Theory and Research

Chapter 2
Introduction
 Theory
 An explanation about how and why something
is as it is
Introduction
 Concepts
 Words or signs that refer to phenomena
that share common characteristics
 For example, concepts which may interest
sociologists are social and economic class and
self-esteem.
Introduction
 Conceptualization
 The process of clarifying what we mean by
a concept
 Example
 High-crime years
 Begins at about 17 years of age
 Birth cohort
 People born in a given calendar year
Introduction
 Operational definition
 Concise definition of the concept
 Examples
 What is “child abuse”?
 Could be only substantiated cases with child
protective services.
 What is a “problem drinker”?
 Could be one who drinks ___ drinks in ___ amount
of time.
Introduction
 Variable
 A characteristic that can vary from one unit of
analysis to another or for one unit of analysis
over time
 A concept that varies
Introduction
 Hypothesis
 A testable statement about how two or more
variables are expected to relate to one another
 A hypothesis is simply a formal version of a
hunch or speculation that usually is based on
a theory.
Introduction
 Dependent variable
 A variable that is affected or influenced by
another variable
 What you are trying to predict or explain.
Introduction
 Independent variable
 A variable that affects or influences another
variable
Quiz - Question 1
Assume the following statement:
 In our research, we are looking at how
gender (male or female) affects the amount of
money individuals leave for tips at
restaurants.
 What is the independent variable?
 What is the dependent variable?
Quiz - Question 2
 In our research, we are looking at how
gender (male or female) affects the amount of
money individuals leave for tips at
restaurants.
 What are the independent variable
categories?
Quiz – Question 3
 In our research, we are looking at how
gender (male or female) affects the amount of
money individuals leave for tips at
restaurants.
 What is a possible hypothesis that could be
generated?
Introduction
 Social Science and Causality
 A word of caution
 Just because two variables are associated with
each other does not necessarily mean that the
change in one variable will create a change in the
other variable
 Establishing causality is difficult
 Typical data gathering techniques make it difficult to
determine “cause” and “effect”
Introduction
 Antecedent variable
 A variable that comes before both the
independent variable and dependent variable
 May explain the association between the
independent variables and the dependent
variable
Introduction
 Intervening variable
 A variable that comes between an
independent and a dependent variable
Introduction
 Extraneous variable
 A variable that has an effect on the dependent
variable in addition to the effect of the
independent variable
The Relationship between Theory and
Research
 Theory
 An explanation about how and why something
is
 It allows you to go beyond the known facts,
suggesting what you might expect in the future,
and allowing you to organize the facts you
already have.
The Relationship between Theory and
Research
 Deductive reasoning
 Reasoning that moves from more general to
less general statements.
 Example
 Adler and Clark focal research
The Relationship between Theory and
Research
 Empirical generalization
 A statement that summarizes a set of
individual observations
The Relationship between Theory and
Research
 Inductive reasoning
 Reasoning that moves from less general to more
general statements
 Example
 Mueller, Dirks and Picca’s focal research
Summary
 Relationships existing between research and
theory
 Ethics
 Ethical assumptions and implications should
be considered throughout the whole research
process.