Chapter 1
Science, Society, and Social
Research
Introduction
Though we live in the social world, our perceptions
and observations are necessarily limited.
Because we are all individuals with our own
perceptions of things, we do not have a
trustworthy basis for understanding this world.
We need systematic methods for investigating
our social world and social research provides
the tools for doing this.
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Introduction cont
We cannot avoid asking questions about our complex
social world or trying to make sense of our position in it.
In fact, the more that you begin to think like a social
scientist, the more such questions will come to mind
and thats a good thing!
But our everyday reasoning about the social world, our own
prior experiences and orientations can have a major influence
on what we perceive and how we interpret these perceptions.
Avoiding Errors in Reasoning About
the Social World
How can we avoid errors rooted in the particularities
of our own backgrounds and improve our reasoning
about the social world?
First, lets identify the different processes involved
in learning about the social world and the types of
errors that can result as we reason about the social world
Processes involved in learning
1. Observing through our five senses (seeing,
hearing, feeling, tasting, and/or smelling)
2. Generalizing from what we have observed to
other times, places, or people
3. Reasoning about the connections between
different things that we have observed
4. Reevaluating our understanding of the social
world on the basis of these processes
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Each of these processes can result in errors in reasoning.
If you recognize them and make a conscious effort to
avoid them, you can improve your own reasoning.
Lets take a look at each kind of error.
Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization occurs when we conclude that
what we have observed or what we know to be true
for some cases is true for all or most cases.
The following comment is a good example.
yesterday i had to go to jury duty to perform my civil duty. unlike most people
I enjoy jury duty because i find the whole legal process fascinating,
especially when its unfolding right in front of you and you get to help
decide yay or nay.
([Link] posted on
June 17, 2005):
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Do you know what the majority of people think about
jury duty?
According to a Harris Poll, 75%
of Americans consider jury service to be a privilege
(Grey 2005), so the bloggers generalization about
most people is not correct.
Do you ever find yourself making a quick
overgeneralization like that?
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Selective or inaccurate observation
One common mistake in learning about the social
world is selective observationchoosing to look
only at things that are in line with our preferences or
beliefs.
For example, if we are convinced in advance that all
heavy Internet users are antisocial, we can find many
confirming instances.
But what about elderly people who serve as Internet
pen pals for grade-school children?
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Insert exhibit 1.2
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Our observations can also simply be inaccurate.
If, after a quick glance around the computer lab,
you think there are 14 students present, when there are
actually 17, you have made an inaccurate observation.
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Illogical reasoning
When we prematurely jump to conclusions or argue
on the basis of invalid assumptions, we are using
illogical reasoning.
It is not always so easy to spot illogical reasoning.
For example, about 63% of Americans age 18 or older
now use the Internet. Would it be reasonable to propose
that the 37% who dont participate in the information
revolution avoid it simply because they dont want
to participate?
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Insert exhibit 1.3
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Resistance to change
Resistance to change, the reluctance to reevaluate our
ideas in light of new information, may occur for several
reasons:
Ego-based commitments: it is easy to make statements
about the social world that conform to our own needs
rather than to the observable facts.
It can also be difficult to admit that we were wrong once
we have staked out a position on an issue.
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Can social scientists see the social world
more clearly?
Science relies on logical and systematic methods to answer
questions, and it does so in a way that allows others to
inspect and evaluate its methods.
In this way, scientific research develops a body of knowledge
that is continually refined, as beliefs are rejected or confirmed
on the basis of testing empirical evidence.
The scientific approach to answering questions about
the natural world and the social world is designed
to reduce greatly these potential sources of error in
everyday reasoning.
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Four important goals of social
research
1. Descriptive Research--defining and describing
Example: How often do Americans neighbor?
2. Exploratory Research-seeks to find out how people
get along in the setting under question, what meanings
they give to their actions, and what issues concern them.
Example: How do athletic teams build player
loyalty?
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Insert exhibit 1.4
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3. Explanatory Research-seeks to identify causes and
effects of social phenomena and to predict how one
phenomenon will change or vary in response to
variation in some other phenomenon.
Example: Does social context influence adolescent
outcomes?
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4. Evaluation Research-seeks to determine the effects
of programs, policies, or other efforts to impact social
patterns, whether by government agencies, private
non-profits, or for-profit businesses.
Example: Does more social capital result in more
community participation?
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How well have we done our research?
Validity
Social scientists want validity in their research findings.
The goal is not to prove something but to learn the truth,
even if it is sometimes disagreeable to us.
We reach the goal of validity when our statements or
conclusions about empirical reality are correct.
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Measurement validity exists when an indicator
measures what we think it measures.
Without having measured what we think weve
measured, we dont even know what we are talking
about.
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Generalizability exists when a conclusion holds
true for the population, group, setting or event
that we say it does, given the conditions that
we specify.
It is the extent to which it can inform us about
persons, places, or events that were not directly
studied.
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There are two kinds of generalizability:
1. Sample generalizability exists when a conclusion
based on a sample, or a subset, of a larger
population holds true for that population.
2. Cross-population generalizability exists when
findings about one group, population, or setting
hold true for other groups, populations, or settings.
This is also called external validity.
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Insert exhibit 1.5
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Causal validity, also known as internal validity,
refers to the truthfulness of an assertion that
A causes B.
Even in a properly randomized experiment, causal
findings can be mistaken because of some factor
that was not recognized during the planning for
the study.
So establishing causal validity can be quite
difficult.
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