This allows the researcher and the research to be completely and comprehensively concerned with doing the "right" thing, regardless of what the observations and evidence gathered in the course of the research shows. This applies to honesty in recording and presenting information as well as to the collection methods for obtaining this information.
Without a strong ethical through-line in social research, the entire purpose of this research ends up being lost. Social research exists specifically to identify issues in society and among individuals and to suggest ways to improve these issues, and to build better-functioning societies that allow for greater chances at group and individual success. The measures of this success and the determination of exactly what constitutes a "better functioning society" are, of course, issues with many often hugely divergent conclusions, but even when these conclusions seem diametrically opposed the individuals that hold these conclusions are working towards the…...
Social research involves measuring, describing, explaining and predicting social and economic phenomena. Its objectives include exploring social and economic structures, attitudes, values and behaviors and the factors, which motivate and constrain individuals and groups in society. here are, however, a number of ethical and political concerns that social researchers must be aware of while conducting such research. his paper focuses on and describes some of these valid ethical and political concerns.
Ethics of Social Research
Since "social research" encompasses a wide-ranging field, it is probably not appropriate to have a universal or a single set of code of ethics to govern such research. Over time, however, a number of conflicting ethical theories such as the Utilitarian theory introduced by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), advocating that the ends justify the means, and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)'s ethical theories that emphasized that humans should not be the means to an end, have been combined into…...
mlaThe U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis between 1932 and 1972 without their knowledge and were deliberately deprived of proper treatment for the disease. (Brenner, 2004)
The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) had sponsored experiments during the Cold War in which hundreds of Americans were exposed to radioactive material, often without their consent
Chronically ill non-cancer patients at the Jewish Chronic Disease Hospital in New York were injected with live human cancer cells without their consent as part of experiments on cancer
This was the most consistent pattern observed in connection with this experiment. The researcher concluded that this was a function of the convergence of two independent social norms and expectations: namely, the expectation of politeness with respect to the dependent variable (i.e. door-holding behavior) and the independent social norm and expectation that males will be chivalrous in their interactions with females in virtually all ordinary circumstances, including those involving complete strangers. The significance of this pattern is even greater in relation to the other categories of patterns observed.
For example, generally, the experimenter determined whether or not the relative distance and speed between successive individuals was appropriate to create an expectation that the door holding or non-door holding behavior would be relevant for inclusion. if, in the experimenter's best attempt at an objective judgment, the individuals were too far from one another and/or that the second individual was moving too…...
mlaReferences
Healey, J.F. (2008). Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Sociology of Group
Conflict and Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge.
Henslin, J.M. (2005). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon.
A disadvantage to interview research methods, on the other hand, include the potential for bias based on the respondents' desire to please the researcher, who will necessarily be directly involved in the research process.
7)
In the One-Group Pretest-Posttest experimental design, a single group of subjects is given a test that measures a certain variable or variables, then is exposed to the experimental condition, and then is tested again to measure the effects of this exposure. While this might seem valid, there are several threats to internal validity facing this design. Other intervening events could affect posttest scores, the simple passing of time could have an effect, different test conditions could lead to different results, and selection biases could also influence outcomes.
8)
There are a number of factors that influence the sample size needed for a given piece of research. The desired confidence level of the research outcomes, the level of precision…...
One can just as easily get by without creating a scale or index, but at some point, at least in estimating the reliability and validity of your study, you're going to have to look at item and response patterns. Do the items (questions) you're asking fit together in the most productive way, or do they overlap redundantly? Do the response patterns (answers) hint at ways you can improve your measuring instrument? There's a big difference between scaling and scoring a test, and since most readers are familiar with the typical multiple choice tests found in education, that's where we'll start. it's not uncommon for social sciences to draw upon the field of Education Statistics.
A scale is a cluster of items (questions) that taps into a unitary dimension or single domain of behavior, attitudes, or feelings. They are sometimes called composites, subtests, schedules, or inventories. Aptitude, attitude, interest, performance, and…...
Social Research
Research activities, whether empirical, literature review sponsored, descriptive, or historical, must exhibit and command interest, enthusiasm, and passionate commitment. It is vital that the researcher catch the essential quality of the excitement of discovery that comes from research well done if expected results are to be gained. If this sole tenet can be achieved then the difficulties and frustrations of the research performance, while they never completely vanish, play a much less significant role (Ferguson, 1967). To the enthused researcher there must be debate, discussion, and even argument if there is to exist intelligent conviction regarding the nature, design analysis, and inferences regarding the phenomenon or topic under investigation (Kerlinger, 1964). The remainder of this paper will examine two research studies from the perspective of data certification and whether or not the author's have adequately fulfilled the research requirements associated with the principle of data certification. The two…...
mlaWorks Cited
Friedman T, Slayton WB, Allen LS, Pollock BH, Dumont-Driscoll M, Mehta P, Graham-Pole J.
Use of alternative therapies for children with cancer. Pediatrics December 1997, vol.
100, no. 6, p. e1.
Furgeson, George A. Statistical Analysis in Psychology and Education. New York: McGraw-
A significant increase in volunteerism is observed within the communities which implement social studies in high schools. The main elements which contribute to this outcome are those of community service programs integrated within the educational act and socialization. "The implications of our study are that mandatory community service programs can boost later volunteer efforts but that socialization into appropriate citizenship attitudes is of equal, if not greater, importance" (Janoski, Musick and Wilson, 1995).
Social research is conducted by a variety of parties within the community, from academicians to economic agents. Yet, a major category of researchers is represented by the federal institution. Within the United States, the public social researches are conducted by the Government Social esearch Service. The institution bases its findings on the evolutions within the contemporaneous society and it makes its findings public to the audience in order to support social development. In a nutshell, the functional…...
mlaReferences:
Babbie, E.R., 2009, the practice of social research, 12th edition, Cengage Learning
Cole, J.R., 2009, Defending academic freedom and free inquiry, Social Research, Fall edition
De Vaus, D.A., 2002, Surveys in social research, 5th edition, Routledge
Dicks, B., 2005, Qualitative research and hypermedia: ethnography for the digital age, SAGE
328).
Smith boils it down to two main concerns (pitfalls) and objections to the use of secondary data in social research: a) "It is full of errors"; and b) "…because of the socially constructed nature of social data, the act of reducing it to a simple numeric form cannot fully encapsulate its complexity" (p. 328). The author offers the national Census as a perfect example of the limitations of using secondary data in social research. In counting "everyone," how does the government assure that everyone has been counted? How about the homeless? How about "tourists" in the country for long stays? What about those with "multiple nationalities" or those "who simply refuse to be counted" Smith asks. She suggests that in the 1991 UK Census about 2% of the total number of national residents "were uncounted" (p. 329).
Meanwhile, Esther Sales and colleagues have published an article in the Journal of…...
mlaBibliography
Blaikie, Norman, 2009, Designing Social Research. Polity: Stafford BC, QLD, Australia.
Grinnell, Richard M. And Unrau, Yvonne A., 2010, Social Work Research and Evaluation: Foundations of Evidence-Based Practice. Oxford University Press: New York.
Livesey, Chris, 2006, 'AS Sociology, Revision, Sociological Methods', Retrieved May 13, from http://www.sociology.org.uk .
Sales, Esther, Fevola, Antonio, and Lichtenwalter, Sara, 2006, 'Secondary Analysis in Social Work Research Education: Past, Present, and Future Promise. Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 42, no. 3, 543-558.
Mail Survey
Social Research Studies: Mail Survey
Social Science Research: Mail Survey
Various researches are carried out at community level to assist in creating awareness, curbing a social issue or even to educating the public on concerning matters. In conducting these research works, it is considered imperative to recognize basic research terminologies and related concepts, especially while dealing with social science researches. This contextual aspect of research is a cornerstone to the established of best research methodologies of retrieving information from community-sensitive issues such as child abuse.
Differentiate among the various types of research methods used in social sciences
Qualitative designs: this research method depends on the data collected, which is primarily based on certain facts that affects the basis of the study. This type or research design draws its conclusion from analysis of the data collected. However, it is important to mention that qualitative studies can be influenced and be subjective. Qualitative studies include
Quantitative…...
Electoral ules and Socio-Economic Changes on Elections and Winners Thereof
One should never be deceived to think or imagine that electoral rules are mere formalities. These rules have a major influence on the choices that voters make during an election in a democratic set up. Electoral rules can be defined as a set of rules that determine who votes, who vies and how votes are cast for representation at the various levels and how such votes are translated to electoral seats in such assemblies. Therefore, it is clear from the definition that electoral rules and systems are only part of a wider structure commonly referred to as electoral regulations. Electoral systems discussions tend to exclude other aspects such as the right to vote, transparency and fairness elements (Vampa).
Voting behavior and attitudes are influenced by socio-economic factors. Therefore, social groups exhibit differences in voting patterns. Some patterns are age-old but some…...
mlaREFERENCES
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. "Voting Behavior." 2012. Accessed 26 October 2016.https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/instructors/setups2012/voting.jsp .
Htun, Mala and Powell, Bingham, G. Jr. "Task Force on Political Science, Electoral Rules, and Democratic Governance." September 2013. American Political Science Association. Accessed 26 October 2016.http://www.apsanet.org/electoralrules .
Vampa, Davide. "What impact, if any, does the electoral system have on the shape of the party system?" 2016. Academia. Accessed 26 October 2016.https://www.academia.edu/4137776/What_impact_if_any_does_the_electoral_system_have_on_the_shape_of_the_party_system .
More current research in this field uses an even more analytical approach. King and Covi (1995) studied the use of electronic journals, and their effect on scholarly communications. ather than just examining the effect of those journals, the researchers also took into consideration variables such as design layout and speed of content updates. What they found was that these journals did play a role in scholarly communication, and each of the different variables had an effect on how well the journal faired (King and Covi, 1995). It is precisely this type of analytical, integrated research that is useful to the field of social informatics, but is generally lacking.
While studies such as that above show clearly the value of social informatics research, done in a systematic, empirical way, the field in and of its self is still too non-integrated and unorganized. In order for the field to be truly beneficial in…...
mlaReferences
Attewell, P. (1987). The deskilling controversy. Work and Occupation, 14(3), 323-346.
King, J.L. (1983). Centralized vs. decentralized computing: organizational considerations and management options. Computing Surveys, 15(4), 320-349.
Kling, R. (1999, January). What is social informatics and why does it matter? D-Lib Magazine, 5(1). Retrieved July 6, 2005, from D-Lib Magazine. Web site: http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january99/kling/01kling.html#Kling95 .
Kling, R. And Covi, L. (1995). Electronic journals and legitimate media in the systems of scholarly communication. The Information Society, 11(4), 261-271.
By the 1980s, theories had begun to swing the other way again, with doubts being cast on the relevance of aggregate social strain theories (Bernard 1987). Even social strain theorists were finding new and more individualistic and specific features within the theory (Agnew 1985).
In the past two decades, social strain theory has continued to be attacked by some as an antiquated and invalidated method for explaining subversive and criminal behavior, with some theorists stating outright that the empirical evidence supports alternative explanations far better than it supports traditional social strain theories (Burton et al. 1994). Other researchers have found evidence that in their view directly refutes certain aspects of social strain theory while seeming to support certain other conclusions and hypotheses that are a part of the overall explanation for criminality (De Clercq & Dakhil 2009). Ultimately, all of the problems and discrepancies that have been found with social…...
mlaReferences
Agnew, R. (1985). A revised strain theory of delinquency. Social forces 64(1): 151-67.
Bernard, T. (1987). Testing social strain theories. Journal of research in crime and delinquency 24(4): 262-80.
Burton, V., Cullen, F., Evans, T. & Dunaway, R. (1994). Reconsidering strain theory: Operationalization, rival theories, and adult criminality. Journal of quantitative criminology 10(3): 213039.
De Clercq, D. & Dakhil, M. (2009). Personal strain and ethical standards of the self-employed. Journal of business venturing 24(5): 477-90.
Social Science esearch
Module 3 Discussion 1- Operationalizing Constructs
What does "safe" mean to you?
Safe means that the airplane travels without any problems and with comfort.
What types of variables could you construct to capture your concept of "safe?"
Using Ordinal Level measures (Babbie, 2010)
- Very Safe
- Safe
- Unsafe
Very Unsafe
How will your conceptualization of "safe" compare to others?
This concept is based n comfort ability of the airplane.
Have you ever participated in a survey?
I participated in a social research activity that was done in our community. It was an educational research on the effect of drug abuse on education and learning.
How were you selected to participate? Was it a random selection?
I was chosen as one of the people who have never used drugs to improve classroom performance. It was not a random selection.
What bias may have come into play in your selection?
The subjects in this research were selected according to their academic performance in one…...
mlaReferences
Babbie, E.R. (2010). The Practice of Social Research. New York: Cengage Learning.
Blaikie, N. (2009). Designing Social Research. Cambridge: Polity.
Table of contents undergoes modification to accommodate the changes in the modern world. New volumes also elaborate on the changes or transformation within the sector of law enforcement agencies.
Discussion Question 2 -- Errors in Human Inquiry
Babbie Earl illustrates on numerous fallacies or errors that undermine the effectiveness and efficiency of human inquiry. These errors include assumed or made up information, overgeneralization, inaccurate observation, selective observation, premature closure, ego involvement, and mystification (Babbie, 2010). In order to avoid these errors, the author suggests accurate measures for each. In one occasion, a friend of mine came to me holding a piece of paper. Instead of checking out what the paper was about, I assumed that he was shedding the tear of joy having passed his test or something. Later it turned out that he was be evacuated from his apartment for failure to pay rent. During this judgment, error or fallacy…...
mlaReferences
Conser, J.A., Paynich, R., & Gingerich, T. (2012). Law enforcement in the United States.
Burlington, Mass: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Hess, K.M., Orthmann, C.M.H., & Cho, H.L. (2012). Introduction to law enforcement and criminal justice. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage Learning.
Wrobleski, H.M., & Hess, K.M. (2006). Introduction to law enforcement and criminal justice.
Indeed, as Muntaner (2003) posited in her research, qualitative methods can be included in a dominantly quantitative research design "in situations where qualitative research adds knowledge that would not be available via quantitative methods" (p. 55). Through a mixed-methods design, the researcher can provide better analyses and stronger interpretations and recommendations through balanced strengths of data reliability and validity -- that is, the achievement of "triangulation" in the research study.
IIA. ased on your reading of books such as eaglehole (1993), describe what you know about observational epidemiology as a research approach and compare it to experimental studies. Describe some of the designs within each, e.g., RCT, case-control studies, etc.
Observational and analytical/relational studies provide different results and answer different research questions and hypotheses when compared to the experimental approach. In observation and analytical/relational studies, the highest kind of analysis that can be done is correlational and not causal.
This is reflective…...
mlaBibliography
Bonita, R. And R. Beaglehole. (2006). Basic epidemiology. Geneva: WHO Press.
Muntaner, C. (2003). "Qualitative and quantitative research in social epidemiology: is complementarity the only issue?" Gac Sanit, Vol. 17, Supl. 3.
Olsen, J. And K. Christensen. (2010). An introduction to epidemiology for health professionals. NY: Springer.
Rosnow, R. And R. Rosenthal. (1996). Beginning Behavioral Research. NJ: Prentice Hall.
In this narrative essay, I will explore my personal experiences and reflections on income inequality, shedding light on the disparities and injustices faced by individuals of different socioeconomic backgrounds. One potential thesis statement could be: "Through an examination of personal anecdotes and social research, this essay will argue that income inequality is a pervasive issue that perpetuates social divisions and hinders societal progress." This thesis statement clearly outlines the focus of the essay and sets the stage for a comprehensive exploration of the topic. It acknowledges both the personal experiences of the writer and the broader societal implications of income inequality,....
I. Introduction
II. Body
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