FacebookTwitterGoogle+redditLinkedInThe "Conventional" Research ModelResearch models are tailored to the specific problembeing investigated and the focus of the researcher.Both qua 
The "Conventional" Research ModelResearch models are tailored to the specific problembeing investigated and the focus of the researcher.Both quantitative research and qualitative researchcontribute to our knowledge of society and human socialinteraction. and both involve a series of steps. We will now trace the steps inthe "conventional" research model. which focuses onquantitative research. Then we will describe an alternativemodel that emphasizes qualitative research.1. Select and define tile research problem. When youengage in research. the first step is to select anddearly define the research topic. Sometimes. a specificexperience such as having known someonewho committed suicide can trigger your interestin a topic. Other times. you might select topicsto fill gaps or challenge misconceptions in existingresearch or to test a specific theory (Babble,2()04). Emile Durkheim selected suicide because~le~ant~d to demonstrate the Importance of societyIII sturgeons that might Upper to be arbitrary actsby individuals. Suicide was a suitable topic becauseit was widely believed that suicide was a uniquelyindividualistic act. However. Durkheim emphasizedthat suicide rates provide better explanationsfor suicide than do individual acts of suicide. Hereasoned that if suicide were purely an individualact. then the rate of suicide (the relative number ofpeople who kill themselves each year) should be thesame for every group regardless of culture and socialstructure (see Box 2.2 on page 48 for a currentexample). Moreover. Durkheim wanted to knowwhy there were different rates of suicide-whetherfactors such as religion. marital status. sex. and agehad an effect on social cohesion. 2. Review previous research. Before you begin your research.it is important to review the literature to seewhat others have written about the topic. Analyzingwhat previous researchers have found helps toclarify issues and focus the direction of your ownresearch. But when Durkheim began his study.very little sociological literature existed for himto review other than the works of Henry Morselli(1975/1881). who concluded that suicide was a partof an evolutionary process whereby "weak-brained"individuals were sorted out by insanity and voluntarydeath. 3. Formulate the Ilypothesis (if applicable). You mayformulate a lzypotJlesis-a statement of the relationshipbetween two or more concepts. Conceptsare the abstract. elements representing some aspectof the world in simplified form (such as "social integration-or "loneliness"). As you formulate yourhypothesis about suicide. you may need to convertconcepts to variables. A is any concept withmeasurable traits or. characteristics that can changeor vary from one person. time. situation. or societyto another. Variables are the observable and/or measurablecounterparts of concepts. For elfman, "suicide"is a concept; the "rate of suicide" is ?The most fundamental relationship n a hypothesisis between a dependent variable and one ormore independent variables Theindependent variable is presumed to cause or determinea dependent variable. Age. sex. race. andethnicity are often used as independent variables.The dependent. variable is assumed to depend onor be caused by the independent variable(s) (Babbie,2004). Durkheim used the degree of social integrationin society as the independent variable todetermine its influence on the dependent variable.the rate of suicide.Whether a variable is dependent or independentdepends on the context in which it i~ used. To usevariables in the contemporary research process.sociologists creole opcrutlonal dct installous. An operatlonalfictitious Is an explanation of an abstract accept in terms of observable features that are specialenough to measure the variable. For example.suppose that your goal is to earn an A in this course.Your professor may have created an operationaldefinition by defining an A as earning an exam averageof 90 percent or above (Babble, 2004)_Events such as suicide are too complex to becaused by anyone variable. Therefore. they must beexplained in terms of multiple causation-that is. anevent occurs as a result of many factors operatingin combination. What does cause suicide? Socialscientists cite multiple causes. including rapid socialchange. economic conditions. hopeless poverty.and lack of religiosity (the degree to which an individualor group feels committed to a particular systemof religious beliefs). Usually. no one factor willcause a person to commit suicide. Rather. other factorsmust combine with a factor such as poverty tocause a person to commit suicide. Sociologists cannotproduce an equation (such as poverty + homelessness 4. Develop the research design. In developing the researchdesign. you must first consider the units ofanalysis and the time frame of the study. A ullit ofanalysis is what or wnom is being studied (Babbie,2004). In social science research. individualsthe most typical unit of analysis. Social groups(such as families. cities. or geographic regions). organizations(such( as clubs. labor unions. or politicalparties). and social artifacts (such as books. paintings.or weddings) may also be units of analysis.Durkheim's unit of analysis was social groups. notindividuals, because he believed that the study ofindividual cases of suicide would not explain therates of suicide.After determining the unit of analysis for yourstudy. you must select a time frame for study: crosssectionalor longitudinal. Cross-sectional studies arebased on observations that take place at n single pointin time; these studies focus on behavior or responses ata specific moment Longitudinal studies are concernedwith what is happening over a period of time or at severaldifferent points in time; they focus on processesand social change. Some longitudinal studies are designedto examine the same set of people each time.whereas others look at trends within a general population. Using longitudinal data. Durkheim was able tocompare suicide rates over a period of time in Franceand other European nations. 5. Collect and analyze the data. Your next step is tocollect and analyze data. You must decide whichpopulation-persons about whom we want tobe able to draw conclusions-will be observed orquestioned. Then it is necessary to select 8 sampleof people from the larger population to be studied.It is important that the sample accurately representthe larger population. For example. if you arbitrarilyselected five students from your sociology class tointerview. they probably would not be representativeof your school's total student body. However. The process for each type ofresearch method is discussed later inthis chapter.In Durkheim's study. he collecteddata from vital statistics for approximately 26,000 suicides.He classified them separately according to age,sex, marital status. presence or absence of childrenin the family. religion, geographic location. calendardate, method of suicide, and a number of other variables.As Durkheim analyzed his data, four distinctcategories of suicide emerged: egoistic, altruistic,anomie. and fatalistic. Egoistic suicide occurs amongpeople who are isolated from any social group. Forexample. Durkheim concluded that suicide rates wererelatively high in Protestant countries in Europe becauseProtestants believed in individualism and weremore loosely tied to the church than were Catholics.Single people had proportionately higher suicide ratesthan married persons because they had a low degreeof social integration. which contributed to their loneliness.In contrast. a/truistic suicide occurs among individualswho are excessively integrated into society. Anexample is military leaders who kill themselves afterdefeat in battle because they have so strongly identifiedthemselves with their cause that they believethey cannot live with defeat. According to Durkheim,people are more likely to kill themselves when socialcohesion is either very weak or very strong.'Durkheim further observed that degree of socialintegration is not the only variable that influencessuicide rates. Rapid social change and shifts in moralvalues make it difficult for people to know what isright and wrong. Anomie suicide results from a lackof shared values or purpose and from the absenceof social regulation. By contrast, excessive regulationand oppressive discipline may contribute tofatalistic suicide, as in the suicides of slaves. Common Sense and Sociological Research The Sociological Research Process Why Is Sociological Research Necessary? A Qualitative Research Model Interviews and Theory The Theory and Research Cycle Participant Observation Types of Experiments |
What is the first step in the conventional research model?
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