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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Information on how to Conduct a Sociology Experiment


Steps and Info on Sociology Experiments

In sociology there are many different things a sociologist needs to know in order to do experiments and collect data. Some of the things that sociologist learn help them with creating an acceptable experiment. Other things that sociologist learn help them determine if an experiment is alright to do or if it is unacceptable based on certain parameters.

There are three types of variables the independent variable, dependent variable, and control variable. The independent variable is the variable that is manipulated to see what will happen in an experiment. The dependent variable is the variable is the variable that is related to the independent variable. The control variable is the variable that is kept the same so the independent variable cam be tested accurately. There are also steps you need to take in order to do research.

There are six steps to go through when doing social research. The first step is to pick a topic that you want to do research on. The second thing is to do a literature review, which is to look at relevant academic articles and information. The third thing is to develop a hypothesis on how the variables will relate to each other. The forth thing is to collect data to support or refute your hypothesis. The fifth step is to analyze the data you collected to see if it supports your hypothesis. The sixth step involves publishing your results so everyone can see what you discovered. A good sociologist will know the correlation in his data.

What is cause and correlation? Cause is when you do something and there is certainty that something else will happen. A good example would be if you drop a pencil then you know that it will fall to the ground because the law of gravity. Correlation does not have the same certainty that cause does and a factor may or may not have been the cause for another factor. Consider a correlation to be like trying to figure out if playing a musical instrument will help you have a higher GPA than people who do not play a musical instrument. In that example there is no certainty that you will have a higher GPA just because you play a musical instrument. So the relationship between cause and correlation is that if there is a correlation then there might be a factor that cause another factor. To get the information on GPA you could conduct a survey.

To conduct a survey you have to get a group of people that you want to question and ask them questions that will get you the information that you need. There are seven steps you can take to conduct a survey properly. The first step is to clarify your purpose for the survey. Once you have done that then the second thing to do is define the population that you will be surveying. The third thing is to get a sample that will represent that population that you are trying to survey. Once all of that is done then the forth step is to prepare questions that you will ask the sample. The fifth step is to figure out how you are going to collect the data. The sixth step is to collect the data from the survey. The seventh and final step is to record, analyze, and interpret the data that you have collected from the survey. A sociologist also collects information by doing field research.

There are four different kinds of field research and they are participant observation, case studies, ethnography, and secondary data analysis. In the field research of participant observation the sociologist posses as person who should be in the environment and they observe what is going on around them based upon what they are researching. In case studies a sociologist will observe and study only one person or event. In ethnography field research the sociologist tries to get the social perspective and cultural values of a certain group. The sociologist accomplishes this by participating with or getting to know the group being researched in detail. The last field research method is the secondary data analysis method. In this method a sociologist will take data and observations other sociologists have collected and analyze it to find out new things. When a sociologist does field research then that sociologist has to use certain guidelines.

There are five general principles for ethics in sociology and they are professional competence, integrity, professional and scientific responsibility, respect for people’s rights, dignity, and diversity, and social responsibility. Professional competence is when a sociologists keep on training and ask others who have greater expertise for help when needed. Integrity is when a sociologist are honest and fair with everyone. A sociologist has a professional and scientific responsibility to treat other with respect and not act hostile when issues arise. A sociologist must not have discrimination against different people and respect people’s rights, dignity, and diversity. A sociologist also has a social responsibility to apply what they know and help everyone.

Sociology has lots of rules and guidelines for sociologist to follow when creating experiments. Those rules and guidelines make it so sociologist can collect data properly and do it without hurting anybody while doing the experiment. These basic rules and guidelines are crucial for a sociologist to know and follow.

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