unA posttesrs of tiros. ;n tf,.
experimental group, not because they iack evenls_occur beyond rhe range (which are more
strument itself. For example. in the Phii- experiment rhai li99t. tikely ro be
the effects ofthe treatment, but because of may alter the experimenrat batanced by errors that inflafe ,.;r;; ;;
the negative feelings generated by not lips' experiment, if the government werc .f.cr.
ryr example, a sludy of attitudes tfuf,l. well as errors that OeRate
ttremi."il;
being treated or by being treated in a less to change its method of reporting homi- loward
desirable manner. cides (basing the figures on a different
airplane safety in which the,tlrnrfuL
be afilm on causes ofairplanacra;d;;
i" l!11 noslesrl
rcnoency lor
are given. rhere is
high scorers (whose earlier
. e;;;
Another probiem with the assignment type of indicator, such as arrest rates scores were increased
rather than victimization rates), an in-
a, real major plane
crash occurred between by error) to move
of individuals to control groups is that the pretest and the posttest, Iower and for low scorers (whose
there may be subtle and unintended cues crease in errors could occur since vari- it would be scores were decreased
earlier
i by enor) t" ;;;;

I

higher. This regression to the mean of ihe
group by scorers in the extreme will be
ialsely registered as an effect of the exper-
imental treatment.
Consider an experiment in a social re-
search methods class. Let's say that the
instructor decides to regive the midterm
exam and offers special preparation ses-
sions to half the class (the experimental
group) to see if this will improve their
performance. The comparabiiity between
ihis experimental group which gets the
special preparation sessions and the
control group which does not may be af-
fected by the average scores that the two
groups had on the first midterm exam
(the pretest).
Let's say that, aithough the students
are assigned to groups randomly, the ex-
perimental group has more high scorers
from the first test; it is therefore more
likely that these subjects' scores were sub-
ject to errors that inflated their scores'
Therefore, in a second testing, the scores
of the exPerimental grouP members
might be expected to fall. If the control
group had more middie-range scores on
the first testing, these scores would repre-
sent a better balance of scores affected by
inflation and deflation error, and in a sec-
ond testing their scores might change less'
In such a case, the results of the posttest
may lead to a lowering in the scores of the
experimental group with initially high
scores (regardless of the effects of the spe-
cial preparation program) and a siight in-
crease in the middle grouP.
Externol VoliditY
validity of an exper-
Obstacles to the external
iment raise the question ofhow far an exper-
iment can be generalized to other settings, to
other treatments, ot to other subjects' In lab-
oratory experiments, there is always the di-
iemma beiween trying to maximize control
over the possibly confounding factors that
would distort the treatment effect and trying
to minimize the artificiality necessarily im-
posed in exercising so much control over sub-
jects, over the experimental setting, and over
the treatment itself. Problems of external va-
lidity arise because of the unintended effects
of aspects of the experiment, the time frame
within which it occurs, and the treatment (or
independent variable) itself. These cross-et
fects are referred Io as interactions' The three
types of interactions which Cook and Camp-
bell (1979, pp. 73-74) define as possiblv re-
ducing the "generalizability" of an experi-
ment are interactions of (1) selection of
subjects, (2) setting ofthe experiment, and (3)
the period of history over which the experi-
ment is carried out with the treatment effect'
One problem with the subjects in experi-
ments is referred to as demand characleristics'
An experiment is a highly controlled environ-
ment. Subjects in an experiment are usually
aware of this environment and may attend
very closely to what the experiment is trying
to prove. In this way they may try Io be co'
lperative subjects, that is, to "validate the ex-
perimental hypothesis" (Orne, 1975, p. 187)'
-subjects
often seem to invest themselves in
the experiments they are participating in' For
this reason, deception of subjects is wide-
spread in experiments. Yet the very deception
on the part of the experimenter may encour-
age the subjects even more to try to figure out
what the experiment is meant to study.
Orne describes the subject's behavior as
"problem-solving" (p' 187) and defines the
sum total of cues that may "convey an exper-
imentai hypothesis to the subject" as the de'
mand characteristics of the experimental situ'
ation (pp. 187-188). Naturally' such a In order to consider carefully ail the different
predisposition on the part of the subjects in-
validates the experiment itself' Orne argues
that the subject's behavior is determined not
only by the experimental variabies in an ex-
periment, but also by the "perceived demand
lharacteristics of the experimental situation"
CHAPTER 8
(p. 188) One way to try to figure out
how far
demand characteristics have affected an ex-
periment is through .,postexperimental
in-
quiry," but Orne warns that experimenters
must beware that they don't encourage the
subjects to deny that they tn.**t it *us
going on in the experiment (p. 190).
Experiments done on volunteer college
sludenls (as in the Berkowitz experiment.;
srif_
ler from possible inreractions carscO Uy
setec_
tion of subjects and treatment. Are the stu_
dents who volunteered characterized bv
qualities that make their reaction,
unr.p.._
sentative of what the reactions of nonvolun_
teers might be? Cook and Campbell (1979, p.
73) suggest that one way to reduce the
intei_
action eflect of treatment and selection is
to
make the experiment as convenient (short
in
time. easy 10 gel to) as possible so that rhe
in_
convenient aspects of the experiment do not
selectivcly keep our cenain lypes ol subjects
and draw orher rypes in.
In the case of the laboratory experiment
using the prize fight film, the study might
be
challenged by asking what the effect Jf
tnis
film would be in a different setting (say, a sfan_
dard movie theater instead otttre taUbratoryy.
This challenge to external validity questi;;
an interaction between the setting'and the
treatment. In the phillips experimenl. the re_
searcher rried to reduce the interacrion
ofhis_
lorV.anf
lrealment (by carefully conrrolling
Iorthe day oftbe week. month ofthe
i.ur, unj
holidays) because he knew that tromicides
were more prevalent on certain days.
THE DAY AFTER: A the film, must be considered to be potentially
HYPOTHETICAT EXPERIMENT
components of an experiment and the
differ-
ent types of experimental designs, I will
set up
a fairly simple hypothetical experim.n,
loni
thal a sludenr mighr easily design) u, u rnoO.l.
ln November Iq83. the American Broadcasr_
ing Company aired a film, The Dqy Ai;;,-;;
Experiments 215
the hypothetical effects of a nuclear war on
one American community: Lawrence. Kan_
sas. This fiim was expected to be widely
viewed (in fact it was watched by 100 million
Americans), and it offered an opportunity
carry ou1 a social experiment of political
1o
in_
terest. Because of the growing commitment
a nuclear freeze among a small but
1o
committetl
group of Americans (as well as Europeans
and
other nationals), it was thought thai a po*er
ful film about a nuclear holocaust O.ouiting
,,
typical American community might swell
ranks of the nuclear-fre.ra ud*rut.r.
thc
tt ,,
fiim itself was predicted to be the stimuf rs
that might cause a change in attitude tow;;;l
nuclear policy, the effect to be assessed.
the experiment would require thr:
^ ,.Oo]nt
foliowing steps:
i. Define the independent variable as thc
movie and the dependenl variable as thc
change in attitude toward nuclear issucs
from that held before viewing the film.
2. Select a sample of individuals, sone ol.
whom would watch the film {the experi_
mental group) and others who would nol
(the control group).
3. Measure the attitudes about the nuclcar
freeze and other nuclear policy issues
fore showing the film (the pretest) and
bc_
after
the film (lhe posltest) among both lhe ex_
perimental and control groups.
Whar are the critical facrors which will
dc_
termine whether this is a meaningful experi_
ment or not? First, the independent variible,
arousing enough so that viewers might
ject to a change in artitude.
Ue suU_
Second;the q;;;
tions asked before and after the film must
be
relevant to the nature of the film itself
and
phrased carefully enough to measure
attitudes
$aJ are potenrially alterable by the fllrn
T!ir( the selection ofthe groups should not
be biasedsothat a compariion letw.en ttem
cannot be-made. Fourth, the administration
I
 216TheMethodsofSocial Research PART THREE

ofthe questions to all subjects before and after menter could have tried to control these vari- *i * measured.This independenr varjable
the film should be done in as similar a fashion ables by getting all of the experimentai group llrs a kind sample (or. in the case
ol srimulus which will ,r"""_"ii" of an experimenl, in
as possible (for example, the distance in time to view the film in a single place where the tgT: the experimenral or control
from the viewing of the film until the posttest conditions could be held more constant.) lr]99.tvariable
change. t',tor. rl.,aL;ir##fii,ll of chance. Such merhods ,rorpl
Uv tfr.^f u*l
dent brings forth no .trung., mlehl;m;l;t'1;;;_
should be equivalent). Fifth, the extraneous Similarly, the selection of the sample for penmenl will be useless; rtr."ar_
-is as flipping .oini. pulilne
factors which might interfere between the this study would have many potential prob- tnereforel lt
portanl to selecr an independent iil_ i-iqj.:a :r:h
rrom hat. throwing dice. using "urn.,
u ,.i ofrun_
showing of the film and the response to it lems. What if those with antinuclear attitudes seems likelt to lead 1o "rnutrf,iui dom.numbers. o, uri-ng
a computerized means
watched the fi1m and those who were hawks a change.
should be minimized. to select,rando, nur-b.rr.
. dependent variable, *ti.t i, the cen- nff ,fr*.,.ii"i,
Carelul attention 1o these questions will did not? However, if the experimenter used ,1h.
tral focus of the srudy. subject an equal ch2nq;
help to validate the experiment. Recall that volunteer subjects (some of whom might be i, tfl. .onOlr.n riat 9::: :1.1
o_rawn rnlo the sample (or into the
;il.rs
broughl abour (ar r*rr*'our,i'il, experimenl
the central scientific concern in experiments is pronuclear, others antinuclear) and assigned :l:r]9,9.
trrc. rnoependent variable. lal or conlrol group). Box g_3
d.r;rib.;';;;
whether what is discovered is, in fact, the re- them to groups randomly to either I'iew or not fnis Oepenjeni asslgnment to experimental
varia^ble should show groups b; ;;_
sult of the experiment (whether the experi- view the film, then any potential differences
ft:r
some change
before rhe er,perimenr,;j;.;;;;
d;;;i_
ment has internal validity) and whether the belween the groups that might have distorted :]:*l
subJecls who BOX 8-3
experience it and rt os. *tro
experiment itself is representative enough of the findings should be randomly distributed not. The experimenter must Jo
the real world that what occurs in the labora- and thereby made insignificant. dent variable as a narural
isolate ih. ;;;#
tory (or even in a natural setting) can be the These issues are raised to suggest the va- o..urr.o.. ,ti.f, ;ift ll?itr#,i"'i,:Rii"",Hi?'.
can be o^bserved or must RANDOM SAMPI.ING
riety of ways in which experimenters must try create a measure 10
basis for understanding how this process call it forth (such as answers to
might occur in the real world (whether the ex- to eliminate or reduce the conditions which questions). specific
RANDO14 ASSIGNMENI
periment has external validitv). Remember might change the relationship between the in- AND RANDOM

that the obstacles to internal validity concern dependent and dependent variables. The most Wo,rning, Do not conluse rondom ossignmenl
the internal qualities of the experiment itself imporlant way is to fix (or control) as many of Experimentol ond Controt sonpling Wren we rondomly
Groups
and whether other processes can be occurring the possibiy confounding conditions as possi- ?,:l:tiO",
s,gn sub;ecrs to tne treorment
os-
To.experience lhe experiment groups in
or ex_
at the same time as the experiment which ble so that the true experiment has a chance to is ro be subject perimenl, we ore lrying ,o
to its influence. Ifthe e. creo.e ireormen,
might alter the effects. The obstacles to exter- produce an effect. This kind of control is g'oups ihot,.hove o high probob;liry
r i'.,u u;..i,' *;
nal validity concern whether the experiment achieved by careful, thoughtful design, antic-
; ;",;ffi ;ililJ :-Tlil::l s.milor on otl voriobles. lr .his
of being
'cose,
will all be affectel in we con jnfer tl.ol sorelhrng
is rhe
thei
itself creates conditions that necessarily make ipating all the possibly contaminating prob- oOorilh" u"ot-
it unrepresentative of the actual situation lems before the experiment is caried out. In l]Tl,r i?; *"ni"o"'"i??5 ;:J,#?::::
penment show the same
menls, rolhe. rhon drflererces
in the people or
which jt is trving to study. the next two sections, we will examine. step by e.ffects?
suggesl that the observed
Thir;;;i;
"ioi
groups exoosed to eoch
treotme"r, led to dif_
enect was on the dependent vorioble, The
Once potential problems of this kind are step, the components of a true experiment and Tr"n.": ron-
or ar leasr not solely.uur.A,
recognized, they can, in some cases, be con- the range of types of designs for social exper- :iy-e-1,
penmenr. To conrrol for b;;.;;l oonn ossignme^t of subjects
x e results ol on exoerirent
does nol insure fl"oi
iments, those which meet the qualifications of rhis porriulrii""."_ con be opplied ro
trolled. In social research, however, where so penmenls. nearly alrl.ays ony,rorger group ol subjects.
a true experiment and those which do not include u .onr.nl Whe. we ron_
many factors-people. organizations. institu- group which does nol. e oomly select or sornoje respondenls
meet the qualifications for a true experiment from o
tions, states-are being studied, it is often dif- il.niui .onaltio"* il:,?3::fi:: rorger populol;or of ,espondenrs,
we ore trvino
ficult to control conditions sufficientiy. For but which represent what are referred to as comparable Jiff','"T:
to the experjm."ruf grorp,'"rfri lo :.eo.:
o sonote of resoondents h";;;;;
example. in presenting The Day After, it might pr e e"rp er i me nls and quas i- exp e r i m ent s. two musr.be equivalent. fn. priri.y belns sjmitor ro rhe oop.ro_
::s::-.o?obirjry 1f
- i'.un,
have been difficult to control for the manner non on oll voriobles.
lor crearing equivalence bei*een ;;;;i
I[ ih;s is the cose, then
con generolize from the resulrs
we
in which it was viewed. Was it vieu'ed uith groups in^a true experiment bosed on the
family or friends, or alone? Was the viewer is through t# somple,to whot wouid hove
been obtoined if our
GENERAL COMPONENTS OF AN process of randomi-ation in urrigr,rlrr',i -;;
watching it closely or doing something eise at EXPERIMENT groups. lijlll
uorrol P1t,::rioned
olr membe.s
drown.";;_
trom which jne somple wos "f
the same time? Was he or she tired? Bored? rondon sonp,ing of ,espo.denrs The
Distracted? Hungry? I11? What was the state of lndependent ond Dependent Voriobles does no. ,n_
As you recail trom Chaprer independenr vori6[t_.
the television set on which it was being As I have stated already, the heart of an ex- :ii1.^y'?ll"r.
samoling methods. the rules
:::r"^t:T'^-
rofner Jhon otl"er
6f rhe srudf
v61r6d", ossocioied
,

w;Jh
the
viewed? Were the picture and sound clear? periment is to understand a cause-effect rela- ,o..on
rty ensure that bias can Inoeoenden+ vorioble, ted
be reduced"io.ilr"uil_
;, ;h;;; to o,$erences on lhe
Was the picture large or very small? In color tionship. The independent variable must be Iection of subjecrs lor any oepe_ndent v6ris[1.. /e16a5
tein oqd phillips,
or in black and white? (Note that the experi- defined, isolated, and operationaiized so that srudy if random I oz9. p. 290)
procedures are used
wtrictr place peoil;;';

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u:taol: ]
,l

I
 220 rheMethodsofSocialResearch PART THREE

ject react differently (history efects).As a re- To control for obstacles to validity, the ex- TABI"E 8.4
sult, the differences between the first and sec- perimenter must be concerned about the pe-
ond tests could be due to nonexperimental riod of time covering the testing itself and the THE SOI.OMON FOUR-GROUP
EXPERIMENT
causes. time between the tests; these times should be
equivalent for both the experimental and con- Time I Iime 2 Time 3
trol groups and for different members within Group l, First experimentol group
EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS the groups. Ifthe tests are given in groups, dif-
Prelest
Posttest
Group 2, First control group
Prelest
True Experimentoi Designs ferent administrations of the tests may vary in Croup 3, Secord experinenrsl Posttest
grsgp
'lrue experimental designs are those orga- qualily depending on what the administrator Group 4, Second controJ oroup Posttest
of the test said and what times of day the test Posiiesf
nized in such a way as 10 meet the criterion
was given. Campbell and Stanley suggest that
lor an experiment-thal an independent var- which is depicted in Table g_4.
these intrasession problems can be alleviated In this more
iable be related to change in a dependent var- Groups 3 and 4 of the Solomon
by testing individuals separately (so as to design. r he problems Four_Grn,,.
iable-and at the same time successfully ad- :,"T?1..r desrgn. This simplified O.rign
dress the potential problems of invalidity.
avoid group demonstration differences) and tron belween "i,rr.'i,"r..1
the pretesl and rhe p"rd;;";;; .uo #;;:i
- by randomly carrying out the tests at different ber.ween rhe preresr and
rt ;; il';;:
rhe
recuve only where there has
been urrignr*t
Such designs tend to be more complete than of the subjects by randomizati""
times for the experimental and control groups comparing rhe two ._o.ri^#i
either the preexperimental or quasi-experi- :::11.d I
groups for believing rhar rhe tu"""d;;;;l;
(Groups I and 3) and
mental designs to be discussed next. The stan-
(1963, p. 14). the ,;;;;;r.i ll.burir.
not equivalent. ;.";;;;;;
In an experiment where observation or in- groups (Groups 2 and 4), *fr.r. oo. g.o,rp It avoids alf tne pr:oble-ms-J
dard true experiment, which is termed the had the pretest and one has
nJ, e efl'e.c1s of rhe prelesr on
terviewing is the mode of testing, there may not. 1f ri,r. portr.ri un"J
classical experiment, follows the .pattern Agglvine rhe experimenr of the problems olhow thc prerest
be biases. These can be overcome byassigning rhe fiIm The may alrer the
shown in Table 8-3. waylhe subjecr reacts to tt.
Le1 us return to the viewing of the anti-
observers (or interviewers) randomly to sub- ^
!!l,altar
to this design would require
rt,e foj_
,ti*uiurlir.fi""
jects. Randomization ofsubjects to the exper' lowtng steps: ln the example of The Day Afr*,
nuclear film, The Da,v After. A classical exper- tfr. p"r,_
tesl-only design wouid require
imental and control groups will also alleviate ,f,.r. ,i.pl""'
iment would have l.
the potential probiems of statistical regression fte_subjecrs among four groups
lssrcnTc 1. Assigning subjects to the experimental
(those with extreme scores would be ran- on the basis of randomuatlon
l. Randomly assigned the subjects into ex-
domly distributed between groups). To ad-
^
2. Giving the pretest to Groups control group randomly
and
perimental and control groups
3. Showing the film to Groups
and 2I ^ Showing rhe film
2.
dress the mortality problem of losing subjects L;; ro rh
2. Given a test (pretest) of attitudes toward
nuclear policy to both groups
between the two testing periods, Campbell 4. Giving the posltest to each group
3- 3 G;;i:r;"s? ';'"n:f T;"li'j'i;:
groups
and Stanley suggest keeping those who fail to
3. Shown the fllm (the independent variable) Comparisons fornring the
lake the posttest in the analyses in order to see basis of rhe exoeri_
to the experimental group and not to the
if they differ systematically from those who do menral effect would use Groups
f ,"J2. 8"" ll tn1 *r:
only one comparison is available
control group (out ts.rh.e
crucial one): Djd those *to
complete the experiment. (If the groups are irol for rhe preresr bias could
te ,.;; by
11
4. Given another test (posttest) of altitudes
comparable, then the loss of some subjects paring Groups 1 and 3 ;; penenced the stimulus .*_
trave a different post_
toward nuclear policy (virtually a repeat of ana Uy tr,. Jin-.r."n"ce,
in ch.ange between Groups test effect from those who
should not alter the experiment; if the groups I and.2;;;;: did not?
the first test) following the fiim FiyllV, experimental designs
diff'er in some definable way-for example, in pared with Groups 3 and
4. .
the criteria.for being true
which meet
the nuclear war case if they were all anti-nu- Campbell and Shnley argue that pretests mayhuu. ,or. thu-n
clear advocates-then a distortion would be are, in_fact, not essential to one stimulus, which means
\r\ a true e*pe.iment. thaf diffl.erent
8.3 present and the experiment might need to be provided rhal the groups
TABLE
have ;;.;;;;;;.;
repeated) (1963, pp. 15-16). assrgned ( 1963. pp. 25_26\. Th, por;r;;;;;)i. IABTE 8-5
THE CTASSICAI EXPERIMENT
The biases created by retaking the test- conrrol. gru.up design is
Time I Time 2 Time 3 due both to the effects ofthe pretest (on how
att rtrails
needed to have a true expenment.
;;iil, POSTIEST-ONLY CONTROT
Thus, the GROUP DESIGN
the subject responcls to the stimulus) and the p^osltesr-only design is one of rhe
Experimentol group lndependent Posttesl rn"r, fu"Lr.j
effects of the posttest-can be eliminated with ror-ms ol lrue experiments. It is depicted Iime I Iime 2
vorioble in
lhe Solomon Four-Group design, lhe most
Conirol group
comprehensive type 0f true experiment,
I:.!1.
grven l,lo any group. The design
rn this design, tr,, p..t.ii-i,
noi
Experimenlol group
Control group
Postlesl
in.ir;;; Posttest

I
 222 TheMethodsofSociaL Research PART THREE CHAPTER B

Experirnents 223

types of the treatment may be presented to dif: TABI.E 8-6 sign, there is no random assignment to
course, as rndicated through
ferent experimental groups. These factorial Ir is. rherctore. nor possibtJro
urrurl a placement or
designs can be extended versions of the three
ONE-SHOT CASE STUDY 9J::!:
urar rne groups are equivalent preadmission examination.
i" ir,i, *r.. ifr.
in attitudes. remedial malh course is rhe
earlier designs presented, where additional Time I Time 2 r-ncse preexperrments are generally
less desir_
independ;;i
iable. lt is offered to tl ";;-
slimuli require the same set of experimental oT carrving our u ,.r.ur.t,
,rrJi,
:^O]:^Trl-r Normailf , ;
and control groups as the design demands
Experimeniol group Posttest
rnough rn sonte cases they ma}, be
the oniv "-.*,,,,'iii,iriTH
to h:v.e another
?lti.ffi:fi
(Campbell and Stanley, 1963, pp.27-31). For choice. Bul Campbell unO group (who did
Sr*f.v ;;;";;ii ,.
order ""i.'oo.l,
need the course) take it in
example, in the Berkowitz and Geen experi- ravor quasr_experimental designs
ouar. pr.J*_ to ;;;;r';
ment, there were three different fllm condi- titudes prior to exposure to the film, bu1 it periment designs, if these -" cortrol group. It would also nor
Ue feasiUfei<l
.un o. u.rungio. refuse the course to half the
tions (the prize fight fi1m with the justified cannot control other factors that might have ,t"O*"tr"*fr"
needed it in order to have
aggression synopsis ofthe story, the prize flght occurred between the two tests which, other them ,..u. u, u.on_
Quosi-Experimenfol Designs trol group. This is a situarion
film with the lessjustified aggression synopsis. than the film, might have influenced a change
r c g r es s i o n d i.r c o tl n
il il;';
and the race track film) and two different u i ry d es i g n might
b; ;;.
_

in attitudes. Table 8-7 diagrams this design. Quasi-experiments should be employed ri

in sit_ ln lnls desrgn. ihe researcheris looking
names given to the confederate. Thus, this Finally, lhe static-group comparison, dia- uations where the basic elements'oi;;;;;_ lor dil_
periment cannot be set.up. ferences that occur at the point
study had a 3 X 2 factorial design. grammed in Table 8-8, is a preexperimental For .";;;,;; ;ffi."trc*ai
ment which would differeniiate
design with a control group but no pretest. ln certain cases the experimental the p.uir..i-
this design, as applied to the lilm showing, one groups cannot be made
and ;"i.;i ment scores of those receiving
the ireatment
Preexpenimenlol Designs
to Ue equlvateni from those of the control
group would see the film and answer ques- through randomized urrign'''.n
i io ;;;;;ill Figure 8-l shows a diagram ""rr"..1r,,",
Many experiments carried out do not include tions following it, another group would simply cause their natural situarion p...iu;;;iil, 11. ""* ofrhis
forthe math remediation program.
desigi
all the qualifications for true experiments, and answer questions without seeing the film. In possibility. ln many educarionuf
,,r0i.."
many situations which social researchers this design, there is a control for possible wnere classes (or classrooms)
are being studi . In this regression aiscontinuity design, stu-
dents with similar preprogram
might wish to study do not allow for the iac- sources of stimulation beyond the film, but no r,tre comparison group scores are con_
tors required for a true experiment. In such
1f. can only be a sim_
m comprising a group. In orher
measure of attitudes before having viewed the { bu I nor a randomrl. ai_ :1"^.:: words,
experimental designs, there are even more film.
]iili,1-t
srgned one)."l.l::sroom
Nevenheless. this noncquivilenf
rne groups are ordered in relation 10 the
seiec_
cortrol group design canu. .r."i".lv""rJJi" tion factor. Those below ti,e cutoftfin.
threats to internal and external validity. In the The difference between this design and the on tle
an experimental design *t
pretest are'placed in the remedial course;
simplest cases, a stimulus may be presented to posttest-only control design, shown in Table ... ,unOorn urr*n_
ment to groups is not feasible. those above it are not. It would
one group and its reaction measured. Camp- 8-5, is that in the static-group comparison de- thereforeLc
ln u .ur. *ni.. expected that those receiving
bell and Stanley refer to this type ofpreexper-
]f. 1*n.1y.n1al group represenrs volunleers (the remedial course) wouto
,r.uirn.nitt.
iment as a one-shot case sludy (1963, pp. 6-7). :
(suclt. as blood donors), a comparison sroun
c.rease
hive
in their scores than those not
a s;.;;;:
Using the film example again, a group would TABTE B-7 may De selected who are similar receivins
to tne J*per_ the trearment: but it would
see the film and then answer a survey about ONE-GROI,'P PRETEST'POSTTEST DESIGN
imentals. In.this design, .t ura.t..irtic,
oi'tl. (he scores
,fso U.;;;;;
their attitudes on nuclear issues. If their atti- expenmental and control groups tha1. of the
experimen,.l ;;;;;
can be com_ might remain lower than those of
tudes about nuclear disarmament are posi- Time I time 2 Time 3 pared before the experiment;
such compari_ the .;;;rj
group (because they starled tor".l.
tive, we might want to conclude that they Experimentoi group
sons might help explain *re
resufts oiifre ro U.g;
expenment. wrth).
were affected by the film. However, we do not
know what their attitudes were before the The exposure to the remedial
math pro_
film, and we do not know how their attitudes Regression-Discontinuity Experiment. qram (the lrealment) serves as th. ind.i.n-
8.8 In most oent variable. The difference berween^lhe
would differ from those of others who never TABTE lrealmenl sirualions. the group
receivins postprogam math scoie and
saw this film. Thus it is difficult to assess in STATIC.GROUP COMPARISON
rnelreaimenl ls the group that needs
the treat]
the preprogram
ment. Let's take, for example, score serves as the dependent
this case whether the experimental effect oc- u ..r.Oiuf variable. A
compariso.n of the average change
curred. Table 8-6 depicts this design. Time I Time 2 malh program which a ."ll.g.
;ffb;;;';;;;_ in ,.i. oi
groups of individuals who
A slightly more elaborate preexperiment Experimentol group* Postiest
year students to enable them to succeed
in ful_
began-witf, ,Aifu.
filling the natural science and scores is used to determine whether
would add a pretest. This one-group pretest- Conlrol group* Postiesl rnathematics ie- rh, tr.ui_
ment had its intended effect. In
posttest design addresses the problem (in the quirements of the.college. Th"r" rrki";;;; ;_ nigu." g-i,
mcdral course you can see that those who
case of the film experiment) of the level of at- 'Groups o'e rouondomiy ossign"d will be those who ieed took the iemediai
the course had a sharper increase in
their math

I

Treatment
o o
o o-
io o
o
o^
:
r70 x :o o dinal, which means that data are collectJl at
x o
o more than one point in time, and the experi_
a
"" so ao so 60 70
Pretest values
scores than those who did not; though the
math scores of the others did advance, they
did so at a more gradual level.
Times-series Experiment. When there is
large set ofalready collected data which indi-
cate rales over time, another form ofquasi-ex-
perimentai design may be used. This is the
time-series experinlent. The Phillips (1983)
experiment had such a design. Recall that
Phiilips was trying to see whether there was an
unexpected rise in homicides following a
hearryweight prize fight event. This required
setting up a type ofstatistical analysis called a
regression analysis to see if and when there
was an increased homicide rate. (For a discus-
sion of time-series regression techniques, see
Ostrom, i978). Time-series designs generally
use already collected aggregate data (which
will be discussed in Chapter 10) published reg-
ularly over standard intervals of time as the
basis for determining the dependent variable.
Then some other event (a law or a social oc-
currence) is superimposed on this time iine
data to see whether there is a change at thc
point (or somewhat after the point) where the
independent variable occurred.
For example, certain states have adopted
breathalyzer tests to deter drunken driving
:/
CHAPTER 8
As in the regression-discontinuity design, look again at experimental designs using
the interuupled time-series analysis loots foi ag_
No treatment gregated data.
ooo sharp increases occurring after the introduc_
Could you develop conditions
o :oo^o o which
tion ofa new procedure or program (the treat- would create the behavior you \^,ant to study
oo o ment). In this case the time frame is longttu-
o in a laboratory setting? Or would a natural ex_
periment be a better design? Developing the
FIGURE 8-'I independent variable is one of the most-criti_
menter is looking for changes in a parlicular
-lypolle'rcol ortcore of o o'elesl- cal parts of an experiment. In some cases. the
measurement over time that occur following
posttest reg r-osslon-disccntinuity srimulus is available llike rhe cxample of thc
quosi-experlmeni on lhe efrects of the introduction of a treatme,rf. (In contrasi
film The Day A.fter) and needs only io be uti_
o remedlo moth Progrom observations in the regression-discontinuitv lized by the investigator in an experimental
Preprogrom molh scores were design were taken at one point in time.)
used to seleci progrom enironis design which incorporates the presentation ol
The quasi-experimental designs here de-
{those w th scores of 60 ond below
were selected for the Progrom). scribed may need to be used in cases where
the stimulus. In other cases, an investigator
may use an independent variable that anothcr
the conditions for a lrue experiment cannol
be experimenter has developed. (Social_psycho_
met. These quasi-designs are preferable to iogical literature is full of experimentl lO.u,
and reduce serious traffic accidents. In this preexperiments. Regression-discontinuitv de-
which you might be able to use for your pur-
case, there would already be data measuring signs are widely used now to assess the effec_
poses.) Once you have designed the experi_
the incidence of serious traffic accidents (e'g', tiveness of new programs and treatments and
mental situation, you need to consider the
those causing serious injury or fatality) per- the times-series regression design is utilized in
subjects to be studied. Would you be able to
a haps on a yearly basis. The introduction ofthc studies ofhow specific social policies (laws) or
randomly assign them to experimental and
breathalyzer test could therefore be treated as practices can affect patterns ofsocial behavior
control groups? This is the major requiremenl
a stimulus, or independent variable. the ef- across time.
ofa true experiment, and it enables ihe use of
fects of which could be examined in terms of statistical tests to compare the goups. Thc
later measures of yearly rates of serious traffic primary advantage of an experimint ii that ir
accidents. Figure 8-2 depicts this design for is a tightly controlled research method which
DECIDING IF AN EXPERIMENT IS
the serious traffic accidents of a state. may be small in scope. Furthermore. once all
APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
the planning is done. the experimenf itsell
Ifthe object ofyour research project is to ex_ may not take very long to carry out.
FIGURE 8.2 plain some type of behar.ior, an experiment
Serious trofilc occidenrs for yeors 1 to 6 in Stote X, before
might be your choice of method. Remember
ond ofler ihe breotholyzer test wos iniroduceC {Yl =
that.an experiment requires very careful prep_
yeor I ).
aration. The experimenter may need to con_ REVIEW NOTES
trive a situation in order to study it. For some . In a true experiment, the
Test introduced experimenter
researchers. this makes experiments too ani-
) manipulates the independent variable, and
.9o ficial for their taste. Nevertheless. a \rery
care_ assigns subjects to the experimental condi-
fully organized experiment has the adrnntage tion. in a natural experiment, the experi_
OO
sq ofproducing rather specific findings. Further.
menter does not manipulate the indepen_
;o
ifvou obscrve a condition in the social enri_ dent variable, but rather observes it and
ronment (a new law or social program), you
relates it to olher conditions.
might design a natural experiment in which .
E-
l The primary challenge to experimentation is
2 you relate this independent variable to to establish sufllcient controls withoul mak_
changes in some pattern ofevents. Such stud_
ing the experiment too artificial and therebv
Y4 Y5 ies often depend on aggregated datasets (such
Y1 Y2 Y3 Y6 invalid.
Before breath test After breath test as crime rates). In Chaprers 10 and 11. we will . A fietd exporiment differs from a laboratorv
I

| ,26 ,rn ,n,hocls oJ social Research
experiment in that the former takes place in
a real environment. A field experiment may
be based on real-life occurrences (a natural
experirnent) or on manipulaled ones (a true
experiment).
. might such characteristics affect, for cx-
Internal validity addresses whether the ex-
perimental conditions actually brought iorrh
the inlended effect.
. Problems in the internal validity of an ex-
perimenl can be caused by iack of compar-
ability between the groups, loss of subjects,
rivalry between subjects in the experimental
and control groups, demoralization of sub-
jects, testing, problems with inslrumenta-
tion, imitation ol treatmenl, compensation
to the control group, maturation ofsubjects
between the pre- and posttests, historical
events that intervene. effects from the inter-
action of selection factors of the subjects
with maturation, history or instrumenta-
tion, and, lastly, the effects of statistical
regression.
. How far the findings from an experiment
can be generalized to other setlings is the
issue of external validity. Exlernal i,alidity
ma.v be chalienged because of the interac-
tions of the experimental treatment with
other aspecls ofthe experiment (selection of
subjects, experimental setting. and period of
history).
. Demand characteristics are the cues that
convey the expected hypothesis 1o the sub-
jects and make the subjects cooperate with
the experimenter to bring iorth the experi-
mental effect. Such demand characteristics
chailenge the external validity of an
experiment.
. Assignment of subjects to experimental and
control groups by randomization is the pri-
mary means in experiments of controlling
for biases in how the two groups rnight re-
spond to the independent variable. When
the groups have been randomly assigned,
statistical comparisons of the outcomes of
the experiment can be made.
. In a double-blind experiment, neither the
r,4.
PART TN*"]
Experiments 227
subjects nor the experimenter know which dependent variabie
b. Discuss the validity issues raised by
group is the experimental group and which double-blind experimenl
this experiment.
is the control group. This is done to reduce experimental group
2. Explain why an experimenler must be con_
the possible biases that the experimenter experimental mortality
cerned about demand characteristics,
might inadvertently introduce if the identity external validity How
ofthe groups were known. factorial design
. ample, the outcome of The iay Aftu
A Hawthorne effect in an expcriment occurs field experiment
experiment?
when subjecls produce the expected experi- llawthorne effect
3. Why is it so important for an experimentcr
mental effect without being exposed to the independent variable
to use randomization in assigning subjecls
experimental independent variable (they are interaclion effects
to experimental and control groups? -
affected by merely being in the experiment internal validity
itselfl. To control for this. an experimental iaboratory experiment
design may have a second control group, a matching
Hawthorne control group. This group is ex- maturation RECOMMENDED READINGS
posed to a supposedl-v meaningless indepen- natural experiment
dent variable, (such as a placebo, or sugar posttest
l. Anderson, Barry F.: The psvchologt Erpcri,
m^ent, 2d ed., Brooks/Cole, Belmont,
pill, in a drug experiment); the regular con- predictor variable Calil.,
1971. A small rext that takes you througir
trol group is exposed to no independent var- preexperimental designs all rhc,
stages olan experiment, with appropriite
staris_
iabie (that is, it is given no pill). It is ex- pretest tics presented.
pected that the Hawthorne control group quasi-experi mental designs 2. Cook, Thomas D., and Donald T. Campbcll:
will havs a stronger experimental effect than randomizalion of assignment to groups Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analiis Lv
the regular control group, but not so slrong regression-discontin ui l). experi menl sues .for Field Settings, Houghton
Mifflin. Bos_
an effect as the experimental group. response lon. I979. This includes Campbell.s classicwork
. True experimental designs include the clas- statistical regression on lypes of validity problems in experimenral
sical experiment, the Solomon Four-Group stimulus designs, and detailed discussions oi diff...nt
t"vpes of quasi-experimenral designs.
experiment, and the posttest-only control time-series experiment -
3. Fairweather, George W., and William S. Dav-
group design. true experimental designs
. Preexperimental designs include the one-
idson: lr Introduction to Cotnmunitv Expcri-
m-enlation; Theory, Methods, and. praitite,
shot case study, one-group pretest-posttesl McGraw-Hill, New york, 19g6. This small texi
STUDY EXERCISES
design, and static group comparisons. In all describes the reasons for, and methods ol
cases ofpreexperimental designs, there is no 1. Select either the Horner or the income_
car_
rylng out and analirzing experimental research
random assignment to experimental and maintenance experiment from Chapter rn community settings.
I
control groups. and explain the following: 4. Gottman, John M.: Times_series Analysis.
A
. Quasi-experimental designs are for experi- a. The experimental design (pre_ and Comprehensive Introduction
.for Social Scien-
ments with nonequivalent conlrol groups. posttests, experimental and lrils, Cambridge, New york, l9gl. More ad-
control
Comparisons belween experimental and groups, dependent and independent vanced_than the title suggests, this volume gives
good, clear exp.lanations olmost
nonequivalent control groups can be made variables). aspects of time-
using regression-disconiinuily or inter-
series analysis.
rupted times-series analyses.
KEY TERMS
ciassical experiment
control group
criterion variable
demand characteristics
T
 I

FIELD RESEARCH AND

fieldresearch has a romantic aura about
CASE STUDIES it, if
not excitement and glamor (remember Indi_
Some social methodologists refer ana Jonesl). Today. however, many anlhro_
to group ob_
servational studies and nerA ,er.air, u'nJe. pologists study modern societies.

Field Research and the heading of case studies. fi,i, .ut.go.y ,ir_
ally refers to research done on u ,inl.
.1"r..
The observational work of trying to
scribe a whole people is referred
rc uJ dnrig-
de_

Recall the lield studies from Chapter"i. raph.y. Ethnographic studies

K.;_
Observational Studies ter studied a single organization; in
words, she did a case study of tnOsco.
otfr., tural groups have been collected
of ,p..in. iui-
i"grtt..
form the extensive collection of .tfrnog.apii.,
1n
fely;s
Bar was Elryah Andersoni, .ur. ,rrav started in the late 1930s as tne gumin
ifeta-
ghetto bar. Because observational "i
sfudies jn a" tions. Areas Files (HRAF). ff,is .offe.iion
i^
field tend to be intensive and time-consum_ provided the basis for cross_cultural
ing, the researcher often narrows research studios
which compare different cultures unO
down to a single field setting. lio*.r.,,-n.ij Oin
cultural practices, as well u, .ornpu.lron-.ri
r."i
INTRODUCTICN research need not be confined
but may compare different ,o.iuf
to singte cases,
,.ttingr.'poi
ethnographic studies of the same
Later in this chapter, there will be
.ul;u;.
a Oiscussion
this reason, field research is a more g?.* qf fow the later ethnographic *o.t on N.l*
form ofresearch than case studies. Guinea by Howard Freeman challenged
F
I'ield research refers not to a specific
Field studies have the advantage of pre_
senting an in-depth picture of enviionrn.rrtr.
earlier research of Margaret Mead.
tho

Sociologists, polrtical scientists, and

method but to a context in which research occurs-the freld. The methods used to This is why reading a field study of othcr
u ,;;i;l social scientists use field methods
as well. This
gather information in the field vary, but they generally center around the direcl obser' organization or environment is more like is because they often share the same
central
vations of the researcher. As an observer, the researcher may be a member of (or closely reading a novel or an interesting piece
ofjo;r_ concerns of the anthropologists: to try
nalism than reading an experimental to un-
involved with) a group being studied; in other cases the researcher may be a stranger to or sur- cover the true meaning behind the
cultural
the scene. In some cases, the tools for obsen'ation may be highly formalized: They may vey study. The focus is narrower. The praclices. belief systems. social
obser_ arr,ornr, ,u_
va^tions may seem sharper and more
include video cameras and other recording devices, or they may depend only upon the intense. Doos. 01 a group ofpeople. To do
this requircs
Often there is less technical jargon ,"d
researcher and a notePad.
contrived methods. As discussed in Chapter
il;; more than the skills of good description,
it
In field locations, observation may not be the only method used. Interviews may be 1, also requires the inductive aeu.toprn.ni'oi
field research is for some ,ociat s.ientiris theory..Thus, ethnography i, u tfrroj_trifj-
carried out, and the verbal interaction may be recorded or categorized using some stan- iir.
best way to study the problems that inter;;i mg method; its aim in the study of particuiars
dardized scheme. But the most usual activity in field research rs ser:ing the field-taking them. For others, it is not a method thev is to draw out the general tfr..n.r.'fn.
it in, soaking it up-to try to understand what is really occurring there. Successful field would consider using. Many sociologicaljoui_ .*u.i
methods offield research are not easy
research requires a high level ol creativity to conceive the project and uncover the nals-do not commonly publish resea-rch to spell
out. They are less precise than survel,1sss6r.[
based
meaning of what is being studied. Most important, however, is a scientific frame of on field studies. However, many sociologists or experimental design. In what follows,
mind to guide the project and to direct it 1o its original purposes. are.field researchers, and they oft.n puiflrf, I will
examine field research methods and
other ol_
In this chapter, I shall delineate the general components of field research in which their studies as books. servational 1echniques to provide you
with a
observation and note taking are the primary techniques of data collection. The design general basis for understanding
ttis type oi
of a field study with all its intermediate stages will be developed. Finally, a discussion ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND research.
of the use of film video, and still cameras to capture social environments (visual soci FIELD RESEARCH
ology) will be offered. Since two fine fie1d studies were carefully described in Chapter 1, In the discipline of anthropology, field
I will use these as examples throughout the chapter. Therefore you might want to refer search.is the primary method foi'study-
re_ THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FIETD
An_
to Chapter 1 and reread the studies ofJelly's Bar and the Indsco Corporation. thropologists study (among otner *rings) RESEARCH
itre
Before beginning, I would like to clarify two further points: the flrst, the distinction I nalure of human culture. l.lost ctra.acieristl- Creotive Aspects of Field Reseorch
between field research and case studies; the second, the role ofanthropology in the de- caliy we picture the anthropologist
on u p.i._ The object o1'field studies, however
velopment of fie1d research. l itive island observing the nativJpeopt*r. they are
Su.t done, is verctehen, to understand
228
ti social aciion.

*,

I

We have all been in situations-enjoying the
festivities at a wedding, overhearing negotia-
tions in a used car loq listening to the cheers
at a pep rally, watching a couple in a restau-
rant argue over dinner-where we say to our-
selves "I know what's going on here" or "I
have figured out." What we mean is that the
it
situation or event ep:itomizes some quality of
the culture which we have always recognized
but taken for granted. Let's take a high school
football pep rally (as I remember it from the
deep dark past) as an example. The cheerlead-
ers are on the stage, the band is blasting away
in the pit, the football team comes on stage
and everyone goes crazy. Then the coach
comes out and makes a few remarks about the
importance of the upcoming game' and every-
one screams again. But let's stop for a mo-
ment: What is everyone screaming about?
What is really at stake here? Does it really
natter who wins the game? What is school
spirit anyway?
The sense of blending in with the euphoria
ofgroup excitement is one ofthe greatjoys of
human experience. There is a losing ofa sense
of seif and with it the sense of worry about
problems and responsibilities that are dificult
io face. How is this all achieved at a pep rally?
Well, what do the cheerleaders represent?
Usualiy, they are attractive young women and
men who are "peppy," which means that they
are exuberant, outgoing, and inviting. They
draw you out olyoursellinto the group spirit'
In a sense, they are rather iike primitive rain
dancers. They jump around, shouting com-
mon calls and focusing ths emotions of the
group on the common wish-the wish to suc-
ceed, to overcome, to defeat another.
In some ways, this wish to succeed (even if
only at a football game) is the universal wish
of ail humans about life: to make it a success-
ful endeavor. Perhaps, the big footbail players
represent hwnan .force, a factor which may be
less vital in modern iife in helping people ob-
tain basic needs but which is still the impulse
that makes people sense that they can get
where they want to go by pushing ahead'
Maybe this is the meaning of football. To
want to enter into the spirit of this drive for
success is to want to live, to push oneself
physically, to strive against odds, and to have
the emotional support of others in your
endeavor.
You may be thinking that I've ignored the
sexual aspects: the big male players, the petite
females jumping, the padded shoulders, the
short skirts. These aspects are also present and
may be central to some understandings of the
pep rally. A good field study ofa football rally
would try to come t0 terms with the sense of
the event, to make it come alive to the reader,
to build meaning out of what seems to be an
ordinary event. Remember that what may
seem to be ordinary to you and me could seem
very exotic (or at least very strange) to a for-
eign-born person. The reaction would be even
stranger 10 a person living in the future (imag-
ine someone in 2088 reading your fieid study
of a football rally) or to someone from outer
space! What you must keep in mind is that
good-quality field work should convey mean-
ing to anyone who might read it.
I have tried to suggest the various mean-
ings which a pep rally might symbolize. What-
ever the meanings you seek, you need some
n,ethods to know how to see what you are
seeing, to understand what you are hearing, to
figure out what is really happening. The tech-
niques for studying a field must be creative;
they must be right for the field being studied.
The researcher musl remain opento the fieid;
he or she must be abie to absorb what is hap-
pening in the environment without being
overwhelmed by it. Thus, the creative steps
needed to carry out a field study include (1)
choosing the fleld, (2) selecting the methods to
be used in the field, (3) observing in the fie1d,
and (4) turning observations into meaning.
These steps will be described more fully below
in the section on design. Here it is important
to emphasize lhaI, aleach step' being creative
means possessing the following quaiities:
I nsightfulness.. Seeing with understanding
Recognizing the importance
^ of insighl_
Receptivity: Openness and eagerness _
to fulne.ss, receptivity, and sellunderstanjlng
enier into the field should give you a good start in fieid researchl
Se lf- u n d erst a nd i ng ; Ability to undersmnd bur setting up a good inirial design ana guid_
one's own reactions and distinguish rng yourselfalong the way also requires
them aiare-
from reactions that others m"ignt expe- ful consideration of the scientific'aspects-oi
a
rience
field project.
To achieve self_understanding, a field re-
with divorced parents mrgnt
searcher
lfor ex_
ampie) have quite a different reactlon The Science of Field Reseorch
walching a couple argue in a restauranf
m
than Walking into a scene unprepared is not
one who did not. Knowing how you thc
u.. p.r_ way to do field research. Remember
Elijah
sonally affected by what you see and how
your Anderson's (1978) study of Jeliy,s, tfr.
reactions might differ from those of il,,_
otfr..r, i, cago South Side bar (Chapler i;.
the kind of sensibility which field ..r.u..i,.r, And.rr,,n
otd nol lust wander inlo a bar (though
need to develop. The social ctass hc
Uactg.ounJ probably had done so before
of. an observer (race, religion, .rgion t. .onc.iuJo ni,
up_
bringing, etc.) is bound to aflect pJ.ronut p.'._
ii project). Having decided ro study
Jelly,s, lic
had also developed a research question
spectives. On the one hand, an olse.uerrnrrt which
he planned to answer. He had ,.t
be caulious not to intrude upon the scene out to ,iujf
in the status system of a ghelro Uu..
such a way that the environmenl being fo nnA ort
..nobody'.
Ynl yut a "somebody'' and who a
oU_
served is altered. However, a field reseaicher
ln thrs transient social milieu. His objectivc
shouid not be btally detached. tt e..s.a.ct
e. wasto gather information relevant to his
must experience other situations deeply,
as if question by working his way into
actually involved, to enter into the *o.lO the social
others and see their world from
oi fabric of Jelly's. This meant that he
had to act
tt.i. in a particular way. He had to follow cerlai;
point. Yet the field researcher must "i.*_
at the types of leads and build up a rapport
same time be careful not to get so intensely with
those who patronized Jelfy'rin o.A..
involved that he or she ..goes-nuti".,, to gutt.,
no longer objective. There must be a middle
;;t;; the kinds ofmaterial he needed to
addrJss his
research question. While he was
ground of "involved detachment." observing at
Jelly's. he had ro kcep his research p;,?";.
_ This ability to become engaged in the
ioremosl in his mind in order ro direci
trii rc_
human achievements of others
if"r .*";pl;, search efforts. Fieid research never
seeks 1o
their writings, art, music, acting) is the kin;;i
alter what is happening ln tt,. .nul.nr.ni
talent in which those who study the humani_
berng studied. Nevertheless. more
or less sys_
ties excel. In rhe social sciencei, tt.
,ri.rirf tematic means for observing what is frupp.n_
which needs tobe appreciated may upp.uiio
ing need to be utilized.
be simpler-the meaning of u rn.ut,
i't. .J
ture of a gas station, the relationship beMe;n
a^teacher and his or her pupils. However,
each
of these is also a ,.human production,, GENERAL COMPONENTS OF
pressing the values and cultural
ex_
traditions and A FIETD STUDY
customs of a people; and the more
closely we Whatever the method used to do
the observ_
study them, the more complex they
appear to ing, certain fbctors must be delineated
which
become.
refer to the field.
I
 CHAPTER 9 Field Research and Obsen,ational
Studie.t

FIELD RESEARCH AND

fieldresearch has a romantic aura about
CASE STUDIES it, if
not excitement and glamor (remember
Some social methodologisrs refer Indi_
to group ob_ ana Jonesl). Today. however, many anthro_
servarional studies and n.fa r"er.aif,r pologists study modern societies.
,-ni..
Field Research and the headrng ofcqse stuclies. fi,is.ut.go.y uir_
ally refers to research done on *Or;;;
The observational work of trying to
scribe a whoie people is refened
de_

Recall the field studies norn Ct " ,"o utnrii_

upt.."l. fu* raph.y. Ethnographic studies ^,
Observational Studies ter studied a single organization; ln
words. she did a case srudy ol
ofir.r"
,p..in.",rj_
"i tog.ti,.. io
tural groups have been collected
fnOr.o. l.iii:, form the extensive colleclion
.ifr",ig..piri.,
Bar was Ehjah Andersoni .ur.
ghetto
,t"jv "f UrrnJn
started in rhe late 1930s as tfr.
il.fu_
bar. Because observational studies "1 "
in i tions.Areas Fites (HRAF). Thi, ."i[;i;;l;
field tend to be intensive and time_consum_ provided the basis for cross-cultural
ing, the researcher often narrows studies
research which compare different cultures
down to a single field setting. Ho*."%;;;; und diffb;;;
cultural practices, as well u, .ornpu.iron-oi
INTRCDUCTICN research need not be confined
to single cases,
but may compare different ,o.iuf
,.ttingr. fo.
ethnographic studies of the sami ;;l;;;.
Later in this chapter, there will
this reason, f.eld research i, u rno.. gln.J. m u Air.rrrion
rhe later ethnographic *o.t on N.*
form ofresearch than case studies. 9.i low
Gurnea by Howard Freeman challenged
D Field studies have the advantage of pre_ earlier research o[Margaret Mead.
thc
I' ield research refers not to a specific senting an in-depth picture of enviionrn.rrtr. Sociologisrs. political scienlists, and
method but 10 a context in which research occurs-the field. The methods used to This is wtly reading a field study of
u ,o.iui social scientists use fieid methods
other
as well. This
gather information in the field vary, but they generaliy center around the direct obser' organization or environment is more iike is because they often share the ,urn,
..nrruJ
vations of the researcher. As an observer, the researcher may be a member of (or closely reading a novel or an interesting piece
of;our_ concerns of the anthropoiogists: to
naiism than reading an experimentut try to un-
involved with) a group being studied; in other cases the researcher may be a stranger to o.,rr_ cover the true meaning behind rhe .utru*t
the scene. In some cases, the tools for observation may be highiy formalized: They may vey study. The focus is narrower. The practlces. belief systems. social
obser_ cusloms, u_
vations may seem sharper and more
inciude video cameras and other recording devices, or they may depend only upon the intense. ooos. ot a group ofpeople. To do
this requires
Often there is less technical jargon and more than the skills of good description,
researcher and a notepad. fewer ii
contrived methods. As discussed in also requires the inductive O.u.topir.ni'oi
In field locations, observation may not be the only method used. Interviews may be Chapter i,
field research is for some ,o.iul s.ientiiir-it. theory..Thus, ethnography i, u tir.o.y_tuifJ_
carried out, and the verbal interaction may be recorded or categorized using some stan- best way to study the problems tfrut
dardized scheme. But the most usual activit.v in field research rs ser:inglhe field-taking lni.ori mg method; its aim in the study of particulars
them. For others, it is not a method they is to draw out the general th.rn.r.'ih;;;;;;
it in, soaking it up-to try to understand what is really occurring there. Successful fleld would consider using. Many sociological jour_ methods offield research are not easy
research requires a high level of creativity to conceive the project and uncover the nais do not commonly publish reseich to spell
laseO out. They are less precise than suruey
meaning of what is being studied. Most important, however, is a scientific frame of on field studies. However, many sociologists 1s5s.i.[
or experimental design. In what follows,
mind to guide the project and to direct it to its original purposes. a.re.field,researchers, and they I wili
oft.n puf,liri, examine field research methods and
other ob_
In this chapter, I shall delineate the general components of field research in which their studies as books. servational
.techniques to provide you with a
observation and note taking are the primary techniques of data collection. The design general basis for understanding
ttis type oi
of a field study with all its intermediate stages will be deveioped. Finally, a discussion ANTHROPOLOGISTS AND research.
of the use of film video, and still cameras to capture social environments (visual soci- FIELD RESEARCH
ology) will be offered. Since two fine field studies were carefuily described in Chapter 1, In the discipline of anthropology, field
I will use these as examples throughout the chapter. Therefore you might want to refer search.is the primary method ioi"rtuOy.
re_ THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FIEID
nn_
to Chapter i and reread the studies ofJelly's Bar and the Indsco Corporation. thropologists study (among other RESEARCH
things) tfre
Before beginning, I would like to clarify two further points: the first, the distinction naiure of human culture. Most .fruruJt..irii_ Creofive Aspects of Field Resesrch
between field research and case studies; the second, the role ofanthropology in the de- cally we picture the anthropologist
on u ori*_ The object ol fleld studies, however
velopment of field research. itivs i512r4 observing rhe native peoptes.tu.t they are
done, is venlehen, to understand
social action.
228

I
 The Methods of Social Research
We have all been in situations-enjoying the
festivities at a wedding, overhearing negotia-
tions in a used car lot, listening to the cheers
at a pep rally, watching a couple in a restau-
rant argue over dinner-where we say to our-
selves "I know what's going on here" or "I
have it figured out." What we mean is that the
situation or event epitomizes some quality of
the culture which we have always recognized
but taken for granted. Let's take a high school
football pep rally (as I remember it from the
deep dark past) as an example. The cheerlead-
ers are on the stage, the band is blasting away
in the pit, the football team comes on stage
and everyone goes crazy. Then the coach
comes out and makes a few remarks about the
importance of the upcoming game, and every-
one screams again. But let's stop for a mo-
rnent: What is everyone screaming about?
What is really at stake here? Does it really
matter who wins the game? What is school
spirit anyway?
The sense of blending in with the euphoria
olgroup excitement is one ofthe greatjoys of
human experience. There is a losing ofa sense
of self and with it the sense of worry about
problems and responsibilities that are difficult
to face. How is this all achieved at a pep rall"v?
Well, what do the cheerleaders represent?
Usually, they are attractive young women and
men who are "peppy," which means that they
are exuberant, outgoing, and inviting. They
draw you out olyourselfinto the group spirit'
In a sense, they are rather iike primitive rain
dancers. They jump around, shouting com-
mon calls and focusing the emotions of the
group on the common wish-the wish to suc-
ceed, to overcome, to defeat another.
In some ways, this wish to succeed (even if
only at a football game) is the universal wish
of all humans about life: to make it a success-
ful endeavor. Perhaps, the big football players
represent human .force, a factor which may be
less vital in modern iife in helping people ob-
tain basic needs but which is stili the impulse
that makes people sense that they can get
where they want to go by pushing ahead'
Maybe this is the meaning of football. To
want to enter into the spirit of this drive for
success is to want to 1ive, to push oneself
physically, to strive against odds, and to have
the emotional support of others in your
endeavor.
You may be thinking that I've ignored the
sexual aspects: the big male players, the petite
females jumping, the padded shoulders, the
shorl skirts. These aspects are also present and
may be central to some understandings of the
pep rally. A good field study ofa football rally-
wouid try to come t0 terms with the sense of
the event, to make it come alive to the reader,
to build meaning out of what seems to be an
ordinary event. Remember that what may
seem to be ordinary to you and me could seem
very exotic (or at least very strange) to a for-
eign-borri person. The reaction wouldbe even
stranger to a person living in the future (imag-
ine someone in 2088 reading your fieid study
of a football rally) or to someone from outer
spacel What you must keep in mind is that
good-quality field work should convey mean-
ing to anyone who might read it.
I have tried to suggest the various mean-
ings which a pep raliy might symbolize. What-
ever the meanings you seek, you need some
methods to know how to see what you are
seeing, to understand what you are hearing, to
figure out what is really happening. The tech-
niques for studying a field must be creative;
they must be right for the field being studied.
The researcher must remain zpento the field;
he or she must be able to absorb what is hap-
pening in the environment without being
it. Thus, the creative steps
overq'helmed by
needed to carry out a fieid study include (1)
choosing the field, (2) seiecting the methods to
be used in the field, (3) observing in the field,
and (4) turning observations into meaning.
These steps will be described more fully below
in the section on design. Here it is important
to emphasize that, at each step, being creative
means possessing the following qualities:
Insightfulness: Seeing with understanding
Rec.eptivity: Openness and eagerness
to
enier into the fieid
S elf-understanding; Abllity to
understand
one's own reactions and distinguish
them
from reactions that others niight expe-
rience
To achieve self_understanding, a field re_
with divorced parents might (for ex_
searcher
ample) have quite a different .ru.tlon
watching a couple argue in a reslaurant
to
than
one who did not. Knowing how you
u., p.._
sonally affected by what you see and
reactions might differ from those of
how your
otne.s, is
the kind of sensibility which field ..r.u..t..,
need to develop. The social class
background
of. an observer (race, religion, *gi;;i;;:
bringing, etc.) is bound toinect pJ.ronatpe'._
spectives. On the one hand, an otserver
must
be cautious not to intrude upon the ,.rn,
in
such a way that the environment being
oi-
served is altered. However, a field reseaicher
should not be totally detached. The researcher
must experience other situations deeply,
if
as
actually involved, to enter into the *oitO
of
others and see their world from tfrerr
vle*_
point. Yet the field researcher must
at the
same time be careful not to get so intensely
involved that he or she ..goes nutiu.,,
unJi',
no longer objective. There must be a
middle
ground of "involved detachment."
_ This ability to become engaged in the
human achievements of others
if"", .-"rpi.,
their writings, art, music, acting) is the kini
oi
talent in which those who study the humani_
ties excel. ln rhe social sciencei, r1.,.
rnateriaf
which needs lo be apprecialed may uppru.
to
be simpler-the meaning otu
-.uf,iir. .ui
ture ofa gas station, the relationship between
ateacher and his or her pupils. Howerrer,
each
of these is also a ..human production,,
pressing the values and cultural
ex_
traditions and
customs of a people; and the rnor.
,tor.ly ,",
study them, the more complex they
appear to
become.
Recognizing the importance of insighl_
^_
fylne11,
.receptivity, and self_undersunjing
should give you a good start in field researchl
but setring up a good initial A.rign uno guiii_
ng yourself along the way also requires a -care-
ful consideration of the ic;entifrc'aspecis-oia
field project.
The Science of Field Reseorch
Walking into a scene unprepared is
not thc:
way to do field research. R.emember
Elijah
Anderson's (1979) study of Jelly,s, ttre
Cfii-
cago Sourh Side bar (Chaprer i;.
And.rrou
crd no{ lust wander into a bar (though
htr
probably had done so before he conceiuld li,
projecr). Having decided to srudy
J.lly,; i;;
had also developed a research question
which
he planned to answer. He had ,.t
out ro ,ir,lv
th,e sralus system
ofaghetro bar. to fln;;;t
was a "somebody'. and who a ,.nobody,,
)rno
rn thrs lransient social milieu. His objecrivc
was to gather information relevant
io his
question by working his way into
the social
tabnc oi'Jelly's. This meanr thar he
had to act
in a particular way. He fraa rc foilow certa,n
types of leads and build up a rapport
with
those who patronized Jelty', in o.O.i
to gutt .,
the kinds ofmaterial he needed to addrJss
his
research question. While he was
observing at
Jelly's, he had to keep his research p6;;;
foremosl in his mind in order ro Cirect
his rc_
search efforts. Field research never
seeks fo
alter what is happening in the environment
berng studied. Neveflheless. more
or less sys_
tematic means for observing what is
irupp.n_
ing need to be utilized.
GENERAI. COMPONENTS OF
A FIELD STUDY
Whatever the method used to do
the observ_
ing, certain Ibctors must be delineated
which
refer to the field.
I

The Setting
The studies described in Chapter i took place
in distinctly different settings-Anderson's
study was se1 in a bar, Kanter's in the head-
quafiers of a multinational corporation. An-
derson's bar was a smail place, Kanter's cor-
poration a large place, but they were both
places with walls and you knew whether you
were in them or not. Some field study envi-
ronments (iike a neighborhood) have much
less clearly defined boundaries.
The settings also differed in terms of who
belonged, who were members (or regulars, as
at Jelly's) in these settings and who were
strangers. In Jelly's there were no formal
members, though Jelly and the baftenders
who were his employees were the most regular
participants in the bar. Anderson was really
only interested in the clients at Jeily's, all of
whom came on their own accord, when they
felt like it. Some were, nevefiheless, regulars,
some came much more infrequently, and still
others were strangers (as Anderson was when
he flrst came). A bar is the type of setting that
is a public piace, but people who visit it regu-
larly try to make it into a more private place.
It is open to the public, but only a cefiain sub-
section of the public would ever consider
going there: people who want to drink, people
who want to drink in a public place, people
who would be comfortable drinking in a to be a somebody at Jelly's. He was trying to
largely black bar in a largely biack area of a discover the social structure ofwhat seemed a
large American city. Those qualifications
would not be met by most peopie. Therefore,
although Jelly's was a public place, it was not
a place that all members of the public would
in fact enter.
Indsco (the corporation Kanter studied,
which was described in Chapter 1) was aiso a
public place in that anyone could walk into
the building. There were clear differences be-
tween employees and nonemployees. Employ-
ees went to Indsco to carry out their work;
nonempioyees went to get something done by
Indsco employees (to order materials, deliver
supplies, or get information). There may also,
at any time, have been some stray people wan-
dering around Indsco (perhaps who came in
out ofthe cold) who were not supposed to be
there. Being at Indsco meant that you had a
goal to accomplish, some purpose for being
there. The setting was very diferent from Jel-
ly's in that way.
In summary, settings have various quali-
ties which need to be considered in a field
study.
1. Are they public or private settings? Can
anyone walk in? Do you need a ticket?
2. Are there regular, permanent members in
the setting, or do the people in the setting
usually vary? Do some people come more
regularly than others? What are the pur-
poses for which people in the setting come?
Are they formal or informal?
3. What are the obiects in the setting? Do they
seem to belong there? What do they tell
you about other characteristics ofthe peo-
ple who live or work there?
A Generol Subiect
Field researchers usually have a general or
specific subject in mind when they enter the
field. At Jelly's, Anderson wanted to under-
stand the social status of the men, what it took
slruclureless place. Kanter was trying to un-
derstand the meaning of the roles women play
in large corporations; the way they scale the
hierarchy of a corporation and the effects of
oeing one of a small minority of women at the
top ofa corporation.
According to Lofland (i971), an analysis
of a social field can pose only three major
questions:
i. What arc lhe characteristics of a social phe-
nomenon, the forms it assumes, the varia-
tions it displays?
CHAPTER 9
2. What are the causes of a social phenome-
non, ihe forms it assumes, the variations it
displays?
3. What are lhe consequences of a social phe_
nomenon. the lorms il assumes, the varia-
rions ir displays? t I 97 l, p. I 3).
Thus suppose we decide to do a study ofa
hot line for teenagers with problems. In ierms
of characteristics, we would want to know
both the structure and characteristics of the
hotJine organization itself and the character_
istics of the people involved: who works for it
(and answers the calls) and who calls in. Fur_
thermore, we would want t0 know something
about the history of the hot line-who started
it and why? Such a subject could form the
basis ofa fleld study and would require going
to rhe organization ilsell talking ro its Oirictoi
and workers, and observing the hot line in ac_
tion. The researcher might even want to take
(or listen in on) a .tw calls to understand ex_
actly what occurs during a hot-line telephone
conversation (though ethical objections would
arise if a researcher posed as a hot_line
receiver).
If our study were focused on nty young
persons call hot lines, we would have a
studv
concerned with causes. For such a study, wl
might need to concentrate on a specific plriod
of time to see what types of requests were re_
ceived. Or we might want to examine the rec-
ords ofthe hot line to study the nature ofthe
calls during a previous period. Such a causal
study might well require data from sources
other than observation (such as from records).
Finally, if our primary intent were to studv
what effect calling a hot line has on the teen_
ager, we would need to develop some form of
evaluation research design (see Chapter 1 1) to
follow up on the youth who had calGd andre_
ceived advice from the hot line. We might
also measure results in terms of what the siaff
thought had been accomplished.
Whatever the subject, it is best. as I stated
Field Research and Observational Studies 23-l
above, to have it very clearly in mind at the
beginning olthe study. it will serve as a guide
to what you look for in the setting. Whiii it is
true that field studies tend to evolve over thc
course of the field research, it is still better to
enter the field with a clear understanding of
what you would like to discover. Then if vJhat
you see and hear leads you toward a different
course, at least you will know where vou
began and how vou have altered
i,our. plan.
A Time Frome
A field research project mav occur in one con_
tinuous period (iike a structured observa_
tional study ofinteraction) or over a long pc_
riod of time. Kanter spent nearlv 5 vears
(obi,iously not on a full-time basis) obseiving
at Indsco. Anderson did his observing at Jcl_
ly's Bar intermittently, over a long period oi.
time.
The order of the visits may be sequenlial
or nonsequential. In a sequential time framc,
the visits have a regular order, one regularly
following the next, perhaps at a speciflc time.
interval. or daily event {dinnerrime). Visirs
over longer periods of time are usuallv non_
sequential; but they may be timed to coincidc
with specific occurrences (special occasions
such as Herman's Christmas party in Ander_
son's study or a major family event such as a
wedding); with occasions which bring togethcr
the important characters in the setting (meet_
ings at Indsco, family dinners, an assembly at
a high school): br with specific times of dav
(such as the opening up ofan organization
in
the morning or 5 p.m. at the bus stop).
The timing of your project will depend on
the nature of the project. Some studies must
have a short duration because the event takes
place over a short period of time (a Fourth
of
July parade. for exanrple. though there could
be pre- and posrparade activities which might
extend the study time). Other subiects have
no clear timc.frame. When and loihow long
I
 ?)'

234TheuethodsofsocialResearch PART THREE CHApTFp o

should Kanter have studied Indsco? Clearly a cial environment which took some time to get special settings
to know. This was a place that a lot of people
for th ese members (nudisl
very short period of time for fieid study might camps, gay bars). These lypes of behaviors
not have given her the depth of information would not want to visit, but it offered a view which are somewh
form of panicipation can be derecred
needed to make her very familiar with the cor- into a iittle-known iifestyle. Indsco was a , _ ^Ll.t.
rzed
^ by power differsnc,
s
a re cha raclcr_ ^secrelive bv
we.mav u. *ong.
uti;i;;.il,;l
poration. Timing should also be considered in place with a bureaucratic environment-or-
ff H'ffJ.[i ",trlH llltliTt:
seems to be daydream irr..iitr",,lf;
terms of the researcher. If a limited time ganized, structured, hierarchical, and or- ,b;5.'ne 1,";, il
frame is necessary, the researcher should try derly-where people were positioned in the
ro dstinguish
i.'
the manar t;:T"$.dt rrati ng on. rhe;;'#{'lfJ::l#; ff :Tl
to identify and design a type of study in which environment according to their roles in the or-
u_r r,"o,.o ;;'#;ili:;i: student who seems
ver attentive could.
contrast people who duydr;;i;r"!'l
ar -#::Tf#r:; fact. be ir
it is appropriate to gather data over a short pe-
riod of time.
ganization. Whatever the environment of the
field you study, try to take it all in and capture
r,crd wirh,u ;.;;;]
wilh orhers wilt b. i:": , _ -Cl,.u:ly
xnowiedgeable
a field reiearcher
needs to be vcrr
the feel ofit. :llps dinb;;";,;;.,*liJi; about the
interaction that occur be ihat behavior .un 6.
The environment, or setting, is the widest nonmembers .tlouto and u.l.ll-neundersrudysi
understood
Types of Things fo Observe This is not u ,*'r.*.nturately
alYttnrnembers
angle that can be taken for a field study. All KanterrounJ d;;;;;,.:i::r' For exampre.
Once you have a setting and a subject, you ,#;;drixt,fir:till
must still decide what you will observe on the
field studies take place in some setting, but the
environment itself need not be the primary iiil:Yi'I to-;';
uonshrp
;;;ilff
the manner
1f'1',"'J:':i::,:: *t-=t
r.
scene. The following are the types of things subject of study. tr.u,, u'r....,ui i;il';:,
tn which a visiror :i"11
well
un.dersrand rhe
enough that we are
field ,.-r;;;;irJ
you should consider. 10 comprehenj
People and Their Relationships. We tend to I::'1"? 3'v h;rp';;' ;r#i ilTi:ff #:ff whar we see. This
.rn o. jol. trying 1o pur
rslrc of' the boss-secrelary
terrelationship. vourserr i"i"';;;;;",;"X"j'bv
The Environment. Any field, be it a street notice people more than anything else (prob- rn

corner or a corporation, has a general environ- ably because we are interested in our own
types). Generally, field studies are concerned
Behavior, Actions,
and
The sub-
;T# il f.il: ";;**'"lr,l ?li,_,J, j,i,J
ment with a social temperature, a smell, a 3ec1 of a field srudy
*uutt".ot"t:,c exampres
look, and a feel about it. Being in Times with studying peopie. in any field, there are #in li.'':T:{#:
#*#, iil Jti
or behavior. Thi, i, i',11.
people in it who belong to that field, and oth- ;il,-::-:pecifi angle lor
Square in New York City gives one a certain srudv. If the ac;;;;;;;t"towest a
sense of the environment of the place. The
weather might be cold, hot, or even pleasant;
ers who are only visiting or who are outsiders
to it. What is most socially interesting about
rtr.y.o..r. Li.;il :i."ff :outinized so that Verbal behavior.
Wha say borh dc-
::T i",o ".ri"it ;; ;;;:.,?i,3'll ff,#irrr.; scnbes and r.i.r ro.^oll.people
the odors might include chestnuts, car fumes,
or nothing in particular; the look may seem
people are the compiex types of relationships
they have with one another. When these rela-
g^1:!c church. To
go.regutar.ry is
go ro church or;;.; i n a-soci ar ;;;;;
addresses the meaninp
JJJIi X,TJJ,iilffi lil:
exciting, lively, lurid, seedy, depressing, or tionships are very specific and formal (and l::,:i l"
nas a regularity
un u.,i"i,y n..uur#
to it that :us$eSts is said may b;;j;ffiTj:-social fieJd' what
s greater
governed by quite precise norms), we describe com-
whatever. But clearly Times Square has a cer- mitmeni ,"d i";;j;#t is om eo ne,s *iil;,;,t:;iiT:::fr:"r#
tain;feel. This feel is often what you seek out
when you travel somewhere. The Golden
the people as playing roles. In role playing, a
father and son are not equivaient to an older
ciurchgoer. 1 on the Part ol the
s

rmDorlant to the
social then thar per-
I
Let's consider a cla son's euarrar,.o,l
Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the R.iver Walk man and a boy. Rather, a father and son are
;";::::x1.1'0.1." n.,,i'3; ib,.,,,l;;;,;;;dl?:lTlJ:,ffiTliil
"r'i.rt"t-..t::9.
in San Antonio, Palm Beach, Harlem, the assumed to have a value-based relationship, :.. 1_:f '"uy
questlons (girls "; m0re th
:1,1.,.
aietd researcher will
gen^erail, ;i
Rockies-all have a certain"feel,bul so do less an economic interdependency, strong affec- more rhan rall siudenls
,torrt Hirllboys?sludents pend on the commenlls _."i ," o,J_
tive ties, and long-term commitments (or lack n
famous places like Filene's basement (a de- than brack? ,;;;;;,r';i119:ntc more
partment store in Boston), Wrigley Fieid (the of commitments) to each other. .turs ,arhe, tn the front
ril;;";;;'tt the back?). oforthea :.jil.f ' T; ffi,:'#;'L,i;i;:il:,n-
rhe more comprehensiv;
home fieid of the Chicago Cubs), and Arthur People not only reiate to others as situa- sruoy r^trict il.^:.:;at
leacher's behavior
::_g.urh:r.d,
cersranding ,;
can be gained. (N"*rd;,,ffi; ;;_
Bryant's Barbeque in Kansas City. Specific tions evolve, but they a1s0 set up fairly regular may consider *h.r. ,ir]t cifferent persons say
orthe jeru,;;';;il.
places like these have a particular ambiance relationships with organizations and institu- teacher srands mz tolt'tudictory.
fr^onr {in but the r.r.ur.r,.r"riuJi'l-b:
about them that setties in on you when you're tions. In short, they become participants as or r rre uoarJ :.'.ili;: ?:i|;.:ffi ;:',Hll dominanr p"ti..r, ;;;iJ
t" to pick ou1 the
there. workers, family members, club members, remain stationary?). devian I p.rrp*., i u.r''in' nt tn.
Most field studies in the social sciences church members, etc. Some persons come 10 .or O, , ,trd;;;;il;l overvrew.) lrawlng together
nll.1,o_'-tt'ooti
an
take place in more ordinary places where peo- participate in more unusual and specific lilli.ll:_l tri mary schoor..t,;;; il;il;
rry Lo oetermine which cl beha-vior can ..observed,,
p1e work, live, and relax. But in the studies we groups (war game players, rock climbers), or bv zeroing i; ;;'iilrJ ;lJ'^o*" are atlenlive ^']^lbutwaYs. You can be in two
read about in Chapter 1, Jeliy's Bar had a spe- they may participate with "deviant" groups in orhir,il; li.Ti'l tisren {h;.;;;;; fb,.
doi n g
Ar;#; ff fi:.:;::ffi oI tile conversation
and r
I he rypes
"r
i?;;;;;;;;:,:;Tiil,ll J:#jJ:

I

236 TheMethodsofSocial Research
answers, statements, affirmations, praise. etc.
Or you can view conversation as sociai inter-
action and note who talks to whom, who asks
questions of whom, who answers questions to
whom, and who supports whom. in the first
form, the conversation is more salient than
the speakers; in the second form, the speakers
are more salient than the content. Of course,
the two types of observations may be com-
bined. Since verbal behavior is so complex
and so full of meaning, it is usually helpful to
use a system for categorizing the conversa-
lional data which may capture the full extent
of the meaning.
In the fifties, there was great interest in the
careful study of interpersonal behavior. A
number of schemes to measure verbal behav-
ior, such as Bales' Interaction Process Analy-
sis (IPA), were developed at that time (1951).
Baies'IPA divides all verbal behavior into l2
categories. The observer follows the pattern of
verbal interaclion by dcsignaling every mem-
ber of the observed group with a letter and by
taking down the category number ofeach ver-
bal utterance, associated with each speaker,
over a specific period of time. While such
techniques are less frequently used today, they
still offer comprehensive means for studying
small-group verbal interaction in laboratories
and in natural settings (see Bales, 1980, for
a more recent, three-dimensional coding
scheme). One typicai environment in which
interaction has been closely studied is the
classroom. An example of an observational
method for coding classroom inieraction is
Withall's (1952) socioemotional climate
index, which evaluates the qualities ofteach-
ers' verbal interaction with their pupils.
Fsychological Stances. Psychologists often
observe the psychological postures of subjects.
Certain stances can be readily observed, oth-
ers are very difficult to detect. For example, an
obssrver can observe amusement, laughter, or
contentment quite easily. It may be more dif-
r':- ii
PART THREE
ficult to observe discontent and anger because
individuals may more often conceal such
emotions. In children, there is usually less
concealment; it is more common to sse a nur-
sery school child who has been rebuffed cry
than to see similar behavior in a company
meeting. Observers should know very clearly
what they are looking for in terms of psycho-
logical reactions.
Histories. Anthropologists and historians
often seek to find out the background oftheir
field through historical informants. In many
cases, for example, the immigrant history of a
specific family resides only in the memories of
a grandparent. Certain stories will have been
told about great-grandfather so-and-so back in
the old country, about how great-great grand-
mother got her passage to America, about how
the early settlers chose a region ofthe country
and a specific type ofwork, about reactions to
unusual events such as freak accidents, abnor-
mal children, unexpected success. Often only
fragments of the histories remain, but they
have been carried down because they reflect
the attitude toward important conditions or
beliefs of this family, both as it was in the past
and as it has evolved into the present. These
lamily stories are not just old tales, but genu-
ine sources ofinsight into the nature ofa fam-
ily's life. Accuracy may be gone, but the sym-
bolic meaning olthe slories remains.
One story I remember being told repeat-
edly by my mother was about how she would
come home from high school every Friday af-
ternoon to help her mother clean the house
(especially to wash the kitchen floor) before
going offwith her friends to have fun. She did
this because she felt guilty about the amount
of work my grandmother was expected to do
as an Eastern European immigrant woman.
the mother of five and wife of a very tradi-
tional man who expected much of her. Why
did my mother stress this story so much? It
seems to me that it represented the essence of
CHAPTER
Field R.esearch and Observational Studie.r
237
her life situation as she grew up-an Ameri-
terial, musical instruments, basic
decorations
can-born child of immigranl parenrs, trying
mix sociallv wilh her Ameri.ao menar uni
ro (paini or *1p"p.., ,".pets or rugs, ligirting
io fi*to..r o. id;;t i;;dition, the arransc-
enjoy the ease of American sociar life but
ai ment of oulects ters u ,io.y. For example, a
the same time recognizing the difficulty
of her teievision centerJ ln lrr."iiuing room
mother's rore and the distance at which
she fte primary purpose of the room. wheresuggests
is thc
was placed from her mother by reason
of her telephone?'ii rh;.. ;;;;;.hble chair near
American birth. washing the kitchen
floor or must one stand to talk (thereby suggestingir,
yt-'n :nt sense. the price of her rt..ao,n, uui that calls from that phone are businesslike
rt wasalso an acknowledgment of her origins. and
briei)?
Of course, she may also have stressed"t-his
story to me so thal I should also feel
some
guilt (and wash some floors for mv rr..oo*l
about what I owed to those (esplcialv mv THE DESIGN oF FIELD sTUDlEs
mother) who had raised me. The Ro[e of the observer
Anderson (1978) sought the stories ofHer_ One way
man's pasr, his history of rerationships to differentiate the types ofroles an
with
others. Social researchers may considei *r..1:i-uy pht-;;; first deveroped by
them_ Gold (1969): tir. oLr.*., , ay become
selves studenls of rhe presen{. bur a full
the pt r.n, oa.panicipant_ar-obrnrrir.i
is continually becoming rhe past, urd-;;;;- )articipantin a field ora paniar panicrpanr_
derstand it requires a consideration of o, conversely. rhc
past. tf,e lbr..u.rmayact asafullobserverorapartial
obseruer_an ,i;;;;;."o;_prrticipant. Thc
objecll. peopre and human inter_
1lry-
actron are not the only materials in
*:n:T:j#:T#:J'd.j" ffi]firX*J
a field. search begins. It may also
There are also inanimate objects' tn a be dictated to a
crass- l"arge extent by the niture of the fieid (if you
room. thcre is lhe regular equipmenl-desks.
ur. ,rrdying your own job environment or
chairs, blackboard, maps, stuoents'*ort,.i..
How have these lou, o*n fam'y, then you are arready a par-
been arranged? If ttre teach-
er's desk is in the front of the class, this
i.ip* and cannot be solely an observer) and
sug- by ethical considsrations (remember the is_
gests a leadership position for
in
the teacher Jues raised by participating as a mental pa_
the role of presenter to the class. Haue
you ii.nt, o, as a ..watchqueen,, in a public lava_
ever seen a classroom where the teacher
in
sai
iory;. Being a sole o!s..u.r, however, may
the back facing the front.as the children
doi
,Juri., ,ou, range of possible observations
Such a desk position would.alter the
meaning U"..uur. you remain essentialiy an
of the teacher's role. Ir might suggest that
;t; outsider, a
,"ounr.. to the fleld.
teacher is only being a participa;iin
theciass
The behavior required of these roles var_
with the srudenrs; or it might possibty sugg;si
that the reacher is determined to aetlct
ies. Naturally, pa;;ip;;; must rake part
ities of the students which are better
[iar- i"ir,.in rh.# .;i;;- i; Jo.rerr, residents,
obs-erv_ .i.rnU.rr, etc.). For a full participant,
able fiom the back ofthe classroom the pro_
thanfrom ..r, of otrr..uing is secondary. Notes cannot
the front (e'g'' notepassing)' ii',ut.n in the field; formal or semiformal in-
observing in a person's home offers many
to consider the rypes or oq..rs
i.".ui.*ing *ry r;;;;iflrii,. In some *ayr,
:hT,ffi fr.sl
ent: plants, art objects, furniture, readingma-
iluurc the fu1 participanr in the field has a
ooririon to.fiil which predates the rore of re_
T
 238 TheMethodsofSocialResearch
searcher, there may be more restraints on re-
search activities than for the observer' The
full participant, however, has some types of
knowledge about and experience in the field
that would be difficult (or impossible) for the
observer to obtain. Humphreys (1970), who
served as a watchqueen in public lavatories in
his study of homosexual encounters (a study
discussed in Chapter 3), was a full participant'
So also was Rosenham (1982), who played the
role of a mental patient in order to study psy-
chiatric wards. But both of these roles in-
volved deception. Cohen and Taylor (1972)
were able to observe prison wards by partici-
pating as lecturers in the prison (they were
participants-as-observers). In this way, they
played a role not based on deception in order
to gain entry to a fieid and observe what they
needed for their study.
The participant-as-observer role requires
being a participant but acknowledging that
one is an observer as well. Kanter (1977)
began her association with Indsco as a consul-
tant. Only later did she decide to use her ex-
periences at the corporation as the basis for a
study of the roles of men and women in a studies in a iaboratory (for example using
large organization. She describes some of her
research activities, such as taking part in
meetings, as participant observation. Kanter
explains the basis for her participation at such
meetings as follows:
In one or two cases I was invited to meetings by
Indsco managers who were interested in having
an outsider present with whom they could later
discuss the events of the meeting. Often, be-
forehand, an informant or the person who in-
vited me would describe the participants to me:
their career stage, their present position, and
lheir characteristic sryle (1a77. p. 2a5)
in the capacity ofparticipant-
She also served
as-observer at training programs or during in-
terviews with staff. In her role as consultant,
Kanter recorded much material because "as
all good consultants know, it is wise to keep
complete notes and collect as much system in-
PART THRFE
formation as possible in order 1o be maxi-
mally helpful to clients" (1917, p.296).
Perhaps the most common role for a field
researcher lo take is that ofobserver-as-partic-
ipant. This would seem to describe Ander-
son's (1978) role atJelly's. In this case, his role
as an observer was more central than his role
did participate.
as a participant, although he
ln Anderson's case, the parlicipation was
quite easy. F{e went to the bar-a public
place-like anyone else. He ordered a beer
and chips and sat around to watch what was
happening. A bar is the kind of place where
people oflen spend a lot of their time piaying
at social research, obsen'ing one another. The
diflerence is that Anderson regularly recorded
what he observed so that he could build from
his observations a set of generalized concep-
tions of the social system of Jelly's, whereas
the ordinary bar client merely compiles
be
mental picture which may quickly
forgotten.
To be a full observer puts one in a position
much more similar to a person doing a survey
or carrying out an experiment. Observational
Bales' IPA) has the researcher in the sole role
ol observer, olten behind a one-way mirror.
Many field studies which take place in highly
unstructured environments, such as a street
corner, also have the researcher in the sole
roie as an observer. It seems more appropriale
to be a sole observer in either a highly struc-
tured environment iike a laboratory where a
lot of control is possible or in a totally un-
structured environment like a street corner. In
either case, the presence of the researcher as
observer is less threatening than in a semi-
structured environment with some control,
such as an organization or in an even more
weakly structured environment such as a bar.
Field Work Preporotion
Whatever role is planned, the researcher
needs to prepare for the field before entering:r'
CHAPTER 9
Ficld Rcrcarch and Obscnational Studics 239
to do the research. This preparation is
oftwo ner gang, who became the central character
types.. On the one hand, informalion in
about Whyte's classic field study. In a more
the field from external slurces m\stbe struc,
sought. tured
These sources could include loot -environment, like a corporation or a
s anA ofier school, you would need some insiders (enr-
printed materials about contexts like
the one ployees) to tell you about the
to be^siu.died (or.,il they cxjst. abour ilre organization and
spg_ aboul the people who lead it. Cirtain individ-
crhc field itsel0. On rhe orher hand,
informa_ uals who_are in key positions in an
tion from internal sources sirouta Uegather;J, organiza_
if possible, through informants who can ad-
tion hold a broad view of tte o.guniruil;n
(secretarics for central figures
vise the beginning field researcher about or irnpfof.rs
how who have worked for the o.ganiration
best to accomplish research aims. fo, a
long time), but the most valuable informant
is
, lhe types of reading materials you peruse
should include (l) field srudies of
one who has insight into his or her
surrouncl-
ilil;;
fields, ifsuch studies exist; (2) studies;i;;;_
ings. It is rhe pcrson who has u ,oiiiigi,:"t
imagination.
sons^similar lo those you plan
ro oUr._. in
the held; (3) studies using merhods
such as
plan to use regardless of,fr..Vp. Entry into fhe Field
lh::. lo, oi
nelo tney were used in; (4) general
informa_ Once the field is selected and the researchcr
tron malerial (starisrical, historical. geograph_ is
a ready to begin, an initial entry period
rcal.and evaluative) which may giu. you is
begun. Suelzle and Borzak (fSat)iesc.ibe
greater.knowledge about what you tf-rc.
aie sudv_ entry situation as putting the researcher
ing before you enler the field:iSl fi,.rurvl, int()
the role of a stranger. Ifyour iield
journalislic works describing of studv is
fieid which may help to put
urp..t, oitt. an organization which serves clients (a
day
1,ou in tir. prop.. care center, a hospital, or a welfare
lrame of mind so thal you can lunction officcj,
effec_ your entry phase will not be dissimilar
trvely rn the field. In addition to reading to thal
out- of a client initially coming to the agency. pcr_
side source marerial, it would Oe gooO
t"o iuii haps you can remember your fiist jay
to individuals who may be famillr with a;; in
school (kindergarten?) or going to a
aspect ofvour subject (lhe types olpeople ncw
to school after a move; these imprJssion,
be studied, the types of, method ro'be'used, on.n
slay very strong. you remember the
etc.). c limate ol
the place, whether the teacher
Secondly, you should try to get some per_ *u, *u.rn,
whelber she (or he) was like your
spective on the field from insideri *t morher ioi
o rnuy Ue laiher). whether you lelt you could
able to help you prepare for your entry bclong to
and de- this environment. Clearly as we ge1 olderf
cide how to carry out your project. fne pre_ wc
learn how to belong to all kinds oflplaces.
netd entry period_the period before you Wc
also learn that even ifwe are in a piace
begin to make your actual observations, *hc.e
io we would not like to belong, we
collect notes, and to go regularly to the can act in a
field_ nonchalant and casual manner. This
will not be the same in every study. In a is very
highly much the style of entering a new fleld.
unstructured,.field, the prefielci perioO Inside
may y9u
seem quite disorganized and disjointeO. you Tuy feel as you did on your first day at
school. bur outwardly you should act
as iirhe
might not know exactly where fo go o, wi,om
place were "old hat" to you.
to talk to.
Suelzle and Borzak poinr out that ..lhere
When William Whyre (1943) ser out to
may be many subjective responses
to the first
studV his "street corner," he found little hel;
rmpressions. both negative and positiue;:
until he met Doc, the leader of the st.eet cor'_
(1981. p.-138). bur rhey warn lhe
t, field worker
.1.
;ii.,.:
I

that in an organizational setting open-mind-
edness and a nonjudgmental attitude are es-
sential. Opinions of what is being noted
should not be given. Ifyou remain open and
innocent, it is much easier for you to ask ques-
tions, to ask for advice, to seek assistance. If
you sound opinionated or even too informed'
you may compromise your position to gain
more knowledge about the field.
The newcomer to the field wants to move
rather quickly 1o the role of a guest:
inlo in-
As a guest you are gradually admitted
terpersonal relationships on a regular basis'
You are still a newcomer and are accorded cer-
tain privileges: People do not expect you to as-
sume a full share ofresponsibility. You are still
learning the roles, and mistakes are expected
and tolerated. Others may be solicitous ofyour
welfare and protective ofyou (Suelzle and Bor'
zak, 1981, p. 139).
Rosalie Wax describes field workers as
o{ten awkward and insecure in their first stage
of fieid work. To move beyond this stage re-
quires iearning and relearning, socialization
and resocialization. Success is measured by
the point at which reciprocal relations have
been established between the field worker and
the members of the fieid.
The process of involvemenl is circular and cu-
mulative. The less anxious a fieldworker is, the
better he works, and, as he becornes aware that
he is doing good work, he becomes less anxious.
Usually the essential factor in this transforma-
tion is the assistance and support-the recip-
rocal social response-given him by some ol
his hosts. It is in their company thal he begins
to do the kinds of "participation and observa-
tion" that enables him to "understand" what is
going on about him (Wax, 1971, p 20)
Of course, Wax is describing field environ-
ments which are dificult, where people are
uncomfortable and aggrieved about their sit-
uation, where suspicion about a field worker
could be high.
F{er own experiences as a field researcher
in the Japanese relocation centers, set up to
confine Japanese-Americans during the Sec-
ond World War, were just such a difficult-to-
study environment because ofthe low level of
lrust the Japanese-Americans had in others.
The Japanese-Americans were forced to label
themselves as either "loyal" or "disloyai" to
the United States. Wax naturally thought it
would be easier to get to know those who were
loyal to the United States, but this turned out
not to be the case. Rather, it was the disloyal
Japanese who had less to lose by confiding in
her and expiaining their poinl of view' Many
fields may be more accommodating to you as
a field worker: but it is always better to be pre-
pared for a difficult situation, which may turn
out to be easy, than to be unprepared (Boy
Scouts rnotto!).
Coilecting Inforrnofion
In psychoiogical 1erms, observations define
the reactions ofthe sensory apparatus to what
a person sees, smells, hears, feels (and tastes?).
But how does one collect these sensory im-
ages? The field worker must use a system that
will help the memory to retain these images.
By itsell the human mernory is hardly a per-
fect system. Much of the material which we
think we have committed to memory cannot
be recalled. Psychologists have shown that
laying new experiences over oid memories
tends 1o bury the old memories. For this rea-
son, it is important that field researchers re-
cord what they see before engaging in other
activities. Box 9-1 suggests thal data can also
be drawn from events that do not occur (or
are not reported), that is, ftom negative
evidence.
In the Field. What is observed in the field
can be recorded in many ways. Tape record-
ers, video cameras, still cameras, and note
CHAPTER 9 Field Research and Obsen,ational Studies 241
BOX 9-r
TOOKING FOR NEGATIVE EVIDENCE IN THE
FIETD
Lewis ond lewis {1980) worn thor much of whot
is importont in understonding o fieid seiting.moy
be lost or distorted if negotive evidence-is not
considered. Negotive evidence includes ,,il)
the non-occurrence of events, {2) on occurrence
thot rs not reocted to or not reporied. .
. i3) ton
occurrence which is reportedl . . . in iis row form
lbut is] distorfed in iis interpreiotion or wiihheld
from cnolysis ond report" (Lewis ond Lewis,
1980, p. 5551. An exomple of rhis would be jn
the study of supposedly powerful elites. When
there is no evidence of the iniervenfion of the
elite on o specific issue, this moy suggesr thot
the elite is not power{ul. However, it mioht ,,re_
flect conscious ogreement on non-interrlniion,,
{Lewis ond Lewis, l9BO, p. 548). Field reseorch-
ers olso moy ignore very interest;ng ospects of
o fleld becouse they ore noi sensitlzed to
rec_
ognize ihem. For instonce, Zoblocki 11971), in
his study of o commune ln the l96Os, over-
looked the sexism ond sex-segregoled work sit_
uolions in ihe commune environment [ewis ond
Lewis, 1980, p. 552). Whor lewis ond lewis ore
suggesting is rhot whot is nol hoppening in o
field moy be on importont clue to whot is-reolly
hoppening.
taking are ail excellent toois. Tape recorders
can be used if the people being observed ap_
prove ofthem. It is never advisable (and usu-
ally illegal) lo record conve1541l6p5 with par-
ticipants ifthey are unaware ofyour taping. In
certain situations, taping may be perfectly ac_
ceptable; in others, it may not. It is best to
consult with those in the fleld about this
method.
Cameras may also record field situations.
Video cameras can offer an excellent means of
capturing both the sounds and scenes in a field
setting (see the discussion ofVisual Sociology
below). Still cameras may also set down vietr
of the field. Those in the field may not obiect
to cameras as long as they do not wish to rc,
main anonymous. Photographs may also holJ
the researcher to remember people and hou
things looked on a specific day.
Note laking is the backbone of collecling
field data. It can be done in different ways.
Taking notes in rhe field itself will depend on
the field and on the role of the researcher. If
you are a participant in a field, it is muclr
more difficult to take notes because it will nol
be a part ofyour participating role, but ralhr:r
of your role of observer. If you are a full ob-
server, note taking may make you very con-
spicuous. What, those in the field mav won-
der, is this person wriring down? Thus. whilc
some situalions may lend lhemselves to rra
obtrusive nole taking, in most cases detailc:d
notes will have to be taken after leaving tlrr:
field. In the field, notes will largely consisr ol'
casual jottings whose primary purpose is trr
arouse your memory la1er when you are wr.it-
ing the more detailed notes. Thus, casual j()t-
tings should concentrate on material thal will
serve to spark your memory once you havc
left the field. The memory .,sparkers" nrav
i ncl ude:
l.The cast of characters in the field during
the observation time
2. Certain details ofthe physical scene which
appear unusual
3. Verbatim comments that seem critical ftrr.
describing the situation observed or hrr
capturing the central meaning of what was
happening
4. Incongruent of the
aspects scene. In this
case you ma1, write yourself questions:
Why did something occur? What was X
trying to accomplish by doing whal he or
she did? What did Y mean by saying that?
Why wasn't Z in the field roday?
These memory sparkers should help you
to add detail and substance when writing up
your fuller notes. They should aiso help you
to remember significant moments in the fleld.
I
 242 rheMethodsofsocialResearch
After Leaving the Field. Most field research-
ers write notes after returning home or the
next morning. The general rule is that as
much time will need to be spent writing what
you have seen as was spent in the fieid itself.
Naturally, this will vary depending on what
was occurring in the field. (The more complex
and/or significant the occurrence, the more
notes are required to describe or explain it.) It
is critical that these detailed notes be prepared
within 24 hours of the field observation. Writ-
ing the notes may be time-consuming, but
without them, your ability to write a final re-
port or a paper may be jeopardized.
It is good to take down the notes separately
under different headings. For this purpose,
sheets ofpaper or index cards may be used de-
pending on the type of filing system you set
up. It is useful to have multiple copies of the
notes so that they may be filed under different
headings. You can achieve this by photocopy-
ing your notes.
With the great changes in how we are re-
cording our information, I suggest that ifyou
have access to a computer, putting your notes
on a word processing system file would be the
most convenient system possible. In this way,
you could move the notes around, copy them,
and use parts ofthem directly in your final re-
port by transferring them from the note file to
the report file.
Types of Note Materials. Lofland (1971)
suggests five types of materials which should
be included in your thorough notes.
Ranning desuiptions. As Lofland describes
these, they include "events, people, things
heard and overheard, conversations among
peoplc, conversations with peopie" (p. 105).
Every time a new person enters the scene or
a different scene is encountered, new notes
should be taken. Drawing maps can help to
preserve a more exact setting ofthe scene ob-
served. Lofland stresses that these running de-
PART THREE
scriptions shouid be clncrete, that is to say, settlng your position in the final
report. Re- better keep a careful record of names.
they should be filled with specific details, de- every srudy has rofzdsom;ilir; Ulti_
void of imputation-X was trying to get Y l:Tb..
nas 10 make some case or
i, mately, notes are used to develop
tir.rn.i-io
stale some positlon. build analytic arguments, to make points.
to. . . . Rather the notes should try to include It cannot be only ihe
lhe raw actions as they occur. Also, the ob-
a series of isolated d;. il; notes, by whatever categories
they ur. o.ga_
more analytical your ideas in your
not"r, it . nized, are the ingredienis of a smAy.
server should make distinctions in the notes stronger your case will be when you es'tc
themselves as to how exact they are, whether to putting it all together.
get do; earlier section suggested, it they
are'rich aJ
informed, they will help to form
they are verbatim quotations from conversa- u 1"t.. n"uf
product. But their order and
tions (perhaps these should be in quotation Personal impressions and organization wiil
feelings. These facilitate putting them inro , niri
marks), inexact quotations (perhaps in single impressions are the subjeclir.
,.u.,io., oiirr. p.0""r""'
quotation marks), or merely reworded com- A reading of the notes wift ine"itaUfysrg-
oDserver. I hey may be emotional states
thal gesl "holes" in your research.
ments which are not precisely what was said you go through while making
the observations
ff,.r. *ifi-tic
toeas lhal are nol fully fleshed
(left without any marks) (Lofland, 1971, p. or very personal reactions to a situation out, lacts that
(for are rmprecrse, and people whose
105). example, you felt that someone
you observed names, po_
had been misrreared). Again. you srtrons, or relations to others
u.a ,nkno*n-ur
,uri-fuUJ unclear. These gaps in your noles
Recalled material that had been forgotten. As rnese personal impressions
as such so thal you can be frllcd
Dy plnporntrng them and revisiring
one moves along in a field project, one day's will be able to separale ,t.r. ,.u.ironr-ir'# the fieid r0
ask informants for information."Some
observations may help to recall earlier inci- other types ofnotes. eur_
dents. This recalled material shouid be put
dence will remain unobtainable il;i;;;;
occasionally require some redirection
into each day's notes, but clearly labeled as re- Notes for additional iffirmation.
The ob_ in tt c
focus ofthe study.
calls ol earlier material. server may make special notes
as a reminder
to take an extra look at something,
," ,p.ul,.
Ideas thut interpret the meaning of a someone about something, etc.
These remind- ANATYZING THE RESULTS
situation. Lofland suggests that any notes be interspersed throughout the
...r tuy notes. Once all the data are galhered
which offer an analysis ofthe situation should bul should be garhered up u,ih. and organized,
be set offin square brackets, so that when you note-raking session to guide the
;";
;i';;;1 tney must be analyzed. In a fleld
stua-y *hcrc
n.*r-oUr.._
go back to them, you will be able to differen- the depository of ti,e aata,-r'h. p;"
varron penod (Lofland. 1971, p.
1071. :^"T.:l*
to cr^eate meaning out of the material
tiate what you have interpreted about a situ-
carefully structured. Because neta
.";;;
ation from the raw description of what took ..seu..f, ls
place (1971, p. 106). Ofcourse, it is vaiuable Orgonizing the Field Notes so vari_ed, only general advice
can b. ;tr;J
here. Keep in mind thar the
to put your interpretations into your notes as There are many different ways
to organize
t.rt
you write them. Early interpretations may notes. You may.arange tirem to bring order out of the chaos "f "".ivrjrl,
y;;;;;;;
vary from those made weeks after an obser- people or evenrs. in chronological
accorAi'ng ; to pick oul the central themes "f of yor. ,trOy
orO.r, o? Uu and to carry them across to your
vation. Since you may forget your early inter- ideas. If you have muniple;d;;;;;,; Consider as well that field work
written work.
pretations as you forgel your actual observa- they may be cross-classified under is, at its mosi
tions, put into your notes your ideas ofwhal egories. But you must have
*il
uu.ior, ambitious, theory building. If you iruu. ,..n
a sense ofhow vou numerous pallerns of activity, you
you think is happening in the field. yourself typically order ana remember may reach
things, for an explanation and in so
Lofland suggests that analyical ideas are People who have 2 ysry. slrong
sense olchio_ restate) a theory.
doing ..*" i;;
usually of three different types: they address
lologl qly be iess dependenr on a chronolos-
the central ideas ofthe projecl they concern a your
tcaj nte. syslem olfiling ma1 also affelr
major subarea of the study they are very how you analyze your data. The Strotegies for the Anolysis
.ut.gori.,
small ideas that may add some detail to the under which you choose to nf.
vou noi.i"rou*v First, you should look for repeated patterns
final report (Lofland, 1971,p.106). These an- lorm the laxonomies (the systems
of classifi_ and common occurrences. Wlat
alytic themes throughout the field notes will catlon ) lor your subsequent analysis. ,s'typicai
about rhe field studied? This search
guide you in developing your arguments and Those with a weak memory for
names had trends, norniative modes, and, pi
f- e;i.."i
ty calfat rite
I
may be enhanced by your system of note clas-
sification. Second, i'ou should consider the
converse. What is unusual, atypical, or rare?
Look for lhe de,-iant cases. The consideration
both of what is unusual and what is common
should be combined with a careful reconsid-
eration of the primary problem that originally
attracted the researcher.
The dominant patterns may reflect the
rutit'ersals, the givens, in this study. The de-
viant cases, the unusual examples, may be the
particulars, the unexpected, in the study. An-
ftropologists have tried by comparing char-
acteristics wide-ranging studies to see if
ol
there are some behaviors or patterns of social
organization which are universal to iruman
cultures. Particulars indicate different forms
ofadaptation that societies can make; and, in
a comparative context, they suggest the great
breadth of human expression tliat is realized.
This suggeslion to look ior the overall pat-
terns and unique qualities should remind you
that field research seeks big answsrs' Although
a carelul study ofonc bar or one corporation
may seem to focus on the narrow picture' in-
terpretations from such studies, in fact, gen-
erally tend to be broad. Remember that in her
study, Kanter (1977) wanted to understand
how the sparsity of women in managerial po-
silions affected the role of the woman man-
ager. This was a big question.
Recall that, after her observations, inter-
views, and examination of various written
materials, she came to see four types of
women managers. The qualities of these four
female managerial types were related to types
of women familiar in other contexts: the
maiden aunt, the cheerleader, the mother, the
seductress. This forming of a set of types
base<i on a model (in Kanter's case, a model
io explain how minority persons react to si1-
uations where they must work closely with
and be equivalent to majority persons) is re-
ferred to as a lypologl'' Anderson developed a
t1'poiogy of the different sorts of men who in-
habited Jelly's. Every freld will not lend itself
equally well to the development of a typology,
but when variations on types can be observed,
a typology can be a powerful way to express it.
Typologies are very well-established in the
social sciences. Box 9-2 describes McKinney's
(1966) efforts to clarify the development and
uses of typologies in the sociai sciences.
McKinney does not, however, see the delin-
eation of typologies as the goal of social re-
search but rather as an instrument in reaching
the goal-"the establishment of uniformities
of explanatory value" (1966, p. 2C1), which
means developing powerful theories. The
search for patterns and a way to group such
patterns around bipolar ends is the search for
typologies. It is not an easy task for a re-
searcher, but consideration ofsome olthe pri-
mary factors that diferentiate social groups
may help you to look for typoiogical charac-
teristics in social settings.
VALIDITY AND RELIABITITY IN
FIELD STUDIES
Field studies appear to be the basis for the
most valid types ofsocial research studies' Be-
cause they actually take place in the field and
because they try to caplure the lrue meaning
of the social context and understand its na-
ture, a field study attempts to address the
most crucial criteria for establishing the valid-
ity of a study. Reliabiiity, however. is more dif-
ficult to establish in field studies. Since field
work tends to be so individualized and non-
routinized, it is often difficult for a second
field researcher to replicate the earlier work of
anolher. Consider the follou'ing example.
A Cose of Replicoting o Field StudY
As noted abnve, different field workers might
well find different trends or different quaiities
in the field. It is difficuit to replicate fieid stud-
ies. In anthropology, there have been very few
BOX9-2
DEVETOPING TYPOTOGIES
McKinney 11966) stresses the rheoreticor importonce of
developing typorogies,r.*,"r o*"}.1o'l
s-:-T:"'.hoft/gesellschcfr disr;noion (berieen ,oi,",i*, o,.-,l.,oin,o,o, a,,,,"
:Tl::T:T:l:1:::
guished by primory close relotions, ond those chorocterized by controctuol, f.rrJ, irp"rro"ol
relotions)
hod powerful e#ecis on rhe woy thot loter sociol reseorchers
ond theorists studied societies ond sociol
orgonizoiions ond groups. such typologies generolry deverop
our o[ o seorch fo, po;;;;p"r. Gemein-
schoft ond qesellschoft ore nol exocl opposites, but they
ore oi opposite ends of severol differenr conrinuo.
Figure 9-l shows the concepis of gemeinschofr ond geselischofi
or opposite ,", of continuo
represeniing different rules of orieniolion in socioi orgonizotions ""a, "i "
ond groups.
The norms ol orienlotion seen in Figure 9-1, which were
centrol in the rheoreiicol understonding of
societies os developed by Tolcott Porsons ( I 95 I ), include
the continuum from ofieciiviiy to ofiective neu_
irolity lthe ronge from worm emolionol environments to cool
impersonol ones), from porticuLrism to univer-
solism {the ronge in environmenis from ihe situotion where the
unique, the fovored, *" ,pu.ior ore served
to lhose where lows ond rules require rhot oll ore served foirly
ond without ,p".iot tr"o,runi), fro, or.rip-
rion to.ochievemenr {rhe ronge from evoruoring on rhe
bosjs of inborn qrotiii.r,o;;J;;;;; on rhe
bosis
of per{ormoncel, from difiuseness to specificity (the ronge from o wide-ongle
concentrotion-on o//ospects
of persons ond things to o highry focused, specific, goir-oriented int"r"rr"in
p"*on, o, things), from tro
ditionol to roiionol proctices (ronging from the use oiold ond
estoblished customs ond proctices ro guide
ociions lo formol rules colculoted to moximize obieciives for personsl,
ond from fomilistic to controctuol
relotionships (the ronge from oflective, difiuse, ond oscripiive
rerotionships a g*r-"ri;ri"a, foir, unemo-
tionol sociol reloiions). These norms comprise the primory
difiereniioting.r-,ori.*r*ri...igemeinschoft
ond gesellschoft, which hove been so imporionr in sociol-scienrifl.
rirai"iJ.rirn! ro.at""*,-nr"",
FIGURE 9.I
McKinney's use of the gemeinschofr/gesellschofr typology (McKinney,
p.
I 966, I 6g)
Profiles Typing the Norms of or;entat;on of subject to object in an Action conrexl
Subtypes
Subtypes
Affectivity
Affective
Particularism
Neutral ity
Universalism
Ascription
ity) Achievement
{Oual a
( Performance)
Diffuseness
o
Specificity
Traditional
Rational
Familistic
Contractual
Fdesjgnates the profile of the relationship of infor.rl .o.runitffida
and an assistant in a community of family.sized farms.
H designates the profile o{ the relationship
of the manager to an immediate
superordinate, the supervisor, in the large,estate communitv.
I

246T'heMethodsofSocialResearch
of earlier field work. Recently,
replications
however, anthropologist Derek Freeman
(1983) challenged the field work that the late,
renowned anthropologist Margaret Mead car-
ried out in Samoa in the 1920s. Freeman
charged that Mead misunderstood Samoan
life because she had been sent out by her fac-
ulty advisor to find differences from western
patterns in adolescent behavior (and had
therefore found them). Mead's most promi-
nent findings in the Samoan study were that
there was a lack of constraint in adolescent
sexuality, that jealousy was rare, and that fi-
delity in marriage was not highly valued. Free-
man argues that these findings were in error:
Freeman insists that Samoans revere virginily
and that rape is prevalent.
Freeman's book caused a strong reaction
among social scientists. Shouid his challenges
be taken seriously? The debate that ensued
(Marshall, 1983) raises many of the issues of
concern that a field researcher shouid con-
sider. Can field work be replicated? Anthro-
pologist Lowell Holmes also had tried to rep-
licate Mead's field work in the 1950s.
Although critical of some of Mead's findings,
Holmes nevertheless largely supported her
conclusions about the gentle, submissive qual-
ity of the Samoans (Marshail, 1983). Field
work done by different people at different
times might well turn up different perspec-
tives. For one thing, Mead was a woman and
was therefore excluded from the all-male
councils of the Samoan villages. (Neverthe-
young woman she may have had ac-
1ess, as a
cess to communication with adolescent girls,
which would have eluded Freeman.)
To what exlent is field work affected by the
general overview of human behavior that is
held by the field researcher? (In other words,
to what extent does reliability depend not
only on shared field strategies, but on shared
theoretical predispositions?) Freeman charged
that Mead's anthropology ignored evolution-
ary biology and that she was an extreme cul-
':l
PART THREE CHAPIER
Field Research and Observational
Studies 247
tural determinist. Critics of Freeman have in- By trying to evaluate your information
from a
sisted that his critique of Mead is merely a
In the-first place, the documentary approacl
nlmberof different angles, you may be better
as used by social scientists, .rp..iutty'untt,ru
sociobiological diatribe (Marshall, 1983). In able to determine whether what you found
is pologists, should be richer in
other words, Freeman and Mead believe in dif- plausible. tlreo.eti.at ini.i
pretation than journalistic documentary
ferent theories for explaining human behavior
. Once you have decided that your ideas pho
and therefore their field work necessarily re- tography. "The strength of such
about the data are cogent, it is tirne to a film icstr
flects what they believe. Field
,e.li not only on its visual appeal, although
researchers they can be used to generalize utout
otfr.. this is
,it- of critical imp-or-tance, Uut utro
must examine their closely held beliefs and try uations. Can you develop hypotheses ,fi, .irri,y
to free themselves suffciently from their influ- your field observations which could
from "" (Crrry
and insight of its basic p.oporitionr,,
be testeJ and Clarke, 1977, p. tr6).
snce so that such beliefs do not totaily control in similar environments? Can you ,.fr.t
,frui The second issue concerns the
the way in which the field is observed. is. universal aboul your observations role that vi_
from sual methods play in a sociologicai
If one's theories and preconceptions dic- what is merely particular to the.ir.urrt-.., p*J.;i
Here cenrral queslion is on"e
tate (or even shape) what a researcher sees as you,.observed? In short, can you .the
the facts, perhaps selective perception is inev- findings generalizable
make vour
to orher
tualizing rhe relationship of rhe Usrut "i;;;:;
irnuoij.
siruatilns? to the problems addressed in ri,. puni.uf
itable. Perhaps f,eld researchers should sensi- Field studies must aim to move beyond u, iu_
sim_ ciological study. Some research proUtems
tize themselves to the way in which theories ple description of one small .n"i.oo..ni
shape perceptions. In practical terms, this
io ily lend themselves to incorporuinr- car-
address many similar social contexts
may require sharing initial findings with col- cannot occur ifthe observations and
Sut t1ri, material: others lend themselves "fr*,
lesi earitu.
reporring Proponenrs of visual sociology
leagues, especially with those who operate of the field work have not been Oone *itt ;l;k]il;
many more researchers should consider goinr
from different assumptions. great care.
afrer visuat images. visual images
l;j;ffij
cal offer direct referrents, and tiey;un
relationships. It is in showing
,h;;
Generolizobility ;;il;;-
sociat
vtsuAt soctotocY ships rhar ',visual thinking 6.."_;;;";-
Whiie it is difficult toreplicate another field
portant part of lhe research process,,
worker's research, it is often good for the field Photographs accompanying sociological
stud-
{Currv
researcher to try to get another viewpoint. The les were used quite widely in the
early years of il9,9rrf:,
or
te77;.p.20). rhe visuar r;il;;i,
lne photographic images, if separated-froit
views of an impartial observer, someone who sociology in America, but following it
i, .u.ty a wntten narrative, can be controlled
is a visitor to the field lor a different purpose period. visual imagery targely OlsappeareC by thc
researcher_if the symbois ana
and who is familiar with the field but was not trom sociological studies. Its revival, under artifacts'ttrat
make up- the images are carefully
present when the observations were made, the name visual sociology, in ttre tSiOs
may help to offer counterviews or to support ated a_new speciality
cre_ presented ".d*.;-;;
in sequence so that they ..rut. . ui_
in the sociological disci_ sual narrative.
the contentions of the field researcher. Since pline. Visual sociology generally atiributes
its Photographs and film enable
the views ofthe researcher must be subjective, orrgrns lo the work of documenlary photos_ a researchcr
to return to the original data, rather
to compare them with those of others is 1o raphers or lo the use of cameras ;n
itr. eri,'_ il;
seek intersubjectivity-a comparison of sub- nographic work of anthropologists, such
as l:f:O on reconeoions (rhar is ;h;,;;;;;;
jective perceptions. If there is a lot of agree- rn field serrings), and they help
Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead,s l?luJur in rhc
studf oennlng of sequences. Howard
ment, the researcher may well feel more con- of Bali (Stasz, 1979, p. 119). Visual,o.lofogy nectei 1DZ+;
has_argued that a visual image
fident of his or her observations. This will refers to a way of studying social action should help tJ
th"ai bridge the gap between a concept
help to establish the study's reliability and uses technology (cameras) to caplure pictures and its be_
hav ioral ind icaror. Fi na lly,
validity. of social environments and the people *i," tt . *.uoi n g Li"ui
ir_ suat lmages (theorizing aboul
It is also good for the researcher to try to habit them, attempting to convey sociological images) .'un uJ_
vance the theoretical study
see the field from some other person's point of meaning to others. Visual soiiologists of soclety. fo,
use gxample, Cloninger ( I 974) srudied Oifl".erences
view. (How would a police officer look at Jel- film, video, and still camcras.
rn rne conlent, style ofdepicrion,
iy's? From what stance did the rnaie managers For Curry and Clarke (1977), visual soci_ and use of
oacrground envirsnrnsnl5 of
view their wives' roies in relation to Indsco?) ologists must address a number of concerns. the photographs
by male and female photographeis
T
 248 TheMethodsofSocialResearch
The Furpose of Visuol Doto
For visual sociologists, the object ofgathering
visual data is to present "typical" arrange-
ments ofsocial and cultural objects, social ac-
tors, and social interaction in a social environ-
ment so that these visual images can be used
for descriptive or anall'tic purposes. Generally
this involves photographing or filming current
social phenomena. However, it may also in-
clude collecting old photographs and films
that address the subject being studied.
Visual sociologists must also learn to build
linkages between the different images they de-
velop. Although most visual material is ac-
companied by some written commentary, it is
often desirable not to overload visual images
with too much written material, or the pur-
pose of having the visual image carry the mes-
sage may be lost. The best photographic doc-
umentary maintains an integrated and
complernenlary relationship between a visual
narrative and a written narrative that clearly
specifies the meaning which the visual sociol-
ogist intends. The critical issue is that the
written narralive should not do the work of
the visual communication, or the visual im-
ages become redundant. A final point: al-
though visual sociologists are not primarily
photographic artists, they must nevertheless
be concerned with the aesthetic appeal oftheir
images.'
Doing Visuol Sociology
The two main types of visual sociology
those based on still photography and on video
documentaries. Two of my colleagues are cur-
rently engaged in these efforts. Charles Suchar
is working with stiil photography. He is coor-
dinatrng a multidisciplinary project to prepare
a book on a gentrified urban neighborhood.
IThis discussion is drawn from a paper delivered by
Ceorge H. t-ewis ( 1982).
PART THREE
His aim is to form the book around a set of
photographs which contrast the lifestyles and
material culture of older and newer residents
of a changing urban community. John Koval
is working with video documentaries. He has
produced a series of tapes of festivals, which
include studies of an agricultural haying fes-
tival, an ltalian fest in a Chicago neighbor-
hood, and a study of football game festivities
(e.g., tailgate parties) at the University of
Notre Dame.
Some sociology departments now offer
courses expiicitly devoted to visual sociology;
others include a discussion ofits techniques in
a qualitative methods course. (For example,
Suchar and Koval offer courses in "Documen-
tary Still Photography" and "Video Docu-
mentary," respectively.)
Visual sociologists must iearn not only
how to use cameras, but aiso how to develop
and edit their films once they are taken. In
video filming, editing can be a fairly compli-
cated matler. Those considering the use of
video cameras should consult the guide pre-
pared by the Project for Public Spaces (1979).
There are aiso many texts now avaiiable on
television production, which address most of
the technical problems raised by video docu-
mentary. For still photography, Wagner's
reader Images of Information: Still Photogra-
phy in the Social Sciences (1979a) offers nu-
merous suggestions on the use ofstill photog-
raphy in field research.
Students of visual sociology particularly
need to learn how to integrate written and vi-
are
sual narratives; in other words, how to do
photographic essays. Thus the skills of inter-
viewing (see Chapter 7), taking field notes
(discussed earlier in this chapter), and using
archival material (see Chapter l0) must be
mastered, as well as the photographic skills.
Wagner suggests ways to avoid error in
doing visual sociology with still cameras.
First, errors in picture taking can be reduced
by using several photographers, by photo-
CHAPTER
graphing from scripts which help to order
the
pictures, by comparing photographs with
other types of available data, and ty taking
photographs of different subareas *iifrin
tnJ
environment to be studied that have been se_
lected- randomly (Wagner, 1979b, pp. I4g_
I 52). In order to reduce bias in the
analvsis of
the phorographic material. Wagneruugg*rt,
using several persons for the anilysis. s'tiay-
ing the photographs in relation to one another
and in relation to the impressions prompted
by the set ofphotographs (what he calls i,ed_
iting
_analytically"), and examining random
samples ofphotographs (197gb,pp. t:Z_tS:;.
He also offers some suggestions on how to
subject the photographs to a content analvsis
(see Chaprer I 0). whereby the analysr seti
up
a coding system to select specific quaiities oi
the photographs. For example, one can note
the presence ofcertain types ofthings in pho_
tographs (cars, persons, open space, vegeta_
tion, etc.), the amount o. nu.be, of things,
and the combination of two or more expected
features (1979b, pp. 154-lj5). Such strategies
can increase the validity and reliabiiitv- of
phorographs as dara on a particular sociai
en_
vironment or condition.
Proponents of visual methods contend
thal photographs and film provide a necessarv
component ofthe techniques ofthe social re-
searcher. Ifyou plan to carry out a field study,
you should seriously consider the use of such
visual methods.
DECIDING IF A FIELD STUDY IS
APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
Consider your topic carefull,v and ask,vourself
whether a study of a natural environment
based on observation will give you the mate_
rial.you need. As suggested in Chapter l, some
social researchers think that field research is
mainly desirable for the study of problems
that are not yet well formulated_i method
appropriate for underdeveloped research
Field Research and Observational Stucties 249
problems. Others choose this method as the
only true way to study human behavior and
society unimpeded by the artificial techniques
that characlerize other methods. I also stated
that personal qualities of the researcher may
determine which method to choose. Espe-
cially in field work, a person may need to have
(or to develop) a certain abiiity to establish
rapport with others, to enter into the worlds
of others without imposing too much of thc
self on the research,
If you think that a field study might be the
best way to approach your research problem,
you must then consider how to carry it out.
You will need to prepare for the field; you
may need help in gaining entry to the field.
Careful consideration should be made ofhow
you will record the information. (Will you usc
tape recorders, a cameta, a video camera, a
pencil and pad?) Going into the field is some-
thing like going on a long trip: you need to
consider all the possible eventualities befora
)iou go, so that )rou won't find yourself stuck
(without something you very much need) at
an inconvenient moment. As in planning for
a trip, it is useful to make lists of what vou
need and to go over these plans with anothcr.
(In this case, the most useful kind of person to
help you is someone who has done a similar
piece of field work.) Most of all, remember
that even though field work is a ,,natural"
method, with few formal techniques, this does
not mean that the researcher can proceed
without plans. Even though all your prepara-
tions are not of use in the field and even
though you may need to devise some new
ways ofdoing things on the spot. it is better to
have entered the field well-prepared.
REVIEW NOTES
. Field research involves observational studv
of real social environments
. Field research generally focuses on a single
I
 250 TheuethodsofSocialResearch
field setting; such studies are thus referred to
as case studies.
. Field research is the primary research
method of anthropologists whose observa-
tional studies describing whole peoples are
termed ethnographies.
. Ethnography is a theory-building method at-
tempting to draw generalizations from cul-
turai particuiars. Cross-cultural ethno-
graphic comparisons foster the discovery of
generalizations.
. 5. Schatzman, Leonard. and Anselm L. Strauss:
Field studies take place in field settings and
address general subjects. They are carried
out within a specified time frame. Field
study subjects generally focus on descrip-
tions ofcharacteristics ofthe fleld or on the
causes and consequences of a social
phenomenon.
. 'things to observe in a field setting include
the general environment, people and their
relationships. aclions and activities, verbal
behavior, psychological stances, histories,
and physical objects.
. The role of an observer may be as a full ob-
server, an observer-as-participant (pnmarily
an observer but participating at some lev-
els), a participant-as-observer (primarily a
participant, but observing" as well), a full
participant (in this role note taking, inter-
viewing, and other formal research tech-
niques cannot be carried out).
. Before going into the field, the researcher
must gain information from external
sources on the type of environment to be
studied and from internal sources for advice
on how 1o accomplish the researcher's goals.
. Field researchers must remain open-minded
and nonjudgmental in entering a field. They
should not offer opinions.
. Successful field relations have been reached
when reciprocal relations between field re-
search and members of the field have been
established.
. Field notes may include running descrip-
tions, recalled material that had been earlier
pART THREE
forgotten, ideas that interpret and examine
the meaning of a situation, and personal
impressions and feelings.
. Strategies for analyzing field data include
looking for repeated patterns, for nomative
modes, for typical forms, as well as for that
which is unusual, atypical, or rare.
. The forming of a set of types based on a
model is a typolo$'. Typologies of social
groups or systems (such as gemeinschaft and
gesellschaft) are often differentiated by the
bipolar ends ofnormative orientations, such
as traditional-rational, ascription-achieve-
ment, particularistic-universalistic.
. Visual sociology is a way ofstudying social
action with the use ofphotographic technol-
ogy to capture pictures of social environ-
ments which convey sociological meaning.
KEY TERMS
anthropology
case studies
ethnography
field research
intersubjectivity
negative evidence
observer-as-participant
parlicipant-as-observer
particuiars
running descriptions
taxonomies
typology
universals
verstehen
visual sociology
STUDY EXERCISES
1. Suppose you were training students to go
out and do field work. You decide to give
them a short list of do's and don'ts. Make
up such a list.
2. Think atrout Elijah Anderson carrying out
his fleld work at Jelly's Bar (from Chapter
CHAPTER
1). Let's assume that every time he re-
turned from the bar, he wrote fieid notes.
Give examples of what types of subjects the
notes might have covered. Describe how
you think he was able to move from the
notes he wrote to the development of the
overall themes of the study.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
l. Curry, Tinrothy J., and Alfred C. Clarke.. Intro-
ducing Visual Sociologl,, Kendall/Hunt, Du-
buque, Iowa, 1977. This book includes both an
introduction to the discipline of visual sociol-
ogy, examples, and a set ofprojects.
2. Lofland, John. Anah,zing Social Seilings: A analyzing, and communicating results).
Guide to Qualitative Observation and Anahtsis,
Wadsworth, Belmont, Calif., 1971. One of the
most widely used and respected books on qual-
itative analysis and observation methods.
3. Marcus, George 8., and Michael M. J. Fischer:
Anthropology as Cuhural Critique: An Experi-
mental Moment in the Human Sciences, Uni-
versity of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1986. This
book argues that since the 1960s, ethnographic
Field Research and Observationat Studies 25 I
work in anthropology (producing knowledgc
from other cultures to examine the unconscious
assumptions olwestern societies) is being used
to rebuild social theory.
4. McCall, George J., and J. L. Simmons: Issues in
Participant Observation: A TexI and Rea.dcr,
Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1969. This
reader includes an excellent selection ofwritings
on wa!'s of collecting data, generating and eval-
uating hypotheses, and discussions of data
quatity.
Field Research: Strategies for a Natural Socutl,
ogH Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1973.
A briel directive work giving straregies for frclti
work (including strategies for entering the fleld,
getting organized, watching. listening, recording,
6. Stocking, George W., Jr.: Obseners Obsen,trl;
Essays in Ethnographic Fieldwork, Univcrsiry
of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wis., 1983. Thc
committment to participanl obsen'ation in an-
thropology (one of the most characterislic as-
pects ofthis discipline) is discussed in rhis col-
lected set of appraisals of the field work ol'a
number of prominent anthropoiogists from thr:
past and present.
I
 Methods of Analyzing Available Data

create the data. In almost all cases (the exception may be a fieid study), the research
questions are clearly formulated before the data are, collected. When aviilable
data are
used' naturally this order is reversed: The data have been collected or are available
ready to be processed before you, the researcher, come along to pose a research question.
studies in which you have collected your own data and those in which you use al-
Methods of Analyzrng ready collected data reach the same point a1 the research stage ofdata processing and
analysis. One thing that may occur to you is that using already available data should be
Available Data easier and quicker than collecting your own. In theory this should be the case, since
such studies avoid the data collection process. However, the process offinding u uoay
of data relevant to your research probiern may be a slow onef and a more difficult and
time-consuming effort is often required to code and process the data for your specific
purposes. Since they were collected for different purposes, these data must
be ,..onr.p-

INTRCDUCTION tualized and manipulated so as to specifically address your concerns. Above all, thiy
must not be used inappropriately! That is to say, issues of validity and reliabiliiy be-
come of central concern in studies on already collected data. The iesearcher must un-
derstand the data well and not use them in ways which ignore or subvert their meaning.

presents a number of different

7Ft l, .rtupr.r _ There are many types of social research which are based on the analysis of available
data. In this chapter, I shall present five different methods not commonly grouped to-
methods of studying data |hat are already available. Available data can be found in two gether. They have been gathered together here because they each
depend on the use of'
general ways. In some cases, data that have been collected for one set of analyses are available data.
made available to other researchers for new projects. Such formally available data may
be either in raw form, so that the second researcher can carry out an analysis (that is, a
secondary analysis on a dataset prepared by another researcher), or in statistical form,
in which case the researcher can reanalyze these existing statistics. THE ART AND SCIENCE OF ofan earlier survey (for secondary analysis) or
in other cases, data mereiy exist in one form or another, but have not been drawn ANATYZING AVAILABLE DATA of a collection of pamphlets on a particular
together by anyone. In this situation, the researcher must first decide which data to use theme (for content analysis) both demand a
foi the study. Such data may be in the form of printed materials, r.isual or recorded €reotive Aspecfs
level ofunderstanding which can take into ac-
materials, or artifacts that are ofinterest to the researcher. Historical research generally It takes a creative idea to link a research prob- count the qualities of the materials. Studying
depends on written sources, though oral history based on interview data is being used lem to a set ofavailable data. Generally, the unobtrusive measures requires the abiiity to
inCreasingly as historical data. Content analyses are usually also based on written ma- researcher has a problem in mind, then inge- select such indicators to illuminate a problem
terials, though artifacts may also be studied. Or researchers may use or develop novel nuity is required to conceive ol and find, an of interest.
avaiiable source of data to address the prob-
ways to measure things unobtrusively (amount and type of garbage, for example), which Linking your interests to a set of materials
lem. The way the data are handied may also in which
could facilitate studying certain subjects. The first challenge for the researcher ofavail- these interests can be furthered is
be quite creative. Schemes for selecting spe-
able data is to find some type ofdata which can address your research problem and to also a creative process. One thing to consider
cific objects to study, coding the data, ferreting in analyzing available data is whether you
use these data to answer the questions you wish to ask. This implies that you look for out patterns among the codes-all demand an have a special expertise or knowledge about
available data once you already have a research question defined. eye for the unique and unusual. some materials (knowledge of a foreign lan-
The use ofavailable data for carrying out social research projects is therefore differ- Appreciation is also a central feature of guage, experience in an environment from
ent from the methods described in the preceding three chapters-methods by which the analyzingavailable data. You must be able to which these data were drawn, a hobby which
researcher creates and coilects new data. What is different between finding available appreciate the qualities ofthe data. In histor- has given you a store of information about a
data to analyze and creating and collecting your own is the point of time in the research ical research, documents and artifacts from set ofobjects or an area ofinterest). Such.rpe-
process when the researcher and the data meet. In an experiment, a survey, or a field the past must be appropriately valued in order cial knowledge areas may be ones in which
study, the initiai research effort is to carry out data collection-that is, to produce or to be understood. Appreciating the strengths you will be able to be more creative.

252

I
 254 TheMethodsofSociaL Research
Scientific Aspects
A.nalysis of available data also often requires
scientific operations and norms. Where the
rules and formal procedures of a scientific
method are used (as would be common in
many forms of secondary analysis, analysis of
existing statistics, and even in content anaiy-
sis), the scientific model would operate. Be-
cause secondary analyses begin with a body of
data, they are often used in very sophisticated
state-of-the-art types of analyses. Sociological
research studies in the major journals using
the most modern and advanced analytic
methods are often based on already collected
datasets.
In some studies, inductive explanations
may be drawn from the data by examining the
patterns among factors and the possible rea-
sons for observed changes. An inductive ap-
proach would often guide an analysis based on
unobtrusive measures. Deductive analyses
can also be carried out on already collected
sets of data; in such cases a hypothesis is
posed and dala are found and analyzed in
order to test it.
In an analysis of existing statistics, for ex-
ample, suppose the hypothesis that increasing
the legal drinking age will reduce automobile
fatalities is posed. Data on auto fatalities
could be compared from states with different
drinking ages to see if there is a relationship
between these two factors.
The empirical foundation of a social-sci-
entific study has already been laid once the
data are collected. You must take care to un-
derstand how and why this was done in the
original study, for whatever weaknesses oc-
curred in the original study will continue as
weakuesses in your own study. Conversely,
the strengths will remain as strengths. The sci-
entific method also depends on rules ofratio-
nality. Here the purposefulness and logic of
your approach will foster the scientific credi-
biiity ofthe project.
PART THREE
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
Secondary analysis, as stated before, is not a
specific method, per se; it simply means a new
analysis ofdata collected for another purpose.
Hakim defines it as "any further analysis ofan
existing dataset which presents interpreta-
tions, conclusions, or knowledge additional
to, or different from, those presented in the
first report" (1982, p. 1). Generally, it refers to
using already collected survey data to study
problems different from those addressed by
the originai researcher(s). Another reason for
carrying out a secondary analysis may be to
use already available survey data in the study
of a research method. By applying different
methodological techniques to the same data-
set, for example, much might be learned about
a statistical technique.
For your purposes, you should consider
secondary analysis ifyou want to use a dataset
larger than what you could collect yourself.
When you look for a dataset, you must hold
clearly in mind what the essential needs of
your study are. Does the survey you are con-
sidering have questions that address your
needs? Is the sample of the survey adequate
for your purposes? Will it allow you to gener-
alize to the popuiation you are aiming to
consider?
In short, a set ofalready collected data of-
fers you a "menu" from which you can pick
out what you want to study-that is to say,
you can create your secondary analysis. You
must be sure your project can be served by
that menu and that you like what's on the
menu. The menu metaphor also implies that
until you've ordered and tasted the items or-
dered, you will not be precisely sure how
much you like them. Naturally, you look care-
fully over a questionnaire before you decide to
use the data generated from it, but often not
until you start to work with data do you fully
appreciate exaclly how effective they will or
will not be for your purposes. You will, in ad-
dition, need to consider the costs both ofpur-
chasing the dataset and ofrunning the neces-
sary coinputer analyses.
"One advantage of secondary analysis is
that it forces the researcher to think more
closely about the theoretical aims and sub-
stantive issues of the study rather than the
practical and methodological problems of col-
Iecting new data" (Hakim , 1982, p. 16). This
may be one of the reasons that it has become
such a widely reputed method.
An Exomple of o Secondcry FrnoNysis
A colleague of mine, Joyce Sween, and I re_
ceived a federal grant in the late 1970s to
study the potentially disruptive effects of
childbearing and childrearing on women's ca_
reer outcomes. The plan was to carry out a
secondary analysis of a longitudinal dataset
based on a national survey of college gradu-
ates of 1961 who were followed up five times
across the 1960s until 1968. The iongitudinal
design would enable us 1o exanrine career ac-
tivities and attitudes both before and after
childbearing and to compare these across
time. A sample of college graduates was at-
tractive to us because we wanted to examine
group including some women who would be
a these compiex and very detailed data had al-
sufficientiy trained for the work force and hold
sufiicientiy high career aspirations for the ef-
fects of childbeanng to be of possibie conse-
quence to them. (For a paper from this anal_
ysis, see Baker and Sween, 1982.)
Acquiring the dataset was relatir.ely easy.
For a modest price, we purchased a dalalape
from the National Opinion R.esearch Center
(NORC), which had collected rhe dataset. Ir
came with a large and complex codebook and
a computer printout of the frequencies of re_
sponses to every item on the tape. It took
some time to familiarize ourselves with this
tape and to select all the variables we needed
to carry out our intended analysis.
- We began, as is often the case, by consid-
ering a fairly wide range of variables. How-
ever, it is necessary in a secondary analysis to
avoid carrying out what istermeda.fishing ex-
pedition, where the researcher ..fishes" foi
one
variable after another. To narrow our choice
of variables, we considered which ones were
the best measures of concepts that interested
us (which ones had greater face validity). Wc
also prepared many cross-tabulations of po_
tentially interesting independent variablcs
with our dependent variable (career status
attainment) to decide which seemed to havc
the strongest relationships with highcr
attainment.
We also had 1o carry out a good deal ol
data manipulation (to be discussed in morc
detail in Chapter 12) and index and scale con_
struction (to be discussed in Chapter 15). In
order to consider carefully how childbcaring
affected work patterns and attitudes, we hacl
to develop new measures indicating the pal_
terns of work activity, childbearing, returning
to work, etc., which characterized the early
adult years of young women. These patterns
could then, be compared to women with ear_
lier or later first births and to those with
higher or lower career aspirations.
In a study such as this, the effort to collect
ready been completed by a professional sur-
vey research center whose standards for car_
rying out surveys were very widely respected.
Not only would we have been unable to fi-
nance such a survey ourselves, but as only two
sociologists we would not have been able to
carry it out on our own. Our major time was
spent in creating new variabies from oid, sc-
lecting the variables for the final analyses, and
then analyzing the results.
This is the virtue of secondary analysis.
Most of the effort can be placed at the analytic
stage rather than at the data-gathering stage.
Remember, however, that you can transform
variables only so far; you cannot make up
data that are nol there.
I
 256 TheA,lethodsofSocialResearch
Whether to Use Old or New Doto
In the opening section, I mentioned that one
factor that distinguishes the analysis of al-
ready collected data from studies where the
researcher collects new data is time. When
data are already available (that is, when they
are extant), they represent a period of time
prior to the efforts to carry out the new anal-
ysis. Considering longitudinal survey data,
there are some very interesting datasets col-
lected in the past and there are also some ex-
cellent datasets being collected in the present.
Here I will first present a brief discussion of
how Glen Elder ( 1 974) undertook a reanalysis
of a set of data initially collected in 1931.
Then I will explain how Karl Aiexander and
Aaron Pallas (1983) reanalyzed the High
School and Beyond data (from the Coleman
study of private and public high schools de-
scribed in Chapter l) in order to chalienge
some of their findings.
Children of the Great Depression. In order
to study the effects of economic factors on
family relations across generations, Elder
(1974) utilized a longitudinal dataset, the
Oakland Growh Study. This panel of data
was developed by the Institute of Human De-
velopment at the University of California at
Berkeley. It began in 1931 as an intensive
study of 167 children who were in the fifth and
sixth grades of five different primary schools
in one section of Oakland, California. These
children were closeiy followed, using inter-
views and questionnaires, from 1932 to 1939.
In the 1940s, data collection was continued in
1941 and again in 1948. Another follow-up
was carried out during the period 1953-1954,
yet another in 1957, and the final contact was
made in 1964. Thus these longitudinal data
covered a time period of3l years.
By modern standards, the sample was not
a very good one. In many secondary analyses,
PART THREE
one of the major attractions of this method is
thal the quality of the sampling is superior to
that which many researchers could afford to
do. In Elder's case, however, the attraction of
the Oaldand Growth Study was the hislorical
length of the dataset and the richness of daia
on intergenerational famiiy matters. The orig-
inal sample of 84 boys and 83 girls were all
whites, children of native-born ,A.mericans,
and only siightly higher in social class than a
more representative sample of Oakland resi-
dents from that same period.
The early data collection efforts were deep
and broad. They included interviews with
mothers and questionnaires administered to
the pupils. In the 1930s, families were visited
yearly, and a log was kept on each member of
the sarnpie. Chiid-rearing practices, family re-
lationships, and activities of the child with
friends were solicited. As the respondents
moved into iunior and senior high school,
questionnaires on social and emotional be-
havior were administered on seven different
occasions. In addition, the Strong Vocational
Interest blank which measured occupational
interests was used in one survey. Ralings of
the family in terms of the closeness of the sub-
ject to each parent and the evaluation ofthe
parents by the subject were made using a set
ofjudges.
The follow-up surveys and interviews in
the 1950s and 1960s produced a sample of76
women and 69 men. For these individuals,
life histories couid be developed based on oc-
cupational and family histories across the dec-
ades. In these later studies, subjects were
given physical examinations, psychiatric as-
sessments, and numerous personality tests.
This gave Elder some insight into the mental
health ofthe subjects and its reiation to child-
hood conditions.
Working with old and cornplex data such
as these presents many problems of validity.
Whenever possible, Elder searched for multi-
CHAPTER 1O
ple indicators, especialiy to use as dependent
variables. Indexes were often formedso that
multiple measures might reduce the possible
errors that single measures might contain.
Elder also made use of other studies from
the 1930s with which to compare his findings.
Here the need 1o have some grounding in his-
torical material from the period covered is im_
portant. Elder's interest, however, remained
with the individual and with the familv across
time. Let me offer you one among thl many
interesting findings ofthis study. Elder differ-
entiated his sampie between those who grew
up in deprived families (those in which the
breadwinner was unemployed) during the
depression and those who did not. In doing
so, he found support for the hypothesis that
"family life acquired value through exposure
to conditions which made rewarding, secure
relationships dificult to achieve and therefore
scarce" (1974, p. 226). That is ro say, those
who had grown up in deprived families in the
1930s had a stronger preference for family ac-
tivities in the 1950s and 1960s as compared to
nonfamily activities such as career, leisure, or
community than did those whose famiiies had
not been deprived in the 1930s. This finding
was especially true for women.
Challenging Coleman's Findings. One of the
greatadvantages ofsecondary analysis is that
it can allow for a very quick reanalysis of
someone else's findings. Recall Chapter I
when we examined the study by James Cole-
man and his colieagues about the advanta-
geous educational effects of a private high
school. This study was based on the first sur-
vey ofa large, longitudinal study ofa national
sampie of high school sophomores and se-
niors in 1980 who were to be resurveved four
times, on a biannual basis. This ambiiious da-
taset, referred to as High School and Beyond
(HSB), (described in Coleman et al., 19g2)
was being made avaiiable to other researchers
Methods of Analyzing Available Data 257
through the lrlational Center for Education
Statistics (now the Center of Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Education).
Alexander and pallas (19g3) wanted ro
challenge the Coleman finding that privalc
school students performed better on cognitivc
tests because of their educational experienccs
in private schools. Since Coleman und hi, ,*-
sociates had only the 1980 dataset to work
with, they had only cross-sectional data 0n
achievement test scores (though they coukl
compare sophomores with seniors. in a co_
hort-effect design). In order 1o srrengthen thcir
analysis, Aiexander and pallas used no1 only
the High School and Beyond dataset front
i 980 but also a comparable longitudinal data_
set from the 1970s-The National Longirudi_
nal Study (NLS) of the Ctass of 1972 (iicur-
bono, l98l). From these data, there was
longitudinal evidence on the cognitivc:
achievement of students across time.
If high schools make a difference in affect-
ing students' cognitive abilities, then
it was
necessary to get some msasure of how the stu-
dents differed in abilities before thev entercd
the school. Perhaps the private schools only
drew smarter students who therefore teslr:tl
higher at the completion of their schooling.
Now from what you already know of researclr
design you can im.agine what would be needed
to test how far high schools actually contrib_
ute to the cognitive abilities oftheir students.
You've got it! Pre-high school cognitive abil_
ity scores. That's whal Alexander and pallas
would have liked to have been able to find: a
longitudinal survey with pre-high school test
scores. But they knew of no such studv. In_
stead, they settled for a different kind of mea-
sure that could serve as a kind ofsubstitute (or
surrogate) for pre-high school ability, namely,
high school curriculum placement.
Students are placed in high school curric-
ular tracks (college preparatory. vocarional,
etc.) on the basis of performance in junior
I

high (or elementary) school, as weli as paren-
taiinfluence and school policies. These differ-
ent curricula expose students to quite different
subject matter in their high school courses.
One easily attainable fact is that a much larger
proportion ofprivate high school students are
in academic, college-preparatory tracks than
those in public high schools. By comparing
public and Catholic high school students
"within" curricular tracks, in both the HSB
and NLS studies, Alexander and Pallas found
(contrary to Coleman's position) that most of
the advantages that Coleman had attributed
to private schoois had disappeared. By reas-
sessing data from the survey, High School and
Be-ttond, in comparison to data from the NLS
survey, and by focusing on a different variable
(curricular track), Alexander and Pallas were
able to challenge one of Coieman's most cen-
tral findings. This attempt to reassess the im-
portant findings of others is one of the func-
tions of secondary analYsis.
COMPONENTS OF A
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
In theory, you should always know what you
want t0 study before getting your data. In fact,
secondary analysis often begins with finding a
dataset you think is especially exciting or rich
and then devising a probiem which can be
studied using these data. Here we wiil exam-
ine the components in the "proper" order, but
remember that in practice the data may be
chosen before the problem is set.
Selection of o ToPic
A topic for a secondary analysis may be very
ambitious. It may be one that only a large na-
tional (or even cross-national) dataset could
address. Once you have posed a hypothesis or
aresearch question, the operationalization
must be carefully considered. What control
variables will be critical? Must the dependent
variable be measured in a particular way?
Usually there is some latitude in your design,
so that ifyou find a relevant dataset that does
not have every feature you want, you can
adapt your study siightly to conform to what
is available. In secondary analysis, you need
to focus quite precisely on your topic in order
to select an appropriate dataset.
Seorch for Avoiloble Doto
In Chapter 4, a discussion of where you might
find available data was offered. One wideiy
used set ofdata, lhe General Social Survey, a
yearly national survey carried out by the Na-
tional Opinion Research Center (NORC), is
very useful for trend analyses. There have also
been numerous longitudinal datasets (such as
the National Longitudinal Study of the High
School Class of 1972 ot the High School and
Beyond surveys described before) set up as
panels where the same respondents have been
resurveyed over a period of time. Longitudi-
nal datasets provide a very rich source for the
study ofchange.
Survey research centers and government
agencies which collect dara are often good
sources for finding datasets. It is important,
however, that you know what you are search-
ing for. Perhaps the best way for a researcher
to discover a potentially attractive data source
is to read about it in another study that is rel-
evant. Because so many ofthe published stud-
ies stem from reanalyses oflarge surveys, you
can get a good idea ofcurrently available large
survey datasets by Iooking at researchjournals
from the past few years. When you find a da-
taset mentioned which sounds interesting to
you, read the description ofit carefully in the
data section ofthe article. (Ifyou have discov-
ered it in a book, there is often a special chap-
ter on how the data were collected and there
may also be more information in an
appendix).
_ Having found a potentially interesting
data source, you must locate it. The referenci
will often give an author (or authors) and
some. research center, government agency, or
a university source where it was colleited.
You might begin by searching your own ii_
brary or the libraries in your area for more in-
formation about that dataset. Check the card
catalog to see if there are any entries for the
dataset itselfor its chiefauthors. Have the au_
thors who used the dataset in question pub_
lished anything more extensive on it?
A more rapid response to where the data
can be examined might be obtained by calling
the survey research center or gou..n-.ni
agency involved or by contacting one of the
authors ofthe study. What you need first is to
see the data-gathering insrruments (oftcn
questionnaires). In many cases, they can be
sent to you without much problem or cost.
Many large datasets are set up so thal thev
can be used by others. The government wanti
data which it has financed to be widely dis-
seminated and used. For a large survey 1o be
analyzed only by the original authors is an in-
efficient use of this expensive resource. When
a government agency is offering the dataset,
instruction manuals and extensive codebooks
ofthe data will usually be provided to facili_
tate their use by others. Those variables cre_
ated by the original researchers will also be
available. These often include scales, indexes,
and other composite measures. In most cases.
common scales and indexes, such as a socio-
economic index (to be described in Chapter
15), will already be created on the dataset. Be
sure that the description of the data you re_
ceive will include the working codebook.
In some cases, already prepared tables ana_
lyzing data in the survey will be available. Or
the center that holds the data may be willing
to prepare computer tables lor you according
to your specified needs. There may aiso be
some unpublished reports which analyze var_
ious parts of the data. you might like to see
these, especially if they cover aspects which
are relevant to your study.
Re-creqtion of the Doto
Once you have acquired a dataset, you must
make it meet your research objectives. This
requires a few steps. First you rnust search out
the variables you think you need. Second, you
must study them carefuliy. Ifyou have the fre_
quency counts on each variable. this will in_
tensily your knowledge of them. (Il 1.or ex_
ample, a large proportion said Don,t Know 1o
a specific question, this is a factor which will
be important in deciding whether or not to usc
the item and how to use it.) Third, you must
select a set of variables which will fully ad-
dress the needs ofyour study, but which will
not overwhelm you. (The typical mistake is to
take on too many variables and becomc
bogged down in too many analyses.)
As a secondary analyst, you can re-creatc
much of the data to suit your needs. But you
must always be careful not to use the data for
a purpose for which they are inappropriatc.
(You cannot turn a sow's ear into a silk pursc,
as the proverb goes.) If you create your own
indexes and scales, you should take care to
give them vaiid names.
You may also dscide to use onlv subsets ol
the sample (only the males. only those over
age 21, only those born in the southeastern
United States, etc.). If you do this, you will
need to reconsider the sample design to see
what effects your selection will have on the
qualtty of the sample. you will need to con_
sider how representative the subsample ofthe
population was from which it was drawn.
hnolyzing the Dofo ond Cornporing
Results
The major effort ofsuch a study is to analyze
the data. Chapters 13 and 14 will exnlain an_
alytic rechniques. Your secondary analysis of
T
 9',-
I
i

260TheMethodsofSocialResearch PART THREi CHAPTER IO

Methods o.f Analyzing Avaitable
Dara 261

a dalaset becomes a partofthe corpus ofanal- also raised again. In the selection ofsuch data, CONTENT ANAIYSIS
ton of body of material. picture
yses of that data.Survey research centers the researcher examines and challenges the This is a method of study in
which a coliec_ graph
1
ofa cily taken lrom an
a photo-
often develop bibliographies of the studies validity ofindicators within the study. These tion of available data is *U:.rt.O aerial view S,,^_
carried ont and of the publications prepared additional efforts to reappraise the data will t" . q""r"_ pose you prepare
a simple *un
tirarive anai.ysis the objecr oiwhich
using a specific dataset. You may want to offer greater information on their value. specrat qualitjes
i, r" nlO ourlining in ink irs uounjul., "r,r,"]i,,
u"nj;##:
in thc data, such as repetitiue hoods on a clear sheer
compare your efforts to those of others who patterns. Bernard Berelson (1954,
p. +SSi dr_ porrional in scale ro "rprrr,i.
rrii.;'ij'#l:
have used the data and to inform the survey
DECIDING IF SECONDARY
fined this method in this way: U,.'ptoiogffi.
rhe ptasric map over
d;;
center ofyour project.
ANALYSIS IS APPROPRIATE FOR
I:: can
you liy now tf,. pf,orogrupf,,
beller understand
Coltent analysis is a research th;
YOUR TOPIC technique for the
and qr.r,i*iiJ. i.r.r,p_
the phoiograph. This ex "";;;i';i
lssues of Volidity ond Reliobility For many social researchers, secondary anal- -91,:.:,]y,::
uon ot the "u.Taric.
manifest content of communicatiol.
conrenr anarysis t, ttt;.
fi'ffi;;%'.#rlllil
laying of the map on the phorograprr,
In selecting a dataset for a secondary analysis, ysis is l/ze preferred method. Some social re- irr?
j"_
In Berel.son's definition. the word .,commu_ terpretation of what the phoioe;;h";;;
the issue of validity should be your primary searchers (and professors who leach social re-
shows is the content anaiysis
criterion. You must be strongly convinced search methods) believe that beginning nrcatron'- reibrs to available
what the data ofcontent analysis
datu. Consider fi;;. ;;;
(namely the content) remains
that the data measure what they purport to researchers should be encouraged to carry out u.., *.itt* lfotoeSaotr. rhc
has been anatyzei
vanous!*,it
measure and that these measures in fact are secondary analyses because of the quality of rn^atrla]s, media presentutionr, b;
urtia.tr,^unV 11Tlt
ones that are appropriate for the variables you the data that can be used. It is, of course, the of which are seen to form a unified rules to it. "rrlri;;
works (for example, issues
il;;'f
need for your project. To meet these objec- case that a 1ot ofdata will never be fully ana- of Ladies HLme ,_,.fh.1ir one more phrase in Berelson,s
rnrtron-"quantitative Oescriptlon-,;- dcl._
tives, the foliowing qualifications should be lyzed by the original researchers. A large sur- !ournqt.srnce its inceprion. painlings olnudei i6i"
tn tne Louvre, television advenisemenls means that in content analysis
considered in selecting a dataset: (1) the qual- vey, such as High School and Beyond, con-
for tfr. ui, i, urr_
tains so much data that many researchers cleaning producrs shown in we* yort aily to derermine the A.qu.nry;I'ffi;;
ity of the data-gathering organization, (2) the Ciii.il
purpose ofthe original researchers, and (3) the working on many different problems are re- a specific monrh). All rhese .r. fu;r' ;; l!!tt 9t
the conlent. rhe proponions
of ..r_
communication. raln subtypes within a rvpe.
extent to which the dataset contains indica- quired to be able to analyze all the material.
findings
'areIn addition, the.sc
tors that will enable you t0 test your research Ifyou have a problem that needs to be ad- What Berelson means by,,manifbst,,
con_ :.:i,l1i,r1i".
statlstrcally.
ofi"en .r.rlr.l
problem-in particular, what will be used for dressed with a large body of data, and you which is presenled ourrurOtyiir,.
the dependent variable, the primary indepen- know ofa dataset which contains relevant ma-
:::j,':
words, lLr,
the colors. and One ofrhe best ways to gel
a sense ofthis
the objects rt.mi.tue,
are srudied ralher than rhe is by c^o.nsidering examples
dent variables. terial for your study, you should consider sec- implied
of these words, colors. u"O oU:..rr.
;;;;i;; l:,Pd
nas been used. Since this
of how ir
ondary analysis. Ofcourse, your advisor may method unulyr.r.ui_
Because these data have already been ana-
i;il.: lurally.created work, it
lyzed, many questions about their validity want you to collect your own data (for a class searcher is. to analyze the outward, ostensible
lenr" rhar
,.k;t-i;;_
tends to
have already been addressed. If scales and in- content, that which ..presented,,, is either,.popular,, rrOl"rl"nr."_
project, for a master's thesis, or a doctoral dis- is .;rh.; lrat or culrurally valued.
dexes have been created, validity and reliabil- sertation) and there is much to be learned by than the deeper By selecting;"0;;,
ror example, sludies of the words .";;;;;.
i n rerpreta
rion of thai works, the researcher can
ity tests (as described in Chapter 5) may al- doing so. But it is worth bearing in mind that
peatedly in the Federalist papers
used ,e_ works affect, in some ways,
infer ffi il;
ready have been carried out. Examinations of there are so many available datasets still not large
ff,A"rt.fi* people; by_selecting influenriai "rr"U.r, oi
how variables of interest to you were related fullS' analyzed that it is sensible to consider ex-
ill e64) hav-e hetped ro dr;;;;"h .rji"..rr,
wn9 Y:t:.,
I
can ",
valued works. the researcher
to other variables in already prepared analyses amining already collected survey data before w.as the author of specific
from the dataset should help you to ln this
pup.ru li tt e they represent imporfant aspects
assume that
see setting out to do your,own data collection. Let serres. case. the words
their repetition) are the manifest
tfr.ri.f*r'irri ture under study.
of the cul_
whether the variable seems to be measuring me add that even ifyou want to carry out your
what you would expect it to measure. own survey, it often makes sense to begin by while the purpose oflhat content
,;;;;;; analysis is generally undenaken
analysis was .^ -Conlent
to les1
Secondary analyses based on highly examining and analyzing earlier survey data to determine authcrshio. some hypothesis or assumption.
Thus
That the method is '.objecrive., the content must be representative
professional data-gathering techniques often that may address the same problem. Finally, ..svs_ of some
and unrverse for which a populalion
contain measures of higher validity and relia- every project has its time span and effort span; tematic" means that it
is a formal rn.oirlj, .un Ur-J._
where rules are followed according fined and a sample drawn.
biiity than a single researcher would be apt to secondary analysis concentrates that effort on The content anal_
to p..O.l below range from tegat briefi;;;_
prepare. Because the data have to be analyzed the analysis stage of rescarch b.v abbreviating
llrmined.nlans
and applied .""rio."rly ,rj I:j "f*q
mltted [o the Supreme Court
again, the issues ofreliability and validity are the need for data collection and manipulation. thoroughly. Ir is as if you lay a formal plil;; ro the lyrics of
rock music, to dramatic prirn._tirn.
i.i'.'uirlol

I
 -:Ei1

262TheMethodsofSocialResearch PART THREE

morning
-,..,..7/,/Weekeod
lchildren's programs)

In each study
programs, to family portraits. score and lhe character score. This explana- ";r;;;J",-':
-.,.a
we will consider the problem posed, the
method of coding, the sampie drawn, and the
tion has not been as detailed as it would need
to be for you to comprehend it fully; the pur'
150 -:I(^----^
types of anaiyses brought to bear on the data. pose here is to give you some idea of what can 100
Prime-time programs

be done in a content anaiysis oftelevision pro-

50
FOUR EXAMPLES OF CONTENT
grams. (For more detaiied descriptions, see
ANALYSES Gerbner et al., 1978.) 0l i

Figure l0-1 offers a number of graphs +"" s" CC rG

$e C.d" r9' .9'"\
Violence on Television
Gerbner and his collaborators have developed
showing the violence index for diferent types
of programs over a decade. Interestingly,
c {,e
,la'
"u'.9'
19'
compiex ways of recording the incidence and weekend morning children's programs are ,,SERIOUS'PROGBAMS
characteristics of violence on television consistently among the most violent.
(1978). Their method of analysis involves
Prime-time programs
coding various aspects of television programs, 9-11 P.M. EST

in particular, incidents which involve vio- Legol Briefs Submited fo the Supreme
lence. Their sampling technique is based on
Courl
--^-: //a----,.
selecting types of television programs and pe- In a study ofthe relationship ofthe content of 'z^--\\-."/
8- I P,t\4. EST
riods of time which can be compared from legal briefs to the decision-making process of
year to year. For these studies, all dramatic the Supreme Court, Bannan (1984) wanted to
television programming aired during a singie show thatjustices were not merely affected by
week in the fall of the year were selected for their ideological positions, but also by the
study. These analyses have been carried out amount and range oflegal and other types of
since 1967. The data to be reported on here evidence brought to bear in specific cases. She
range from 1967 to 1977. contrasted the legal briefs for the petitioners
The programs are videotaped, and then with the briefs for the respondents in 37 cases
coders analyze the programs searching for a brought before the Supreme Court over the \. \\
number of qualities. Prevalence is the inci- "right of counsel to the indigent"-a right \\-----\\/ /'--/' zi
tr'v',(,,r\--jF{i
\i- \v' t' \t'/ 'x
dence ofviolence in any program. The abbre- guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the TV ptays \\ /
Al new programs
viation 0/oP is the percent of programs with vt- U.S. Constitution. The petitioners in every Hnme-ttme proqrams

olence. Rale is the number of "violent case were very poor individuals who had been
episodes" occurring in
each program (R/P) pleading the illegality of a decision of a lower
and each hour (R/H). Role is a measure of court on the grounds that they had not been
characters as "violents" (that is committing given counsel (which means that they had not "COMIC" PROGRAMS

violence) or "victims" (subjected to violence); been provided with the services ofa iawyer). Weekend A.M.

"killers" or "killed" (1978, p. 181).
From these data, two scores are produced:
the program score, based on prevaience and
rate of violenc e; and the c har act er s c or e, based
on the role measures. The violence index ts
In short, Bannan had selected a sample of Su-
preme Court cases on'the basis of the type of
constitutional right being challenged.
For each case, the number of assertions
(arguments in favor of the legal position) and Prime.time programs

then determined by the sum of the program the number of supports for these assertions
-'\,//
--
v----t-

Cs'" C c.{e^d" c C
FIGURE I O.I
Violence index for different television progroms, 1967-1977 (Gerbner er ol., I 978, p. I B3L
cc Year
19' ^9
*9'
^\"b^6^6^
\g' \g' \g\
^$a -+i-
t9' .9t
.g' ^gv

263

I

were estimated. In addition, the "content" of
these supports was coded according to
its
such as constitu-
source (official authorities
tions, statutes; unofficial authorities such as
sociai science surveys' law journal articles,
etc.). From this a cumulative score was de-
rived for the petitioner and for the respon-
dent. Bannan sought to measure both the
quantity and range of types of supporting ev'
idence offered, to test the expectation that the
legal brief with the superior "cumulative
sc."ore" would "win" the Supreme Court deci-
sion. This proved to be the case in 33 ofthe
37 cases.
Fomily Portrqits Reflecf FomilY
Relotionships
in
families
In a study of the relationships
across generations, Fischer (1978) examined
th€ content of 30 American family portraits
from 1729 to 1871. Before 1775' ail the por-
traits but one had the father placed above the
other family members, the mother seated,
possibly with other female adult members of
tn. furniiy below, and the children below the
mother. After 1775, this vertical arrangement
suggesting the patriarchical roie of the father
und th. hierarchical role ofparents over chil-
dren was superseded by a horizontal arrange-
ment in which all family members were
painted on the same level. Comparing these
earlier famili, portraits with the more contem-
porary, Fischer found that the horizontal ar-
iangement suggesting more egalitarian roles in
the family was superseded in the twentieth
century with greater variation in arrange-
ments, in some cases witb the children placed
above the Parents.
CourtshiP Pqfterns in Song LYrics
A number of content.analysis studies have
taken as their subject the lyrics of popular
songs. In a study comparing the changes in the
courtship pattern from the I 950s to the 1 960s,
Carey (1969) drew a sample ofsongs from the
1960s to compare with an eariier analysis car-
ried out by Horton (1957) a decade before'
Following the sampling technique of Horton,
Carey selected songs listed in four magazines
(Hit Parader, Song Hits Magazine, etc') over
i*o ,u*t.. months in 1966, identical to the
ones Horton had used for his selection in
1955. In addition, rhe Billboard listings of the
top 30 songs as well as the top 30 from a San
Fiancisco radio station were also included'
This produced a sample of 227 songs includ-
ing rock and roil (about 52 percent), rhythm
and blues, country western, and other types'
Horton had worked out a four-stage court-
ship pattern which Carey iabeled as the court-
ship stage (or period of "active search"), the
honeymoon stage (that is, the "happy stage"),
the downward course (the "breakup"), and
the isolation stage (where the protagonist was
"all alone"). Carey not only examines the
number of songs relating to each stage, but
also carefully considers the meaning of the
content ofthe lyrics ofeach type' One quality
that Carey found in songs addressing the first
stage was that "romantic involvement is not a
necessary ingredient" (p. 726)' The song,
"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" by
Dusty Springfieid expresses this mood (Box
10-1). At the other end ofthe courtship stage,
Carey offered Neil Diamond's "Solitary Man"
(Box 10-1) as an example of a young man's ac-
ceptance ofisolation (P. 728).
From examining such lyrics Carey con-
cluded that there was a reduction in romantic
courtship in the 1960s. Spnngfield's song sug-
gests that relationships can be temporary and
lacking in commitment. A commitment to
"estabiishing one's own identity" (p. 728) out
side ofa relationship and that perhaps the end
of a love affair fosters such self-strengthening
seems to be the message of Diamond's iyrics'
By examining the changing content of lyrics
across a decade, Carey had highlighted some
CHAPTER ]O
BOX t0-l
THE TYRICS OF DUSTY SPRINGFIETD AND NEII.
DIAMOND
You Don'i Hove to Soy You love Me
You don't hove to soy you love ne,
Just be close ot hand.
You don't hove to sloy forever,
I will understond.
Solitory Mon
Don't know thot I will but until I con find ne
A girl who'll stoy ond won't ploy gones behind
me
I'll be whor I om,
A solitory non.
ofthe importanl changes in social values and
interpersonal goais that differentiated the
1960s from the 1950s.
COMPONENTS OF A CONTENT
ANATYSIS
Selection of the Content ond lhe Topie
In a content analysis, the selection ofthe topic
must be closely coordinated with the selection
ofthe content to be anaiyzed. It is desirable to
begin with a specific research question and
then select a body of material in which this
question can be pursued. There should be
some logic to the choice of the content to be
studied. Often that logic is obvious: one clear
way to study violence on television is to ex-
amine the contents of television program-
ming. In other cases, a researcher may select a
body of material to study among a number
that might have been as useful.
Sometimes, the content seems to create its
own research finding, such as the family por-
traits which show changes in portrait posi-
tions that sesm to indicate social changes in
family positions. Working on the content may
refine the research topic as it develops.
Methods o;[ Analyzing Alailable Data 265
Developing q Scheme to Code the
Content
There are as many ways to process the content
and to break it down and recombine it into
categories of meaning as there are researchers
out there to devise them. in such a case, it is
important to have the coders adequalcly
trained. Each must understand what needs to
be looked for, and how it is to be recorded.
Each must share with every other coder a
common understanding of what the contenl
consists of. This issue ofreliability is ofcriti-
cai concern in content anaiyses. The examplcs
given offer a number of the types of qualities
of such codes.
Frequency. One commonly used way to sort
out the content ofmaterial is to count certain
patterns which recur in the content. This was
the case in the television violence studv whcrc
incidents ofviolence ofvarious types were r0-
corded and cumulated.
Amount. Closeiy related to frequency of ap-
pearance is the amount of each content piecr:
which contains a particular quality. This may
be measured in time (for television) and in
space (lor wrilten marerial).
Presence or Absence of a Quality. Another
way to study the content of a communication
source is to look for specific qualities to see
how far they are present or absent in each
work examined. In the portrait study, it was
important to determine whether the father
had a dominant position in the painting.
T1'pology. Another common feature of con-
lent analyses is to sort the contents by types.
In the popular song study, types of courtship
patterns were looked for.
Origin or Source. Sometimes the object is to
establish wlo or what is responsible for a par-
I
 266TheMethodsofSocialResearch
ticular aspect of the content' trn the Supreme
Court study, the sources of support given for
an assertation were categorized and recorded.
Degree of Intensity. Content may aiso be dif-
ferentiated by how strongly certain elements
are present. For example, sexual explicitness
in films could be measured in this way.
Anolyzing the Coded Content
Once you have coded the content, you need to
relate it to your research question. Tables and
graphs are oflen used to present the aggregated
patterns in the data. The interpretation of
what these patterns mean is the essence of
content analysis. Ifthat cannot be done effec-
tively, then all one has is a description of ma-
terial. The social significance of the study
must be inferred from the patterns developed.
Remember, however, that the ways in which
.vou sort the conlsnt will also determine what
you have to analyze. Thus, there is a back-
and-forth strategy between devising the cod-
ing schemes and figuring out what findings
-vou will produce with the various schemes.
What may seem like very fruitful coding strat-
egies may not lead to interesting findings with
your body ofcontent. You may then need to
alter the coding schemes to characterize evi-
dence that seems to be interesting. Remember
that, as in all data anaiyses, you need varia-
tion to have important findings. Ideas for an-
aiytic approaches and the types oftables and
graphs which might best exemplify your data
can be borrowed from others, or you can usg
an idea seen in one study and then elaborate
upon it yourself.
!ssues of Volidity ond Reliobility
Content analysis needs to be subjected as well
to considerations of whether the method de-
vised is valid and reliable. To increase valid-
ity, a careful balance between the content
PARI THREE
being studied and the questions being asked
needs to be considered. Does the content ad-
dress the problem being studied? Will the cod-
ing scheme devised for the content fairly ex-
tract the meaning from the content data? This
need to get at the specific contents that inter-
est the researcher often requires complex cod-
ing and analysis.
Because of the complexity of the coding
schemes, the reliability between different cod-
ers may not be high. Even a single coder may
have trouble remaining consistent in
coding
data with a complex coding plan. This is a
major challenge in content analysis: to devise
ways of coding content that are reiiable (that
would lead to similar results if carried out at
diflerent times and by different coders) and to
select and use content in wa,vs that are valid
(that produce analyses of content that cone-
spondingly address the study's subject).
DECIDING IF CONTENT ANATYSIS
IS APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR
TOPIC
Content analysis might be the best method for
you to use if your problem can be addressed
by a study of patterns in various forms of
communication. Studies using content analy-
sis often seek to understand cultural values
and broad social perspectives as portrayed in
the media. The method also allows for studies
with varying time dimensions by the exami-
nation of a form of media over a selected time
span. At times you might have access to a fas-
cinaling collection of materiai. Your college li-
brary or some other insdtution in your
immediate area may have an extensive collec-
tion of comic books, the compiete series of a
certain magazine, school textbooks in a partic-
ular field, Woody Allen films, or the coilected
letters of some famous person. Such a source
may prompt you to create a study in which
one of these resources might be used.
CHAPTER
Methods of Analyzing Atailable Dara 267
. Content analysis almost alwa1,5 requires
developing a somewhar ingenioui
and Lee Sechrest, were social psychologists
means of whose stated goal was "not to replace the in-
so*fiing and coding the content
to be studied. terview but to supplement and cross-validate
While.coding will be discussed
depth in Chaprer 12, the abitiry ro
i,e;;;;;; it with measures that do not require the co_
fruoOi. J._ operation of a respondent and that do not
tailed material carefully unA ryrt.-uti*ttii,
themselves contaminate the response', (1966,
essential for content analysis.
p. 2). Earlier (in the chapter on survey rc-
. Conlenl analysis as a method is perhans
rhe mosl distant from field research.-R;il:;
search) we discussed the probiems of gaining
cooperation ofrespondents and keeping them
than going out into a social n.fa ,o
nnO Ouiu, committed to completing questionnaires and
the researcher defines a OoOy
oi.o-rno*.ul interviews. In discussing experimental stud-
tion as the,.social field,' andlooks withinihat
ies, I addressed the problems of demand char-
set of material for descriptive qualities
thai acteristics (where the subjects in an experi-
can be quantified. Thus, content analysis
lacks ment are affected by what they think tho
the.spontaneity and unplann.O quufiti.r-oi
experimenter wants from them) and also ol'
field research. Rarher it is a treauiif
method. where the researcher.ur.iritu
ti;;;; the Hawthorne effect (where the occurrence ol'
o.nl_ an experiment, even if it offers what would
nizes and orchestrales how the Ou,u
*Ji-U. seem to be a meaningiess or negative experi-
treated. Because contgnt anal-vsis uses
availa_ mental stimulus, may itself produce an expcr-
ble forms of communication, it does
trude on a social environment as is
;"tl;_ imental effect). In field studies, too, the rc-
character_ searcher needs to consider carefully how hor
isric of field research. h is unobrrusi"..
r" ii_,'. or his roie in the field may alter the actual field
next section, we will examine ttre
stuOy oi environment being studied.
other unobtrusive measures.
The study of unobtrusive measures was
In. many ways, the work of content
. ana-
lysts is also similar to that of historia;$-;
devised to avoid such problems. As Webb and
both cases, writlen materials u.. uruuttl,
his colleagues stressed in their influential
oi book, this approach developed as a supple-
central concern. What is specific to
.oni.nt mentary method, one that would add to a
analysis is rhal quanriruriu. urp..r,
communication are central, the historicai
oi it. study and heip validate its findings. Another
reason for the development of unobtrusjve
chronology ofthe period is not; in
hirr"r1 ;; measures as a method was to avoid certain
the other hand, interpretation of
th. d;;o* ethical issues. To study a subject unobtru-
meaning of written materials unO
urtiA.iJi, sively is 1o avojd infringing on anyone else's
generally sought in reiation
to the historical privacy. As explained in Chapter 3, there are
period in which they occurred.
We wiil ex_ many research strategies that encroach on pri-
amine historical research following
the di;.;;_ vate aspects ofthe lives ofindividuals.
sion of unobtrusive measures.
In 1979, one ofthe authors ofthe original
volume, Lee Sechrest, edited a volume on un-
obtrusive measurement in which updated
UNOBTRUSIVE MEASURES studies were described. The editor noted that
although the original book by Webb and his
In 1966, abook Lrnobtrusive Measures:
Non_ colleagues had been very widely read, the ac-
rcactive Research in lhe Social Sciences
was tual use of unobtrusive measurement by so-
published. Its team of authors,
Eugene Webi, cial researchers was notgreat. In what follows,
Donald T. Campbell, Richard O. S.f,*urtr.
the most influential type of unobtrusive mea-
I
 26STheMethodsoJSocial Research pART THREE
CHAPTIR IO

"l. ,r,or
sures delineated in the 1966 volume will be The most commonly studied accretion 'l

discussed. measure, that is, a measure of something that [1,1v

has been laid down or built up, is garbage.
Consumer behavior (such as the use of diet ::".o':-,'|iil:i'Li:'H,1,t::'.#:il*j: ;'.',:ixi,:: Jl,'*-i?r:-':,r ,opic careru,,y
measures
from the can be s ude<

};ffififfi ffidl;;.'
TYPES OF UNOBTRUSIVE foods) has been analyzed by studying garbage.
MEASURES For example, the weight, volume, and nature
Webb and his associates defined three broad of the food consumed can be determined by
calegories of unobtrusive measures: physical this method (Rathje, 1979, p. 77). Analyzing
garbage in this way is unobtrusive because it
traces, archives, and observations. Here we s'r d;;;'#";li::rant{that
oala are hislorical to
is'
alreadv collecred)
will consider only the study ofphysical traces has no effect on the producers ofthe garbage. 'nobt;;'i"'
lhe external 'l''1jl'j]':
uulioi,r,Tiltlfes,can also add 1o rhev are b;;;;'.;"1 some degree'
beca"*'i
as representing a rather unique form of re- Other commonly studied accretion measures
are graffiti and household possessions.
addirionar evidence ,?l:-"'on br ;;;il
search method which researchers might be
able to include in a project.
Webb and his colleagues (1966) also differ-
entiate betweetr natural erosion or accretion tr-l
help :T iltn',*#htr{:ill*il#
to increase tl ilfl ifqffi $rilllrgti:'il
measures and controlled measures. Natural

firutrT[Tf# Htr nisi, *;

measures are those which occur without any
Physicol Troces
Measures of erosion and accretion are cer-
interference by the researcher (all measures ,*illtffiT:*'r,1H,T.?
.rro
^ ;;;';'ir*' e
o.. u rri n;
ds t o u ce rh

tainly the rnost familiar types of unobtrusive

described above would be of this type). Ex-
amples of conlrolled erosion measures offered
rred
lryi*F ll:il i1f*r;ffiX.fl
measures. The initial example for an erosion by Webb et al. include a before and after mea-
measure was in a study of the popularity of
various exhibits at Chicago's Museum of Sci-
sure ofthe wear on children's shoes or having
children wear special wristwatches to record tr1#[*',T?BXLX?,f,,,o* :lt'#,"ffi*ntl'l;:;:;:ll can never be
ence and Industry. Rather than survey visi- their level of activity (1966, p. 43). Controlled lf you are carrying
cou.n'led whal";;;*:;at re-
tors or even observe the size ofcrowds around accretion mez.sures would include such re- :-" records "tYlil "tt b;;;;;;:i:'ii::f
oul a cr,.r.,..
or orher archivar
;.rn,1-1-"ud{:sing ;ii:"t'li1
various exhibits, the researchers studied the
wear and tear of the vinyl tiles surrounding
searcher-intrusive strategies as were used in a
study of how carefully advertisements were :::,::*''d; ;;d;;ii"' o' ir vo'"pl,i'u"n
will in no way ;i;1il,jl:i:lJ;ii'^"1"'oil ;;
ii'i,tf,ll
various exhibits. They found, for example, read in a magazine. In one study, small glue
rranrcrpare in the field
l:T {"t il ff;ltj"tl;^fj"_,g"rrr.r,,rrn'r.r.rr.l
-.*;ffi*:
' f,i{!;,,!:,1'. d nb;;;';i :;
that the tiles around the chick-hatching ex- spots were used which, once the pages were lll.I,f, Jix [11,,,:,,":::# ru;": *::
u"'n "*i{'' fti'iii::i)'i'i];X;,,ii:'Iffl:t;:
hibit wore out very quickly (they needed to be
replaced about every 6 weeks) (Webb et al.,
open, would not stick together again (Webb,
1966, pp. 44-45). By this means it was possi-
gesred by rhis
crerion
merhod,'Ip:: "ierosion ;,,-
ano
'uii'J"il
measr;;;:";"r1:.,tn. ai-
1966, p. 36).
Other erosion examples include the wear
ble to tell whether readers had looked at var-
ious ads. In short, controlled erosion and ac-
devised,and ,,J r,'r'iil '.u,,,., ;;; il ,,r'#'ril:?::lj,Ti:.:,i,:,:lamining and
on iibrary books (as a measure oftheir popu- cretion measures involve some form of trii*:*H,',n'ffi'?i?.1'*i'."r'.'#l# jl^-*"0 nii,",i,,i'#,i*;"ur'or'r'!o"i
larity). Obviously, a researcher could deter- pretest-posttest design or manipulated act by ul'f ,;;;';;i, ;:-:.1'::"'ry;;; ; ,ini{''oo rhe imasina-
mine a book's popularity by checking the li-
brary records to see how frequently it had
the researcher.
dno oren easy ro
easy ro devise uririze o,r l:nd rr'.i;;#;: j;mij'_l*lltr+i::i]i;:;#,::,: E::
been taken out. In this case, study of the ero- ,Dased onmighr
one make rhe case
rhar a srudv ilir:"i: oui."tiir,ll,.ll'fzt' (Gortschirk.

sion ofbooks would be a way to cross-validate

the popularity ofthe book and suggest that the
lssues in Volidity ond Reliobility
The primary purpose of unobtrusive mea-
choice
unobtrusive
ror,;;;;;';;J,:u:,u,., i' ;
r
;;i ;"",ffff.if:flJfl"*f'nfflill,i,:::;;i,
book was being held and read. notjust taken
out and left on a shelfl It is also a way to study
the use of reference works which are not
checked out of iibraries (Webb et al., i 966, pp.
sures isto serve as a supplementary, not a pri-
mary, source of data. To the degree that un-
obtrusive measures offer additional means for
supporting (or refuting) conclusions drawn
fri',' ffi Hili* i ii'[ :ii:t $i,*'*g l*i, #'f',
ano an equar amounl
^r::.1:t
such ags5"u; ;Iit "'wnllen records wirh
trift ;t{d:
37-38). from other forms ofdata, they increase the va- r*tT r*H*#j.t'i'*:'f"ffi ,lq.ltilil'ilhi'#** "Ti*#"'
Let me add .f'tflr"p"i"t that there is cur_

I

Social Research
Thc Methok of
rnnrlr'arcdt rnteresl in oral history" that is' his-
i"^ ir^.d on verbal accounts instead of writ-
,Jn'r..otdt' Ir is considered especially useful
in the sludy of historical crises of great mag-
nitude and cultural traditions that seem to be
disappearing where the iikelihood of finding
adequate written records is not considered
high. An example would be oral materials
from the survivors of World War II concen-
tration camps, recollections of black Ameri-
cans about what their ancestors related to
them about life under slavery, or the experi-
in the
. euces of various ethnic communities
llnited States.
Written records are, nevertheless, the cen-
tral sources of data for historians. These
sources are generaliy differentiated into two
categories: primary sources, which are the rec-
nrds ofeyewitnesses to events, and secondary
, slurces, which are written materials which de-
scribe and/or interpret some past event either
close to the time it occurred or in later years.
Naturally, historians are particularly fond of
primary sources because such materials would
seem to be more accurate and less biased. Yet
Gottschalk warns that all historical sources,
whether primary or secondary, are written
from a particular point of view and therelore
organize the past according to certain princi-
pies. What the historian must do is to take
these materials and try to "get as close an ap-
proximation to the truth about the past as
constant correction of the mental images will
allow, at the same time recognizing that that
truth has in fact eluded him forever." (Gotts-
chalk, 1950, p. 47). "|n short, the historian's
aim is verisintililude with regard to a perished
past" (1950, P. 47).
Historical work thus generally centers
around the study of written materials. These
may be archival material, such as records, let-
ters, diaries, handwritten manuscripts, or
printed books, pamphlets, or pedodicals.
Thus the historian must go to where these ma-
terials are, namely, the library, the archives,
the museums, the government records ofice,
wherever there are materials relevant to the
historian's topic.
For this reason, hislorical research gener-
ally starts with searching for relevant sources
and reading very broadly. Some historians
will go directiy to the archives to search for
the surviving records pertinent to their sub-
ject; others wiil read widely in secondary
sources about the period under study. One
historian related to me that he had been told
as a graduate student to go to a large research
library and read everything, every written
thing in that iibrary, on his general subject. Of
course, this is exaggerated advice. Historians
cannot read everything in a field, and they
don't wait until they have read everything to
define a problem. However, it is certainly true
that hisiorians would tend to read more
widely and deeply about a general topic than
might other social researchers. This is at least
in part because they tend tobe contextualists;
that is, they try to relate the phenomena they
are studying to as many aspects of social iife
as possibie.
Consider the differences between the his-
torical method and that of other types of so-
cial research which we have so far presented.
The historical approach is somewhat like the
approach offield researchers in that its object
is usually not to isolate a nalrow ressarch
topic, a hypothesis to test. Instead the histo-
rian tends to put together a multiplicity ofcon-
texts, la search for a whole set of reasons why
an event occurred. Like fieid researchers, his-
torians move into a field in search of a richer
description of the historical era, the social en-
vironment, the materiai examined. Rather
than observing and inten'iewing the inhabi-
tants of the field, however, the historian must
read about this field. One ofthe objects ofthis
reading of materials from the past is to deter-
mine the chronology ofevents, to understand
how the chronological order ofevents has af-
fected later events.
TWO HISTORICAI- RESEARCH
STUDIES
The examples to be described here have
been
chosen in order to show you differences
in the
foci and in the sorts of evidence ,rJ ;.;;:
rying out historical studies. In terms
a historical study can be very trouO "lf;;,
unO uJl
dress an entire society or insiitution
o;;.;;
extended period of-vears, orit can
be very nar-
row and address the life ofa single
individual
or a single event. The formei would be
a Instead, bf;;-
ntacro-level historical view, the latter
a miui_
level historical focus. The evidence
prepare_the study may be drawn
;;;;"
from a wide
range of written materials, or it may
consist oi
a very small number of documents (or
a single
document); conversely, it may be based
quantifiable dala from the pist
ln
which may
need to be reexamined or. in some
aur.r, a.a'_
ated from other sources of information.'ihe
examples have been selected to present
a con_
trast in breadth of focus. ne
auttror oltire
first study is a sociologist; tte autnor oitte
second sludy is a historian.
The Flisfory of Americon Journolism
Michael Schudson (197g), a sociologist,
wrote
a social history of the developm.rrt oi;o"._
nalism in the United States. His particular
in_
terest was to explore the extent to which
the
ideal value ofobjectivity was realized
and al_
tered.by comparing newspapers early
in nine_
teenth-century America with thos;
of the
present day. Schudson,s sources
are varied.
He refers to the large body ofpreviou,
,tuai.,
on American journalism, biographies of
portant American journalists, appraisals
im_
of
American newspapers by journalisis, ,.*pu-
per articles, as well as theoretical
wrltlngs
which address ideas of relevance 10 Sch;;_
son's anal-vsis. He also includes some quanti_
fiable evidence on the circulation and pri."of
papers, but such incidental informaiion
is
-------!
used only to fili in details ofthe
broad picture
he draws ofthis central cultural
lnstituiron.--
This type of historical work is loti,
Jr._
tively descriptive and analytic. Schudson
dc_
scribes certain newspapers and
certain jour_
nalists more fully_those who
best ..p.rr*,
the institution he is studying u"d
th;;; ;;;
best exemplify the case ir. i, t.yrg
i""L"t..
There is no attempt here to ,.i..i."urnft.,
representative of the population
of alt news_
papers in the United States.
amining the changing structure of
certarn in_
iluential American newspapers as institutions
and the changing occupational .ofe,
ofparirc_
ular journalists, Schudson ,fro*, tfrui"ifr.
val 'e of objectivity which influenc.d
A..;i:
can journalism both reflected
and affected the
wider values in American society. The
beliei.
in the "facts,,' the relationship of;ou.nufirn
to public.relations and propaganda.
the grow_
rng skepricism abour the
ability ro preseit rhc
facts objecrively-these valuaiive
;r;g; i;
American journalism are the nnOinls-
oi
Schudson's research.
of Aduhery in Sixreenrh_Cenrury
l__C:r"
lronce
IfSchudson's focus is broad and comprehen_
sive and his sources varied, Narali.;;;irb
(1983) hislory of the ,.return
frlanin
Guene" rests on a single legal case"ff.;;;:
teenth-century France whicir was decided
bf a
court ofappeals in the city ofToulour..
fn.
case can be suted simply. A cenain
Manin
Liuerre abandoned his wife and son
in I548.
In 1556 he reappeared llrom his travels and
the wars) and was reunilcd wirh his wife.
Sub_
sequently he and his wife had a
daughter. A
few years later, he quarreled *itn
nis uocte
over his desire to sell some property.
The
uncle, having heard rumors to the
efect that
the man who returned \4as not actually
Mar-
tin G,uerre, challenged the identity M;;.
"f
The triai that ensued was quite fascinating
I

in the first triai in a local court, the wife stood
bv her husband, as did many other witnesses;
but others challenged his identity (iike the
shoemaker who claimed that the earlier Mar-
tin had had smaller feet!). The defendant was
declared guilty of impersonating Martin
Guerre and abusing his wife. The case was ap-
pealed to the court in Toulouse. During the
iecond trial, the "real" Martin Guerre re-
turned. Even with this appearance, many of
the witnesses (including Martin's four sisters)
still claimed that the first man to return was
the true Martin Guene. But now the wife'
confronted with iroth men, recognized her real
husband. The imPoster was hanged'
Why would a single iegal case 400 years
old be ofinterest in the 1980s? Because ofthe
strange occurrence surrounding the case, a
wide range ofevidence was gathered about the
nature oi Martin's marriage, family relation-
ships, economic and social condition, and rea-
sons for abandoning his wife. Much informa-
tion was also gathered about the situation and
motivation of the imposter. A11 this informa-
tion brings to light the quality oflife in a peas-
ant village in sixteenth-century France' What
is probably ofgreater interest, however, for an
uudien.. in the late twentieth century is what
the story indicates about the meaning of mar-
riage and the meaning of male-female rela-
tionships and heterosexuality 400 years ago'
The most intriguing part of the study is not
why the first Martin left or even why the sec-
ond Martin chose to take on his role, but why
the wife accepted the dcception' What was her
motivation? Here the story of the prepuberty
marriage of the couple, of Martin's early im-
potence, ofthe quality ofthe relationship be-
tween the wife and the second Martin suggests
something of the true feelings and sexual
needs of this woman of so long ago.
But this case not oniy speaks to the mean-
ing of sexuality in the sixteenlh century, it can
also be related to other important social de-
velopments of that era. Most notably, Davis
relates the willingness of the wife to accept an
imposter in the place of her long-absent hus-
band to the growing influence of Frotestan-
tism in this section of southwest France' For
in the newly developed Protestant city of Ge-
neva, an abandoned wife could, after a few
years, divorce her husband and remarry-a
right noi recognized in Cathoiic France.
In the absence of the actual trial records,
there are only 1wo historical sources of infor-
mation about this case. The primary sourccis
that written by Jean de Coras, one of the
juclges in the Toulouse court, who, following
the trial, wrole the account of the case into a
book. Davis describes Coras's book as com-
bining a legal case with a literary moral tale (p.
4). The other source, a secondary source, is a
shorl history published, like Coras's account,
in 1561, written by someone who was not
presenl at the trial. From this scant evidence,
enriched with a study of reiated archival ma-
terials and readings about peasant life in that
period and with visits to the current viliage
and area, Davis was able to deveiop a histor-
ical account ofsuch modern interest that it be-
came the basis of a feature film.
COMPARING THE TWO STUDIES
These two historical studies indicate the dif-
ferent roles that historical records may play in
historicai writing. Schudson began with a re-
search question and then found written rec-
ords to address his question. (Schudson used
newspapers mainly, but other materials as
well.) Davis began with a single, curious re-
cord and then asked what that record could
tell her about the period in which it was
written.
Yet each ofthese researchers had to figure
out the way in which the record was produced
and the point of view from which it was writ-
ten. Schudson read the early American news-
papers not to find out what happened at the
time. but to uncover in the way that the
events were written the newspaper reporters'
beliefs about the value ofobjectivity. In short.
Schudson asked: "What does the manner in
which newspaper pieces are wdllen over a pe_
riod of time tell me about the changing values
of the reporters who wrote these irticles.
about the profession ofjournalism which thei
were creating, and about the role of newspa-
pers in American society?" Davis had to read
her case, first, to question the assumptions of
the man who wrote it and, second, to consider
what in fact was being said about the meaning
ofmarriage and heterosexual relations in sixl
teenth-century France.
COMPONENTS OF HISTORICAL
RESEARCH
Defining o Problem of Study from rhe
Fost
If the problem you select is to understand
more clearly an event, an institution, a city, a
person, or a group from some earlier period,
then you will carry out a historical study. The
topic will need to be defined in terms of the
types of written materials and other resources
(artifacts, individuals to interview) availabie
to you. Part of the historical research mav be
1o determine what materials are available on
your topic. In other instances, a set ofavaila-
ble materials may trigger the study in the first
place, and the specific topic may therefore
be
more narrowly defined once you know what
materials you plan to use.
Estoblishing ond Collecting Sources of
Evidence
Whatever the period of time selected. histori_
cal research generally requires an apprecialion
not only of the specific topic, but also of the
period in which it occurred. For this reason,
historians generally read widely in secondary
sources, including other histories ofthe period
they are studying, in order to increase their fa_
miliarity with the period. Good university
and college libraries tend to have a great deal
of secondary source material on mJdern his-
torical periods in America and Europe. your
library is also likely to have materials on ear_
Iier periods and nonwestern societies. For ex-
tensive materials on a subject, however, you
rnay need to go to a large research librarv or a
library with extensive holdings on a specific
subject. In short, libraries are the obvious
place to find secondary sources. Keep
in mincl
that historical work on a specific topic conlin-
ues to be done. For example, if one selects lhr:
history of slavery in the United States. histor-
ical interprerations of this insritution wrirtcn
while siavery was still legal in the Unircd
States, after its abolition, and continuing right
up to the present time are available.
Consider also ihe primary sources. Thcrrr
were accounts ofslaves, in the form ofdiarics,
letters, etc. (though because most slaves werc
illilerate, most could not write). Thus the wrrt_
ten records of slaves tend to be from somc_
what unusual slaves-those who had becn
taught to read and write or who had run awav.
There were also written accounts bv thosc
ra'ho held slaves (mistresses, diaries) as well as
records of the slave trade and records of thc
slaves of particular plantations: their num_
bers, their roles, their births, their deaths. Var_
ious forms of unwritten records-stories,
songs, and tales passed down-form the basis
of oral hislorical material on slaverv in Amcr_
ica. Finally, artifacts bearing witn;ss to cer-
tain practices still exist.
No researcher can examine all the material
available. How to select the best sources is im_
portant for historical work. you need in some
sense to draw up a sample ofsources that you
feel would represent what you must look at in
order to generalize more widely. Since in his_
torical research the full .,population', of what
is available can never be known, the sample
of materials examined must always be a pur-
I
 274 TheMethodsofSocial Research
posive one. What it represents and what it
fails to represent should be considered.
Developing Meqns fo Quonfify Evidence
Some historical studies include data that may
be quantified such as maniage records. When
this is the case, the presentation of the quan-
tifiable data is often made in tables. Usually
the forms of quantitative analysis need to be
quite simple in historical studies because the
data often include many missing elements and
the determination of what population the data
represent is usually very difficult to make.
l'lisloricol Writing
The quality of writing in historical work is of
great importance. Ideas and materials must be
synthesized into a historical narrative that is
rich in content and clear in meaning. This is
not to say that writing style is irrelevant in
other forms of social research. But surveys
and experiments, for example, have a kind of
formal structure that must be followed, which
helps to organize the form ofwritten presen-
tation. In historical work, the structure ofthe
study is usually set out less precisely; rather,
the work builds and develops out of varied
types of sources.
lssues of Volidity ond Reliobiliry in
Historicol Studier i
There can be serious challenges to the validity
of documents. Recall a few years past that a
supposed diary ofFlitler turned up; it was ex-
amined by historians and deemed to be au-
thentic (in short, it had face validity), but later
it was determined to be a hoax. Historians
must be attentive to the authenticity of docu-
ments and written records which they use.
Not only may documents and written records
be false, but they may also be highly biased.
PART THRET
Historical research must consider historical
materials in a broad enough context so that a
fair re-creation can be made.
Historians often study subjects that have
previously been studied by others. However,
a complete replication is virtually impossible
to do. Because historical research involves so
much choice along the way as to what to look
at and what to ignore, and because there is so
strong a need to synthesize the material and
put it into a framework, one historian cannot
replicate another historian's research design.
Flowever, it is very common for subjects of
historical interest to be studied over and over
again. In each case, the later researchers are
expected to be fully conversant with the work
of the earlier historian. Thus, while reliability
cannot be tested as in an experiment, histori-
cal research (both the selection and interpre-
tation of historical material) should be done
and documented with great care so that an-
other historian could build another study
upon it.
DECIDING IF HISTORICAT
RESEARCH IS APPROPRIATE FOR
YOUR TOPIC
Ifyou are studying a topic from the past or if
you are beginning in a much earlier era and
tracing the course of events or developments
over time, you wi.ll need to use historical
methods. Remember that looking at historical
material is not the same as looking at current
material. You need a strong foundation of
knowledge about the period in which the ma-
terial was written in order to understand the
material itself, If you are planning to look at
records from the nineteenth century, you
should first read broadly about the subject you
are studying in that century. What this means
is that a great deal of concern must be cen-
tered in getting yourselfgrounded in the field
CHAPTER ]O
you are studying. you must also make
sure
that you can get the materials you need.
His_
torians often have to travel where the
actual
written materials are availabie (a library
or an
archive). Social researchers surely st outA
not
avoid historical research. If the subiect
vou
wanl ro sludy is from the past, you will
need
to become a historian.
THE ANATYSIS OF EXISTING
STATISTICS
The analysis of existing statistics is similar
to
secondary analyses in that the data are
alreadv
collected, but rather than providing the
sec-
ond researcher raw data to be analyzed,
the re_
searcher using existing statistics his .,cieate<l,,
data. This is both an advantage and a disad_
vantage. Existing statistics generally report
on
large aggregate datasets which might
U. u*
time-consuming and dificult fo, a-rerearche,
to prepare on his or her own. Such statistics
are often drawn from the census or other
very
large-scale data-galhering operations. As
suctl
the use ofthese statistics offer high_quality
elJ
idence to a researcher. Howevei, ,in..
iir.r.
statistics are already analyzed, it is often
not
possible for the second researcher
to aiter
them to suit the new study. Instead, they
must
often be used as they appear.
On-e widely used type of study on
the anal_
. tend to rise as the proportion ofyoung people
ysis of existing statistics is the iocial
indica_
tors sludy. This wjll be discussed in the
nexr
chapter on evaluation research. Here I
woulJ
like ro give you a few examples of how
aggre_
gated data have been used by
others and-s'ug_
gest how you might use them as
the basis ofa
study or as supporting data in a study.
wealth of dala regularly coliected by
e9v.ern1en1 and by orher bodies and pub_
l.ni
Iished in rhe form of statistics allows
ftr a
great rangeofpotential analyses. This form of
analysis is used mainly to compare rates
of
Methods of Analvzing Available Data 275
major social factors between large conglom_
erates, such as nations (for example,
rates
dealing with health, crime, prosperiiy),
or to
compare changes over time using the
iame in_
dicators as a form of trend anal-ysis.
Govern_
ment planning and decision _uioing may
de_
pend on these forms of analysis,
u,id uu.iou,
branches of the U.S. government prepare
these forms of statistics regularly.
A Reseorch Proiect Bosed on Existing
Stofistics
Cantor and Land (19g5) wanted to under-
stand the relationship between unemploy_
ment and crime. They began their *o*
Uy
using existing statistics on the level ofunem'_
ployment in the United States, and
they re-
lated these to the ievel of crime. The hypoth_
esis that these two factors should ne ietatea
has. been claimed widely and over
a u..y tong
period of time (1985, p.317). However.
thl
authors contend lhat because of the types of
quantitative anaiyses used and tire aiure
to
control for certain confounding measures
(such as changes in the age structure over
time), little ofthe past research can validlv be
used to support or refute this relationship.'For
example, since both crime and unemploy_
ment rates are higher for young people, boih
in the population increases. It is itrerjore im_
portant to control lor this increase.
_ In a quite sophisticated analysis (which is
characteristic ofmany studies bised on exist_
ing_statistics appearing in the journals)
Cantor
and Land show that the unemployment rate
affected the rates of five of the seven crimes
they studied. They used existing statistics on
unemployment from the U.S. Department of
Labor for the period 1946-1979 and from the
Executive Ofrce of the president for the years
1980-1982 (U.S. Deparrmenr of Labor, tbg0).
T
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qrnasay IDDIS Jb sPoLlPW aqJ

I
 274 TheMethodsofsocialResearch
posive one. What it represents and what it
fails to represent should be considered.
Developing Meons to Quontify Evidence
Some historical studies include data that may
be quantified such as marriage records. When
this is the case, the presentation ofthe quan-
tifiable data is often made in tables. Usually
the forms of quantitative analysis need to be
quite simple in historical studies because the
data often include many missing elements and
the determination of what population the data
represent is usually very difficult to make.
Flistoricol Writing
The quality of writing in historical work is of
groat importance. Ideas and materials must be
synthesized into a historical narrative that is
rich in content and clear in meaning. This is
not t0 say that writing style is irrelevant in
other forms of social research. But surveys
and experiments, for example, have a kind of
formal structure that must be followed, which
helps to organize the form of written presen-
tation. In historical work, the structure ofthe
study is usually set out less precisely; rather,
the work builds and develops out of varied
types of sources.
lssues of Volidity ond Reliobility in
Historicol Studies 2 methods. Remember that looking at historical
There can be serious challenges to the validity
of documents. Recall a few years past that a
supposed diary ofHitler turned up; it was ex-
amined by historians and deemed to be au-
thentic (in short, it had face validity), but later
it was determined to be a hoax. Historians
must be attentive to the authenticity of docu-
ments and written records which they use.
Not only may documents and written records
be false, but they may also be highly biased.
PART THREF
Historical research must consider historical
materials in a broad enough context so that a
fair re-creation can be made.
Historians often study subjects that have
previously been studied by others. However,
a complete replication is virtually impossibie
to do. Because historical research involves so
much choice along the way as to what to look
at and what to ignore, and because there is so
strong a need to synthesize the material and
put i1 into a framework, one historian cannot
replicate another historian's research design.
Flowever, it is very common for subjects of
historical interest to be studied over and over
again. In each case, the later reseatchers are
expected to be fully convsrsant with the work
of the earlier historian. Thus, while reliability
cannot be tested as in an experiment, histori-
cal research (both the selection and interpre-
tation of historical materiai) should be done
and documented with great care so that an-
other historian could build another study
upon it.
DECIDING IF HISTORICAL
RESEARCH IS APPROPRIATE FOR
YOUR TOPIC
Ifyou are studying a topic from the past or if
you are beginning in a much earlier era and
tracing the course of events or developments
over time, you will need to use historical
material is not the same as looking at current
material. You need a strong foundalion of
knowledge about the period in which the ma-
terial was written in order to understand the
material itself. Ifyou are planning to look at
records from the nineteenth century, you
should first read broadly about the subject you
are studying in that century. What this means
is that a great deal of concern must be cen-
tered in getting yourselfgrounded in the field
CHAPTFR IO
you are studying. you must also make sure
that you can get the materials you need. His_
torians often have to travel where the actual
written materials are available (a library or an
archive). Social researchers surely should not
avoid historical research. If the subject you
want to study is from the past, you will need
to becorne a historian.
THE ANALYSIS OF EXISTING
STATISTICS
The analysis of existing statistics is similar to
secondary analyses in that the data are already
collected, but rather than providing the sec_
ond researcher raw data to be analyzed, the re_
searcher using existing statislics has '.crealed..
data. This is both an advantage and a disad_
vantage. Existing statistics generally report on
Iarge aggregate datasets which might be very
time-consuming and difficult for a researcher
to prepare on his or her own. Such statistics
are often drawn from the census or other very
large-scale data-gathering operations. As such,
the use ofthese statistics offer high-quality ev-
idence to a researcher. However, ,in.. ih.r.
statistics are already analyzed, it is often not
possible for the second researcher to alter
them to suit the new study. Instead, they must
oflen be used as they appear.
One widely used type of study on the anal_
ysis of existing statistics is the social indica-
tors study. This will be discussed in the next
chapter on evaluation research. Here I would
like to give you a few examples ofhow aggre_
gated data have been used by others
and zug_
gest how you might use them as the
basis of-a
study or as supporting data in a study.
The wealth of data regularly collected by
.
the government and by other bodies and pub_
iished in the form of statistics allows fir a Labor for the period 1946-1979 and from the
great range ofpotential analyses. This form of
analysis is used mainly to compare rates of
Methods of Analyzing Avaitabte Data 275
major social factors between large conglom_
erates, such as nations (for example, rates
dealing with health, crime, prosperity), or to
compare changes over time using the same in_
dicators as a form oftrend analvsis. Govern_
ment planning and decision ,ullng may de_
pend on these forms of analysis, und uuiiou,
branches of the U.S. government prepare
these forms of statistics regularly.
A Reseorch Froiect Bosed on Existing
Stofistics
Cantor and Land (1985) wanted to under_
stand the relationship between unemploy_
ment and crime. They began their work bv
using existing statistics on the level of unenl_
ployment in the United States, and they re_
lated these to the levei of crime. The hyporh-
esis that these two factors should be ielatccl
has. been widely and over a very long
period of-claimed
time (19B5, p.3ll). However, thJ
authors contend that because of the types ol
quantitative analyses used and the failure to
control for certain confounding measures
(such as changes in the age structure ovcr
time), little of the past research can validlv bc
used to support orrefute this relationship. For
example, since both crime and unemploy_
ment rates are higher for young people, both
tend to rise as the proportion ofyoung people
in the population increases. It is therefore rm_
ponant to conlrol for this increase.
In a quite sophisticated analysis (which is
characteristic ofmany studies based on exist-
ing statistics appearing in thejournals) Cantor
and Land show that the unemployment rate
affected the rates of five of the seven crimes
they studied. They used existing statistics on
unemployment from the U.S. Department of
Executive Offce of the president for the years
1 980-1 982 (U.S. Depanment
of t abor, 19g0).
T

The crime statistics were drawn from U.S. De-
partment of Justice's Uniform Crime Report'
ing Handbook prepared by the FBI (1980),
and from studies of criminal victimization in
the United Stales (U.S. Department of Jus-
tice, 1981), as well as from the Office of Man-
agement and Budget's 1 973 publication Social
trndicators.
In some ofthe analyses, Cantor and Land
found that unemployment was associated
with increases in certain crimes, and in other
analyses with decreases. They stress that this
is not surprising given that unemployment
may affect crime on the one hand by weaken-
ing opportunities for crime (unemployed peo-
ple are more likely to be at home in a more
guarded environment which is also iess acces-
sible to many settings and activities where
crime may be initiated) and on the other hand
by strengthening the motivations for crime
(particularly property crimes) (1985, pp. 320-
321).
Analyses such as Cantor and Land's are
built on highly complex analytic models.
However, existing statistics may be incorpo-
rated into a wide range of studies as corrobo-
rating evidence. In this way, they can be quite
easily used by anyone carrying out social re-
search. Below I describe my use of a number
of existing statistics for a paper I once
prepared.
Using Existing Stotistics
As a researcher, you may want to incorporate
aggregate data into your studies or to use sets
of aggregate data as the basis of a new analy-
sis. Let me give you an example of how I used
curent data on the status of American
women. In the summer of 1983, I was prepar-
ing to attend the Australian/New Zealand So-
ciological Meetings in Melbourne. I had of-
fered to give a paper on my current research,
but the organizer said he prefened that I give
a more general talk on the status of American
women after the defeat of the Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA). Such a paper would, like
most papers, need a theoretical argument and
some evidence. In terms of data, I needed to
show how the conditions of American women
had changed from be{bre 1973 (when ERA
was first passed by Congress) until 1982 when
the time to gain the necessary two-thirds-sup-
port ol the states for ratification had run out.
Since the Equal Rights Amendment broadly
addressed the social role of women, I needed
aggregale statistical evidence on how the role
of women had changed in the United States
during that precise period of time.
Such data are widely available. The U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reguiarly publishes
aggregate data describing the work status of
women. These data are presented in relation
to other factors such as marital status, pres-
ence of children, educational attainment, age,
race, etc. Many of the tables compare the
labor force participation rates, unemployment
rates, income, or other work measures across
a period ofyears so thal changes over time can
be seen. The bureau publishes monthly re-
ports. compiles special reports (such as two I
acquired: Women at Work: A Chartbook, pub-
iished in April 1983, and Educational Attain'
ment of Workers, March 1981), and contrib-
utes data to various other statistical abstracts
so that their materials are readily available in
most libraries. Because I wanted the most re-
cent data possible, I went directly to the office
of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Chicago
(where I happen to be iocated). Most of the
existing statistics data I used came from this
bureau.
I
The remaining statistical data needed,
such as marital status, childbearing, and head-
of-household information, came largely from
Current Population Reportsfrom the U.S. Bu-
reau of the Census. Data on the estimated
number of iegal abortions were available in
the Statistical Abstract of the United States
and had been gathered by a private institute.
ICHAPTER l0
With these data I was able to write a section
in my paper entitled: "A Statistical Portrait of
American Women in the 1980s."
COMPONENTS OF AN ANALYSIS
OF EXISTING STATISTICS
Determining the Froblem
Many research problems require large sets of
aggregate data in order to be addressed. Any
question that concerns a national trend about
a social phenomenon requires such data. Has
there been an increase in drug addiction in the
United States? Are there more automobile ac-
cident fatalities in states where the drinking
age is lower? Has cycling become a more pop-
ular sport among adults? Questions such as
these may be of interest to various bodies.
Data on drug addiction might interest social
welfare workers, law enforcement agencies,
and health planners. Politicians and policy-
makers are concerned with the drinking-driv-
ing relationship as are the liquor and auto-
mobile industries. Cycling trends are of
interest to bicycle manufacturers, to sporting
goods stores, and to peopie and organizations
who offer services or support physical fitness.
Note that existing statistics from aggregate
data may be used to evaluate changes that
have occurred (they may be the basis of an
evaluation research project as we shall refer to
it in the next chapter); bu1 they may also
merely monitor change or stability.
If you have a problem which might be ad-
dressed by an aggregate data source, you must
carefully consider the types of statistical evi-
dence that could speak to it. Remember how
I used data on changes in employment rates,
on employment rates in relation to marriage
and childbearing, and on fertility rates and in-
come data to show that women's employment
patterns had altered radically over the past 20
years. You might be able to slrengthen your
analysis by incorporating already availabie
statistics into your study.
MethodsofAnalyzingAtaitableData2TT
Treoting the Doto
Since aggregate data are established against a
defined base, it is often impossible to disag"
gregate them. For example, if you find thc
rates of home ownership over the past 50
years: you cannot arbitrarily break these datu
down between the sexes, ifthis has no1 alrcady
been done. What you can often do is compartr
information from datasets based on smallcr
aggregates, say states or cities. This would
allow you, for example, to conpare such iac-
tors a$ unemployment rates or rates of honte
ownership for the 10 largest American cilir:s.
Rernember that there may be many types ol'
measures that could represent the same social
indicator. Try to select the one that is the bcst
measure of the concept you are trying to cx-
plore. Don'tjust take the first thing you finrl!
One of the primary probiems that may
occur in analyzing existing statistics is to
imply that these findings based on aggregar(!
dala can be applied to individuals or
subgroups within the dataset. Suppose you arc
using statistics on teenage pregnancies in thc
United States and you note that there ar.t:
higher rates in the northeast states than in ther
west. Suppose you also note that there arc
higher proportions ofnon-whites in the north-
east states. From this you might want to draw
the conclusion that leenage pregnancies ar.c
higher in one section of the country becaust:
pregnant teenagers are more iikely to be non-
white. However, you could be committing an
ecological fallacy by drawing conclusions
based on group data to individuals. It could hc:
that the white teenagers in the northeast havt:
higher rates than those in the west, while thc
rate for non-white leenagers shows no diffcr-
ence between the areas or is lower. Recall thr:
discussion of the ecological fallacy in Chaptcr
4 when units of analysis were discussed. In
any study of existing statistics, the units of
anal.vsis are an aggregate group. It is very im-
portant to.,have a clear sense of what thal
I
 278 TheMethodsofSocial Research
group is and to make implications from the
statistical data only to the group itself.
Referencing Doto
The sources of these data must always be ref-
erenced and understood. Careful notation of
the dates ofthe data presented, the population
base, and the exact type of measurement of
the indicator must be clearly recognized. Be
sure to take down exactly where a data source
came from. You may want to photocopy the
table so that you have the source. Oflen you
need to return to the data or to find some sup-
porting evidence. By looking widely and then
photocopying the tables you desire, you will
be able to select the best presentations for
your study.
lssues of Volidity ond Reliobility
One could argue that a good reason for using
available statistics is that many of the validity
and reliability issues have been handled very
well. The measurement of indicators in exist-
ing statistics are usually based on widely used
and accepted means for such measurement.
For example, crime rates or unemployment
rates are measures that have been deveioped,
critiqued, and redeveioped over many years.
There is a greal deal ofconsensus on the way
to measure such variables. However, there is
stili a high degree oferror in such statistics be-
cause of the way in which the measurements
are carried out, their degree of completeness.
trn crime statistics, for instance, there are
problems stemming from unreported crime
and differential arrests of persons of different
social class origins. These problems can un-
dermine the reliability of the data. It is im-
portant for the researcher to be aware ofsuch
problems: The researcher must not uncriti-
cally accept the weight of statistical evidence
as fact.
To increase validity in using existing sta-
tistics, researchers should try to find more
PART THREE
than one measure ofa frnding. Replicating ev-
idence is a good way to increase confidence
that the finding is real. It is also important
that the researcher find evidence that actually
tests her or his theoretical notions. This re-
quires, of course, that there be a logical rela-
tionship between the statistics that are used
and the hypothesis posed (or research ques-
tion asked). Remember that studies which use
existing statistics that were compiled and pre-
sented in order to offer an aggregate picture
must be selected and handled carefully when
they are being related to another purpose. You
must examine the original purpose for which
the data were collected to be certain that you
are not distorting or faisifying them.
DECIDING IF THE ANALYSIS OF
EXISTING STATISTICS IS
APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR TOPIC
Since it
is generally a very economical way to
carry out research, the use ofexisting statistics
should be given serious consideration. Be-
cause census data and other large-scale data
cannot be developed by individual research-
ers, these sources offer valuable assets to all
those who are trying to study society. in short,
using existing statistics has many advantages.
The hard work of data collection and prepa-
ration of statistical analyses has already been
done for you. What you need to determine is
whether the evidence you need has been pre-
pared, where it is available, and how it can be
presented in your study. Relating such statis-
tics to your research problem may not be easy.
You need to use the statistics appropriately,
you must be sensitive to the errors they might
contain, and you must discuss them in terms
of the units of analysis which they represent.
As I have suggested for beginning research-
ers, existing statistics may best be used for
supplementary data in a study. They can serve
as an excellent reference for a researcher want-
ing to gain an overall sense ofa field of evi-
dence. In some areas of social research, such
as criminology, existing statistics are central.
It is probably a good idea,
once you have de_
fined a problem, to consider careiully whether
there are existing statistics that might be used
to- study or to supplement your research
efforts.
PROBLEMS TO CONFRONT IN
ANALYZING AVAILABLE DATA
In this chapter, five different methods of so_
cial research have been presented.
These
methods not only share the use of already col-
lected data, but they also require certain
com_
mon efforts on the part of the researcher re_
gardless of the method. In the first place,
the
researcher must consider why the data
were
collected. This issue was raised most directly
in historical research where the data n;v
seem the most obscure. However, it is
neces_
sary whenever already collected data are
ex_
amined that the researcher clearly address
the
question ofwhy they were collected
in the first
place: What was the motivation of
the per_
son(s) who collected the data?
This is true because all forms of analyzing
available data demand a carefui consideratioi
of the assumptions underlying the data them_
selves. Without a consideration of this kind,
it
will be impossible for you ro use the dara ef_
lectrvely or to know the limits beyond which
they cannot be used. In the case ofcurrent
sur_
vey data, you should ask yourself what to
make of all the questions. you must not just
accept the data as given and valuable because
they are available. you must look at them
with fresh eyes and try to see them as they
are
in their strengths and their flaws. For.ont.ni
analyses, this task ofconsidering the underly_
ing assumptions must be done bJfore selecting
the conlent to be analyzed. Once the .onr.ni
rs selected. these latent concerns give way to a
study of the more manifest meining of
the
content. In historical research, the examina_
tion of the underlying assumptions is often
the essence ofthe historical effort. Finally,
in
the analysis ofexisting statistics, you need
to
consider whether the assumptions of those
who built the indicators and sit out the
statis-
tical findings seem justified.
RFVIEW NOTES
. Secondary analyses involve carrying
out ad_
ditional analyses beyond tfrose rnaje Uy itre
original researcher on already collected
data.
In sociological journals,
secondary anutyr.,
are one of the most common foims oi
re_
search published.
. In selecting a dataset for a secondary analy_
sis. you should consider the qualiry of
rhc
data-gathering organization, the purpose
of
the original researchers, and wlether the
primary indicators you need are measured
in these data.
.
Content anaiysis is a research technique
used to describe in an objective, systemaiic,
and quantified manner the conteni ofa body
of communication.
. Ways to describe the content of communi_
cation materials include determining (1) fre_
quencies, (2) amount of specific
iypes of
content, (3) presence or absence ofa quality,
(4) typologies and sorting by types, (S)
o.i_
gins or sources, and (6) A.g.i. oiint*rity.
. Content analyses generally require develop_
ing a complex means of jorting and codiig
data in a careful and systematic manner.
. Unobtrusive measures refer to studies
of
physical traces, archives, and observations
without participation.
.
The study ofphysical traces includes exam-
ining the unintentional erosion of products
(wear and tear) and the accretion (laying
down or building up) of objects of humari
origin (such as garbage or graffiti).
. The primary ajm of unobtrusive measures
in a study is to serve as a supplementary
source ofdata.
. Unobtrusive measures avoid errors gener-
ated both by the subjects being studie-d and
I
 $lq:
280 TheittethodsofsocialResearch pART THREE
by the researcher interacting with the Consider the following social issues that
subjects. arose in the 1980s:
. The historical method involves critically ex- a. The role of the American press in the
amining and analyzing records and otirer "Iran-scam" (sale of arms to Iran; di-
surviving materials from the past. version of funds to Nicaragua)
. History may take for its subject broad, controversy
macro-level historical topics, or it may focus b. Whether hard rock music has had an
on a specific event or person with a micro- influence on sexual behavior and the
level historical approach. use of illegal drugs among youth
. The analysis ofexisting statistics is a way to c. The reemergence ofracial tensions and
study the relationship of different trends in incidents of violence in large northern
American society, in other societies, or in cities
aggtegate bodies within a society. Either design a study using one of the
analyses of available data methods for one
of these issues, or select an appropriate
KEY TERMS
method from the five discussed in this
accretion measures chapter for each ofthe three issues and de-
aggregate data fend your choice of method in each case.
archival research
chronology
content analysis RECOMMENDED READINGS
contextuality 1. Gottschalk, Louis: Understanding Ilistory: A
disaggregate Primer of Historical Metltod, Knopfl, New York,
erosion measures 1950. This is an old but very careful and consid-
existing statistics ered discussion of the methods of historical
extant data research.
2. Hakim, Catherine: Secondary Analysis in Social
historiography
Research: A Guide to Data Sources and Methods
history-as-actuality
with Examples, Allen & Unwin, London, 1982.
history-as-record
A thoughtful introduction to, and appraisal of,
macro-historical secondary analyses. with exlensive suggestions
manifest content
of data sources.
micro-historical 3. Ikippendorfi Klaus: Conlent Analvsis: An In-
oral history troduction to lts Methodolog.t', Sage, Beverly
physical traces Hills, Calif., i980. Written by a professor of
primary sources communications, this volume covers the con-
secondary analysis ceptualization and design ofcontent analyses, as
secondary sources well as analytic techniques (unitizing, sampling,
recording, developing constructs) and issues of
unobtrusive measures
reliability and validity.
verisimilitude
4. Webb, Eugene J., Donald T. Campbell, Richard
D. Schartz, and Lee Sechrest: Unobtrusive Mea-
STUDY EXERCISES sures: Nonreactive Research in the Social Sci-
ences, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1966. This is the
1. Give a one-sentence description ofeach of
central work in the study of unobtrusive mea-
the five different methods of analyzing surement. It includes many fertile suggestions
available data given in this chapter. for measures.
f.valuation Research
INTRODUCTION
-Euatuation research is not really a differenr
method ofdoing research: rather, it is research done for a specrfic purpose. Thepurpose
is to evaluate some social activity, usually a social program, wtrlctr tras been
sit up to
address and ameliorate a social problem. The methods used in evaluation
research can
be any of those described in the earlier chapters, though some form of experimental
design is the most common.
The growth ofthis type ofresearch in the 1970s paralleled the increase in
social in-
tervention programs which occurred in the 1960s. These progmms set out to
alter some
negative social occurrence (a disadvantageous social factor) by intervening
in the pro-
cess that seemed to lead from the cause ofthe social disadvantige to
its occurrence. The
social program was often meant to strengthen the abilities of ihe subjects not only
to
withstand their disadvantage but also to give them a means of overcoming
the diiad-
vantage and an opportunity to succeed. Since social programs were costly
and often
supported by public funds, there was pressure 1o be sure they were effective. This was
the impetus behind the growth of evaluation research. As this form of research devel-
oped, it began also to be used to anticipate the effects of social intervention programs
before they started Qtreprogram evaluation) and to evaluate their progress while in
op-
eration (on'going program evaluatiole). It aiso came to be used to siuai tire effects of the
impiementation of new laws and other social policies.
The income-maintenance experiment described in chapter I is a good example
of a
preprogram evaluation research project of the most typical kind-an
evaluation using
an experimental design to compare a group exposed to a social intervention progru,i
with a group not so exposed (or exposed to a variant of the program). Howevei, eiper_
imental design studies of this type are only one form of evaluation. The survey of puitic
and private schools analyzed try Coleman and his colleagues (described in Chapter 1)
281
T
 l|:,

282 TheMethodsofSociaL Research PART THREE CHAPIER ]]

was in its way an evaluation study: It tried to evaluate the effectiveness of the public plained in Chapter 8). Furthermore, the focus
ing programs in the southeast of the United
and private schools. tsoth these studies had important effects on social policy. You was on the long-term effects of Head Start, States. (Later analyses ofthese data, however,
might want to look back at those two studies as you read this chapter. since children who had already experienced challenged these interpretationsl)
In order to expand your understanding ofevaiuation research, we will first consider the program and were now in first, second, or
four brief examples of different types of evaluation projects. Then the components of third grade were to be studied. This meant
that pretesting was not possible; rather the ex- A Cost-Eenefit Anolysis:
an evaluation research project will be iaid out, and the essential aspects ofan evaluation
periment would have an after-only, or ex posl Mentql Heolth Care
research design will be discussed. The anaiysis of social indicators based on aggregale
.facto, design. The influence of economics has been widely
data will then be described. Finally, the chapler will offer ways for you to decide whether Simply described, the researchers selected
this type ofresearch could help you achieve your research objectives. felt in evaluation research. As the support foi
geographical regions in which Head Start pro_
funding expensive social programs camc
grams had been set up. They then defined two
under greater pressure in the 1 970s and I 9g0s,
subpopulations ofchildren: those who had at-
cost-benefit analyses became a much more
tended a Head Start program and those with popular design for social program evalualion.
similar characteristics who had not. From Very simply, a cost-benefit analysis seeks 1o
FOUR EXAMPLES OF EVATUATION study developed by the Westinghouse Learn- these subpopulations, a sample of attenders assess whether the benefit ofa program or so_
PROJECTS ing Corporation at Ohio University. The final was selected (serving as the experimental cial strategy is worth the cost. There can be se_
report of this evaluation, The Impact of Head group), and a sample of nonattenders was
In order to expose you to the range oftypes of rious problems with measuring costs and ben-
,Slart, which appeared in 1969, conciuded that drawn from those children who matched the
research which fall under the ireading ofeval- efits which may not rnake this approach viablc
I{ead Start had produced only a marginally experimental subjects best regarding a num- for many types of studies. Naturallv. it is mosr
uation research, four different types ofevalu-
positive effect on the long-range cognitive abil- ber of specific variables (race, sex, socioeco-
ation research projects will be described leasible to carry out such a studi when thc
ities (reading readiness, I.Q.) of the children nomic status) and whether the chiid had sub- costs of the implementation of what is being
below. These four types exempli$, commonly
who had attended full-year Head Start pro- sequently attended kindergarten. studied can be measured in terms of dollars
used forms of evaluations: an ex post facto
grams, and virtually no effect on those who Once the samples were selected,data were (such measurement is often, but not always,
(after-only) experimental design, in this case
had attended only summer programs. The re- collected from a number of sources,'inituding the case). It is also useful ifthe benefits can be
applied to the study ofa federally funded pre-
searchers aiso concluded that the long-term ef- interview material from parents, grade-school measured in terms of dollars as well. Wherc
school program; a cost-benfif analysis, here
fects of the program on afective lutcomes teachers' observations of tn. .niii', U.fru"lo.. this is difficu1t, proxy measures must be de-
appiied to mental health treatment covered by
(such as improved self-esteem or schooi be- and various rests ofthe child's cognirive abil_
.Vedicaid in a single state: a communift im- veloped to operationalize the benefits.
havior) were virtually nonexistenl. ities and affective qualities. Since Head Start A
pact evalvatlon, addressed to the potential ef- cost-benefit analysis of mental health
How had the evaluators reached these con- children from across the United States were care seryices provided to the poor in Massa-
fects of busing in a particular city; a tinte-se-
clusions? Since they had been selected as the studied, this project was large and demanding. chusetts under Medicaid used a comparative
ries analysis using aggregate existing crime
researchers to study a program which had There were efforts to systematize the data col_ model according to which Medicaid recipients
data to analyze the effects ofthe federal Gun
been in existence for 4 years,'it was not pos- lection procedures by careful training of the were compared to non-Medicaid recipients
Control Act of 1968.
sible for them to assign the children by means data collectors. who also sought mental health services (Dav-
of randomization to participate in the pro- The analyses of the data were complex and enport and Nuttail, 1979). The Massachusetts
gram (the experimentals) or not to participate varied. The basic objective of these analyses Department of Public Welfare was trying 10
An On-Going Frognom Evoluotion: (the controls). Instead, they were obliged to was to try to determine whether the experi_
F{eod Sfoa'i determine which of its varied services was
evaluate the effects of the program on those mentals (those who had attended Head Start) rnost cost-effective-that is to say, which of
The Head Start program was a federal pro- who had already compieted their participa- performed better than the controls (those who
the services produced the greatest positive ef-
gram initiated in 1965 to offer preschool edu- tion and to compare these effects with the per- had not attended Head Start) on cognitive and fect for the least cost. First the researchers
cetion to disadvantaged children, in order to formance of a group of children who might affective factors. As stated above, ihe evalua_ needed to determine the range of services of-
heip them perform more effectiveiy in school. have participated (in that they shared similar tors found modest gains for the experimentals fered, the costs of the various trsatments. and
Nurnerous evaluations of tilis plogram were charactenistics with those who had partici- on cognitive factors for those who had at_ their benefits. The range ofservices was geat,
carried out, but the one that had the greatest pated) but who in fact had not done so. (This tended fuli-year programs. These gains were though there were some controls on their vari-
effect on social policy-making was the large would be a nonequivalenl control group, as ex- greater for black children and for those attend_
ation by policies governing different forms of

I

2B4 TheMethodsofsocialllesearch
care. For example, the researchers determined
the cost oltherapy sessions with various types
ofmental health personnel in both clinical set-
tings where a range of mental health care
professionals ofer therapy and in nonclinical
setlings where only physicians can offer ther-
apy (Davenpofi and Nuttall, 1979,p. 177).
This first aspect of the evatruation study
was simply to describe the range in costs of
the various services available and to relate
them to the services offered (the benefits).
These benefits were measured in terms of
length oftreatment, type ofdiagnoses, and use
of medication. Note that the first of these,
length of treatment, could easily be translated
into dollars, while the other two couid not.
The second aspect of the evaiuation ex-
amined the impact that changes in state poli-
cies had had on the delivery and cost of ser-
vices. For example, psychiatrists fees had
been cut from $25 to $17 per hour (in 1976).
Within 6 months, this led to a drop in reim-
bursements (amount paid to doctor) but an
increase in claims (more patients were seen).
After a year the reimbursements increased
and the nurnber of claims decreased. In an-
other 6 months the first pattern reappeared.
This suggested that the cut in psychiatrists'
fees did not bring about the desired drop in
the program's costs. Rather, the cut in fee
brought about different types ofeffects (more
patients were seen in ciinics where the fees
were higher; there were some cases of fraud
where psychiatrists used less trained person-
nel for the therapy sessions but billed the state
for the psychiatrist-level fees) (1979, p. 179).
This second aspect of the evaluation design
required an analysis ofexisting records as part
ofthe design.
A Communiry lmpoct Assessmenf:
A School Busing Pnogrom
The cost-benefit model for evaluation re-
search assumes that containing costs while
1
PART THREE
trying to maximize benefits is in everyone's
interest. This would suggest that individuals
consider each situation from a utilitarian
point ofview and decide where their benefits
iie. Allen and Sears (1919,p.172) suggest that
socialization theory would offer a different
view of how people orient themselves to par-
ticular social situations. In this view, individ-
uals are affected by values and attitudes which
are adopled in childhood and are resilient to
change.
Controversial social policies, such as bus-
ing to achieve racial integraiion. require com-
munity support. One form of evaluation re-
search" c.ommunity impact assessment, canbe
used to try to determine what effect a new poi-
icy might have on a community. Impact as-
sessment studies are often based on surveys
where attitudes of those who might be affected
by a program are gathered and related to other
characteristics of the respondents.
For example, in a telephone survey ofthe
attitudes of a random sample of Los Angeles
residents, Allen and Sears (1979) found that
opposition to busing (1he dependent variable)
was much more strongly related to racial in-
tolerance and poiitical consen'atism than to
the respondent's specific self-interest. The re-
searchers thereby challenged the notion that
individuals respond to social policies on the
basis of rational considerations of what they
have to gain or lose (1979, P. 175).
A Time-Series Anolysis: The Effects of
Gun l-egislotion
Laws are forms of social policies which carry
punishments if they are infringed. The prob-
lem with some laws is that they are difficult to
enforce; in such cases, there is always the fear
that if they are widely abused and ignored,
contempt for the law will grow. In 1968, re-
sponding in particular to the assassination of
Robert Kennedy, Congress enacted the Gun
Control Act. lts object was to controi the use
of handguns by outiawing the importation of about B0 percent of the firearms used in as-
firearms except for sporting purposes, to re- saults are handguns.)
strict interstate traffic in firearrns and ammu- Figure 11-l shows that the proportion of
nition, and to forbid certain categories ofper- crimes (homicides and assaults) carried out
sons from using them. with handguns peaked shortly after the legis-
What Zimring (1976) set out to evaluate lalion was enacted and then leveled off
was whether, in fact, the Gun Control Act had (though ir continued to rise very slowly).
reduced the use of handguns in violent Zimring offers various suggestions of whv the
crimes. How could one measure the effects of Iaw was no1 more effecrive: One laclor was
the law itself? One wav to examine the impact that it actually led to the use of other types of
of the legislation would be to look at indica- weapons ("Saturday Night Specials,,), which
tors of what shouid have changed as a result came to replace some of the illegal types of
of the new iegislation. One example of an in- guns.
dicator Zimring used was the number of guns
imported into the United States. He was able
to show a sharp increase in the importation of
COMPONENTS OF AN
handguns into the United States from 1964 to
EVALUATION RESEARCH PROJECT
1968, followed after 1968 by a drop in hand-
gun imporls, remaining quite steady from Clorify the Purpose
1969 Io 1973. Since the new law is the inde- Evaluation research is usually canied out at
pendent variable in this study, measures of its the request of someone else (who also covers
short-term specific effects (reduction in gun
importation) validate the claim that the law
brought about some of its expected con-
FIGURE i I -I
sequences.
Hondgun homicides os o percenioge of lotol homicide. ond
To study the long-term effects of this leg- l, eorm ossorlts os o percelroge ol ,orol ossoutr {oy yeor in
islative initiative requires a focus on what a 5Z U.S. cities wirh populorion over 2SA,AOAI Zinring,
reduction in handguns might hopefully lead 1976, p.551).
to, namely, a reduction iu criminal acts re-
lated to the use of guns. Zimring could ex-
amine this by using the -vears before and after
the legislation as a measure of the presence of
the legislation. Then using a time-series anal-
1uls of aggregate data from the law enforce-
ment agencies, Zimring examined whether
there was a shift in the amount of crime re- c
lated to handguns after the legislation. In 9go
c
order to compare the short-term and iong-
term effects of this law, Zimring drew up
graphs, such as the one in Figure i 1 - 1, to show
the proportion of crime related to handguns
and how it altered afler the introduction ofthe
Gun Control Act. (trl should be noted that fire-
arm assaults include those related both to
handguns and to other types of guns, though 1966 1967 .1968 1S69 1910 1971 1972 1St3
I

2S6TheMethodsofsocialResearch
the cost). It is that someone who must define
the purpose ofthe research. However, the de-
cision makers who are requesting the study
may not have defined their purpose clearly.
Your firstjob as an evaluator is to help them
to do this. Only then can you begin your
study.
Carol Weiss (1972, p. 12) suggests a num-
ber of reasons why an evaluation may be
sought: in the first place it may be required in
order to fulflll a contract or grant commit-
ment. (Many publically funded programs
must include an evaluation componettl) Sec-
ondiy, the evaluation may be a kind of delay-
ing tactic or a way to shift reponsibility or get
favorable publicity for the program (Weiss,
1972, p. I 1). In other words, the peopie re-
questing the evaluation may be interested in
having it done, not to find out how effective
their program is, but rather to use the evaiu-
ation effort to alter the political situation in
the organization. These ulterior motives can
deeply affect a researcher's abiiity to clarifu
the purpose oflhe evaluation.
One good way to get at the purpose is to
consider for whom the study is being done.
Weiss suggests seven potential utilizers of the
results (1972, p. 18): (1) a funding organrza-
tion. (2) a national agency, (3) a iocal agency,
(4) the project directors, (5) the staff of the
project, (6) the program's clients, and (7) re-
searchers and other learned individuals who
may use the findings of this project to further
research in other studies. Note, for example,
that if the primary users are the stafl then the
inputs to the program (what is being offered)
may need to be closely considered; if the
clients are the primary users, then the outputs
of the program may be the primary focus of
the evaluation.
One commonly used means for diferen-
tiating types ofevaluations is that developed
first by Scriven (1967) to evaluate educationai
programs-that is, to differentiate between
.11
PART THRET
- foylytive eu.aluations, which set out to study
a progiam in process where the information
will be "plowed back" into the program to re-
form it as it is being administered, and sum-
mative evaluations, which summarize the ef-
fects of a program after it is completed. What
this distinction does is to focus the attention
of the evaluator on different aspects of the
program being evaluated, to set a tirning per-
spective on the evaluation, and to determine
how firm and conclusive the findings of the
evaluation can possibly be.
In a formative evaluation, the focus is on
the dynamic process of the program itself: It
is the study ofan on-going system ofsocial in-
teraction. The time dimension in a formative
evaiuation is the present. Final conclusions
cannot be drawn about the effectiveness ofthe
program; rather, the evaiuation must make
proposals directed toward improving the on-
going operation of the program (or possibly
aborting it). In a summative evaluation, the
focus is on the program as a completed entity.
The time frame is the past. Conclusions can
be drawn. Here the purpose ofthe conclusions
may be to advise others on the effectiveness of
this particular program, to suggest its weak-
nesses and problems as well as its strengths
and accomplishments.
Esfoblish lhe Dependent Voriqble
As in most types of social research, the eval-
uator needs to hone in on what precisely he or
she will be looking for. What should the pro-
gram have accomplished? What were its ends,
its goals? In the Head Start evaiuation, the de-
pendent variables were cognitive abilities and
afective qualities. The expected variation was
that those who had attended Head Start
wouid have made greater gains in cognitive
(intellectual) and affective (emolional) readi-
ness than those who had not. In the mental
health care study, the dependent variable was
based on the services offered (these were mea-
sured in terms of number of visits, types of di-
agnoses, etc.). In the community impact
study, the dependent variable was opposition
to busing (or its converse, support for busing).
In the gun legislation evaluation, there were a
number of dependent variables-namely, the
number of crimes comrnitted with handguns,
the number of handguns imported, etc.
Weiss warns that the choice of the evalua-
tion goals, the dependent vanable(s) in the
study, should be considered in the iight of
their practicality, to whom they are impor-
tant, and whether they are short-term or long-
term goals (1972,pp.30-31). Selecting an im-
practical dependent variable may make the
results ofthe evaiuation oflittle use. Consid-
ering who will use the findings and, among
those who will use it, who the most important
users are likely to be are ways of addressing
the political implications of evaluation re-
search. If the program directors need infor-
mation on what to do at the present time, then
short-term goals are critical. All these consid-
erations require that the researcher needs to
work out the final goals, the dependent vari-
ables, with those who will be using the evaiu-
ation (Weiss, 1972, p. 31).
These dependent variables will generally
be the outputs of the program (and in an im-
pact assessment study, they would be the
likely impact of a supposed new policy). Al-
though they are rarely easy to define, lhey may
be even more difficult to operationalize. Note
that in the mental health study, what would
seem to be the true output is improving the
mentai health of the patients. Since this is so
dificult to ascertain, the output indicators be-
come measures of the services themselves
(which supposedly are indicators of improved
mental health). In Coleman's public-private
schooi study, the dependent variables were
cognitive test scores, which are used as indi-
cators ofeducational achievement. In the bus-
ing impact study, the dependent variable was
based on a five-item scale of opposition to
busing.
If the dependent variable is unreliable or
i1s vaiidity is doubtful, this may throw the
whole evaluation into doubt. Foithis reason.
it is of cntical importance to be careful in con_
, ceptuaiizing the dependent variable and de_
veloping a means of measuring it. Weiss
(1972, pp.34-39) offers some suggestions for
developing the outcome indicators (the de-
pendent variables in the evaluation). If the
outcomes are attitudes, it may be wise to con-
sider using already developed attitudinal
scales which have been tried out on other
studies. The track record of such measurcs
will include evidence on the range ofprobable
r€sponses, the iikelihood ofpersons to change
their responses easily (an issue of reliability),
and the question of whether the measures ire
actuaily relaled to other factors that would
seem probable (an issue ofvalidity). Another
way to strengthen the measurement of out_
comes is to develop multiple measures. As
Weiss states, "By the use of a number of mea-
sures, each contributing a different facet ofin-
formation, we can limit the effect of irrelevan-
cies and develop a more rounded and truer
picture of program outcomes,' (1972, p. 36).
When the true goals of what is being evaluated
will onl-v be realized in the future, it is difficult
to select indicators for measuring the out_
come. Weiss suggests that in such cases onlv
proximate nteasures can be developed (197i,
pp. 37-38). Such measures should represent
intermediate goals, outcomes which siem to
be propitious for the long-term goal.
Determine the lndependent Voriobles
Independent variables are the inputs to the
program being studied. In most evaluation
studies, what is being evaluated (the social in-
tervention program, for example) is itself the
I

2SBTheMethodsofSocial Research
independent variable. In experimental design
studies, where a program is being evaluated,
being "in the program" is the primary inde-
pendent variable (this wouid be true ofthe in-
come-maintenance experiments and the Flead
Start experirnent). It would also be true ofthe
Coleman survey where attending a public or
private school was the primary independent
variable. When membership in the program is
the primary independent variable, operation-
alization is easy. Even in studies where mem-
bership serves as the major independent var-
iable, other qualities and characteristics ofthe
program may also be included as input vari-
ables (for example, in the income-mainle-
nance experiment there was variation in the
amount of income received and the tax rate
applied).
In some evaluations, other types of inde-
pendent variabies are used. In the opposition-
to-busing evaiuation, the independent vari-
ables included measures ofthe self-inlerest of
Los Angeles residents as well as measures of
general attitudes toward racial toleration and
political consenatism (Alien and Sears, 1979,
p. 173). In the mental health evaluation, per-
sonal characteristics ofthe patients (age, sex,
race), their location of treatment (clinical or
nonclinical), and their ability to pay (Medi-
caid or private patients) were related to the
dependent variables of length of treatment, di-
agnosis, and types of therapy received (Dav-
enport and Nuttall, 1979,p.178). Box 1 1-1 of-
fers Weiss's suggestions for developing input
measures for an evaluation research design.
Sef up fhe Reseqrch Design
Once you have clarified your dependent and
independent variables, you are ready to lay
out the design of your study. In an experi-
ment, you need to determine what type of
control group will be necessary (and what type
is feasible). Should it be a group which is not
exposed to the program, a group exposed to a
:,ffii:
'j
PART THREE
BOX I I.I
SUGGESTED INPTJT MEASURES IOR AN
EVALUATION PROJECT
Among possible input meosures of tlre progrom
to be evoluoted, Weiss incudes the following,
\1) purpr:se of the progrom; l2l principles ol the
progrom; l3l methods used in the progrom; (4)
stofling o{ the progrom; (5) persons served by
the progrom; \6) length o{ service provided by
the progrom; 17) locotion of the progrom; (B)
size ol the progrom; (91 under whose ousplces
the progrom is being offered; ond110) nonoge-
ment ol the progrom 11972, p. 46ll.
Weiss goes on lo suggest fhot if persons ore
being pui through the progrom, ond the effect
of the progrom on ihe persons is of primory in-
lerest, then chorocleristics of the cllents them-
selves con be considered os input voriobles.
She proposes the following I I foctors to be
meosured regording the persons being served
by the progrom, {l) oge, {2) sex, (3} socioeco-
nomic stotus, (4) roce, (5) length of residence in
the community, l6) ottitudes loword the pro-
gron, l7l motivotions for porticipoiing in the
progrom, 1B) ospirotions relevont to the generol
objectives of the progrom, (9) expeciotions of
whot they hope to ochieve os o resuli ol poriic-
ipoiing in the progrom, il0) oiliiudes of other
fomily members obout the progrom, ond (11)
degree of support {rom other fomiJy members
concerning the hopedJor outcomes of portici-
poting in the progrom (1972, pp.46-47.
Finolly, Weiss couiions thol the comprehen-
siveness o{ these lists should not encouroge you
to go out ond meosure everything. Anolyzing
doto is time-consuming ond demonding. l{ you
hove too mony vcriobles, you moy get sub-
merged in the detoils ond {lnd it difflcult to con-
centrote your evoluotion on whot is o{ centrol
significonce 11972, p. 471.
variant of the program? Do you need to be
worried about "Hawthorne effects"? (If so,
you may need two control groups, one ex-
posed 10 some type of program, but not the
I
one you are studying, the other not exposed to
any program.) Are there other characteristics
of the experimental or control groups that
need to be controlled?
If randomization in the assignment of sub_
jects to groups is feasible (which it often is
not), it should be done. The statistical test vou
will be likely to use to compare the experi-
mental group to the control group can only be
used appropriately if there has been random-
ization in assignment. For an experiment. you
need to consider whether a pretest is possibie.
Remember that the point of a pretest is to de_
termine some baseline from which the effects
ofthe program (the independent variable) can
be compared. In many experimental designs
for evaluation, a pretest cannot be carried out
prior to the experiment. In the income-main-
tenance expgriment, you may recall, there
were preexperiment measurements of the cul_
ture-of-poverty traits against which postexper-
iment measurements of these traits cor.rld be
compared.
Specify fhe Control Voriobles
If you are carrying out a survey. you will need
to consider variables both antecedent to the
independent variable and intervening be-
tween the independent and dependent vari-
ables which rnay affect the direct relationship
between the input and oulput variables.
Drawing a diagram of the potential relation-
ships belween all the variables is a good way
to try out ail the possible design strategies.
A part of the design will be to specif, all
other factors which you think may affect the
evaluation ofthe program or event to be stud-
ied. Can you measure these effectively? you
may want both to /esl whether these other fac-
tors make a difference to the outcome mea-
sures (does sex or race make a difference) and
to control for these other factors by excluding
them or making them equivalent between
comparison groups. In the evaluation ofa so-
cial program, you may need to consider situ-
ational factors which characterize the envi-
ronment but are not of primary concern in
your study. Might they affect the results? Can
they be controlled?
Ethicol lmplicofions ond politicol lnrpocr
Evaluations using experiments where some
people are exposed, and others not exposed, to
a social program may raise many questjons ol
fairness. Are the people who need the program
getting it? In many cases, assignment based on
randomization to experimental and conlrol
groups cannot be carried out for ethical rea-
sons. In this case (recall from Chapter 8) var-
ious types olquasi-experimental designs may
be used. Furthermore, the use of records, in_
terviewing techniques, or the treatment of
subjects in the study may all raise ethical con-
siderations which need to be planned. carefullv
in designing the evaluation
Most evaluations have some political im-
pact on those who will use the findings. If you
suggest that"some changes be made, some
will
come to a defense of the program and try to
have your study ignored. Converseiy, others
may take up your findings to fight their own
causes which may in cases be ones that vour
study would not advocate. Most people do not
like to be evaluated and so you must be pre-
parcd to face efforts to contain your research
in the beginning and to bury the findings once
the study is done. The better the evaluator un-
derstands the political situation of the pro-
gram or agency being evaluated, the better she
or he will be able to consider ways of carrying
out the evaluation.
The other common drawback with the use
of the findings is that they may not be used at
all. As Weiss aptly puts it, those who do the
evaluations are often academics who may lack
appreciation of the mundane considerations
that those being evaluated want to know. The
evaluator m,ay try to ferret out the most pro-
I

found and academically interesting findings
lrom the study and ignore many praciical as-
pects of the study which would be of greater
interest (and, possibly, of greater use) to the
program statr (1972, p. I I 1). The staff may
also need more specific conciusions and sug-
gestions than the evaluator feels confident to
make (Weiss, 1912, p. 111). But without the
specific recommendations, the evaluation re-
port may be ignored. The agency may have no
one able to fully understand the research flnd-
ings in the evaluation study (no one who has
had a good research methods coursel). For
this reason, the evaluator may need not only
to do the evaluation, but also to sel/ the results
1o those for whom it was done (Weiss, 1972,
p.113).
DESIGNING AN EVALUATION
RESEARCH PROJECT
The types of designs for evaluation research
can be loosely grouped as experimental de-
signs and nonexperimenlal designs. Which-
ever type your study follows, considerations
of the time frame of the study and the types of
subjects to be studied are important. The de-
sign must be considered in terms of its valid-
ity: Is the real effect going to be measured?
Experimenfol Designs
Chapter 8 offered a comprehensive overview
of the types and qualities of experimental de-
signs. Here we will discuss how to determine
whether what you are trying to evaluate can be
studied by an experimental design. Remem-
ber that for a true experiment you need ran'
domization of the subjects between experi-
mental and control groups. The income-
maintenance evaluation, described in Chapter
1, was ableto randomly assign subjects to the
experimental and control groups; the Head
Start evaluation carried out by the Westing-
house research organization was not. Two im-
portant factors made randomization possible
in the first case, though impossible in the sec-
ond. In the income-maintenance experiment,
the evaluation was preprogram. Therefore, the
experimental design was set up and built into
the intervention program itself. In the Head
Start evaluation, the study was retrospective;
the experimental subjects had experienced the
program 2 to 5 years before the evaluation
was made. In this case, a comparison group of
subjects 10 serve as controls had to be devel-
oped. This meant that the llead Start evalua-
tion was an ex post facto, or after-only, design
with a comparison group. (Strictly speaking,
then, the Head Start evaluation would not
qualify either as a quasi-experimental design,
in which data from before the program might
be used to study the program efects in a time-
series fashion, or as a nonequivalent control
group design, in which preprogram measures
were available.)
With a true experimental or a quasi-exper-
imental design, seiection ofsubjects and con-
trols before exposure to the program is
needed. Usuaiiy preprogram indicators are
needed (though sometimes they may be avail-
able to be measured afler the evaluation has
begun; for example, prior school grades or ear-
lier test scores might be availabie for that
purpose).
Nonexperimentol Designs
These include experimental design studies
which fail to meet the criteria for experiments
as well as other types of designs. Examples
wouid be surveys which assess the effects ofa
program or the potential impact ofa proposed
policy; the analysis ofavailabie data related to
the imposition of a new iaw or sociai practice;
a cost-benefit analysis of the relationship be-
tween the inputs and outcomes of a program.
In these cases, both the factor of tirue dimen-
sion and basis for comparison need to be fully
considered.
CHAPTER I]
The Time Dimension. Every evaluation
study has a primary focus in terms of time. trt
may focus on the past (such as the Head Start
project), the future (the busing impact study),
or the present (the Coleman survey, the men-
tal health cost-benefit study). Whatever the
primary focus, some concern about the rele-
vance of the past needs to be taken into ac-
count. In surveys, information about back-
ground characteristics is often needed,
frequently in terms of family origin (sociai
class, religion, number of parents present, em-
ployment status of parents, number of sib-
lings) or other demographic factors such as
sex and race, and size and location of home-
town (urban, suburban, rural). The validity of
retrospective measures must always be ques-
tioned. While nearly everyone can indicate
their hometown and other basic characteris-
tics of famiiy origin, many cannot fully recall
attitudes that may have been held in the past
or reactions to experiences undergone.
Projections about the future must also be
cautiously weighed. First, there must be a very
careful operationalization of variables to mea-
sare projections about the future. (For exam-
ple, in the literature on career aspirations
among youth, there is a clear distinction be-
lweenaspiratiors, which indicate hopes, from
expectations, which imply plans and more re-
alistic appraisals. In addition, there is varia-
tion in the degree af commitment-ameasure
of motivation-to future hopes and plans.)
Second. evaluarion projects which conclude
with recommendations must focus on the fu-
ture. But to project suggestions for the future
requires not only that you consider what the
likely fate ofthe program you are studying will
be, but also that you consider the social and
political context in which this program will
operate.
A Comparative Baseline.' Evaluation studies
need some form of comparative basis for de-
termining whether vrhat is being evaluated is
Evaluation Research 291
a success or a failure. Tiris is a major reason
why experimental designs are popular for
evaluations, since the control group offers a
solid comparative baseline in such designs.
(You must remember of course that onlv con_
troi groups in which members have been as-
signed to the group by randomization offer a
true experimental basis of comparison.)
Other types ol nonexperimental studies
tend to use comparative bases as well. The
comparisons are usually between the subjects'
experiences: examples from the evaluations
we have cited would be attending a public or
private school and being on Medicaid or not.
Comparisons may aiso be made in time. from
belore and after what is being evaluated: lhe
Gun Control Act study was of this kind. Most
time-series studies, in fact, use as their pri_
mary comparative base a before_and_after
comparison in measuring trends thought to be
affected by the input being studied.
Probably the weakest example of a com-
parative base was in the community impact
opposition-to-busing study: here comparisons
could only be made on the basis of certain
characteristics of the sample (such as having
or not having school-aged children, which
would presumably affect level of interest in
the issue). Other background characteristics of
subjects, such as age or educational attain_
ment, are also often used for comparative pur_
poses: For example, the busing evaluation
found that the age and education of the resi_
dents were related to their attitudes. These
factors were then used comparativeiy to assess
differences in the potential impact ofbusing.
Will Your Design Leod to rhe Reol Effect
Thqt Must tse Evoluoled?
Let's say that you have set out the compo_
nents of the study and put them into a re_
search design, paying appropriate attention to
the tirne frame of the study and the compari-
sons which yqu will be able to make. It is now
I

the moment to review your design and con-
sider seriously whether it will accomplish
what you need to do and evaiuate what you
need to evaluate.
A good way to review this question is to
think again about who precisely the persons or
organizations are, the effects upon whom you
are trying to measure. Weiss (1972, pp.39-42)
delineates four possible primary recipients of
the fficts of what you are trying to evaluate:
the persons to be served, the agencies or or-
ganizations offering the services, larger sys-
tems (such as public education, mental health,
etc.), and the general public. Let's consider the
evaluation studies we have described in terms
of who is primarily affected. The income-
maintenance experiment (from Chapter 1) fo-
cused its primary attention on those persons
receiving the cash transfers (the persons being
servedl. This evaluation was not primarily
centered on the social welfare system but on
how the recipients ofsocial welfare provisions
would be most effectively served. The mental
health study in Massachusetts had as the pri-
mary recipient, the mental health agencies in
that state-how effectively (in terms of cost)
services were provided, in which types of set-
tings, and with which types ofpersonnel.
The Coieman survey of public and private
schoois (from Chapter 1) was directed to the
larger system ofpublic and private education.
With a comprehensive survey of this type, any
of the first three types of receivers of effects
could be the primary recipients. But Coleman
and his colleagues addressed themselves to
the larger systems of public and private edu-
cation, which were studied in terms of aggre-
gate dala from pupils, teachers, and adminis-
trators ofthese different school systems.
Finally, the community impact assessment
study of opposition to busing and the Gun
Control Act evaluation were both examples of
trying to measure effects on the general public.
In the busing study, the public is any com-
munity which might be ordered to set up a
system ofbusing to achieve racial integration
of the schoois. The Gun Control Act evalua-
tion, as well, specified the public (that is, any-
one who might become the victim of a crime
committed with the use of a handgun) as the
primary recipient. Once you have decided
who or what is being primarily affected in
your study, you should go through every as-
pect of your research design to be sure that
what you are planning to do will produce the
type of evidence needed to measure how
strong the effect is.
SOCIAL INDICATORS
Definition ond Origins of Sociol lndicqtors
What are social indicators? Quite simply, they
are measures of aggregate social conditions
that are of interest to a society because they
ofer a way to evaluate the overall state of
that society. As explained by the federal
government,
A social indicator . .. may be defined to be
statistic of direct normative interest which fa-
cilitates concise, comprehensive and balanced
judgments about the condition ofmajor aspects
of a society (U.5. Deparnnent of Health, Edu-
cation and Welfare, 1969, p. 9D.
For example, the "average life expectancy at
birth" given in years is a social indicator of
the "hea1th" of a society.It is reported as a
mathcmalical average (a descriptive summary
statistic). Such statistics are generally pre-
sented comparatively across a number of
years so thal trends can be denoted.
Undoubtedly, the health of a nation is of
social concern, and average life expectancy is
an indicator of the state of this health. This
indicator is normative in that it suggests how
various rules and values ofthe society (as per-
taining to health care, hygiene, health educa-
tion, and public health issues) are affecting the
state ofhealth ofthe nation. The social indi-
T
I
CHAPTER I1
cator must be accurately measured and must
be a simple enough statistic, based on suffi-
ciently fair evidence, so that many people wiil
both understand and trust what it supposedly
represents.
In the i 960s, inlerest was generated in the
United States to have available a range ofeas-
ily understood social indicators that would
enable policymakers and others to be able to
make better decisions about social conditions
in America. The early conception of which so-
cial indicators to develop, as laid out by the
then U.S. Department of Health, Education
and Welfare, stressed lhe positive outpul qtal-
ities of the definition. For this conception, a
social indicator was "a direct measure of wel-
fare and is subject to the interpretation that if
it changes in the 'right' direction, while other
things remain equal, things have gotten better,
people better off' (Carley, 1981, p. 22). This
definition emphasized two factors: that the
lutputs of a social system were critical and
that they should be measured in terms ofpos-
itive accomplishments, the betterment of per-
a sons, and social welfare (Carley, 1981, p. 23).
Others challenged the normative, or posi-
tive, stress on the definition since what was
presently a positive social good might become
a negative social evil iater on (an example
here might be the rate ofpopulation increase).
Social indicators were closely allied to various
forms of policy analysis. If the health of poor
Americans was getting better, did this indicate
the success of the Medicaid program? In other
cases, an analysis of social indicators might
suggest areas in which new social policies were
needed to be formulated so that new social
programs and funding might ameiiorate the
social ills.
The Use of Sociol lndicotors
The analysis of social indicators is a form of
evaluation that encompasses all of society. It
is based on anall,zing aggregate data and pre-
Evaluation Research 293
senting tables, graphs, and discussions which
show social trends over time. The social in-
dicators are generally based on an aggregate
unit of analysis such as a city or a country.
The actual data are usually measured in terms
of that aggregate unit, though they may be
based on data from surveys of individuals
which are then aggregated. Objective social
indicators refer to measures of some actual
occurrences (completion of high school,
family income); subjective social indica-
lors refer to the attitudes and perceptions of
individuals to specific social conditions
(for example, job satisfaction or a sense ol
well-being). Sociai indicator analyses often
combine both objective and subjective
indicators.
Numerous books and articles have ap-
peared on social iridicators of various types.
The government often sponsors such studies,
which can be very helpful as data sources for
studies you might do that need aggregate data
as evidence. For example, the U.S. Civil
Rights Commission published Sociat Indica-
tors of Equality for Minorities and Women, in
1978, which included social indicators in a
number ofareas. As an indicator ofeducation,
they used three enrollment indicators: rate of
delayed education (being behind in school),
high school nonattendance rates, and educa-
tional attainment. As indicators for the con-
sequences of education, they used occupa-
tional overqualification, and earnings for
educational level. The volume contains tables
and graphs comparing the sexes and minority
gfoups.
Most studies using social indicators pres-
ent sets of tables and graphs. However, this is
not always the case. Box 11-2 describes how
John Naisbett used social indicators in writing
what became a very popular book, Mega-
trends (1982). Other typical presentations of
social indicators are for reporting on national
trends (what is called national reporting) and
in what is probably the main branch of so-
t

294 TheMethodsofSocialResearch
BOX I t-2
WHAT A,|fGATRENOS COVER
Noisbitl pinpoints l0 moior trends offecting
Americon socieiy which he hos drown from the
study of sociol indicotors (o term he does noi
use). They ore thot (l ) the United Stotes is mov"
ing from on economy bosed on indusiry to one
bosed on "creoling ond distributing informo-
tion"; \2) hioh technology is being introduced
side by side with o greoter stress on self-help
ond personol growth (whoi Noisbitt colls "high
rouch"); (3) ihe United Siotes is now port of o
world economy, rother thon being o self-suff-
cienl notionol economy; (4) plonning is being
bosed on longerterm considerotions; (5) inno-
votion in lhe governonce o{ cities ond orgoni-
zoiions hos o high priority; (6) greoter relionce
on individuols ond less dependence on institu-
tions is being stressed; (7) representotive de-
mocrocy is being offected by the moss medio
ond its obility to provlde instonloneous in{or-
moilon; (B) hierorchicol structures ore being re-
ploced with more inlormol networks (especiolly
in business); {9) populotion hos shifted 1o fhe sun
belt; ond ilO) o wider ond wider ronge of op-
tions ore being offered lo Americons in terms o{
consumer goods, ond ifestyle choices {Noisbilt,
1982, pp. 1-21.
cial indicators research, called quality-of'hfe
studies.
National Social Reporting. One of the uses
of social indicators is in providing a rich
source of information on a nation. In the
United States, the first effort to present social
indicators for the country was in 1973 with
Social Indicators, 1973 (Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, 1973), which contained nu-
merous tables and graphs on various aspects
of American social life. ln 1976, a second,
even larger, volume appeared, Social Indica'
tors, 1976 (U.S. Department of Commerce,
1977). The areas of social indicators in this
PART THREE
volume included these eleven topics: (1) pop-
ulation; (2) the famili/; (3) housing; (4) social
security and welfare; (5) health and nutrition;
(6) public safety; (7) education and training;
(B) work; (9) income, wealth, and expenditure;
(I 0) culture, ieisure, and use of time; and i )
( 1
social mobility and participation. The v0lume
mainly contained graphs and charts. The
sparse written analyses presented in this vo1-
ume were added to by other analysts using
these data as resources for secondary analyses.
These volumes provide a vast body of infor-
mation on American social conditions in the
I 970s.
Quality-of-f,ife (QOL) Studies. In the mid-
1 970s, numerous studies began to appear that
would report on the average quality of social
life in the United States and make projections
for future conditions. Terleckyj's (1975) vol-
'ume Improvements in the
Quality of Life: Es'
timales of Possibilities in the United States,
1974-1983 was typical. The objective was first
to select a series ofareas ofsociai concern and
then to determine one or more indicators that
would represent a measure of this concern (in
short, to find one or more social indicators).
Finally, the social indicators for 1973 or 1974
would be used to make projections for the
next 10 years.
Sabjective indicators of QOL. There were
also hopes of developing an overall indicator
of the quality of ltfe (QOL) as a whole. There
were attempts to develop such an indicator by
combining a number of objective social indi-
cators into a single measure. However, there
were serious measurement and conceptuali-
zation problems in trying to devise such over-
all QOL indicators. Many came to feel that
the quality oflife, as it was experienced by in-
dividuals, was based less on physical qualities
(such as the amount of crowding) than on sub-
jective qualities (such as a sense of well-
being).
T
l
CHAPTER I]
For example, Andrews and Withey (1976)
al the Inslirule for Social Research at the Uni-
versity of Michigan developed a number of
measures of global well-being as indicators of
the quality of life. A global measure is one that
seeks to uncover a very broad perspective, an
overview, a general orientation. They began
with the contention that
People's evaluations are lerribly important: to
those who would like to raise satisfaclions bv
trying to meet people's needs. to those who
would like to raise dissatisfactions and stimu_
late new challenges, to those who would sup_
press or reduce feelings and public expressions
ofdiscontent, and above all, to the individuals
themselves. It is their perceptions oltheir own
well-being, or lack olwell-being, that ultimatelv
deflne rhe qualiry olthcir Iives (/q76, p. tq.
The global measure of well-being that An-
drews and Withey found to be the best indi_
cator (after carrying out a number of analvses
ofdifferent types ofglobal measures) was the
question: "How do you feel about your life as
a whole?" 1o which the respondent was oflered
a seven-point scale: Deiighted, pieased,
Mostly Satisfied, Mixed (about equally satis-
fied and dissatisfied), Mostly Dissatisfied, Un-
happy, Terrible.
Quality of life in the l9\0s. A reporr of the
Panel on the Quality of American Life, ap-
pointed by a Presidenr's commission, stresses
that quality oflife should not only be defined
in subjective terms (U.S. President,s Commis-
sion for a National Agenda for the 19g0s,
1980). For example, itclaims that while peo_
ple differ on the types of places they might
want to live, they tend to agree on undesirable
qualities that they want to avoid (thus they
stress questions that 1ap what is undesirable)
(1980, p. 12). The avoidance ofundesirables
came to form what they called the ..first tier"
of their definition of quality of life-that is,
"freedom from hunger, poverty, sickness, il-
Evaluation Research 295
iiteracy, and undue fear about the impact of
the hazards oflife." The ..second tier" then in_
cluded measures of the .,opportunity for per_
sonal growth, fulfillment, and self_esteem"
(1980, p. 14). This panel also recommended
that a National Social Report on the quality
of American life be carried out regularly (j.
19). (Here you can see the link of quality_of_
life studies with national reporting discussed
earlier.)
There is also great interest in quality_of-lifc
studies in other countries and comparative
studies. For this purpose, there is an interna_
tional journal on social indicators (sociat In_
dicators Research,1974-) which is for inter_
national and interdisciplinary studies that
use quality-of-life measurement.
Sociol lndicqtors os o Form of Evqluofion
Reseorch
Social indicators research is big-scale evalua-
tion research. It is generally based on data ag-
gregated on a country as a whole, though it
rnay be based on smaller units. Its purposes
are for social reporting so that governments
can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of
social factors in their society. It may also serve
as a means for evaluating how certain social
policies or programs (say, Medicare or na-
tional student loans) are affecting the social
conditions of wide numbers of individuals in
a society, The great concern with quality-of-
life measures stems from the desire to be able
to develop a barometer ofthe state ofa nation
(or some other aggregate group). Given thal
most societies have a commitmenl to progress
and social betterment, there is the expectation
that life will improve over time. euality-of-
life studies evaluate whether such an im-
provement can be noted.
Social indicators data can be used by other
researchers as background or as comparative
data for their own studies. Ifyou are doing a
small-scale evaluation of some organizalion,
T
 :w"'
l
I

CHAPTER I I EvaLuationResearch 297

l

. Community impact assessment studies can . Quality-oflife (QOL) srudies have at

you might compare, for exampie, indicators of
overpreparation for the job arnong employees
of diferent sexes and racial groups with na-
tional data. As stated in the iast chapter on the
analysis ofaggregate data, it is always very im-
portant to be careful that you understand how
the indicator is measured, that you report
carefully the group on which it is aggregated,
and that you avoid tbe ecological falLacy o{
imputing trends seen in aggregate groups to
individuals or subgroups within these larger
groups (see Chapters 4 and l0 for discussions
of the ecological fallacy).
DECIDING IF EVATUATION
RESEARCH IS APPROPRIATE
FOR YOUR TOPIC
This is generally quite easy to do. If you are
carrying out a research project requested by
some organization to study its operations, you
know you will be evaluating that
agency.
Since most evaluation research is funded by
the agencies seeking the evaiuation, it is not
difficult to decide in such instances whether
evaluation research is the appropriale purpose
ofthe study.
You may, however, carry out many types
ofevaluations without the funding ofan out-
side source. You might design your own com-
munity impact assessment. You might use ex-
isting data sources over a period ofyears to try
to carry out a time-series analysis ofthe effects
of some major social change on a set of indi-
cators. You may also be abie to study a small
program, fcr exampie, a new writing course at
your college or the effects ofa new student ac-
tivity at your college. In cases like these, you
will be able to build a much more effective de-
sign if you are able to coliect data from stu-
dents or from those offering the services (fac-
ulty or staff) at different points in time, before
the program is offered, during the program,
and after it is over (or after the individuals
you are studying have completed the pro-
gram). You will also want to consider com-
paring those who participated in the program
with those who did not.
Finally, you shouid recall the Coleman
study as one that was based on a general sur-
vey in which the issue ofevaluation grew out
of the analysis. There are many available da-
tasets, such as the one Coleman and his col-
leagues used, which have data that lend them-
selves to the evaluation of many social
factors. It is often more precise to think of
such research as policy research, rather than as
evaluation research. This means that the pur-
pose of the research is to address public poli-
cies, or issues that the society or some seg-
ment of it think imPortant, without
necessariiy setting out to carefully evaluate
precise programs.
While evaluation research must be under-
taken with great care, a student researcher can
carry offan evaluation study very successfully
(even one that has required that compromises
be made in the design) as long as he or she un-
derstands the quality of the study that has
been attempted and is sufficiently humble in
presenting what may be partial or oniy tenta-
tive results.
REVIEW NOTES
. Evaluation research is not a separate type of
research method, but research carried out
for the purpose of evaluating some social
program, law, or activity.
. Evaluations of social programs may begin
prior to the beginning of the program (pre-
program) or during the course of the pro-
gram (on-going evaiuation).
. Cost-benefit analyses seek to assess whether
the benefit of a program or social strategy is
worth the cost. It may be difficult to measure
costs and benefits. It is easier if the measure-
ment of both costs and benefits can be op-
erationalized in terms of dollars.
determine what effect a new policy might tempted to develop global measures of well-
have on a community. being as indicators of the overall quality of
. One way to examine the impact of new leg- life in a society.
.
islation is to compare indicators that should Policy research is a form of evaluation re-
be affected by the law from before to after its search which addresses the effectiveness of
enactment. public policies.
. Evaluation projects may be directed to
many different audiences. These include
KEY TERMS
funding agencies, local, state, or national
agencies, project directors or stafl program community impact assessment
clients. or the research community. cost-benefit analysis
. Formative evaluations set out to study pro- cost-effective
grams in process and feed the findings of an evaluation research
evaluation back into the program: in con- ex post facto design (after only)
trast. summative evaluations summarize formative evaluation
the major effects of a program once global well-being
completed. national social reporting
. Ways of strengthening the reliability and va- nonequivalent control group
lidity of the dependent variable in an eval- objective social indicators
uation project are to use an already devel- on-going evaluation
oped measure or multiple measures. policy research
. In evaluations of social programs, partici- preprogram evaluation
pation or nonparticipation in the program is proximate measures
usually the independent variable. i ty-of-life IQOL) studies
q ual
. Possible inpul measures include purposes, social indicators
principles, methods, stafl clients, iocation, subjective social indicators
length of service, size, and management of summative evaluation
the program as well as under whose auspices
the program is being offered.
. STUDY EXERCISES
The findings of evaluation studies may be
"contained" or "buried." Evaluation re- You have been hired by North High School to
search is often underutilized because it lacks design an evaluation study of their collegc
practicality and specific recommendations. counseling program.
. Evaluation studies need a comparative base-
line for determining the success or failure of l. Your first step is to consider the purposes
what is being evaluated. of the program. How would you go aboul
. Social indicators are measures of aggregate doing this?
social conditions of social interest. 2. Having determined the purpose of the
. National social reporting involves using a counseling program, define one or more
wide range of social indicators (on popula- measurable outputs of the coliege counsel-
tion, the family, housing, social welfare, ing program. Be sure that they would serve
health, public safety, education, work, in- as measures of the effectiveness of the
come, ieisure, social mobility) to describe program.
the state ofthe nation. Now define the inputs to the program that

I

2gSTheMethodsofsocial Research
you would want to study in r€lation to the
outputs.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
1. Boruch, Robert F., and Werner Wothke (eds.):
Randomization and Field Experimentation,
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1985. Discussions
ofevaluations ofsocial programs and services in
which randomized assignment was carried out
in various field settings. The editors conclude
with a strong plea for using randomization and
present several designs for implementation.
:-fl?'
PART THREE I
Carley, Michael: Social Measurement and So-
i
cial Indicators: Issues of Policy and Theory,
Allen & Unwin, Boston, 1983. Social indicators,
as measures used to monitor social change, have
been developed in various countries. However,
there is a general lack ofagreement on what con-
stitute measures of social indicators. The most
The Analysis of
typical examples are measures from the health
field.
Weiss, Carol H.: Evaluation Research: Methods
Social Researclt Dats
of Assessing Program Efectiveness, Prentice-
Hall, Englewood-Cliffs, N.J., 1972. This very
readable book covers the purposes, design, and
utilizalion ol evaluation research.
PREFACF
A rn* final section of the text, we shalldis-
cuss various ways of analyzing data. Remember that the primary reason
for designing
1sludv and collecting the data is to enable you to establish and present your findingsi
This requires careful analysis ofyour data. You begin by carefuiiy setting
out and c;t-
aloging everything you have colrected. Then you must figure ourwhatyou
have found.
This analysis can be done in a number of ways. The dita may be rearranged
so that
those parts of the data which are similar are grouped together. ii,i, i,
normaliy what is
done in survey analysis where variables from each ofthe cases are aggregated
across all
the cases. In a fleld study, where notes have been taken, the anaiysis"iay
be considered
as a sifting process where the relevant materials are sorted out and
other matenal dis-
carded.-Whatever the type of data, the object of a data anaiysis is to turn
the amorphous
heap of evidence inlo firmer, more solid, findings. These more condensed
data, which
you have decided to focus upon, then need to be interpreted.
You must examine the findings in terms of the hypotheses or research questions
which you originally posed. How far does the evidenie support your
hypothesis? Are
there answers in the analyzed data to the research questions you posedi
bata analysrs
may seem a bit iike a game in which the strategy is to see if ihe evidence
{rts the case.
You look for the strengths in the analyzed datir the clearest patterns among
the vari-
ables, the strongest associations between particular variables. ihen you
try to make the
best case for what you have found. However, in the analysis of sociai
dara, the eyidence
may not fit the case. In such a circumstance you must report that you
have not found
support (or have oniy weak support) for your hypothesis. Remember,
having evidence
to reject a hypothesis is often as interesting as Lraving evidence to
support it.
299
T
 300 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData PART FouR

Chapter 12 serves as an introduction to data analysis by discussing the preparation

ofdata. Such preparation will naturally vary, depending on the types ofdata you have.
In the chapter, I concentrale on quantffiable data which are generally analyzed with the
help of a computer. In order to analyze your data on a computer, you must prepare
them to be transferred to a computer through procedures such as coding. Since there
are many different types of computer systems, the chapter ofers only general guidelines Data Freparation
regarding what needs to be done to computerize your data. Even ifyou do not plan to
use a computer in your study, Chapter 12 offers sound principles of data handling which
should be considered by any researchers whatever their plans for analysis.
Chapler 13 offers two examples of data analyses which will be refened to in all the
following data analysis chapters. The first example is drawn from the Hirschi study on
delinquency described in Chapter 1; the second is from a data analysis prepared specif-
ically for this text. In the first example, we consider Hirschi's hypotheses and examine
the data which he used to test these hypotheses. In the second example, a secondary INTRODUCTICN
analysis of a national survey is developed in order to address an important, but fairly
simple and straightforward, research hypothesis. The chapter ends with a presentation
of univariate tables, the most ele mentary form of tables, drawn from the two examples.
Chapter 14 examines two-variable (bivariate) tables, showing how these tables are Tn" Ouruthat you have collected, whatever
prepared and how they may be interpreted. Then it introduces three-variable (trivariate) your method, will be in the form of raw data. your first siep in
analyzing rhe data w1l
analyses and the elaboration model of analysis, which is a classic means of interpreting be to prepare these data^for the-type ofanalyses you plan ro carry
oui. rt-you are doing
trivariate tables. Again, the examples wiil be taken from the studies detailed in Chapter a field study, the major form. of analysis may involve organizing youi
notes to address
13. your primary research question and then wnting up these notJs'into paper.
a In this
Chapter 15 offers some basic training in constructing indexes. Creating indexes de- type of analysis' there may be no information to convert into quantifiable
categories.
pends on the use of bivariate analyses, which were presented earlier. Principles of the Methods used to prepare data for qualitative analyses were describeo
in Ctraptei 9 on
most commonly known types of scales used in the social sciences and descriptions of field research.
some frequently used scales are also presented. Most of the other methods which have been discussed in this book require
that the
Chapter 16 describes some elementary social statistics and shows when and where initial information gathered (the raw data) be converted into numerical equivalents
for
to use them. Some, but not all, of the students using this text may already have had a the purposes of quantitative_analyses and (possibly) statistical testing.
Thii chapter will
course in statistics. For students with a background in statistics, Chapter 16 can serve be devoted to a discussion of how to turn potentially quantifiable
raw"Jata into numbers
as a refresher course in the uses of a few reguiarly employed statistical tests in social which will represent the range of meanings-the variition-in the raw
data themselves.
research. For students without any previous background in statistics, Chapter 16 offers such a procedure is necessary in order to prepare tables, charts, and graphs
that will
some very basic guidelines for the use ofstatistics in social research and suggests which describe the data precisely and in order to erptoi, how far tt. outu,upport
your hy_
statistical tests might be good to use with different types of variables and analyses. Fi- potheses. If you pian to test your hypotheses statistically, measures
to determine the
nally, Chapter 17 concludes Part IV with a discussion of the steps to be followed in strength of relationslzips q* estabrished. If your data have been drawn from a prob_
preparing and presenting a flnal research report.
TuI
ability sample, other statistical tests will allow vou to make inferences from
the sample
to the population from which it was drawn.
Data preparation will be explained in four stages. The first stage,
in which the raw
data are coded into numbers, is the coding stage. ihe second stage,"pieparing
the coded
information to be transferred from written foim to a form *trlci can te accepted
by a
compuler, is the transfer. stagl. The third stage, which involves the actual process-of
entering the coded data into the computer, is the computer entry stage.In
considering
this stage it will be necessary to look at the various types of pio..j*.s
available for

301

I
 302 Thc ,qnalvsis o{ Socia ,**r- PART FOUR
^t I

"computerizing" data-which will naturally vary according to the type of compuler sys- into the data when it is put on the computer, thereby change the relationship between the
the data will be spoiled. Thus, "garbage in, concept and the measured variable. That is
tem available to you. (There are now so many different types of cornputer systems that
garbage but": Ifyou put bad data into a com- why you must do this data handling and cod-
it is not possible to give you specific instructions on how to use your equipment. Enough puter, no matter what is done to them in the
general information will be provided, however, to show what you will need to do to ing thoughtfully and deliberarelv.
computer, you will get bad analyses out ofthe Theoretical criteria test whether the scale
enter your data if you have access to one of the more commonly available types of compuler. So think carefully about the sugges- (or set) of attributes rnaking up the types of
computer systems.) The fourth stage involves cleaning the data once they are on the tions offered in this chapter in relation to your variation in a variable has been fairlv cirried
computer. This rneans that you need to check the accuracy of the data afler they are study. Some ofthe precautions and suggested over 10 a set of numerical codes which accu-
entered into the computer since errors can be introduced at every stage ofdata handling. procedures may not be necessary in your par- rately represent the range of meaning you
The data to be discussed in the forthcoming chapters, whatever tlreir source, are ticular study, but a consideration of the rea- wanted to measure in the variable. SuCir iri_
comprised of the same set of information (that is the same set of variables) on an array sons for each will help clarify what you must teria test for the validity ofthe variable. Enr_
of subjects (or what are usually referred to as cases). While the type of data considered be sure to do and what you must be sure to pirical criteria test how far the results from
in this chapter are those produced from surveys, many ofthe suggestions offered apply avoid in the handling and preparation ofyour measuring the variable seem to represent rea-
as well to data gathered from experiments, from content analyses, or from other forms dataset. Remember, your data are your most sonable and expected outcomes: In other
precious resource in your research project, so words, they help you determine how far the
ofdata collection.
treat them with care! respondents understood what was being asked
ofthem and how far they shared the meaning
DEVISING A CODING SYSTEM you gave to the question. The essential con_
cem here is whether the respondents would be
Generol Frinciples fo Follow
COMMITMENT TO CARE routines cannot convert messy, dirty, sloppy likely to respond to the item in a consistent
data into valid results. Thus the issue of care Coding the data involves taking the informa- fashion, that is, whether you can reasonably
Careful attention to the methods and proce- in data handling is another area where the va- tion, the rayv data, you have and putting it expect them to respond to the same question
dures in data preparation described in this lidiry of a study can be challenged. There is a into a form which can be quantified for anal- in the same way if they were asked again. In
ysis. There are a number of principles to keep
chapter is vital to your study. Whatever your well-known saying about computer analyses: deciding this, you are testing for the item's re_
form of data, unless you handle them with "Garbage in, garbage outl" This means that if in mind in organizing a coding s:1slem. The liability. Note that one difference between the
great care and try to minimize and rectify the the data you enter into the computer are full .first principle is lhat coding must resolve issues use of theoretical and empirical criteria in
errors that occur at each step of your prepa- of errors-if, for example, what is supposed to of definition and ambiguity so that the codes making decisions about coding is that theorel_
ration (as they almost always do!), your results be the measure of "attitude toward income in- can be applied consistently. It requires making ical criteria can be applied before data collec_
may be seriousl.v jeopardized. Do ilol consider equality between the sexes" for the fifteenth decisions on the basis of how best to code re- tion begins by the use ofprecoding (to be de_
the data preparation phase ofyour study to be case in the sample is mistakenly entered into sponses to the variables so as to maintain the scribed below). Empirical criteria, on the
merely "busy work" that anyone could do. It the computer as the measure of "attitude to- meaning of the concept which your variable other hand, may only be fully established once
may be true that anyone could do it, but it is ward nuciear disarmament," then once the represents. These decisions can be made on the data are gathered and certain patterns ev_
not true that anyone could do it right! lf you variable of "income equality attitude" is com- the basis oftheoretical and empirical criteria. ident in the responses can guide coding
have assistants heiping you to code or transfer puted, the mistaken fifteenth case will have In considering these issues in coding, you decisions.
your data, you must nevertheless stay in com- distorted the finding. Further, if there are might look back to the material presented in From a theoretical point of view, you must
mand of the situation and check their efforts many such errors, the measure of "income Chapter 5 on conceptualization and opera- assign codes that represent the range ofmean_
at every stage. There is no reason to suppose equality attituds" may no longer represent tionalization. Operationalizing a variable is ing you want a variable to have. This range
that your assistants will deliberately make er- that attitude. not completed once you have developed a sur- must be sensitive to the types of variation
rors, but you must assume that their knowl- In such an instance, all your efforts at de- vey question with its categories. For, ifyou re- possible. Are the responses to the question ac-
edge cfthe study (however much you have ex- signing the variables so that they would truly code that question once the data are collected tual numbers that can be worked with math_
plained it to them) and their personal get at the concepts you are trying to measure (if you combine calegories or if you rename ematically (such as income, age, number of
commitment to its outcome will never be as and all your efforts at gathering the data so these combined categories) or if you create an children)? Do the responses represent an or_
great as your own. that the respondents would comprehend the index or scale (to be discussed in Chapter 15), dering which shouid be carried over into the
The fanciest computer program, the largest questions and answer them with understand- the criteria used to carry out these changes coding pattern (attitudes to which respon-
research grant, and the cleverest statistical ing can be for naught. For, ifenors are added will alter the initial operationalization and dents can Slrongly Agree, Somervhat Agree,

I

etc.)? Or are the responses merely categories
which have no ordered relationship to one an-
olher, but are merely different from one an-
other (religious affiliation, race, sex)? In this
latter case, it may make no difference which
category is given the highest number, what
order the categories are in, or what number
codes are actuallY given.
For example, there are theoretical consid-
erations inherent in coding Don't Know re-
sponses that can only be solved by thinking
through what exactiy you meant by offering
Don't Know as a response (assuming it was
one) or what you had planned to do when re-
spondents gave Don't Klow responses when
they were not offered. For attitudinal items,
Don't Know would seem to be a valid re-
sponse meaning no settled opinion; for infor-
mation about personal background and his-
tory, it could mean a failure of memory (e.g.,
educational attainment of one's falhet) ot lack
of access to the information (e'g., one's biood
type). In each case, you should give consider-
ation to the intended meaning of the question
before deciding how to code the variable'
From an empirical poinl of view, you want
to code the data so as to preserve the full vari-
ation given by the respondents, but you may
also feel justified in combining certain types of
responses in certain cases. Remember thal the
second general principle of coding is to pre-
serve es rnuch as possible of the actual mean-
ing of the responses and of the variation pre'
sented in the data. This can be understood by
reference to an example from open-ended
questions. With open-ended items, you may
plan on the prospective answers, but final cod-
ing decisions must wait untii the data are col-
lected. This is afler-the-fact type ofcoding. It
is based on what the empirical results came
out to be.
Suppose you have asked people to iist their
favorite pastimes. You might have decided on
prearranged categories for (1) sports, both
competitive and individual; (2) films, plays'
T
I
concerts; (3) reading, iistening to music,
watching television; (4) homemaking activi-
ties-gourmet cooking, needlepoint, garden-
ing, etc.; (5) hobbies, collections. What do you
do, however, when a respondent cites "wash-
ing the dog" or "shopping"? Should you start
a new category for "pets"? (Is washing the dog
a hobby? Is shopping a homemaking activity?)
These are situations where you have to decide
how much of the original information you
want to preserve. The usual strategy is to code
all the data, to avoid discarding any informa-
tion or collapsing any categories in the course
ofcoding. Instead, it is preferable to leave the
process ofreducing and recoding the data to a
laler time. This will give you more options as
to how you might use the variables as you pro-
ceed with the analyses.
The tltird general rule is to plan your cod'
ing system as far as possible, at the time you
design your data collection instument. Theo'
retical issues in coding should be carefully
considered if you are designing a question-
naire and coding guides can be included on
the instrument (see discussion below). Fourth,
the coding system shluld help to reduce the
number of times that the data must be han'
dled, for every time they are handled addi-
tional mistakes may be added. For this rea-
son, coding systems should be clear and
precise. To serve as a guide to the coding sys'
tern and a record of all the coding decisions
made, a codebook shouldbe prepared and up'
dating procedures arranged-this is the fifth
rule of good coding procedures. This codebook
will be needed not only to guide you in the
coding but to refresh your memory as to what
a variable really measures as you carry out
your analyses.
Prestudy Coding
As stated above, it is a good plan to have your
coding system planned out at the time you are
designing your study. Ifquestionnaires are to
CHAPTER I2
be used, it is besl that they include coding in-
formation on the actual instrument. This
greatly simplifies and speeds up the data
transfer procedure itself Ifthe coding appears
on the questionnaires, then the person enter-
ing the data into the computer is able to
transfer the information directly from ques-
tionnaires to the data entry mechanism for
the computer (e.g., keypunching, Scan-tron
forms, terminal entry). If not, the coding must
be written either on the questionnaires or on
the coding sheets.
In large studies, coding is often done by
persons other than the study designer. When
this is the case, as mentioned earlier, the
chances oferror are increased since an outside
coder is less likely to understand the coding
system or the intended meaning of a question
than the questionnaire designer. Therefore, if
you plan to have others help you code your
data, you should aim 1o give them as much
assistance as possible; and a precoded ques-
lionnaire should help lo increase accuracy
during coding.
Precoded questionnaires usually have the
codes running down the right- or left-hand
side oflhe page. These codes generaliy inciude
the locations (called column locations) on the
computer file u,here the data from this ques-
tion will reside. This is referred to as edge cod-
ing. Other types of edge coding simpiy give
the number of the question and the response
category to the question. Such codes may also
include a questionnaire number, if the survey
is longitudinal and if it utilizes multiple ques-
tionnaires. Box 12-1 gives an example ofedge
coding without computer locations. It is taken
from the National Longitudinal Study of the
High School Class of 1972.
The athletic participation variable, one of
the variables we will consider in Chapter 13,
was question 10A in the first olfive question-
naires. The edge coding for this question,
BQ10A, stands for base questionnaire [that is,
the f,rst (1972) surveyl, question 10, first part
(Part A). Then the actual codes for the range
ofresponses are to the right ofthe question (l
= Have Not Farticipated,2 = Have partici-
pated Actively, 3 = Have participated as a
Leader or Officer). This was the precoding sys-
tem devised for the NLS questionnaire data.
If you have a large and complex question-
naire, you may be wise to include coding in-
formation on the suruey instrument.
Codebook Freporoiion
A precoded questionnaire may sewe as a
guide to carrying out the coding procedure.
but it will not remind you of the decisions you
made in setting up the codes as you did, and
it will not include the variables you ,,con-
structed" subsequent to the data collection.
For these reasons, it is important to preparc
(and update) a codebook.
Defining the Purposes of a Codebook. A
codebook is, first of all, a notation ofwhat you
have decided to call your variables (and the
attributes within the variables) and how these
names correspond to what was measured by
the variable. Secondly, a codebook is a guide
to where each variable can be found (by its
column location on the key-punched com-
puter cards, by its name in the computer file,
or wherever, depending on how your data will
be processed). Finally, a codebook is a record
of the decisions which you reached in deter-
mining how to set up the variable. Ambigui-
ties in the question. differences in definitions
which a question might suggest, must be re-
solved through coding; and these decisions
should be systematically recorded in your
codebook so that you remember your.ratio-
nale for treating a variable in the particular
manner you chose to handle it.
Setting Up a Codebook. A codebook cata-
logs each variable first by its formal name and
then by the name it wili be refened to in the
I
 306 TheAnalvsisofSocialResearchData pART FouR
I

BOX t 2-l BOX r 2-2

EDGE CODING ON THE QUESTIONNAIRES FROM IHE NATIONAL I.ONGITUDINAT STUDY OF THE HIGH CODING INfORMATION FOR "ATHTETIC PARIICIPATION IN HIGH
SCHOOI,, IN THE NATIONAT
scHoot cr.Ass oF 1972 TONGITUDINAI. STUDY OF THE HIGH S€I{OOI. CI.ASS OF 1972

IO. HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN ANY OF THE FOIIOWING TYPES OF ACTIVITIES, EITHER IN OR OUT OF A, CODEBOOK ENTRY
SCHOOT THIS YEAR?
CODEBOOK FOR NLS RETEASE TAPE
(Circle One Number on Eoch line) VAR# LABET #DEC BC EC QUESTION tABEt
241 BO]OA 547 508 DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN ATHLETICS?
Hoye
Hove Pdrticipoted B. FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION WITH CAIEGORY
CODES
Hdve Not Porticipoted os o Leoder
Porficipoted Acfively or Officer vAR#024tBQt0A cots0507_0508
BOIOA Aihletic teoms, inlromurols, DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN ATHLETICS?
lettermon's club, sports club l 2 3 ABSOTUTE
BGIOB Cheerleoders, pep club, mojorettes l 2 3 CATEGORY tABEt CODE FREQ.
BQ]OC Deboting, dromo, bond, chorus I 2 3 HAVE NOT PART ]. r 1590
BQ]OD Hobby clubs such os photogrophy, HAVE PART ACTIVELY 2, 7031
model building, hot rod, HAVE PART AS IEADER 3. 1940
eleclronics, crofis I BTANK 98. 66t
BAIOE Honorory clubs such os Beto Club LFGITSKP 99, I 430
or Noiionol Honor Society 1
TOTAL 22652
BOIOF School newspoper, mogozine,
yeorbook. onnuol l
BO]OG School subject motter clubs such os
science, history, longuoge,
business, ort I
BOIOH Sludeni council, siudent the chapter), then the card and column num-
government, polilicol club
computer to relate a certain variable name to
I
bers to be used to store the particular variable a certain column or to more than one column
BO'IOI Vocotionol educolion. clubs such
os Future Homemokers, Teochers,
should be entered. (Column positions should of data.
Formers of Americo, oecr, otr, also be entered for each variable ifa raw data
FBIA, OT VICA l compuler file in fixed format is being set up.) Formal name. Every variable should be
Note that in Box 12-2 the athletic parricipa- given a formal name which will identifl,
what
tion variable was located in two-column fields it measures. For example, if the variable is
given position numbers of 507 (the beginrung sex, this is such an obvious name that it
needs
computer program. Then it gives the numeri- codebook. The various parts ofthe coding in- c_olumn: BC) to 508 (the ending column: ECI no further elaboration in the codebook. Social
cal code for each of the values, or attributes, formation wiil be broken down into the fol- Can you guess why two columns were needed? class, however, may be too inexplicit to
(It was because some of the codes-gg, 99_ be
of the variable (for the athietic participation lowing components, which are typical of used as a formal name. 11 may be better
variable: 1 = Have Not Participated, etc.). In had two digits.) I will explain this point in t0
many codebooks. specifu the type of socioeconomic measuring
addition, a codebook notes the position on the case some ofyou find it confusing: in each col- instrument used in the formal name (for exl
computer file (to be discussed below) where Components of Codebook Entries. The data umn only one number (or letter) can be en_ ample: "Respondent's current socioeconomic
the variable can be found; this is called its to be entered for each yariable in a codebook tered. Ifyou are entering your data by a key- status-Duncan Scale," to be described in
computer entry form. Some codebooks (partic- should be consistent from one case to the punch machine (to be described below), you Chapter 15) might be the formal name given.
ularly for datasets which have been prepared next. The following are the typical types ofin- cannot punch more than one number in each Note that inBox I2-2 the variable of aihletic
for secondary analyses) include the actuai formation which should be given for each var- column. Therefore to handle a two-digit num_ participation was given no formal name
number of respondents whose answers were by
iable in the codebook: ber, you must use two columns; for a three_ the NLS stafi instead the actual question
coded under each of the code numbers. Box on
digit number you need three columns. When which it was based is used as its name. In se-
12-2 presents the entry for the athletic partic- Computer entry position, Ifkey-punch cards you set up your computer system file (de- lecting this variable to use
ipation in high school variable in the NLS
in a secondary
are to be used (they will be discussed later in scribed below) you will need to instruct the analysis (aq,we will in the next chapter), how-

I

ever, we would give it a name, saY, High
School Athletic Participation. and record the
name in the codebook we wouid devise.
Computer name, Here there are two com-
mon conventions. One is simply 1o number
the variables. This is the strategy used in Box
12-2. The athletic participation variable is
VAR241. This is the way the variable is to be
identified by the computer and by the re-
ssarcher as well. But this need not be the case,
for most computer programs can handle
either numbers or words as designators of
variables. For example, if Sex is the first var-
iable entered in the computer file, it might be
given the name VAR1 (variable one), or it
might be given a mnemonic, i.e', a word or set
of letters used to recall some specific thing.
SEX is a name which is so short it can serve
as its own mnemonic. For a variable such as
athletic pafiicipation in high school, a suitable
mnemonic might be HSATHPAR. Thus, the
second convention is to give the variable a
word name.
Value lubels fot the attribates of a variable'
These are the actual codes for the various cat-
egories (or scale numbers) of a variable. In
Boxl2-2,the codes arel,2,3, 98, and 99. The
designation 98 is the code for those who did
not answer the question (those who left it
biank); 99 is for those who had a legitimate
reason for skipping the question' The NLS
codebook entry did not include the categories;
however, the NLS staff provided the initial
frequency distributions which gave the code
numbers of the categories of the variables.
These frequency distributions served as an ad-
ditional codebook in which codes given to the
categcries (or attributes) of the variable were
presented.
A variable with an ordinal scale set of re-
sponses should be coded in order: for exam-
ple, 1 = Strongly Agree,2 = Agree, 3 = Un-
decided, 4 = Disagree, 5 = StronglyDisagree.
For a variable with responses reprosentlng ac-
tual numbers, the codes can be the responses
themseives. For example, in the case of age,
the categories can simply be the actual num-
ber of years the person has lived. (Naturally
you would not need to write in the codebook
| = 1,23 = 23, etc.) When the numbers are
a continuous series with fractional amounts,
like weight, the coded numbers will need to be
rounded in a systematic and consistent
manner.
Cqse numhers. As every variable in a study
is given a variable name, every respondent to
a study is usually given a case number. The
primary reasons for doing this are to keep
your responses systematic and to make check-
ing for errors (cleaning) easier. lf the respon-
dents have fiiled out questionnaires, the case
numbers might be written in on the top of
each questionnaire (from, for example, 001 to
250). Then these numbers should be entered
into the computer as if they were a variable in
the study. Thus the codebook might include
the variable: ID, which could be described for
a sample of 250 as a three-digit code from 001
to 250. Naturally the conlpuler position
would be included as well.
Creating a Flexible Codebook' When pre-
paring your own codebook, consider using a
looseleaf folder that hoids 3 X 5 inch index
cards with two punched holes. Each card can
record a different variable. You can then sort
the cards in different ways and may insert a
card for any new variable (which may often be
created from recoding or combining other
variables) next to the card for the original var-
iable on which it was based. Such a codebook
therefore gives you a lot offlexibility for add-
ing to and rearranging your variables.
Cross-refereneing. One of the helpful tech-
niques you might incorporate into your code-
book is to cross-reference variables. For ex-
CHAPTER I2
ample, from the name of the city, suburb. or
rural area in which respondents reside. vou
One problem that may arise with the strat-
egy of coding open-ended questions in ad-
might create a new variable entitled Urbanl
vance is that some categories may not have
Suburban/Rural. This means that you would
any responses falling inlo them. If that is so.
have one variable with the name of each place
then they are irrelevam calegories. To mini_
coded and a second variable with only ihree
mize this possibility, it may be helpful to try
categories: urban, suburban, and rural. In
such a case when new versions (or constructed
out the open-ended questions in a pretest to
see which cocling categories should be used
vanables) of earlier r.ariaLrles havc fgsn c1s_
and which left out.
ated, you should cross-reference these vari_
ables in the codebook. you might also want to
Another form of precoding is to separate
the possible responses to a single quesl.ion into
refer to variables lhat are identical but were different variables. Let's say that you have
collected at different times (SES measures
asked respondents to list their favorite sports.
taken in different years) and to variables thar
You might have a study where the major sport
measure very similar qualilies (number of
which interests you is swimming. In this lase
years of schooling completed, highest degree
you might want to look at each sport men_
attained). tioned, coding the answer as follows: 1 =
Swimming Mentioned; 0 = Swimming No1
Noting reasons for coding decisions. As men_
Mentioned; 9 = No Answer. Then if baseball
tioned above, it is important 1o remember
is mentioned, it would form another variable,
why you coded variables as you did. Don't etc. In this case. none of the information
trust memory alone. Brief notes included with would be los1, but a single question would
the code for the variable will be much more
form the basis of a number of variables.
reliable.
The third common strategy is to develop a
set of categories on the basis of the ..rponi.s
Coding Open-Ended euestions. There are
themselves. This postsurvey technique is par-
three possible strategies in coding open_ended
questions. One is to develop in advance the
ticularly suitable for questions which might
generate many different types of answers
set ofcategories you think will cover exhaus_
which you cannot fully predicl in advance.
tively all the possible responses to the ques_
For example, suppose you ask people, with an
tion, to give these categories codes, and ihen
to classify the answers according to these
open-ended question, why they voted for a
particular political candidate. Since vou are
codes. For many types of questions, you can unsure of the range of reasons respondents
precode all such responses. For example, you
might give, you must begin by looking at the
might decide to code responses 1o a question
responses and making a list ofthe types ofre,
about occupation, into the categories White sponses given-the respondent likes the can-
Collar and Blue Coliar. Remember that vou didate's economic position, approach to
must also include the category Other for oc- foreign policy, social policy, personality,
cupations which you might not be able to fit and so on. In listing the types of ri-
into either of the first two categories. (By some
$ponses in tliis way, you will in effect be cate_
definitions, ofcourse, all occupations couid be gorizing them. This means that you must de_
placed in one ofthese two categories.) Finaily,
cide on the number and kinds of categories
for respondents who failed to give an unr*.. you need.
to the question, you wouid need a No Re_
Take the area of social policy, for example.
sponse category.
Do you need only one category for likingihe
I
 310 The,analysisofSocialResearchData
candidate's stand on any type ofsocial policy,
or wouid it be better to have separate catego-
ries for the candidate's position on various is-
sues such as abortion, Medicare, sociai wel-
fare, or whatever? Here the choice you make
must depend on what you hope to be able to
analyze. If you want to be able to compare re-
spondents who support candidates who are
pro-choice or proJife, for example, then you
had better categoize abortion positions sepa-
rately. If you think that this social issue will
need to be considered only in terms of a
broader social issues category, however, then
you should feel comfortable with collapsing
this category and combining it and other so-
cial-issues respons€s into a single category.
You may be concerned that, at the coding
stage, you will not know exactly what forms of
analyses you plan to carry out. In fact, that is
often the case. In such situations, it is a good
rule to use more calegories rather than fewer.
It is always possible to collapse categories
which are not needed (or which contain too
few cases) into other available categories, once
the data have been coded. Finally, once open-
ended questions have been coded, the princi-
ples used for doing the coding should be en-
tered in the codehook.
Coding Missing Data. There are always
some data missing in a study. In a question-
naire, respondents may not choose to answer
every question, or they may inadvertently
skip questions, or they may think that certain
questions are not relevant to them. Moreover,
answers may be given that are inappropriate
to the question: for an open-ended question,
an answer may make no sense in terms of an-
swering the question; for a forced-choice ques-
tion, instructions may not have been followed
appropriately (e.g., where "Circle the single
best answer'1 has three answers circled). In
other cases, open-ended responses may be
illegible.
P A R T Fo U
For the purposes ofcoding, you must still
code these responses in some way. Here is
where No Response, Not Reievant, or some
other type of no-meaningful-data-available-
for-this-case-on-this-variable response may
need to be used. The convention is to code No
Response as a 9. If you can make distinctions
between No Response and Not Relevant, and
these distinctions seem important to you for
your study, then you should give them differ-
ent codes. Often a questionnaire will include
a Don't Know category for respondents to se-
iect; this is conventionally coded as an B. If
you are using two-digit codes, the 9 would be
99 and the 8 would be 98.
When analyzing the variables, missing
data are often excluded from the analyses.
Most computer programs for analyzing data
offer easy means to specify data as missing
when you have coded them clearly as such.
One of the main reasons you want to keep in-
formation on missing data is to assess its
prevalence within the sample. If a variable has
too much missing information, it may not be
worthwhile to use in your analysis. Ifyou are
comparing the responses of two or more
subgroups, you must be concerned that one
group does not have a much higher propor-
tion of missing data on a specific variable of
interest than another. Knowiedge of missing
data will be important for you in your analy-
ses, and so you must be sure to code it fully
and accurately in your coding procedure.
Using a Blank Queqtionnaire as a Codebook.
It is not wise to use a blank questionnaire as
the sole form of a codebook, because it does
not have the space to incorporate all the de-
cisions you have made or to include con-
structed variables or those derived from
sources other than the questionnaire. But if
the data were drawn from questionnaires, it
will probably be useful ro code a blank ques-
tionnaire to accompany your codebook as you
R
T'
carry out the coding. The coded questionnaire
form wili help serve as a guide.
Types of Coding Strotegies
Typical questions usually ofer one of five
types of response categories. The first lype in_
volves answers (often to attitudinal questions)
providing a set of ordinai scale responses,
such as Srrongly Agree, Agree. Disagree,
Strongly Disagree. The second offers answers
which are dicholomies: a yes-or-no response is
an example, as well as answers that measure
whether a quality is present. ,,Do you play
tennis? Yes/No" is equivalent to ,.Which of
the following sports do you engage in? Tennis.
Swimming. Boxing. etc." In the larrer case,
each sport would be the basis ofa different di-
chotomized variable such that those who
checked Tennis would be coded: I = plays
tennis; 0 = Does not play tennis.
The third type ofresponse category oflers
answers which are a set ofcategories that have
no specific order (such as your reiigion_
Catholic, Proteslant, Jewish-which hive no
logical order). The fourth involves questions
which can be answered directly by a number
(income, age, number of children). Fifth, there
are questions allowing open-ended responses.
which musl be coded one by one on the basis
of the content of the answers and which can
then be reconverted into numerical categories.
Spoi-Checking for Errors
Since coding involves a number of different
types of shifts, there is a great potential for
error. Most cleaning of data for computer
entry is done after the data have been eniered
I
into the computer. However, suggest that
you do a spot-check ofyour data before trans_
ferring it to the computer. you mav discover
that one or two questions were particularly
susceptible to miscoding.
If you can find any
patterns in the noted errors, you will have a
chance to correct them before transferring the
data to a computer-readable form.
If the number of
cases in the study is very
large, your coding may be done by a team of
people rather than only by you, the primary
investigator. In this case, there may be even
more chances for error or iack of comparabil-
ity in the coding done by different coders. /r-
tercoder reliability can be checked by testing
for how far different coders classify the same
data in the same way. This wiil require mon-
itoring coders over the course of the coding
procedures.
TRANSFER PROCESS
Once the data have been coded, they musl bc
transferred to some medium that will allow
them to be entered into a computer. There arc
a nurnber of different ways to do this. your
choice of which to use will depend both on the
type of computer equipment that is readily
available to you (and this, in turn, may rc-
quire a choice between different types ofcom-
puters and different forms of computer entry
mechanisms) and on relative cosls.
Finql Writfen Code Forms
The final written code forms are those that arc
used to transfer the data to the computer. Let
me emphasize again how important it is to rc-
strict the number of times the data are han-
dled in order to reduce errors. For manv re-
searchers, this means trying to transfei the
data as directly as possible from question-
naires to the computer. Since this is not al-
ways feasible, other methods can be utilized.
Edge Coding on Questionnaires. As dis-
cussed above, this is a method of putting the
coding information on the questionnaire itself
so that the person processing the data need
I

312 TheAnalysisofSocial ResearchData
only transfer a response to an often-specified
computer column location. (On some ques-
tionnaires, answers are to be filled in at indi-
cated edge locations.) In general, edge coding
simplifies the coding procedure and increases
consistency.
{.Jse of Coding Sheets. Where the data are to
be keypunched onto IBM cards which have 80
coiumns to store information, the transfer of
data from their original source (say, question-
naires) to specially designed sheets with 80
columns which replicate the IBM cards may
be useful. Once the numbers have been trans-
ferred to the coding sheets, it may be much
easier for a key-punch operator to enter the
data, even if he or she is unfamiliar with the
study. Keep in mind, however, that transfer-
ring the data to these sheets may introduce er-
rors that were not there before. As a resuit,
many researchers prefer to enter data directly
to the computer from the questionnaires.
Moking Doto Mochine-Reodoble
Use of Key-Funched Cards. Until quite re-
cently, the use of key-punched cards was the
most common way ofentering data onto com-
puters. In many institutions, this form of
entry is still used. In others, it has virtually
disappeared, and the key-punch machines
which punch the holes in the cards may no
longer be available.
Key-punch machines are similar to type-
writers except that instead ofentering a typed
number or letter, the key-punch machine
strikes out a number by punching a hoie
through it on a special card that has 80 col-
umns and 12 rows. In each row, the numbers
0 through 9 are offered, as well as two addi-
tional unmarked rows above the 0 row re-
ferred to as rows 10 and I L Learning to use a
key-punch machine is quite simple. The cards
P A R T Fo u
are automaticaliy fed into lhe machrna Drum
cards may be used to simplify certain proce-
dures such as repeating a certain number in a
certain column on every card or skipping a
certain number of columns on each card. in-
structions on how to use a key-punch machine
will be available at your faciltty, if the ma-
chines are in use there.
Use of Optical Scan Sheets. Many comput-
ers allow for entry of data from optical scan
forms. These forms may either be read into a
machine which punches cards as its output
(and then enters the cards onto the computer)
or go directly into a raut data file in the com-
puter. Filling out the forms involves darken-
ing spaces on the form which conespond to
the coded attributes of specific questions.
Some questionnaires are now developed
which have optical scan forms as answer
sheets, or the questionnaire itself may be
perimposed on an optical scan form. If this is
the case, the researcher will not need to trans-
fer the data to the forms.
Because optical scan data can be read only
if the spaces are darkened sufficientiy and if
no unintended stray marks are placed on
other parts of the form, care must be taken in
using optical scan sheets. Highly educated re-
spondents are more likely to be famiiiar with
filling out machine-readable forms; thus, the
background ofthe respondents should be con-
sidered in deciding whether to use such forms.
Finally, since the forms must be fed into a ma-
chine, they cannot be torn, folded, or other-
wise mutilated; this requires including warn-
ings on the forms as to their care as well as
providing large enough return envelopes so
that they will not need to be folded.
Direct Terminal Enhy. More and
more
computer systems are moving toward direct
terminal entry. For this procedure, you take
your coded data (let's say coded question-
]#
1'
R
CHAPTER ]2
naires), sit down at a computer terminal, and
enter 1r6u1 data on the keyboard ofthe termi-
nal, case by case. In this procedure, there are
no 8O-column limits on space. Once your data
are entered, you can get a listing from the
computer ofwhat you have entered and check
the list with the original coded data.
Computer-Assisted Telephone trnterviewing
(CATI). Recall from Chapter 7 that com-
puter-assisted teiephone interviewing is an in-
creasingly popular way to collect and transfer
data. In this method, the questions being
asked appear to the inlerviewer on a computer
monitor with the various response categories
ofered. The answers given by the respondent
are immediately entered by the interviewer
into a computer. This method dramaticallv
cuts down on the steps in the data transfer
process and thereby reduces the errors gener_
su-
ated by multiple handling of the data.
COMPUTER ENTRY AND
PROCESSING
Ifyou enter your data through a terminal (or
enler it in a CATI). you reduce the number of
steps from original data to computerized data.
If the data are transferred to optical scan
sheets, as mentioned above, the sheets may be
used to create key-punch cards for computer
en1ry or may be directly read inlo a computer.
If you keypunch your data, the cards must be
read into the computer. Exactly how you read
in data from these various forms will depend
on your specific computer equipment. The
computer operators at your college or univer_
sity should be able to assist you in the method
you choose.
Now let's stop for a moment and consider
what computers are. We will describe com-
puters very simply bu1 will include many of
the terms you will be likely to confront once
you begin working with a computer. Naturallv
Data Preparation 31j
if you are already familiar with computers,
this discussion will be superfluous.
Noture of Compuler Equipment
Whatever the type of data entry method you
select, the computer itself will have certain
basic components: input mechanisms, storage
capacities, CPU (the central processing unit),
and output mechanisms. These four compo-
nents make up the computer machinery. or
what is calied the hardware of the computer.
The input mechanisms include the card
reader or the computer terminal discussed be-
fore. Computer terminals may be hard-copy
terminals, where the information typed into
the terminal is printed out at the terminal
(such printout material is often referred to as
hard copy). Or they may have a screen, like a
television screen, where whatever is typed
into the terminal appears. These types of ter-
minals are called cathode-ray tube (CRT) ter-
minals. Most computer systems have both
CRTs and hard-copy facilities.
The storage capacities of a computer sys-
tem allow users to store data, computer files,
and other information in ways that can be
readily accessed by the computer when they
are needed. Such information is generally
stored on tapes, disks, or cards or in the com-
puter itseif (where the storage capacity is re-
ferred to as core). Different computer systems
allow different types of storage depending on
the size of the computer, the types of input
mechanisms it has, and issues of cost. The
CPU is the computer itself; it is the machine
that carries out the commands given to it by
the computer program.
The output mechanisms are generally of
two types: line printers which produce hard
copy, or terminals where the results are dis-
played on the screen. Some computer facilities
will aiso produce the output on cards. This
may be useful if the output cards are to be
I
 314 TheAnalysisofSocialResearch Data
reentered on a different computer or if they
are to be reentered on the same computer for
more advanced anaiyses.
Many of you will enter your data on a
mainframe computer, that is, a large com-
puter which can run many different kinds of
jobs simultaneously. Often such computers
service an entire institution, and you may
enter your data aI a location distant from the
actual machine. This is done through a remote
job entry facility. Key-punch cards may be en-
tered in this way as may data from a terminal.
The terminal may be connected to the main-
frame by a modem. In this case, the terminal
you are using may have a telephone connec-
tion. You dial the computer and place the
telephone receiver into a special coupler: then,
once the computer accepts the call, you begin
to enter your data. In other computer facili-
ties, the terminais rnay link directly to the
mainframe, in which case they are said to be
hard-wired. Many students have access to a
mainframe at their college or university
tlrrough a system of timesharing, which allows
students access to the computer for specific
and legitimate purposes. If you have collected
a large amount of data, and certainly if you
are carrying out a secondary analysis ofa large
dataset, you may have to have the heip of a
mainframe computer to process all your
information.
Some of you may carry out your computer
analyses on microcomputers, whrch are often
also calied personal compLLters. These are
smatrler computers in which the terminal, the
screen, and the computer itselfare located to-
gether in a rather smail-sized set of units.
Since microcomputers are becoming more
vridely owned by individuals and since their
niemory capacities are in some cases very
large, the potential for the use of these small
coxnputers for data analysis is becoming
greater and greater" For example, while CATI
is usually set up on a mainframe cornputer
P A R T Fo u
system, data base management approaches
using a microcomputer are aiso avaiiabie. Mi-
crocomputers can also be used as terminals to
mainframes with the help of a modem.
The important thing to find out is what
computer facilities are available to you and
which ones will best serve your needs, given
the size and form of your study. Remember
that data prepared for one type of computer
can usually be entered into another though
certain aiterations may need to be made. Sup-
pose you keypunch all your data and then
move to a location where card entry is not
available on the computer. That should not
cause any major problem. You rvill need to
have your cards read into a machine which
can convert them into a tape or disk for stor-
age. These tapes or disks can then be entered
onto the mainframe.
ISTABI-ISHING A COMPL,ITERIZED
DATA FItE
Ilyou are putting your data on a computer in
order to produce tables and statisticai tests,
you will most iikely do so with the aid of a
computer saftware program. Recall that the
computer equipment itself is referred to as
hardware. The data will be entered into the
compuler and form the basis ofa raw datafile.
If you are planning to use a software program
to process the data, you will need to enter this
computer program into the computer, access
it, and iink your dataset to that program.
Computer Softwore for Doto Anolysis
The instructions, or commands. that tell the
computer wlrat to do are the software of the
colrrputor. Software consists of computer pro-
grarns, which may be either developed by an
individual computer wer (or programmer) for
a specific task (using one of the computer lan-
guages, such as BAStrC, COBOL, FORTRAN,
R
l CHAP}ER ]2
which can be understood by the computer) or,
more commonly, already prepared programs
for the use ofsociai researchers.
In the next chapter, computer output from
a dataset using the Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences (SPSS') software program will
be presented. SPSSX may not be the iomputer
program thal you will be using. you may, for
example, be using SAS, RMD, or possibly the
earlier version of SPSS* which is simply re-
fened to as SPSS. Whatever you use, we will
try here to explain some ofthe procedures that
software programs ol this ti,pe can cary oul
for you. If you are planning to use SpSS,.
there is an elemenrary description of how to
run certain subprograms within the SpSS*
program in Appendix C. Tables produced bv
this program will accompany the descripLion
of analytic techniques and statistical tests in
the following chapters on the analysis of data.
Moreover, these tables are not very different
from ones you would produce if you used a
different software program.
A Social Sciences Computer program. As
explained above, once your data have been
read into the computer and form the basis of
araw dala file, you will probably want to pro-
cess this raw data with a computer software
program, very likely a software program spe-
cifically designed for social research analyses.
Such a program will have the necessary sub-
programs to produce the quantitative tables
that you want and to generate the statistical
tests required for your study. If you know
computer programming, you may not want to
use such a program, since you will be abie to
write your own programs to produce tables
and to compute statistical tests. Most individ-
uals who do social research, however, do not
have (and do not need to have) the program-
ming skills to do this. The software programs
available to social researchers are so compre-
hensive in terms of what they are capable of
Data Preparation 315
doing, yet so relatively easy to use, that few
programmers could carry out the tasks more
effecdvely or more efficiently.
A software program, such as SpSS*, en-
ables you to use its simplifled commands in
requesting what you want from the computer
in order to produce the tables, graphs, and sta_
tistical tests which you need fbr.your analvsis.
Such a program is a combinalion ofa cook_
book and a translator. As a cookbook, the pro_
gram tells you what ingredients are needed to
produce the quantitative analyses you want.
Also like a cookbook, the program manual
can actually suggest different recipes-differ_
ent types of quantitative analyses and statis_
tical tests that might be useful for specific
types oldata. ln short. it can give you a rasle
of what each subprogram might offer that will
help you in making choices as to which
sub_
programs to run.
As a translator, the software program is an
intermediary between you and the computer.
The program allows you to make you.
,e_
quests in terms of simple statements. In short,
you don't need to know a computer language,
such as BASIC, to be able to run a prog.i,
such as SPSS*. Instead, reiatively simpte iom-
mand statements are translated into a com_
puter language by the software program.
Setting Up on lnitiol Compuier Run
A computer ruru involves having the com_
puter carry out the tasks that have been re_
quested-in other words, getting the com_
puter to do its work. The product ofthis work
is refened Io as a job. Once the computer run
is complete, your job will be done. To set up
an initial run requires coordinating
three
things: (1) your raw data, (2) the computer
software program, (3) the computer system
you are using. Your data will be in some ma_
chine-readable format (cards, atape, adisk) or
ready to be entered directly into the computer
I

at the terminal. You must first access (or call
forth) the computer software program on your
computer system. Information on how to do
this wili be available at your installation' The
commands you use to link the software pro-
gram to your computer system will vary from
one type ofcomputer to another and from one
aomputer location (or installation) to another.
You must ask at your computer installation
for assistance in accessing your data and se-
lecting the best software program for your
purposes. Whiie the procedures described
here apply to a mainframe computer system,
microcomputers could also be used with
slightly modified methods. In addition, this
discussion will highlight batch software pro'
grams (Ihese are programs where the user first
$ets up one or more command statements and
then the computer carries them out) in con-
trast to interactive software programs (where
the user interacts with the software prograrn
by putting in commands over the course of
the processing).
Once the data and software are accessed,
the data must be transformed from a raw
input dala file (lefs say a set ofkey-punched
cards in which there is one card for every case
and each variable has been keypunched onto
the corresponding card of that case) to a s/s-
tetn file.'this system file will contain both the
data you plan to use (from the raw data file)
and also all the necessary commands (from
the computer software program) needed by
the computer to recognize the data accurately
and to process it effectively so that statistical
analyses can be carried out' In such a file,
every r'ariable is named, its position in the
data file is shown, and the range ofcodes to be
used for every attribute are given. This system
file will also be the file you access each time
you want to run another computer job.
For purposes of analyses, the object of
your initial computer runs will be to "see what
the variables iook like." This means that you
want to know how many cases can be de-
'll
scribed by each ofthe attributes ofa variable
(with the variable of sex, for exampie, that
would mean how many cases are males and
how many are females; if the variable were a
math test score, you would want to know how
many people attained each possible score on
the test).
In addition to knowing how many males
and how many females there are in your sam-
ple, for example, you would then want to
know what proportion of the sample were
male and what proportion female. This could
be produced by determininglhe percentage of
males and females in the sample. Tables
which give you this information are refeffed
lo as.frequency distributions' since they indi-
cate how the sample is distributed across the
range of possible attributes of the variable'
For the math test score, which is numerical
and can be treated as a number sca1e, you
might prefer to know the mean score and the
standard deviation, which would tell you the
nature of the distribution of scores'
Cleoning the Connputerized Voriobles
Once you have taken a iook at the data, your
first step is to clean up variables which look
messy or inaccurate. For example, if your
cases refer to high school students, and for the
variable of Age -vou find a case with an age of
75. what effect would such a strange response
have on your findings? Let's say you plan to
use student age as a variable in your analyses.
The means and standard deviations which are
often used for computational purposes would
be distorted by even one case in such a high
category.
If you conclude that a mistake has been
made in the data, there are a number of pos-
sible ways ofcleaning up this variable. In the
example given, you might want to look back
to the original data (the questionnaires, let's
say) to see ifthere was a 75-year-old subject.
You might decide to recode the age variable
CHAPTiR I2
into age categories, thereby enabling you to
combine that case with the highest category:
say, 25 and older. Another choice would be to
convert that case Io a missing value so |hal it
would not distort your findings.
If you find a large number of cases falling
into strange categories, then you need to go
back to check the variable at earlier stages. To
check on what was actualiy entered into the
computer as a part of your raw data lile, you
should examine your file information (or file
info) listing. To go back further will require
you to check your cards, optical scan forms,
or whatever you used to enter data into the
computer. If you entered it into a terminal,
then the file information listing would have
what you entered. To check back even further,
you should go back to the original question-
naires, interview schedules, or whatever were
the original forms on which the information
was put. This can be time-consuming and dis-
couraging, but it is essential to clean up your
variables before you try to use them in statis-
tical analyses. Often you will be able to find a
source of error quite quickly. If you cannot
find it or if you cannot change it once it is
found, then you might consider not using that
variable in the analyses (or at least not using
it in the most important parts of your
analysis).
DATA MANIPULATION PRIOR
TO ANALYSIS
Flondling Missing Dofo
Whatever program you are using, there will be
methods for handiing missing data. The com-
puter must be told which cases to identify (or
flag) as missing on each variabie so that they
can be excluded from the analyses. You often
do not want to exclude a case entirely from
consideration in a study ifonly a few variables
are missing; rather. you want those variables
included which have actual responses and
DataPreparation 317
those variables flagged as missing which have
no responses. In lhe language of the software
programs, this is called pairwise deletion of
missing data. You may, conversely, choose to
exclude a case from an analysis if there is
missing data on any variabie being considered
for that analysis; this is referred to as listwise
deletion of missing data. As mentioned before,
9, ar 99, or 999 are the code numbers conven-
tionally used to designate missing values.
Once a value is designated as missing, it will
be kept out ofthe analyses, though the num-
ber of cases missing on that variable will be
reported on the tables.
Some computer programs, such as SpSSt,
allow you to have a mean number entered to
replace a missing response. This means that
for individuais who skipped a question, they
are given lhe average response for the whole
sample as their response. This helps to main-
tain the number of cases (lhe case base) for
each analysis, but it gives cases responses that
they did not ofler. Don't forget that the treat
ment of missing data could affect the validity
and reliability of a variable. If there are too
many missing cases, the aggregate responsc
may not really represent lhe views of the sam-
ple. If the variable with the missing data is
being analyzed in relation to another variable,
this relationship may also be distorred if therc
are many missing cases on one of the
variables.
Recod!ng Voriobles
One of the most common manipulation pro-
cedures you will use in setting up your vari-
ables for analyses is recoding. The purpose of
recoding is generally to reduce the number of
categories in a variable to a number more
manageable for numerical analysis. If you
plan to examine the relationships between two
or more variables (a subject to be discussed in
Chapter 14), you may want to reduce the
number ofcategories in a variable so that vou
I

3lB TheAnalysisof SocialResearchData
can see whether the cross effects of two vari-
ables upon each other indicate strong or weak
trends. Once you have recoded a variable,
however, the original set of categories will be
permanently altered. To avoid this, it is usu-
ally better to create a new variable from the
old one, keeping the old one with the original
set ofcategories and having the new one rep-
resent the recoded set ofcalegories.
There are two main principles to consider
in deciding how to recode a variable. Either it
makes sense theoretically: i.e., a recoded var-
iable will better represent the meaning of the
variable you want in your study. (An example
here would be deciding to combine all the
non-whites in your study into one group be-
cause you have decided that the distinction
between white and non-white is the only one
you are interested in.) Or it makes sense enr-
pirically: i.e., you will use the way the respon-
dents answered the question in deciding how
to regroup the variable. (An examole here
would be to decide to combine all the non-
white groups, once you have examined the
data, since the size of each minority group is
too small in number to be analyzed on its
own.)
Let me offer a few other examples. Sup-
pose you are doing a study on attitudes to-
ward the federally supported Medicare pro-
gram. Since peopie can qualify for Medicare at
age 65, and since you think that people's atti-
ludes are likely to vary according to whether
they do or do not qualify for the program, it
might make sense to recode the variable, Age
of Respondent, into two variables: Younger
than 65, and 65 and Older. This would be a
theoretical reason for the recoding, since your
decision to recode the variable was based on
ideas that you held about how the variable
would be best used to support your research
question or hypothesis.
Or, take another example: suppose you are
studying unemployment and you know the re-
gion ofthe country in which each respondent
PA R T Fo U
lives. You might want to combine those living
in the norlheasl and midwest into one group,
those living in the southeast and southwest
(the sun belt) into another group, and those in
the far west, Great Plains, and northwest into
a third group. Your rationale here would be
that unemployment is supposedly highest in
the northeast and midwest, and lowest in the
sun belt. Both these examples offer explana-
tions for recoding based on what you already
know and think about the subject of your
study; and they make sense because they
should help to test your hypothesis and high-
light and clarifu your findings. In these cases,
the recoding has been carried out for theoret-
ical reasons.
However, let's say that, in a study of fifth
graders' school achievement, the variable to
be recoded is a math aptitude score. Now for
many types of analyses which would use the
average score as the primary unit for analysis,
there would be no need to recode. If, however,
you want to know what proportion ofstudents
who come from varying racial backgrounds or
whose families are at different social class lev-
els did very well or not too well on the test,
one procedure would be to calculate the av-
erage scores for each of the subgroups of in-
terest. Another way, however, would be to
split the data according to percentiles (repre-
senting ten groups of 1 0 percent e ach) ar quin-
/i/es (representing five groups of 20 percent
each) or quartiles (representing four groups of
25 percent each).
Let's say you decided to use quartiies. You
would want to rank the scores from the high-
est to the lowest. Then you would start at one
end of the range of scores and form the quar-
tile groups at the points at which each succes-
sive 25 percent of the cases had been ac-
counted for. In this way, the 25 percent ofthe
students with the highest scores wouid be
the top quartile, the next 25 percent would be
the second quartile, the next lower 25 percent
would be the third quartile, and the lowest 25
q\.
'',1 l
R
percent would be the bottom quartile. Now.
rather than having a variable with (say1 frfty
or more categories based on the actual math
test score, you have a new variable with four
categories based on the math scores ranked in
descending order and then grouped into quar_
tiles. In this case you have taken the aggregate
findings of the data (1he ernpirical eviOence;
and used this as the basis for recociing the
variable.
Dofo Freporofion in Sociol Reseorch
The procedures described in this chapter may
not have seemed to you to have been verv im_
portant or challenging. yet such efforts are at
the core ofwhat makes social research scien_
tific. Recall in Chapter 2 that one of the char_
acteristics of scientific research is that it must
be s-vstematic, that the language used must be
careful and precise so that observations can be
accurately recorded and aggregated, one with
another. The quantification ofdata fosters this
objective. By turning numerous responses
into the same codes which can be analyzed by
computers, the systematization of observa-
tions is achieved. Although a studv in which
quantitative dala have been sysiematically
prepared for analysis will not necessarilv
make a contribution to the social scien.es. an
uns)'stematic studl where the data have been
haphazardly treated has no chance of adding
to the cumulative knowledge of the social sci_
ences. Careful data preparation is one of the
cornerstones of scientific research.
REVIEW NOTES
. Data preparation must be carried out with
great care.
" Coding requires solving issues of ambiguity
in the definition ofvariables.
. Coding should try to preserve the actual
meaning and range of variation in the
variable.
.
Precoded questionnaires facilitate later cod-
ing and data transfer.
. Codebooks serve as systems of notation for
variables, guides to the location of variables
(on computer files), and records of coding
decisions. Codebooks should be flexibie and
should allow for cross-referencing.
. Transferring data to computers may be done
in various wa1s. depending on the rype of
compuler facilities available.
. Iftransfening choices are available, pick the
one which requires lhe least amount ofda1a
handiing in order to reduce errors.
. Computer components consist of an inpul
mechanism, a storage capacity, the central
processing unit, and an output mechanism.
. Computer software for social data analvscs
allows you to carry out a wide .ange oftypes
of computerized dala analyses withour
needing to know how to write your own
programs.
" Initial computer runs allow you to check
and clean variables, to label missing cases,
and to recode variables to faciiitate later
analyses.'
KEY TERMS
cleaning data
central processing unit (CPU)
optical scan forms
cathode-ray tube (CRT)
codebook
computer languages
computer software program
edge coding
frequency distribution
hard copy
hardware
installation
mainframe computer
microcomputer (personal computer)
missing data
modem
precoded qraestionnaire
I
 320 TheAnalysisofSociaL ResearchData PART FouR

printout with a very wide range of responses and

raw data you decide to recode them to reduce the
raw input data flle number of categories. Describe one rule for
remote job entry recoding the variable College Major that
software
system file
you might follow for combining categories
based on theoretical grounds, and another
Data Artalysis:
timesharing rule you might follow based on empirical
grounds. Lesrnwcg frorw Others nnd
STUDY EXERCISES
1. Suppose you had a study with three vari- RECOMMENDED READINGS Tryrng One of Our Own
ables: race, tobacco use, and parents' to- 1. Jendrek, Margarel Platt Through the Maze: Sla-
bacco use. Prepare a codebook for these tistics with Computer Applicallons, Wadsworth,
three variables, creating for each all the in- Belmont, Calif., 1985. A clear and precise dis-
cussion ofthe nature and use ofcomputers with
formation which you would need to in-
instructions on how to use SPSSX.
clude to have a useful and comprehensive
2. Li, Peter: Social Research Methods, Butler'
codebook.
worth, Toronto, l98l. This small volume has a
2. Using appropriate terminology, explain the
various ways that data might be entered
into a computer.
verl uselul chapter on data processing.
3. Weisberg, Herbert F., and Bruce D. Bowen: ln
Introduction lo Survey Research and Data Anal-
INTRODUCTION
J. Suppose you had asked an open-ended ysls. Freeman, San Francisco, 1977. Good sec'
question to a group of college students on tions on coding and computer utilization are in-
"What is your college major?" You end up cluded in this text.
To data, you need to under-
stand what a researcher is trying to accomplish^nulyrryour
by-carrying out un *ul-rris. In other
words, you need an overview of what should takepiur. ur *il u, a rationaie for it. This
is not totally different from learning how to cook: you could
begin wiir-u uoor, ofrecipes
and simply starl cooking. It might be better, however. to do
some serious eating before
you begin. What does a chocolate souftl6 taste like? what
Ome.etrt tinos of tastes can
be produced? How much can the taste and texture varv? Note
that you could be a souffl6
gourmet and still not have iried cooking a souffl6; buiyou
would have more knowledge
about souffl6s and about what you might expecl from
1,ouruoume,f,.nlou try making
one.
You have probably recognized by now that one of my favorite
.
is to use examples ofgood-quality research ro teach yor'ho*
techniques in this text
b;";;;J:;raiity research
yourself. For the same reason, the first section ofthii
chapter on daia analysiswill return
to a study described in chapter 1 and consider more ruuy trow ttre
oaia in that study
were analyzed. Another approach I iike to employis to prepare
an example speciflcalli
for the text and then take_you through the steps of tt..^u*pr., irri,
upp.oach will be
used in the second half of this chapler, and I will continue
to use ti,e Jme example in
the forthcoming chapters on data analysis.
The study we will examine is the Hirschi study.on the causes
of delinquency, initially
described in some detail in chapter 1. Since this is a sludy that
*u"Jon'. in the sixties,

321

I
 1.

322 The Analvsisof SocialResearchData P A RT F o u R CHAPTER I3 Data Analysis : Lea.nting from Others and Trying One of Our Ou,n
32 3

my point in going over the analysis of data from this study is not to stress the newest ferring a causal relationship between an inde- yses. where the relationship between an inde-
pendent and a dependent variable than a non-
methods. Data analysis in the social sciences has become a complex affair now that pendent and a dependent variable is exam-
experimental test. However, in most sociolog-
computers and social science computer package programs are in wide use. For many ined holding a third variable constant, we will
ical research, experimental designs are not
students, the analyses found in the most current social science journals may be incom- see that a greater understanding of the rela-
feasible. It is not possible in relating an inde- tionship between an independent and a de_
prehensible. However, two things should be remernbered: first, the researchers cumently
pendent to a dependent variable 1lom a sur- pendent variable can often be gained in these
carrying out data analyses began by learning how to do simpler forms of analyses. Sec- vey to determine causality. Instead, the re_ analyses. However, in trivariate analvses as
ond, even researchers who use more complex multivariate techniques usually begin searcher looks for the strength ofrelationship weltr, causality cannot be fully establisired: in
their analyses by preparing more elementary tables (one-variable, or univariate, tables between two variables such that when the in- controlling for a third variable, you musl still
and two-variable, or bivariate tables) before moving on to more complex anall'tic dependent variable changes (increases, de- consider the possibility that a fourth or a fifth
techniques. creasesJ or alters), the dependent variable variable, and so on, might affect the associa-
As a studerrt, you too will want to begin by learning how to carry out data analyses changes also. Since all the other variables that tion between the independent and dependent
that are relatively simple, clear, and logical. You rvill also need to know how to convert might affect the relationship between the in- variables.
the tables which you get from the computer into properly labeled tables that can be dependent and dependent variables cannol be
included in your research report (or whatever final project you ale preparing). The ad- controlled in nonexperimentai analyses, how_
ever, it would not be possible to say that the DATA ANAIYSIS IN THE CAUSES
vantage of using Hirschi's study is that most of the anaiyses he presented were bivariate
independent variable caused the dependenl OF DETINQUENCY STUDY
tables, the kinds of analytic tables that we will be stressing in this text.
variable to occur. Instead, it would be claimecl Hirschi's study of juvenile delinquency,
In the second haif of this chapter. we u,ill carry out a small data analysis of our own. that there is a relationship between these vari-
de-
scribed in Chapter 1, set out to test three op-
Beginning with a simple hypothesis and using an already collected dataset, we will set ables such that a change in one is associated posing theories (strain, control, and cultural
up a secondary analysis by carefully going through the steps necessary to analyze the with a change in the other. Thus the object of deviance) to explain why delinquency occurs.
research hypothesis. For this example, tables prepared on a computer using the SPSS" bivariate analyses is to try to determine the He operationalized these theoretical ideas bv
software program will be presented. For these data, we will begin at the most primary slrenglh of the relationship or the strength of developing questions 10 measure the factors
point in an analysis, with the examination of one-variable, or univariate, tables. Once association between the independent and the suggested by each theory. The questions were
we have carefully iooked at the distribution of each variable, we will move in Chapter dependent variables under examination. not presented to a sample of San Francisco Bay
14 to the construction and analysis oftwo-variable, bivariate, tables or three-variable, causality, Area teenagers in the form of a survey. The
trivariate, tables. At this point, it might be useful to look primary measure of delinquency was based on
back to the discussion of the rules of causality self-reported delinquent acls (which Hirschi
presented in Chapter 8. Recall that a causal re_
often compared with delinquency data based
lationship between two variables is held to on fficial acts taken from police records). Be-
exist if there is (1) an established time order, cause so few grrls had committed delinquent
STRENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP lN many other factors that could produce change (2) a corelation between the two variables. acts, they were ultimateiy dropped from the
BIVARIATE ANALYSES in the dependent variable so that the pure ef- and (3) evidence that the relationship is noi analysis. Thus, Hirschi's data analysis set out
fect ofthe independent variable on the depen- spurious (is being determined by an unexam- to test his three hypotheses on deiinquent and
In Chapter 8, dependent and independent dent variable could be explored. In most so- ined third variable). In a two-variable tabie. nondelinquent boys. He selected variables to
variables were introduced in terms of experi- cial experiments, it is not possible to control however, the possible eflects of an unexam- relate to delinquency or nondelinquency that
ments. The independent variable in an exper- for all the other extraneous factors that could ined third variable are not controlled. Fur- represented the various theoretical concepts
lmenr (sometimes calied a stimulus) was the afect the link between the independent and thermore, the time order of two variables which he wanted to compare.
variable that was to bring about an effect dependent variables. Nevertheless, experi- from a survey may not be easy to establish.
(sometimes called a response) which was the mental designs at least attempt to set up such Therefore, an analysis ofa two-variable table
dependent variable. The general model of an controls, and by assigning subjects randomly cannot meet the criteria for determining Do the Doto Support the Stroin Theory?
experiment was to test whether the indepen- to experimental and control groups, they neu- causality. Recall that one of the major tenets of strain
dent variable led 10 (brought about, increased tralize any qualities ofthe subjects that might In summary, what we will look for in the theory is that iower-class youths will be more
the
the likelihood or occurrence of, or caused) alter the experimental effect' coming analyses are the strength of relation- likely to commit delinquent acts than higher-
dependent variable. The object oflhe experi- For these reasons, the experimental test of ships, or associations, not causality. When" in ciasii youths. In terms oiin;iependerii and de-
as
ment was 10 try to sufficiently control for a hypothesis provides a stronger base for in- the next chapter, we consider trivariate anal- pendent variables, social ciass would be the

I
 324 TheAnalysisofsocialResearchData PA R T Fo u R

independent variable and number of delin- BOX t 3-l

quent acts wouid be the dependent variable. FATFIER'S OCCUPATION_QIJESTIONS FROM THE DETINQUENCY SURVEY
This relationship is depicted in Figure 13-1. I
FIGURE I3-I Below is o list of different kinds of 1obs. There ore four groups ol
To study this relationship, Hirschi wanted to iobs, nonuol *or*, *r."r:" you work with
Hypothesized relotion beiween sociol closs ond delinquenl your honds, ond usuolly weor ieons or overolls or o uniform; white.collor work,*h"r"
compare the rates ofdelinquent acts for boys ocis.
yo, **,. o ,hirt ond
tie, or lodies weor dresses; self-enployed
from lower-class families with those for boys 1obs, where you own your own business ond don,t hove o boss;
ond other onswers which don't fit in ony group.
from higher-class families.
One common way to operationalize social Ietters Kind of Job Exomples
class is by the indicator, Father's Occupation. portions of boys in each social class group
who reported delinquent acts. Table 13-1 pre- Msnuol Work
In the survey Hirschi prepared, information A+F Domestic
on this variable was gathered by the questions sents this cross classification, with Father's A+G
Housecleoning, moid, boby-sitter
loborer Conslruction worker, ionitor, helper
shown in Box l3-1. These categories were Occupation being used as the independent A+H Semi-skilled Mochine operotor, truck driver
then collapsed into five types: 1 = Unskilled variable and Number of Delinquent Acts as A+l Crofismon Journeymon corpenier, electricion, mochinist
Labor,2 = Semi-skilledLabor; 3 = Skilled the dependent variable. What we see here is A+.1 Foremon Foremon of o work gong, inspector in fociory

Labor, Foreman, Merchant; 4 = White Col- that each category ofthe independent variable Whire-Collor
lar; 5 = Professional and Executive. Delin- (Father's Occupation) serves as a base on B+F Semi-skllled Store clerk, moilmon, solesmon
Dtu skilled
quent acts were measured by a set ofquestions which the percentages of self-reported delin- Secretory, bookkeeper, couri clerk
B+H Entertoiner Aclor. oihleie, model
about involvement in petty and grand theft, quent acts are figured. Note that Father's Oc-
Professionol Doctor, sociol worker, teocher
auto theft, vandalism, and battery. These cupation, the independent variable, is mea- B+J Monoger Execulive, superintendent. ediior, senotor
questions were asked indirectly, using the sured by a five-point scale appearing across
Self-
items in Box 13-2. the top of the table as the column variable; Employed
To compare how many boys reported de- Self-reported Acts, the dependent variable, are C+F Professionol Iowyer, orchitect, dentist
C+c
Iinquent acts within each social class group re- divided into three categories and appear at the Croftsmon Corpenterconlroclor, jeweler, mechonic
teft-hand side of the table as the row variable.
c+H Merchont
quires examining how the number of delin- c+l Grocery or voriely slore owner
Lorge business
quent acts reiates to social class membership. Since the numbers reported in the table are C+J Former
Foclory or deportment store owner
Owner of lorm or ronch
This is just what Hirschi did by setting up a percentages figured on the base numbers
Other
cross-classification table to examine the pro- which appear in parentheses at the bottom of D+F Housewife Toking core of own home-not for poy
D+G Don'i know
D+H Don'f core
D+I None
TABTE I 3.I D+i Deceosed

SELF.REPORTED DELINQUENCY BY FATHER'5 OCCUPATION-WHITE BOYS ln Jront of eoch kind of 1ob on the opposite poge lhere ore two leiiers. To
onswer ihe questions oboul
ONtY
iobs, find the kind of iob which is most like the one you ore rhinking of . on your onswer sheet mork out the
(ln Percent)
two letters thoi ore listed in front of thoi kind of iob.
Foiher's Occupotiono
EXAMPI,E

Low l'ligh 8. Which of these iobs comes closest to describing the kind of work rhe school custodion
Self-Reporled Acts 123 45 does?

Since o custodion works with his honds ond probobly weors covero ls or o unilorm,
None 62 53 56 4A 6l
"Jonitor"
this is
of the exomples tor laborer. So you should mork out the lefiers A ond G in row
is one
monuol work.
t6 26 25 28 25 B o{ your
Two or more 23 21 t? 23 14 onswer sheei 3. Now go oheod ond onswer quesiions g io I 4 ihe some woy.

Totols r0l r00 r00 100 r00

9. which of these jobs comes closest to describing the kind o{ work your fother usuolly
{r 51 ) il 56) {390) t142\ 12821 does?

"l = Unskilled lobor; 2 = Semi-skilled lobor;3 = Sklled lobor, {oremon, merchont;4 =

Source, Hlrschi, i969, pp. 265,266
White collor;5 = Prolessionol ond execuiive.
Source' Hirschi, 1969, p. 69.

T
 :w

326 TheAnalvsisofSocial ResearchData pART FouR

BOX l3-2 quent acts.) This search for patterns in the dis_ to the positions in the table where categories
DELINQUENCY ACTS-OUESTIONS FROM THE DEI.INQUENCY SURVEY
tributions (steady increases or decreases) of the two variables meet.) If we compare the
would be a primary aim of the analysis of ta_ 62 percent of lowest-class boys reporting no
In sorne cases. it might also be useful to
bles. delinquent acts (on the extreme upper-left-
67. Hove you ever ioken little things lworth less thon $2) thot did not be- USE THESE consider the differences between specific per- hand cell of rhe table) to the 6l percent of
long to you? ANSWERS NOW centages in the first and last coiumns. Such highest-class boys reporting no delinquent
high-low percentage diferences are referred to acts (on the extreme upper-right-hand cell of
6B Hove you ever token things of some volue (between $2 ond $50) thot
A. No, never as epsilons. the table), we find a percentage difference, or
did not belong to you?
B. More thon o Look again at Table 13-1. We will compare an epsilon, ofonly 1 percent. Note, however,
Hove you ever token lhlngs of lorge volue (worth over $50) thot did yeor ogo the distributions across the columns, looking that we would have found a greater percentage
not belong to you? C. During the lost for evidence (or lack ofevidence) for the ex- difference had we compared boys from these
70. Hove you ever token o cor for o ride without ihe owner's permission? yeor pected pattern, determining whether the vari- two classes reporting two or more acts. The
D. During ihe losi ables have a monotonic relationship and con- real differences noted in this table are not in
Hove you ever bonged up something thot did not belong to you on yeor ond sidering the size of the percentage difference the proportions ofdelinquent acts reported by
purpose? more thon o from one end ofthe table to the other. Begin- those from different classes, but among those
yeor ogo
72. Not counfing fights you moy hove hod with o brother or sisler, hove ning with the column on the left. we see that who report delinquent acts; those from the
you ever beolen up on onyone or huri onyone on purpose? for the boys from the lowest-class group (l), lower classes are somewhat more likely to re-
about two-thirds had reported no delinquent port multiple acts. Thus this table does not
p.256 acts and that of the remaining third who re- lend strong support to the hypothesis that
Source, Hirschi, 1469,
pofted acts, a greater proportion reported those from lower social class backgrounds are
multiple acts of deiinquency. more likely to be delinquent; therefore the
How does this rJistribution of reported de- value of using strain theory to explain delin-
Look carefully at Table 1 3- i, and let's con- linquent acts compare for boys from higher quency is questioned.
each column, they are referred to as column
ciasses? It is quite similar. When we examine Waitl Let's review what we have just done.
percents. sider why the table was set up in this way and
When a table is set up, as Tabie 13-1 is, how you can best try to uuderstand what it
the columns moving from the lowest-class
with column percentages, you should examine contains. To test his strain theory, Hirschi
boys to the highest, we do not see increasingly . First, we selected a theoretical idea that was
needed to examine evidence that boys from
iower levels of reported delinquent acts for tested in Hirschi's study (strain theory) and
the distribution ofthe dependent variable (in
those from higher classes. In fact, the distrib- ciarified its meaning.
this case, number of self-reported delinquent the lower classes would report more delin-
acts) across each category ofthe independent quency than those from higher classes. Hir- ution of deiinquent acts for boys from the . Second, we isolated the variables Hirschi
lowest-class group (1) looks most similar to used to measure the theoretical concepts
variable (social class groups). The rule is: per- schi would need to look for his expected pat-
the distribution ofboys from the highest-class (social class and self-reported delinquent
centage down, read acrossl You should look lern (lower-class boys reporting more acts,
group (5). The only difference between these
for differences between the columns in the higher-ciass boys reporting fewer acts) by acts).
patterns ofthe percentage distributions. Is the comparing the distributions of the percentages
distributions is that for those reporting delin- . Third, we examined how these variables
quent acts, alarger proportion ofthe highest- were actually measured in this study by
largest percentage at the top (or the bottom or of delinquent acts (the column distributions)
class boys report a single act, while a larger
the middle) of the first column? If so, how across the different social class subgroups. Iooking at the questionnaire items used to
does this distribution compare to the second Ifthere was a steady increase in delinquent
proportion of the lowest-class boys report measure them (Boxes 13-1 and l3-2).
and third columns? Does the distribution acts reported for boys from each ciass, this
more than one. In a table such as this, had we . Fourth, we studied the table that cross-clas-
found a regular progression ofincreases in re-
change gradually from one column to the would be evidence of monotonicily between sified delinquent acts by social class: we
ported delinquent acts from one social class to comparatively examined the distributions
next? Does the distribution r€verse itself these two variables. (Ofcourse, he would hope
the next higher one, there would be evidence of delinquent acts across the social class
across the columns so that if in the first col- to find steady increases in the expected direc-
tion of lower-class boys reporting more delin- of monotonicity. However, Table 13-l offers groups looking for patterns (regulariries,
umn the largest percentage is at the top ofthe
no such evidence.
column, in the last coiumn the largest per- quent acts. However, he might find the con- steady increases, psrcentage differences) that
verse evidence of a monotonic relationship Finally, we can compare the differences be- would support the theory.
centage would be at the bottom of the col-
umn? Or are the distributions roughly similar between the two variables with steady de- tween the percentages falling into extreme . Fifth, on the basis ofthe findings reported in
cells of the table. (The "cells" in a table refer the table, we were abie to conclude (with
from one column to the next? creases of lower-class boys repo(ing delin-

I
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I
l
I

328 TheAnalysisofsocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R
I
CHAPTER I3 Data Analysis: Learning from Others and Trying One of Our Own 32e i
l
j

Hirschi) that the strain theory had not been
supporled by the evidence.
Do tho Doto Support the Confrol Theory?
One of the major contentions of control the-
ory is that boys who are attached to their fam-
ilies, schools, or peers (independent variables)
will be less delinquent (dependent variable)
than those who are less attached. Recall that
this would be the case if delinquency were the
result of a divisive society. where conflict
would naturally occur unless individuals were
firmly attached to social institutions and re-
lationships. The model of this relationship for
attachment to father can be seen in Figure
13-2.
Parental attachment was measured in a
number ofways. One was by an lndex ofln-
timacy of Communication, based on two
questions: "Do you share your thoughts and
feelings with your father (mother)?" and
"l{ow often have you talked over your future
plans with your father (mother)?" These ques-
tions were combined to form an index,
method of adding similar variables together in
order to get a more compiete measure of the
concept under study. (This technique will be
TABTE I 3.2
SEI.F-REPORTED DETINQUENCY BY INTIMACY OF COMMUNICATION
FATHER
{ln Percent)
I3-2
FIGURE
typothesized relolion between oliochmeni to fother ond
dellnquent octs.
described in Chapter 15.) Hirschi used the
Index of Intimacy of Communication with
the Father as his measure of attachment to be
related to reported deiinquency.
Table 1 3-2 presents a cross classification of
these variables. It is set up in the same way as
Table 13-1. Intimacy of communication, the
independent variable, is across the top of the
table as the column variable showing a range
from "Litt1e" to "Much" communication.
"Self-Reported (deiinquent) Acts," the depen-
dent variable, is on the left-hand side as the
row variable. Again, we wili compare the dis-
tribution of the self-reported delinquent acts
across groups ofboys who had different levels
of attachment to their fathers (attachmenl
a groups).
Note first that for those with the lowest
level ofattachment (0), 6l percent report one
or more delinquent acts; for those in the next
WITH
higher attachment group (l), 45 percent report
deiinquent acts. Moving now to the next
higher aitachment group (2), we see that 45
percent again report delinquent acts. Then
there is a fali to 38 percent reporting delin-
quent acts in the next higher attachment
group (3); and finally, only 27 percent report
delinquent acts in the highest attachment
group (4).
Thus what we see in Table 13-2 is a pattern
of stead,v increases in the proportion of boys
reporting delinquent acts among those with
weaker levels of attachment to their fathers;
conversely, we can see that avoidance of de-
linquency is greater among boys who are
closer to their fathers. This regular progres-
sion of increases is evidence of monotonicity
(which we had not found in the previous
table). If
we compare the extreme percentage
differences of boys with the lowest level of at-
tachmenl to their fathers with those with the
highest level of attachment in terms of report-
ing no acts (39 percent with 73 percent), we
find a large percentage difference-an epsilon
of 34 percentage points.
Comparativeiy, Table 13-2 offers much
stronger support that lack ofattachment to fa-
thers is related to delinquency than Table
i3-1 offered for the relationship between
lower social ciass and delinquency. This
means that Hirschi found greater evidence to
support the control theory than the strain the-
ory for explaining delinquency.
however, was how important it was for the
youth to conform to the general (or conven-
tional) values ofthe society. Hirschi hypoth-
esized that those in a delinquent subcultural
group who had a "high stake in conformity"
to the general values of the society at large
would have difficulty deciding whose values
to follow: those ofthe delinquent subgroup or
those of the wider society. Youths facing such
conflict would report fewer delinquent acts
than youths who were in delinquent subcul-
tural groups and had low stakes in conforming
to the wider values of society. The model Hir-
schi offered for this relationship is depicted in
Figure i3-3.
The indicator used to measure whether a
youth's friends were in a delinquent subcul-
ture was the number ofthem picked up over
time by the police. The "stake in conformity"
indicator was based on an index (which is de-
scribed at the bottom of Table l 3-3). Because
there are three factors in this model, to test it
requires a three-variable, or trivariate, table.
In order to be abie to read Tabie 13-3, we
must consider certain characteristics of this
table and see how they differ from Tables
13-1 and 13-2, which are bivariate tables.
Table 13-3 relates data on three variables with
the two independent variables serving as the
column and row variables, while the depen-
FIGURE I3-3
Hypoihesized reloiions omong stokes in conformity,
delinquency of componions, ond delinquent acts lHirschi,

Iittle lntimote Much lntimste Do fhe Dqfo Support lhe Culturol 1969, p. 1531.
Communicoiion Communicotion Devionce Theory?
Recall that this theory sought to explain the
Self-Repo*ed Acts
causes of delinquency as the result of differ-
None 39 55 63 73 ences in values among different subcultural
One 1B 25 22
groups. Thus, youths who were members of
Two or more 43 20 17 5
delinquent subcultural groups (the indepen-
Toiois 100 r00 r00 ror 100
t97l {r82) 14361 t2871 {121)
dent variable) wouid be more iikely to be de-
linquent (the dependent variable) themselves
Source' Hirschi. 1969, p.91 than those who were not. Another factor.

t
 330 TheAnalysisofSocial ResearchData
TABI.E I3-3
AVERAGE NUMBER OF SELI-REPORTED DEIINQUENT ACTS BY STAKE IN
CONFORMITY AND NUMBER OF DEIINAUENT FRIENDS
Stoke in €onformity'
Friends Picked Up Low
by Police 0r234567
None .68 .23 .48 .41 .28
il I4) (34) (40) t70t t25j
1.20 .84 .76 .73
One two r.04
{55) l37t l22l 142) il4)
Three or more 2.20 t.55 1.06 1.09 .76
{00) {30)
I 117) (39) t4t
"The sioke in conlormiiy index wos consiructed by dichotomizing lhree items: "Do you like
school?"; index of ochievement orientotion; ond index of inlimocy of communicotion with
fother. The ordering in ihe toble wos obtoined by weighting the iiems ln the order lisied.
Source, Hirschi, 1 969, p. 1 58.
dent variabie is reported in each cell of the
table by an average number of self-reported
delinquent acts. Since there are eight catego-
ries for Stake in Conformity (0-7) and three
categories for Friends Picked Up by Police,
Tabie 13-3 is a 24-cell table. In contrast, Table
13-i, with a five-category variable ofFather's
Occupation cross-classified with a three-cate-
gory variable of Self-Reported Acts, was a 15-
cell table.
Comparing Tabie 13-3 with the eariier
two, you will see that this is not a table based
on column percentages that total 100 percent
in each column. Instead of presenting an ab-
stract description of three-variable tables, we
will carefully examine the construction of
Table 13-3. Here each cell would be inter-
preted in the following way: The upper-lefl-
hand cell contains the number .68, which in-
dicates that among those with the lowest stake
in conformity and no friends picked up by po-
lice (that is, no delinquent friends), the aver-
age number of self-reported delinquent acts is
.68 (that is not quite one act per boy). Note
that the cell numbers in this table report on
pART FouR
High
.41 .26 .21
(59) (65) (80)
.56
.3L3t
l27t 2A) {r3)
.70 .33 .58
lrTJ {6) t9)
the average number ofdeiinquent acts, rather
than on percentages oldelinquent acts, as was
the case in Tables 13-1 and 13-2.
Now let's examine the patterns in this
table. Looking down the left-hand column, we
see a steady increase in the average number of
self-reported delinquent acts among boys with
more delinquent friends. Does this same trend
hold up for boys with increasingly higher
stakes in conformity? To determine this, we
need to compare the distribution in the left-
hand column with those in the other columns.
We see that having more delinquent friends is
associated with higher reported acts of delin-
quency for more conforming boys as well.
Since the table offers proportions ofthe de-
pendent variable by two other variables, it is
appropriate to compare the row distributions
to see if there is a steady decrease in the av-
erage number of self-reported acts as boys
have a higher stake in conformity. Frorn this
perspective, there is some evidence that har.
ing a higher stake in conformity is related to
reporting fewer delinquent acts, but this dif-
ference is much greater for boys with some de-
linquent friends than for those without delin-
quent friends.
The evidence from Table 13-3 suggests
that delinquent behavior is more consistently
related to having delinquent friends than to
the level of conformity to the general values
of the society. Moreover, "the low-stake boy
is much more likely than the high-stake boy to
have committed delinquent acts when they
both have several delinquent friends" (Hir-
schi, 1969, p. 158). It was through tables such
as these that Hirschi was able to test his hv-
potheses and reach conclusions about the re-
lative strengths of the opposing hypotheses.
Control theory came out the winner, with
some support for cultural deviance theory,
and little support for strain theory.
TRYING OUT A DATA ANALYSIS
OF OUR OWN
Having examined some of Hirschi's data anal-
ysis, we can see that one way to test a hypoth-
esis is to select variables to represent each of
the factors in the hypothesis and then set up a
table to relate (to cross-tabulate or cross-clas-
sify) these variables to one another. For ex-
ample, Hirschi chose self-reported delinquent
acts to represent delinquency, his dependent
variable, and intimacy of communication
with father to represent attachment, his inde-
pendent variable. Then, by examining the re-
lationship between these factors, by preparing
a cross tabulation of delinquency by attach-
ment, he could see to what extent those who
were more attached to their fathers reported
deiinquent acts as compared to those who
were less attached. This type of cross-tabular
analysis is one of the most common and
widely used forms of data analysis in the so-
cial sciences, and it is the kind of analvsis
which we will use in the forthcoming
presentation.
l-ligh School Afhleric porriciporion ond
Educqtionol Aifoinment
Defining the Research problern. in order to
move speedily into our data analysis, I will
sketch the background to the problem to be
studied very bnefly (and superficially). Natu-
rally, you would need to do more to substan_
tiate a rationale for a study, but I am going to
skip over most of that effoft here and move
very quicldy 1o an analytic model. Suppose we
hypothesize (on the basis of our knowledge
and reading) that participation in high school
athletics is related to educational attainment
beyond high school and, in particular, to earn-
ing a college degree. Let's say we think this to
be the case because high school athletics fos-
ters such characteristics as competitiveness.
physical rigor, regularity in schedules, respon-
sibility-all of which we think are important
factors in pursuing higher education and com-
pleting educational programs.
We begin by looking in the library for sim-
ilar studies and find a few that have studied
this idea before. In particular, we see that Otto
and Aiwin (1977) found a srrong relationship
between athletic participation in high school
and post-high school educational attainmenl
among a l5-year interval panel survey of340
males. In their conclusion they make the fol-
lowing statement "Like an academic curric-
ulum, extracurricular activities provide a
forum for developing attitudes and skilis from
which status goals evolve and upon which fu-
ture success is grounded" (1977, p. I 12). This
seems to support our contention by suggesting
that the experience of participating in extra-
curricular athletic activity should help form
attitudes and teach skills that may be apptied
to the pursuit ofhigher goals, such as a college
education.
Setting Up the Analytic Model. Hypothesiz_
ing that athletic participation in high school
I
 -]fl-:l
,.]
l

I
1

332 TheAnal,vsisof Social ResearchData pAR T Fo u R

I
CHAPTER ]3 Data Anal)tsis: Learning frr.tm Others and T'rying One
I o;[ Our Own 3 3
l
l

affects post-high school educational attain-
ment, we set up our basic research model as
shown in Figure 13-4. Figure 13-4 states that
the independent variable, high school athletic
participation. may be reiated to the dependent
variable, educational attainment. What we
will try 1o see is whether those who partici-
pated in high school
athletics, and especially
those who were athletic leaders, are more
likeiy to reach higher levels of education
subsequently.
Our reading in this area (as well as our
background experience) suggests that there
may be a number of other factors that could
affect this hypothetical relationship. One of
the obvious factors that needs to be consid-
ered is sex. Otto and Alwin(1977) ignored this
factor by studying oniy young men. Athletic
participation for mdes has tended to be highly
and fewer resources 1o finance a college edu-
cation. For these students, athletic prowess
and the possibility of athletic scholarships at
college may make a great difference in deter-
mining whether they go to and complete col-
lege. For students from middle-class families,
the effects of athletic participation in high
school on educational attainmenl may or may
not be important. To control for the differen-
tial economic base of families, we will want to
consider the variable ofsocioeconomic status
(SES) of family in our model. Thus sex and
SES will serve as control variables in our re-
search model.
Figure 13-5 diagrams the predicted effects
that being a male or a female or coming from
a high, medium, or low social class back-
ground would have on the relationship ofhigh
school athletic participation to educational at-
I
Predicted Eflects with Sex as the Control Variable
l also encourage academic performance. In il
dirion, to perform in athletics in high schc
SEX: lvlALE
often requires maintaining a certain level
Educationa academic achievement. Thus those who u
attainment
athletes have grealer pressure to maintain tl
cent grades than those who are not. (in sotr
SEX: FEMALE
ways, this may seem to be confary to o
commonsense norion of alhleles as less sc
High school athletic
participation ous students. But since we plan to conpit
athletes to all other high school studenrs, n
just to the strongest students, our hypoth
Predicted Effects with SES as the Control Variabie
sized positive efi''ect of athletic participarir
on final high school GPA seems reasonablr
SES: HIGH Figure l3-6 depicts the model with the ackl
tion of the intervening variable. We will wtrr
High school athletic
participation
to explore what might happen to our origin
relationship between high school alhletic pu
ticipation and educational attainment il
SES: MEDIUM
r.r

take account of such diflerent intervcnir

praised and encouraged. For females, the role
of athletic competition is less clear, Cunently,
there is much more support for it; but in the
past relatively few women participated com-
petitively in athletics. Nevertheless, athletic
competition could be very important for
women's pursuit of higher educational goals.
Certainly the differences between the two
sexes in this relationship seem interesting and
socially important. For our study, we decide
to examine both sexes.
In addition, the social class origins ofthe
students seem to be another factor that shouid
be controlled. Students from more affluent
families may be encouraged to attend and
graduate from college, whether or not they are
athletes. Students from poorer families may
have less encouragement to attend college,
IIGURE I3-4
Hypolhesized relot on between high school othleric
portjcipotion ond educotionol ottoinment.
tainment. Because we predict that the effect of
the independent variable on the dependent
variable will vary under each condition of the
control variable, we are expecting the control
variable to interact in the original relationship
between the independent and dependent varj-
ables. This is called an interaction effect. Thus,
in terms of the interaction effect of sex, we ex-
pect athletic participation to be positively re-
iated to educational attainment of males, but
we offer no prediction for females. For the in-
teraction effect of SES, we predict that there
will be a strong effect ofathletic participation
on educational attainment for lower-class stu-
dents, a possible effect for middle-class stu-
dents, but no predicted effect for higher-class
students.
There is another factor that seems to be
missing in the model. Otto and Alwin (1977)
stated that extracurricular as well as academic
activities should afFect future goals. Perhaps it
will be a good idea to consider academic per-
formance in high school as well. High school
grade-point average (GPA) (as an indicator of
academic abiiity at the culmination of high
school) could be an interveningfactor between
High school athletic
participalior
SES: LOW
FIGURE I3-5
Hypothesized reloions beiween high school orhleiic
porticipotion ond educoiionol otioinmeni show ng inieroction
efiects of sex ond socioeconomic stoius
{SES).
the independent variable, high school athletic
participation, and the dependent factor.
higher cducarional attainment.
High school GPA could itself be affected
by athletic participation assuming that the at-
titudes instilled in athletic performance would
FIGURE I3-6
Hypothesized relotions omong hlgh
school othietic poriictpolion, hlgh
school grode-polnt overoge (GPA),
ond educoiionol otioinment.
conditions as having a high, average, or lrr
GPA in high school.
Securing the Data. Convinced that this is
topic worthy of study, we decide to find a tli
taset on which to test this hypothesis ratht
than to collect our own data. There are mlrr
good reasons for doing a secondary analysir
which were discussed in Chapter 10. Onc r
that while surveys based on national probu
bility sanrples are very expensive 10 carry ou.
they are relativell inexpensive 10 procure unl
analyze once they are made available to th
public for secondary analyses. Again, by Ioolr
ing at studies that have already been carriet
out, we come across mention of a longitudinl
dataset based on a national sample of thr
spring-term high school graduates of l()7.
who were followed up four more times (197.1
1974, 1976, and 1979). This survey, rhe Na

*,
T
tional Longitttdinal Study of the High School
Class of 1972 (NLS) (Riccobono, 1981), is
avaiiable from the Department of Education
in Washington. The survey covers a wide
range of measures on educational and career
attitudes and attainments of these young
adults.
First we want to acquire the original sur-
vey instruments to see whether the variables
of interest to us were measured. We can as-
sume that the sex and SES of the family would
naturally have been included. Moreover, in a
longitudinal study of high school graduates,
we can also assume quite logically that infor-
rnation on high school academic performance
and on college attendance and attainment
would have been gathered. However, we Want
1o be sure that athletic participation in high
school had been determined. We contact the
government agency in Washington and re-
quest the survey instruments. The question-
naires indicate to us that all of the variabies
needed to study our hypotheticai relationship
are available in this dataset.
We purchase the dataset in the form of
tapes for computer analysis at our institution.
Our pian is to select the variables we need to
test our hypothesis, use a social science sofl-
ware program (SPSS) to produce the tables
and statistical tests we need, and then analyze
these tables and statistics. Each of these steps
will be explained in much greater depth in the
forthcoming chapters (and SPSS* will be de-
scribed more fully in Appendix C). In this
chapter, we will exarnine the dataset, select
the necessary variables 1o test the hypothesis,
and see how the data ate distributed among
the categories ofeach ofthe variables-
When we receive the dataset, we find that
three books of information on the data are
sent to us as well. These include a codebook
expiaining all of the variables (a selection
from this codebook was presented in the iast
chapter) together with information on the
sample, the forms of data collection, and re-
sponse rates, as well as frequency distribu-
tions on all the variables for the total sample.
Moreovet, constructed variables srtch as
of recoded
scales, indexes, and various types
variables are explained. (Constructed vari-
abies are ones that have been created from the
original variables based directly on questions
from the survey. Indexes and scales will be the
subject ofChapter I 5.) By looking through the
constructed variabies, we see that an SES var-
iable for the family of origin has been created.
We also see that educational attainment has
been measured several different ways (number
of years of education beyond high school,
types of degrees attained) and that the NLS
staff has construcied some composile mea-
sures ofthis concept using various indicators.
We will need to choose which measure of the
concept best serves our needs.
Selecting Which Subsample to Study' The
National Longitudinal Study o.f the High
Sch.ool Class of 197 2 was based on a lwo-stage,
stratified sample in which high schoois (both
public and private) were sampled at the first
stage, and seniors within these high schools
were sampled at the second stage. In the
spring of 1912, 1200 high schoois were se-
lected and stratified on the basis of criteria
such as pubiic or private, geographic region,
percent of minorit,v students, degree of urban-
izarion, etc. Ofthese, 948 schools actually par-
ticipated; the others either refused to partici-
pate or had no senior classes. Replacement
schools were then selected, boosting the re-
sponse rate to 1069 schools. A total of21,384
students were sampled within these schoois
(approximately 18 per school), and the initial
survey was followed up four tirnes between
1972 and 1979. A total of 12,980 students re-
sponded to all five waves of the survey. In
order to have complete data on each student,
we decide to select for our subsample only stu-
dents who had participated in all five waves
ofthe study.
Selecting the Variabtres. Our model has five
variables in it. After examining the codebook
and the constructed variables, we select the
five variables for the study. The NLS staffhas
named the variables using numbers, and we
decide to use their numbers for our analysis.
l. Sex. This variable was VAR.1626. Ir had
(surprisel) two categories: male and female.
2. Socioeconomic Status of Farnily of Origin
fSES/. This was a constructed variable
based on father's education, mother's edu-
cation, father's occupation, family income,
and presence of certain household ilems
(newspaper, encyclopedia, typewriter, two
cars, etc.). It was then grouped into three
categories: high, medium, and low. It was
variable VARl070.
3. I{igh School Athletic Participation. This
variable was VAR241. It included three
categories: Athletic leader, Active partici-
pant, and Did not participate.
4. High School Grade-Point Average. This
variable (VAR229) was coded into eight
categories corresponding to the responses
ofered in the first questionnaire: (1)
Mostly A, (2) About half A and half B, (3)
Mostly B, (4) About half B and half C,
(5) Mostly C, (6)About half C and half D,
(7) Mostly D, (8) Below D.
5. Educational AttainmenL We decide to use
a composite measure which was con-
structed out ofthree different questions on
the 1979 questionnaire: years of voca-
tional, trade. or business school; highest
level of coilege education; kind(s) of de-
grees earned. From these, a new variabie
was constructed that had eight categories:
(1) Advanced degree; (2) Four- or five-year
bachelor's degree; (3) Two-year degree (or
a degree of more than two years), some
vocational training; (4) Two-year degree
(or a degree of more than two years), no
vocational training; (5) Less than two
years of college, some vocational training;
(6) Less than two years ofcoliege, no voca-
tional training; (7) No college, some voca-
tional training; (8) No coilege, no vo-
cational training. This is variable
vAR3281.
UNIVARIATE ANALYSES
The first step in seeing what your data iook
like is to examine each variable separateiy.
This can be accomplished b-v getting the dis-
tributions of each variabie one by one. Such
single-variable analyses are called univariate
analyses, that is, analyses based on one vari-
able. Frequency distributions offer one type of
univariate table. Another type examining the
central tendencies of each variabie (such as
the mean, mode and median, the standard de-
viation, the shape ofthe distribution, and the
range of responses with the minimum and
maximum values) are usually used only when
a variable is based on an interval or ratio
scale. trn Chapter 15 when indexes and scales
are introduced, which are interval-level mea-
sures, a univariate analysis presenting mea-
sures of central tendency (mean, standard
deviation, etc.) will be presented. In this
chapter, we will focus only on the frequency
distribution.
The compuler tabies to be presented here
were prepared .using the computer package
program, SPSS] which was introduced In
Chapter 12. The instructions needed to pro-
duce these tables using SPSS*are explained in
Appendix C. If you will be using this software
program, you may want to follow these in-
structions as you examine the tables in this
section and in Chapter 14.
Frequency Disfributions
The simplest way to see how the data are dis-
tributed across the categories of a variabie is
to set up a frequency distribution ofthe vari-
able. This will give you the number of cases
which fall into each of the categories of the
T
 336 TheAnatvsisofsocialResearchData PA RT F OU R c HAP1E RI 3 DataAnalysis; LearningJiom others andTrying one o"four own 337

TABTE I 3-44 TABTE I3-5A

FREOUENCY DISTRIBIJTION TOR PARENTAI SES-COMPUTER TABTE

FREOUThICY DISTRIBUTION TOR SEX-COMPUTER TABTE

Viii. ].6.i.*, ;i:r.i

(:iii"l
i.r-li*i-.:i:.: i-i:!tli:i.. Fi:j1i...r;ri I FeF:LLi\i I Fiii:ii;Ii.iT r./r:ii_t jil LAiii::i_ ;rRfi;!Lrfi;.rcY F,;:F:;-frt:; tI*l;iJt
ii.i 'i!-i ':1 at ".Filfr,
j*iiri-.i:i., n r. i!+
L':t:: ! IrfLJ i. lJl nr': !,r ariu ! I L
i:ili4 tii".fl I
=-'
:1, (-ri:j ,-, "+ :i.0ii" il
i'i:ti ii.- i :?;:i:, ii:l(j. (l 1
IiliC:lci:

IFrl-. " Ll \- r_t;1i:i. I i'li i:jg .i lnii i:il!,f S Ll ]-il'iA|_ i 3iitl)

Viir lIl CirFf"S l:i9;tl i"ii gs i i'i[i i:)As[3 Ei

TABT.E r 3-48
FREQUEN€Y DISTRIBUTION FOR 5EX-
{Noiionol Longltudino Study of the High School Closs oi
922, Five-Survey Respondents)
1
Percentoge Distribution of Sex
Sex
Mole
Femole
*Recomposed ioble.
variable and the percentage ofthe total num-
ber of cases they represent. This is the most
basic set of information you can generate
from your data. It will serve two primary pur-
poses: in the first place, it will provide you
wilh a foundation for understanding this par-
ticular variable in your study and help you de-
cide how to use the variable in later anaiyses;
and second, you will be able to use these fre-
quency distributions to clean your data fur-
ther if necessary. Now you can see exactly
where the computer "thinks" the data are lo-
cated on this variable. Even though you may
have cieaned the data after the coding proce-
dure and may have gotten your data file
"listed" from the computer, examining these
initial frequency distributions will be an im-
portant final step in the cleaning operation.
Composing Frequency Distributions from the
Cornputer Output. Once the data were en-
tered onto the computer and we have set up
Percenloge
an SPSS" system file with the sample we want
47.6 and the five variables we need, we aro ready
52.4 to examine the initial frequency tables to see
r00.0 how the data are distributed for each variable.
( I 2980i
Tables 1 3-4'4 through 1 3-8,4 present the actual
SPSS* computer-prepared frequency distribu-
tions; Tables 13-48 through 13-8,8 show re-
composed versions ofthese tables suitable for
presentation in a research PaPer.
Tables 13-41 to 13-81 give the frequency
distributions of the five variables as they ap-
pear in the SPSS* output. On the basis ofthe
initiai examination, we decide to recode cet-
tain variables for different reasons. (This
would require special data manipuiation pro-
cedures for recoding which can be easily car-
ried out with SPSS"; see Appendix C.) We re-
versed the order of VAR1070 (making the
high category equal to l, lhe low category
equal to 3). We also condensed three variabies
to make them easier to analyze by getting rid
of very small categories and combining cate-
gories that were similar. VAR229 (High
School GPA) was reduced from eight to four
categories, and VAR3281 (Educational At-
TABTE I 3-58
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR PARENTAT SES-
{Notionol Longitudinol Study of the High School Closs of
1 972, Five-Surv ey Respondents)
Percentdge Distriburion of
High
Medium
Low
No doio
*Recomposed toble.
tainment) was condensed into three catego-
ries: College Degree or More, Some College,
No College. Having done that, we first look in
these tables for the foilowing qualities:
. How evenly are the cases distributed among
the various categories?
. Which categories have the most and which
have the fewest cases?
. Are there many missing cases?
Starting with Table l3-4A, the frequency
distribution for VAR1626, SEX, we $3e that
there are 6184 males and 6796 females. These
calegories are fairly close in size, but to un-
derstand the relationship of the categories to
each other, it is best to examine the percenl-
SES
ages in each category. Here we see that 47.6
percent ofthe respondents are male, and 52.4
Percentoge percent are female. The table also tells us that
24.5
there are 12,980 cases reported upon in this
48. l table (everyone in the sample we are using)
and no misSing cases.
I OOCI The distribution of Parental Socioeco-
|2B2lt nomic Status (SES), VAR1070R. in Tables
(8) 13-5A and 13-5,8, shows that approximately
half of the sample (48.1 percent) lies in the
medium category, while the other half is quite
evenly divided between low and high. In this
table, we discover missing cases: there was no
information on SES for eight respondents,
and these have lherefore been entered as miss-
ing cases. In this instance, the SPSS* output
gives us the percentage distributions with the
missing cases percentaged under PERCENT
and with the missing cases excluded under
VALID PERCENT. We are more inrerested
in examining the VALID PERCENT coiumn.
in which the missing cases have been taken
out of the base number of cases.
In Table 13-6A, o:ur major independent
variable, VAR241R, shows the following dis-
tribution: 10 percent ofthe respondents were

I
r-------
| 338 rhcnalvsisofSocial RescurchData PART FouR I
I
Data Analysis: Learning from Others and Trying One of Our Own

TABTE I 3.64 TABTE I3.7,4

FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR HIGH SCHOOT ATHIETIC PARTICIPATION-COMPUTER TABTE FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION.I FOR I.IIGFI SCHOOT GPA-COMPUTER TABI.E

Hli:i-'I iCIi];JL EFfii FNUii IGTL"']DRiEF

VAL i ii
ljr:"lLi-.i'[ Lr:1Fi:1" ! iiLtt Fi;i[rlir[i!i[:Y F'EililEiri-i T An*r":r! I VAi.UE LAE[i.- ,vti'\LIJE i:ifEi1:luEiiclrr PEiti:Ei..lT Viii, ii{ L.\..it'l
F.HRCEi,iT I r_nL.Et! I

a,=a- t-J;:',:i i-f r:t-rj i-E':'ii::- ..:r,.

': :1t: i: n 1{l,i:j H Al"lll *B
Pi 1 Ot)
. 3?59 :i:i. S f,11" 7 :i_.:

ilAilt I l: I f..'l\"i'i: cL:-r I vhil*Y iil:j 4416 3/:i." i,j s iiirifi S*C ;:, i"jri i,3:: 4$. 7 49
i.iiiT PilRl-i{:l ii:s ri:
lS ?(: i_

i!.i..-t J-i,f i. Oii. fl Ai'lt

ghin
c-n 7" ili_; :i4c)6 ia.:: Li.',.
"
f dc D
ILt? J.'{ i'i:E5ii'1fr n 8F:Li:rid 4.iji:r 1:a r..1
i,i j

ii:TAL r !7 c,., lLjLl-t-i j{_ru.Li

?" L-,rj ___-::_ _-....-:I_ !:::::!: l_)1..r- (_i

TIJTAL 1:98C} r r.rL.., r \-r I L,t_j r l_l

'r lli.-- .l Lr LH: tr.: i ;f i i
vHL.iLr LtirLi litl: i'iiEsii,ifi i:AsEs 65

TABT Et 3-68
TREQUENCY DISTRIB[JTION FOR HIGI.i SCHOOT
ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION-
(Notionol tongitudinol Study of the High School Closs of
1 97 2, Fiv e-Surv ey Respondents)
Percentsge Distribuiion of Athletic Porticipotion
Parficipotion
Level
Athletic leoder
Aciively porlicipote
Not poriicipoie
No doto
*Recomposed toble.
athtretic leaders, approximately 35 percent
were athietic participants, and 55 percent were
nonparticipants. If we consider both athletic
participation categories as athletes and com-
pare them to the nonathletes, we have a 45155
split. This means that there is a large enough
number of athietes to make the analysis
possible.
High school GPA (VAR229), as seen in
Table l3-7A, presents more uneven catego-
ries. Roughly half the sample have B grade-
point averages, less than a third have A aver-
ages, about one-fifth have C averages, and
only I
percent have D or below averages.
When we carry out our analyses, we would
have to be careful that there are enough cases
in the D category to be able to cross-tabuiate
this variable with other variables. This sug-
gests that it might be a good idea to consider
Percentoge
coliapsing categories, However, combining
r0.0 the A and B groups would produce too large a
34.5 category, and C and D would be too small.
Another possibiiity might be to compare the
r 00.0-
A category to all others combined, as a Non-
11282t)
A category. A final plan would be to collapse
{r59) the D and Below category into the C category,
making a trichotomized variable. The final
strategy is the one we shall follow.
Finaiiy, Table 13-81 gives the Educational
Aitainment variable in two
VAR.328lR reverses the original order ofthe
codes, and VAR321T is a collapsed three-cat-
egory recode of those without any college,
with some college, and with a college degree
or higher. In the transposed version, Table
13-84 which is based on the three-category
recode, we see that more than 25 percent of
the respondents graduated from college within
a seven-year period foliowing high school
graduation, another 36 percent had some col-
lege, and more than 37 percent had no coilege
TAB|"E l3-78
the students participated in athletics in high
FREAUENCY DISTRIBI,ITION FOR HIGH SCHOOT GPA-
(No1 onol Longitudinol Siudy of the High School Closs of
school. Finally, nearly two-thirds of the stu-
dents attended college at some point in the
1 972, Five-Survey Respondents)
seven years following high school, and one-
Percentoge Distribufion o{ High Schoo! GPA quarter ofthem had received a college degree.
We are now ready to move on t0 anaiyzing the
Percentoge
relationships between these variables. Before
A ond A-B s0.7 we do this, however, let's consider the types of
B ond B-C 49.0 analytic tables we have just produced.
C ond C-D 19.3
D ond below Lt
Recomposing Frequency Tables. Although
r00.0i
the computer tabulates and presents all the in-
(l29r5)
No doto 165)
formation necessary for the univariate table,
you need to reconvert this table into one that
*Recomposed tobie.
can be presented in your study. The computer
tTotols throughoul ore rounded.
tables offered in the text have had variable la-
bels and variable category labels included (be-
versions: education. There are very few missing cases cause the.y were requested and set up through
for this variable, which is particularly fortu- the SPSS" program, which is explainia in ap-
nate given that it is our dependent variable. pendix C). This makes them quite "readable.,'
Examining the frequency distributions of But you should not merely cut out these tables
these five variables gives us an overview of and paste them in your report. Instead, use the
these data. We learn that the dataset is roughly computer tables as guides to produce your
half male and half female, and largely middle own tables.
ciass in origins. The grade-point averages of Your table needs to contain six things: (1)
these high school students are skewed toward a complete tittre, (2) labels for the categories,
the high end ofthe grading scale, with few stu- (3) percentages presented consistently (either
dents receiving grades of D (is this evidence rounded offto whole numbers or lefl with one
of grade inflation?). Slightly fewer than half or two numbers to the right of the decimal),

I
 340 TheAnalysisofSociaLResearchData PART FOUR CHAPTER I3 Data Analvsis; Learning
"front Others and Trying One of aur Own 341

TABTE I 3-84 subsample presented appear in the title. The . Univariale tables, those based on one vari-
lerm participation level has been added to able, are the most elementary form of tables.
FREOt.!ENCY DISTRIBUTIONS FOR UNIVERSITY/COtLEGE ATTAINMENT-COMPUTER TABTE
Table 1 3-63 as an appropriate heading for the One of the most common forms of univar-
range of categories offered. In this example, iate tables are frequency distributions which
the percentage numbers include a decimal: show the percentage breakdown of the vari-
vf{L l. L] uL.-rt I this is generally the practice in research re- able categories.
i.;i-1./E L,rFEr.._ r'nErllUtr-r1L F',LI1i Lr"i F:ERi:Ii.]T r Ef\L,.,ci! r

ports though the percentages may be rounded .

'v T I
Most quantitative data analyses are now
f . ill-) :in.4 ':,,7 offto whole numbers in some studies.
irLrlrriiii\li:i:i:j I.iE;.:iri ;.iI t',t i, 'l'r'.1 ai
carried out by a computer, which can pro-
ji. /
4 "f,i:i :; \'[r{iii i:i.r.iitiEfii ii,i
r,.4 6, ri
":[r,
Now let's examine the distribution for ed- duce a great range of table formats. How-
i: i,:i r ili:) 3ul :r vLrL. i:?
GT ::' '!'Fi5' hl0 '"!rl: i ] i-J
'i:ao
o!
i-r. 3
6
ucational attainment, Table 13-88. In this ever, for presentation in a paper or report,
r L.- i Hi I t\-rr :r'' !'UL, i l:.j. : L

i--i ...- ir_r;r l\ll-r ruL, i lj{?{l ed., !l table, the title has been changed from the computer tables must be recomposed by the
iji:i; -,r 'r61.dr :t:;" 4 ./ l
" 5ni"{i:
L-l
i'it] i:"JL-l.- . {.:i(j
.l!4rl computer table since the recoding basically ig- researcher so that they show clear and com-
I,itj i:l_11..i-. l"iil 'riiil :; j, il :i.Oil " i.:i
:r? fi 1 56 i i'il:i nored the vocational training and concen- plete labels and numbers and take out un-
TiJTP,t..
trated on whether the subjects had attended necessary material.
college or nol. University/college has been
'riii iI LHol--,J I*7'.-tl i'iigSit'jii LIA5E5 ;.?
used in the title instead of just college, because
such institutions are not synonymous, even KEY TERMS
though the lerm college is used to refer to both
,",Aii.:j:;iT Fl-r,-ji"rAt-iijiiirii- ATTAitii'iili!-i IHi:Ei; iA-iEljOFrIEs types of institutions. Furthermore, the year in
anaiytic model
control variable
which the question was asked (1979) has been
ilAi l Lr i:i:.ji'l epsilon
FFi:ECtLiri']rY r'En:i]fi'.ii FrFlr[i';-i r[ri:i]E.i]T highiighted since, for many subjects, the high-
.,r i:iLijl: L.i.:iBEi* VHL!,; frequency distribution
est level of educational attainment to be
i:iil-.i-. i.!['*iF:i:E ii::; iii]iiiE i4:14 "r'::'. c: i:.irt
_'E " Cli interaction effect
::-!rn!:: iil;
!'a! i f ..j i..ir-j tEa l, i-l! c reached may not yet have been attained.
i'ii-l i:iiil...L i:.r:ii;
"
ris:i& 37"4 -, u
3?.1
T a.- 1 li!-j Now that you have learned how to pro-
intervening variable
,a monotonicity
will turn in Chapter
duce univariate tables, we
TiiTi:iL L:'iaii 14 to the discussion ofbivariate and trivariate
strength of association
strength of reiationship
!t{i-li-r ';i:iSil.: i.l't5i I'li :i: .L i!ii.] L,l.i*aEi i ? tables. These will be needed io tesl our hy-
pothesis regarding athletic participation and
univariate analysis
educational attainment.

(4) tho total percent at the bottom ofthe table, STUDY EXERCISES
TABTE I 3-88
REVIEW NOTES
(5) the number ofcases on which the percent- 1. Taking the distribution of Father's Occu-
FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION FOR UNIVERSITY/
COTTEGE EDUCATIONAT ATTATNMENT BY 1979' ages are based, (6) the number of cases for . Data analyses aim to test hypotheses or rs- pation, as given in Table l3-1 (the figures
{Notionol Longitudinol Study o{ the High Schoo Closs o1 which there are no data (the missing cases). search questions posed in a study. inparentheses at the bottom of the col-
1 922, Flve-Survey Respondents) Tables 13-48 through 13-88 are recom- . Tables prepared to present the evidence umns), prepare a univariate frequency
posed versions of the computer-produced ta- need to be set up in such away lhat the hy- table for that variable.
Percentoge Distribution of Educofionol Attoinment
bles. Examine Tabie 13-68, for instance. It in- pothetical relationship being studied can be 2. Develop a diagram for the Hirschi model
1979 Attoinment Percentoge cludes all the information necessary to easily examined. Careful attention must be which would inciude all three independent
understand the table. The computation of the given to lorms oltable presentation so as to variables hypothesized to be reiated to de-
College degree or higher 26.7
percentages can be understood because the facilitate an understanding ofthe evidence. linquency (for the cultural deviance hy-
.11.6
Some college
No college number on which it is based is included (the . Data analysis begins after the problem has pothesis, include only the one variable fbr
r 000 base).The total size of the subsample can also been defined, an analytic model has been set number of delinquent friends).
{r295r) be estimated from the table (it includes both up, the data have been secured, an appro- 3. Three test variabies have been ofered for
the base number and the cases on which there priate sample (or subsample) has been se- consideration in analyzing the relationship
No doto t29)
were no data). Note that a brief description of lected, and the variables to be examined between alhletic participation and educa-
'Recomposed ioble. the source of the sampie and of the type of have been chosen. tional attainment. Suggest two other vari-

I
 The Analysis of Social Reseatch Data
:i

ables that might be good ones to test, and reported in this text. What is impressive about
defend your choices. this study is its clarity.
2. Riley, Matilda White: Sociological Research: A
Case Approach, Harcourt, Brace, New York,
RECOMMENDED READINGS 1963. This classic text, widely available in li-

1. Hirschi, Travis: Causes of Delinquency, Univer-

braries, combines selections from various stud-
ies with discussions ofthe methodological tech-
Bivariste and Tivariate Analyses
sity of California Press, Berkeley, Calif., 1969.
niques used and the analyses developed in these
This study, which we have referred to so exten-
studies.
sively, covers much more ground than has been

INTRODUCTION
t-T-l
,[ he prirnury object ofthis chapter is to help
you become comfortable in setting up, reading, and interpreting both two-variabie and
three-variable tables. These skills will be taught together for two reasons. First, it is pos-
sible to understand and interpret a table only if you know how it was put together.
Second, you can design a table format only if you understand what you want to be able
to analyze in the table. Understanding two-variable tables is essential because these ta-
bles are central to the strategy of anaiyzing social data. Most other, more complex, types
of analyses are built on the basic two-variable relationship. For this reason, it is very
important that you grasp how to relate one variable to another before you go furthei
and try to understand analyses comparing a greater number of variables.
We have already examined two of Hirschi's bivariate tables in the last chapter (Ta-
bles 13-l and 13-2). on the basis ofsuch tables, Hirschi was able to support one theory
and refute another. Clearly, bivariate tables can be used to support or challenge previ-
ously developed expianations. Once a third variable is entered into the analysis as a
control ot test variable, the relationship between the original two variables may well
change. The manner in which these changes occur has been a subject ofinterest in the
development of social science analltic methods. one well-known approach to studying
the ways in which a third variable can alter the patterns of a bivariate relationship is
referred to as the elaboration model, or paradigm. This chapter will conclude with an
examination of the elaboration paradigm.
we wrll begin by taking up the study we were developing in the last chapter on ath-
letic participation and educational attainment and develop the bivariate and then the
trivariate tables needed to test our hypothesis. Then we will consider the principles used
in setting up these tables. Finally, we will use data from this study (as well as some other
examples) to explain the elaboration paradigm.

J+J

I
 344 TheAnalysisofSodal ResearchData PART FouR CHAPTER ]4 Bivariate and Trivariate Analyses 345

A NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY up a cross tabulation between educational at- TABTE I4-I,4

Bivariate and trivariate tables based on per-

csntage distributions of one variable in rela-
tion to one or two others can be referred to by
a number of terms. Computer programs gen-
erally refer to them as cross tabulations. These
are tables in which the categories ofone vari-
able are crossed with the categories ofanother
to form a matrix type of table. Another way of
referring to these tables is to call them cross-
classification tables, srggesling that one vari-
able is being sorted in terms of the categories
tainment (the dependent variable) and ath- I979 EDUCATIONAT ATTAINMENT BY HIGII SCHOOT
ATH!EIIC
letic participation (the independent variable). PARTICIPATION-COMPUTER TABTE
We wili piace the dependent variable at the
Lnuib I Hb,JL_fi T i Lf i!
left-hand side ofthe tabie to serve as the row nF
vHnrrr!r ,rLi-[Lf) i lLjf!AI_ ATT(i!l..liv![::NT -i.HFlF.E CATEGOi:'iIE5
variable and the independent variable at the Ey vAFr:41R Hr6H FcHoeL ATHLETTc rnnric:e,nrroru
top to serve as the column variable. (This can
be requested from the SPSS" program; in-
structions on how to do so are included in Ap-
itrlOitj
pendix C.)
;,, |r:.)
Table Formats. Table 14-11 presents the It-ij i_ i.itrff'h:ii-i:. tFi i.1

(or classification system) of the other variable. computer-prepared table showing the reia-
... , iil ,

Finally, the term contingency tables is also
widely used. This term stresses the relation-
ship between the variables being studied, be-
cause the table shows how contingent (or de-
pendent) one variable is on another.
BIVARIATE ANALYSES
Bivoriole Tobles for fhe Afhletic
Porticipotion Study
tionship between these variables; Table 30HI ti0LL.l-:i:l
14-1.8, immediately below it, gives a version
i!ti
of the tabie suitable for research reports. To COLL.EEE -1 -'
begin with, reproductions of some of the ac- i:,:L!_lt'itl
TOTAL
tual computer tables made for the study will ioo,o
be presented so that you can familiarize your-
self with how such tables look and see how to
convert them to the types oftables presented rABtt l4-t8
in reports and publications. As we move
along, however, only the recomposed tables I979 UNIVERSITY/COI.tEGE ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOI- ATHI.ETIC PARTICIPATION-
will be presented, but you will understand {Notionol longitudino study of rhe High schoor Cross of r 922, Five-survey Respondenrs)

By cross-tabulating different pairs of the five how they were created.

Porticipotion Level
variables in our study ofathletics and higher In Table l4-il, first examine the table
educational attainment, we will see how the setup. Note that the highest level of educa- Attoinmeni Athleticleoder Activeporticipont Did Not Porticipote
variabies are related to one another. Three tional attainment is at the top ofthe set ofcat- College degree or higher 40.6V0 30.7Vo
types of bivariate relationships interest us. egories (coded as 1) as is the highest level of Some college 38.0
21 .9a/o
J4.6
First, we want to see whether athletic partici- athletic participation (being an athletic No college 21 .4 32.1
pation is directly related to educational attain- leader). Since the hypothesis states that the I 00.070 r00.0% l 00'0%
ment (the association representing our major strongest athletic participants are likely to go t28t) t4409) {7r03)
hypothesis). Second, we want to see whether the furthest in their education, the measures -Recomposed
ioble.
grade-point average relates to educational at- ofeach ofthese highest qualities are coded as
tainment (an alternate hypothesis). Third, we 1, and the categories meet in the upper-left-
want to examine whether there are important hand cell of the table.
differences in the athletic participation ofdif- At the bottom of each column are the col- down each of the columns to 100 percent. The Recomposing Table 14-lA into Table
ferent subgroups (based on sex or social class) umn base numbers on which the percentages computer table includes as well a tolal column 14-13 requires these changes:
which might affect the association between are computed; these are referred to as margin- percentage, that is, the proportion ofall cases
athletics and educational attainment. als. For each ofthese columns, the percentage in the table which are in that column. (Do you . Adapting the title to say exactly what you
of each category of the dependent variable know what number would serve as the base want it to mean without any computer jar-
Does Athletic Participation in High School (the row variable) appears in each cell. As we for this column percent? It is the total table gon or abbreviations.
Relate to Post-High School Educational have seen in tables in the last chapter, the per- number, 12,793, which is at the base of the . Puttingin subtitles for each of the vari_
,A.ttainrnent? To examine this, we need to set centages in the cells ofthe tabie can be totaled row totals.) ables-at the upperJeft-hand side for the

I
 346 fheAnalysisof Social ResearchData
dependent variable and across the top for
the independent variable. [Note that on the
computer table only the variable number
(VAR241R) is presented; on the final table,
this computer name should be deleted.l
. Entering 100 percent at the bottom ofeach
column to enable the reader to understand
quickly how the tabie was "percentaged."
. Removing the code numbers of the catego-
ries, the variable numbers, the row totals
(the row marginals), the table total, and the
column total percents.
In the tables presented, only the column per-
cents were calculated and presented in the
cells because this is what had been requested
from the computer (see Appendix C); row per-
centages and total percentages (based on the
proportion of the total cases falling in each
cell) could have been presented had they been
requested in the SPSS" program.
Ilnderstanding the tuble. Looking at Table
l4-lB, nole that the differences in the column
marginals are quite great (with over 7000
cases in the Did Not Participate column and
iess than 1 300 cases in the Athletic Leader col-
umn). Yet percentaging aliows you to com-
pare these different columns by making each
of them equivalent to 100. Again, we will fol-
low the pnnciple of percentage down, read
auoss and compare the column distributions
across each category of the independent
variable.
For athletic leaders, over 40 percent com-
pleted a college degree, nearly twice the pro-
portion ofthose who had no college (21.4 per-
cent). Comparing athletic leaders to those who
had participated in athletics in high school,
the middle column, you see that the distribu-
tion narrows so that roughly simiiar propor-
tions of the athletic participants finish (30.7
percent), attend (37.2 percent), or do not at-
tend college (32.1 percent). Looking now at
pA R T Fo u R
the nonparticipant column on the right, we TABI,E I4-2A
seethat the distribution widens again. In con-
I979 EDUCATIONAT ATTAINMEI{T BY HIGH SCHOOT
trast to the athletic leader column, however, GPA_COMPUTER TABTT
twice the proportion ofthe athletic nonparti- ERtrSSTABULATION
\JAR3:B1T ENUCATItrNAL ATTAIFTIENI THREE
OF
cipants had completed no coliege (43.3 per-
CATEEORIES
cent) as had attained college degrees (21.9 FY !,AR:i?TH HIGH SCHOOL 6PA: THREE CATEGORIES
percent).
We can conclude from Table l4-l lhat cotJl,iT
VARI:?TH
there is a relationship between high school and A- E and F- B" R0hr
athletic participation and college attainment ?oflnd TTJTAL
and that the more involved the student was in
high school athletics, the more likely he or she COLL 3444
was to have entered college and to have re- :, o0
SNHE NOLLEFI + arlU
ceived a degree. But actually how important
relative to other possible factors is high school NTJ CBLLEIiE 4822
athletic participation in attaining post-high 37.4
EOLUI.lN
school education? Wouldn't high school aca- IU IHL 1 TB86
demic achievement be even more strongly re-
lated to post-high school educational attain-
ment? The next set of tables will examine this.
IABTE I 4.28
Does ,A.cadernic Perforrnance in High School
?.2?,ufr_ty!lstTy/cottEGE ATTATNMENT By HtGH scHoor GRADE-potNT
Affect Post-High School Educational Attain- I
AVER,AGE (GPA)-
ment? We will repeat the exercise we did {Notionol longitudinol study of rhe High schoor Cross of r
922, Five-survey Respondents)
above, presenting the computer table as Table
14-M and a recomposed table as Table 14-28.
Comparing the column distributions in this Atloinmenl A ond A-B B ond B-C C ond Below
table shows very strong differences in post-
College degree or higher
high school educational attainment for those 49.1V0 2l .30/ 6.2V0
Some college 30.0
with diflerent academic achievement levels in 40.6
No college 2l .0
high school. The proportion of AJevel high 60.3
r00.0%t 1 OOO% r00.0%
school students who finish college is two and {1281) 14409) {7t031
a half times larger than the proportion of
those who do not attend. For students with 'Recomposed toble.
GPAs of C and below, the proportion of those tTotols throughour ore rounded.
who do not attend is ten times iarger than the
proportion of those who graduate from col- lated to coliege attainment than is athletic par_ high school is much less likeiy to complete
lege. B-level high school students are most ticipation. This is hardly surprising, given ihat college than one who is a nonparticipant in
likely to have attained some college but not college attainment (like high school grades) sports. In fact students with a GpA of C or less
graduated from college. This table strongly depends on rhe ability ro do academic work. are much more likely not to have gone to col-
confirms the association between high school However, it is interesting that the major dif- lege at all than are athietic nonparticipants. In
grades and college attainment. ferences in these tables show up in the com_ summary, athletic leadership is aimost as ad_
Comparing this table with Tabie 14-1, we parison ofC students with athletic nonpartici_ vantageous as a strong GpA in high school in
can easily see that grades are more strongly re- pants. A student with a C-or-below average in
its relation to acquiring a college degree; but
I

348 TheAnalysisofSociaLResearchData
nonparticipation in athletics does not have as
negative an effect on educational attainment
as a low high school GPA.
How Do Sex and Socioeconomic Origin Relate
to fXigh School Athletic Participation? Since
these tables will examine the independent var-
iable in terms of groups to which the respon-
dents beiong, the tables serve as subgroup
comparisons. The primary object of subgroup
comparisons is to describe the differences be-
tween the groups. Our object here will be to
analyze whether some types of students (or
students characterized by different qualities)
are more involved in athletics in high school.
For these tables, only our recomposed tables
will be presented.
Table 14-3 reports the cross tabulation for
sex, and Table 14-4 reports the cross tabula-
tion for social class origins. In Table 14-3, we
see a strong relationship between being male
and athletic participation. There is a nine-per-
centage-point difference in favor of the men
among atirletic leaders, a 17-percentage-point
difference in favor of the men among active
participanls, and a 26-point difference in
favor of ths women among the nonpartici-
pants. Clearly, the distribution of males and
females in athletic activities in high school
TABTE I 4-3
HIGH SCHOOL ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION BY SEX
(Noiiono Longitudinol Study oi the High School C oss of
1 97 2, liv e'Surv ey Respondents)
Sex
Porticipoiion
Level
Athieiic leoder l4.7Vo 5.7Vo
Acilve porticiponi 43,5 26.2
68. l
Did not porticipoie 41.8
t00.070
r00.0%
161271 t6694t
P A RT F o u
was different, with maies much more iikely to
have participated.
Socioeconomic status (SES) categories
range from high to low. Since this categoriza-
tion implies an order, we can anal.vze Table
14-4 in terms of monotonicity. When we com-
pare the athletic participation of
students
from different social class origins. \t'e can see
distinctive differences. High SES students
were more 1ikely to have participated in ath-
letics in high school and to have been leaders
than medium or low SES students. There is a
ciear ordering between the groups such that
athletic leadership and participation decline
with each lower social class group. This is ev-
idence of monotonicit-v in the relationship be-
tween social class and high school athletic
parlicipation.
If we compare the two tables on the influ-
ence of sex and social class on athletic partic-
ipation in high school, we see that sex differ-
ences are somewhat greater than social class
differences, though both factors are clearly re-
lated to differential athletic participation in
high school. For our research problem, what
is now important is to consider how far these
three background characteristics affect the re-
lationship of high school athletics to college
degree attainment. To examine this requires
TABTE I 4.4
HIGH SCHOOL ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION BY
pARENTAL SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (5ES)
(Noiionol Longitudino Study of the High School Closs
1 97 2, F we-Survey Respondents)
Porticipqtion
Level High
Athletic leoder I 3.070 9.7a/o
Active porticipont 38.5 34.2
Did nol poriicipole 48.6 56.0
100.0% 100.0%
(61 70)
{3 I 55)
ry
I
R CHAPTER I4
setting up trivariate tables. Before we do this,
however,.let us recapitulate the meaning of bi-
variate tabies.
The Noture of Bivoriqte Relotionships
A two-variable table tells ,vou how one varia-
ble is related to another. It does not show
whether one variable determines or causes the
other, since other factors currently being ig-
nored in the two-variable association may
help to explain the relationship between the
two being studied. However, it is useful to
begin by flrst trying to understand the rela-
tionship between two variables. The best way
to start is to consider the direction of the
relationship.
What you wanl 10 look for is how much
variation in one variabie relates to variation
in another. Are the cases that are categorized
as high on one variable also high on the other?
Or are they low on the other? Il the first case
is true (high is related to high; low is related
to low), there is a positive, or direct, relation-
ship (association) between the two variables.
If the second case is true, and those high on
one variable tend to be low on the other, there
is a negative, or inverse, relationship (associa-
tion). In either case, the relationship would be
considered linear in thal as the values of one
variable go up, the value of the other will also
go up (a positive association) or down (a neg-
ative association). (Looking for the direction
of the relationship between two variables re-
o1
quires that the categories of each variable
have some order.However, if one of the vari-
abies. such as sex, is measured a1 the nominal
level. and therefore has no implied order, then
this concept of the direction of the relation-
7 .80/o ship does not apply.)
31 .2
6l .l
00.0%
Fositive and Negative Associations.
I
Whether a positive or negative association is
{3488}
considered strong or weak depends on your
Bittariate and Trivariate Analvses 349
hypotheses about the type of relationship you
expected to find. In Chapter 16, statistical
tests will be presented to test the strength ol
the relationship between variables. However,
even a statistically weak relationship may
nevertheless be considered important, de-
pending upon what you had expected the re-
lationship to be according to your.theory or
hypotheses.
In many tables, the pattern of relationship
is less evident (high may be reiated to high,
medium, and low; low may be related to low,
medium, and high). In such an instance, the
relationship is less clear-cut. Ifone variable is
related to both high and low values of a sec-
ond variable, then the relationship is not lin-
ear, but curvilinear. (Chapter 16 will show
graphic examples of these.) One way to deter-
mine whether a table is positive or negative is
to see whether more cases appear in the cells
that cross the table diagonally. If the "high"
categories have been coded as 1 lor the com-
puter and are in the upper-lefl-hand corner,
then the positive diagonal will go from the
upperJeft-hand to the lower-right-hand cor-
ner. Conversely, if the "high" categories are
given the higher number codes, the highest
code will appear above the upper-right-hand
cell. and the positive diagonal will go from the
upper-right-hand to the lowerleft-hand cor-
ner. Our discussion assumes that lables are set
up where the high categories are coded as I
and the positive diagonal runs from the
upper-left-hand corner to the iower-right-
hand corner.
If in a table i'ou find more cases in the cells
forming the positive diagonal, even though
the cases are widely dispersed, this may be ev-
idence ofa weak positive association belween
the variables. If there are fairly large percenl
ages along the negative diagonal, even though
the cases are widely scattered across lhe cells,
then the relationship would be called a weak
negative one. Eventuallyr you must learn to
I

350 TheAnalltsisofSocialResearchData
read a table so quickly and carefully that you
can seeby i1s very appearance whether the as-
sociations are positive or negative. With ex-
perience, you will be able to do this with ease.
As mentioned above, how you set up your
bivariate table may well determine whether
the relationship you find will be positive or
negative. trf you expect (or hypothesize) that
higher-class students are more likely to partic-
ipate in athletics, then you should set up the
table so that they will be given the code of I
(and will be placed in the table in the upper-
leit-hand cell). Likewise. strong participation
should be given a 1. This causes the hypothe-
sized association of higher class and strong
athletic participation to converge in the
upperJeft-hand cell of the table. Programs
such as SPSS* allow you easily to recode the
categories in your variables before carrying
out your computer runs. This will enable you
to set up your variables to test the hypothesis
you want to test. Recall that in Table 14-lA,
educational attainment had been recoded to
make College Degree or More category 1, and
Athletic Participation had been set up so that
Athletic Leader was category 1. We found that
the larger percentages were in the upper-left-
hand and lower-right-hand cells (along the
positive diagonal).
Look again at Table I 3-2 (on p. 328) from
Hirschi's study which cross-classifies deiin-
quency by intimacy of communication. Here
Hirschi has set up his table so that cases with
no delinquent acts and little communication
are in the upper-left-hand cell. His hypothesis,
however, postulated that no acts would be re-
iated to much communication.In this case, we
would expect the larger percentages to be in
the upper-right-hand cell (and lowerJefl-hand
cell). And this is precisely what occurred. In
terms ofpositive and negative, one could say
that there is a negative association between
nondelinquency and much intimate commu-
nication (which is the converse of saying that
'.i:l
PA RT FouR
there is a positive association between deiin-
quency and iittle intinate communication).
The Issue of Spuriousness. Even when you
find a strong relationship between two vari-
ables, you cannot be certain that the one
caused the other. A number ofother phenom-
ena may explain the relationship between the
two variabies being considered. One such ex-
planation could be that the relationship be-
tween the two variables being examined has in
fact come about because of a third, unexam-
ined, variable. When this happens, the rela-
tionship between the two variables is said 1o
be spurious; it is in fact caused by an unseen
third variable. To test whether two-variable
relationships are spurious requires moving
from the analysis of two-variable relation-
ships to the analysis of three-variable
reiationships.
TRIVARIATE ANALYSES
Adding a third variable to an analysis can
make an enormous difference. As stated ear-
lier, this third variable may be referred to as a
control variable. This implies that you pian to
examine a two-variable relationship, control-
ling for the possible effects of a third variable
by looking at the two-variable relationship
under each condition ofthe third, or control,
variable. (Your purpose here may be to check
for possible spuriousness between the depen-
dent and independent variabies.) In other
cases, the third variable is referred Io as a test
variable. Here the interest is more to study, or
test for, the effects of the third variable on the
two-variable association.
A number of different terms are used to dif-
ferentiate bivariate from trivariate tables (and
bivariate from trivariate relationships). Some-
times the bivariate relationship is cailed the
original relationship and the trivariate rela-
I
I
I
CHAPTER t4
I
I
tionship, a partial relationship. This means
that each partial table represents only part of
the sample presented in the original table and
that the sample has been divided among all
the partial lables. For example, if the original
table related athletic pafticipation in high
schooi to posl-high school educational attain-
ment and if a third variable, sex, were then
used to "partial" the original relationship,
there would be two partial tables, one relating
athletic participation to educational attain-
ment for men, the other relating the same two
variables for women.
Bivariate tables can also be referred to as
zero-order tables, meaning that they are at the
lowest or most basic level, and trivariate ta-
bles can be labeled asfirst-order tables, whjch
means that they are raised up to the next
higher level. In this case, you could also have
second-order, third-order, or higher-order ta-
bles where the zero-order table is subdivided
(broken down, or partialed) first by one test
variable, and then the first-order tables are
broken down by a second test variable, etc.
Trivoriote Tobles for fhe Arhleric
Poriicipotion Sfudy
In this section, we will examine our original
relationship of athletic parlicipation to edu-
cational attainment, controlling for a number
of third variables. What this does is separate
the dataset into the categories ofthe third var-
iable and then cross-tabulate the two original
variables. Because only part of the sample is
being considered in each ofthe subtables, tirey
will be referred to as partial tables.
What Happens to the Original Relationship
of Educational Attainment and Athletic part-
icipation When Sex Is Controlled? Tables
14-5A and 14-5-B present these partial tables.
L€t's first look at the computer tables. Notice
that they are very similar to the bivariate
BivariateandTrivariateAnalvses 351
computer tables except that, under the title,
Table l4-5A (part 1) states;
CONTROLLING FOR..
VAR1626 SEX VALUE = 1. MALE
This means that in this table only the males
will be considered. Compare the number of
cases in this table (6112) to Tab\e l4-1A
(which had 12,793). Where are the other sub-
jects? They are in the table for females which
has 6681 subjects (6112 + 6681 = 12,193).
The table is read in preciseiy the same way
as a bivariate table. The difference is that you
want to compare this table for males to the
one for females. If you compare the distribu-
tion of educational attainments across athlelic
types and then contrast these differences in
distributions for males and females, you can
see that the distributions show greater varia-
tion for the males. This greater variation sug-
gests that athletic leadership and participation
are more strongiy related to educational at-
tainment for males than for females.
Now consider the percentage differences
(or epsilons) between athletic leaders and non-
participants for males and females. In the
labie for males, there is a 22-percentage-point
difference between athietic leaders and non-
participants in attaining a college degree; in
the table for females, there is less than a 14-
point difference. It would seem that being an
athletic leader is more advantageous for men,
in terms of achieving a college degree, than it
is for women. It is still advantageous for
women, but not to as great a degree.
We must conclude that the association be-
tween participation in high school athletics
and post-high school educational attainment
is slronger for men than for womgn; however,
both male and female athletes are more likely
to have completed more higher education
than nonathletes. We should recall that the re-
lationship between sex and athletic participa-
T
 i4i!
,,ri.

J
l

352 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchDala P A R T Fo u R I CHAPTER l4 BivarialeandTrivariateAnalyses 35j

.t

TABTE I4-5/ TABTE I4.58

I979 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOT ATHTETIC 1979 UNTVERStTY/COU.EGE ATTATNMENT By HtcH SCHOOT. ATHTETtC
PARTICIPATION BY 5EX-COMPUTER TABTE PARTICIPATION BY SEX-
{Notionol Longitudinol Srudy of the High School Closs ol 1922, Five-Survey Respondenrs)
C E O S 5 ]' AB U L A'I i ! i'i C] F
VA)R;3lfi1 r E,LTUCA'r'lONAL AlliiIl'll4[.NT 1l-lFlEH 1:liTnl:i0[;i]EEi Moles {Porticipofion Level)
BY VAF|:41FI IlIEH $tr|]OOL ATHI-.E"lIE F'ir'RTICiFAIinNI
CUt'11'Rt)1.1.I tlc F{.lR " , VAR i b;:b StiX tiAi-"UE ;: i . l'iAt-F Attoinmenl Athletic leoder Active Porficipont Did Not porticipore
rjAii:tlti 1 I;l Coliege degree or higher 42.0V0 32.0V0 24.00/o
Iii:tli college
Some 39. l 36.9
No college 18.8 31.1 43.8
100.0% r00.0% 100.070
t902) t2659t {255 r)

_l :"iix Femoles (Porticipotion Level)

;'" ll'(r
5[ii'lE: l]01-..L1;i: rl
Alioinment Athletic leoder Active Porticipont Did Nor Porticipdto
;,,t 1 1.
-:i
i''lfl L-lll..-1..!,.F8 -'+ " t College degree or higher 37.2Va 28.7a/o 23.]Vo
i tii-L-li iii ri 1.,? Some college 35.4 J/.6 33.9
'i t-i* 1" i i '{1. i:l
No college 27.4 a1 1 43.0
I 00.070 r 00.0% r00.0%
1379) I I 250) t4552t
cfio.rSTnBULAtIOrJDF
virHlli.ifli ! rlrui:Ai Ii:t'lAi-. iiIrnINflt:l.l I I'FlliiEti LAi"r:Iiolli1l:5 *Recomposed roble.
py vAF.r'r41Ft HIAH Sr:H[]Ul- ATHI'FTIC F/itiTl:r::IliAl IOii
Cilii l"lirl.LIl!l! iri]R,, . V{:riil,h.,i,! $i:X I'liii.. LIE '= :,i. i=Et]Ai.E

:--i. ul r I
trsSocial Class Origin an Important Factor? educational attainment do not vary much by
:Fliil'iii.Ii: iii..l:l:F
:.._.,.. :.rji 'JiT r.iR-i ir'nlii Table 14-4, which was the bivariate table of the level ofathletic participation, though therc
Its"iF F! L i'l'i i'Cl i ICiiLf:tTE. l flTi:iL
I Lr-'.i; -,1.:r-r, J.L.rl.
i athletics and social class origins, indicated is still a slight tendency for students who par-
i"rri.if ::;l'i .. - "..--.-.--..i -';.-------------i-
that athietic leadership and participation was ticipated in high school athletics to be more
.i. . i-ro i 141 i :i i.j i i i)49 i
i:i.ll.t.. i|Clii;l!:,i; lii li I 3i":l I :18' / : ;l:1,1:r I - '-,' J more prevalent among the higher classes than likely to finish college. (Note that among the
i"---'--"-- --l---'--*- - "-+--- ----*"'-'F
:,:. |i-i i :i f,4 i ,:l:,'$ I 1:i4 ji ; the middle, and among the middle classes high SES group, athletic leaders have no real
,i. L:7.. h : ,ll, ?
1!r|ll |.'ri Ll-r.
.i.-*-lll."- -,- --+
I

.I. ilil] i :iQ4 I
i\lil i.;i,:1i...i..i:.riF, I :r"'i
4-.*--..-- *-'{ --- *--. ----i*--.--- ---"+
tion (Table 1 4-3) had indicated a much greater
tendency for males than females to participate
actively in athletics and to be athletic leaders.
Now consider Table 14-58 (parts I and 2),
which is the rewritten version of the computer
tables. Again, these are set up in a way similar
to bivariate tables. Note that it is good to pres-
- """---.--* ".+ than the lower. Should we expect athletic par-
51it? i Lc'5? I
ticipation to have a stronger educational pay-
i ,:13, 7 | 4,1" r-r i
'ia :
off for the more advantaged classes? Table
;.;-,ll I
14-6 (parts 1 to 3) offers the relevant compar-
isons.
Whal we need to do here is ask whether
youths from every social class benefit equally
from high school athletic participation. Again
ent the partial lables side by side (or directly we will need t0 examine the distribution on
beneath one another) to facilitate compari- the dependent variable (athletic participation)
sons between the tables. For the rest ofthe lri- across the categories ofthe independent vari-
variate tabies to be presented here, only the able subgroups, and then contrast these differ-
recomposed tables will be shown. (Remem- ences across the three categories ofthe control
ber, however, that each of these lables was variable, social class. What we see for the
drawn up on the basis of a computer table.) higher SES students is that the distributions of
advantage over those who have merely
participated.)
For the medium and low SES groups, ath-
letic leadership clearly relates to attaining a
coliege degree, and athletic nonparticipation
becomes much more highly associated with
not attending college. In other words, athietic
leadership seems to be a more powerful deter-
minant of one's educational future among the
middle and lower classes than among the
higher classes. Clearly, this suggests that ath-
letics have more significant educational con-
sequences for less socially advantaged high
school students. Students from more advan,
taged backgrounds seem to have other re-

I
 354 TheAnalvsisofSocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R CHAPTERI4 BiwriateandTrivariateAnalyses355

TABTE I4.6 TABTE I 4-7

't979 UNTVERSITY/COtLEGE ATTAINMENT 8Y N-llGH SCHOOT ATHI"ETIC PARTICIPATION BY SES I979 UNIVERSITY/COTLEGE ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SC}rOOT ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION BY
oi 1972, Fve-Survey Respondents) HIGH SCHOOT GPA
{Noiionol Longitudinol Study of the High School Closs
(Noiionol Longitudinol Study of the High School Closs of I 972, Five-survey Respondenrs)
High SES {Porticipotion Ievell
GPA: ,A qnd A-B (Porticipotion level)
Attoinment Athletic lesder Active Porticipont Did Not Porricipoie
Afioinment Athletic Ieoder Active Porticipont Did Not porticipore
College degree or higher 57.2V0 56.50/o 48.lVo
Some college 35.0 34.2 37.0 College degree or higher 57.0V0 55.0% 44.2Va
No college 7.8 9.2 14.9 Some college 30.0 29.8
I 00.070 lO0.07o 100.0%
No college t3.l 5.1 lJ./
{409) tI212t (l531l 100.0% IOO.0% ] OOO%
1467) I I 290) tzt 54t
Medium SES (Porticipotion Levell
GPA: B ond B*€ {Porticipotion level]
Attoinment Athletic l-eoder Active Porticipont Did Not Porticipote
Attoinmenl Athletic leoder Active Porticipont Did Not porticipqfe
College degree or higher 37.7V0 25.jVo 18.4V0
Some college 38,8 40.8 College degree or higher 35.64/a ?5.'Va 15.90A
No college ,1 ( at) 44.0 Some college 42.6 4l .2 39.9
No college lt.6 JJ. J 44.s
I 00.070 100.0% 100.0%
(600) (2]l t) 13444) I 00n% 1 00.070 100.0%
1620t t2292t (3328)
[ow SES (Porficipotion Level)
GPAr C ond Below {Por}icipotion Level}
Attoinment Athletic leoder Active Porticiponl Did Not Porticipote
Attoinment Athleiic teoder Active Porficipont Did Not porticipoto
College degree or higher 22.24/o r3.r% 8.9Vo
Some college 40.7 33.4 College degree or higher l6.9ak 7.2% 4.6V0
53,5 62.6 Some college 43.4 aaa
No college 37.O 30.5
r00.0% r00.0% No college 39.7 64.9
t00.0%
t270t ( I 084) 12124t r00.0% r00.0% 100.0%
{l89} (8ir) { I 586)

sources to compensate for not participating
athletics. We see this in the finding that
higher-class students who were nonathletes in
high school are almost as likely to be college
graduates as those who were high school ath-
letes. However, among the other two class
groups, the nonparticipants are distinctively
less iikely to graduate from college.
Whaf Happens When tligh School Academic
Abilit-v Is Conholled? Table l4-7 (parts I to
3) examines the relationship of participation
in high school athletics to attaining a higher
education, while controlling for high school
academic ability. Because we assume that ath-
in letic participation in high school may subse-
quently affect a student's overall high school
gade-point average and because we assume
that this high school GPA will then affect
post-high school educational attainment, we
are using high school academic ability as an
intemenirLg variable between athletic partici
pation and post-high school
attainment.
We also expect that there may be an inter-
actizn efect ofhigh school athletic participa-
tion and high school grades on post-high
school educational attainment. In such a case,
both GPA and athletic talent wouid be consid-
ered important factors in determining a stu-
dent's educational future. We might consider
them as alternate rcsources. For academically
talented students, academic ability would be a
primary resource in helping them to be ac-
cepted by and be successful at a coilege. For
iess academically talented students, athletic
educational prowess would be a primary resource that
would in some ways substitute for academic
ability in determining access to and success in
higher education.
In fact, Table 14-7 indicates that athletic
leadership is associated with getting a coliege
degree for all GPA goups, but this is espe-
cially true for high school students with B-
level GPAs. Among the A students, as we saw
in Table 14-2, nonparticipation only moder-
ateiy reduces the proportion completing a col-
lege education. Among the C students or
below, the proportion attaining college de-
grees is much lower, but here athletic leader-
ship and participation are related to getting
some college education. (Note that athletic
leaders with C-or-below GPAs are as likely as
those with B averages to spend some time in
college, but they are much iess likeiy to com-
plete college.) In other words, athletic ability
may be a substitute for academic ability in re-
iation to who goes to college, but it is not a

I

ResearchData
356 TheAnalysisof Social
substitute for academic ability in terms of
who will get a college degree.
Condensing Trivqriote Tobles
One of the objects of data analysis is to com-
press data-to restrict as much as possible the
amount of data it is necessary to present in
order to make one's point-while at the same
time maximizing the amount of information
each table can give. For trivariate tables, this
can often be done by preseniing one category
ofthe dependent variable in a table that cross-
tabulates the independenl variable with the
test variable. Let's take the iast set of trivar-
iate tables and show how much of the infor-
mation from the three tabies can be con-
into one.
densed
Suppose we are primarily interested in
finding out which is more highly associated
with attaining a college degree-athletic par-
ticipation in high school or grades in high
school. Specifically, this means we want to
compare proportions of students with partic-
ular combinations of grades and athletic par-
ticipation in high school who received college
degrees. How can we show this in one table?
Look at Table 14-8. This tabie presents the
TABTE I 4.8
CONDENSED TRIVARIATE TABTE OF ATTAINING A COTTEGE DEGREE BY HIGH
SCHOOT ATHTETIC PI.RTICIPATION BY HIGH SCHOOI- GPA
Percent Attoining College Degree wiihin 7 Yeors of High
School Groduotion
High School Afhleiic Porticipotion
High School GPA Athletic leoder Active
57.4
A ond A-B
t467t
B ond B-C 35.6
{620t
C ond Below C 16.9
il 89)
PA T Fo u
R R
percentage of college graduates among those
with certain combinations of grade-point av-
erage and athletic participation. Each cell
gives the percent of college graduates from
each athletic participation group who had a
particular GPA. Since the proportions of
those who had some college or no college are
not presented (as they were in Tables 14-7),
the columns in Table 14-8 do not add up to
100.
Note that in this table the numbers (in pa-
rentheses) are from the columns of the trivar-
iate table, so that you know the size of the
group on which each of the percentages was
based (for example. 57 percent ofthe 467 stu-
dents who were athletic leaders and who had
A-level averages attained a college degree
within 7 years). Here we see even more ciearly
what we reported above: that athletic leader-
ship is more important for attaining a college
degree among students with B-level GPAs
(20 percent more of the athletic leaders com-
plete college than nonparticipants) than for
those with A-level averages. (This trend,
though characterizing fewer students, is also
seen for those with C-level GPAs.)
Ifa condensed table is prepared from vari-
ables with two categories, then it is easy for
Porticipont Did Not Porticipofe
5s.0 44.2
{ I 290) t2l54t
t5.9
12292t (3328)
7,2
t8il) {r 586)
'n'
cHAPTER l4
j
the reader to determine what the rest of the
l table would look like (by merely subtracting
l
the percehts shown in the table from 100 per-
cent). In the example given, however, where
the dependent variable has three categories,
the original tables cannot be reconstructed
from the condensed table; nevertheless the
condensed table reports on the most impor-
tant category ofthe dependent variable (for an
ordered variabie, this might be the highest cat-
egory) and indicates more succinctly the ef-
fects ofthe independent and control variables.
ELABORATION
A third variable may alter the relationship be-
tween dependent and independent variables
in a number of different ways. Certain types
of outcomes that can occur with the entry of a
third variable into a bivariate relationship
have come to ssrve as exemplary models for
social analyses. These effects were studied first
by Samuel Stouffer, a well-known social re-
searcher whose studies of the U.S. Army were
very influential in the development of social
research after Worid War iI
(Stouffe4 1949).
Stouffer's ideas were formulated and dissemi-
FIGURE I4-I
Trivoriole models with ontecedeni ond iniervening tesi voriobles.
N,4ODEL
Antecedent test variable
Iffi
MODEL WITH VARIABLES
BivariateandTrivariateAnalvses 357
nated more widely by Paul Lazarsfeld, Patri-
cia Kendall, Robert Merton, and others at the
Bureau of Applied Research at Columbia
University (see Kendail and l"azarsfeld,
1950). Perhaps the most widely used work ap-
plying the principles of elaboration to cross-
tabular analysis has been Rosenberg's lle
Logic of Survey Analysis (1968).
These analytic models have been so influ-
ential in social science analyses that they are
often referred to as the elaboration paradigm.
For our purposes. what is important about
elaboration is that it is a way to try to explain
what happens to two-variable relationships
under the conditions of a third variable. We
will examine the different forms of the elabo-
ration model using, in certain instances, the
trivariate tables we have already discussed
and, in other instances, some hypothetical re-
sults that might have occurred.
There are two factors to consider in
an
elaboralion. The first is whether the third var-
iable logically comes in a time sequence Delorc
the independent variable (in which case, it is
antecedent) or whether it occurs between the
independent and dependent variables (in
it
which case, is intervening). Figure 14-1
lntervening test variable
I ntntetic
nanicioarion
I m;l
GPA
[-,o,*,;;l
attainment
I l-f l*1 I
I

The Analysis of Social Research Data
shows trivariate models with antecedent and
intervening variables as well as applications of
these models whsre the variables from our
study on athletic participation and educa-
tional attainment have been fit into the
models.
The second consideration comes into play
once the partial tables are formed. When the
third variable is introduced, the relationships
between the independent and dependent var-
iable under the various conditions ofthe test
variabie may either remain the same as in the
original table or change. If the relationships
between the dependent and independent vari-
ables remain iargeiy the same in the partial ta-
bles, they represent a replication. If the rela-
tionships between the dependent and
independent variables weaken in the partial
tabies, and the test variable is antecedent to
the independent variable, the original rela-
tionship has been explained and is therefore
considered spurious. Using the terms of the
elaboration paradigm, such an occurrence is
refened to as an explanation-i.e., the origi-
nal relationship has been expiained by an an-
tecedent factor.
If the original relationship weakens. but
the test variable was intervening between the
independent and dependent variables, then
the intervening factor has largely destroyed
the original relationship. This form of elabo-
ration would be cailed an interpretation. This
generally means that both the independent
and the dependent variables were related to
the intervening variable, which is aiso the case
in an expianation. Thus, when the sample is
divided into the different categories "of the
test variabies, the partial relationships be-
tween the original variables wili vanish"
(Kendall and Lazarsfeld, 1950). In short,
when the intervening test variable is used to
stratify the sample, it serves to largely wipe
out the relationship between the original two
variables.
1
I
I
I
Finally, if the two partial relationships
show different trends in comparison to the
original relationship such that one partial re-
lationship is stronger than the original rela-
tionship and the other is weaker, the results
are referred to as a specification. What this im-
plies is that under one condition of the test
variable the relationship between the depen-
dent and independent variables strengthened,
whiie under another condition of the test var-
iable it weakened or largely disappeared. In
other words, the third variable specffied the
condition in which the original reiationship is
the strongest. Recall that this is also referred
to as an interaclion efect.
Using Sex os the Test Vorioble
Now we will try out our own elaboration anal-
ysis by returning to the athletic participation
study to reexamine a few trivariate analyses to
see what the partial relationships showed
about the original relationship between high
school athletic participation and college at-
tainment. To do this, we will begin by care-
fully going through every step ofa three-vari-
able relationship, thinking through what we
can learn at each step. Our first example will
use Sex as the test variable;r our second ex-
ample will use high school grade-point aver-
age as the test variable.
Educational Attainment, Athietic Farticipa-
tion, and Sex. We will retum to our trivar-
iate analysis ofTable 14-5, which cross-tabu-
rOne's sex is no1. stricily speaking, logically
antecedent
to athletic participatron (even though one's sex
designation precedes athletic panicipation in time) since
athletic participalion does not directly depend on one's
sex. Athletic parlicipation in grade school, or a measure
olathletic ability, would represent better examples of
antecedent test variables for high school athletic
participation (however, no such measures were included
in the NLS surveys).
CHAPTER I4
lates educational attainment by
participation for males and females. This is
the diagram we saw above in Figure 14-1.
Clearly, sex is antecedent to both variables in
its tirne ofdesignation (at birth), though it is
not a factor that is logically requisite to ath_
letic participation. In the strict sense of an
elaboration, an antecedent variable should
logically (as well as temporaliy) precede the
independent variable. Before reexamining
this table in the light of the elaboration model,
let us first examine each ofthe bivariate rela-
tionships between the three variables in order
to develop a thorough sense ofhow these vari_
ables relate to one another_
Sex and athletic participation. Reconsider
Table l4-3. Here we see that the proportion of
males who are athletic leaders more than dou-
bles the proportion of females and that males
are aiso active athletic participants much
more oflen than females. In short, sex is re-
iated to athletic participation in high school.
Sex and 1979 aniversity/college attainment.
Table 14-9 presents the association of sex and
educational attainment (no1 presented be-
fore). Here we see slight advantages for men
among college degree recipients and among
TABIE I4-9
1979 UNtVERStTy/COttEGE ATTATNMENT By SEX
(Noiionol long tudinol Srudy of ihe High School Closs
1 972. t,ve-Survey Responoenrsl
Attoinmenl Msles
College degree or higher 28.30A
Some college 36.8
34.9
No college
I 00.070
16168)
Bivariate and Trivariate Analvses J59
athletic those with some college. The differences, how-
ever, are small-in the two- to three_point
range-clearly not as large as sex differences
in athletic participation in high school
Athletic participation and I 97 9 university
/col-
Iege attainment This is the original relation_
ship as seen eariier in Table 14-18. Reexam-
ining it, we see again how athletic leadership
and participation are strongly associated with
attaining a college degree (twice the propor-
tion of leaders as compared to nonpartici-
pants have received degrees).
Determining Type of Elsborofion
The three bivariate tables have indicated (l)
that high school athletic participation fosters
post-high school educational attainment, (2)
that males are much more likely than females
to participate in high school athlerics, and (3)
that males (among 1972 high school gradu-
ates) are oniy very slightly more likely to re-
ceive college degrees within 7 years of high
school graduation than are females. A tri.r,ar-
iate tabie must be examined to determine
which type of eiaboration the three-variable
model represents.
Table 14-10 offers a condensed version of
Table 14-5 in which the percentages presented
in the cells represent the proportion ofcollege
degree holders among males and females with
different levels ofhigh school athletic partici-
pation. We see that among athletes, males are
of
somewhat more likely to have degrees than fe-
males; but among nonathletes, females are
slightly more likely to have degrees than
males. For both sexes, athletic leadership is
Femoles
strongly associated with attaining a college de-
26.4V0 gree. Since males benefit slightly more from it.
35.3
this means thal the original relarionship be-
38.3
tween athletics and college education (as seen
I 00.070
16783t in Table 14-1) has been specified, In other
words, the original relationship is greater
I
 360 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData
TABTE I4-IO
CONDENSED TRIVARIATE TAETE OF ATTAINING A COLTEGE DEGREE BY HIGH
SCHOOL ATHLETIC PARTICIPATIOI..I BY SEX
Fercenl Atfoining College Degree wirhin 7 Yeors of High School
Grqduotion
High School Athlefic Porticipotion
Athlefic Leoder Aclive Porticiponl
Mole a1 n
t902) \26591
Femole 28.7
,379)
( r 250)
when it is specifled for men, iesser when it is
specified for women. In short, the effects of
high school athletic participation on attaining
a college education in the 1970s can be speci-
fied as occuning more for men.
Let me stress that this is not avery strong
specification. It would be stronger ifthe differ-
ences in the original relationship for men and
women had been greater.2 Suppose athletic
ieadership actually reduced the number of de-
gree recipients for women as compared to
nonparticipants. The specification would then
be much more substantial. However, we have
seen that by examining the original relation-
ship under the different conditions of a third
variable, sex, we iearned more about the orig-
inal association. This is precisely the point of
elaboration.
Specification, as a form of elaboration, dif-
fers from other types ofelaboration because it
uses the test variable to examine under what
conditions the original relationship is rein-
forced. As Rosenberg states, "The object of
this procedure is clarification-clarification of
the true value ofthe relationship" (1968, p.
2The differences between these partial tables might be
considered by some to be so small that they would betler
exemplify a replication ofthe original relationship rather
than a specification of it.
P A R Ttou
Did Not PorticiPot€
20.0
(25s 1 l
2,1.t)
t4552)
131). Here, rather than finding that the asso-
ciation between the original two variables dis-
appears (or weakens) in the partial tables, you
look for which attribute of the lest variable
strenglhens the original association. You
know you have found an example of specifi-
cation when one of the partiai tables (repre-
senting one condition ofthe test variable) in-
creases the relationship between the
independent and dependent variable, while
the other partial table (representing another
condition of the test variable) weakens the
original relationship. What you are doing is
specifying the conditions where the relation-
ship is strong. For this type ofelaboration, the
test variable may be either antecedent to the
independent variable or intervening between
the independent and dependent variables.
Using GFA os lhe Test Voriqble
In this case, we want to examine carefully how
a test variable which logically occurs after the
independent variable, but before the depen-
dent (that is, an intervening test variable) can
affect the original association between the in-
dependent and dependent variables. As stated
earlier, we are assuming that high school aca-
demic achievement (a student's cumulative
GPA) wili intervene in the relationship be-
R
tween athletic participation and post-high
school educational attainment. By making
this assumption, we are proposing that ath-
letic participation will affect high school GpA,
which will then affect college attainment.
Table 14-7 above (and Table l4-8) presented
the trivariate tables of educational attainment
by high school athletic participation by high
school GPA. In this case, we placed the GPA
as intervening between the athletic activity
and attaining a college education.
These tables indicated that the original re-
lationship between athletic participation and
educational attainment is strongest among the
B students, less strong for the C students, and
even weaker for the A students. What type of
elaboration does this porlray? It is not an in-
Ierpretation, for the original relationship is
not eliminated by the test variable. Inslead, it
is a specfficatior, in that the tesr variable spec-
ifies the condition under which the original re-
lationship is maintained-for the B and for
the C-and-below students. Again, it is not a
very strong specification. Recall. as in the last
case, that it would be stronger had the trivar-
iate tables shifted further from the original re-
lationship. Imagine, for example, that the
original relationship was very strong for the B
students, while it was very weak for the C stu-
dents, and that athletic leadership was even
negatively associated with getting a college de-
gree for the A students. Here, the evidence for
a specification would have been much greater.
Replicotion
Let us consider what would happen if the last
trivariate table for the three grade groups had
been nearly the same in each case as the orig-
inal relationship. This would mean that the
original relationship had been replicated
under different conditions. A replication can
occur whether the test variabie is intervening
or antecedent. In other words, if within ho-
mogeneous subgroups ofthe test variable, the
Bivari at c and Trivariat c A na lt'scs
partial relationships between the independent
and dependent variables remain very similar
to one another and to the bivariate relation-
ship, then the original relationship has been
replicated.
A search for replications are often carried
out on different sampies. Ifyou were using the
NLS dataset on United States high school stu-
dents, you might want to try to replicate these
findings for Canadian students. Or, ifyou had
data on students in one state, you might want
to compare the results from that stale to thosc
in another. Ifthe relationships under the new
condition remain roughly the same, you havc
a replication ofyour original findings.
Explonotion
This form of elaboration raises the issue ol'
spuriousness which we discussed eariier. Thc
aim is to see whether the original relationship
between the two variables can be explained
away by the effects of an antecedent variablc
to which both variables are related. If such an
effect could be established, it would mean that
the antecedent test variable really explains
why an association between the first two vari-
ables occurred. Table 14-l I gives a hypothet-
ical example using the trivariate relationship
of athletic participation, educational attain-
ment, and sex (as in Table 14-5).
These hypothetical results could have oc-
curred in Table 14-5. Ifthey had, rhey would
have explained away the original relationship
between athletic participation and educa-
tional attainment. In other words, they would
suggest that athletic participation and getting
a college degree are both strongly affected by
sex. When you control for sex, you see that
there is no relationship between athletics and
post-high school college attainment. In Table
14-11, males ars more likely to get college de-
grees regardless of their athletic participation
in high school; females are less likely to get de-
grees, whatev.er their athletic participation.
I
 362 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R
Bivariate and Triyariate Analvses

TABtr I 4-l I lnterpretation Explanation

EDUCATIONAI. ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOt ATI'ItETIC PARTICIPATION BY STX- FIGURE T 4-2

E$ecis of o test vorioble #/ on the
Moles {Porticipotion level) reloiionship between on
independent vorioble /x/ ond o
Attoinmenl Athletic Leoder Active Porficiponl Did Not Porficipote dependeni vorioble ly). lKendoll
ond Lozorsfeld, 1950, p. 157).
College degree or higher 44Vo 40Vo 4jVo
Some college 30
No college 2l 30
1 00% I 00% r 00% would be impossible to distinguish between school athletic participation playing only a
interpretation and explanation. In this case, minor role; those with lower high
Femoles lPorficipotion level] school
the meaning of the relationship between high grades are less likely to attain a degree almosl
Attoinment Athletic leoder Active Porticipont Did Not Porticipote school athletic participation and attaining a regardless ofthe level oftheir athletic activity
college degree has been interpreted by high in high school. In other words, if we strarify
College degree or higher JJ "/o 33Vo 3070
school academic achievement. the sample into groups according to their high
Some college J5 33 30
30 40 Those with higher high school gades are school grade-point averages, within these ac-
No college
I 0O7o I 00% I 0O7o more likely to attain college degrees, with high ademically homogeneous groups, we find no

'Hypotheiicol doto.
TABTE I 4-I 2

EDUCATIONAT ATIAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOI. ATHIETIC PARTICIPATION

BY HIGI.i SCHOOT
GPAX
Given such findings, the originai reiation- time at which the independent variable had its
ship would be considered spurious, because it effect and the time at which the dependent
GPA: A ond A-B (Porticipotion level]
wouid havo been fully accounted for by the in- variabie occulred. Ifwe can select a factorthat
troduction of sex as a test variable. Since the took place in the interim which might have al- Attoinmenl Athletic Leoder Active Porficipont Did Not Porticipore
sex of the student preceded high school ath- tered the effect ofthe independent on the de- College degree or higher 50% 4go 4s\a
ietic participation (and we are making the case pendent variable, we would be able to inter- 5ome college 25 30 30
here that athletic participation was heavily pret the original relationship. Figure 14-2 No college 25 22 25
contingent on sex, though surely not com- presents a diagram comparing interpretation I O07o 1000 I 00%
pletely contingent 0n it), this means that what to explanation which was first offered by Ken-
GPA: B ond B-C (Porticipotion Level)
was first seen in the original relationship really dall and Lazarsfeld (1950).
occurred because ofthe unexamined influence In explanation, the test variable is antece- Atloinment Athletic leoder Active Porticiponf Did Not porticipoto
of sex differences. dent to the xy relationship and affects each
College degree or higher 3SVo a10t
variable separately. In interpretation, the test 30%
Some college 30 33
variable is intervening between the xy rela- No college
30
40
lnterpretotion tionship. Table 14-12 gives a hypothetical ex- r 00% r 00% I 00%
As stated above, when the test variable is in- ample using the intervening variable of high
school GPA as the test variable. Keep in mind GPA: C ond Below (Porticipotion Level)
tervening and the partial relationships again
largely or compl€tely disappear, this is re- that in this example we have assumed that Atloinmenf Athletic Leoder Porticipont
Active D;d Not porticipote
ferred to as an interpretation. Hyman (1955) high school GPA intervenes between athletic
activity in high school and college attendance. College degree or higher 20%
described interpretation as trying to determine 20Vo 1 ]o/a
Some college 4B 45
"the process through which the assumed cause Ifthe time sequence between the independent No college
42
32 35 40
is related to what we take to be its efect" (p. variable and the lest variable were unclear
r 00% 00%
276). What this means is that we need to ex- (that is, ifyou were not sure whether the test I r 00%

amine the intervening period between the variable were intervening or antecedent), it 'Hypoiheiicol doro

I
 I
364 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R

strong relationship between athletic partici- would be more "alienated" than whites be- TABtt t4-t3
pation and educational attainment. The ath- cause their subordinate social status was a
SOCIAT CTASS AND ATTITUDE TOWARD CIVIT RIGHTS BY RACE-
letically active wiil be no more likely to finish "disabling condition." For most of his mea-
college than the athletic nonparticipant with sures of alienation, that is precisely what Mid- Civil R.ights Score Middle Closs Working Closs
similar academic ability. This means that if dleton found. However, on the factor of "cul-
High
the partial associations between athietic par- tural estrangement," there was virtually no Low
30Vo
70
45%

ticipation and post-high school educational difference between whites and blacks. He dis- Toiol percent 00%
1 I 00%
attainment disappear when students are sub- covered, however, that when education was Number il 20) (l 20)
divided into groups according to high school entered as a test variable, whites among both
GPA, we must conclude that the original re- the lower and higher education groups ap-
lationship between athletics and educational peared to have higher cultural estrangement. Negroes Whites
attainment was interpreted almost completely Thus the important differences between
Sociol Closs
by students' GPA levels. the races in their degree of "cultural estrange-
In this exampie, we saw that, when we ment" had been suppressed by the variable of Civil Rights Score Mlddle Closs Working Closs Middle Clqss Working Closs
looked at students grouped by their grade- education. By ignoring the faclor ofeducation High 7jVo 50Vo
point averages (those whose high school in the originai table, the reiationship ofrace to Low 30 50
304/o

grades were high, average, or iow), attaining a
college degree was not affected much by their
high school athietic achievement. The original
relationship between high school athletics and
college attainment has been interpreted by the
type ofhigh school grades received.
5uppressor ond Distorfer Voriqbles
When an original relationship shows no clear
association between the variabies, this gener-
ally tends to dissuade the researcher from pur-
suing any further possible meaning in the re-
lationship. However, numerous researchers
have found that, in some instances, a zero-
order association which is weak might become
much stronger in the first-order tables when
certain test variables are introduced. Rosen-
berg 11968) coined the lerms for the control
variables of suppressor and distorter variables
in order to account for the appearance ofstrong
associations in the partial tables when the
original table had shown only a very weak
relationship.
Suppressor Variables. One of the studies
considered by Rosenberg was by Middleton
(1963), who had hypothesized that blacks
cultural estrangement was suppressed. Ance
the partial associations were examined for the
various educational groups, it was clear that
race had an important effect on a sense ofcul-
tural estrangement.
In short, if you have a zero-order table
which shows a very weak relationship, there
might still be an important relationship be-
tween the two variables that is being sup-
pressed by a third unexamined variable. In
this case, finding that important third variable
and examining its influence through trivariate
analyses may help to uncover the original
relationship.
Distorter Variables. In certain instances, an
original table of moderate strength may re-
verse itself to show the opposite reiationship.
Rosenberg gives the example of examining so-
cial class and attitudes toward civil rights. In
Table 14-i3, the original relationship between
class and support ofcivil rights indicated that
the working classes were slightly stronger sup-
porters of civil rights than the middle classes
(45 percent of the working class respondents
compared to 37 percent of the middle-class re-
spondents had high civil rights scores). How-
ever, when the test variable of race was used
Totol perceni r 00%
Number (20)
*Hypothet
col.
Source, Rosenberg, 1968, pp. 94-95.
to partial the original relationship. the oppo-
site was found in the partial relationships-
the middle classes appeared to be stronger
supporters. This was especially true among
the blacks (where there was a.40 percent dif-
ference among the proportion ofhigh scorers
for middle class as compared to working ciass
blacks, but only a 10 percent difference among
the proportion of high scorers from the mid-
dle as compared to the working classes for the
whites).
How can you account for the change and
strengthening of the relationship between so-
cial class and civil rights scores in the partial
relationship tables? In this instance, race
(which was the test variable) would have been
distorting the original relationship between
social class and civil rights attitudes such that
when it was entered as a test variable, and the
sample was subdivided into blacks and
whites, a much stronger and different associ-
ation between class and civil rights support
70
2Aa/o
SAVo
0070
I I 00% I 0070
t 00) {r00) (20)
appeared for the blacks, and a weaker, though
changed, relationship appeared for the whites.
This is to say that in the parlial tables it was
the middle classes who had the iarger propor-
tions of high civil rights scores, the working
classes the smaller proportions. Race, the test
variable, had been a distorter variable tn the
original relationship.
Eloborotion: Whqt Does tt Tell Us?
The reason why an understanding of the elab-
oration model is useful is that it makes vou
think carefully about (1) the temporal order of
your variables and (2) the types of associa-
tions produced by your variables. In short, it
is a way to push toward a causal explanation.
Naturally, there may be more than a third var-
iabie affecting a relationship (and to study this
possibility you need to employ multivariate
techniques). Here I merely want to stress that
understanding how a third variable may alter

I
 '11

366 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R
Bivariate and Trivariate Analyses

or replicate the original association noted will
strengthen your logical abilities in discovering
the interdependencies among variables.
REVIEW NOTES
. in rhe United Srates as well among
tsivariate tables reveal the relationship of
two variables to each other. They are also re-
ferred to as cross tabulations, cross ciassifi-
cations, or contingency tables.
. Bivariate tables allow for the testing oftwo-
variable hypotheses.
. .
Table formats should faciiitate the exami-
nation of the expected (hypothesized) reia-
tionship and should be presented in a con-
sistent fashion throughout a study.
. STUDY EXERCISES
Bivariate tables are generally set up so that
the dependent variable is the row variable
and appears to the ieft of the table; the in-
dependent variable is the column variable
and appears at the top ofthe table. Then the
table is percentaged down (the separate cat-
egories ofthe independent variable form the
bases on which percentages ofthe dependent
variable are given) and read across (so that
the distributions on the dependent variable
are compared across the subgroups ofthe in-
dependent variable).
. Positive associations are those in which the
data show that those with high responses to
the dependent variable have high responses
to the independent variabie, and those with
low responses to the dependent variable
have low responses to the independent var-
iable. I{egative associations occur where
high responses on one variable are matched
with low responses on the other. Positive as-
sociations generally support the hypothesis.
These directional associations cannot be de-
termined if the variables are nominal.
. sis, Basic Books, New york, 196g. This comore_
Evidence of a strong relationship between
variables may be caused by the unexamined
effects of a third vanable. When this is the
case, the relationship is termed spurious.
. Trivariate analyses include a third variable
which serves as a control or lesl variabie for
the hypothesis.
. Trivariate tables may be called first-order ta-
bles in contrast Io zero-order bivariate ta-
bies. Tr.ivariate relationships may also be re-
fened to as partial relationships in contrast
lo the original relationship of the bivariate
table.
. Condensed trivariate tables can be made by
presenting the percentage ofone category of
the dependent variable in a cross tabulation
ofthe independent and test variables.
The elaboration paradigm offers explana-
tory models for trivariate anaiyses. When a
third variable causes no change in the bivar-
iate relationship, it represents a replication.
When the original relationship weakens
wilh the introduction ofthe test variable, it
represents an explanation (if the test varia-
ble is antecedent to the independent varia-
ble) or an interpretqtijn (if the test variable
is intervening between the independent and
dependent variables). If the partial relation-
ships are stronger than the original relation-
ship under certain conditions ofthe test var-
iable, but weaker under other conditions,
this represents a specification.
. When a weak original relationship becomes
stronger in the partial relationship, this may
be the result ofthe test variable serving as a
suppressor variable. When a partial relation-
ship reverses the association noted in the
original relationship, this may be caused by
a test variable sen,ing as a distorter vanable.
KEY TERMS
bivariate tabie
condensed trivariate table
contingency table
cross classification
cross tabulation
distorter variable
eiaboration paradigm
explanation
first-order table
e. Finding that the relationship between
interaction effect
high expectations of parents for their
interpretation
children's achievement in mathemat-
marginals
ics and the children's mathematical
negative association (inverse)
achievement noted in Japan occurs
original relationship
partial relationship
children whose parents hold high'
positive association (direct)
expectations.
replication
2. Consider the hypothesis: ,,Catholics
specification are
more likely to support tax credits for pri_
spuriousness
vate education than non_Catholics.',
subgroup comparisons
a. Set up a bivariate table to test this
suppressor variable
hypothesis.
trivariate table
D. Now add the control variable ofpres-
zero-order table
ence of School-Aged Children. Set up
the trivariate tables that would
be
needed to test for the effects ofthe con_
1. In the following five examples, indicate trol variable.
what form of elaboration (replication. ex_ Note: Be sure to set these tables up so that
planation. in terpretarion, specifi cation ) has
the dependent variable is the row variable
been discovered. and the independent variable the column
c. Discovering that the negative reiation_ variable. Also arrange the categories so that
ship between knowledge of a foreign the hypothesized effect is being tested in
language and educalional attainment the upper-left-hand cell.
disappears when the variabte of
whether English is spoken in the home
is controlled. RECOMMENDED READINGS
D. Finding that the relationship between
the purchase offluoride or nonfluoride
1. Caplovitz, David: The Stages of Social
Re_
search, Wlley, New york, 19g3. There are very
toothpaste and the number of cavities
good chapters on bivariate and multivariate
ofbuyers disappears when the control analyses with further development ol the eiab.
variable of frequency of brushing is oration model.
examined. 2. Merton, Robert K., and paul F. Lazarsfeld: Con_
c. Finding that the relationship between tinuities in Social Research, Free press. Glen_
juvenile delinquency and whether the coe. Ill., 950. An old. bur vlidell. available,
1
clas_
juveniles' mothers work strengthens if sic reader on data analysis in the testing of
the mother-child relationship is nega_ hypotheses. The chapter on .,problems ofiur_
tive, and that it weakens if the mother_ vey Analysis" by Kendall and Lazarsfeld gives
child relationship is positive. excellenl examples of the elaboration mode-l_
/. Discovering that the association be_ 3. Rosenberg, Moris: The Logic of Survev Analv_
i
tween the number of swimming med_
i hensive and clearly written exposition ofsu*.u
I
als won by suburban high schools as
!
analysis offers perhaps the best coverage ol
I
compared to urban high schools weak_ the
I
elaboration model.
ens when one controls for the presence
I

I
of a swimming pool in the schools.
I

I
I

i
J,.

I
 CHAPTER I5 Dewloping and Selecting Indcxes and Scales

call from Chapter 5 that although the F-Scale of authoritarianism has been used in a
broad range of studies, thereby receiving widespread scrutiny, its validity has been se-
riously challenged. Does this mean that beginning social researchers should avoid scales
or indexes? That is a matter of debate. some would say yes: They would argue that
Deve{.optng artd Selecttw social concept scales (like the F,scaie) are too "messy," too fraughi with probiems, to
be worked with ef}'ectively. Others would clefend scales and indeies, even though they
are not problem-free, regarding them as effective devices to measure complex ideas.
frcdexes ewd Sce{es For a beginning researcher, the value ofdeveloping an index or scale is that it forces
one to consider carefully the concept underlying a variable and, if it is not unidimen-
sional, to develop and seiect multiple indicators of the concept. In other words, devel-
oping and using scales and indexes is a very good exercise in conceptualization and
measurement. If an already developed scale is to be used, the researcher should examine
all available information on this scale and, especialiy, any efforts to test its reliability
and validity.

INTRCDUCTICN Indexes and scales are relevant at two possible points in the research process. The
first appropriate point is after the discussion of conceptualization, operationalization,
and measurement, since index and scale development represent a more elaborate form
of operationaiization. The second time is after the data have been collected, at which
t-T-l point you might decide to combine several items into an index. In such a case, the index
-{ nis chapter will show how to introduce in- or scale development would occur at the analysis stage of the research process. How-
dexes and scales into a research analysis. A scale or an index generally represents a single ever, ifyou do not consider indexes or scales during the planning stage bfyour study,
complex concept, or construct, that combines mulliple indicators into a common com- you may not have the necessary items to create a composite measure later on. Furlher-
posite measure. The reason why scaies and indexes are widely used in the social sciences more, the conceptual issues surrounding the development of scales and indexes should
is that many of the concepts which social researchers want to study cannot be measured be considered while the study is being designed (during the conceptualization and mea-
with a singie indicator. Concepts like authoritarianism, which we examined in Chapter surement stage of the study when the validity and reliability of nreasures are being con-
5, are too multidimensionai to be measured with a single item. When such concepts are sidered). Because index construction depends on the use ofbivariate tables, this chapter
ofinterest, a scale or an index can be developed to try to incorporate the many facets was placed here after bivariate tables had been introduced. The chapter will begin with
of the abstract variable into a set of indicators representing its operational definition. a discussion ofthe characteristics and construction ofindexes and scales.
As you know by now, indexes and scales are central to the subject of measurement in
social research.
In this chapter, I will first describe the techniques f,or constructing some of the major
types ofindexes and scaies, Because so many indexes and scales are already available,
I will then suggest how to find and use these resources, which may serve your needs BASIC DEFINITIONS feelings and the frequency of talking over fu-
effectively. One advantage to using an avaiiable scale or index is that it will already have ture plans-that were combined into a single
An index is a composite measure developed measure.
been studied on samples of subjects, and tests of its validity and reliability will also have
to represent different components of a con- An index is much like a test score that you
been carried out.
cept. It is composed ofa set ofindicators thal might receive on a muitiple-choice test. Your
You cannot assume, however, that because a scale has been published, it is totally have simply been added together. Recall that score, the number of answers you got right,
free from problerns. The amount of error that occurs in measuring a variable with a Hirschi's Index of Intimacy of Communica- would be easiiy constructed by adding up your
single indicator may be reduced when multiple indicators are used to measure a variable lion wth Father (Chapter 13) was based on correct answers. This would be your index
(as expiained in Chapter 5). Nevertheless, issues of validity continue to plague many two indicators of the father-son relation- scnre. It some cases, your instructor might
scale instruments even years after they have been developed and used extensively. Re- ship-the frequency of sharing thoughts and then average the grades (by adding up all the

368

I

scores and dividing by the number ofstudents
who took the test): this would be Ihe average
index score for your class. If the instructor
then ordered all the scores from the highest to
the lowest, he or she could determine the me-
dian score (by picking out the score received
by the student who was exactly in the middle
between highest and lowest)' Or the instructor
may group scores into grade categories by
breaking down the distribution into the high-
esi group (perhaps the top quintile, or 20 per-
cent) who are given A's, the second highest
group (the second quintile, from 21 to 40 per-
cent) who are given B's, and so on. These pro-
cedures are very similar to the manner in
which an index would be constructed and the
results analyzed.
The difference between an index and a
scale is that a scale takes into consideration
not only how each item is answered (right or
wrong, true or false, liberally or conserva-
tively) but aiso the patterns which the answers
present. As an exarnple, let's return to the
multiple-choice test. Suppose your instructor
wanted to know which question on the test
was most often answered correctly (this would
be lhe easiest item) and which question was
least often answered correctly (this would be
the hardest item). One logical assumption that
could be made is that those individuals who
answered the hardest question correctiy
would be more likely to have higher scores on
the test as a whole than those who answered
the easiest question correctly. In other words,
answering the hardest question conectly
should be an indicator that the person had un-
derstood the material better (and possibiy
studied more) than if she or he had answered
the easiest item correctlY.
Assume that the instructor selected five
items from the test which had been answered
correctly by the following proportions of stu-
Cents: for the first item, 95 percent ofthe class;
for the second, 75 percent ofthe class; for the
third, 50 percent ofthe class; for the fourth, 25
?!,r',.,.
percent ofthe fiflh, 5 percent
class; and for the
of the class. (Note that the instructor would
not want to pick an item on which everyone
answered correctly or incorrectly, because
such an item would not be a good diferentiat-
ing item for any purpose since it would not re-
cord any variation.) From these five items,
your instructor might want to determine the
patterns of answers of those who correctly an-
swered the hardest item, the second-hardest
item, etc.
If the material examined on the test rep-
resented a cumulative body of knowledge,
those who answered the hardest item correctly
should have answered the other four easier
items correctly; those who answered the hard-
est item incorectly but answered the second-
hardest item conectly should have the next
three correct, and so on. Thus, a comparison
ofthe actual pattern ofresponses with the ex-
pected pattern would tell you whether this was
true in this particular case. In such a scale
with a cumulative structure, knowing the
toughest question subsumes knowing the
next-toughest one. A scale like this is an ex-
ample of a Guttman Sccle which will be dis-
cussed in greater detail below. Naturally, all
the respondents would not answer questions
in the assumed patterned order; the Guttman
scalfurg technique offers a number of tests for
determining how far the items you are looking
at form an expected Pattern.
Your instructor might also decide that the
50-item test was too long and wish to reduce
the number of items in the test. This is one of
the functions of scales; they enable you to re-
duce the amount of material asked and yet re-
tain the conceptual components of the scale
and the ability of the test instrument to differ-
entiate. One way to reduce the number of
items would be to get a group ofjudges to as-
sign level-of-difficulty scores to each of the
questions. Suppose that the judges were told
to assign a 10 to the questions considered to
be hardest, a 9 to the next-hardest questions,
down to a I for the easiest questions. The in-
structor could then take all the items and see
how the judges had rated them. Those items
receiving all 10s, or mostly 10s and 9s, would
be considered difficult questions. A few of
these could then be selected for the shorter
test. Then the instructor could look for items
assigned 6,7, ar 8; those with the most scores
in these categories might be selected as mod-
erately difficult questions, items scored as 5s
might be considered neither difficult nor €asy;
those scored 3 or 4, moderately easy; those
scored I or 2, the easiest. Remember that the
instructor would select items on the basis of
those on which the judges had indicated the
most agreement. This procedure is a form of
Thurstone scaling, which will aiso be de-
scribed more fully below. A test that selected
a total of 10 to 15 questions from each ofthe
five levels ofdifficulty should provide as good
an indicator ofthe range ofstudents' abilities
as the longer test.
What these two types of scales have in
common is that a comparison of the items is
made in terms of some factor (their difficulty,
for example). This attempt to figure out the
patterns which make the best sense of the
multiple items and their interrelations-what
is refened to as the intensity structure of Ihe
scale-distinguishes scales from indexes,
which are merely cumulative measures. How-
ever, both indexes and scales aim to reduce
the number of items needed to represent the
full meaning of the underlying abstract varia-
ble. This is the rule of parsimony. Now we
shall turn to a consideration ofthe character-
istics and construction of these composite
measures.
CHARACTERISTICS OF INDEXES
Itraving looked at examples of how scales and
indexes are regularly created for many pur-
poses, we will first turn to a more detailed
consideration ofthe general qualities and con-
struction ofindexes. trndexes are sets ofitems
that are drawn together because it is believed
that the selected set of indicators will measure
a concept more comprehensively and effec_
tively than a single indicator would. In a sur-
vey, a set of questions might be included,
rather than only a single question, as a better
way to operationalize the particular concept
under study. Very simply, the coded respon-
ses to the items would be added up (and then
possibly divided by the number of items) to
comprise the index score. In short, an index
combines indicators of the different dimen-
sions of a concept into a multidimensional
whoie.
An Exomple: The Work Orienlqtion lndex
As a part of the National Longitudinal Study
(NLS) of the High School Class of 1972, which
we have used to set up our own clata analysis
for this text, the original researchers wanted to
develop a measure of the importance that is
placed "on the fulfillment ofvalues associated
with disparate roles" (Kanouse et al., p. 46).
One of these roles was the work role. For a
study of work values among high school stu-
dents, the researchers needed to develop in-
dicators that would measure how strong work
values were among high school students. In
the first place, they had to decide which work
values were to be studied. In the second place,
they had to figure out a way to measure work
values.
The indicators they selected for the index
addressed three dimensions of work values:
occupational success, financial gain, and job
security. These represented outward rewards
gained from work rather than an internal ap-
preciation ofthe work experience for its own
sake. In other words, the NLS staffchose three
indicators of extrinsic work values rather than
intrinsic values. Three questions about the re-
lative importance of occupational success,
making money, and having job security were
I
 ,lii[ ft.
.41:::
i

one hand, an index needs to be based on items TABTE I5.I

developed. Because the responses to the ques-
tions were posed in terms of the imporlance that represent indicators ofthe underlying ab- TWO-VARIABI.E REI,ATIONSHIPS OF WORK
ORIENTATION ITEMS
of these factors, the responses reflected the stract concepl thal you are trying to measure.
value which the respondent placed on these If the concept is multidimensional, items rep- Money
factors. (Had the responses, instead, included resenting different dimensions may not be
Very Somewhol
degrees of expectation for attaining these strongly reiated to one another. On the other Success in Work lmporfonl
Not
lmportont lmportont
goais, the items would have been an indicator hand, if the items are assumed to reflect sim-
Very lmporloni
olwork expectatilns-not work values.) ilar dimensions of the concept (or the same di- 92.4Vo 87.qok 70.9V0
Soorewhol lmportont
The researchers also gave their extrinsic mension) then they are likely to be related to Not lmportont
6.7 r 1.6 25.7
.9
work value index a name (something re- one another. However, the items"should not .5 3.4
100.0%
searchers commoniy do). They called it the be so closely related that a response to one r00.0% 100.070

Work Orientation Index. This index was would determine a response to another. Were (2 r B9)
lTBt?t {2842)
based on the average response (1 = Not Im- this the case, one of the items would be redun- Sieody Work
portant, 2 = Somewhat Important, 3 = Very danl in other words, it wouid add nothing
Important) to three questions which asked more to the index. (Actually, however, this sit- Success in Work
Very Somewhol Not
lmporlont lmportont lmportonl
each subject to rate uation almost never occurs.)
trn order to discover whether the three Very lmporiont
9l.3vc 63.2Vo 52.za/o
Somewhot Importonl
1. Being successful in my iine of work items are sufficiently related to form an index, QA
Jq..1 3t.l
Not lmportoni
2. Havinglots of moneY but not totally conelated, the simplest proce- .4 2.5 16.8

3. Being able to find steadY work dure is to set up a number of bivariate tables 100.0V0 r00.0% I 00.070
(such as those described in Chapter 14) to re- 1 r 0.034) t248lJ 1322t
The term orientation suggests both that the late the items to one another. Table 15-1
Steody Work
subject has developed a sense ofthe meaning shows how these reiationships might look,
ofwork and that she or he has come to value using the data from the NLS study for the Very Somewhol Not
Money lmportqnt
certain aspects of it. As you read more about three variables which were used to create the lmporiont lmportcnt
the Work Orientation Index, ask yourself Work Orientation Index.' Very lmportont
l9.6Vo 7.40/o 10.6Vo
whether you find the index convincing' Do Examine the relationships between the Somewhot lmportont
63.9 52.4 30.4
Noi lmportont
the indicators seem to be measuring the ccn- pairs of variables. Looking at the first tabie, t6.5 40.2 59.0
cepl of work ot'ientalion? (Does the index have you can see that among those respondents 100.0% I 00.070 100.0%

face vatidityX Are the items appropriate to a
sample of high school-aged students? Would
all the students understand the items clearly
enough so that they would be likely to give
consistent responses? (These questions relate
to rhe reliabilil-ir of the index.) Is the range of
variation in extrinsic work values adequate to
represent what would seem to be the range of
such values in the "real world"? This is a
question of validity. Is the title of the index a
good one. or do you think it obscures what the
items are actually measuring?
How to Create an trndex" Suppose you came
across the three work orientation items and
wanted to build them into an index. On the
who thought that money was Very Important,
an overwheiming proportion chose success as
Very Important as weli. Those who thought
that money was Not Important were less
likely to attach great importance to success.
Note that there is a 20-percentage-point differ-
ence between these two extreme groups. In the
second table, where the importance of steady
work is compared to the importance of suc-
lWhile an examination of a series of bivariate tables is
an appropriate way 1o study the intenelationships
among a set of ilems, more commonly Pearson's r
correLation coefficients are computed between each of
the pairs ofitems and presented in a correlation matrix
where the r for evcry pair ofitems is positioned at the
cross point ofthe two variables in the matrix.
cess. there isnearll a 4O-percentage_point dif_
lerence between the 91.3 percent who
find
steady work Very lmportant and success
Very
Important and the 52.2 percent who find
steady work Not Important and success
Very
Important. In other words, the relationshipoi
ntoney important 10 success irnportant
and of
steadl' work importanr to Jrlcces., important
is
strong.
Let us also examine the third table. Here
we find only a 9-percentage_point difference
between those who find steady work Ven,im_
portant and money Very Important (19.6 pei_
{ I 0,008} t2474) (322)
cent) and those who find steady work Not
Im_
portant and money Very Important (10.6
percent). (Note rhal much smaller proporlions
of respondents value making Iots of monev as
Very Important.) However, if we compare
the
same proportions among those who find
the
rmportan-ce of money to be Somewhat Impor_
tant, we find a 33-percentage-point ditrerence
percent as compared to 30.4 percent).
(6.3.9.
The bivariate tables indicate that the ,u...r,
item is more closely related to the two other
items of money and steady work than the
lat_
ter two are related to each other.

T
 374 TheAnalysisofsocial ResearchData
Once you are convinced from your exam-
ination ofthe two-variable tables that there is
suftcient association between the three pairs
ofvariables, the next step is to set up a three-
variable table (a trivariate table) to see how
the variables intenelate. Table 15-2 presents
such a table. Note that you must select one of
the variables to be the one on which the per-
centages in each cell ofthe table will be given.
We will select the Success item, since that was
the one whose relationship to the two other
items was strongest.
Table 15-2 shows that if you look at those
for whom steady work was Very Important
(Column 1), the difference between the impor-
tance of money and the importance of success
is 9 percentage points (94 percent minus 85
percent); if you examine those for whom
steady work was Not Important (Column 3),
the difference of the importance of money to
the importance of occupational success is 29
percentage points (73.5 percent minus 44.1
percent).
Comparing ttr-is to the relationship of suc-
cess and money in Table l5-1 advances our
knowledge about the interrelationships be-
tween the items. Knowing the response to the
importance of steady work increases our un-
TABTE I 5-2
THREE-VARIAETE RETATIONSHIPS AMONG WORK ORIENTATION ITEMS
Percentoge Who Believe Thor "Being Successful
in My Line of Work" 15 Very Importont
lmportonce of Sreody Work
lmportonce of
Hoving lots of Very
Money lmporlont
Very lmportont 94.0%
( r956)
Somewhot lmportonl 92.lVo
(63951
Not lmportont 85.0%
( r 649)
PART IouR
derstanding of the relationship of the impor-
tance of success to the importance of money.
In short, it seems advantageous to have the
three items in the index. If the differences in
percents had been smaltrer in the trivariate
than in the bivariate tables, then it might in-
dicate that the third variabie was not contrib-
uting to the measure of work orientation.
Scoring an Index. In the index described
above, if the scores on the three items (from I
to 3 for each one) are cumulated, the range of
scores is from 3 to 9. The scores should have
a wide-enough range to maximize the varia-
tion, but not be so dispersed that there are
many empty points on the scale. Table l5-3
gives a frequency distribution of the Work
Orientation Index; this, ofcourse, is a univar-
iate table of the variable-Work Orientqtion
Index. Note that the most common score (the
mode) was an 8, the least common a 3. In
short, for most high school seniors in 1912,
success, steady work, and making money were
very important.
An Appropriate Univariate Analysis for an
Index. Since the Work Orientation Index is
an interval measure which is continuous with
Somewhot Noi
lmportont lmporlont
79.84/o 73.54/o
(183) t34)
69.AVo 6A.2Va
11295) 198)
52.6V0 44.1V0
(993)
{r88)
TABTE I 5-3
sures ofthe central tendency and dispersion of
INDEX SCORES FOR THE WORK OR.IENTATION a continuous variable. In SpSS', the subpro-
INDEX gram which generates these data is Condes-
criptive (which is more fully described in Ap-
Cumulotive
Score Percent pendix C). Table 15-4 presents output on the
continuous variable of the Work Orientation
3 41 Index (WO72). It includes the mean; three
4 ,9 il3 measures dealing with the dispersion of re-
5 4.5 580
6 9.6 1 ))\ sponses around the mean [the standard devia-
7 22.3 2,850 tion, variance, and standard error (i.e., S. E.
8 48,0 6,144 mean)l; two measures describing the shape of
I 14.4 1,838 the distribulion ofresponses as they might be
Toiols
100.0 t2,791 pictured on a graph (i.e., kurtosis and skew);
No doto 189
and three indicators describing the range of
responses (i.e., the range, minimum score, and
maximum score). The sum of all the scores is
given, on which the mean is computed. Fi-
many points on its scale, it is appropriate to nally the number of missing cases is shown. In
use measures of central tendency and disper- the following chapter, some of these statistics
sion to describe the index. As described in will be explained more fully.
Chapter 6 and as will be elaborated in Chapter Table 15-4 shows (1) that the mean score
16, the measures of central tendency most for WO72 is 7.5 (quite high); (2) ttrar there is
commonlv examined are the mean, the me- a standard deviation of i.08, which points to
dian, and the mode. Once a measure of central a 68 percent confidence level that the popula-
tendency is determined, the next question to tion parameter would occur within the inter-
consider is how far the responses are closely val of approximately one point above or
clustered around the mean or are spread below 7.5 (in other words, between 6.5 and
evenly from the highest to the lowest point on 8.5); and (3) that the minimum score was 3,
the index. Are the data skewed toward the the maximum 9, and the range (maximum to
upper ranges? Is there more than one peak in minimum) was 6. You can see that 189 re-
the data? spondents were missing from this variable
Most computer software programs offer (having given no response to one of the
you a very simple method to determine mea- items).In summary, Table l5-4 offers differ-
TABTE I 5-4
DEscRlPTlvE sTAIlsTlcs FoR THE woRK oR.lENTATloN INDEx-spssx
oUIpUT FRoM coNDEscRtpTtvE
NUl"lEfEF( OF VFir in CT|]SEFVATIONS (LISTWiSE) = tTT.it.CtCt
VARiAFLE i{!7: N0EK EFIENTATI[N II\jDEX: i97:
14EAt'.1 5. E, NEfiN . {}1c} 6Trr DEV 1.{:181
VARJAI.JCE KUr-(ruirb 1.10Q 5"E. KUtlT .{:41
5K EbINESS 5. E. 5K Ehl . ct?z RANGE 6, I:j(JI''
r,r;Nli,llJi'l f,. (i{:} l1ffx I fluH ?. q)c) sul,l 96469, +r")c]
VAL].I OF]5EEVAT]ON5 - t'1I55iFlil DBSt_frrJATIOilS - ia?
T
 ,Y 1:

CHAPTER ]5 Developing and Selecting Indexes and. Scales 3 7 7

ent information describing the Work Orien- Testing the Validity of an Index. A variety TABLE I 5.5

tation Index from that given in Table 15-3' of techniques are commonly used to test the ITEM ANATYSIS OF THE WORK ORIENTATION INDEX
validity of an index.2 One is to setup an item
What to Do about Missing Data. When analysis which cross-tabulates index scores to Totol lndex Scores
lmportonce of
there is missing information for a particular the separate items. To do this, you would set
Success in Work
respondent (say that only two of the three up bivariate tables in which the index is the
items were answered), one solution is to ex- independent variable (across the top of the Very lmporiont 0.0 0,0 4.3) 47 .4 81 .4 98.3 100.0

clude all respondents with any missing data table) and the separate item is the dependent Somewhotlmporront 0.0 56.6 79.5 50.9 18.2 1.7 0.0

from an index. This approach would produce variable. Table l5-5 presents an item anaiysis
Not lmporlont 100.0 43.4 6.2 ).7 0.4 0.0 0.0

the most reliable scale scores, since only those of the three items making up the index in re- lmportonce of Totol Index Scores
lation to the total index score. Hoving lots of
completing all items in the index would be in-
Money
cluded. However, this method can only be Table I 5-5 shows that high index scores of
considered where not too many data are miss- 7 and 8 were based more often on Very Im- Very lmporiont 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.7 2.4 4.1 100.0
ing and where you have a sufficiently large portant responses to the success and steady Somewhotlmporiont 0,0 7.1 8.1 37.7 48.4 95.9 0.0
work items, with Somewhat Important for the Noi lmportonr t00.0 92.9 91.0 61.6 49.2 0.0 0.0
sample size.
Another approach is to use the average money item. (Naturally a top score of 9 re- lmportonce of Totol lndex Scores
score fiom the aggregated data on the relevant quired a response of Very Import"ant to each Finding Steody
iteml) Low scores of 4 or 5 were more often Work
item to replace the missing data. In this case,
the respondent's index score would be based based on Somewhat Important responses to Very lmportoni 0.0 0.0 2.6 20.4 66.6 s7.6 I 00.0
on the two actual responses that were given the success item, and Not Important respon- Somewhotlmporiont 0,0 36.3 76.9 74.4 2.4 0.0
and the one averaged score. A third way is to ses to the money item. In terms of the steady Noi lmporiont 100.0 63.7 20.5 5.1 0.9 0.0 0.0

use the average score from the other items work item, note that among those respondents
that the respondent has given. The advantage with scores of 5, three-quarters gave a re- 4t r3 1225 2850 6144 toJo

to this approach is that it maximizes the in-
formaiion aiready gained from the respon-
dent. Finally, a method for replacing missing
data is to give a randomly selected score for
any missing response. Whatever system you
decicle to use to handle missing data, it should
be followed consistently in every case.
Weighting an lndex. You may either give
the score from each item the same weight in
the index or you may give certain items
greater weight. Note that even when each item
is given the same weight of 1, it is still
weighted (by unity). Suppose you decided, for
some solid theoretical reasons, that the suc-
cess item was twice as important as the other
two. You could then doubie that score before
adding it to the other two, dividing the result
by four (as if there were four items) to deter-
mine the index score. In general, unless you
have some clear reason to do otherwise, you
will give each item equal weight.
sponse of Somewhat Important, and among
those with scores of4, nearly two-thirds gave
a response of Not Important. (Of course, the
bottom score of 3 required that Not Impor-
tant be selected for each item.) Thus the
money item contributed the most to lower
index scores and the success item, to higher
index scores.
This suggests that the steady work item
was the least important in determining the
range of responses. One implication of this
could be that you might consider dropping
this item. lf an index were composed of a
greater set of items, and if some items contrib-
uted little to determining the range, or if one
was related to the overall index score in an un-
expected manner (those with higher scores
were consistently iow on this item), then you
2SPSS" has various subprograms thal can be used to
help delemrine the reliability and validity ofan index or
scale.
might consider exciuding it. A primary
ground rule for deciding whether to keep or
drop an item would be a consideration ofcon-
lent validity: ls the item necessary in repre-
senting a critical domain of meaning in the
concept? Another reason for dropping items
may be to reduce the size of the scale. What
an item analysis does is tell you the nature of
the contribution that different items make in
determining the overall index score.
In considering the internal validity of an
index, such as the Work Orientation Index,
you should remember that tests for criterion-
related vaiidity couid be particularly relevant.
Any number of factors might serve as criteria
of whether the Work Orientation Index is ac-
tually measuring what it purports to measure.
It would be expected that those who work
would have higher scores on the Work Ori'
entation Index than those who do not and that
those with higher prestige occupations would
have higher index scores than those with
lower prestige occupations. Another item that
could be used as a criterion for validation
wouid be income. It might also be assumed
that those earning a higher income may have
higher work orientation scores.
Since data on occupational characteristics
would be based on subsequent post-high
school experiences, such data could be used to
estabiish Ihe predictive validity (using a crite-
rion that will be determined in the future) of
the Work Orientation Index. The longitudinal
character of the NLS data makes such a vaiid-
ity check possible. For evidence of concunent
validity (using a criterion measured at the
same time as the index) tn 1972, variables
such as plans to attend college and occupa-
tional aspiratioDs or expectations might have
to be used. Validation may lead to a re-

I

378 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData
appraisal of the index-the sense that it does
not relate to (or predict) what it
should. In
such cases, you should consider redoing the
index (possibly using some different items) or
abandoning it altogether.
SCATES
As stated earlier, scales differ from indexes in
that they take into account some qualities
about the nature ofthe relationship ofthe sep-
arate items to each other. This is referred to as
lhe intensity structure among the items. Be-
cause of this additional consideration, scales
are more complex to devise. In this section,
the most common forms of scales wiil be de-
fined. Further, examples of actual scales will
be described to show how the different types
ofscaies work. Scales are not easy to develop,
and they may create more error in measure-
ment than a less complex instrument.
This section will give an overview of dif-
ferent types of scaling techniques without
going into the measurement problems inher-
ent in many types of scaling. If you plan to
create your own scale, you will need to en-
hance your knowledge about the possible
problems of a specific scaling technique,
which is beyond the scope ofthis chapter. A
variety ofresources (reference books, scaie in-
siructions from already developed scales, ev-
idence on validation and reliability ofvarious
scaling procedures) can be used to increase
your knowledge ofhow to construct scales.
Remember that the most imponant aspect
of developing a scale is to create items that
measure what you are trying to measure
(items that have face validity). In addition,
these items should cover the various domains
ol conlent that the scale is purporting to rep-
resent; that is to say, the issue of content va-
lidity is an overriding one in scale develop-
ment. Recall from the discussion of the F-
Scale in Chapter 5 that the concept of author-
PART FouR
itarianism is considered to have nine dimen-
sions, each ofwhich is operationalized into a
set ofquestions serving as indicators. This is
a multidimensional scale. In contrast, a scale
may be composed of indicators representing a
single dimension of a concept. This would be
a uni d im ens i o nal scale.
There is another option: use an already
constructed scale. We will end with a discus-
sion ofthe types ofscales available to measure
occupational status. Even when you select an
already constructed scale, you should never-
theless understand how it was made. If you do
not, )iou are likely to use it inaccurately and
may find interpreting your results very diffi-
cult. The scale types discussed here are not all
equivalent to one another. Some refer largely
to how the variation in answers is set up. Oth-
ers have to do with the type of items pre-
sented. Still others are distinguished by the
responses given.
Likert Scqles
Perhaps the most widely used form of scaling
in survey research is one that sets up ordinal
categories for degrees of agreement, generally
including the five levels of Strongiy Agree,
Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, and Don't
Know (or Undecided). These response cate-
gories are attached to a set of statements. As-
suming that the responses to each statement
are equivalent, you can assign scores of
through 5 (or 0 through 4), and can create an
index by summing the scores and averaging
them. Because the items are added up, a Lik-
ert Scale is in some ways an index of items
with consistently scaled response categories.
If there are many statements in the set. you
may want to condense them in some way. One
procedure is to create a totai index of the
items and then carry out an item analysis (as
described above) to see which items are most
closely reiated to the index; you might then
i
CHAPTER 1 5
use these to form a smaller index. A more
complex procedure is to carry ouI a factor
analysis--a statistical technique which exam-
ines all the intenelationships between the var-
ious items to determine which sets of items
are most strongiy related. These sets of items
are called factors; they serve as new dimen-
sions of the concept being measured. (For a
more comprehensive review of factor analy-
sis, you will need to look beyond this text.)
Box i5-l gives an example of how a large
set of items on sex-role attitudes was reduced
to two factors that were used as separate scales
of sex-role attitudes in the National Longitu-
dinal Study ofthe High School Class of 1972.
Semontic Differentiol Scole
Developed initially by Osgood, Suci, and Tan-
nenbaum (1957), a Semantic Differential
Scale offers bipolar positions (such as two ad-
jectives: activelpassive) to a single stimuius
(for example: My Mother). The respondent is
asked to rate the stimulus on a seven-point (or
five-point) scale. Usually, as in the above ex-
amples, the bipolar items are adjectives; the
stimulus, a refergnce to a person or persons.
To review this, the bipolar adjectives might be
strong-weak, happy-unhappy, tense-relaxed
and the stimuius, I Am. Somewhere between
the bipolar extremes of these adjectives would
commonly be a seven-point scale on which
1 the subject must piace the stimulus referent at
a point which seems most appropriale.
The reason why the Semantic Differential
Scale is useful is that a respondent may not
always be sure how to describe in words ex-
actly how intelligent or not intelligent, how
timid or bold, or how happy or unhappy an-
other person is. Placing the person on a scale
running from one extreme to the other is eas-
ier. In some cases, instead of adjectives, brief
statements are used at one end, their converse
at the other. (Such a technique may be more
DevelopingandSelectinglndexesandScales 379
useful in sociological studies where social be-
haviors and social attitudes may be of greater
concern than personality traits.) Fufihermore,
a study rnay contain more than one semantic
diflbrential, each with the same set of bipolar
items, but with different subjects to apply
them to. Then the ratings on each item can be
compared.
Box 15-2 gives an example of the use of a
Semantic Differential I used in a study i car-
ried out on black and white college students at
predominantly white colleges. Two other
scales with the same set of bipolar items were
rated in reference to the stimuli: "Most of My
Friends Not at This College Are'.' and "I
Am:". Comparisons could then be made be-
tween the individual and his or her college
friends or noncollege friends, and the college
and noncollege friends could be compared as
well.
The scoring of these scales uses the scale
numbers. Let's first consider how you would
score a single item. Note that each bipolar
item comprises its own scale. Thus, by merely
numbering the scale positions and recording
the scale position for each respondent, you
could determine an average scale position for
the sample. If the stimulus were I Am, you
could compare scale positions for different
subgroups (men and women, first-year stu-
dents and seniors, etc.).
Another type ofscoring wouid involve cre-
ating subscores by grouping certain items on
the scale. For example, the scale in Box 15-2
had many statements that measured some
forrn ofpolitical activism (interested in social
betterment, interested in trying to change the
military invoivement of the country, radical
politically). Note that in some cases the radi-
cal-activist position was on the left-hand side
of the scale; in others it was on the right-hahd
side. This reversal was done to reduce re-
spznse sel, which (you may recall from Chap-
ter 7) was the propensity of respondents to
I
 CHAPTER l5 DevelopingandSeLectinglndexesandScales3Sl

BOX r 5-2
BOX l5-l
SEMANTIC DIFFERENTIAT SCATE IN TT{E STUDY OF COTLEGE STUDENTS
DEVEI.OPINIG TWO SUBSCATES FROM A 1O'ITEM SCATE

Using o four-point Likerl ScoJe o{ response cotegories, with =

I
Disogree
MOST OF MY FRIENDS AT THIS COLLEGE AREI
(1980) o{-
Stron'gly ro 4 = Agree Strongly, Konouse ond his colleogues Very interested in noiionol ond Noi oi oll interested in notionol
fered I 0 slotementsr inlernotionol offoirs ond inlernolionol offoirs
Very interesied rn workrng -:-:-:-:--:-i- Not ot oll rnterested in working
A. A working mother of preschool children con be lust os good o mother
towcrrd sociol belterment of ioword sociol beitermenl o{
os o womon who doesn't work.
disodvontoged people disodvonioged people
B. lt is usuolly belter for everyone involved if lhe mon is lhe ochiever oul-
Very inierested in irying lo -:-:-:-:-:-:- Not ot oll interested in kylng to
side the home ond the womon tokes core of the fomily'
chonge certoin orgonrzolronol chonge cerioin orgonizotionol
C. Young men should be encouroged to foke iobs thot ore usuolly filled by
structures ond prociices in slructures ond proctices in
women {nursing, secretoriol work, etc.).
D. Mosl women ore iusl nol interested in hoving big ond importoni iobs'
Americo Americo

E. Mony quolified women con'f get good jobs; men wilh the some skills Very interested in trying to -i-:-:-:-:-:- Not ol oll interesied in trying to
hove much less trouble. chonge ihe miliiory involvemeni chonge the militory invovement
F. Most women ore hoppiest when they ore moking o home ond coring of the country of the country
for children. Very inierested in ioinlng groups -:-:-i-:-:-:- Noi ot oll interested in ioining
G. High school counselors should urge young women to troin {or lobs which outside the college groups outstde the college
ore now held moinly bY men. Very interested in joining groups -:-:-:-:-:-:- Not ot oll ilre.ested in loining
H. lt is more importont for o wife to help her husbond thon to hove o coreer ot the college groups ol the college
herself. Convenlionol in dress or -:-:- Unconventionol in dress or
l. Schools teoch women io wont the less importont iobs' oppeoronce
J. Men should be given the flrst chonce ot most iobs becouse they hove
Conservolive politiccl y
lhe primory responsibility for providing for o fomily
Intellectuol
Crit col of rules Accepring of rules
Using {octor onolysis, ihe reseorchers produced two foc'lors from the 10
itemi(Konouse et ol., 1980, pp. I lB-l l9). The first foctor, which wos lo- -:-r-:-:-:-:- Not obso:bed in ocodem c

beled "rroditionol fomily priority," wos bosed on the items B, D, F, H, ond Absorbed in ocodem c studies '-,-:- studies

J.* These were the iiems thot supported o womon's primory slotus os o
homemoker who would recognize her economic dependence on her hus-
bond ond would provide him with emotionol support' The second focior,
lobeled "equol employment," wos lorgely bosed on items C, E, G, ond I'
These were the iiems which con{ronted fhe issue of equolizing iob oppor-
iunilies between lhe sexes. Whot foctor onolysis provides ore scores for
eoch of the foclors. These foctor scores con then be used insteod o{ the
iotol score io the items. Alternotively, oll or some of the items rn ihe two
foctors could be used seporote y os indicoiors of ihe now-differentioted
concepts thot they purport io rneosure.
*You might note lhoi scme o[ these items (such os J) ore double-borreled;
therefor! "disogreement" might only re{er io one ospect of the iiem Cleorly when
you choose o s."ole, you should be coreful io look ot ihe iiems comprising the
scole to declde whether they meet the criterio lor cleor ond unombiguous items'
Absorbed in sociol ife
mark down a set of answers in a consistent
manner without seeming to pay heed to the
meaning of the questions.
Let's go over how to score a Semantic Dif-
lerential. You wouid first want 10 gi\e num-
bers to the scale positions, putting a 7 at lhe
radical end and going down to a 1 at the con-
servative end. Then whatever score was
marked for Most of My Friends on these
items couid be added together and divided by
the number of items in the scale. (Remember
that you would not need to use all the items
on the scaie; you might want 10 consider those
Not cbsorbed in socio life
items that fitted together and formed a sub-
scale within the total scale.)
A third way to score a Semantic Differen-
tial is to compare scores given to one response
stimulus (let's say, Most of My Friends at
This College) to another stimulus, for exam-
p1e, yourself (I Am). Considering the Ab-
sorbed in Social Life item, if the respondent
rated Friends at This College as a 2 and him-
or herselfas a 6, you would see that there is a
four-point difference. Sets of difference scores
could be summed over all the items compris-
ing the subscale (or the difference scores for a

I

whole set of items comprising a Semantic Dif-
ferential). Then the median dffirence score
could be determined. In my study on black
and white college students, this is how the Se-
mantic Differential Scales were analyzed.
Those students with scores at or below the
median were considered to be identifying with
their college friends; those with scores above
the median were not identifying wlth their
college friends. Note that this summing
procedure is actually simiiar to index
construction.
Bogg1^dys Sociol Distonce Scoles
This is a scale that focuses on the distances be'
tween the ordinal items in the scaie (Bogar-
BOX r 5-3
A BOGARDUS SOCIAT DISTANCE
1. Remember to give your first feeling reoctions in every cose"
2.. Giu" your ruolt;oni to eoch notioiolity os o group. Do noi give your reoctlons to the
of the picfure or stereotype ihot you hove of the whole group'
members thot you hove known, but think
3. Pui o cross in os mony of the boxes os your {eelings dictote'
Close kinship by morrioge
ln my club os personol
chums
5 On my sleei os neighbors
4 Working olongside me in mY
occupolton
3 As citizens in mY country
2 As visiiors only to mY
counlry
Would exc[de lrom mY
counlry
dus, 1 959). It has been widely used to measure
the views toward ethnic groups, but it has also
been employed to measure attitudes toward
occupational, social class, and religious
groups. It asks the respondent to think ofthe
group to be rated in terms ofthe type ofsocial
interaction in which he or she would choose
t0 engage with members of that group. The
forms ofsocial interaction vary in their degree
of intimacy. Box 15-3 gives an example from
Bogardus's original work (it is taken from
Williamson et a1., 1982, P' 367).
This scaie assumes that if you give assent
to Item 7, you would agree as well to Items 6
through 1, and that ifyou agree to Item 3, you
would also agree to Items 2 and 1. In other
it assumes a cumulative set of
words,
SCATE
best or the worst
n:-T:
I
CHAPTER ]5
One problem that critics have raised with this
form of scale is that there is no way to deter-
mine the actual distance between the various
points on the scale. and some poinls seem 1o
be at a greater distance from the point next to
them than others farther away. The scores,
however, are treated as equidistant. Neverthe-
less. such a scale. and there are many versions
of it, may be useful if you ale studying atti-
tudes toward groups of"others."
Thurstone Scoles
Thurstone Scaies are composed of items se-
lected by judges as indicative of measuring
some concept. The general procedure is that
scores' the researcher would amass a large number of
items seemingly measuring a parlicular con-
cept, let's say, for example, conservatism.
Judges would be asked to classifli each item,
independently, on a scale of I to 1 1, from the
strongest measure of conservatism to the
weakest. Once the panel ofjudges has com-
pleted the classifying, the researcher deter-
mines an average score for each item from the
average responses ofthejudges. Then a subset
of items can be drawn, usually a few with
scores from the very top to the very bottom of
the scaled responses ofthejudges.
This means that the items selected relate
to one another in such a way that the ones to
which the judges gave higher scores presume
agre€ment with the items given lower scores.
Thurstone scaling is one of the earliest and
best-known forms of scaling. However, it is
very time-consuming, and has been chal-
lenged by some methodologists as very prob-
lem-ridden. For these reasons. it is no1 often
used today.
Guttmon Scoles
This form of scaling is similar both to the Bo-
gardus Social Distance Scale and the Thur-
stone Scaie-the items have an inherent order
Developing and SeLecting Indexes and Scales 383
such that some are considered more powerful
measures of the concept and therefore sub-
sume other, weaker measures. As usual, the
best way to understand this form ofscaling is
to consider an example. I will describe how I
thought through my reasons for developing a
scale and then how I carried out its construc-
tion and implementation.
In my research on black and white college
students, I used changes in response to the Au-
tonomy Scale to study the efect of college on
students. In selecting the Autonomy Scale, I
had to trace back the history ofthe develop-
ment ofthis scale. I discovered that its origins
lay in the work done on the study of authori-
tarianism, as described in Chapter 5. In fact,
some of the Autonomy Scale items were taken
directly from the F-Scale.
The Autonomy Scale had 43 items. I began
by carrying out a faclor analysis (referred to
above) to determine the different dimensions
in the scale. This produced three factors which
I labeled (on the basis of the items that were
most strongly represented by the factors) anti-
authoritarianism, anticonventionalism, and
open-mindedness. However, I also began to
wonder whether persons who supported the
third factor (open-mindedness) would also
have supported the second and fust factor;
that is, whether the third factor subsumed the
two earlier ones and whether people who sup-
ported the second factor were iikely to have
supported the first. In short, I wondered
whether the factors represented stages in atti-
tude development: whelher you first sub-
scribed to one set of attitudes before moving
on to accepting a second set ofattitudes.
It seemed possible that these were stages in
the development of the autznomous person-
ality. Theoretically, I deveioped a position in
which each of the lacrors represented a stage
further and further removed from authoritar-
ianism. The first stage, antiauthoritarianism,
suggested a negative reversal of authoritari-
anism. but in lroth cases attitudes toward the
I
 ,J*:

384 TheAnalysisofsocialResearchData PART FouR

ment (1ike lhe Autonomy Scale),the Guttman

society are seen as imposed. For the authori-
tarian they are seen as positively imposed and
for the antiauthoritarian, negatively imposed.
Thus the antiauthoritarian repudiates author-
ity while the authoritarian welcomes it. The
second stage, anticonventionalism, suggested
a questioning ofthe traditional order: society
is not repudiated, but it is also not accepted
unquestioningly. The individual seems to be
trying to throw off vaiues that are no longer
relevant and to replace them with ones that he
or she has reason to support. The third stage,
open-mindedness, suggests an attitude toward
society as open to many possibilities and to-
scaies suddenly look interesting.l
To test for the stages of nonauthoritarian-
ism, I created a Guttman type of scale.3 First
I selected the three items which had the
strongest weights (or which contributed most
to determining the factor) for each of the three
factors: anti6Ltthoritarianism-Ttue: Society
puts too much restraint on the individtal; an'
ticonventionallsn-False: Every person ought
to be a booster for his hometown; open-mind-
edness-False: Nothing about fascism is any
good. Then I examined the responses to these
three items.
lional item, you should accept the lower-level
antiauthoritarian tlem as well). Nonscale
types include any other possible pattern ofre-
sponse which diverges from the scale types.
As the table indicates, 56 respondents gave
answers that were scale types, 44 gave non_
scale responses. Various tests can be used to
justifl' calling the items a Guttman Scale. I
'rsed the cofficient of reproducibility to
the three items represented a Guttman Scale.
It is based on the following formula;
Coeflicient of reproducibility
_ number oferrors
Guttman Scaies need not be computed by
hand, but may be carried out using computer
package programs such as SpSSx.
SETECTING ALREADY DEVELOPED
INDEXES AND SCATES
Many of the most commonlv measured vari_
see if ables in social research (for example, socio-
economic status) already have conesponding
indexes or scales developed which you mighi
use. In this section, I want to suggest the types
of variables likely to have alreadv availa le
scales, and discuss how uou mighi find these

ward individual conduct within society as re- Table 15-6 gives the possible scores on the t-lnumbe@ rnstruments.
three items for both the scale and nonscale Scales are very popular in both psychology
latively free from social constraint. The indi- In the exampie, the number of errors (or non_
types. Scale types are those which represent and sociology. In order to measure complex
vidual is beginning to see that he or she has scale types) was 44, the number of cases was
the expected pattern: If you accept the open^ psychological qualities, such as authoritarian-
possibilities and choices within the social
100, and the number of items was 3. ism, anomie, or alienation, self-report
order (Baker, 1976,pp.630-631). Whiie these minded item, you should accept the two ear- state_
seemed theoreticaliy interesting, I needed a lier-stage items (if you accept the anticont'en- ments cannot often be used (you can't really
way to test for evidence to support the idea of Coefficient otreproducibility ask someone: "Do you feel atrienated?,'j.
=
the stages of nonauthoritarianism. [Let me #h Rather, sets of questions that tap various as-
add that although this is a special situation, it lThc example given is more precisel.v a summed index
= .853 pects of these complex measures must be de_
= 85.3% veloped. Most complex psychological con-
is often the case that, when you are trying to that has been tested to see how far i1 conforms to
cepts have been the basis for scales. Using the
make sense of a compiex measuring instru- Guttman's criteria for setting up a scale.
This produced a coefficient ofreproducibility bibliographical resources discussed in Chapter
of.85 which is below the .90 ievel suggested as 4 and looking for the concept name itself (au_
evidence that a scale forms a true Gutmann thoritarianism. for example) would lead you
TABLE I 5-6
Scale. The scale seemed to qualifu only as a to a vast number of references to articles in
GUTTMAN SCATE OF THREE ITTMS FROM THE AUTONOMY SCAIE quasi-Guttman scale, one that is only fairiy which this concept was studied.
close to being a Guttman Scale. What I The eariiest articles and the tities of arti_
learned from this procedure is that there was cles would tell you where the scale might first
Society- some evidence of an ordering among the have been published. Remember that most
Foscism Number of Coses
Restroint items I had distinguished as representing dif- scales, ifthey are popularly used, undergo re_
l l t3 t8 ferent dimensions of nonauthoritarianism, visions over time. The revised versions mav
5co le 1 I 02 2A but the evidence was not conclusive. shorten the scale, they may make it mori
iypes I 0 0l 7 This is only one way in which a Guttman applicable for different types ofaudiences (for
0 0 00 il Scale might be used. It is not an easy scaling example, children or non-Americans), and
Totol method, and some methodologists believe they may revise anachronistic items. For this
I 0 l2 t3 that it is often misused. Nevertheiess, if you reason, a revised version of a scale may serue
Non scole 0 l l2 t0 want to determine the pattern of responses to your purposes better than the original. It is a
types 0 I 0l r3 a set of items and you suppose that the pattern good rule ofthumb not t0 grab the first scale
0 0 ll I suggests a set of stages that are ordered, then you find that you think might measure what
44
Iotol Guttman scaiing may be worth considering. you want. Instead, use this first scale as a ref-

I

t_
I 386 fhe,qnalvsisofSocialResearchData
l-""'
erence point for finding earlier or later ver-
sions or for finding scales to which it has been
correlated. You will want 10 examine quite a
few scales before making a final decision.
Above all, remember that the wording of
the items must be appropriate for your
population.
Excellent reference sources are available to
help you find the righl scale or index. Perhaps
the most comprehensive is O. K. Buros (ed.),
Eighth Mental Measurement Yearbook. This
reference work has six different types of in-
dexes for finding scales (by name, by scale
title, etc.). It briefly describes each scale, out-
lining its length and the types of factors in-
volved; it suggests appropriate audiences for
the scale and gives references as to where it
can be found. Another excellent resource
work is Delbert C. Miller, Handbook of Re-
search Design and Social Measurement
(1977). There are other reference works that
are more specialized: for example, O. G. John-
son (ed.), Tests and Measuremenl in Child De-
velopment: Handbook II (1976).
Some volumes offer copies of the scales
themseives. These include cclllections of atti-
tudinal scales, such as Robinson and Shaver,
Measures of Social Psychological Attiludes
(1973) or M. E. Shaw and J. M. Wright, Sccles
for the Measurement of Anitudes (1967). For
special types ofscaies and indexes, you might
turn to Robinson et al., Measures of Occupq-
tional Attitudes and Occupational Character-
istics (1969); Robinson el al., Measures of Po-
liticalAnimdes (1968);orC. A. Beere, lilomen
and Women's Issues: A Handbook of Tests
and Measures Usually you need permission
10 use a sca1e, and sometimes there is a charge.
It is normally acceptable to shorten a longer
scale to meet your purposes, but ifyou do so,
the validation and replication evidence that
irs authors developed will not apply to your
shortened version.
I
I
l
PART toUR CHAPTiR I5 Developing and Selecting Indexes and Scales 387
I
Occupolionol qnd Socioeconomic Scoles forming a ranked set ofjob categories; there- 3. Average standing.
fore to establish such a scale only requires ask- 4. Somewhat below average standing.
Occupation is one of the most central charac-
ing a large enough number of individuals to 5. Poor standing.
teristics of individuais in modern society, and
rank occupational titles and forming the com- X. I don't know where to place that one.
it is the primary factor in identifying the social
posite scores these occupations receive into a
slatus of individuals. Thus a measure of oc-
scale. The original procedure used by NORC Many subjects were asked to rank the occu-
cupational status is needed in many social re- pations. The ratings from each subject were
was to give the foliowing statement to the sub-
search projects. Other factors such as geo- jects (R.eiss, 1961, p. t9):
converted into scores of 5 for Excellent, 4 for
graphic region, ethnicily, or age may also be
Good, etc. The Don't Know responses were
important differentiating factors, buI "What excluded. For each occupational title, the per-
do you do?" is the one question in the United For each job mentioned, please pick out the
statement that best gives your own personal cent ofresponses in each ofthe five categories
States which is most readily asked and is con-
opinion of the general standing that such a job was multiplied by the assigned score (Excel-
sidered the primary measure of one's status.
has. lent = 5, Good = 4, etc.). These products
For this reason, the use ofoccupation as a pri-
were then summed and divided by 5 to yieid
mary social indicator is widespread. The l. Excellent standing. an average score for each occupation. Box
problem with measuring occupation is that it 2. Goodstanding. l5-4 shows how this was done.
is a norninal variable with numerous catego-
ries which have no inherent order. To be able
to use it to rank individuals, you must place BOX t5-4
the occupations on a scale in some fashion to
denote differences in their qualities.
RANK-ORDER SCORING FOR THE ORIGINAT NORC* PRESTIGE SCALE!
HOW AN OCCUPATIONAT TITLE WAS SCORED
Two different types olscales or indexes are
usually used for this purpose. The first is an Suppose the title "corpenter" received the following percentoges {rom
occupational prestige scale, such as the one de- respondenls'
veloped at the National Opinion Research
Center (NORC) by Paul Hatt and Cecil North Excellent : 2AVo
rn 1941, and revised by Robert Hodge, Paul Good = 30%
Siegel, and Peter Rossi (1964); or the newer
Averoge = 20o/o
cross-nationaily validated occupational pres-
Belowoveroge = l0%
tige scale developed by Donald Treiman, the
Standard Scale (1977). The other type is a so-
Poor = lQo/o
cioeconomic index based on indicators other
than occupational prestige (such as income
Eoch percent would be multiplled by the ossigned weighted scores,
summed together, ond then divided by 5.
and educational attainment). The best-known
example here is the Duncan Socioeconomic x
t(20 5) + {30 x 4) + l20x 3l + llo x 2) + {tO x tiJ/s = 62
Index (SEI) (described in detail in Reiss,
1961). We will consider the NORC Prestige Thus the occupotionol presfige score for "corpenter" wou d be 62. Note
Scale, the Treiman Standard Scale, and the thot if everyone ronked on occupotion os Excellent, ihe score would be I O0
Duncan SEI. l(l 00 X 5)/5 =
I O0l; if everyone roied it Poor, the score would be 20
l(l00Xl)/5=201.
Occupational Frestige Scales. The rationale
-NORC
for developing an occupational prestige scale = Noiionol Opinion Reseorch Center.
is that individuals conceive ofoccupations as
I
 -lil
1
!

CHAPTER I5 Developing and Selecting Indexes and Scales 3g9

The Analltsis of Social Research Data

(which naturally varied among differenl lan- based on variables other than the level ofpres_ whereas income differences between these
job titles
There was also the issue of which tige attributed to occupations. The most
ti- guages and within languages between different groups and white men make the SEI a less re_
,o niu. ,.tpondenrs to rate' Occupational widely used of these scales is the Duncan So_
to there are a number Iulture$ in 60 countries where occupational liable measure for the former groups (1977, p.
ii.iut. no1 easy select:
prestige studies had been carried out and con- cioeconomic Index (SEI). This was deveioped 2 I 2). Naturally, ifyou are using cross-national
ni pioUr.tt. First' there are so many titles to extend the effort begun in the Hatt_North
verting them into a standard score' This re- data, Treiman's Standard Scale is preferable,
it,ui it It difficult to make the selection:
sec-
quired using a somewhat complicated for- Occupational Prestige Scale, which had rated since it was built from a large set of sludies
ambiguous ("engineer" or
ond, titles may be
only a relatively small number of occupations
;srp.n-uisor" can refer to a vast alray ofactual mula which compared the differences in from 60 different nations.
means and standard deviations (see Chapter on the basis of prestige. Otis Dudley Duncan
may.nol
iobi); tirirO. individuals in the society and his associates wanted to scale a much
for each occupatlonl 16) of scores for occupations in each country
use the same terms larger number of occupations on the basis of WHETHER TO USE AN INDEX
fourth, the use of titles changes over timeJhe
to those in the United States. The result was
income derived from the occupation and ed_ OR A SCAIE
thal each occupational tille was given a score
revised versions of the original NORC Pres- ucational attainment normally held by those
between 0 and 100 (Treiman, 1977,pp' 166- This chapter has offered you some guidelines
tige Scales have had to readdress the issue of in the
1 67). One quality ofthe Standard
Scale is lhal occupational group. The SEI ranges for constructing indexes and some informa-
job titles. When the NORC Prestige Scale was from I to
ievised in 1963 by Hodge, Siegel, and Rossi, a unit group categories (those used by the Cen- 100. tion about types of scales and where vou
,r, But.uu to categorize sets ofjob titles) are In developing the SEI, stronger weights might find already deveioped scales. Socioeco-
national sampie was asked to rank 90 occu-
pations (1964). also given scores. This means thal if you were given occupations (measured by income nomic indexes and occupational prestige
wanted to score only large categories ("man- and educational attainment) that had higher
One of the surprising findings of these scales have been described in detail to show
you prestige scores. In short, the SEI was created
prestige studies was the degree of agreement agers" as compared to "clerical workers") you the range and types of scales available for
wlould have a numericai scale to use' Table in such a way that it would be highly cone_ measuring occupational status.
urnong ttt. respondents on the ranking of oc- lated to the NORC Scale. The SEI was applied
15-7 gives these group categories and their How useful a scale or index might be for
cupations. Evidence was accumulated over to a very wide range of occupational titles.
corresponding scores. your project will naturally depend on what
dme that people throughout the worid rated (For a detailed discussion ofhow the SEI was you are planning to do. Social
occupations similarly' Donaid J' Treiman developed and how it compares with the
researchers
Duncan SEI. An alternative to an occupa- vary in terms of the types of scales they are
(1977) developed an international scale by North-Hatt Occupational preslige Scale, see
iaking scores from 509 occupational titles tional prestige scale is a composite mcasure likely to use. Some of ihe differences in usage
Reiss. I 961 .) have to do with which branch ofthe sociai sci-
Whether you should choose an occupa- ences one is working in-social psychologists
tional prestige scale or a socioeconomic index are particularly fond ofpersonality scales; so-
TABTE I 5-7 "is not at all obvious," as Treiman states ciological survey researchers almost always
(1977, p.211). He suggests that a socioeco- use occupational status scales. you should
TREIMAN STANDARD SCALE-
nomic index should be a better measure of oc- carefully consider whal vou are rying to mea-
Stondqrd Scole Score
Unif 6roup Colegories cupation, ifyou are using occupation as an in- sure in your study and decide whether a com-
59 dicator of resources that might be transmitted posite instrument would help you to achieve
Professionol, technicoi
Monogers, odminisirotors {except form}
53 intergenerationally or that rnight be consid- your goals. Remember that if you use an al_
39 ered as beneficial for some other end. There-
So les ready constructed scale or index, evidence will
42
Clericol fore, if you are doing a study of intergenera- be available concerning the validity and reli-
39
Croftsmen
32 tionai mobility (let's say, how sons' careers ability of the scale. If you develop your own
Operotives {except ironsPori)
30 compare to their fathers'), then the SEI might index or scale, you will have the creative ex-
Tronsport equipmeni oPeroiives
Loborers {except formi
2l be preferable. On the other hand, occupa- perience of deveioping a measuring instru-
Formers ond [orm monogers
41
tional prestige seems to be a better indicator ment ofyour own.
24
Form oborers ond form foremen of career attainment, since it implies the sub-
29
Service workers {except privoie household) jective "rewards" gained by holding an occu-
2A
Privoie household workers
pation (1977, p. 212). Furthermore, Treiman REVIEW NOTES
*Scores for unit group cotegories for the I 970 census, detoiled occupotionol argues that his scaie is useful in the study of . An index is a composite set of indicators to
clossi{lcotions.
pp 306-3 I 4'
women, blacks, and other minority groups measure a complex concept. The cumula_
Source, Condensed from Treimon, 1977 ,

I

tive score on the indicators serves as the
index score.
. A scale is a measurement instrument based
on a set of indicators which have certain in-
ten"elationships to one another. These inter-
nal interrelationships are refened to as the
intensity structure ofthe scale.
. Index construction involves developing em-
pirical indicators to represent the dimen-
sions ofthe concept, examining the interre-
lationships of the indicators and selecting
those which form the best composite
measures.
. One way of validating an index is with an
item analysis in which index scores are
cross-tabulated (or cross-correiated) with
responses to the separate items forming the
index.
. Likert Scales are the cumulated scores from
sets of statements (selected to represent a
concept) to which ordinal responses
(Strongiy Agree ... Strongly Disagree) are
BI vurr,
. A Semantic Differential Scaie is based on
ratings for a stimulus subject (I Am) on a
five- or seven-point bipolar set of items
(often adjectives). The cumulated ratings
determine the scale score. Often a number
ol different stimuli are presented with the
same set of biPoiar items to enable
comparisons.
. The Bogardus Social Distance Scale is an or-
dinal scale in which the kind and degree of
social interaction the rater would ailow with
members of a specific group are determined.
The social interaclion items are assumed to
be cumulative (for exampie, if you would
agree to have your daughter or son marry a
member of the group, it is expected that you
would have no objection to living next door
to a member of that grouP).
. Thurstone Scales are based on items chosen
by a multistage procedure in which (1)
judges select items best representing a con-
cept (or a particular quality of a concepl)
",'Jj.:'
l
i
!.
and how it was developed. What evidence
and (2) the researcher averages the scores of man, New York, 19g3. Miller,s 4th edition in_
is there as to its validity? In what kind ofa cludes a good overview of
the judges and selects items on this basis. types of scale
. study riright yoil want to include this scale? construclion and a section comparing socioeco_
Guttman Scales are a means for determining
nomic scales. It also includes studies of the fre-
whether respondents rate items in a cumu-
quency of use of ditrerent types of scales
lative fashion so that responses to some American Sociological Rerlew (1965_19g0) and
in the
RECOMMENDED READINGS
items appear to subsume responses to in otherjournals for other time periods.
others. l. Mueller, Daniel J.: Measuring Social Attitudes; 3. Reiss, Albert J.: Occupations an'd Socia/ Status,
" Many already developed indexes and scales A Handbook for Researchers and practitioners, Free Press, New york, 1961. This comprehen_
are available to researchers. Numerous ref- Teachers College Press, New york, 19g6. An
sive volume compares the developmeni of the
easy introduction to the use of different scaling
erence books describe these composite mea- NORC Occupational prestige Scali to the Dun-
methods (Likert, Thurstone, Semantic Differ_
sures in detail. Socioeconomic indexes and can Socioeconomic Index. It gives detailed
in_
ential) with some helpful examples.
occupational prestige scales are examples of formation on the constructiorrolthese measur-
2. Miller, Delbert C.: Handbook ef Research De_ ing instruments and includes comparisons
widely used composite measures for deter- sign and Social Measurement, 4th ed., Long_ ofthc
scale scores for occupational tities.
mining socioeconomic status.
KEY TERMS
Bogardus Social Distance Scale
coefficient of reproducibility
construct
Gultman Scale
index
intensity structure
item analysis
Likert Scale
occupational prestige scale
parsimony
socioeconomic index (SEI)
Semantic Differential Scale
Thurstone Scale
STUDY EXERCISES
1. Create index items to measure the concept
of"satisfaction with college" that could be
used in a survey to be given to college stu-
dents. Think of the dimensions that you
would want 10 cover in this index, and de-
velop one or more items to serve as indi-
cators of each.
2. Review in
the five types ofscales presented
the chapter and give a one-sentence de-
scription ofeach orie.
3. Find one already ci-aied scale in the re-
ses;;h literature. Briefly describe the scale
I
 1'
:

CHAPTER I6 Elementary Statistics

for Social Research 393

The main purpose o.f this chapter is to suggest

statistical tests that would be
in some of the types of research projects oeJciiuea helpful
you to become a useful "consumer" of statistics.
i" irri, i*i'i'ir.
o"ro"r. is to herp
F"rih;;; statistics
and the "'tr;';,"f-arlier
courses, most of these statistics will be familiar,
serve as a refresher session. For those of i" ,rris chapter
"rri**i lnr, chapter can
Hlementary Ststistics for vou withou,
offer an inrroductory overview of certain srarisricar ""rpr.r."r.ri,
used in
wilr

that ".ii"'i.i;;;#;o'nty
mentary social anaryses. we wili arso raise issues ere_
,"r.;;;
d;uri'lrrtutirtics,
Social Reseerch as what oplions are avaiiabre, what do
the numbers mean in ,.rution io
assumptions are being made by the use of a particurar
such
tr,e study, what
t.rtr #ir"i'ielatrrematics are
easy to understand, the statistical formulas will
be.given ," rr.rp v*
g.t u ,l.ur.r r.nr.
ofwhat the statistic is actually representing. In other.ur.r,
,riririilui"i.ru will be de_
their formula', vou could ."urnin"in an introductory
ffiffilljfilil::1',lr:t 'ihi'h

INTRCDUCTION
USING AND MISUSING significant." In many situations the samples
STAIISTICS we draw, the kinds ofdata we have,
and the
q needed in social research to
Some statistical techniques useful in the anal_
ysis ofdata generated by the research methods
measurement of our variables preclude
from being able to use cenain types of
us
Utatistics are statis-
of large amounts of in- explained in this text will be presented in this tical tests or require us to interpiet tfrc
improve our ability in describing and interpreting the meaning t.rtr ln
chapler. By applying a few commonly used a particular fashion. This concern for
tbimation. If you have information only on one item or on a few subjects, you can the ap-
statistical tests to the cross-tabular analvses propriateness,ofstatistics will be
qual- a central orie
probably giye an adequate description in words, citing central characteristics and which we have developed in our study on ;th- in this chapter. Remember that a computer
but you have
ities. Uiturally, you may be wrong in your description of even one case,
Ietic participation and ed.ucational ittain_ program (usually) cannot decide
which iypes
the resources in terms oilunguug. to carry out the task. When
you have information on
ment, we can see how statistical tests can en_ of statistics are appropriate fo,
information in words. Vou. ,tuiy.
10,000 cases, it becomes much more difficult to describe this hance our understanding of the data we have. Ioa must make those decisions.
Descriptive ,totirtiu are toois which can enable you to describe large bcdies of data
in Nowadays, almost all statistics that are
statistics describe the cen- produced are generated from a computer.
. We shall begin by presenring a brief over_
view of certain statistics; then ive will return
u ur,n111ury fashion. The most common forms of descriptive
tral tendencies and variability ofa set ofdata. Thus, what we present in this chapter will be to the athletic participation_educational at_
statistical tests produced by the statistical tainment study to see what statistical tests
When your findings are from a probability sample, summary descriptions, or statis-
param- computer package program SpSS* (described might be used to describe our data and to test
lics, from ihese findings may be used to estimate the corresponding population
the distribution of the underlying population' Sta- in Appendix C), which we have been using. our hypotheses. Finally, we will examine
a few
eters using certain assumptions about
Statistics are no1 oniy easy to use, but they are other commonly applied statistical tests
tistical pr:ocedures that allow you to infer from what you found in a representative also easy to misuse. Cornputer programs will
to see
with what types of data they could be used
sample io the whoie population are called i4ferential statistics. Such statistics may be profltably.
generate tables and accompanying statistical
ur*d to test hypotheses ibout the relationships that may exist within a population under
tests so readily that there is oflen a tendency
in
rtuOy. Sirnpty'speaking. this is done by asking whether the patterns actuaily found to have the computer turn out a lot of statis-
the sample dati would differ frorn those in the population from which the data were tics, whether or not your sampling design and OVERVIEW OF STATISTICAL
parame-
drawn. Another branch of inferential statistics is estimation of the popuiation the data you have collected are appropriate to CONCEPTS AND MEASUREMENT
ters based on representative samples. As described in Chapter 6 (which discusses the these statistical tests. Measurement (desoibed in Chapter
from a sample can be used to estimate All of us as researchers would like to be 5) and
normal au*. und confidence intervals), a mean sampiing (described in Chapter 6) are
central
able to say that our findings are ..statisticallv
the confidence inten'al in which the population mean would occur' to the discussion of staristics. Measurement

392
 : fr:
l
i
l

theory and sampling theory are two of the
major branches of statistics. We will need to
recall some of the information from these
chapters as we lay out some ofthe central con-
resents the arithmetic average. If we add to- how many cases share the same vaiue). Tables
mean (this was described
gether every number representing each case in 16-l and 16-2 show, comparatively, the dis_ in Chapter 6). Ways
to descnbe the range of
the sample (or population) and then divide tributions ofa set ofcases for income data for scores (the mosl com_
b..lrq the yandard deviarion) wjll
this sum by the number ofcaSes, the resulting ascertaining the mean, the median. and
the Tql
scnbed below.
be de_

cepts and forms of measurement in statistics'
Since this discussion will include only a few
hand calcuiations of statistical tests, you
might like to refer to an introductory statistics
text for more detail.
Meosures of Centrol TendencY
Recall from Chapter 5 that there are two types
of measurement: categorical and numerical.
Categorical measurement may have categories
that are merely characterized by distinctive-
arithmetic mean describes the center of the mode.
distribution. For this reason, cases at the ex- The.Median. In contrasl ro
tremely high end of the distribution or at the The Mean. The mean is a very useful statis- tjlltty lhe mean.s sen_
rhe whole range of values, the
extremely low end will disproportionately in- tic when a variable is based on a numb., P ne-
orun
fluence the mean. In addition, if the cases are scale, such as weight or income. It is .rellecls only the centermosl case (or
often cases). The purpose of
unevenly distributed, so that, for example, a commonly computed for ordinal variables
as
the median
scribe that case which falls
;;: ;;;
large proportion are at one end, the distribu- well. As stated above, if the scale of numUeis exactty in ifr. .."-
ter of rhe range of cases (from
tion will be highly skewed. is not fairiy evenly distributed, the mean
will
h,ct i;-l;;j.
ofren preferabk .;"ii;"r;;;;
S/<ew refers to an asymetrical distribution no1 be a good indicator ofthe central fendencv I11-i:,otrl',
wnere the distribution
of the data such that the data are not evenly ofthe distribution. In deciding whether ro use is skewed. In such a
case,the centermost case_that is, the
spread around the cenlral point. So when you a mean, consider carefully whether the varia_
dian-will belrer represent the central me_
oonsider lhe skewness of the distribution of ble you want to analyze is based on u tvo. ot
oency ol the distrjbution than
ten_

ness, in which case the measurement scale is data, you are looking for the degree to which measurement that can be represented 'by will the mean.
an If the distribution contains
an odd number
referred lo as a norninal scale; or the catego- the data are symetrically distributed in reia- arithmetic mean. (Remember that a nominai of
cases, then the centermost
tion to their central point. When data are variabie should not be represented case will be easy to
ries may be both distinctive and ordered, in bv
which case the measurement is referred to as highly skewed, the mean will naturally be af- mean.) If a mean is an appropriate descripiive
a
::1.:1":
rhe med.ian. (rf rhere *.r.
rr .ur.r,
tne medtan would be the sixth, with 5 cases on
an ordinal scale. Numerical scales may either fected, and it will not serve so effectively as a statistic for the variable you are studying, you
be based on a true number scale with a mean- measuie ofcentral tendency. In such an evgnt, may also want to include information on
the
dispersion (or variation) ofscores around the TABTE I 6-2
ingful zero point (such as age or weight), or Ihe median, which represents the centermost
they may only imply equal intervals between position in an ordered series of cases and DATA DISTRIBUIION IOR MEDIAN
AND MODE
numbers but have no true zero point (charac- largely ignores the skew of the distribution, TABIE I6-I
teristic of psychological tests, IQ scores, tem- might be the right choice as a measure of cen- Fomily lncome {N = l2)
DATA DISTRIBUTION FOR THE MEAN
perature scales). The former types ofscales are tral tendency. The mode represents the most Ordered Doto
lncome Volues
called ratio scales; the iatter type, interval popular value (or position) in the distribution, Fomily lncome (N = l2)
scales. the one representing the largest number of Cose 6
8,000
Cose l
Numerical scales (both interval and ratio) cases. Thus the mode is not sensitive to the Unordered Doto lncome Volues r0,000
Cose 8
may be used for discrete variables, that is, spread of the distribution. Deciding which Cose I Cose 2
r 0,000

10,000
measure of central tendency to use will also
12,000
those which can take only whole numbers as Cose 2 I 2,000 Cose Z
I 2,000
values (such as number of children); or they depend upon the type ofquestion you are in- Cose 3 15,000 Cose I I
r 2,000
in answering. Cose 4 Cose 9
may be used with continuous variables, that terested 24,jAa 14,000
Cose 5 Cose 3
is, those which can be defined over intervals Let's say that the variable you are studying 20,000 15,000
Cose 6 8,000 Cose l2 i 8,000
that have no breaks between all the possible is the yearly income of the parents of a sample Cose Z Cose 5
r 2,000 20,000
values ofthe variable. In other words, a con- of 12 high school students, rounded offto the Cose 8 10,000 Cose I 0
21,000
tinuous variable can assume a countably infi- nearest thousand dollars. It is possible to com- Cose 9 14,000 Cose 4
24,0A0
nite number of values (for example, time, pute the meanrncome by adding up all the in- Cose I 0 2r,000
Cose I l Medion = midpoinr
height, weight). Furlhermore, you can mea- comes given by the respondents and dividing r2,000
Cose I 2 t8.000 =(Cosell*Cose9)+2
sure a continuous variable with a high level of this number by the number in the sample. No
Summed totol' I /6,000
= {12,000 * t4,000) + 2
accuracy (in decimals) depending on the type specific order is required to compute a mean' = i3,000
Number o[ coses: I 2
of measuring instrument You use. However, the cases must be,ordered to deter- i = summed totoi - number of coses Mode = most popu or volue

Recall from Chapter 6 that there are three mine the median. An ordered list facilitates ,= 176,0A0112= 14,667 = Coses 2,2, I I

reasures of central tendency. The mean rep- determining the mode as well (in order to see = 12.000

I

396 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData
lviedian point
orde.ed Ii
data+++++
Case 11 Case I doro in Toble l6-2.
either side.) In the example given, where there
was an even number of cases ( 12), it would be
easily computed as halfway between Case 11
and Case 9. Figure 16-1 depicts the median's
position.
The median is somewhat more difficult to
compute when you have grouped data, such as
data distributed among income groups of
below 10,000, 10,000 to 13,000, 13,001 to
16,000, etc. When data are grouped, each cat-
egory represents a range of values. The me-
dian number for the range falls somewhere
within the interval which contains the center-
most vaiue (median). There is a formula that
will help you estimate where in the center-
most g.roup (let's say between 16,001 and
19,000) the actual median would fall.'
The Mode. This is the most easily deter-
mined measure of central tendency. It is
merely the value which occurs most fre-
quently in the full range of values. in Table
16-2,the mode was 12,000 because three cases
were represented by that amount.
Meosures of Voriotion
When you compute e mean, you have esti-
mated a central position representative of all
the data in your sample. What you have not
done is consider how these data are distrib-
uted, how widely or narrowly they are dis-
persed, or how much variation there is across
all the cases in the sample. Consider the av-
rStatistics texts generaliy show melhods for computing a
median from grouped data.
P A R T Fo u
'I6.I
+ +
FIGURE
Estoblishing ihe med on lrom ihe
erage weight of students in a college class.
Let's say you know that the average is 140
pounds. What you would not know was
whether most of the students weighed close to
the 140-pound mark, or whether they ranged
from a very low to a very high weight, or
whether the distribution was skewed (i.e.,
whether there were many weights above 140,
with a few low ones keeping the average at
140). Measures of variation, or dispersion,
which were described in Chapter 6, will again
be briefly examined.
Types of Variation. Assuming a sufficient
number ofcases, you could plot distributions
like the weight example on graph paper in
which the vertical axis would indicate the
number of individuals with each weight (the
frequency) and the horizontal axis would
show the scale of weights ranging from the
lowest to the highest. Then if you plotted al1
the weights by piacing dots on the graph ap-
propriately, and if you connected the points
on the graph, you would be likely to find a
curved shape which was highest (had the most
cases) around the point ofthe mean and then
fell offas it moved away from the mean. This
would resemble the bell-shaped curve, the
normal curve descrlbed in Chapter 6. Recall
that the more values'you had, the greater the
likelihood that the curve would come nearer
to resembling the bell shape. However, you
should remember that the bell-shaped curve
does not occur in every dislribution.
Distributions may, for example, have
more than one high point. This might be true
(for example) for the variable Length of Col-
lege Terms: for those on a semester system,
the high point would be 15 weeks, with vari-
:.:lr
;
R CHAPTTR ]6 Elementary Statistics for Socia! Research 397
ations from 13 to 16; while for those on the
possible samples of the same sample size
quarter system 10 weeks would be the high
drawn from a population. In most cases, of
point, with variation from g
to 1i weelis. course, only one sample has been drawn. The
When this is the case, the distribution is re_ standardized normal distribution has a mean
ferred to as a bimodal distribution.
of 0 and a standard deviation of L What is so
When variables are categorical, such as re-
useful about the normal curve is that it indi-
ligion, line graphs are generally not used, cates the proportion ofthe values that will fall
though bar graphs (as we saw in Cirapter 6j
between the mean and so many standard de_
and pie chans are appropriare. In either of viations away from the mean. These standard
these types ofgraphs. percentages ofthe total
deviation end points can serve as confidence
characterized by a certain categor), are repre-
lirnits, and the se1 of all vaiues between the
sented proportionately. More often, categori-
confidence limits, the confidence intervaLs.
cal variables are presented as
frequency dis- serve to indicate the range within which the
tributions, in which the percentages are given
mean of the popuiation would be enclosed.
for each category of the variable. We haie al-
ready examined many frequency distributions
'Lange. Various other measures are even eas-
in Chaprer 13. Tables i3-4 to i3_g are exam_
ier to compute and can give you an indication
pies of frequency distributions.
of the dispersion of the frequencies. One o[.
the simp.lest is the range. This is simply the
" The Standard Deviation. R.ecall from Chap_
distance between the highest and lowest point
,
ter 6 that the standard deviation is the squaie
in a set of cases. Returning to the example of
root of the variance, that is, the mean of the
the range of weights among students in ailass.
squared differences between the vaiues ofeach
ii the lightest person in your class were g9
case in the distribution and the value of the
pounds and the heaviest person were 220
mean. What the standard deviation tells vou pounds, theirange couid be determined bv
is how much dispersion (or spread) there is in
i subtracting 89 from 220, giving 131 pounds.
the distribution of values in a sample. It in_ ,
In this examp\e, the maximum value would
dicates that within one standard deviation
be 220, and the minimum value, 99. Klowing
above and below the mean, 6g percent ofthe
the maximum, the minimum, the range, anJ
cases would faii; within two standard devia_
the mean would tell you quite a lot about the
tions, 95 percent of the cases would fall: and variation of the distribution. What it would
within three standard deviations above and not tell you is how closely the data were gath-
below the mean, more than 99 percent of the
ered about the mean or how wideiv and
_would be encompassed. By assuming
cases
evenly they were dispersed. Because the range
that the popuiation fi-om which the sampie is very sensitive to extreme values (called oal_
was drawn had a normal distribution, you can
liers), its usefulness is limited. A better way to
apply the standardized normal distribution, understand the dispersion ofthe data is to use
Ihe normal curyg to your sample and thereby
the standard deviation. In addition, there are
determine the range within which the popu_ other measures of dispersion which determine
lation mean would likely fall.
the degree of skewness (or tilt) of
The standardized nonnal distribution, the
distribution.':
the
normal curve, has been very influential in the
development of statistics. As we saw in Chap-
ter 6, the normai curve is used to ,.p.ar.nt 2Consult
a slatistics text lor other measures of
the sampling distribution of means from all dispersion.
I

398 TheAnalysisof SocialResearchData
DESCRIBING RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN VARIABLES
The choice of which statistical test to employ
will depend on the level of measurement of
the variables. Recall that when the variables
are categorical, the data represent the number
of counts in each category (the number of
Catholics, Protestants, and Jews related to the
number of voters and nonvoters) rather than
a set of values on a numerical scale (for ex-
ample, age and IQ score). When both vari-
ables are ratio or interval measures (such as
age and IQ score), correlations (such as the
Pearson r) can be used; when the variables are
categorical (religion and voting status), you
can use other measures ofassociation between
the variables.
What will follow is a brief discussion of
some of the more common types of statistical
rneasures of association. In the cases where
the statistical formulas are very simple to
comprehend, these will be reviewed; where
the formuias are more complex, they will not
be presented. In any case, it would be useful
to refer to an introductory statistical text if
you wish to examine the mathematics of these
measures.
MEASURES OF ASSOCIATION
A number of different statistical tests can be
used to determine the strength, and some-
times the direction, of an association between
variables. As stated above, the choice oftests
to use depends on the level of measurement
of the variables being considered. In some
cases, it aiso depends on the number of cate-
gories in the variables being associated. The
statistical tests suggested here are not the only
ones available. By consulting a statistics text
(a number of texts are listed in the Recom-
mended Readings section at the end of this
chapter), you will find other measures of as-
sociation appropriate for variabies with differ-
ent levels of measurement.
:tr:
'"{!r:
i-.:
P A R T Fo u R
lqmbdo ttr]
This easy-to-compute statistic is appropriate lndependent Vorioble tic of the dependent variable present (cell a),
Dependent and ifthose without the independent variabie
for nominal-level variables. It is based on the Vorioble Absent characteristic present also have the dependent
principle of being able to reduce the propor-
tion oferrors in the prediction ofone variable Presenl o variable absent (cell d), then the major diag-
b
by knowing the distribution of another. This Absent c d onal (ad) will be stronger than the minor di-
principle of proportionate reduction of error agonal (bc).In this case the will cary a pos_
Q
(PRE) means that you are trying to assess The formulo fo, e= -
od b' itive sign indicating a positive associaiion
whether knowing the distribution of the de- od*bc between the independent and dependent vari-
pendent variable in relation to the categories abies. This is refered to as the direction of the
If those with the characteristic of the in_ association. If one of the cells has a 0. then
ofthe independent variable wouid enabie you dependent variable also have the characteris_
to reduce the errors in predicting the distrib- the Qwill equal i.If eirhercell a orcell dis 0.
ution of the dependent variable that you
would have produced had you oniy known the BOX l6-l
dependent variable distribution and predicted
the modal value for each case. Because this COMPUTING A TAMBDA
statistic is based on a simple formula, it will
be presented and explained in Box 16-1 using TABTE I 6-3
the relationship of sex to participation in high
PARTICIPATION IN HIGH SCHOOT ATHI.ETICS BY
SEX
school athletics as the example.
Lambda ranges from 0 to 1. If iambda
were 0, there would be no reduction in error Poriicipotion in High
School Athletics Femole
in predicting the distribution ofthe dependent Row Totol
variable ifwe knew the distribution ofthe de- Hove poriicipoted octively 2,632 4,384 7 ,016
pendent variable cross-classified with the in- Hove noi porticipoted 5,758 3,234 A OO'
dependent variable. Converseiy, if
lambda Column totol 8.390 7,618
were 1, your knowledge of the independent "^r*
variable would ailow you to predict accurately l{ you hod to predict whether o porticulor student wos
octive or not ociive in othletics, ond oll the informotion
the dependent variable without making any you hod wos ihe disiribution on the dependent vorioble
{porticipotion in othletics} which is portroyed in the
errors. In the exampie (Tabie 16-3), a lambda row toiols, then you would moke more occurole
iudgments by piedicting thot studenis hove' not porticipoted
of . i 64 indicates that something is gained (in thon lhot they hove.ln other words, if you predioj thot
stujents Hor,"" Not eo*i.ipot"d, yo, wourd moke
only 7,016 errors {os compored to 8,992 errors hod you predicied
terms ofpredicting the dependent variable) by thot they r""" p"rti.ip"r"ar.
However, if you could moke your prediclions kno*ing os well rhe
knowing the distributions ofthe independent distriburion, of forri.iiotion for moles
ond femoles seporoiely, for moles you wourd predict H-ove poriicipoted
variable but that you are stili unable, by Activery ond wourd moke 3,234
errors; for femoles you would predict Hove Noi Porticipoted
knowing only the sex distribution, to reduce ond would noke 2,632 errors. Knowing the
dstribution of porticipotion by sex produces 5,866 errors 13,234
all the errors in the prediction ofparticipation + 2,632) whileknowing rhe diskiburjon
of only the dependent vorioble led to7,A16 errors. Thus rhe oddilionol
knowledge o{ rlie distribuiion of
in athletics. the independent vorroble (rv) reduced the errors by l,ls0
{z,oi6 - 5,866). romido then equols 1,150
fewer errors dlvided by the 7,016 tolol errors tknowing
only the distribution on the dependent vorioble
(DV)1.
Yule's Q
The formulo for lombdo is,
This statistic is an appropriate measure of as-
sociation for 2 X 2 tabies. It is simply com-
puted on the basis ofthe cross products ofthe Number of errors knowing only DV disfributi;,L
cells of the table. Consider a 2 x 2 table in the
following way: In this exomple, 1,150 + 7,016 =
I
 CHAPTER 6 Elementary Srat iyic: -fttr Srtcial Rcscarch 40 !
The Analvsis of SociaL Research Data I

TABLE I 6.4
the Q will be - 1; if either cell b or ce1l c is 0' of B, one with ordinal variables, the other
the will be * 1. In the case of nominal vari- with nominal.
f COMPUTING YUI.E'S O

ables where the two categories indicate no For Ordinol Voriobles*

order, the direction of the 0 may well be am-
biguous (Davis, 197 L p.49) or may not have Descrihing tke dircction and magnitude of a lmportonce of Money by Success
meaning (Loether and McTavish, 1916, p. 0. James Davis (1971) offers a summary set Being Successful in My l"lne of Work
202), but the magnitude of the Q may be used ofconventions for describing the strength and
on its own. direction of Yule's Q. These statements, pre- F{oving Lots of Money Very lmportont Somewhot or Not lmportont
sented in Box 16-2, should help you to for-
Very lmportoni
mulate your findings in words. Using Davis's 75 50
Conventions for Setting Up 2 X 2 Tables. terms to describe the examples in Table 16-4'
Somewhot or NoJ mporlonl 25 50
As you might recognize from the distribution you would stale the following. (25)(50) .- (50)(25)
of the four cells in a 2 X 2 lab\e, if you set up ^
In the first example, it would be accurate '= (25[50) - 60[2s)
your table so that the larger cel} frequencies
to say that _ 3,75A - 1,250
will appear in the a and d cells, you will have 3,/50 + r,2s0
a positive relationship; conversely, if the b There is a substantial posilive association be- _ 2,500
and c cells have the larger frequencies, then tween believing that being very successful in 5,000
the 0 will be negative. Your object is not to one's line ofwork is vely imporlant and believ-
O = +.50
try to get a positive relationship but to test ing that making lots of moneY is very
For Nominol Voriobles*
what you would predict to be the stronger re- imPortant.
lationship in the a and d cells. What you English Course by Sex

should do is set up your table so that the a cell For the second example, the following state-
in the upper-lefl-hand corner wili contain the ment would be appropriate. Type of English Course
combination of variable categories which you Token in College

are interested in studying, which will test your Literoture 40 75

hypothesis, or which you think will be asso- BOX l6-2 Composiiion 60 25
ciated more strongly. Then if it is the case that
Ihe ad diagonal is greater, the positive sign DAVIS'S CONVENTIONS FOR DESCRIBING
-(25)(60)
YUIE'S O ^_(40){25)
--(40il25)+rz5il6o)
will confirm your prediction. On the other
hand, if it is not the case (that is, if the b and _ 1,000 - 4,500
Volue of Q APProPriote Phrose* +
c ce1ls are greater), the negative sign will chal- 1,000 4,500

lenge your hypothesis. f .70 or higher A very strotg posilive ossocioilon _ -3,500
5,500
Let me add that this way of setting up ta- +.50 to + .69 A subsiontiol posilive ossocioiion
*.30 to -l-.49 A moderole posiilve 0ssociolion
O = -.64
bles is merely a convention; sometimes the a
ce1l is in the upper-r'ight-hand corner. The im-
*.10 to i.29 A low posiiive ossocioiion .Hypotheticoi doto.
+.01 io +.09 A negligible positive ossociotion
portant thing is not to get confused when you .00 No ossocioiion
see a cross tabulation or when you set up your to -.09 A negligible negotive ossociotion
-.01
own. Ifyou are preparing your own tables, be -.10 to -.29 A low negotive ossociolion
There is a subslantial negative association be- Goodmqn ond Kruskol's Gommo (7)
A moderole negotive ossoc otion
consistent in how you set them up so thal you -.30 to -.49 tween sex (male) and taking a course in English
know which diagonal you are expecting to be -.50 ro .69 A substontlol negoi ve ossociotion This is an extended version of Q, appropriate
or ower A very strong negotive ossocioiion literature.
-.70 for larger than 2 X 2 tables when variables are
greater. If you are reading tables created by
ordinal in measurement. It will produce a sta-
others, be sure to look carefully to see how r
Coreelolion and relolionship ore synonyms for
they have set up the tables before you try to ossociotion.
These statements make clear the strength of listic between -1 and *1. In this measure,
Source, Dovis, 1971, P. 49 the association, and they also describe the di- the cross products must be extended to take
interpret the meaning ofa positive or negative
rection of it. into account every cell in the table. The sums
sign. Table 16-4 gives two exampies of the use

I
 "aY4'

CHAPTER ]6 Elementary Statisticsfor Social Research 403

monly, as a iinear correlation cofficient. It tion.3 Pearson's r is a test ofthe null hypoth- A correlation coemcient can best be under-
of these cross products then become the terms
can be used to determine both the strength esis that there is no linear correlation in the stood by examining the relationship of two
in the gamma formula. Box 16-3 explains how :
population (that r 0). This sratistic is com- variables on a scattergram. Ifyou had only a
it is comPuted. and the direction of a linear relationship be-
tween two interval-scale variables. There is monly used in educational and psychological single variable and you wanted to make the
also a way to calculate the statistical signifi- research where test scores are being corre- best prediction of an individual case, your
Peqrson's r cance of the r (not presented here) which tests
lated. For this reason, correlations were dis- best prediction (or guess) would be the mean
whether the linear relationship between two cussed in Chapter 5, when reliability and va- for the variable. However, ifyou had a second
This statistic is referred to as a product mo-
variables measured by r exists in the popula- lidity were described, and in Chapter 15 in the variable and knew the values on the second
ment correlation coefricient or' more com-
discussion of scales. variable for every value on the first variable,
To use Pearson's r, a number of conditions then you would have the information to make
BOX r 6-3 must be satisfied. First, as already mentioned, a scattergram and determine Pearson's r. Fig-
both the variables shouid be interval or ratio ure 16-2 presents a hypothetical scattergram
COMPUTING A GAMMA
variables such that it is meaningful to deter- of high school GPA with ACT scores. At a
mine their mean. (It should be noted that re- glance, you can see that the higher the high
MODELFORA3X3TABIE
searchers often use r with ordinal-level vari- school GPA (the x value, independent varia-
lndependent Vorioble
ables as we11.) Second.it must be assumed that ble), the higher the ACT score (the y value, rhe
the relationship between these variables is /in- dependent variable). Figure 16-2 clearly indi-
Middle ear, such that an increase in one variable will cates that there is a linear relationship be-
show a corresponding increase in the other or tween high school grades and ACT scores and
a decrease in one variabie will be matched by that this relationship is positive such that thc
a decrease in the other. This means that r tests higher the high school GPA, rhe higher rhe
for the direction of a relationsizlp. The size of ACT score.
the colculotion of the r will indicate how strongly a pattern of To understand this actual scattergram
ln rhis roble, the encircled set o{ cells lolefhl toke the role thot cells o ond d ployed in be1-
it (those on the posilive variation (or change) in one variable is ter, we need to consider the ideal relationships
Q. For gommo, you multiply eoch of these cells by elements to the right ond under
matched by change in another variable. Thus, we would like to find if the variables were per-
diogonJl), ofter eliminoting iis row ond column, ond then you odd oll these up. Thus, the
/ also tests for the strength of relationship be- fectly related and then compare these with re-
Posrrrvediogonolcombinotions = ole * { + h + il + bl{ + il + dh * il * e0 tween two variables. lationships we are likely to find in the real
For example, it would be assumed that stu- world. Figure 16-2 shows a positive relation-
Then you consider the set of cells which will toke the role of the b cell in the colculotion
of O. You multiply dents who achieve higher American College ship between x and y. However, it is not a per-
ofler eliminoting
eoch of these cells by elements to the ieft ond under it lthose on the negofive diogonol), Test (ACT) scores (or SAT scores) would also
the volues in the some row ond column. Thus, the have higher grades in high school. What this
means is that you expect a linear relationship FIGURE I6-2
Negotivediogonol combinotions = cld* e* g* hl + bld* g)* flg * h) * e(g)
between ACT scores and high school grade- Scottergrom of x ond y

oll the positive

point average (GPA) or, conversely, that stu-
ln other words, gommo is on extension of O in which the od product is bosed on the sum of
combinoiions. dents who have achieved lower ACT scores
diogonol combiiotions ond the bc product is bosed on the sum of oll ihe negoiive diogonol 30
the negolive com- would be expected to have lower grades. The
As io, O, once the combinotions ore determined, the numerotor is bosed on subtrociing
negotive combinoiions. matching of high with high and low with 1ow la
binotions from the positive; the denomlnolor is bosed on the sum of the posiiive ond S
Thus the {ornulo lor gommo is
would produce a linear relationship. Finaliy,
you must have an adequate sample size in o

Positive diogonol combino'tions - negoiive djogonol combinotions order to meet the assumptions for carrying r.15
O
^---^ -
eurTlrrru
Positive diogonol combinoiions * negotive diogonol combinotions out a conelation coefficient. As a rough guide, 10
a sample size of 30 is usually acceptable.
lhe negative diogonol
where the posltive diogonol combinotions reploce the od poir of the O {ormulo, ond 5

ih" the Qformulo. We will ofier on exomple o{ the gommo stotistic for
combinotions ,"plo." 6c poir from
3There 0
tobles from the othletics study below. are tests for the sratistical significance oflambda DCB
and gamma as well. High school GPA (x)

I

404 TheAnafi,sisofsocialResearchData
fect relationship such that in every case a
higher GPA is related to a higher ACT score.
If there were a perfect correspondence be-
tween the two variables, the relationship
would look like Figure 16-3, in which all
scores would fall on the positive diagonal line.
This is called a direct relalionship. In this case
rwould equal t 1. If, conversely, for every in-
crease in high school GPA there were a related
decrease in ACT score, then there would be a
perfect negative (or inverse) relationship be-
tween grades and college aptitude tests, and r
would equal - 1. This inverse relarionship is
depicted in Figure 16-4. Figures 16-3 and 16-
4 both show ideal linear relationships. As we
saw in Figure 16-2, in real instances, there is
almost always a wide scatter of points rqpre-
senting the position on the graph where the
measure on one variable meets the measurg
on the other. However. if there is a general
tendency for an increase in one variable to be
related to an increase (or decrease) in the
other, the relationship would be considered
linear.
There might also be a case where every
vaiue of the ACT occurred with equal fre-
quency for every value of the GPA. This
would mean that r would equal 0 and could
FIGURE I6.3
Direcl relotlonship of x ond y.
: :
o o
F F
O C)
Hiqh school GPA {x)
PA R T Fo u
^25
5
320
o that those wilh the middlelevel grades, the
rO 15
FDC
High school GPA (x)
FIGURE I6.4
lnverse reloiionship ol x ond y.
have been produced from the scattergmm in
Figure 16-5. In such a distribution, the obser-
vation points are scattered in such an overall
pattern that there appears to be no way to
draw a diagonal line that would reduce the
distance of the points to the line (or that
would best fit the scatter ofpoints; hence, the
line is called the best-fit line). In this case, a
horizontal (or vertical) iine would be the best-
fit line. This would indicate no linear associ-
ation between the x and y.
FIGURE I6-5
No relolionship between x ond y.
il
,'
R
Finally, Figure I 6-6 shows points cluslered
in a curved shape which represent a curvilin-
ear relationship. This would mean that those
with the highJevel and low-level grades in
high school had the lowest ACT sCores and
o
highest ACT scores. While a curvilinear rela_ F
O
tionship is unlikely to occur for these two
measures, there are variables that are likelv to
produce curvilinear relationships. An exam-
ple might be the relationship between fertility
rate and income. It has sometimes been I-DCBA
shown that those with the highest and lowest High schoo GpA (x)
incomes have the highest fertiiity, while those FIGURE I6-6
with middle-level incomes have the iowest Curvilineor relotionship beiween x ond y.
fertility. In this case the curvilinearrelationship
would be the opposite of the one in Figure
16-6: it would be U-shaped wirh the high drferences between the points on the graph
points on the two ends, the low point in the and the line is the smallest possible. Wi will
middle. Recali that one of the assumptions of not give the formula for pearson's r here. you
r was that the relationship would be linear. can find it in many introductory statistics
Pearson's / cannot be used with variables that texts. However, it is important for you to un-
relate to one another in a curvilinear manner; derstand that the r represents the degree of
there are, however, other statistics, such as scatter around the line or the systematic ex_
eta, whrch can be employed when the relation- plained variance that remains once the best_fit
ship is curvilinear. line between the variables is established. Thus
The best-fit line which you draw to come r indicates how good the best-fi1 line is for pre_
closest to all ofthe points on the scattergram dicting one variable from another.
uses the principie of least squares. The line In Table 16-5, statistics generated using
represents one in which the sum ofthe squared the SPSS" program and the National Longil
TABTE I 6-5
CORRTI"ATION OF ACT SCORES AND HIGH SCHOOI. GRADE-POINT
AVERAGES-COMPI,JTER TABI.E
FEr:rRSnl'l COFlRELATIOIV COEFFICIEI,IT$
. ^{. /'1 3
(ilil[.FFI{]lEirtI r' (CASES) / t*TAILEII FTN).
., ISi F.RI[{TEN ]F A TOEFFINIEF.IT trAI{NOT BE EOFIF'UTE.II
I

The Analysis of Social Research Data
tudinal Study of the High School Class of
1972 (NLS) dataset are presented. This com-
puter table shows the Pearson correlation coef-
ficient for VAR44 ACT scores by VAR229V:
higJr school GPA. It is .4713, and would be
written as r = .47. This means that there is a
fairly strong relationship between high school
grades and ACT scores among the high school
class of 1972. Remember that the r signifies
both the direction ofthe relationship between
two variables and the strength ofthe relation-
ship. The direction is indicated by the sign
(but make suro you keep in mind how each
variable was coded). In Table 16-5, since
higher grade-point averages are related to
higher ACT scores, the sign will be positive.
Had higher grades been more strongly related
to lower ACT scores, the relationship would
be inverse and the sign would be negative.
Often Pearson's r is squared. It is then
called r squared, (r2), or the cofficient of de-
termination. This statistic, r squared, denotes
the proportion ofvariance in one variable (the
dependent variable) which can be explained
by the independent variable. The r squared
gives the amounl of variance explainedby the
linear model. By subtracting 12 from 1 (1 -
r2), you estimate the degree of error remain-
ing. For Table 16-5, the r2 between ACT and
GPA would be .22. This means that 22 pet-
cent ofthe variance in ACT scores can be pre-
dicted from high school GPAs.
Is this considered a high, moderate, or low
correlation? lf
only 22 percent ofthe variance
is accounted for, then 78 percent remains
unexplained. However, depending on your ex-
pectations, your hypothesis, and the other fac-
tors you think may be affecting the relation-
ship, will help you to decide how to describe
the correlation coefficient. For the correlation
between high school grades and ACT scores,
you have some evidence that the variance in
the ACT scores has been partialiy explained
by high school grades. If you were trying to de-
cide what would be good predictors of ACT,
'"r:.lv.t'
you might examine the correlation coefrcients
from a number of different variables. In this
way, you would be using r squared to select
relevant predictor variables. For such pur-
poses, consideration of lhe r squared helps
you to better understand your observations. It
assists you in understanding the empirical na-
ture ofyour study.
Statistical Significance of r. You might,
however, want to use /'to make a claim for the
statistical significance of the relationship
found. Again, it must be restated that for sta-
tistical signifrcance to be determined, the as-
sumptions for computing the r must be met.
The probability that the size ofthe correlation
coefficient which occurred in your sample did
happen by chance and that a correlation of
similar magnitude or more extrerne would be
likely to be found if many other samples were
drawn from the same population is the signif-
icance level of the test. sometimes calied the P
value. You are testing whether the magnitude
of the r found in your sample could have oc-
curred as a resuit ofchance, assuming the null
hypothesis that in the population from which
you drew your sample, r = 0. (In the case of
the population, the r should be written with
the Greek letter rho-P). When the sample
size is very small, the probability that the r oc-
curred by chance increases. Therefore, it may
be unwise to suggest that a correlation coeff-
cient from a small sample is statistically sig-
nificant even if it is quite large. Keep in mind
that when a correlation is deemed to be statis-
tically significant, this means that the r value
in your sample is sufficiently large to infer that
the null hypothesis (that the correlation in the
population is 0) should be rejected.
It is generally accepted that an r of.10 is
weak, while an r of .70 is strong. (However,
with a large sample size, even a weak correla-
tion could be statistically significant.) Between
.10 and .70 is where most correlation coefi-
cients occur in the social sciences. As Simon
CHAPTER I6
and Burstein (1985, p. 325) suggest. in a freld
like economics, where time-series analyses of
aggregate measures are examined (such as eco-
nomic indicators), the correlations are high
because the variables move together. On the
contrary, in educational psychoiogy, where
the data represent cross-sectional measures of
student abiiity or achievernent in relation to
educational programs or qualities of school-
ing, there is so much that is unaccounted for,
thal conelations tend to be low. This rein-
forces the need to take into account the type
of data you have and the time dimension the
data represent, when deciding whether a cor-
relation is strong or weak.
INFERENTIAL STATISTICS
While descriptive statistics are used to de-
scribe the association between variables as
well as the distributions of single variables, in-
ferential statistics are used to infer whether
the relationships among the variables in the
sample would be likel5, to recur in other sam-
ples drawn from the same population-that is
to say, that they did not merely occur as a re-
sult ofchance. You may never know exactly
what the true values of the population char-
acteristics (that is, Ihe paramelers) are on the
basis of data drawn from a sample represen-
tative of that population. However, you can
use ruies of probability in selecting a sampie
that will allow you to make inferences from
evidence on your sample to the probable char-
acteristics in the population, with some degree
of conhdence.
To do this, you use hypothesis tests re-
ferred to above. Recall that the nuli hypothe-
sis is a logical assumption that there is no re-
iationship (no associaiion) between the two
variables being studied in the population. in-
ferential statistics enable you to test this as-
sumption. In other words, you are testing
whether the relationship between the vari-
ables in the sample is sufficiently strong to
Elementary Stalistics for Social Research 407
warrant your rejecting the null hypothesis that
in the population, the variables are indepen-
dent of each other. This means that the rela-
tionship found in the sampie is unlikely to
have occurred by chance or, t0 put it another
way, that the kind of relationship which might
occur if only chance were operating would be
highly unlikely to reappear were you to selecl
other samples from the population.
The Chi-Squore (l) Test
This is one of the most widely used tests for
statistical significance in the social sciences,
when the variables under study are nominal
or ordinal in measurement. The chi squarc
simply tests whether there is any variation in
the data different from mere chance variation.
It tells you whether you can safely assume thal
there is some relationship (between the vari-
ables being studied) in the population from
which your sample was drawn.
More formally, the chi-square (l)
test is
called a test of independence. lt tests whether
the row ciassifications (of the dependent var-
iable) are related to. or affecied by. different
levels of the column classifications (the indc-
pendent variable). It does not measure the
strength of the relationship between the vari-
ables, but rather whether there is a significant
relationship at all, whether the variation dif-
fers from chance.
Consider this example. l.et's assume you
were studying the association of political con-
servatism and sex. If there are 40 percent
males and 60 percent females in the sample,
and you assume no association between the
variables, then 40 percenl ofthe conservatives
would be male, and 60 percent would be fe-
male. These would be lhe expected values, as-
suming independence between the variabies.
Box 16-4 shows how to compute "t'. To de-
termine the cell frequencies for Ihe expected
values in Table l6-6, you would merely take
40 percent ofthe 65 and put that figure (26) in
I
 r''Ir1:=
i
l

408 TheAnalysisof SocialResearchData PAR T Fo u R

BOX l6-4 cell d (as seen in the parentheses). Cell D systematlc pattern or finding within the pop_
would then be the other 60 percent ofthe 65. ulation. Statistical significance does not mean
COMPUTING A CHI SQUARE (x') Similarly, you would take 40 percent of the 35 the same thing as strength of relationship.
to determine the c cell; the remaining 60 per- Even il as in the example in Table 16-6, you
TABLE I 6-6
cent would be the d cell. These arc the ex- prove statistical significance, showing that
POI.ITICAI. CONSERVATISM AND SEX-
pected frequencles. Then you compare these there is a statistically significant relationship
expected lrequencies to the aclual observa- between the two variables, this does not mean
Expected Frequencies tions, the observed frequencies, to determine thal one variable causes another or explains
how different they are. The chi square tests its behavior. Note as well that chi square is al-
Politicol how far the expected values deviate from the ways positive; it does not measure the direc-
Conseruolism Tofol observed values. tion of relationships. It only means that when
Conservotive o 126l b (39) 65 To determine whether the chi square is sig- the two variables are present! they occur in
Not conservoiive c {14) d t21l nificant, you must compare your statistic to a certain patterns.
Totol 40 60 ,00 table of critical values of chi square (see Ap- If the sample is based on individuals, this
pendix B). indicates that certain individuals will be more
Observed Frequencies
You need one other number besides the likely to be characterized by certain combi-
computed chi square to determine its signifi- nations of characteristics than if the character-
Politicol cance. This number is Ihe degrees-o.f-freedom
Conservolism
istics were distributed solely by chance. A sig-
figure in the table. To compule the degrees of nificant chi square does not make such
Conservotive 35 30 65 freedom in a chi-square table, you take the patterns necessariiy interesting or theoreti-
Nol conservolive 530 35 number of rows minus 1 times the number of cally significant. However, if no statistical sig-
Totol 40 60 t00 columns minus l. In other words, degrees of nificance is shown, perhaps you shouid not
*Hypotheiicol doto.
freedom, ot df = (r - -
l) (c t). In Table bother to explore the association more fully.
l6-t. this would be (2 l\ (2 I ) = l.
- - Statistical tests cannot establish the sub-
You con reodily see by comporing ihe two tobles thot ihere ore {oirly lorge differences beiween lhe ex- Turning to the chi square rable in Appen- stance or meaningfulness of your findings.
pected ond observed frequencies. On the bosis of this informoiion, on I
con be computed. l'he {ormulo dix B, we find that with I degree of freedom, This requires a consideration of other matters:
is a chi square of24.7 would occur in fewer than whelher your findings meet the expectations
(Obse.ved frequencies
I sample in 100 if there were no association set by the theory ftere you would want to ex-
.2-s - expecled frequenciesl?
between the variables (that is, ifthe nuil hy- amine the size of your findings in the light of
Expected frequencies pothesis were true and the finding were merely your hypotheses) and what relevance your
due to chance). In fact, 24.7 is much greater findings have to other research in the field.
For the exomple given,
than the needed -f of 6.635 for the .01 level.
35 - 26f
{39 30}?I |4_I 51'? (21_ - 30)?
We can therefore reject the null hypothesis
'2630530 r_
and state that the hypothesis is statisticaliy COMPUTERS AND STATISTICS
92 , l-g)2 , 92 l-9)2 significant at greater than the .01 levei (p < Aithough this chapter has shown you how to
26' 30 5 30
.01). This means that if 100 different samples compute a number of statistical tests by hand
Bt 81 8l Bt were drawn from the population, in (at most) (or with the help of a small calculator), most
IOJUSJU 1 ofthem the I would be larger than 6.635, if statistics computed today (and most of those
- " I r aa L 141 t a7 there were no relationship between these vari- you will be likely to compute) will be pro-
ables in the population. duced by a computer. Naturally, you must tell
the computer what you want and therefore
you must know what you want. R.emember a
Stotisricol ond Substonfive Significonce
computer will compute anything you ask it to
Statistical significance telis us the degree of compute; but it won't decide whether or not it
risk being taken in assuming that there is a makcs sense to,do so. It will compute an r for

I
 410 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData P A R T Fo u R FAP ltR 6 ElentenarySatisticsforSocial Rescarch 4]l),
lc _
It will TABTE I 6.7I
data from a nonprobability sample. attaining of a college degree among those who
compute an r for nominal variabies or a were athletic leaders, (2) some positive influ- I979 EDUCATIONAT ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOT ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION_COMPUTER
TABTE
lambda for interval variables. You must know ence among those who participated actively,
what to ask for in order to have the computer and (3) a much smaller likelihood of complet- CROSsTAFULATION NF
ing college among those who had not partici-
VAR3AAl ETIUCATiT}NAL ATTAINIIENT THEEE CATEEOF"IIES
assist your analysis, rather than let the com- EY VART41F HIISH SCHOOL ATHLETIC PARTICIFATiON
puter simply grind out numerous statistical pated in spofts at all in high school.
tests that are inappropriate for your data and
VAR241R
for your sample. The object ofthis chapter has The Gamrna. In order to test the strength of Llutr I i
r:trL F,CT IFARTIQIF,F.ARTICIF NOT PART
been to help you understand what is appro- this association between athletics and college IATE As L ATE AETI tirpcrE Fl0td
TOTAL
priate and necessary to particular types of attainment, we will use a measure of associa- -^* .*-*-
, t. L_r{_, i J. {je; J.
VAHii2BlT .- +-*-----_+
- C,CJ I

studies. tion appropriate for variables measured at the i.00 --r--*---,---.+--*--

I -q2! I i35s i 1558
You can get statistical advice from many ordinai level, namely, the gamma. As shown
;tiLL H I 4(i.6
rrEfiREE oR I ;0"7 i ii,+ i J+JJ
+*-.___.___+-.___*___-_*---______4
i

sources. If you have had previous statistics in the previous section, gamma is computed ::. o0 I *i8? i i63? I f46?
:r-jME coL_LE;l j Jg, () ; ;7.: i i+. s i

courses, peruse your texts. Many excellent sta- on the basis of products of positive diagonal i_- _-__-.*--+._*-____._.f __**____1 I

cells minus negative diagonal cells divided by

]. c)(r | ,?7i I 1413 I f,cr76
tistics books are comprehensible to those with No [;ol_L HEE r il,4 I ::, t r 43. J I

i__-"_*_ _.--_..+ -____*_-"_.+___*__*_+ 37-: i

only a basic knowledge of arithmetic. A num- the sum ofthese cross products. i:LjLUMN 1::81
-int'Al- li),.r 441)9 7103 1:793
ber of titles are suggested at the end of this Figuratively, gamma determines (1) how 34. s gi.: itg.0
chapter. Your instructor will also have sugges- far the data clusler along the diagonals or
(conversely) how widely dispersed they are l:H.i. *Ei6lr-JARE ti,, F. 5I6N
tions regarding which statistics would be ap- ]:F l CA|ICE i,IINI E" F, 6ELL.S i^iITH E,F, ( I
propriate for your study. Although many across all the celis and (2) whether the data lay
more along the positive than along the nega-
,17'i " ?i876 4 l',,, 0i-r(:){: 'j+i. .:h
types of statistical tests have not been pre-
sented here, those shown in this chapter are tive diagonal. If the data are more concen- btHt.li,tlL tsIGI,IiFICAI,ICE
particularly popular in social science analyses trated along the diagonals and in the cells be-
r-frrJ lI rH
of survey data and for cross-ciassification ta- neath the diagonal, then the gamma will be Q, i473:
bles. We will conclude this discussion of sta- larger. If the values are greater aiong the pos- i!!rll ib la: t lts r'li3iiIl.,G OFSERVATill,jlj = ...a7

tistics by returning to our study of athletic itive diagonal, the gamma will have a positive
participation in high school and educational sign; if the values are greater along the nega-
attainment to see how we might have used tive diagonal, the gamma will have a negative
TABLE I 6-78
some of these statistics to further our under- sign. Note that in Tabie 16-7, the gamma is
standing ofthose data. .247 (or rounded to .25) and the sign is posi- I979 UNIVERSITY/COI.tEGE ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOT ATHTETIC PARTICIPATION-
tive. This is a moderate-size gamma. There- (Noiionol longitudinol study of rhe High school closs of I 922. Five.survey
Respondents)
fore, it could be said that thero is a moderate
STATISTICAL TESTS IN THE positive association between athletic partici- Porlicipotion Level
ATHLETICS STUDY palion in high school and coilege attainment. Atioinment Afhletic Leqder Active Porticipont Did Nof Porticipote
We will return to our study of the effects of If we consider a trivariate table of the re-
College degree or h gher
athletics on post-high school educational at- iationship of athletic participation and edu- 4a.6Vo 34.70k 2l.9Vo
Some college 38.0
cational attainment by sex (which was Table J/.1 34.8
tainment to see how statistical tests can be ap- No college 2t.4 32. I 4s.3
plied to these data. Let's reexamine the pri- l4-5A and is shown here as Table 16-81), we r00.0% r00.0% r00.0%
mary bivariate table relating athletic can compare gammas for two bivariate tables (]28r) 14409t (71031
participation and educational attainment of athletics by attainment for each of the Gommo = .25
(Table 14-11). The table is offered again in sexes. We see that the gamma for the males is Chi squore = 372.97; df = 4; p < .A1
this chapter as Table 16-7Abul now includes .294 and for the females is .181. Comparing
the statistics prepared by the computer when these gammas to the tables themselves, we can 'Recomposed toble

the data were run. We noted in Chapter 14 easiiy see that the differences in the rows be-
that there was (1) a strong trend favoring the tween the high and iow values (the epsilons)

I
 TABr.t l6-8t
I979 EDUCATIONAT ATTAINMENT BY HIGH SCHOOT ATHI.ETIC PARTICIPATION BY SEX-COMPUTER TABTE

CROSSTABULATION OF
VARS;.811- ELTUTA.IIONAL ATTAIf\iI"I[:N I TI-IFEE CATEISOfi,IES
FY VAF241E HICiH 6IHOOL ATHI-FTIC FfiRTICIFA] IAI'I were grealer for the men than for the wornen gammas are in the moderate positive range
cni,l'l ft0li-il.JE FCri, . viiR16:16 sEX VALUE = 1. I'IAL"E and that the positive diagonal cells are greater and this indicates that high school grades do
in the male than in the female table. In other not dramatically alter the relationship be_
VAFI4l F
words, there is a stronger positive association
c[]ul'JT I tween high school athletic participation and
|:{:i-, iXCl- iFARTIIIi"' PAIITICiP T.I[T FART ROIJ between active athletic participation in high post-high school educational atlainment.
Jf;TE AS L ATE ACTI ICIPATS TOTAL
i 1,00t :.tj0i 3"0{ii school and post-high school educationai at- The gamma from both of these sets of tri_
vAR;:i:81 r "'"*-..--**+*-.*------{"*---"----*+-*,.-----+ tainment among men than among women.
i.Li0 i 375 I 8fl? i 309 i 174A variate tables can be used to apply to the elab-
i:ijr._L UEEREE 0R I't I 4:. it i 3:, 0 i ':0. {:) i i:8, 5 For men there is a moderate positive associa-
+---*---".+,---**--- +*----.---+ oration model. In the case of the test variable
:.0r1 r
i353iSA1iS25i
"?e j I aL o I aL a
2:?59 tion; for women, a low positive associalion. of sex, note that the gammas split in contrast
5i.iT4F: COI-LE:i:F:
+ ----.-*-"-.-+ " *-*-- *.-+-----*--+ We can also take the trivariate table of the to the bivariate gamma of .25 (for males i1
*i. {-ir_l , t!\-1 I o,ro | !t!/ i :1i3 same relationship, controlling this time for
N{] COLLHEE l 1g, B i 31.1 l 43,8 34, 6 rose to .29, for females it dropped to . 1g). This
+-------.---+.---- --. *+---.--*-*+
I

grades in high school (which was Table l4-7 is a weak case of specification. And conlrasl-
IclLUn[] 9Ai :551 61 1?
IUIHL. 14.8 =/r?.9
43.3 4r.7 i i-1i) 0 and is here shown as Table 16-9). What we ing the gamma from the bivariate table with
"
find here is a somewhat lower gamma among the gammas from the trivariate tables facili-
CHi*St:luAf\'E tr. F, SItiNiFICriNUE T4IN E" F. CELLS WITH E.F. ( 5
the A students (.2 1), a stronger gamma for the tates determining what type of elaboration is
B students (.27), and a gamma of the same
:: 7f, . 2C)4:1 4 i3&.787 NONE evident.
magnitude as for the bivariate reiationship In the case where high school GpA was the
5TA-T I gT 1D VALUE SlGNIFICANCE (.25) for the C students. In this case. all the test variable, the gammas stay within a closer
,:Ai'1i'14 a,:i9359

TAB|_E l6-88
EROESTABULATION OF
VARtrliJ1'I EI-IUI;ATitrTlAL ATTAIIIIVI!:NT THREE CATEEDF(IE5 I979 ul\,llvERslTY/cottEGE ATTATNMENT By HrGH scHoot ATHTETTc pARTrcrpATroN
By sEX-
BY VARE4lR HIEH SCHOOL ATHLETIC FARTICIF'ATItrN (Notionol longitudinol srudy of rhe High schoor
Closs of r 922, Five-survey Respondenrs)
f,ONIROLLII]E FLIR,. VffR161'o SEX VALUE = ?. FE|1ALE
Moles Porticipotion Level
(,4F-' IB
CNUIIT Attoinment Afhletic Leoder Active Porticipont
i:cr- F r-r iPARTICIF. PAFTiCiF T,I[T PART Did Not Porticipote
ROltri

i l,r)f;t
IATE
:.o0 I'i5 L ATE AtrTI ICIFATE
3,00
TUIAL Coliege degree or higher 42.0V0 32.0%
VAR:]I817 *+--------+.-*- -*---+-------*+
I
Some colJege 39. 36.9
20.jvo
1, O{) i i41 i 50J i 1049 1693 I No college
r
36.3
ctlLL nE6REi: OR i.l i * 37.i. I :8.7 i :3,0 i I 8.8 3t. t 43.8
+- -.-- ---+----.-- --+- --- ----+ 00,0%
:. {)r) i 1J4 i 658 i 1544 i r r00.0% I 00.070
SI]I"IE COLLEfi!: I 35..tr i 37.b i 33.9 1902) Q659t
+-.-----*--+---'-- --+-------*+ i i255 r )

i, L,t_l i 104 | 58? i 1959 | Gommo = .29

NN COLLFEE i 27.4 i 33.7 i 43. A i 39,7 Chi squore = 273.20; df = 4; p < .A1
+-*------+----*---+--------+
cuLL,MN 379 1750 4592 6681
TIl At- 3.7 2h.2 68. 1 ioo.0 Femoles Porticipotion level

Attoinmenf Athlefic leoder Active Porticipont Did Not Porticipote

EI-{ i -liouAFiE n. l-. SIGNIFICANCE IYIIN E, F. 6ELLS WITH E.F. ( 5
College degree or higher 37.2V0 28.7V0 23.0V0
85.63457 4 Q. l:)C)Or_i 96, CI41 NtrNE
Some college 35.4 J/.6 33.9
No college 27.4
gTAIISTItr VALUE SIGNIFICANCE 43.0
I 00.070 1 0o.O% r00.0%
EAI,IIlA o,1813Q {379t { I 250) t4552)
T,IUI"IIIEN OF FIISSINIS OBSERVATIONS = Gommo =.18
Chl squore = 86.64; d{ = 4; p < ,Ol

*Recomposed
toble
412

I
 F1:

:f.

414 TheAnalysisof Social ResearchData pA R T Fo U R

TABTE I6-9
from their academic efforts that thev could TABIE I6-IO
have gotten from athletic training.
1979 UNTVERSTTY/COTTEGE ATTATNMENT BY HrGH SCHOOT ATHTETTC PARTTCTPATTON BY HrGH SCHOOT GpA BEING A TWIN BY SEX

lNotionol Longitudinol Study of the High School Closs of 1972, Five-Survey Respondents) Wifh Presentotion of Chi Squore
The Chi Square. The other type of statistical
GPA: A ond A-B (Porticipotion level)
test that you might want to apply to these ta_
bles concerns hypothesis testing. We have
Attoinmenl Athletic Leoder Active Porficipont Did Not Porticipdte "Are You o Twin?"
fgen hyRothesizing thar athleric acrivity in
high school is related to attaining higher levels Yes a 470/-
College degree or higher 57.04/ 55.070 44.24A
Some college 30.0 29.8 ?nl of education after high school. Bui how can IIJU] il 88)
No college tJ. t | 5.2 we know that the findings in our tables did nol No 97.43ya 97.65Va
IOO.O-% 100.070 t00.0-% merely occur by chance? How confident are t87A6t t7828)
t467t I r 290) t2\ 54t we that we can infer from our evidence based I 00.00% r00.00%
{8936) {80I 6}
Gommo = .21 on the sample of 1972 high school graduates
Chi squore = 83,98; df = 4; p < .01 to the population ofall high school graduates l=.83;df=1;p< 36 {Not significont)
of that year.
GPAr B ond 8-C (Porticipotion Level)
To test this hypothesis statistically, we
Atfoinment Athleiic Leode. Aclive Porficiponi Did Not Porticipote need to test the n0 asslciation, or null, hyplth- this size (if there were no reialionship in the
ejrs; namely, that there is no association be_ population) is less than .00001. Such a table is
College degree or higher 35.6V0 25.sqa l5.9Va
tween athletics in high school and post_high therefore c0nsidered statistically signifi cant at
Some college 42.6 41 .2 39.9
No college 2t.8 JJ-J 44.3 school educational attainment. Such a hypoth- greater than .00001 (we will give the signifi_
esis of indffirence predicts that there is no
100.070 100.0-% 100.00/o
(3328) likelihood that the vaiues we found in this
cance level as p <
.01). In such a case, we
t620t t2292t would rejecr the null hyporhesis and accept
sample would be similar to those found in an_ that there is a relationship between athletics
Gonno = .27
Chi squore = 216.A9; df = 4; p < .A1
other sample-that the finding in this sample and educational attainment.o Note that chi
was merely the result of chance. Recall from squares of large magnitudes characterize tri_
GPA: C ond Below lPorticipotion Level)
above that the chi square is affected by the size variate Tables 16-8 and 16-9 as well.
Aflqinmenl Afhletic Leoder Active Porticipont Did Not Porticipote of the sample. With the NLS survey, which Now let's examine two variables that we
has a very large sample size, we would find would not expect to be related. Table 16_10
College degree or higher l6.9Vo 7.2Vo 4.6V0 that smali differences between the expected presents a cross tabulation from the NLS sur_
Some college 43.4 37.2 30.5
No college 39.7 55.6 64.9
and observed frequency tables will be vey ofbeing or not being a twin with sex. Here
significant. the chi-square test would be testing the nuil
r00.0% I 00.070 r00.0%
{r89) (81 t) ( I 586)
Note that in Table l6-iA. for educational hypothesis that there is no association be-
attainment and athletic participation. the I tween being a twin and sex designation, which
Gommo = .25
Chi squore = 77.0; df = 4; p < .0\ = 372.97 wirh a significance level of 0.0000. is what we would logicaliy expect. Table 16-10
That means that in no more than 1 in 10.000 shows that the chi square for that association
times would a rable such as Table l6-7 have is very low (.83) and is nor significant (.36).
occurred in a sample drawn from a population This means that the probability of this tabie
in which there was no association between occurring by chance would be 36 times in 100.
range. For the B and C students, the gamma is college attainment, but mainly for those stu-
these two variables. This is equivalent to sav_ In this case, the null hypothesis must be ac_
nearly identical to the bivariate gamma (.25 dents with lower high school gade-point av-
ing that in only 1 in i0,000 times would the cepted, and we must conclude that sex and
and .26 compared to .25 for the bivariate). erages. This suggests that the academicaily
result be due to sampiing error. This supposes
However, for the A students there is a drop in more able students, as we concluded in Chap-
that if numerous samples were drawn from
the gamma to .21. This signifies a weak spec- ter 14, may have alternative resources to bring aThe
the population of 1972 high school seniors, chi square does not test for the significance ofthe
ification, though one that is interesting. High to bear in college. In other words, such stu- relational pattem assessed by the gamma. Another test,
the probability of obtaining a chi square oi not included here, examines th. rignin.un.. oigurln;l
school athletics are an important predictor of dents can gain the rigor and responsibility

I
 being a twin are independent of each other
allow for making inferences from the evi_
and therefore that the relationship in this computers. but the researcher
dence in the sample to the unseen evidence must select
table between being a twin and sex designa_ lle. applopriate scattergram
in the population. sratisrics ro b. pr.r.ntJ
tion could well have occurred by chance. . with a particular table. standard deviation
The mean, median, and mode are measures
statistical signifi
of central tendency. The mean t tfr. cance
metic average ofa distribution ofvalues,
-itir_ statlstics
Choosing ond Llsing Stqtisrics tile KEY TERMS strength of association
median is the centermost position in
This chapter has only provided some intro_ or- best-fit line vanance
dered data, the mode is the most popular
ductory material on the nature of statistics
value in a distribution. bimodal distribution Yule's p
and a brief overview of a few commonly
used . The sandard deviation is a measure of dis_ chi square (l)
statistical tests in social research. as in confidence intervals
t"he use persion. It is based on the sum
of any'thing, the way to be a good .onru-.. j, of the confidence
STUDY EXERCISES
squared differences between the separate limits
to both understand your needs and under_
values ofeach case and the correlation coeffcient t' wfjctr..of the descriptive starisrics
stand what options are available to meet
vour . The standardized normal mean. curvilinear relationship scribed in this chapter de-
needs. Statistics can heip you ,o ,urnrnu.ir. distribution, or o. p.u.*:, )r il;,.i' lambda.
normal cune, is a model representing'the degrees offreedom J^q 9:'ma.
information on a lot of daia; tfrry.un.*Uf. descriptive statistics to rerr rhe r,rJ#";;:^t':lpropriale 10 use
variability in a popuiation. It has u
you to determine the strength of
association
.;;o;i
0 and a standard deviation of f. n .nuilf., direct association the foilowing ;r"iro,.ri'tu""ship between
between variables. In addition, fo, dispersion a. Ie score bv aee
Outa *frl.i, the esmblishin g ol confidence lirzrls
have been collected from a probability Uet*een O.
sam_ the mean and one or more standard expected frequencv life insu-rance (does
ple, statistics may be used foi devia_ frequency distribuiion .11".
rnsurance)
no1 have life
hypotl.sis test_ tions above or below the mean. The by sex
ing to examine the assumption that confi_ gamma (7) c. Race by relidon
the reta_ dence intervals, between the limits,
tionshipfound in your sample was,"t;;;; .rtuUflri, grouped data d. Sarjslacrion wirh
the range ofthe values that would job by rype
the result of chance and iherefore tilt inferential statistics (from professionutio of ,",
iob
th; be considered in order to account ";;;; . rniLiitij;",
variables are dependent on one another.
true population mean.
for the lnverse association t. ^
Consider rhe following raUle,
i,"o*u-ui eu*ri,
This chapter should have helped you to U-u-r-.d on
-
Iect which statistics are appropriate
se- , Lambda is a measure of association
appro-
lambda (I)
i?ll5":l 50 coriege
fo, your priate for nominal variables. Ieast squares set up to examine
study and given you some guibance .untversrly. the (exc;;in;;
oo *frui . Yltf's 0 is an appropriate measure of asso_ linear relationship hypolhesis: "srudenrs
in rt,. f-in#'enBl
these statistical tests do and what tirey marginals and Sciences (LAS)
signify ciation for 2 X 2 tables. Gantma Lsun.^i.n_ Coll
about your dara. The material p..r.olJi..l maximum value i,"ffi;"il',',' lT#"T,iiiI
r!.
is only a beginning, however. you,
inrt.urio.,
sion of g appropriate as a measure
of asso_ mean
i1 3' "
r

.busrness,College.., (The
other statistics texts, and various .";;;;
ciation for ordinal variables. rrbl. r";;;i;; rir;
. Pearson's r (pearson,s product_momenl median raw numbers.)
package programs are all good cor_
,ou..., ti tuf relalion, more commonly refened minimum value
for other ideas in the seiection and use to as a
statistics.
# correlation^ cofficient) i, un upp.op.iut. mode
measure oflhe strength and direction negative association College
olre_ normal curve Eot in College Cofeterio
lationships berween interval_scale tAS
variables. Business
The square root ofr (r squared)denotes null hypothesis
REVIEW NOTES the Yes
proportion of variance in the dependent observed frequency No 7 l9
. Descriptive statislics are tools that summar- parameters l8
variable that can be explained 6
ily describe large bodies of data. Oy tfr. lnAr_
pendent variable_ Pearson's r
. Inferential statistics are based on compari_ , percentage difference corumn percenrs and
sons of summary descriptions (or statistics)
T.he. chi-square
1-c) tesr is an inferential sta_
ttstlc tesling the null hypolhesis of positive association " ltjll 1n:
mar8tnals (the row unO
the
from a probabiiity sample to e^pected diil indepen_ PR_E (proportionate
,D. Lompute a lambda ^.olurn io,uirf.
dence belween two variables. reduction of error)
tributions in the population. Such tests . Most statistical tests are now generated r squared (r2) y::iij ;r. #Jffi
1

l::,JlT #?l:
bv range meanlng of the results.
c. Compule a
e for rhis uble. Wrire
a

I
/
418 TheAnalvsisof SocialResearchData
one-sentence analysis of the meaning
of the results.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
1. Anderson, T.W., and Stanley L. Sclove'. Intro-
ductory Statistical Analysis, Houghton Mifflin,
Boston, 1974. A statistics text that minimizes
ihe use of formulas and explains subjects with
ease.
2. Davis, James A.: Elententary Survey Analvsis,
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1971.
This very helpful small volume sets up cross-
classification tables and explains how they are
interpreted. Offers a very clear explanation ol
Yule's Q.
3. Johnson, Allan: Social Statistics without Tears,
McGraw-Hill, New York, 1977. This text aims
to help students understand how statistics are
used, and what they mean, as they are presented
in social research studies.
4. Kurtz, Norman R.: Introduclion to Social Statis-
llcs, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1983. An intro-
ductory text with applications to the social sci-
ences. Covers both descriptive and inferential
statistics.
5. Loether, Herman J., and Donald G. McTavish:
Descriptive Statistiu for Sociologists and Infer'
PAR T Fo u R
ential Statistics for Sociologists, Allyn and
Bacon, Boston, 1974. The descriptive volume
covers a range of statistics for one-, two-, and
three-variable relationships; the inferential vol-
ume addresses sampling, probability, and hy-
pothesis testing. A combined volume was pub-
lished in 1976 and, a revised edition will be
Presenttng the Research Results
fonhcoming in 1988.
6. OtL Lyman, William Mendenhall, and Richard
F. Larson: Statistics: A Tool for the Social Sci-
ences, 2d ed., Duxbury Press, North Scituate,
Mass., 1978. A statistics text highlighting the
types of statistical procedures and tests used in
the social sciences, and requiring only a mini-
7.
mal understanding of mathematics.
Wallis, W. Allen, and Harry V. Roberts: l"fte INTRODUCTICN
Nature ofStatisllcs, Free Press, New York, 1962.
A classic discussion of the meaning of statistics.
8. Weinbach, Robert W., and Richard M. Grin-
nell, Jr.: Statistics for Social Workers, New
York, Longman, 1987. An easily comprehensi- Zhi, .t upt.r offers an overview of the va-r-
ble discussion ofvarious statistics, described al- ious ways in which social research is presented to others. Social research, as described
most totally in words (without formulas), using in chapter 3, has a social purpose, a function. But if it is not disseminated, or shown
to
examples from the field of social work. others, it can play no social role.
9. Witte, Robert S.: Statistics,2d ed., Holt, Rine- Naturally, there are very different pubiics for social research. you may be writing
hart, and Winston, New York, 1985. A very a
research project paper for an undergraduate methods course, in which case your
readable and easy-to-follow introductory statis- im-
mediate audience will be your professor! you may be writing a research paier
tics text. to be
presented to an audience ar a professional meeling or to be puUtisl.O
in an icademic
journal. If you are funded bya grant, you may be writing a flnal
report for the funding
agency to tell them what you have found. Social research projects may also
serve as th!
basis of a book. All the surveys and field studies detailed in Chapter 1 were finally
de-
veloped into books. often a research project is disseminated in several ways-as paper
a
presented to a professional meeting, in one or more published articles,
and, possibly,
also as a book.
The usual way of disseminating social research is through a research report.
Whether
it is written for a course paper or for an academic journal or conferenci, the generar
form ofsuch a research paper is roughly the same. The principles for organizing-such
a
research report will form the major section of this chapier.
li
{.
419
3r
.:.trr:
I

420 TheAnaLysisofSocialResearchDam
FORMS FOR DISSEMINATING
SOCIAL RESEARCH
When to Decide on lhe Form
Research projects vary in their purpose. Ifyou
are carrying out your project for a course, you
know that it will culminate in a project paper
to be handed in to the course instructor. Ifyou
are doing an evaluation research project for a
particular agency, you know that you must
prepare a report of your findings for the
agency. If you have a research grant, you are
obiiged to preparc a final report for the grant-
ing agency. These types of projects have pre-
research writing commitments. In such a case,
the manner in which the project wili be dis-
seminated should guide the design of the pro-
ject throughout. In Chapter 4, the outline for
the research proposal was similar to an outline
for the final research report.
Sometimes research projects are begun
without a clear idea as to what the form ofdis-
semination will be. This can sometimes iead
to problems if, after finally deciding what the
form of dissemination should be, you dis-
cover that your research data do not enable
you to produce it. The flexibility ofyour pro-
ject, in terms of how many types of dissemi-
nated products it might lead to, will depend
on the size and focus ofthe project.
Ifyou do a very tight little experiment with
a small sample which tests a single hypothesis,
you may be able to write only a single article
to address its findings. If, however, you engage
in an analysis such as Coleman's high school
stud,v, which comes from a large longitudinal
study on which all the data are not yet col-
lected, your writings from that one research ef-
fort may be numerous and go on for years.
Such a comprehensive survey can be analyzed
from so manl'diflerent perspectives. since it
contains so many different variables which
can be manipulated in so many different ways,
that the possibilities for a singie researcher to
exhaust all the research analyses possible in
PART FouR
that study are uniikeiy. This is why such da-
tasets become the bases for secondary analy-
ses (as discussed in Chapter 10).
When you are working with a large dataset,
or with numerous experiments, or with
complex content analysis, you must decide at
some point precisely which subtopic within
the larger project you plan to write about and
what material from all that is available can be
used to address it. in other words, with a large
project, which will likely form the basis of a
number of disseminated writings and presen-
tations, you may not in the beginning have
specified all the writings you plan from it; they
may evolve over time. The problem with this
type of planning is that often you may not
have exactly the data you require to address
each new idea for a paper. Then you will need
to operate as a secondary analyst would-
being willing to substitute a less perfect mea-
sure for a concept than you might have chosen
ifyou had planned this particular paper before
collecting the data.
Bosic lngredients ltleeded for o Reseorch
Report
Ifyou iook back to Chapter 4 on the I I stages
ofa research project, you will see that we have
reached the eieventh stage. Before you write
your research project, you must assemble four
basic ingredienls which come from different
stages of the research effort:
| . A clear topic. Y our topic must be precisely
worked out in written form. It cannot be
simply "Delinquency," or "Prejudice," or
"Probiems of Hispanic Children in
Schools." Al1 ofthese titles are too vague
and unspecified. The topic must be posed
in the form of a research question or a
hypothesis.
2. A retiew of other relevant evidence. The
background literature may well have been
gathered together when the research was
-.,?1t:
.li
'1
l
.i
i
designed. It is likely that you will need to
round out your review by going through
the mcist recent journal articles relevant io
your topic which have appeared since you
a
began and by carefully considering whether
the topic on which you are writing requires
evidence from areas which you had no1 ex-
amined previously.
3. A research design. The research design is
the model which controls your project. In
most cases, this design will have been for-
mally worked out during the planning (or
proposal writing) stage ofyour study. Dur-
ing the course of the research itsel{ the de-
sign may have undergone some changes.
To write up the final projecq you must
clarify the precise model you worked from.
Ifthe study is being written for a class pro-
ject paper, it may make sense to describe
how the research design evolved over the
course ofthe study; ifit is being written
a more formal presentation or publication,
then the flnal research design will be the
one to present. A research design is pri_
marily the model you propose to use to
analyze the data; but it must also include
the plans for measuring the major vari-
ables and collecting the data. In many
cases, analytic designs can be best pre-
sented with diagrams, where variables
laid out with lines and arrows pointing
their relationship to one another.
4. Analyzed data. The findings ofyour study
reside in the anaiyzed data. Writing a re-
port or paper on the data is often the very
way in which the analyses are produced.
Some researchers take notes on each table
as they are examined; others merely select
tables to discuss as they write the analysis.
From Reseqrch proie* ro Reseorch
Repo*
In addition to the four basic ingredients for cussion of the methods ised. Such papers
the paper, you will aiso need introductory, must usually be highly focused to
connective' and expianatory material to form
the research project into a logical whoje. The
most critical explanatory material is the infor-
mation on the methods used. This can include
discussions ofthe form ofdata collection, the
instruments used, the nature of the sample, is-
sues of conceptualization and measurement.
These structurirg ingredients vary more de-
pending on the type ofdissemination you are
doing.
Types of Reseorch Reports
Research Papers for Courses. These papers
should include comprehensive discussions
and evidence ofthe methods used. Since such
papers are often completed to fulfill the re_
quirements of a methods course, you must
make it very clear to the instructor that vou
understand every one of the methodological
steps which were taken to carry out the pro_
for ject. In my experience, students seem to have
two problems in this regard. In the first place
they often skip crucial steps byjumping over
a procedure that was crucial to the study but
which may be forgotten once subsequent steps
were completed (a good example here might
be the pretest). You should, therefore, keep a
clear record of the steps in your research as
you go along. In the second place, students
are often become too detailed about certain as-
pects ofthe research effort, describing them in
so much depth that their discussion becomes
repetitive and redundant (a good example
here would be rhe coding).
Research papers for classes often require
that the instruments for data collection, the
raw data, frequencies for all variables, or other
sorts of evidence of the data be presented in
an appendix.
il?,..T$:lHfi;:*'fi:l1l*fi::fi::
addreis a
subtopic oftne centialiesearch topic. The dis-
I

422 T-heAnalysisofSocialResearchData
cussion of others' relevant research tindings
may be reduced to those bearing most directly
on your findings. Presented papers emphasize
the findings section since this is what will in-
terest the audience most. In addition, such pa-
pers need to draw sharp conclusions to make
sure the audience rememtrers what has been
said. Not every study produces decisive find-
ings, but you can often draw interesting con-
clusions even from a study with inconclusive
findings. Your research may also have raised
stimulating questions: What was the probable
cause of the inconclusiveness? What type of
future research project might be able to pro-
duce more conclusive evidence on this topic?
Publication in Professional ,Iournals. Such
papers require the ability to write concisely.
Because printing costs are high and journals
tend to have page limits, the art of writing for
journals is to be able to describe what is essen-
tial about your study in a very few words. The
reader is often given references to help locate
more explicit evidence (from the author, from
a research organization, from another publi-
cation from the same research). Extensive ap-
pendices are rare. though sometimes cerlain
elaborations of critical aspects of the meth-
odological approach (how an index which
served as the dependent variable was formed)
are added. Because a published article be-
comes a part ofthe literature on this research
subject, greater care must be taken to make
certain that the evidence presented is without
error, that the implications of the findings are
the most rational and cogent that can be pro-
duced, and that the background literature sup-
porting -vour project is the most relevant and
cuffent.
Fapers Prepared for the Mass Media. The
findings of many research projects are made
available to the public through the mass
media. Usually this occurs at a second stage,
after the research was first disseminated
through another form (such as being pre-
'ii
)
PA RT r o u R
sented at a professional meeting, appearing in
a book, etc.). Sometimes the reports of such
research are very briefand may be written by
reporters on the basis of reading or hearing
your paper. The journalist may telephone you
to check the evidence.
You may aiso prepare a written piece or
article for a mass-media form. Here the detaiis
ofyour methods cannol be given, though the
most central facts (the size of your sample, the
types of individuals sampled) will be needed.
What is often left out entireiy is the back-
ground literature, how the concepts were mea-
sured. and how the data were collected. Tirere
is a tendency to report the findings as bold
facts with the only qualification being some
general information on the sample. When you
prepare such material yourself, be sure to in-
clude the most critical information the reader
will need in order to apply your findings. If
your measure of work orientation could be
translated as "commitment" but not as "job
satisfaction," then make certain that it is de-
scribed accurately. If your finding is that the
nursing homes you studied were deficient in
some manner, make certain that the types of
homes you actually observed are described
quite explicitly. If there are any strong reser-
vations hanging over your findings-let's say
that you have grounds for doubting that your
control group was comparable to the experi-
mental group, so that the flndings you have
presented may not be completely fail-put
this in. The public is rarely turned offby res-
ervations if they are stated simply and di-
rectly. You cannot overioad a piece for the
mass media with qualifications and reserva-
tions, but the most central ones may be
slipped in without overburdening it.
Ifyou are writing for a nontechnical audi-
ence, you will need to drop ail thejargon used
in the field. Phrases such as "random sam-
ple," "controi group," and "participant ob-
server," which may be understood by anyone
with an undergraduate course in research
methods, will probably mean nothing to most
readers ofa newspaper. All
these phrases can
be described in other ways: a "random sam-
ple" might be described as a fair representa-
tion of the voters of James County, a "control
group" as a comparable group wlto were not
given lhe treatment, a "participant observer"
as one who visits an organization both to col-
lect information for a study and to ffir
con-
sultation to the managemenl.Note that these
phrases tend to be longer, which explains why
technical jargon is often developed.
Finally, ifyou are preparing a piece for dis-
semination in the mass media, you may need
to consider what it is about your study that
would be most fascinating to a lay audience.
You may have a finding which is relatively
minor in terms of your overall study but
which should form the basis ofyour piece be-
cause it addresses an issue of wide public in-
terest. For example, i{, in addition to the topic
ofyour primary research, you have interesting
data on the attitudes of Catholics toward
abortion or the reactions of 18-year-olds to
changes in the draft, these additional data
may well appeal to the public.
Dissemination in Book Form. A book is a
much more ambitious form of dissemination.
Books based on social research studies often
follow the general oullines ofa research arti-
cle, which will be given beloq but sometimes
they vary quite substantialiy from such an ar-
ticle. Ifthe book will contain quantitative data
in tables, it will be necessary to explain the
methods used early in the manuscript. How-
ever, ifthe book is based on a field study, the
methods may be left for the end and may only
appear in an appendix. In such a field study,
the goal is to try to get the writing to "flow" in
a manner somewhat like a novel; complex
explanations of methodological techniques
should not impede this objective.
Books are also written for different audi-
ences. Most books based on social research
studies are intended for other researchers, fac-
ulty, students, and members of the public who
have a particular interest in the subject mat_
ter. However, sometimes a social research
project is the basis ofa book which will have
an even wider audience. The wider the audi-
ence you hope to address, the less you should
emphasize your methodoiogical techniques.
These details may be cited in notes or refer-
ences so that professionally interested readers
may consult them if they wish. The wider the
audience you hope to address, the more ex-
plicitly and simply you need to state vour
findings. The wider the audience you hoie ro
attract, the more you must relate your findings
1o issues of current relevance to the general
public. This is why social research ii often
written to address current social policy issues.
The public is rarely interested simply in
whether you have supported or refuted some
other researcher, a hypothesis, or an abstract
theory.
Commissioned Research Reports. These
may be prepared because you are fulfilling the
obligations ofa grant or a contract or because
you.are.prephring a report for an agency or or_
ganization which hired you to carry out a
study for purposes ofevaluation or to formu_
late policy. In such cases, there is nearly al_
ways an earlier proposal which was prepared
to secure the grant. your primary obligation
is give the agency what you promised.
-to
Often this is all you give them. all that is reallv
wanted. But agencies do not want just data.
They aiso want analyses that back th; data up.
Sometimes you may offer analyses that di_
verge from the original directives of the pro_
posal because you feel cerlain that these new
directions are relevant to the needs and inter_
ests of tho granting agency. When you do this,
i,ou should make clear that what you a.* ana_
lyzing was not proposed earlier.
Ifthe project is being carried out for an or-
ganization so that its managers can make
de_
cisions on the basis ofit, you should offer your
policy suggestions at the end ofthe repon
ithis
was discussed in Chapter 1 1 on Evaluation
I
 424 TheAnalysisofsocialResearchDala
Research). Don't feel that it is presumptuous
of you to do so because you are not an em'
ployee ofthe organization. You are only doing
what you were paid to do. You may well have
some hesitations about your poiicy sugges-
tions, in which case you should simply state
them. Be bold about your suggestions, how-
ever. It is always better to be explicit and
forceful, while maintaining some reserva-
tions, than to be so timid and wishy-washy
that it is impossible for those receiving the re-
port to know precisely what you have
concluded.
Multiple Disseminolion Modes
,,s stated earlier, any research project could
produce a great variety of written materiais
for different audiences and in different for-
mats. What is necessary for each piece of writ-
ing is that the relevant audience be considered
and the proper format be used. Once an initial
writeup ofa project has been prepared for one
purpose, others can be devised which take up
different aspects of the findings or which ad-
dress different audiences. Whoever the audi-
ence and whatever the subject, it is necessary
to cast the problem for the paper in such a way
that the attention of the audience is caught.
That's why you must know what audience you
are wriling to!
Papers for courses, journals, or presenta-
tions often address problems which diverge
from the initial ideas that fostered the project
in the first place. As findings are discovered,
the original research problem may be recast to
lead up to newly discovered, interesting find-
ings. This does not mean that finding that
your initial hypothesis was not supported by
the data means that you should bury this evi-
dence. Scientific research should not ignore
disproving hypotheses. In some cases, your
initial hypotheses may be of such interest and
importance that people will want to know that
it was disproved. Oflen, however, the hypoth-
PART FouR
esis may not be a matter of any wide interest,
and to base a paper on showing that it was dis-
proved may make little sense. Such an exer-
cise may be appropriate for a course paper,
but would not meet the requirements of hav-
ing suffcient interest for a professional
audience.
Any research project may produce numer-
ous written papers. First you must write the
paper that meets your primary commitment.
Once this is done, you can consider how eise
to disseminate it. Some of the papers you
write from a piece of research may be ones
that were never considered in the early design
stages ofthe project.
CASTING THE PROBLEM OF THE
PAPER
Every paper needs a primary focus, usually a
specific problem. Naturally problems may
vary enormousiy. David Caplovitz suggests
that most quantitative research projects have
one of the following three foci: a dependent
variable, an independent variable, or a special
group (i983, pp. 391*398). lnadependentvar-
iable studl, the problem is to understand why,
how, and under what conditions the depen-
dent variable occurred. In survey research
projects, the object may be to determine those
other variables which are most strongly re-
iated to, or predictive of, the attribute of the
dependent variable in which you are inter-
ested. Let me emphasize this point. Suppose
you are studying why students drop out ofcol-
lege or the self-concept of male and female
first graders. In each case, you are focusing
primarily on one end of the variable: in the
drop-out study, your interest is in why stu-
dents leave college, nol in why they stay
(which is the other end ofthe variable). In the
self-concept study, you would be interested in
high, positive ievels of self-esteem (or if it
were a longitudinal study, you might be inter-
ested in poslllue changes in self-concept) more
than in average or low levels. Naturally, you
could just as easily be interested in why stu-
dents stay in college or in low self-concept.
The important thing is that you know what
end ofthe variable interests you so that your
study focuses clearly on that end.
Dependent variable studies are oflen easy
to diagram. The dependerrt variabie generally
comes at the end of a number of other possi-
bly contributing factors. One truism which is
often stated (but is still worth repeating) is
that the more clearly defined and easier to un-
derstand the dependent variable, the better
able the researcher is to keep the project on a
clear course. I remember when I was a grad-
uate student, I knew a young man studying
why students dropped out ofcollege. He sur-
veyed a sample offirst-year students, and then
at the beginning ofthe next academic year he
was able to determine which ones had
dropped out. This was a precise dependent
variable. (Either a student had or had not
dropped out.) The focus ofthe study was very
sharp. In contrast, my study on the weakening
of authoritarianism was much more difficult
to handle. How far did students need to move
on the Autonomy Scale before I considered
their authoritarianism to have weakened?
Furthermore the very concept of authoritari-
anism (or autonomy) was much fuzzjer to
begin with. So when you design your study,
ask yourselfifyou have a clear, precise depen-
dent variable as your focus. It will facilitate
and clarify your analyses and help to keep you
on a sure path to your conclusions.
The independent yariable study tends to
compare one social context to another. The
income-maintenance experiment described in
Chapter 1 and the evaluation research proj-
ects in Chapter 1 1 were all projects focused on
an independent variable. While such studies
examine the outcome or effects of such social
programs (income-maintenance programs,
Head Start, a federal law, or whatever), the
primary interest is in the program or social en-
actment itself. Did it bring about the desired
effect? Did it have any effect? Often in an eval-
uation program, there may be variation built
into the independent variable itself. (in the in-
come-maintenance programs, a number of
conditions varied-the level of support, the
city in which the experiment look place, etc.)
Here the interesr is in determining which form
of the social progJam seemed to be the most
effective. What those who commission the
evaluation want to know is whether the social
program works, and, ifit does. which form of
the social program works best.
Finally, Caplovitz identifies the type of
study which focuses on a special population.
This is typical of anthropological studies of
primitive tribes or of studies of a particular
group of people, such as the men who ..hung
out" at Jelly's Bar and the homosexuals ol
Humphreys' (1970) research described in
Chapter 3. In these studies there is no control
group with whom the special group is being
contrasted. Usually these studies are very de_
scriptive; they try to give a complex view of
the group in question.
ORGANIZING A STUDENT
RESEARCH PROJECT PAPER
Whatever the central focus of your project,
you will do best to set up an outline ofthe sec-
tions you plan to include in your paper. The
following seven-point outline should be able
to be applicable to nearly ali types ofresearch
methods approaches.
l. Generol Stoternent of the Reseqrch
Problem
This will serve as the introduction to the
paper. You must state clearly and concisely
what your problem is, what the general issui
is that the study wili address. you will want t0
write this first, but you are likely to return to
it once the analyses have been written to make
I
 The Analltsis of Social Research Data
in it. Remember that while you
some changes
went into this project with a firm (let's hops)
research problem in mind so that you might
have written this general statement before you
collected your data, the research probiem may
well have altered somewhat over the course of
your project.
Here is where the type of focus your study
has-whether it centers on a search for the de-
terminants ofa dependent variable, on an ap-
praisal of a program or condition serving as
the independent variabie, or on a special
group-will be addressed. Sometimes stu-
dents are confused about exactiy what they are
studying. One might say: "I'm studying who
voted for Reagan." Yet note that this could
imply many different types of studies. Is the
student studying the characteristics of those
who voted for Reagan in contrast to those
who did not? Or is the student studying why
R^eagan supporters voted for him? The general
problem must be stated in such a way that the
design of the study. the data coliection, and
the analyses make logical sense as a way to ad-
dress this problem. The section addresses the
purpose of the study, the reason why you are
carrying it out. Ifit is to explore, describe, or
explain a problem, this must be stated in the
beginning of the study.
ll. Bockground of the Problem
Research problems do not fail ready-made
from outer space. They grow from the ideas
and findings of earlier studies, earlier obser-
vations of what we are studying. Therefore
you must present these earlier findings. This
is the background literature, or review of the
literalure, section. To find the most central
and important studies which have laid the
groundwork for your study is not a simple
task. Naturally you must understand clearly
what your primary focus is. If you are writing
a dependent variable study, you will need to
have reviewed research by others on the same
variable.
Other studies on your topic may be nu-
merous. In selecting which of these to include
in your review, consider the following points:
1. How similar to your study is the other one
in terms of the variables studied, the types
of samples used, and the theoretical posi-
tions put forth?
2. How recent is the study? All things consid-
ered, a more recent study is more useful to
you if ithas been well done, because it
should have taken into account earlier
studies. This stems from the cumulative
nature ofscience.
3. Are the researchers who carried out the
study important sources of authority on
the subject? This is the issue ofreputation.
As in all fields, social research has its stars.
Certain researchers have an eminence and
established reputation which makes their
research more prominent than the work of
iesser-known social researchers. Now this
is a somewhat complex issue. Just because
someone does not have a famous reputa-
tion does not mean that his or her work is
not good. Another problem for a student is
that you may be much less familiar with
who is and who is not prominent in any
given area. If you look through enough
studies on your topic, however, you will
find that certain researchers are cited re-
peatedly. These are surely the more prom-
inent ones. You cannot be certain, how-
ever, that every citation is a good one. The
only way to determine the quality of the
reference is to examine the study itselfand
weigh it according to the canons of re-
search techniques that you have learned.
You will probably want to address the
work of the most central researchers in the
field, whaiever else you do; but do not ne-
glect the work of other scholars that you
think is important for your purposes.
CHAPTER I7
There are also a number of don'ts for a lit_
erature review,
, Don't use articles from the mass media as if
they were social research articles. Although
there may be statistical material or ideas
that you get from newspapers or popular
magazines, you do not want to base your
study on the wntings ofjournalists. Theirs
is a different field, a different way ofcollect-
ing and presenting material.
. Don't include a study in your
literature re-
view simply because it addresses a topic
similar to your own. Be critical.
If you
haven't learned anything of interest con-
cerning your research project by reading the
article, tben don't use it.
. Don't simply use the abstract of the article
or pu1 the article into your paper almost ver-
batim. Read the article searching for those
parts which are most relevant to your study
and then report on this material. You will
need to say a few general things about each
study you report on, such as the general
problem being studied and the type of sam-
ple used. Otherwise, use from an article the
precise points you need; these are rarely
found in an abstract!
. ployment and social status). Under each
Don't automatically assume that if a piece of
research studies a concept with the same
name as the one you study, these concepts
are directiy comparable. Remember that
how the concept has been operationalized
and measured in each case may be so differ-
ent that one is really dealing with two con-
cepts bearing the same label with very little
else in common. Be sure to explain how cen-
tral concepts in the research which you are
comparing to your study were measured in
the study under review.
in writing the literature review,
keep it well
organized. Often such a review will have a
number of subheadings indicating the various
subareas of the study which are being ad-
Presenting the Research Results 427
dressed. For example, in writing an article on
work orientation in women, my colleague Ju-
dith Bootcheck and I (Baker and Bootcheck,
1985) divided the literature review section
into two major parts:
l. The Changing Conception of Women,s
Work Orientation-This section addressed
the various conceptions of women's work
attitudes which came to bear on what we
termed work orientation, including earlier_
developed concepls of career aspirations,
career expectations, career commitment,
career salience, taste for emplqtment. The
object ofthis section was to lay the ground_
work for our use and operationalization of
the concept ofwork orientation. It was the
part ofthe literature review that focused on
our dependenl variable.
2. Work Orientation in Women: Faclors Re-
lated to Change-This section addressed
the various independent variables in the
study. The subsections included: (1) higher
education, career preparation, and train-
ing; (2) marriage, motherhood, and single-
hood; (3) sex-role ideology; (4) char_
acteristics of family of origin (mother's em_
ofthese sections, we reported on studies in
which these factors were related to some
quality of women's work orientation.
Literature review sections should be full of
good relevant material explained clearly and
concisely. Remember that you are reponing
on them only because they will bear on youi
study. For this reason, literature review sec_
tions usually cannot be written untii vour
analyses have been carried out so that you are
certain what the variables of central import in
your study are. However, many researchers
would prepare a preliminary drafl of their lit_
erature review section following their search
ofthe literatu.re at the beginning ofthe project.
I
 The Analysis of Social Research Data
Design of the StudY
lll.
This is where the formal statement of your
specific research question or hypothesis is
made. Generally you draw on ideas that were
in Section I on the general
introduced first
II on the
statement and developed in Section
background iiterature. Your paper should
build in Sections I and Il with a kind of cre-
scendo to this Section III, where the problem
you will be addressing in this paper is explic-
itly laid our.
It should be clear in most cases from the
research question or hypothesis what type of
study focus you have, what your primary de-
pendent and independent variables wiil be. In
some cases, diagrams of the research model
are presented. Ifyou are addressing or testing
a specific theory, this theory should be laid out
and associated with itour study objectives here
in this section. The major concepts should be
defined theoretically and explained operation-
ally. The exact measurement of the central
variables may not be presented until the anal-
ysis section but a description ofthe operation-
alized variables should be offered. Remember
this is where it should be made clear whether
the study was deductive (hypothesis testing)
or inductive.
lV. How the Dotq Were Obtqined
This is the section of your paper that lelis the
reader how you did the study. It is the central
methods section. There are always two pri-
mary aspects to the design: the first is what
you did 1o get the data (data collection); the
second is from whom you got the data (the
sample).
Data Collection. The research method used
to gather your data needs to be described care-
fully. No aspect of it should be ignored in pre-
paring this section, though some aspects may
need to be mentioned only very briefly. The
general issues of operationalization, reliabil-
it1,, and validity should be highiighted in this
discussion. The section should also include
the type of instrument used, the conditions
under which the data were collected, the iden-
tity of the data collectors, the training of the
data collectors, the type of pretesting done,
and some evaluation of the data collection
procedures so that any weaknesses may be
considered in appraising the evidence.
How the Sample Was Designed. A detailed
but concise description ofthe sample studied
must be given. If you developed your own
sample, you must compare your final sample
to the one you hoped to obtain. Remember to
offer a definition of the population from
whom the sample was drawn. Don't make
your sample sound better than it is. If you
have collected your own data using a purpos-
ive sample, there is nothing wrong with that.
Be forthright about what you have; this will
strengthen, not weaken, your study. Some-
times tabies are presented that summarize
basic characteristics ofthe sample such as the
sex distribution, work status, educational sta-
tus, age, race, or other factors which are cen-
tral to your study. You also need to describe
your response rate: lhal is, the proportion of
the sample that responded to your data coilec-
tion efforts.
Ethical trssues. It is usually in the data col-
lection and sample selection that the ethical
issues arise. Were respondents deceived in
any way? Was the role of the researcher co-
vert? Did the data collection procedures or
specific questions invade the privacy of oth-
ers? How far had your subjects given an ln-
fornted consent to their own participation in
your study? There may be reasons to use some
forms of deception or covert research activi-
ties, but you should know and state explicitly
CHAPTE
the ethical issues raised and how you tried to
deal with them. On the other side, you should
explain how the confidentiality or anonymity
of your subjects was preserved, if indeed it
was.
V. Anolysis of Doto
This is the heart of your paper. yet without
the introductory materials in the earlier sec-
tion, the reasons for the analysis and an un-
derstanding of what the data represent could
not be reached. Don't just report "the facts."
Remember that all facts must be interpreted,
and it is the choice ofinterpretations (as well
as the choice offacts) that wiil form the basis
ofthe analysis.
In quantitative studies, this section has tire
tables in it. These lables must be carefully
planned so that they show the reader what he
or she needs to be shown to understand the
table. Tables must be well labeled and rnusl be
presented in a format which is conventionally
used {br that type of data. By looking at the
presentation of other tables in studies similar
to your own, you will develop a sense ofhow
your tables should 1ook. Remember that there
are many different ways ofpresenting a cross
tabulation; some styles are used more often in
certain types ofjournals. But however they are
set up, they must be readily accessible to
others.
Quantitative studies often begin with a
summary table offering some basic evidence
on the frequency of the dependent variable in
relation to one or more other central factors
in the study. Such a table may be a series of
different frequency distributions strung to-
gether; in such a case, not all categories of
each independent variable need to be pre-
sented. Tables then move across the analysis
trying to address all the theoretical issues
raised by the research problem. When multi-
variate analyses are used, such ubles are often
Presenting lhe Research Results 429
the iast in a paper, since they serve to tie to-
gether all ofthe tables presented earlier.
In a field study, the analysis section offers
the findings of the study in relation to the
problem you set out to study. Since there arc
no hard, numerical "facts" to substantiate
your position, you must present your findings
in such a convincing manner that they are
seen as fulfilling your research concerns.
Analysis sections need to be highly fo-
cused. Beware of a tendency to report every
finding, to move from one point to the nexl
without a clear sense of which findings arc
more important and more centraj to the pur-
pose of your study. Don't let the analysis get
out of hand: you must keep it in control by
addressing only what is reievant to your re-
search concern. Many of your findings, let's
say from a survey, should not be reported. I
am not urging you to throw out findings that
seem insignificant but to be strict with your-
self in deciding what is really important for
your presentation and what is nol
If you are writing a course research paper
testing a hypothesis, and your evidence does
not support it, report that. Negative findings
can be as interesting as positive ones. It is dif-
ficult, however, to write a paper on a nonex-
istent finding. It can be done. But it is also
fair, and widely practiced, to reexamine your
dam for other potentially more interesting
analyses.
Vl. Discussion
Once you have presented your findings, you
need to discuss them in more general terms,
relating them back to what your expectations
were when you designed the study. In othcr
words, the discussion should relate the empir-
ical frndings back to the theory. Here. ila hy-
pothesis is not proven, is the time to speculate
on why this might be the case. Did the study
address (or even challenge) a paradigm in the
I

430 TheAnalysisofSocialResearchData
social science? Here, you may relate your
major findings to those of others mentioned in
the review ofliterature section. Did you cor-
roborate their findings? Did your analyses
ofibr different dimensions that now need to be
considered in the discussion of this research
topic? Make clear what is important, even
memorable, about this study. Is there any
method or finding of your research that might
be profitably used by other researchers?
Vll. Conclusions qnd Summory
What did this research project prove? Was the
program evaluated effectively? What brought
about change in the dependent variable? S/hat
was the centrai meaning of the environment
studied in the fleld? What was the significance
of the content analyzed? These are the ques-
tions you must ask yourself and answer for
your reader in the conclusion of your paper.
You might look back to Chapter 3 on the
"Uses of Social Research" for assistance.
What in your study might be considered
worthwhile and contributing to the field? Did
your study address the changing nature of
society? Did it have a dynamic quality in
which institutions or individuals undergoing
changes were examined? Were there implica-
tions in the findings of your study for social
policies or laws currently held? Did your re-
search lead to a deeper understanding of a so-
cial group, a condition, or an event? Such
questions, ifappropriate, might be addressed
in your conclusions. In addition, suggestions
for future research might be offered.
A brief summary of the study may come at
the end of the paper, or in some cases. as in
journal articles, it may be abbreviated as an
abstract at the beginning. The summary will
touch on all ofthe seven sections: stating the
general problem; possibly refering to an im-
portant earlier finding; describing the research
design; data colleclion; sampling procedures;
PART FouR
giving the central findings; and making a brief
conclusion.
JUST BEFORE YOU FINISH A
RESEARCH PROJECT
When you are neariy at the end of writing
your research project, stop and consider some
of the important issues that were discussed
earlier in this book. Did the study support the
rationale for doing the study in the first place?
Now consider what was, in Chapter 3, sug-
gested as one use of social research: Did the
study make use of some experience of yours,
some particular knowledge, so that you were
able to capitalize on your strengths in the
course ofthe research project? Often the qual-
ity ofa research effort will represent a project
which highlighted the strengths of its re-
searcher. It often is the case, however, that a
project may also get bogged down in the areas
ofyour weakness. It is in such situations that
the research project itselfbecomes a teacher.
You find you learn what you need to learn for
the project.
In such a sense, doing research is a form of
education, of growing. of trying to use your
own strengths, and of improving your abili-
ties. You've done a "scientific" study based
on explanatory models and with empirical ev-
idence. You were forced to be meative in this
study because you had to figure out how to
measure, to question, to organize, and to de-
velop a new way of doing something. At the
end ofa course in reseatch methods, students
often say, "Whew! I irever thought I'd make
it." When you've finished your project, ask
yourseif whal you've gained in the course of
carrying out a research project. What you may
conciude is that what you have learned are
among the most valuabie sets of skills and
knowledge you've been exposed to. Now hav-
ing thought about what you as a student or as
a young researcher may have learned from
i
:ll:.
.i. .
1
i
doing a research project, ask yourself what
you have eontributed by doing your social re-
search. Maybe you have in some small (or not
so small) way added to what we know about
how our society works. Thanks for doing so-
cial research.
REVIEW NOTES
. The basic ingredients for writing a research
report are a clear topic, a review ofthe rele-
vant evidence, a research design, and the
analyzed data.
. The degree of detail in discussing the meth-
ods used will vary with the form of dissem-
ination ofthe research project being
prepared.
. Types ofresearch papers that might be pre-
pared include those written (1) to fulfill
course requirements, (2) to be presented to
professional or academic audiences, as well
to be presented (3) in professionai
as those
and academic journals, (4) in popular jour-
nals, magazines, newspapers, teievision, or
other mass-media forms, (5) in the form of
a book, or (6) as a commissioned research
report.
. Capiovitz proposes that all quantitative re-
search projects have one ofthree foci: a de-
pendent variable, an independent variable,
or a special group. In a dependent variable
study, the aim is to understand why, how,
and under what conditions the dependent
variable occurred. In an independent varia-
ble study, one social context is compared to
another. In a special population study, usu-
aliy based on qualitative data, the primary
aim is to dovelop a careful description ofthe
special population.
. A seven-point outiine for a student research
report should include:
l. A general statement of the probiem
2. Background to the probiem based on a
review of the related literature
3. The research model and design of
the
study
4. How the data were obtained, including
the data collection procedure, the
method and success of the sampling
procedure, and a consideration of ethi-
cai issues
5. An analysis of the data
6. A discussion ofthe findings
7. The conclusion and summary
KEY TERMS
dependent variable study
disproving hypotheses
dissemination
independent variable study
proposal
special popuiation study
STUDY EXERCISES
l. If your
assignment for this term has been
to prepare a proposal for a project or to
complete a project, briefly show what you
would include under each of the seven
points ofthe research outline.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
l. Bart, Pauline, and Linda Frankel: The Student
Sociologist's H andbook, 2d ed., General Learn-
ing Press, Morristown, N.J., 1976. This helpful
guidebook, recommended in Chapter 4 for pro-
posal writing, would also be very good to have
close at hand lor relerence as you write your
final report.
2. Becker, Howard S.: l4/ritingfor Social Scienttsts:
How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or
Article, Univetsity of Chicago press, Chicago,
1986. A very engaging book on writing for aca-
demic purposes. Becker relates many ofhis own
experiences as a researcher, writer, and editor.
The book offers very lertile suggestions to facit-
itate writing and to try to avoid the hangups
I
 'ltrl
i:il

(what to do if you can't say it just right' how to ments 0f ,S/y/e, Macmillan, New York, 1959'
edit by ear), There is a good chapter by Pamela This is a classic work on writing that has been
Richards on the need to take risks. very influential among both academic and non-
3. Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White: The Ele' academic writers.

(-lsrng a Library
for Social Research

INTRODUCTICN

-In anuor..4, there is a discussion of how to

use the library to enhance your knowledge about a research topic. Such
a task means
that you must know both how to use your library most effectively and what range
of
resources is available to you that might enhance your social r.r.ur.h project.
There are
a number of very good guidebooks on how to use a library if you are
carrying out social
research: Pauline Bart and Linda Frankel: The Student Solciologkt's ttaniboik
lceneral
Learning Press, Monistown, N.J., 1976) is a useful guide that Jff.r, range
u of materials
available for sociological research; patricia McMilian and James R. Keirnedy,
Jr.: Li-
brary Research Guide to sociology (piernan press, Ann Arbor, Mich., rggr)
carefully
spells out how to search for topics in libraries using the runy..f.r.oce
services; Jeft'rey
G' Reed and Pam M. Baxter: Libraty Lrse: A Hanibookfor'psychology(American psy-
chological Association, washington, l9g3) covers similir ground *l"th
e*amptes from
the.field of psychology; it suggests methods of locating psycliological tests
and measures.
This appendix will cover some of the most important resources available and will
de-
scribe how to find and use them.

lJJ

I

434 UsingaLibrarl,forSocialResearch
USING THE CARD CATALOG TO
FIND MATERIAL
A card catalog in a university or college li-
brary includes book tities of interest under
Ifyou wanted to iook up the
subjectheadings.
Coleman study in your college library, you
would look under Education-Private
Schools (or maybe High Schools-Private).
Similarly had you looked under the subject
heading, Juvenile Delinquency, you would
have found Hirschi's The Causes of Delin-
quency (1969).
The field sludies described in Chapter
were all the bases ofbooks. Let's say you were
interested in women in management careers,
if you looked up Women-Careers in Man-
agement, you would iikely find Kanter's book
Men and Women of the Corporation (1977).
Under what topic would you find Anderson's
study of Jelly's Bar? Possibly under Field
Studies, or Black Americans-Urban Life.
Naturally all these books would be cataloged
under their authors' name (or the name of the
first listed author); but I am suggesting subject
headings for you to consider if you do not
know the author of a specific study in an area
of your interest.
WAYS OF FINDING RELEVANT
PRINTED MATERIAL
Book Reviews
How do you find books reiated to your topic
of interest? One way is to read book reviews.
Many journals include reviews of books. Cor-
templrary Sociology is a sociological journal
devoted solely to book reviews. The reviewed
books are categorized under a variety ofhead-
ings that characterize the major subfields of
that discipline. Box A-1 gives the 29 different
headings under which Conlemporary Sociol-
ogy has reviewed books. Note that Coleman's
book would be reviewed under Education,
Hirschi's under Crime. However, would Kan-
i:
i
APPEND lx A APPENDIX A
Using a Libraryfor Social Research 4J5
BOX A-l fr,eld: Contemporary psychology. If your topic
and articles on a specific subject, joined to-
concerns social work, book reviews are found gether to ofer an overview ofa subfield. The
CATEGORIES FOR BOOK REVIEWS IN
CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY in Social Service Review, Social Case Work, essays will address the most important sub-
and Social Work. jects, methods, and problems which are cur-
Books of wide academic interesl may well
rentiy being studied. A handbook which was
i. Aging, dying, ond the life course be reviewed in The New york Review of Books
2. Applled sociology, Clinicol, evoluotion, so-
done years back might give you some perspec-
and in ihe New York Times Book Review, a
ciol impoct
section of lle New York Times whjch appears
tive on the field at that time; a more reient
3. Collective behovior ond sociol movements one, or an annual review ofa recent year, will
4. every Sunday. Such nationally known book bring you up to date 0n current concerns. Box
Community
reviews tend to include many novels, how-to
5. Crime, devionce, low, ond sociol control A-3 gives a selection of encyclopedias and
6. Culture, leisure, ond longuoge books, and other types ofbooks which are not handbooks which have been compiled on var-
7. Demogrophy, ecology, ond environmentol likely to be of direct use in defining a socio- ious subfields.
sociology logical topic, but they do review social re-
1
B. Economy, lobor morkets, ond technology search books that have a wide public interest.
9. Educotion Finally, Book Review Digest has brief reviews Journol Articles
10. Fomily on books from many fields; Booft Review Journals which include articles based on so-
I l. Gender Indextells where reviews ofcertain books can
12. Hlstoricol ond comporotive sociology cial research projects can be found in college
be found. and university libraries. The best wav to find
1 3. lnequolity/stroiiflcotion
14. lntimocy, emoiions, humon sexuoliry articles relating to a topic that interesis you is
15. Knowledge Bibliogrophies to look in one ofthe reference guides.
16. Medicol sociology
17. Merhods There are bibliographies at many levels: the Indexes and Abstracts in the Social Sciences.
18. Occupotions, professions, ond work broadest are bibliographres of bibliographies, Begin by looking atthe Social Sciences Index
19. Orgonizotions next are bibliographies of broad disciplines, (New York, Wilson, i974), which was for-
20. Politicol sociology and then, more narrowly, there are bibliogra_
merly the Social Sciences and Humanities
2 1 . Roce ond ethnic groups phies that iist books from specific fields. Some
Index, andbefore that the International Index
22. Religion ond ethics are annotated; that is, they offer a short de_ of Social Sciences and Huruanities. This index
23. Sociol chonge, coloniolism, modernizotion, scription under each book. Others just give catalogs articies from numerous social science
world systems
the basic bibliographic informarion: title, au_ journals under subject and author headings.
24. Sociol policy ond sociol welfore
thor, date ofpublication, publisher. Box A-2 Once you find an article of interest here,
25. Sociol psychology
gives examples of such bibliographies. These you should turn to Sociological Abstracts for a
26. Iheory
27 . Urbon sociology
bibliographies are a sample of the many bib- brief description of the article. "Soc Ab-
liographies available. In the reference siction
28. Wor, peoce, ond the militory stracts," as it is often called in the field, is also
29. Yeorbooks, hondbooks, onnuols, generol of the library you use, some of these bibliog_ useful for articles that may not be available in
raphies should be available. Remember that your library; a brief summary may help you to
the reference librarian is usually an excellent decide whether you are interested enough to
source of information on where to locate a try to get the article from another librarv. If
ter's book be reviewed under Organizations or specific bibliography in your field ofinterest. your topic is social-psychological, you should
Gender? (It was in fact reviewed in a sympo- look in Psychological Abstracts. which ab-
sium in the opening section of the journal.) stracts psychological articles; ifit is in educa-
Speciol Encyclopedios ond Hondbooks
Other sociological journals review books as tion, try Education Abstracts; if it is in crimi-
well. For example, Ihe American Journal of Some encyclopedias cite the major leaders in nology, examine Crime and Delinquency
Sociology regularly includes book reviews. aparticular field and define the field's kev con- Abstracts; ifit has to do with studies on chil-
If your topic involves psychology, you cepts. Handbooks and annual reviews are dren, look at Child Development Abstracts a.nd
should iook at the book review journal in that books that are based on collections of essays Bibliography.!fyour topic concerns an area of
I
 r!:::i

iril

BOX A-2 BOX A-2 (continued)

TOPIC
BIBLIOGRAPHIES TO USE IN DEVETOPING A SOCIAL RESEARCH EIBTIOGRAPHIES TO USE IN DEVETOPING
A SOCIAT RESEARCH TOPIC

GENERAI- Ethnic Groups (coni.),

A World Bibliogrophy of Bibliographies, 4th ed. (Theodore Besiermon,
(Alice F. Toomey, up-
Societos Blbllogrophico, Lousonne, 19651,
doted 1964-1974, o list of works represented by Librory of Con-
gress, Rowon & Littleffeld, Tofowo, N.J , 1977i'
Bibliogrophic tndex lH. W. Wilson Co., New York, l93B)'
Iondon Bibliography of the Sociol Sciences (Mousel lnformofion, Lon-
don, I 929-1.
l95l-)'
lnternotionol Bibliogrophy of Sociology (Aldine, Chicogo,
SPECIAT TOPICS
Aging'
A Generol Bibliogrophy on Aging lJohn B. Bolkemo, Notionol Council
on Aging, Woshington, i972i.
Crime ond DelinquencY,
Child Abuse and Neglect; An Annotated Bibliogrophy {Beotrlce J. Kol-
isch, Greenwood Press, Westpori, Conn., l97B).
Crininologicol Bibliogrophies' Uni{orn Citotions to Bibliogrophies, ln- Fomily,
dexes, ond Review Articles of the literoture of Cilne Study in the
IJnited States (Bruce L. Dovis, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn-,
19781.
Juvenile Gongs ond Street Groups' A Bibliogrophy lDorothy Tompkins,
Poveriyr
Universily of Colifornio, Berkeley, 1966).
Low Enforcement, A Selecttve Bibliogrophy {Emonuel T Prostono ond
Mortln L. Plccirillo, Librories Unlimited, tittleton, Colo-, 1974J.
Prison ond the Prisoner (Dorothy Tompkins, University of Colifornio,
Sociol Strotiflcotion,
Berkeley,1972l.
A Bibliogrophy of Prostitution (Vern Bullough et ol., Gorlond, New York,
19771.
Rope, A Bibliogrophy t965-l975lDorothy L. Bornes, Whitston, Troy, Suicide,
N.Y., 197n.
Sentencing the Offender; A Bibliogrophy (Dorothy Tompkins, University
of Colifornio, Berkeley, 1971 l.
Sociology o{ the low, A Reseorch Bibliography {Williom l Chombllss
ond Robert B. Seidmon, Glendessory, Berkeley, Colif', 1970)' Urbon'
White Collor Crine; A Bibliogrophy (Dorothy Tompkins, Universiiy of
Colifornio, Berkeley, I 967).
Ethnic Groups,
A Conprehensive Bibliography for the Study of Anericon Minorities
'1976)'
{Woyne C. Mlller, New York University, New York,
Anerican Elhnic Groups ond the Revivol of Culturol Plurolism; Evoluotive Women,
Sourcebook for the 1970's,4th ed {Jock Kinton, Sociol Science
ond Sociologicol Resources, Auroro, lll., 19741.
The Block Fomily in IJrbon Areos in the LLnited Stotes; A Selected Bibli-
ogrophy of Annototed Books, Articles ond Dissertofions on Block
fanilies in Anerbo lLenwood Dovis, Greenwood, Westport,
Conn., 1 978).
The Negro in Americo; A Bibliogrophy (Elizobeth W. Miller, Horvord
University Press, Combridge, Moss., I9Z0).
Mexicon Americons; A Reseorch Bibliogrophy (Fronk pino,
Michigon
Stoie University, Eost lonsing, Mich., 1974.
Collective Behovior,
Collective Behovior; A Bibliography (Denton Morrison ond Kenneth
Hornbock, Gorlond, New york, l926).
Drugs ond Alcohol'
The Alcoholisn Digest Annuol ilnformoiion plonning
Associofes, Rock-
ville, Md., 1973*).
Drug Abuse Bibliogrophy {Annuol Supplement io Joseph Menditto,
Drugs of Addition ond Non.oddiction, Their [Jse ond Abuse; A
Comprehensive Bibliogrophy, t960_69, Whitston, Troy, N.y.,
1970_).
lnternotionol Bibliogrophy of Reseorch in Morriage and Fomily (John Al_
dous, Universiiy of Minnesoio, Minneopoli!, vol. l, 1967; vol. ll,
1974; vol. lll, l97SL
Disofrilioted Mon, Essoys ond Bibliogrophy on Skid Row,
Vogroncy, ond
Outsiders {Howord Bohr, University of Toronto, Toronto, lgZO).
Sociol Strotificotion; A Reseorch Bibliogrophy (Norvol Glenn, Glendes_
sory, Berkeley, Colif., i97O).
Bibliogrophy on Suicide ond Suicide prevention lBgZ_lgSZ, l gSB_70
{Normon Foreberow, Noiionol lnstitute of Mentol Heohh, Rockville,
Md.,1972t.
City in Print; A Bibliogrophy (R. Chorles Bryfogle, Generol Leorning
Press, Morristown, N.J., lgZ4).
Bibliogrophy on the lJrbon Crisis; The Behoviorol, psychologicol,
ond
Sociologicol Aspects ol lJrbon Crsrs (Jon Meyer, Notionol lnsiifute
of Menrol Heolth, Chevy Chose, Md., 1969).
The Wonen's Movenent in lhe Seventies; An lnternotionol Enolish_Lon-
guoge Bibliogrophy {Alberr Krichmor, Scorecrow, Metuch"en, N.
.J.,
1977t.
Wonen ond Society; A Criticol Review of the literoture with o
Selected
Annototed Bibliogrophy (Morie Rosenberg ond [en Bergstrom,
Soge, Beverly Hills, Colif., l9Z5i,

436

I
438 (ising a Libraryfor Social Research APPFNDIX A APPENDIX A Using a Libraru for Social Research 439
BOX 4.3 social work, there is Social Work Research
and Abstracts, which indexes almost all social
HANDBOOKS TO USE IN DEVETOPING A SOCIAT RESEARCH TOPIC
work journals and offers short abstracts of
articles.
GENERAL Ifyou can't find an article you are seeking
lnternotionol Encyclopedio o{ the Social Sciences (Dovid L. Silh, Moc- in the Social Sciences Index or Sociological
millon, New York, l968). Abstracts, try the Public Afairs Information
Hondbook of Modern SociologylRobert Foris, Rond McNolly, Chicogo, Service (PAIS), which indexes (in addition to
1964t. journal articles) government publications,
Handbook of Social Psychalogy (Gordner Lindzey, Addison-Wesley,
Reoding, Moss., l968).
pamphlets, and reports ofagencies; or try the
Human Resources Abstracts, which includes
SPECIAL TOPICS many abstracts of unpublished reports on so-
Aging'
cial action programs, governmental and com-
munity programs, as well as printed materials.
Hondbook of Aging ond the Sociol Sclences {Robert Binstock ond Ethel
Shonos, Von Nostrond Reinhold, New York, I 977).
Another very useful cataloging service is
thal of the Educatilnal Reslurces Infomlation
Fomily' Center (ERIC). This service provides both in-
Sourcebook in Morrioge ond the Fomily, 4th ed. {Morvin Sussmon, dexes and summaries of educational studies,
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, I973). both published and unpublished; ERIC also of-
Medicol, fers microform copies of all indexed materials
Hondbook of Medicol Sociology (Howord Freemon ei ol., Prentice-Holl, at libraries that provide this service. (If your
Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1963). library does not, you may get the ERIC refer-
ence number to a study that interests you
Orgonizotionol Behovior,
from the ERIC index, which is more widely
Reseorch Annuol on lntergroup Relolions (Melvin Tumin, Proeger, New held by libraries and then go to, or order from,
York, I 9701.
a library which can provide the microform.)
Orgonizotions, If you are looking for earlier material, ex-
Hondbook of Orgonizotions (Jomes Morch, Rond McNolly, Chicogo, amine The Combined Retrospective Index Set
r965t. to Journals in Sociology, 1895-1974 (CRIS)
which has cataloged over 100,000 articles
Populotion,
under 86 categories.
Sourcebook on Populotion (Tine Bussink, et ol., Populotion Reference
Bureou, Woshington, 1 97 6l'.
The Use of a Citation Index. Once you have
Sociol Work, found an article that interests you, you may
Encyclopedio of Sociol Work, \7th ed. {Notionol Associoiion of Sociol want to expand your knowledge of other re-
Workers, Woshington, 1 927). lated articles. Although every college library
Sociolizolion, will not have the citation index to the sociai
sciences, a major reference iibrary will have
Hondbook of Sociolizotion Theory ond Reseorch (Dovid Goslin, Rond
McNolly, Chicogo, 1 969). this resource. This is how to use the Soclcl
Sciences Citation Index (SSCI): Taking an ar-
Urbon, ticle ofcentral interest to you, turn first to the
Conmunily Power ond Decision Moking; An lnternotionol Hondbook author of the article in the Citation Index to
(lrving Leif, Scorecrow, Metuchen, N.1., 1974).
see where this author has been cited. These ci-
tations will be cataloged first by the journal
and then by author. When you find the name
of an author who cited your first author in a
journal that may be relevant to your interests,
turn to the Source Index to find the exact ci-
tation of that article (in this location, the affl-
iation of the author who did the citing will be
listed as well). Alternatively, if you do not
have a specific articie of interest to work from,
but you do have a specific subject ofinterest,
you may start at the Permuterm Subject
Index, which catalogs significant words from
articles. Under the subject of interest, there
will be various subcategories ofsubjects, each
with one or more authors cited. From these
authors, you turn back to the Source Index for
a complete citation. It will take a little practice
to get used to using the SSCI, but it will be
weli worth your time for it offers a means of
zeroing in on a subject from a number of
directions,
Computer Searches. Many libraries now
offer "computer searches of the literature."
For a fee. you can enter your lopic ofinterest
into the computer and receive back a bibliog-
raphy of articles and books which have been
selected from a computerized index. Which
index the computer is linked up to for provid-
ing its information may vary from place to
place. Both Sociology Abstracts and Psychol-
ogy Abstrscts are "online." There are also now
a number of index services which are not
based on printed indexes at ali, but exist only
as computerized indexes. You wiil need to ask
a reference librarian which computer seryices
your library has and how to access them.
Getting the Article Needed in Your Library or
Elsewhere. Once you have found the name
of a journal article you want, you need to
know whether your library carries that jour-
nal. Often a library has a special list ofjour-
nals they hold (or the information may be
available on a computer terminal). Also a
I
 440 UsingaLibraryforSocial Research APPENDTx A

journal may be looked up in a card catalog. sertation, you can order it through Disserta-
Recent issues ofajournal (those from the cur- tions Abstracts International (Xerox Univer-
rent year and possibly even from the last year) sity Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1938-). TABLE OF RANDOM NUMBERS
may be displayed in a Cunent Periodicais sec- Copies may be sent either on microfilm, or for
tion of the iibrary. Eadier journals are bound a greater cost, they may be photocopied. Some r0 09 73 25 33 z6 52 Ot 3s 86 34 67 35 48 76 8095909t t7
in volumes and placed in the library stacks. If dissertations become books or published arti- 37 54 20 48 05 64 89 47 42 96 24 80 52 4A 37 20fi61a402
39 29 27 49 45
008229 t665
your library does not have the.journal you cles (or parts of them are published). So you 08 42 26 89 53 1964509303 23 2A CA 25 60 r595334764 35 08 03 36 06
e9 0t 90 25 29
need, usuaily you may order the article might want to look in the reference book 093767A715 38 3r t3 I I 65 88 67 67 43 A7 a4 43 62 76 59
12 80 79 99 7A 80 1573 6t 47
through an interlibrary loan arrangement. Or Bool<s in Print lo see ifthe author in question 64 03 23 66 53 9895'l 6877 t2 t7 17 68 33
specific articles may be sent to you either as has published a book on the dissertation ma- 66 06 57 47 17
photocopies or as microfilms. terial. (Remember, the exact title of the dis- 3t 0601 0805
34 07 27 68 s0
45 57 tB 24 A6
36 69 73 6t 70 65 Br 33 98 85 lt 199291 70
35 30 34 26 14 86 79 90 74 39 23 40 30 97 32
sertation may not be used for the titls of the 85 26 97 76 A2 0205165692 68665748 t8 73 05 38 52 47 l8 62 38 85 79
63 5Z 33 2t 35 0s 32 54 70 48 90 55 35 75 48
book-book titles tend to be shorter than dis- 73 79 64 57 53
28 46 82 87 09 83 49 12 56 24
Unpublished Sourcesr Disserfotions qnd sertation titles!)
03 52 96 47 78 35 80 83 42 82 60 93 52 03 44 35 27 38 84 35
Theses The advantage oflooking at a dissertation 98 52 0t 77 67 r490s68602 22 l0 94 05 58 60 9Z 09 34 33 50 50 0z 39 98
r r 80 s0 54 3l
Dissertation Abstracts International catalogs which has been based on social research is 39 80 82 77 32 50 72 56 82 48 29 40 52 42 0t 52 77 56 7B 51
83 45 2g 96 34 06 29 89 B0 83
nearly all doctoral dissertations in the United that the method of how the study was done is 13 74 67 0A 78 18 47 54 06 10 687t 17 78 17
88 68 54 02 00 86 50 Z5 84 0t 36 76 66 79 5l
States and Canada as well as many from Eu- usually delineated in quite a lot of detail. Dis- 90 36 47 64 93 29 60 9t l0 62
99 59 4673 48 87 51 76 49 69 9l 82 60 89 28 93 78 56 13 68 23 47 83 4r t3
ropean universities. The Humanities and So- sertations may even refer to the problems en-
cial Science dissertations are in one volume, countered in trying to accomplish the aims of 6548117674 )7 46 85 09 50 58 A4 77 69 74 z3 03 95 Zt 86
B0 r2435635
40 2t 81 65 44
the sciences in another. A dissertation may be the study (rarely reported on in an article). 74 35 09 98 17
17 727A 80 t5 45 3t 82 23 74 2t il
578253 1438553263
7740277214 43 23 60 02 10 45 52 t6 42 37
cataloged under a number of headings. A Masters Abstracts is also published by Xerox 69 9r 62 68 03 66252291 48
96 28 60 26 s5
36 93 68 72 03 766211 3990
summary of the dissertation is presented in University Microfilms; it catalogs and ab- 09 89 32 05 05 1422568514 46 42 75 67 88 96 29 77 88 22
94 40 05 64 l8
54 3B 2t 45 98
the abstract. Ifyou desire to see the whole dis- stracts selected masters' theses.
91 49 9t 45 23 68 47 92 76 86 46 t6 28 35 54 94 75 08 99 23 37 08 92 00 48
80 33 69 45 98 26 94 03 68 58 7A 29 73 4l 35 53 t4033340 42 05 08 23 4l
44 t0 48 l9 49 8515747954 32 97 92 65 75 526004088t 22 22 2A 64 13
t2 5507 37 42 ]] t0002040 t28607 4697 96 64 48 94 39 2870725815
63 60 64 93 29 16 50 53 44 84 40 2t 95 25 63 43 65 17 70 82 07 20 73 t7 90
61 1g 69 04 46 26 45 74 77 74 5l 92 43 37 29 65 39 45 95 93 42 58 26 05 27
15 47 44 52 66 95 27 07 99 53 59 36 7B 38 48 823961 0t t8 33 2t l5 94 66
ol \\ 7a aa 1a
67 89 75 43 87 54 62 24 44 31 9t t9 04 25 92 92 92 74 59 73
4248|6213 97 34 40 87 2l 1686848767 030711 2059
11 \a aa aa t1 25 70 t4 66 70
z3 20 88 98 37 t4 16
68 93 59 26 25 22 96 63 05 52 28 25 62
04 49 35 24 94 75 24 63 38 24 45 86 25 1A 25 6t 9627 93 35 65 33 71 24 72
00 54 99 76 54 6405188t59 961t963896 54 69 28 23 9l 23 28 72 95 29
35 96 3t 53 07 26 89 80 93 54 33 35 t3 54 62 77 97 45 00 24 90 l0 33 93 33
59 80 80 83 9l 45 42 72 68 42 83 60 94 97 00 t3 02 t2 48 92 78 56 52 0l 06
46 05 88 52 36 01 39 09 22 86 7728144077 93 91 08 36 4Z 70 61 74 29 4t
32 17 90 05 97 87 37 92 52 4t 05 56 70 70 07 8674 31 71 57 853941 1838
69 23 46 t4 06 ?o t1 74 52 04 r595660000 t8 74 39 24 9711896338
1956541430 0175875379 40 41 92 t5 85 66 67 43 68 06
23

45 155t 4938 1947607246 43 66 79 45 43

84 96 29 52 07
59 04 z9 00 33
94 86 43 19 94 36 t6 8l 08 5t
20 82 66 95 4r
34 88 88 t5 53 0t 54 03 54 56 050145t176
Source, The Rond Corpororion, A Million Rondon
Digils, Free press, Glencoe, lll,, 1g55. pp, l_3, wilh
kind permissionol the pub|sher. the

441

I
 APPENDIX C

CHI-SQUARE DISTRIBUTION

Generattng the Computer Tables

Y2 values
in This Text
Critiml value

Example of how to use this table: In a chi-

Usrn7 the SP,S9 Cwnputer Program
Degrees of Areo in shoded tighr foil (4)
square distribution with 6 degrees offreedom
freedom (df), the area to the right of a critical value of
Idfl .10 .05 .01
12.592-r.e., the a area-is .05'
2.746 3.841 6.635
4.605 5.991 9.214
6.251 7.815 r I .345

5
7.779
o r'14
r0.645
9.488
I 1.020
12.592
t3.277
15.086
16.812
INTRODUCTICN
6
7 12.017 14.067 18.475
I 15.507 20.090
9 14.684 r6.9r9 21.666
t0 15.587
t7 .27 5
r 8.307
1q.675
23.209
24.725
f,r, ,, not a comprehensive introduction
l1
.426 26.217 discussing how to use the statistical social science computer package program, SPSS-.
l2 18.549 21
t3 r9.8r2 tt 1A1 27.688 Rather, this appendix will confine itself to describing ho# the computer tabies in this
14 21.064 23.685 29.141 text were prepared. In so doing, it will, in fact, offer the basic skills required in using
22.307 24.996
15
SPSS^. However, you must remember that the SPSS* program is vastly more compre-
t6 23.542 26.256 32.000
17 24.769 27.587 33 409 hensive than the material to be covered here. Ifyou plan to use SPSS* in analyzing your
18 25.989 28.869 34.805 data, you will want to look at the large manual provided for this program and also at
30.144 36.191
19 27.204 the introductory guide to using it. This appendix offers only a very simple first step in
20 28.412 31 .41 0 37.566
2l 29.6 r 5 32.671 38.932 showing you what had to be done to produce the computer tables and statistics con-
22 30.8 r 3 33.924 44.289 tained in this text.
1a 32.007 JJ. /I 4l .638 What is SPSS*? It is a very large computer package program in which complex com-
24 33. l 96 36.4 r 5 42.980
J/ .AJt 44.314
puter procedures (which require from a computer programmer much time and inge-
t) J+.JOl
26 .1).50J 38.885 45.642 nuity in preparation as well as a very sophisticated understanding of both computer
27 36.741 40.1 r 3 46.963 programming and the computer languages needed to do programming) have been con-
28 37.916 41 .337 48.278
L1 \\7 49.588
verted into fairly simple procedures that a person with no training in computer pro-
29 39.087
30 44.256 aJ./ / J s0.892 gramming can carry out quite easily. For SPSS*, you do not need to know BASIC, FOR-
TRAN, or any other computer language. The SPSS* statements are based on simple
Source'Ih\s ioble is obridged from Toble lV of Fisher ond English commands that are easy to understand. All you need to do is learn the basic
Yates, Stotisticol Tobles for Biologicol, Agricuhurol ond
Medicol Reseorch, published by longmon Group, Ltd , organization and principles of how SPSS'operates, select which commands are appro-
l6pjsn {prevrously pub.ished by Olive'& Bovd -rd., priate for your analysis, and then use these commands exactly as SPSS* requires them
Eoinburgnl. Reproouceo wrrh'he perrission ol'l-e ourho-s
ond publishers.
to be used. The computer does all the rest.

443

I
 For starters, you must determine what version of spsS" is available to you. There
are diferent versions of sPSS' for mainfrarne computers and for personal What this SPSSX statement sa,vs is that ENTERING THE DATA INTO SPSS"
computers.
These versions, however, tgd t9.use simiiar (often identic"rl *"r*."ds In Chapter 12, the variables for the study of
and ordering
principles. The version used in this text is spSS* vMS 4.5; and high school athletic participation and educa-
the compute, on which
the computer tables were prepared for this text was a vAX l.l7(0, 1. You are entering a data list with three vari_
which is a main_ tional altainment were presenred. How djd
frame computer made by Digital Equipment. ables which are located in specific places in
these variables "get into', the computer? Very
the computer record (Sex is in Column or
In short, this is a very small "cookbook" on how I got the tables you simply they were entered into the computer
see in this text. Record Position l, etc.).
Even if you are planning to use a different computer program from -spss" using the data entry commands of the SPSS'
o. iruou ur. program.
not going to use a computer at all, this brief overview could be read
what the required ingredients are for using a comprehensive computer
.; ;*ui;; ;;; 2. You want the computer to recode the val_ If you had collected your own data and
package ues in the variable VAR3281 from eight wanted to enter them into a computer using
program.
values into three values, and then rename the SPSSX prograrn, you would use the DAT,{
this new three-category variable LIST command shown above in the example,
VAR328lT. 11 should, however, preserve the other command statemonts you wanted in
theunrecoded eight-value version of your computer run, and then your last set ol
vAR3281. statements for entering the data. you would
HOW SPSS'COMMANDS ARE put a BEGIN DATA statement and enter the
WRITTEN and which codes of variables) the user wants 3. You want the computer to give you fre_ values for every variable in the fiie; then you
SPSS* to process. quency distributions for the three specified
There are two parts to every SpSSx statement. would follow the last variable with an END
The first part of each statement is the SpSSx
Converted into
cookbook terms, you variables (that is, the counl ofcases falling DATA statement.
might say that the command staternents Please check the SpSS'
command or procedure statement; the second into each category of the three variablesj manual for more exlensive examples of how
would be: GET FOOD ITEMS, CHOP, MIX and the percentage distributions across the
part is the specification of the data. The com_ this is done.
TOGETHER, BROIL, TIME; and the speci_ categories.
mand statements are the ones thal SpSS* de_ fication statements would be: I pound ground In the computer tables shown in this text,
veloped to tell the computer what type ofpro_ the data were a parl of a much larger dataset.
beef, I onion, 1 egg. To parallei SpSSr
cedure to perform; the specification statement state_
ments, you would set up the cookbook mate-
4. You want the frequency distributions to Ihad purchased these data on a computer
is information about the data (which variables present a set of statistics which will inch_rde tape. Because these data were on the tape
rial as follows:
the median and the set of statistics that without any specifications as to how thev
GET FOOD ITEMS come with the command DEFAULT would be processed by a computer, they
1 lb. ground beef 1 onion I egg which comprise the MEAN, STANDARD formed a raw data file. Next I had to trans_
CHOP 1 onion DEVIATION, MINIMUM, and MAXI- form the raw data file into an SpSS' sttstem.t
MIX TOGETHER 1 lb. ground beef 1 onion i egg INTO hamburger MUM. (You would need to look in the f le. The systems file would have all rhe vari-
BROIL hamburger SPSS* manual to see which slatistics are ables required for the many different types of
availabie to be selected. I should add that analyses I planned to carry out, set up in such
TIME 10 mins. asking for these statistics with the kinds of a way lhat lhey were ready to be used by the
variables I use in the example would be SPSST program. The firsl slep was lo prepare
quite meaningless, since they are two- and a contntand file. The command file would in-
For an sPSS* statement with three variables: (vAR32g1),
and Athretic participation three-category variables, and the median clude the selection of variables I wanted wilh
Sex (VARI626), Educarional Artainmenr iVan:+f you might
) h;;;,-^ and mean are more sensibly used with nu- the computer lape locations of each of these
merical variables.) This is a good time to variables. Then, when this comn.rand fi1e was
DATA LIST /1 stress the point that SPSS" will carry out run, it would create a systems file with the
vARl626 1 VAR3281 2_3 VAR241 4 whatevcr types of requests you make re- variables requested all there.
RECODE VAR3281 (7,8= gardiess of whether they make sense for To explain the commands required to set
1) (3 THRU 6=2) (1,2=3) INTO VAR3281T your data. The SFSS* manual cloes offer up such a systems flle from a large dataset is
FREQUENCTES VARI626 VAR3281T VAR241 some discussions on the types of data beyond the scope ofthis discussion. However,
STATISTICS = MEDIAN DEFAULT/ that are appropriate to different analytic once a systems file is set up, you no longer
strategies. nced to use d DATA LIST slatement or to

I
 iF
ii'
rr:'
il'

VAR3281 I 'NO COI.LEGE, NO VOC'

.nrer vour data with BEGIN DATA ' ' ' END
onfn .ottands. Instead you use a FILE
HANDLE statement to teil the computer
what svstems file you need from those stored
in the computer, and then use a GET FILE
get the nec-
command to tell the computer to
essary file so that it can be run on the com-
putei. These commands would look like the
following Printouts:
TITLE ATHLETICPARTICIPATION
STUDY
(This title would be printed at the top of each
page of computer printout-this command is
not necessary to run the Program.)
FILE HANDLE
**'I NAME_'*X****'
(The first set ofthree asterisks would actually
be replaced by a briefname ofthe file, and the
second set ofsix asterisks in the single quota-
VARIABLE LABELS VAR1626 'SEX'
VARIOTO'PARENTAL SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS'
VAR229 'HIGH SCHOOL GPA'
VAR241 'HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION'
VAR3281'EDUCATIONALATTAINMENT'
These variable labels commands connect the
description in quotation marks (either single
or double quotation marks are allowed) with
the variable name (e.g., VARl626) each time
tion marks would be the full name.)
GET FILE=***
(This would repeal the short name following
the FILE HANDLE command.)
TABELING THE DATA
Once the data have been entered (or retrieved
from) the file, you might want to put labels on
all the variables you plan to use and on all the
values of each variable. Thus, when your
computer data are printed out, the variable la-
bels will be printed out and the value labels
will define the categories ofeach variable.
To do this you will use two command
statements from SPSS*: VARIABLES LA-
BELS and VALUE LABELS. In our study of
athletic participation, we had five variables.
You can see how the VARIABLE LABELS
statement for these five variables was set up:
the computer prints out the variable.
For labeling the values, or categories, of
each variable, use the VALUE LABELS com-
mand as follows:
2'NO COLLEGE, SOME VOC'
3'LT 2 YRS COL, NO VOC'
4'LT 2 YRS COL, SOME VOC'
5'GT 2 YRS COL, NO VOC'
6'GT 2 YRS COL, SOME VOC'
7'4 OR 5 YEAR DEGREE'
8'ADVANCED DEGREE'
VALUE LABELS will associate the words in with many cells. If you do not have nnany
the single quotation marks with the numbers cases, you may have empty cells. Even where
representing the categories of each variable. there are a very large number of cases, it is
often preferable to reduce the number of val-
ues in a variable in order to sharpen the com-
DATA MANIPULATION STATEMENTS
parison gJoups.
SPSS* offers various strategies for regrouping Another reason to recode the values of a
variables. One method is to combine the val- variable is to change their order. R.ecall that
ues of a variable by recoding the variable ca1- the value of I will be in the upper-left-hand
egories. The procedure is called RECODE. cell of the table. If you want that cell to rep-
Another way to manipuiate variables is to resent the high category, but the high category
carry out some mathematical procedure on a was coded as 3 in your data, then you can
variable, (for example, to muitiply the varia- reorder the value numbers to make high into
ble by 100 which might be important if rhe a 1. I suggested that it is often preferable to set
variable were INCOME; or to add 1900 to a up a table so that your hypothesis can be
variable which might be useful if there were a tested in the upper-left-hand cell. In other
two-digit variable for YEAR OF BIRTH). words, ifyou hypothesize that those students
This form of data manipulation is referred to who were athletic leaders were more likely to
in SPSSX as COMPUTE. Another common attain the highest level ofeducation, then both
way that COMPUTE is used is when a set of the category of Participate as Leader (in the
variables is added up to form an index. athietic participation variable) and the high-
Let's first consider how four of the five estJevel college degree (in the Educational At-
variables in the athletic participation study tainment variable) should be recoded as 1.
were recoded. Remember that when you want Here are the recode statements set up for
to do cross tabulations, having a large number the variables in the athletic participation
of categories in a variable will produce a table study.

.MALE' 2'FEMALE'/ RECODE vAR1070 (MTSSTNG=9) (l =3) (2=2) (3:1) rNTO VAR1070R/
VALUELABELS VAR1626
VARlOTO
.LOW' 2'MEDIUM' 3'HIGH'/ VAR229 (MISSING=9) (1,2= 1) (3,4=2) (5 THRU 8=3) rNTO
.MOSTLYA' 2'HALF A-B' vAR229TH/
VAR229
3 'MOSTLY B' 4'HALF B.C' VAR241 (MISSING=9) (l =3) (2=2) (3= 1) INTO VAR241R/
5 'MOSTLY C' 6'HALF C-D' vAR3281 (MTSSTNG=9) (8= 1) (7=2) (6=3) (5=4) (4=5) (3=6) (2=7)
7'MOSTLY D' 8'BELOW D'l (1=8) INTO VAR3281R/
VAR241 1 'NOT PARTICIPATE' VAR328l (MISSING=9) (7,8=1) (3 THRU 6=2) (1,2=3) rNTO
2'PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY' VAR3281T
3 'PARTICIPATE AS LEADERT

I

448 GeneratinglheComputerTablesinThisText
I-ook very carefully at these recode state-
ments. They show a logical set of operations.
Afler entering the RECODE statement, you
give the name of the variable to be recoded;
then you put in parentheses exactly how you
want the codes transferred. The equals sign
virtually means "change into." Thus (l =3)
means "1 changes into 3." Note in each case
a MISSING category is defined; this tells the
computer what to do with cases where none of
the categories has been given (see the discus-
sion of MISSING VALUES below). Further-
more, in these exampies, we created new re-
coded variables from the original variables by
using the INTO statement; but we also re-
tained the original variable. Thus, there would
be VARl070 where the HIGH category would
be coded as 3, and there would also be a from high scores (meaning that more 3s were
VAR1070R where the HIGH category would
be coded as 1. By using the INTO command
with the new variable, you have the option of
using the recoded version of the variable or
the original variable. (Note that ifyou attach
a SAVE FILE command at the end of your
computer run, the new recoded variable will
be saved.) Note also that at the end of each
recode statement, there is a slash(/); this tells
the computer that another variable to be re-
coded follows. After the last variable to be re-
coded, there is no slash.
Now let's consider where you might use a
COMPUTE statement. In Chapter 15, when
we were building the work orientation index
from three questionnaire items in the Na-
tional Longitudinal Study ofthe High School
Class of 1972, we wanted to add together
items measuring the Importance of Success in
\4y Line of Work (VAR 3 1 3), Making a Lot of
Money (VAR315), and Having Steady Work
MISSING VAI-UES VAR1O7OR, VAR229TH, VAR24IR,
vAR3281R, VAR32BlT (9y
vAR313, VAR315, VAR3r7 (98,99)
A PPE ND lx
(VAR3l7). Below is how such an index could
be formed with SPSS*.
COMPUTE
WO72 = VAR3I3 + VAR315 + VAR317
This statement creates a new variable, WO12
(meaning "work orientation index tn 1972")
to be equal to the combined values of the
three variables. Since each of the three vari-
ables took the value of 3 = Very Important, 2
= Somewhat Important, or 1 = Not Impor-
tant, when the three variables are added to-
gether WO72 would have the range of values
3 through 9. In the computed variable, WO72,
the numbers could not be so easily converted
into words but would form a numerical scale
given to the qucstions) 10 more moderate-
level scores (where 2s were given) to low
scores (where 1s were given).
The one other data manipulation state-
ment which we will cover here is MISSING
VALUES. This is a way of having the com-
puter flag certain categories of a variable as
tnissing, so that they will be left out of the data
analysis. Generally, the number of missing
cases is presented in some way in each data
presentation. It is customary to code missing
values of a variable as 9. If the variable is a
two-digit variable. it is coded 99, a three-digit
will flag up to three values
is coded 999. SPSS*
in a variable as missing (such categories may
have distinguished No Response, Not Rele-
vant, Don't Know, or olher types ofresponses
that are not directly useful in the measure-
ment of the variable in question). Below are
the missing value statements entered for the
variables we have so lar discussed.
r
t'
'\
C APPENDIX C Generating the Computer Tables in This Text 449
This tells the computer, as it carries out the present for each ofthe cases).
statistical procedures, that it should ignore
cases coded as 9 for six of the variables and
that, in making the index, it should ignore cat- RELABELING RECODED VARIABLES
egories coded 98 or 99. There was no MISS- when you create new variables, they need
ING VALUES statement entered for new labels. This is true both for variable and
VAR1626 because it was known that there value labels. Look through the changes in la-
were no missing cases for the variable of Sex bels given to the recoded variables given
(in other words, a sex designation was alwavs below.
VARIABLE LABELS VAR.lO7OR'PARENTAL SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS
RECODE'
VAR229TH 'HIGH SCHOOL GpA: TI{REE CATEGORTES'
VAR241R 'HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION'
VAR3281R'EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT RECODE'
VAR32B1T .EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: THREE
CATEGORIES'
VALUE LABELS VAR1OTOR 1 'HIGH'2'MEDIUM'3'LOW
VAR229TH 1 'A AND A.B' 2'B AND B-C'
3'CAND BELOW/
VAR241R 1 'PARTICIPATE AS LEADER'
2'PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY'
3'NOT PARTTCTPATE'/
VAR3281R 1 'ADVANCED DEGREE'
2'4 OR 5 YR DEGREE'
3'GT 2 YRS COL, SOME VOC'
4'GT 2 YRS COL, NO VOC'
5'LT 2 YRS COL, SOME VOC'
6'LT 2 YRS COL, NO VOC'
7'NO COLLEGE, SOME VOC'
8'NO COLLEGE, NO VOCT
VAR3281T 1 'COLLEGE DEGREE OR MORE'
2'SOME COLLEGE'
3'NO COLLEGE'
LEARNING TO DO FREQUENCIES
and the percentage distribution of cases in
SPSS" has a number of subprograms which each category ofa variabie. Tables l3-4A, I 3-5A,
you can use to analyze your data. One ofthe 13-64, l3-7A, and l3-8A show the results of
easiest and most frequently employed is the running the FREQUENCIES program from
FREQUENCIES program. As noted above, SPSS*. For example, the following command
FREQUENCIES provides a count of rhe statements w.puld be needed to produce the
number ofcases in each category ofa variabie frequency tables from Chapter 13.
I
 li
l
l

454 GeneratingtheCompulerTablesinThisText A PPE NDIXc APPENDIX C Generating the Computer Tables in This Text 45l

FREQUENCIES VARIABLES = VAR1626 VAR1070R VAR241R For Table 14-51,

VAR229 VAR328lR VAR3281T CROSSTABS TABLES - VAR3281T BY VAR241R BY VAR.1626
OPTIONS 4

This brief statement is all that is required the computer:

to produce these six distributions. However, For Table l6-81,
one might have requested different types of CONDESCRIPTIVE w012 CROSST.{BS TABLES = VAR328IT BY VAR.241R BY VAR1626
distributions by putting a FORMAT state- STATISTICS ALL OPTIONS 4
ment after the VARIABLES statement; or you
might have requested a HISTOGRAM or a You can request fewer statistics by specifying
STATISTICS I 8

BARCHART by so specifying. Furthermore, which ones you want (check the SPSSX man-
your frequency distributions could be accom- ual). Note, in Table 15-4,that the Condescrip-
panied by different statistical tests, if you re- The general principles for setting up these choice ofdifferent numbers referring to differ-
tive data provide the number of vaiid obser-
quested these with a STATISTICS statement kbles involve using the key word TABLES ent statistical tests (check the SPSS" manual
vations and missing cases at the bottom ofthe
(as was shown in the first example in this followed by an equals sign and then giving for the range of tests available). In the exam-
table.
appendix).
that variable first (before the BY) which you ple, the chi-square statistic was requested with
want to be the row variable in the table (the the 1, the gamma statistic with the 8.
variable that will be to the left of the table) To produce trivariate tables, such as Table
LEARNING TO DO TEARNING TO DO CROSSTABS and the other variable second (after the BY) 145A, ]n which a cross tabulation of the de-
CONDESCRIPTIVE which you want to serve as the column vari- pendent and independent variables is pro-
This is one of the most popular subprograms
is a subprogram that in the SPSS* program. It produces tables able (and which will be given at the top of the duced for every category ofthe third (control)
CONDESCRIPTIVE
gives you different types of measures of cen- table). By convention, the dependent variable variable, all you need to do is add another By
where one variable is cross-classified by an-
tral tendency and dispersion (as were dis- other. There are three examples oftabies pro-
is set up as the row variable and the indepen- after the second variable followed by the
dent variable as the column variable; percent- name of the third variable. (You could further
cussed in Chapters 6 and 16) without fre- duced by the CROSSTABS subprogram in
quency distributions. This is a good SPSS* in this text. These are Table 14-11 (re-
ages are run accordingly. break down the cross tabuiations by a fourth
subprogram to use with numerical variables produced in Chapter 16 with statistics added
The OPTIONS statement can request variable by adding another BY with another
what numbers and percentages you want pre- variabie.)
that have many values (such as income, age, as Table 16-7A),Table 14-2A, and Table 14-
sented in the table: OPTIONS 4 produces col- Although the examples given show each
etc.). Table 15-4 shows the results from a 5l (reproduced in Chapter 16 with statistics
for umn percentages which are what you need if table produced by a differenr CROSSTABS
CONDESCRIPTIVE program run the as Table 16-81).
you set up the dependent variable as the row statement, you can request multiple tables
variable W072. To produce these results, the The following SPSS* commands produced
variable. If you do not use the OPTIONS with one CROSSTABS statement. The exam-
following data would need to be entered into these tables. For Table 14-11,
statement, you will get only the number of ple below shows how all the tables could be
CROSSTABS TABLES = VAR328ITBYVAR241R cases in each celi printed on the table. The produced from asingle CROSSTABS
STATISTICS statement can be followed bv a statement.
OPTIONS 4
CROSSTABS TABLES = VAR3281T BY YAR241R,vAR229TH/VAR3281T By
VAR24IR BY VARl626
For Table l6-71,
OPTIONS 4
CROSSTABS TABLES = VAR3281T BY VAR241R
STATISTICS 1 8
OPTIONS 4
STATISTICS 1 8
In this example, VAR328lT would first be would be produced. Note that the statistics are
cross-tabulated with VAR24iR, and second requested for each table. If
they are not
For Table I4-2A, with VAR229TH. Third, the trivariate tables wanted, you need not use them.
CROSSTABS TABLES = VAR328IT BY VAR229TH
OPTIONS 4

I
 452 Generatingthe ComputerTablesinThisText AppENDtx c Generating the Computer Tables in This Text

LEARNING TO USE PEARSON'S r scale scores of0-4. VAR44 F.Er:r:ttrE i,.'*RLU:I i14i r:;5lt'lD=:]) r L=; j { l=Il {::r-1. j Ii.lTr:r r.rAFil-irf uF:..,,
was satisfactory as
L"'ARlt3
The one other SPSS* subprogram presented in it was since it was based on composite ACT . i1,i=I) t:r ,4=;1 r,5 fHF..Lt t:=tt
il'11:EIl'.lri=-ql
scale scores.
IIlTil'"rAF::lTH..'
this text, PEARSON CORR, wili produce the !"rA ! 4:L il'tl F-;rll'tli=:r j j.=;: i !=:.) t.3=1
Pearson's r Correlation Coelicient presented With this subprogram there are also Op- ,"rti
F;

n J l" il'1Ii!;ll,itj=31
I If..lTrl !AF,I.y.R./
L
Fi r:r
{E=l. l {,i=:.r ,E=ri r:=+r ;,1=:.r l:l=,:rl (t=7j
in Chapter 16 as Table 16-51. This is also very TIONS that can be requested (such as differ- { I =,:rl It..lTr_r r,.r*Fl::t;il" Fl,.
easily produced from a simple SPSS' state- ent ways to exclude missing data) and STA- 1.jA Fl:-ti E-rL rr.r .l;,::,ij,tL=:1.t r..,r,l_l=Ii l.-l Tgpil_1 6=Il
{1,,!=il
ment, as follows: TISTICS that can be requested (such as I t.JTr:r',..HFr. ::: :,:t l- T
r::L-rl"lPLrTE l,lr_til = lrFlR:ll":r + r,rAFl;-rl: +
means, standard deviations, and number of r.j*Fr.3t7
missing values for each variable).
i,1 I 55 I l..lG r,rFiLLtE |] !*Fii 7rr F. ! r..,A Fl
iJ ri
:iT H _ i,tilFtt 4 t R,
PEARSON CORR VAR229V WITH VAR44 r.J&Ft:r!FjL Fl lJFiFi::jlrlIT i :.1
r j,,
Once you are done with your computer
l, trAfi:lJ
:, 7 i !! j
r.rAFl:iL r.,rAFl!1
5.q,
run, you put in the statement FINISH. This r'l*Fr 1*ELE LAETELi i..rrrFllr.r:'JF. 'FriF Er'lrAa-5r:r-r r:rEr:ur..lnflr
Because Pearson's r requires that variables be informs the computer that the SPSS" pro- r.,rriFtMrTH .HI rrH rr STATUi Flti:DDE"
tir::Hnf L Gps: THFiEE r-ATEET:rFiI il,
at the interval level of measurement, the re- gramming is over. Below you can see a repro- I.Ji:iFIT4TR'HIGH SIJHI:ILIL
fiTHLETII. FIiFITIIJPATII]I,]'
coded version of VAR229 (VAR229V) was duction of how these computer statements ap- i;FlFi::r:E i F, E tr U;41 r:il.,lA
1 L *TTA I f.lt.jEl...lT FiErli_rt)E.,
I''IAF:J:i;-E]-T
used where the GPAs were converted into poar on the computer. ' ET}Ut:AT I I-II']FIL iiTTII I I']FlEt.]T : THREE IATEGI]R I E5'
r''r*LLrE LAETELi rrAFir-LilfF; I'HIGH'
i-.r.rri rua' .r'LL-rr,.j
r"rAFlriSrTH l 'A *r.lt) A-Er''
: .Er At,rti Ei-rr' :l .r: *r..rti FELrl^r,,.
UAFIi4:]" F, 1, . FAFIT 1 I-:I FATE A5 LEHTIEFi,
I ' FFiFIT I I-:] PATE A1::T 1I.JEL1"
.I ' LlT F,A FIT I I:: I FAT E , .,.'
I.,,.I

i,r*Fl.1lE:L Fl L J rnr..r*f.lf,Etl trEGF.EE.

: + L,F -:r 'iLnFr. !ErlFiEE'
--i r i ir-,

3 ' GT {- l'fi. t; L , E r:rl,lE !.r D Lt . r:r r:j

4 '' rlT i rFli; r.r:tl ! l.lr-r 1.J1il:..

5 ' LT I 'iFl.t
'-lL ,
::;r:rl"iE tJ,:rl.
+:,r : :,/',
FILE lfhfiliLE r:.r::i: -.. I]*i.lf =
IET FILf = :I:.rt:J:
'n;1-t.'I;.r-t' i
ri 'l T :t

''1,
E 'i..lrJ
,
rnr
;,.li.ii';,ill ;;i.
,/
'rFL-

r_:t:jLLErjE l...jt:t LJOI::

LJiiFI!IEI.T ]. 'L:LILLEI]E tIIGF,EE
r.JAFl I iiEjLE LAETEL:l r.JFiFll r:,:':, ' r:iE:,i' UF:, I.4UF,E,
!".!AFlllr;[ . F,iiFtfi...jT*L ::;r:i[:l r:rEr::l--tl.ll-1].11I iT*TLlr_-;, I . :;L-rt.1E r:LtLLEGE'
r..rAFi::9 ' H I GH 5r-:Hnr:rL rjF'H '
r"jAFll4l ' l-11 GH ,ir:Hiil:rl* TiTHLET I r:: FFiRT I r::i FAT I r:rl.l, FFrEilrEr'r,:rE5 ,;AFirFiELEi ='lxriftitl:r.roror, ,;*Fir4r.R qAR:iq,
i"rAFl:1!ril- .' EtlUr::iiT I ill..lriL iiTTH I|.,]l.iEi.IT . l*F:t';rJLR l'rtiFl!:ELr
r.rALrlE LAETELi tri15i161u. I 'f"1ALt' t . FEHfiLt'...
irll.lt)E::;L-:FIIFTIr..rE r.lni2
i,rrjiFl:l-r:r7u l" .Lr:r1.,1., : .r.1Et]l1]t"1. ! 'HIEH...
rj;.iffT I rlT I rli FiLL
1.1*Fl!::;1 1" 'f'l(r:lTL'i' *' i ' HHLF ii-E'
l:P,ultT*Et THBLES = UAF.:]r-El_T B.t rJAFI!41-F.. i.rfiFl:I Hr,
:;r '1..1r:r5TLt. Er' 4 ' HiiLF Er-L:. rrFT I {:rr.l,; o
'"irrFl:l:B:Lr El' I'JriFleql F Eir r'ifiF"Ifr:E
i l'jr-riTli' [: ' L; ' HFTLF l-[r' STHTIETIr:i i,E
i 'l'lariTLT [)' E . EiELr:r1..] F'.r F' EriFl !r:il".l I::r:rRF, I,r*Fi lt-qU FI
I T H !i:Fr. 4q
i.rirFii4t" I'f,lrrT FAFITIIIFTiTE' FIi',]I.;H
: 'P*FiTIL-i iFiiTE nrlTIiJtrL'r"'
::r' Fi:iFiT j r_:i F*Tt Ai LEFr[]EFl'..r
r...rAF;:rlEl- I 'ljtr rlr:rLLEriE, l.lr_r L"rr1;'
I '1.1r:i rl[TLLEL-jE t l:ir:rl.lf r"r[il].
! ' LT I r'F.r:; L-:r:rL r i..1fl L..rflL-. J

4 ' LT i 'r'Fls tltL . '.:;r:rf.'j E [rr:: '

t-: {..r

5 ' GT : I'F'l::i i[rl , I'lr:r r.,rl:lr:'

_; . rjT : iFt:-i i::r:rl ! :lr:rl,.lE r.,rr-t{::.
7 '4 -ljFi : .ifHFi I]EGFIEE'
r_l r li[r"ii:if ..]t:f ii l)E!lFiEf '

I

INTRODUCTION
Blau, Peter: Bureaucracy in Modern Society, Ran'
dom House, New York, 1 956.
Gerth, H. H., and C. Wright Mills (trans.): From
Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, Oxford Univer-
sity Press, New York, 1946.
Gross, Ronald: The Independent Scholar's Hand'
book, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1982'
Merton, Robert K.: "Notes on Problem-Finding in
Sociology," in Robert K. Merton, Leonard
Broom. and I-eonard S. Cottrell, Jr. (eds.), Socl-
ologv Today, Basic Books, New York, 1959'
et al. (eds.): Reader in Bureaucracy, Free
Press, Glencoe, 111., 1952.
Mills, C. Wtight The Sociological Imagination,
Oxford University Press, New York, 1959.
CHAPTER I
Anderson, Elijah:l
Place on the Corner, University
ofChicago Press, Chicago, 1978.
Cohen, S., and L. Taylor: Psychological Survival:
The Efects of Long-Term Intprisonment, Pen-
guin, Harmondsworth, Md., 1972.
Coleman, James S.: "Policy, Research, and Politi-
cat Theory," The 375th Convocalion Address,
University of Chicago, December 18, 1979 (Pub-
lished in the University ofChicago Record,1980,
pp. 78-80).
454
Thomas Hoffer, and SallY Kilgore: Hll
School Achievement: Public, Catholic and Privale
Schools Compared, Basic Books, New York, 1 982'
el al.: Equality of Educational Oppotlu-
nly, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, Washington, 1966.
Hirschi, Travis'. Causes of Delinquency, University
ofCalifornia Press, Berkeley, Calif., 1969.
Horner, Matina: Sex Differences in Achievement
Motivation and Performance in Competilive and
Non-competitive Situations, unpubiished doc-
toral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1968'
"Femininity and Successful Achieve-
ment: A Basic Inconsistency," in J. Bardwick, E'
Douvan, M. Horner, and D. Gutmann (eds'),
Feminine Personality artd Conflict, Brooks/Cole,
Belmont, CaliL, 1970.
Kanter, RosabethM.: Men and W'omen of the Cor-
poration, Basic Books. New York, 1977'
Lewis, Oscar: Five Families: Mexican Case Studies
in the Culture of Poterty, Basic Books, New York,
959.
1
McClelland, D., J. Atkinson, R. Clark. and E. Low-
ell: T he Achiev ement M otiv e, Appleton-Century-
Crofts, New York, 1953
Mullins, Nicolas C.: Theories and Theory Groups in
Contemporary American Sociology, Harper &
Row, New York, 1973.
National Opinion Research Center: High School
and Beyond, Chicago, 1980.
Tresemer, David W.: "The Cumulative Record of
Research on Fear ofSuccess," Sex Roles,2t2li-
36,1976.
Wright, Sonia R., and James D. Wright "Income
Mainlenance and Work Behavior," Social policy,
6:24-32, 1975.
CHAPTER 2
Atkinson, J. W. (ed.): Motives in Fantasy, Action,
and Society, Van Nostrand, Princeton, 1958.
Barnes, Barry: Scientific Knowledge and Sociologi-
cal Theory, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London,
1974.
Eckberg, Douglas Lee, and Lester Hill, Jr.: "The
Paradigm Concept and Sociology," I merican So-
ciological Review, 44:937 -947, 1979.
Hindelang, Michael J., Travis Hirschi, and Joseph
G. Weis: Measuring Delinquency, Sage, Beverly
Hills, Calif., 1981.
Hirschi, Travrs'. Causes of Delinquency, Uni.iersity
of California Press, tserkeley, Calif ., 1969.
Horner, Matina: Sex Differences in Achievement
Motivation and I'erformance in Competitive
and Non-competitive Situations, unpublished
doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan,
l 968.
Kanter, RosabethM.: l[en and Women of the Cor-
porution, Basic Books, New York, i977.
Kuhn, Thomas S.: The Slructure of Scientific Rev-
olutions,2d ed., tlniverslty ofChicago Press, Chi-
cago,1970.
Masterman, Margaret "The Nature of a Para-
digm," in Imre Lakatos and Alan Musgrove
(eds.), Crilicism and the Growth of Knowledge,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1970.
Merton, Robert K: SocialTheory and Social Struc-
ture, 3d ed., Free Press, Glencoe, ill., 1 968.
The Sociolog of Science, University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 1973.
Mills, C. Wirehl: The Sociological Imagination,
-:Oxford University
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I
 456
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 458
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I

GLOSSARY
accretion measures Unobtrusive measures of
accumulated physical traces of social behavior
(e.9., garbage, graffiti, etc.).
aggregate data Data on large numbers of
subjects showing a common characteristic.
Existing statistics are a source of aggregate data.
analytic model A model set up to guide the
analysis ofdata.
anomalies Unanticipated,surprising, results
inconsistent with current theories.
anon;'mity Assurance that subjects' identities
will not be disclosed in any way.
anthropology A discipline focusing on the nature
ofhuman culture in which field research is the
primary method of study.
archival research A method ofstudying
organizations or societies based on the collected
records they have produced.
athition The loss of members of a sample,
usually as a result oftheir refusal to respond or
the researcher's inability to contact them.
available data Studies may use already available
data for the purpose of secondary analyses.
Government agencies, universities, and research
organizations are some ofthe sources oldata.
462
best-fit line The line that would best reduce its
distance to all points in a scattergram.
bimodal distribution A distribution that has two
high points.
bivariate table A two-variable table.
Bogardus Social Distance Scale A scale used to
measure views toward ethnic, occupational, or
religious groups or social class.
brute empiricism Accumulating facts and
information (without interpretation) as if this
material were the sole means of establishing
explanations. See pos itivist.
case studies Observational studies ola single
environment (an organization, a neighborhood,
public place). Field research is often based on a
single case study.
categorical variable Variables made up ofsets of
categories that do no1 represent a numerical
measure. See mutually exclusive calegories and
exhaustiv e cat egor ies.
cathode-ray tube (CRT) A display monitor of a
computer.
central processing unit (CPU) The data
processing component of a computer's hardware.
F:
Ff
lr,
L::
li'i:
f:
:,.
chi square An inferential statistic testing the null
hypot hesis of independence between two variables.
classical experiment A true expuimenr in which
a pretest is given to both the experimental and
control groups, the experimental group is
"treated" with the independent variable, and both
groups are given the posttest.
classical test theory The theory that ifa test (or
measure) is repeated over and over again, errors
will tend to cancel each other out over time. See
random measuremenl. error.
cleaning data The procedure olchecking data
carefully for mistakes.
closed-ended questions Items in a questionnaire
that force the respondent to select from a list of
possible responses (often called forced-cho ice
questions).
clusters Heterogeneous groups (such as schools,
other institutions, blocks) selected at the first stage
of a multistage clusler sample. See primary
sampling unit.
codebook A list ofvariabies showing where they
can be found and what decisions were taken in
setting up and recoding them.
coefficient of reproducibility A test to determine
whether a set of items lorm a Guttman Scale.
coercion of suhjects Forcing subjects to
parlicipate in a study which may be inconvenient
or detrimental to them. Subjects may be in a
"captive" situation (prisoners) or unable to defend
a their interests (children).
communify impact assessment Evaluation
research that tries to determine how a new policy
might afect a community.
cornputer-assisted telephone interviewing
(CATI) An interviewing technique in which the
interviewer uses a computer to select telephone
numbers, read the interview questions offthe
screen, and enter the responses.
computer languages l^anguage systems (such as
BASIC or FORTRAN) which are used to write
computer programs.
computer software program Instructions to the
computer on how to process data. There are larse
programs lor anallzing social science data such-as
SPSS^ or SAS.
concept A formally developed idea that a
researcher may seek to operationalize.
conceptualization The process offorming and re_
forming concepts to make them useful and
measurable in social research.
concurrent validity A lorm olcriterion-related
validity in which the criterion to test the validiry
of the variable is measured at the same dme as
the variable itself.
condensed trivariate table A three-variable table
in which the percentage ofone category ofthe
dependent variable is presented in a cross
tabulation olthe independent and test variables.
confidence intervals The range ofvalues within
which a population parameter (e.g., the mean of
the population) would be expectsd to falt on a
normal curve.
confidence levels Probabiiity estimates that
a
population parameter would fall within a
particular confidence interval.
confidentiality A promise to restrict knowledge
ofthe identities ofresearch subjects to the
researcher and staff members.
constant A measure that shows no variation.
construct validity A form ofvalidity testing in
which hypotheses generated from a concept are
tested, and the results of these tests are conelated
with the original concept.
content analysis A research technique that
describes in an objective, systematic, and
quantified manner the content ofa bodv of
communication.
content validity The most basic form ofvaliditv
testing in which the measure ofa concepl is
examined in light ofits rneaning. Seefacevalidity
and sampling validity.
contingency questions Questions in a survev
I

which depend on the responses to earlier
questions or which have questions dependent on
them.
contingency table A table that cross-tabulates
two variables. AIso called a cross classification, or
cross tabulation.
continuous variable A variable measured on a
numerical scale which has an infinite number of
points.
groupThe comparison group in an
conrrol
experiment who are not exposed to the
experimental treatment.
control variable The third variable in a trivariate
analysis. The relationship between the dependent
and independent variables is examined under
each condition ofthe control variable.
convenience sample A nonprobabiiity sample
composed of subjects available and willing to
participate.
cost-benefit analysis An assessment ofwhether
the benefits ofa program or social strateg.v are
worth the costs.
cost-efiective A program or social strategy is
deemed cost-effective ifthe ratio ofbenefils to
costs is favorable.
covert research Carrying out research without
the knowledge or consent ofthose being studied
or by misrepresenting the role ofthe researcher.
criterion-related validity A test ofvalidity in
which a variable under examination is correlated
with another variable to which it should logically
be related. (For example, college grades could be a
criterion for testing the validity ofcollege entrance
examination scores.)
criterion variable This is another name for a
depencient variable. It is the criterion measure for
determining whelher the predictor variable
brought about its exPected effect'
cross-classification table A table that cross-
tabulates two variables.
cross-sectionat data Data gathered at one point
in time.
cross tabulation A table that presents one
variable classified by another. A cross'
classification, ot contitxgency, table.
curvilinear relationship A curved best'fit line
indicating that an increase in the value ofone
variable is not related to an increase in the value
of another.
deductive method A melhod in which hypotheses
are logically derited lrom theories.
demand characteristics Inadvertentcues
conveying the experimental hypothesis to subjects
in such a wa) thal they ma1 try to cooperate in
validating the experimental hypothesis. This
undermines rhe internal validitv of the
experiment.
dependent variable The variable, in an
experiment or survey that is affected, or subject to
being affected, by the independent variable.
ilependent variable stud-v A study that
investigates why, how. and under what conditions,
change in a dependent variable occurred'
descriptivestatistics Summarynumericai
descriptions oflarge bodles ofdata, most
commonly stating the central tendencies and
variability ofgiven variables or the relationship
between variables.
disaggregate To break down aggregate data into
smaller units. See ecological fallacy.
variable A variable measured on a
discrete
numerical scale in which.each point on the scale
represents a whole number.
dispersion The degree ofvariation ofscores
around the mean. This is measured by the
standard deviation.
disproportionate sanpling A sampling design
which deliberately increases the sample size of
some subgroups (for example, minority groups) so
that there will be a sufficiently large number of
OSSARY
subgroup members in the study for the purposes
See wei ghting.
ol analysis.
distorter variable A third variable that reverses a
relationship originalli' observed between two other
variables. Controlling this third variable
eliminates the distortion seen in the original
relationship.
double-blind experiment The practice in true
experiments ofhaving neither the subjects nor the
experimenter know which subjects are in the
experimenal or control groups.
dross numbers These are telephone numbers that
for one reason or another do not lead to
households. In telephone surveys, the ratio of
good to dross numbers is about one to five.
ecological fallacyUsing evidence from a gioup-
level olanalysis to reach conclusions about
individuals.
edge coding A form ofprecoding on
questionnaires in which the codes for
computerizing the data are printed on the edge of
the instrument across from the questions.
elaboration paradigm An exemplary model to
explain certain types ofoutcomes thal can occur
with the entry ofa third variable into a bivariate
relationship. The outcomes are called replications,
explanations, interpretations. or specifications.
elements The individual anits composing a being measured.
sample, usually individual persons.
empirical Based on observable evidence.
epsilon High-lowpercentage differences between
the first and last columns in a cross tabulation.
erosion measures Unobtrusive measures of wear
or use.
ethnography The observational description ofa
people or some other social unit.
evaluation research Research to measure the
effectiveness ofa social program or instirurion.
exhaustive categories Categories that cover all
the potential range ofvariation in a variable.
existing statistics Created statistical data that are
avaiiable to researchers for analysis.
experiment A research method that seeks to
isolate the effects ofan independent variable on a
dependenl variable under strictly controlled
conditions.
experimental group The group in an experimenl
that is exposed to the experimental treatment. See
control group.
experimental mortality Loss ofsubjects in an
experiment over time. This is a potential cause of
i nt er nal v aLiditl, problems.
ex-post facto design An after-only evaluation
research design where pretesting is not possible.
external validity The generalizability ofan
experiment to other settings. other treatments,
other subjects.
face validity A form of content validittt in which
a careful consideration and examination ofthe
measurement instrument is made in order to
delermine whether the instrument is measuring
what it purports to measure (sometimes called
armchair validity).
factorial design The design ofan experimenl in
which more than one independent variable is
field experiment Experiments taking place in a
real-world environment, where it is more dificult
to impose controls.
field research A research method based on
careful observation ofbehavior in a natural social
environment,
follow-up procedures The methods offollowing
up nonrespondents to mail questionnaires.
Methods include sending postcard reminders,
sending second questionnaires and requests, and
telephoning to solicit cooperation or to get the
responses over the telephone.
I
 item analysis A test for validity olan index in through terminals either near the computer or
independent variable The variable' in an
lormative evaluation An
evaluation ofa program which a cross tabulation oftotal index scores to through remotejob entry from other locations.
or survey' that exercises an effect on
a
from which will O: * a"pati*ant
i" pt"t.rt, i"f*mation :::9 dependenl Yariable'
separate items making up the index is examined.
sumntattve marginals The row totais that appear to the right
,.fort ot improve the program' See
in which one of a cross tabulation and the column totals that
evaLuation. intlependent variable study A study judgmental sample A nonprobability sample
appear at the bottom ofeach column. They are
,oriut g.oup or context is compared to
another' composed of subjects judged to be rclevant to the
of cases
freouenct distribution The distribution needs ofthe study. the base numbers on which the percentages in
ofa variable' presented in measure developed to
,.li,it trt. categories index A composite each cell ofthe table are calculaled.
numbers and Percentages' represent different components of a concept'
laboratory experiment An experiment taking matching An experimental procedure in which
indicator An observable phenomenon that
can
full disclosure The practice ofmaking all place in a laboratory setting, where it is possible to subjects to be placed in the experimental group
;;td*;. generated and analyzed in the course of be used to measure a concept' maintain a large number of controls. are matched with subjects possessing similar
scientific iesearch available to the
relevant characteristics in the control group. This is not
This means that negative inductive methotl Reasoning from particular lambda A statistical measure ofassociation
r.l.ntin. community. equivalent to randomization of assignmenl Io
presented as cases to more general theories' appropriate for nominal variables.
and insignificant findings should be groaps required for true experimental designs.
positive findings' inferential statistics Statistics that allow
well as a
levels of measurement There are four commonly
the matrix questions Sets ofquestions in a
iesearcher to draw conclusions regarding defined levels for measuring variables: nominal,
gamrna An extension of the statistic' Yule's Q ofa questionnaire that use the same set ofresponse
seneral population from the findings for distinct categories with no order; ordinal, for
ippropriate for ordinal variables' i.pr.r.nrutiu. sample drawn from that ordered categories; interval, for numerical scaies categories.

Data that include a range ofvalues population. with mathematically defined intervals between
srouped data maturation A potential cause ofinternal validity
category (e'g" income categories)' points on the scale, but no true zero point ratio,
i. .lJgt"rp.a institutional review board Committees in
for numerical scales with mathematically defined
problems in an experiment due to the subjects

with a inrtitutiont where scientific research is being getting older between the pre- and posttests,
Guttman Scale A form of scale to be intervals and a true zero point.
becoming more experienced, more (or less)
to some .^u.tiJ out *fto review the research methods
cumulative structure such that responses
responses to others' Tests for the r".. tfl" the rights of human (or animal) subjects Likert Scale A widely used scaling device that intelligent, or physically strong.
items subsume
scale are carried are being Protected' includes ordinal categories olagreement to a set of
i.*t.. in the
items for which the scores are summed and
mean The arithmetic average determined by
oi "i."*rrativeness
Gee coefficicnr of reproducibiluv) make besl
intensitl shucture The parterns that averaged.
adding up the quantities ofeach unit in a
,."* "itrt. multiple items in a scale and their distribution and then dividing by the number of
hard copy The printed output ofa computer' interrelationshiPs. linear relationship Indicated by a diagonal besl- units.
a third fitline in a scattergram, a linear relationship
hardware The computer equipment itself'
made interaction effect The tendency for ... measurement A process in which numbers are
shows that an increase (or decrease) in one
to interact with the independent variable
up ofinpur mechanisms' srorage capacities' ".A.tf. variable is related to an increase (or decrease) in
assigned according to rules ofconespondence
thereby altering the relationship ofthe
cenrral processing unit (CPU)' and output the other. belween defr nitions and observalions.
mechanisms' i"O.o*d."t ui.iubl. to the dependent variable'
ihi, *.unt that the relationship between the longitudinal data Dala gathered over time. measurement error Error which is unavoidably
will vary introduced into measurement in the process ol
flat'thorne effect When subjects in an independent and dependent variable
produce the expected experimental . conditions of the third variable'
.*f..int.nt unJ.t Oin'.r.nt longitudinal designs Studies based on observing a phenomenon. An observed measure
effect wittrout being exposed to the experimental longitudinal data include trend studies in which (or score) is therefore based on the true score pius
internal valiility The extent to which
an
it.ut..nt (they are affected by merely being in the actually has caused what it appeared
data are compared across time points on different the error. In social research this error may
group' .'*p.tirn.n,
experimeni itself). A Flawhorne control subjects; col'tort studies in which data on subjects necessarily be great because of the crudity of the
to a meaningless treatment' is often to cause.
instruments used in measuring social phenomena.
exposed from the same age cohort are compared at
added in an exPeriment' intersubjectivity The shared perceptions
of different points in time; and panel studies in
median A measure ofcentral tendency that
which individual observers. The greater the which the same subjects are compared across time
historiography The writing of history' represents the midpoint in a distribution of
intersubjectivity, the greater the validity
and points.
i"""f *t tf* imaginative reconstruction of the reliabilitY of the observations'
ordered data.
past from the surviving data'
with mainframe conputer A large computer which rnicrocomputer (personal computer) Small
relating the interview schetlule A set ofquestions
hypothesis A conditional statement' use tn can run many diferent kinds ofjobs computers in which the terminal, the screen, and
guided instructions for an interviewer to
variable on another' that simultaneously and which can be accessed the processing unit are located together.
ffi;t.d effects olone
carrying out an inten'isw'
can be subject to testrng-

I

missing data The lack ofresponses to particular
variables for certain cases' it is necessary to code
missing data so that they can be distinguished
from the nonmissing data and excluded from the
statistical analYses.
mode A measure ofcentral tendency that
represents the most frequent value in a
distribution.
modem A device that connects a terminal to a
mainframe computer, often by means of a See subjective social indicators.
telephone hookuP.
multistage cluster sampling A form ol
probability sampllng in which clusters are selected
first and then members ofthe clusters are selected
at a second stage.
rnutuallyexclusivecategories Categories ola
variabie that must be distinct lrom one another'
national social reporting Social ittdicalors
analyses providing a wide-ranging source of
information on major areas of social life in a
nation.
natural experiment An experiment that has not
been brought about by the efforts ofthe
experimenter, but has naturally occurred in the
real world, and is being selected out for study by
the experimenter.
negative (inverse) association A type ol
relationship between two variables in which cases
thal are low on one variable are high on the other
nominal definition A definition that specifies the
meaning and components of a term for the
purposes of rigorous philosophical inquiry'
nonprobabilitysarnpling Methodsforselecting
subjects which are not based on the rules of
probabilitY.
nonsampling error Mistakes in the data due to
errors such as those caused by respondents'
misunderstandings, the interviewer's incorrect
entries, or faulty transcribing ofthe data by
coders. See samPling error.
null hypothesis A logical assumption that there
is no relationship between the two variables being
studied in the population. This assumption can be
tested with inferential statistics.
numerical variables Variables measured on a include the examination of unintentional erosion
numerical scale.
objective social indicators Aggregate measures of
some actual occurrences or behaviors (such as
high school dropout rates, average family income)'
occupational prestige scale A sccle that assigns
scores 10 occupations on the basis ofprestige
rankings established at various times in the
United Sutcs and other countries.
open-ended questions Items in a questionnaire
that allow the respondent to answer in his or her
own words.
operational definition The defining of a concept
in such a way that it is measurable.
operationalization The process offiguring out
how to measure concepts using emprrical
evidence.
pararligm The set ofpresupposilions on which
scientific activity is built; the body oftheories,
ideas, models, test cases, and values shared by a
scientific community; and the specific scientific
accomplishments (exemplars) that infl uence future
scientific activity.
parameters The true values ofthe population
iharacteristics which may only be inferred from
the descriptions ofthese values in a sample'
parsimony The rule followed in index and scale
ionstruction that aims to reduce the number of
items needed to represent the full meaning of the
underlying abstract concept being measured'
partial relationship The relationship oftwo
variables for the partial group category ola third
variable.
Pearson's rReferred to also as a correlation
coeficient or more formally as Pearson's prodttcl
cLossARY
moment correlation;i1 is a statistical measure of
the strength and direction ofrelationships
belween interval-scale variables.
physical traces Unobtrusive measures which
and accretion ofproducts ofhuman origin or
endeavor.
plagiarism The incorporation ofthe work ofone
person into the presentation ofwork ofanother,
without citing the source.
population The collection ofall elements (either
known or unknown) from which a sample is
drawn. In a probability sample, the population
consists of the elements tn the sampling .frante.
positive (direct) association A type of
relationship between two variables in which cases
thal are high on one variable tend to be lxigft on
the other. and cases thal are low on one variable
tend to be /ow on the other.
positivist One who strives to accumulate facts as
the sole means ofestablishing explanations.
posttest In an experiment, measuring the effect
of the experimental treatment. The results are
often compared to a prctest.
precoded questionnaire Coding inlormationthat
is included on the questionnaire instrument itself.
This facilitates transferring the data to a
computef.
predictive validity A form ofcriterion-related
validity in which the measure being examined is
correlated with a criterion which the measure
should predict. See the example given in crilerion-
related validity.
predictor variable Another name for the
independent variable: it is the variable on which
a
prediction can be based.
preexperimental designs These are experimental
designs that do not meet all the criteria lor a true
experiment. They include the one-shot case study,
the one-group prstest-posttest design. and the
static-group comparison.
469
pretest A baseJine measure in an experiment
that can be compared with the postexperimental
treatment test, the posltest.
pretesting A strongly recommended proceciure in
survey research in which the instrument is given
to trial subjects.
prirnary sampling unit in a sample to be drawn
in more than one stage, the primary sampling
units are the groups specified (strata or cluslers) lo
be drawn first, the secondary sampling unit, the
units to be drawn second, etc.
prirnary sources Written materials historians use
based on records oleyewitnesses to events.
probability proportionate to size sampling
(PPS) A selection method used in cluster
sampling to select strata within clusters that are
proportionate to their size.
probability sample A sample designed according
to the rules ofprobability, which allows a
determination of how likely the members of the
sample are to be representative ofthe population
from which they were drawn.
purposive sample A form of nonprobability
santple in which the subjects selected seem to
meet the purposed needs olthe study.
quality-ofJife studies (QOL) Social indicators
studies that report the average quality ofsocial iife
in a nation or large social environment.
quasi-experimental designs Experirnental designs
where some experimental conditions required for
a true experiment (often the randomization of
assignment ofsubjects to groups) cannot be
carried out. See regression discontinuity and time-
series experiment.
quota sarnple A form ofnonprobability sample
in which subsamples are selected from clearly
defined groups.
random-digit dialing (RRD) A computerized
method of selecting teiephone numbers randomly
for a telephone survey.
I

randorn measurement error Measurement errors
incurred in the process ofobserving phenomena'
Because some of the errors will be higher than
the
tfue measure and some lower, over an infinite
number olrepeated measures such enors would
cancel one another out. See classical test theory.
randomization of assignment to groups Proce-
dures for placing subjects randomly in the
experimenul or control group in a true
experiment.
range The distance between the highest and
lowest point (the minimum and maximum value)
in a distribution olcases.
rationale The reasons why a particular subject
it out
study and a particular method for carrying
may have value or purPose.
raw data Data before they have been processed.
real definition The aim ofdefining a
phenomenon so exactly that the ultimate and
essential nature ofit is fully captured.
reductionism The tendency to reduce complex
social phenomena to a single cause. A common
example is psychological reductionism, which uses
individual personality traits to explain the
behavior ofgroups.
regression discontinuity A quasi-experimental
design usrally set up to study the effects of a
progmm or treatment on a group that needs and
gets it, as compared with a group that does not.
regularities Repeated patterns seen in data.
reliability The degree to which a measurement
procedure produces similar outcomes when it is
repeated. Tests lor reliability include measures of
stability (tesGretest reliabiiity) and measures of
equivalence.
research proposal The written plan to guide
research project.
response In an experiment, the effect that is
produced by the experimental stimulus.
.Equivalent to lhe dependent variable.
rate The proportion ollhe sample that
response
returns questionnaires. Response rates for mail
questionnaires can be increased by tsingfollow-up
procedures.
response set The tendency in answering a survey
to give the same responses to different questions'
This can be reduced by switching the positive and
negative direction of the response choices.
right to privacy versus right to know The
conflicting rights ofindividuals to the protection
of their privacy as opposed to the rights of social-
scientific endeavor to study subjects ofwide
public interest.
of rights of human subjects The right of subjects of
research to be protected lrom physical or
psychological abuse and to be helped to maintain
their privacy and their good reputations.
r squared (l) Also called the cofficient o.f
determinati7n. The square rool of Pearson's r. ll
denotes the proportion ofvariance in the
dependent variable that can be explained by the
independent variable (or the amount of variance
explained by the linear model).
running descriptions These are types offieid
notes that include concrete descriptions of events,
people, siatements, and conversations seen and
heard in the fleld.
sample A set ofselected subjects for study drawn
according to some principles of sampling.
sampling distribution of the sample mean This is
the distribution of means from repeated samples
from the same popuiation. This distribution more
closely approximates a normal curve the geater
the number of samples drawn.
sampling error In a probability sample this is
a the variability of a mean of the sample from the
mean of the population. See nonsampling error.
sampling frarne A list of all the elements in a then asks these subjects to generate the names of
population from which a probability sample may
be drawn.
sampling validity A form oftesting for the
content rylidity of the measure of a concept by
looking to see ifthe measure includes a fair
representation (or sample) ofthe various domains
of meaning within the concept.
scale A composite
measure ofa concept, based
on some aspect ofthe intensil)) structure ofthe
interrelationships between items in the scale. See
Bogardus Social Distance Scale, Liken Scale.
Gurtman Scale, Thurstone Scale.
scattergram A graph on which the values ofone
variable measured on the vertical axis have been
plotted in relationship to the values on the
other
variable on the horizontal axis. See best-fit line.
secondary analysis A research method in which
data from an earlier study (often a survey) are
used as the basis for a new stud-v.
secondary sources Written materials which
describe or interpret some past event either close
to the time it occuned or in later years.
Semantic Differential A bipolar scale allowing
for graduated intermediate response to a stimulus
relerent.
serendipity factor A term used to describe the
unanticipated ways in which tests ofhypotheses
from one theory can sometimes lead to the
development of quite unrelated theories.
simple random sampling (SRS) A method of
probability sampling in which elements in a
samplingframe are numbered and then drawn
into the sample if they match the random
numbers selected from a random number list.
skew Assymetry in the distribution ofdata. or
the degree to which the distribution is not evenly
spread around the central point.
snowball sample A form ofnonprobability
sample in which the researcher selects a few
subjects who possess the qualities being studied,
others, who are in turn asked to generate names
of
others.
social indicators Measures ofaggregate social
conditions that are ofinterest to a society as a way
ofevaluating the overall state ofthat society.
socioeconomic index (SEI) A scale that assigns
ranks to occupations on the basis ofincome.
educarional attainmenrs, and prestige of those
who hold the occupations.
software Programmed instruclions that tell the
computer what to do.
special population study A study (usually based
on qualitative data) the primary aim of which is
to develop a careful description ofa special
population.
sponsorship Financial or official support for
research olien received from organizalions,
agencies. or foundations. It is imponanr to make
this sponsorship known in the cover letter ofa
queslionnaire or in an inlerview.
spurious relationship A strong relationship
between two variables that disappears when the
relationship is examined under the controlled
conditions ofa third variable. This means that the
unseen influence ofthe third variable caused the
original strong relationship between the dependent
and independent variables.
standard deviation The square root ofthe
variance; this commonll, used measure indicates
the degree of dispersion ofall the values in a
distribution from the mean value.
statistical regression The tendency in an
experiment lor those scoring at the extremes in
the pretest to move to more middle-range scores
on the posttest. This occurs because the extreme
scores are more subject to error than the middle-
range scores. It can cause a problem ofinternal
validity in an experiment because the greater
change in the scores ofthe extreme scorers may be
falsely registered as an effect ofthe experimental
treatment.
statistical significance The likelihood that the
magnitude ofthe statistical association shown in a
sample would be found consistently if repeated
I
 472
samples were drawn from the same population. In
other words, the likelihood that the association
observed is not the result ofchance or error.
stimulus In an experiment this is the
independent variable, designed to bring about a
response.
strata The homogeneous gloups selected from
which a stratified sample will be drawn.
shatified sample A form olprobability sampling
in which a sampling frame is divided into one or
more strata (sex, grade) from which the sample is
drawn using simple random or systematic
sampling strategies.
strength of association The degree of
relationship between the two variables in a
bivariate analysis.
subjective social indicators Aggregate social
measures ofthe attiludes and perceptions of
individuals (e.g.,job satisfaction, a sense ofwell-
being). See objective social indicators.
summative eyaluation A type ofevaluation
which summarizes the effects of a program after
is completed.
suppressor variable A third variable that
strengthens an originally observed weak
relationship between two other variables.
Controlling this third variable eliminates the
suppression.
survey research A research method that analyzes
the responses ofa defined sample to a set of
questions measuring attitudes and behaviors.
system file A transposed raw data file in which
the variables have been set up according to the
requirements of a software program. Contains
both the data and the necessary commands lrom
the computer software program.
systematic sampling A form ofprobability
sampling in which every nth element is selected
into the sample, following a random start.
GLoSSARY
test variable The third variable in a trivariate participation, generally used as a supplementary photographing or filming social environments and
analysis. A variable under whose conditions the source of.data in a research project. the people who inhabit them.
strength ofthe relationship between the dependent
variable A measure on which differences in
and independent variables can be tested.
response can be established. weighting A method used in probability
theory A proposed explanation for a set of sampling to give adequate emphasis to subgroups
variance A way ofmeasuring how lar different
coordinated occurrences or relationships. ofdisproportionate size or to cancel out the effects
units which have been used to establish a mean of differential response rates.
Thurstone Scale A scale composed of items vary from the mean. See standard deviation.
selected by judges as indicative of measuring some
concept.
visual sociology This term refers to a branch of Yule's Q A statistical measure of association
sociology in which social action is studied by appropriate for 2 X 2 cross-classification tables.
time-series experiment A quasiexperimental
design used when there is a large set ofaheady
collected data indicating rates over time. The
experimenter examines the effects ofan event
(e.g.. a new law) occurring at some poinl in time
and studies changes in the rates before and after
the event.
trivariate table A three-variable table.
true experimental designs These are designs
organized in such a way as to meet the criterion
for an experiment (that an independent variable
be related to change in a dependent variable) and
at the same time to address most successfully the
potential problems ofinvalidity. They include the
it classical experiment, the Solomon Four-Group
Design, and the posttest-only control group
design.
typotrogy The forming ofa set oftypes based on
a model, often developing out ofa search for
polar opposites.
unit This is another term for the elements in a
sample.
unit ofanalysis The Social entity whose
characteristics are the focus ofstudy. in social
research these may include individuals, groups,
progams, organizations and institutions, larger
communities (nations), or cultural artifacts.
univariateanalysis Analyses ofsinglevariables,
such as a frequency distribution.
unobtrusive measures The study ofphysical
traces, archives, and observations without
t,
'i;t
I

Accretion, measures of, 268
Achievement motivation, 27
Adultery in sixteenth-century
France,2Tl-272
After-only design, 283-284, 291
Aggregation, 4
Aggression, arousal by film, 206-
209
Anomie, 30
interval measurement and. 133
Anonymity, 75
response rate and, 179-180
Anthropologists, 229
Antipositivisa, 52-53
Applied research, 64
Arithmetic average (see Mean)
Association(s):
curvilinear, 405
linear, 403
measures of, 398-407
micro-level, 4
positive and negatlve, 349-350
Assumptions, explicitness and
formality of, 49
Athletic participation study:
bivariate analysis and, 344-349
trivariate analysis and, 351-356
Attitude scales, ordinal
measurement and,129
Authoritarianism, measurement of,
11+117. 130
Average (see Mean)
IN D EX
Bales' Interaction Process Analysis
(rPA), 236
Bar graph, numerical variables
and, 126
Basic research, 64
Batch software programs. 316
Behavior, observation of , 235-236 i
Best-fit line, 404,405
Bias created by retaking test, 220
Bimodal distriburion. 397
Bivariate analysis, 322-323, 344-
350
positive and negative
associations and, 349-350
spuriousness and, 350
Bivariate tables, 351
Bogardus Social Difference Scales,
382-383
Break-even point, income level
and. 29
Cameras in field research. 241
Case studies, 229
one-shot, 222
Categorical variables, 125-126
Cathode-ray tube (CRT), 313
CATI (see Computer-assisted
telephone interviewing)
Causality:
rules of, 202-204
true and natural experiments
and. 206
Central limit theorem. 143
Central tendency measures, 394-
396
Chi-square (X2) test, 407-409
in athletics study, 415-416
Children of Great Depression,
secondary analysis and, 256*257
Chronology:
in historical research, 270
(See also Time)
City size as ratio variable. i34-
135
Classical experiment, 220
Classroom, covert research in, 69
Closed-ended questions, 17 3-17 4,
I 83-184
Cluster sampling, multistage, 150-
153
Coding of data, 301 , 303-3 1 I
checking for errors and, 31 I
codebook preparation and,
305-31 I
general principles for, 303-304
prestudy, 304-305
scheme for. in content analvsis,
265-266
strategies for,311
Coefficient of reproducibility, 385
Coercion of subjects, 70-71
Cohort studies, 102-103
Communism,51
Community impact assessment, 285
475
I

Computer:
data transfer and. 312-3]r 4
making data readable by, 312-
313
statistics and, 409*410
Computer-assisted telephone
interviewing (CATI), 196
data transfer and, 313
Computer entry, 301
Computer programs (ser Software
programs)
Computer run, setting up, 315-316
Concepts, lll-112
clarifying,104-105
deveiopment of,39-40
measurement of, 104-105
operationalizing, 106, ll2-114
Conclusions and summary section
of research repo(, 430
Concurrent validity, I20
of indexes, 377
Confidence intervals, 143'144.
397
Confidence lirnrts, 144, 397
Confidentiality, 75*76
response rate and, 179-180
Constants, 19,40
Construct validity, 121, 123
Content analysis, 249, 261 -267
appropriateness for topic, 266-
267
coded content and,266
coding scheme and., 265-266
examples of,262-265
selection of content and ropic
for.265
validity and reliability and,266
content validity, 119-120
Contexts, mulriplicity of, 270
Contingency questions, 174
Contingency tables, 344
Control(s), true and natural
experiments and, 205
Control group, 16, 217-Zl9
compensation to. 213
double-blind experiments and,
1ra
Hawthorne effect and, 219
matching and. 218
in natural settilg, 29
nonequivalent, 223, 283
posttest-only, 22 I
randornization and, 217,2i8
voiunteer subjects and, 218-
219
Control theory, 24, 58
support for, 328-329
Control variable, 343
in elaboration, 358-359
in evaluation research, 2gg-290
in trivariate anaiysis, 350
Conven.ience sampling, 157
Correlation, causality and, 203
Conelation coeffi cient, 402-407
Conespondence, rules of, I 17
Cost of telephone versus face-to-
face interviewing, 194
Costbenefit analysis, 284-285
Courses, research reports for, 421
Courtship patterns, content analysis
and,261-265
Cover ietter for questionnaire,
172*173
Covert research, 68-70
in classroom, 69
on jury, 69-70
on psychiatric ward. 68-69
Criterion-related validity, 120-121
Cross-classifi cation tables, 344
Cross-sectional studies. 101
CRT (sae Cathode-ray tube)
Cultural deviance theory, 24, 58
support for, 329-331
Culture of poverty, 30, 3l
Curvilinear relationship, 405
Data:
coding of (see Coding of data)
missing, 310, 317 , 376
processing, 107
raw,301.303
Data anaiysis, 107,252-279, 321*
341
bivariate, 322-323
in causes of delinquency study,
323-331
content.26l-267
creative aspects of, 253
of existing d.ata, ZT5-279
in field research, 243-244
in high school educational
attainmenr sndy. 331-335
historical studies and, 269-275
in report, 429
scientific aspects of, 254
secondary, 254-260
univariate, 335-341
unobtrusive measures and,
267-269
INDEX INDEX
Data collection, 107
Elaborarion, 343, 357_366
method of, 105
determining type of, 359*360
in report, 428
expianation and, 35g, 361_362
Data preparation, 301-319
tnrerpretation and, 359, 362_
care required in. 302_303
364
coding system for, 303-31 1
replication and, 35g, 361
computer entrl and processing
supprcssor and distorter
in,313-314
variables and, 364_365
data manipuiarlon prior to
Elements, 144
analysis and, 317-319
Empiricism, 52-53
establishing computerized data
abstracted. -52
file in.3l4-317
Environment. obscrvaljon ol.. 134
transfer process in. 3l l-313
Epsilons, 327
Deductive method, 42, 49-.50, 53,
Equivalence, measures of, l25
57-58
Erosion, measures of, 26g
Definition(s), 42
Enor(s):
nominal, 112
in coding, 3l I
operationalizing, I l2-l l4
measurement, l19, 124
Degrees of freedom, 409
sampling, 140
Deletion, pairwise and listwise.
standard,142
317
Ethics. 76-79, t05_106
Delinquency:
in cvaluation research, 290
causes of, 23-26, 323-331 guidclines for, 79
index of, 25
in reporr, 428-429
Demand characteristics, extemal
right to study any subjecr of
validity and, 214
nterest and,76_77
Dependent variable, 201, 216-21j,
rrghts of human subjects and,
322
77_18
in evaluation research, 2g7_2gg
trust and, 78-79
Dependent variable study, 424-425
Ethnography, 229
Deviant cases in field research, 244
Evaluation(s), formative, 2g7
Direct relationship, 404
Evaluation research, 29, 2g1_2g1
Direct terminal data entry, 312-313
appropriateness for topic, 296_
Disaggregation of existing
101
statistical data, 277
control variables in, 2g9*290
Disclosure, full, 77
dependenl variable in, 2g7.
Discussion section of resezrch
288
report,429-430
erhical and political issues in,
Disincentive to work, 29
290
Disinterestedness, 5 I
exampies of, 283-286
Dispersion, 395,39i
experimental designs for, 290_
Disproportionate sampling,
291
weighting for, 154-155
independent variables in. 2gg
Distorter variables, 364-365
nonexperimental designs for,
Double-blind experiment, 2l 8
291_292
Double relevance, 64
purpose of, 286_287
Dummy variables, l3ln.
research design for, 28g_2g9
Duncan Socioeconomic Index,
social indicators in, 293_296
388-389
Evidence, negative. 240
Dyadic relationship, 4
Ex post facto design, 283-284,
291
Exempiar, 47
Ecological fallacy, 99. 277
Exhaustive questions, I 73
Effort of telephone versus face{o-
Exhaustiveness, categorical
face interviewing, 194-195
variables and, 125-126
Experiment(s):
appropriateness lor ropic. ll5
classical, 220
doubte-btind, 2l 8
extemal va.lidity of ,214_215
field,.204-205
hypotherical, 215-216
independent and dependent
variables of,216_217
internal validity of , 2ll-214
Iaboratory, 21 _29, 20+_209
narural, 29_31, 205_206, 209_
211
obstacles to validity of, 2l l_
215
preexperimental designs and,
216,222_223
pretest and posttest and.2[g_
220
quasi-experimental designs and,
216,223_225
regression-drscontinuity. 223_
time-series, 224-225
true,205-206, 220_2Zz
(Sce aLso Controi grouo:
Experimenral gro-up1
Experimental design. 4-0
in evaluation research, 290-
291
Experimental group, 16, 217_Zlg
double-biind experiments and,
218
Hawthorne effect and, 219
matching and. 218
in natural setting, 29
randomizatton and. 217_2l g
volunreer subjecrs and, llg_
219
Experimental research, 16-19. 27_
32.200_22s
characteristics of . 3l
-32
creative aspects of , 201_202
rules ofcausaiitl and, 202_
204
scientific aspects of, 202
Explanation in elaboration, 35g.
361-362
External sources, 239
External validity, 216
obstacles to,214*215
F-Scale, interval measurement andt
Financial inducemenrs. respunse
130
rate and, 179
Face-to-face interviews,
lj}-17 I,
l8l_189
closed-ended questions and,
183-184
common sense and, 189
completing,
188
insrruclions und, lg2_ lg3
interview schedule for, I g2_
185
inreniewer and. I 86-l g9
minimizing open-ended
questions and, 184
ordering questions in, lg4_lg5
practicing for, 188-189
quantifying words for responses
to,184
social desirability and, lg4
telephone survey versus, 194_
19.5
wording of, 183
Factor analysis, 379
Factorial designs, 222
Family ponraits, conrent analvjis
and, 264
Fear of success theow. 21
Fear of visibiliry, 37
Field experiments, 204*205
Field reseaich, 16, 17,32-39,
228-249
analyzing results of, 243*241
anthropologists and, 229
appropriateness for topic, 249
assessing,33
case studies and,229
characteristics of, 37-39
collecting information in, 240_
243
creative aspects of , 229_23
1
entry into field and, 239*240
general subject of , 232_233
generalizability of , 246_247
organizing fieid notes and,243
prepararion for, 238_239
role of observer in,237_23g
science of.
231
setting of, 232
subjects for obsenafion in,
234-231
time frame of , 233-234
validiry and reliability in. 244.
246_247
vantage point in, 32
visual sociology and, 247 -249

Findings, 52
Firsrorder tables, 351
Fishing expedition, 255
Follow-up procedures, response
rate and, 181
Forced-choice questions, 17 3-17 4,
l 83-l 84
Format of questionnaire, 172-173
Formative evaluations, 287
Frequency(ies), expected and
observed, 409
Frequency distributions, 316, 397
in univariate analysis, 335-341
Frequency polygon, numerical
variables and. l2'l
Full disclosure, ethics and, 77
Gamma (1), 401-402
in athletics study, 410-415
Generalizability of fleld study,
246-247
Generalizations, symbolic, shared,
47
Great Depression, children of,
secondary analysis and. 256-257
Group(s):
control (see Control grouP)
experimental (see Experimental
goup)
heterogeneous, l50
known,121
questionnaire administered to,
t69-170
Group discussions in field studies,
36
Guarantee level of income, 29
Guest, observer as, 240
Gun legislation, time-series
analysis of, 285-286
Guttman Scales, 370, 383-385
Happiness. measurement of. I 14,
r 16-l l7
Hard-copy terrninals, 313
Hardware,3l3
Hawthorne effect, experimental
and conffol groups and, 219
Head Start, on-going program
evaluation of.283-284
High school achievement, 19-23
data analysis of, 331-335
secondary analysis and, 257-
258
Histogram, 142
numerical variables and, 126-
127
Historical research, 269-27 5
appropriateness for topic, 274-
275
defining problem for, 273
examples of ,271)72
historical writing and, 274
quantification of data in, 2'74
sources of evidence for, 273-
274
validity and reliability in, 274
Historiography, 269
History(ies):
intemal validity and, 213
observation of ,236137
oral.270
History effects, 220
Housing type as nominal variable,
t32
ltruman subjects rei,iew board, 77
Hypotheses, 16,42
based on one alternative
answer. 96
gsnerating,5T
null, 407
Income maintenance programs, 29
Income tax, negative, 29
Independence, chi-square test and,
407-409
lndependent variable. 201. 2l 6 -
,)r?
11?
in evaluation research, 288
Independent variable study. 425
Index of delinquency. 25
Index scores, 369-370
Indexes, 368-378, 385-390
already developed, 385-389
creating , 3'7 2-37 4
deciding between scale and,
389
missing data and, 376
scoring, 374
univanate analysis for. 374-
376
validity of, 376-378
weighting, 376
Inductive method, 42, 49-50, 53-
5'1
Industrial Supplies Company
(lndsco), field study of, 35-37
Inferences.138
Informed consent, 76
Informed others as resource, 93
lnsiders as resource, 94
Institutional imperatives, 5 1
lnstructions:
for interview, 182-183
for questionnaire, 173
Instrumentation, 167
internal validity and. 212-Zl3
Intellectual comrades as resource,
94
Intensity structure, 371
Interaction(s):
external validity and, 214
internal validity and, 213
Interaction effect, 332, 354, 358
causaiity and, 204
Interaction Process Analysis (lPA),
236
Intercoder reliabiiity, 3l I
lntemal sources. 239
lntemal validity, 216
obstacles to.2ll-214
Interpretation in elaboration, 358,
362-364
Intersubjectivity in field research.
246
Intenal measurement, 129-130,
394
Interval variables, 133
Intervening factor, 332-333
Intervening variables, 354, 351
Interview(s):
in field studies, 36
(See aLso Face-to-face
interviews; Telephone survey)
Interview schedule for telephone
survey,189-l9l
Interviewer:
becoming, 1 87*1 89
desirable,186-187
lnverse relationship, 404
IPA (see Interaction Process
Analysis)
Jargon, 5i
Jelly's, field study of, 33-35
joumal(9, research reports for,
472
Joumalism, history of, 271
Judgmental sampling, 157
Jury, covert research on, 69-70
Key-punched cards, 312
Known group, l2l
Labor force pat'ticipation rate as
ratio variable, 134-135
Laboratory experiments, 27-29,
204-209
Lambda (),), 398
Language of science, 5l
Least squares, 405
Legal briefs, content analysis and,
262,264
Library as resource, 92-93
Likert scales. 378-319
Linear relationship, 403
tongitudinal research, 102-103,
225
Macro-level analysis, 4
Macro-level historical view, 27 1
Mail questionnaires, 177
Mail survey, 170
Mainframe computer, 314
Mass media:
research reports for, 422-423
violence triggered by, 209-211,
262,263
Matching of experimental and
control groups, 218
Matrix questions, 174-175
Maturation, internal validity and,
2t3
Maximum value. 397
Mean,394,395
probability sampling and,
139
sample, sampling distribution
of, 142
Measurement:
of association. 398-407
of authoritarianism, 1 l4-l 17,
130
of central tendency, 39+396
of commonly used variables,
131-134
comparison of levels of, 131
defining, ll7-119
of happiness, 114, 116-1ll
iri.erval, 129-130,394
nominal, 128,394
operationalization and, I l4-1 l7
ordinal, 128-129,394
proximate, 288
ratio, 1 30-1 3 1 , 394
Measurement (Conl. ):
unobtrusive, 267-269
of variabies, I 17
of variation, 396-397
Measurement enor, l19
reliability and,124
Median, 394-396
Median difference score, 382
Mental heaith care, cost-benefit
analysis of, 284-285
Methodology, selecting, l7-18
Microlevel analysis, 4
Microlevel historical view.
27 I
Micro-level relationship, 4
Microcomputers, 314
Minimum value, 397
Mode, 394, 396
Model, 47
Modem,314
Monotonicity, 326
Motivation, lacking, on telephone,
195
Multiple indicators, I 13, 257
reliability and,124
Multistage cluster sampling, 150*
153
Mutual exclusivity:
categorical variables and, 125
closed-ended questions and,
174
National social reporting, 295
Natural experiments, 29-31, 205-
206,209-211
Negative evidence, 240
Negative income tax, 29
Nominal measurement, 128, 394
Nominal variables, 132
Nonequivalent control group
design, 223, 283
Nonexperimental designs in
evaluation research, 291^292
Nonprobability sampling, I 37,
156-159
convenience, 157
purposive or judgmental, 157
quora,157-159
snowball, 159
Normal curve, 142-1 44, 396, 397
Note taking in field research, 241
Null hypothesis, 407
Numerical scales, 394
Numerical variables, 126-127
Observatrons, 5J-))
subjects for, 234-235
(See also Field research)
Observer:
entry into field,239-240
full,237
as guest, 240
information collection by,
142
240 -
note materials of , 242-243
as participant, 237
participant as, 237, 238
preparation ot, 238-239
role in field research, 237-238
as stranger, 239
Occupational scales, 386
Occupational status as ordinal
variable,132-133
On-going program evaluation, 2[ll
example of, 283-284
One-group pretest-posttest design,
222
One-shot case study, 222
Open-ended questions. 174
coding,309-310
Operationalization, 85
measurement and. I 14-l I7
Optical scan sheets, 312
Oral history, 270
Ordinal measurement, 128-129,
394
Ordinal variables, 132-133
Organization(s):
bureaucratic, 8
functional versus dysfunctional,
9
as sources for social research
problems, 7-9
Original relationship, 350
Outliers, 397
Panel studies, 22, 103, 104
Paradigm, 45-48
as disciplinary matrix, 47
Parameter, 142
Partial relationship, 351
Participant:
full,237
as observer, 237, 238
observer as, 237
Participant observation, 17
Particulars in field research. 244
Pearson's r,402-4A7
I

People, observation of, 234-235
Percentiles, 318
Personal appeals, response rate
and,178
Personal computers, 314
Personal trouble, 7
thysical objects. ob:ervation of.
737
Physical traces as unobtrusive
measures. 268
Plagiarism, 73-74
Political impact of evaluation
research. 290
Population. 144
repea..'d sample: from. 140-
142
sampling frame and, 146
Positivists, 52
Fosttest, 219-220
Posttest-oniy control group, 221
Poverty, culture of, 30, 31
PPS (sce Probability proportionate
to size sampling)
PRE (see Propofiionate reduction
of enor)
Predictive validity, I 20
of indexes, 377
Preexperimental designs, 216,
aaa )1f
Preprogram evaluation. 281
Pretest,2l9-220
ol questionnaire, 176-177
Prirlary sampling units, 144
Primary sources, 270, 272
Privacy:
invasion of,7l-73
public's right to know versus,
Probability proportionate to size
sampling (PPS), 15i, 154
Probabilitl sampling, 1 31
392
deciding on type of sample to
empio-v and, 155-156
designrng, 146
multistage cluster sampling
and,150-153
probabilrrl proporlionate to :izc
sampling and, 15l, 154
repeated samples from same
population and, 140-142
iail+l!n-s distribution of sarnple
mean arid. 142
sarnpling error rnd. 140
Probability sampling (Conl. ):
simple random sampling and,
146-t48
statistics and, 139-140
stratified sampiing and. 149
150
systematic sampling and, 148-
149
weighting for disproportionate
sampling and, 154-155
Problem(s):
defined in personal terms, 7
organizations as sources of, 7*
o of, l7l-172
personal, for social rosearch,
5-7
statement of, in student
research reports. 425-426
Professional audience, research
reports for, 421-427
Professional journals, research
repofts for, 422
Projective measures, 31
Proportionate reduction of enor
(PRE). 398
Proximate measures, 288
Psychiatric ward, covert research
on, 68-69
Psychoiogical stances, observation
of. 236
Publications as sources for
selecting topics, 88-89
Purposive sampling, 157
Q,398-401
Quality-of-life (QOL) studics,
294
Quantifying words for interview
responses,184
-144. Quartiles,3l8
Quasi-experimental designs. 216,
223-225
Question(s),173-175
closed-ended, 173-114, 183-
184
contingency, lT4
creating,166
depending on visual cues, 195-
196
matrix, 174-i 75
open-ended. r 110
"l3-'i14.3ri
ortlering of. 175. 184-1,15
stating rescaich topic as, 95- 96
Questionnaire, l6
administered to group, 169-170
anonymity and confi dentialitY
and,179-180
appearance of , l7'l -l'l 8
assessing rcsponse rate to, l8l
as codebook,3l0-3ll
cover letter and, I 1
distribution of, 177
edge coding on, 3l l-312
follow-up procedures and, l8l
format of, 172-173
general rules for construction
getting adequate resPonse rate
with. 177-l8l
instructions for, 173
mailing procedure rnd. 180-
l8l
ordering of quc5tions in. ll5
precoded, 305
pretesting, 176-177
types of questions in, 173-175
Quintiles,3l8
Quota sampling, 157-159
r, 402-407
statistical significance of, 406-
40'l
f .406
Random-digit dialing, 192
Random numbers, sources of, 148
Random sampling. simPle. 146-
148
Randomization:
in evaluation research, 290-291
of experimental and conrol
groups,2lT-218
Range. 397
Ratio measurement, 130 131. 394
Rationale, 63-64
Rationahty of science, 60-61
Raw data, 301, 303
Raw input data file, 316
Reciprocal relations in field
research,240
Reductionism. 100
Regression. staristical. I I 3-l I r'
Regression analysis in time-series
expeilment, 224
Regression-discontinuity
experiin3nl, 123-224
Rcguiarrties in social-scientinc
sturli;s.39
INDEX
Relationship:
originaL, 350
partial, 35 I
Relevance, double, 64
Reliability, 105, ll9, 123-125
coding data and, 303
in content analysis, 266
equivaience measures and, 125
with existing statistics. 278
in field research, 244,246
in historical research, 274
intercoder, 3 I I
secondary analysis and, 260
slabiJity measures and. 124-
125
tesrretest,124-125
unobtrusive measures and,
268,269
Remote job entry facility, 314
Replication, 96-97
in elaboration, 358, 361
of field study, 244,246
Replication study, 96*97
Reproducibility, coefficient of, 385
Research design in report, 428
Research dissemination, 419 -431
in book form^ 423
deciding on form for, 420
multiple modes for, 424
in report form, 421-424
Research instruments, designing,
106
Research plan, 87
proposing,103-104
Research projects:
as sources for selecting topics,
89-91
stages of. 104-108
time dimension of. 100-103
Research proposal, 87
Research reports:
basic ingredients of , 420421
casting problem of , 474-425
commissioned, 423-424
of student projects, 425-430
types of, 421-424
Research topic:
analysis of existing statistics
for.278-279
background of,426-427
content analysis and, 265-267
criteria for selecting, 9l
cvaluation research ,rr. 196-
297
Research topic (Conr.):
experiment for, 225
field study for, 249
historical research for, 21+275
intensifying knowledge about,
92-94
reasons for studving, 9G97
secondary analysis and, 258,
260
sources to use in selecting, 88*
9l
statement of,425-426
survey for, 196*197
turning into researchable
problem, 94-96
unobtrusive measures for, 269
Researchers as resource, 93-94
Respondents:
modes of seiecting, 168*169
selecting for telephone survey,
lgz-194
Response, 29, 201
Response rates:
to questionnaires. 177-181
weighting and, 155
Results:
presenting,107-108
tampering with, 73*74
Rerospecrive evaluation. 291
Right to know, privacy versus, 74
Roles, 4
Rules of correspondence, I 17
Sample, 18, 19
designing to meet research
needs, 159
national, 26
nonprobabilify, i37
probability (see Probability
sampling)
in report, 428
selection of, 106-107, 216
statistical representativeness of,
l9
for telephone survey, 191-194
Sampling, 1 37-1 60
cluster, multistage, 150-153
convenience, 157
disproporrionate, I 54-155
good,138
judgmental, 157
nonprobability, 137, 156-159
probability (see Probability
sampling)
481
Sampling (Cont.):
purposive,157
quota, 157-159
snowball, 159
terminology for, 144
Sampling enor, 140
Sampling frames, 144-146
population and, 146
Sampling units, primary and
secondary, 144
Sampling validity, 120
SAT examination, interval
measurement and, 130
Scales, 368-370, 378-390
already developed, 385-389
deciding between index and,
389
Likert. 378-379
occupational, 386
socioeconomic, 386
unidimensional and
multidimensional, 378
School busing program,
community impact assessment of,
285
Science:
as body of knowledge, 42
meaning of. 42
rationality of, 60-61
Scientific ethos, 45, 5l-53
Scientific model, 53-60
deduction and, 57-58
induction and, 53-57
testing hypotheses and, 58-60
Scientific paradigms, 45
Secondary analysis, 18, 254-260
analyzing dara and comparing
results in, 259-260
appropriateness for topic. 260
exampie of, 255
re-creation of data for, 259
search for data for, 258-259
selection of topic for, 258
validiry and reliability
Secondary sampling units,^nd,260
144
Secondary sources, 27 0, 27 2
Selection effect, 20
interactions with. 213
Self-esteem, negative, 30
Semantic Differential Scale, 379,
38 l-382
Sequence, time-ordered, known. 203
Serendipity factor, 56
in scientific research, 59
I
 *-l

Shared understandings, 47 Statistic(s) (Conr. ): Survey research (Cont. ): Transfer, 301

Simple random sampLng (SRS),
146-148
SkepLict:m. organized, 5l-52
Skew, 394
Snowball sampling, 159
Social change, study of. 65
Social complexity, 9-10
Social desirability, interviewi and,
184
Social indicators in evaluation
research, 293-296
Social policy research. 26
Social research:
abuses of. 67-76
as art, 9-14
art of, 3,14
uses of, 64-67
varieties of, 15-43
Social-scientifi c studies:
commonalities of, 39-41
cieative components of, 4l-42
sc.ientifi c components of , 42_43
Sociological imagination, 5-7
Sociology, vislal, Z4i -249
Sofiware programs, 314
batch. 3 l6
for data anal)-sis, 314 315
simple random samplng and,
148
Solomon Four-Group design, 220-
22t
Song lvrics. content analysis and,
264-265
Specification in elaboration, 358,
361
Sponsorship, response rate and,
178-179
Spuriousness in hjvariate analysis.
350
Srole's ,Anomia Scale. 133
SRS (see Simple random
sampling)
Stabiljr). measures oi, IJ4-l15
Standard deviation. 395, 3gj
Standard error. 142
Standardized normal distribution.
397
Static-group comparison, 222
Statistic(s), 142, 392-417
in athletics study, 410 416
choosing and using, 416
computers and, 409-410
dcscriprive. 392, 3S8-407
existing. analysis of , 27 5-279
inferential, 392, 407-409
overview of,393-397
probability sampling and, 139-
140
using and misusing, 393
Statistical regression, internal
validity and, 213-214
Statistical sisnificance, 402, 409
of r, 406-4A7
Stimulus, 29, 201
Strain theory, 24, 58
support for, 323-328
Stranger, observer as, 239
Strata, 150
Stratified sampling, 149*150
Strengtb of relationship, 403
Subjects, 27
anonymity and,75, 179 180
coercion of, 70-71
confidetitialiry and, 75*76,
I 79-180
cooperative, 214
demoralization of, 212
in experimental and control
groups.2l8-219
informed consent of, 76
intemal validity and, 2l l
ioss of, 21 1-212. 219-220
protection of, 75-76. 106
right to study, 76-77
rights of, 77-78
rivalry between, 212
Suppressor variables, 364
Survey research. l5-19. 16, 165_
r98
appropriate topics for, 196-197
on causes of delinquenct. 2.1_
26
characteristics of , 26-2i
computer-assisted lelephone
inten,iewing in, 196
creative aspects of. 166_167
elicitrng infonnation in, l6g
face-to-face interviews in. 170-
t7 I , l8l_189
on high school achievement.
19*23
mail survey in, 170
presentation of survey for. 166
questionnaires for, 169*l8l
returning information in, j69
scientific aspects of, 167-16g
selecting respondents
169
telephone surveys in,
I 89_1 96
Symbolic interactionists, 17
System file, 316
Systematic sampling, 148-149
Systematization, 50
Tape recorders in field research,
241
Technical standards, ethics and,
76-11
Telephone directories for obtaining
numbers, I92
Telephone numbers, obtaining,
t9t*t92. 195
Telephone survey, l7l,
advantages of, 194-195
computer-assisted, 196
disadvantages of, 195-196
face-to-face interviewing
versus,194*196
getting working numbers for,
t91-192, r95
impersonal quality of, 195
interview schedule for, 189-
191
Iack ofmorivarion and. 195
questions depending on visual
cues and, 195-196
selecting sample for, l9l-194
Television, violence on, 262,263
Test-rerest reliability, I 24-
Test variable (see Control varjable)
Testing. inremal validity and.3il
Theories, 24, 40
development of, 56
runcttons ot, )/
Thurstone scales, 371, 383
Tine, 100-103
in evaluation research, Zgl-292
for field research, 233-234
intemal validity and, 213
of teiephone versus face-to-face
irterviewing, 194*195
in time-series experiment, 225
Tjme-series analysii. example of,
185-185
Time-sedes expeiinent, 224-225
Tinesharing, 31.i
Tokens. -1o
Validity (Canr.):
for, I6g_ Variance:
ofdata,3ll-313 with existing statistics, 27g
probability sampling and,
Treatment, imitation of, 213 extemal,214-216 139_
lil, Trend studies, 102 in field research, 214,246_247
t40
12 and,406
Trivariate analysis, 350-357 in historical reseuch, 274
Variation, measures of, 396_397
Trivariare tables, 351-356 of indexes, 376-379
Verbal behavior, obsenation of,
condensing, 356-357 intemal,2ll-214. 216
235-236
True experiments, 205 -206, 220_ obstacles to,
Zll_215 Video cameras in field research,
222 predictive, 120,37j
241
Trust, ethics and, 78-79 sampling, 120
Vjolence rriggered b1 mass rnutii;r,
Typologies: secondary analysis and, 260
209-211.262. 26\
in content analysis, 265 unobtrusive measures and,
Visua questions dependinrl
in field research, 244 268_269 -cues.
on, 195-196
Variabies, 19, 40, ll5-l27 Visual sociology, 247
Units of analysis, 18. 97-100 -249
association between, 42_43
with exisring srarlsrics, 277_ doing,248-249
categorical, 1 25- 1 26
278 purpose of visual data and,
computenzed. cleaning. 3 l6_
Univariate analysis. 335-341 248
317
for index, 374-376 Voluntariness, informed conscnt
control, 289-290, 343, 350
l89-196 Universalism, 5l
dependent (see Dependent
and. 76
Volunteer subjects in experimcntll
Universals in field research. 244
variable)
and control groups" 2ig_219
Unobtrusive measures, 261
-269 discrete and continuous, 394
appropriateness for topic, 269
dummy, 131n.
types of, 268-269
independent (see Independent
validity and reliability and, \Veighting:
variabie)
268,269 for disproponionate samplirr.r,
interval,133
ll4- I )5
intervening, 354,357
Validiry. 26, 42, 105, n9_123 of indexes, 376
measuremenl of, 117, l3l_134
coding data and, 303 Worciing in interview, 1g3
nominal. lJ2 Work, disincentive to, 29
concurent, 120,377
numerical,126-127
construct. 121,123 Work orientation index, 371-
ordinal,132-133
content, I l9-120 378
ratio,134-135
in content analysis, 266
recoding, 3lj-319
critenon-reiated, 120_l2l
suppressor and djstorter, 364_365
Zero-order tables, 351
I 25