Title: SOCIOLOGY AS SCIENCE, Russ Long's Lecture Notes
Headings: Sociology as Science
Sociology as Science
July 17, 2017
by Russ Long
Social research is a process for producing new knowledge about the  social world in a structured, organized, and systematic way (Neuman, 1994:2).
I. Why Is Sociology a Science?
II. Alternatives to Science
A. Authority
B. Tradition
C. Common Sense
Example:  Simple Dichotomies
Example: Who is Rich, Who is Poor?
1. Problems with Common Sense
a. Our Experience is Limited
b. Our Interpretation of Experience is Biased
Example: What  is Suicide?
Example: Suicide in Religious  Communities
Example: The Problem of  "Illegal Aliens"
Example: Buy American! What Does  This Mean?
D. Media Myths
III. The Scientific Method
A. Test Ideas
B. Evidence must Be Observable
1. Social Facts
C. Describe How Evidence is Gathered
D. Theory
E. Hypothesis
IV. Basic Statistical Concepts
A. Measures of Central Tendency: Mean and Median
1. Mean
2. Median
B. Rates & Percentages
Example:  Comparing Populations of Different Sizes
C. Statistical Control vs. Control Groups
D. Target Populations and Samples
1. Random Sample
E. Variables
1. Independent Variables
2. Dependent Variables
Example:  Independent and Dependent Variables
F. Correlation
G. Spurious Correlations
H. Causal Logic (Cause and Effect)
4. Does it make sense?
I. Validity and Reliability
V. Methods of Gathering Data
A. Case Studies (field study)
1. Description
2. Advantages
3. Disadvantages
B. The Survey (Interviews)
1. Description
2. Advantages
3. Disadvantages
C. Experiment
1. Description
2. Advantages
3. Disadvantages
D. Existing data (Secondary Data Analysis)
1. Description
2. Advantages
3. Disadvantages
V. Problems with Science
A. Science as a Bias
Example:  Science as a Bias
See: What is Hunger?
What  is the Hawthorne effect?
(Researcher Effect)
B. The Power Structure of Science
C. Statistics
D. Ethical Considerations
Example: Laud  Humphreys's Tearoom Trade Study
Bibliography

Content: The scientific method is a systematic, organized series of steps that ensures maximum objectivity and consistency in researching a problem (Schaefer and Lamm, 1992:35). The following are some components of the scientific method. A. Test Ideas
Don't take assumptions for granted. Don't rely on common sense. Don't rely on traditional authority figures. B. Evidence must Be Observable
Evidence should be observable because other  Sociologists might want to perform the same study in order to verify or refute findings. 1. Social Facts
Henslin (1999:16) notes that Durkheim stressed social facts. He  calls them "patterns of behavior that characterize a social group." Appelbaum  & Chambliss (1997:12) defines social facts as " qualities of groups that are  external to individual members yet constrain their thinking and behavior ."