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| See Also: | |||||
| - An Overview of Methods |
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| - An Overview of Examples of Research in the Social Sciences |
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| Social Scientists of the Chicago School, circa 1900, were interested in urbanization & the social problems associated w/ it |
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| Through years of research & hundreds of studies they eventually concluded that there is a correlation btwn population density & delinquency |
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| Many Chicago theorists believed that crowding caused delinquency |
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| And indeed even today we see that delinquency rates are high in densely populated neighborhoods |
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| But as early as the 1930s, some social scientists began to question this result |
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| In 1984, Fischer demonstrated that virtually all the correlation btwn crowding & delinquency disappears if income is controlled |
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| Chicago School found that |
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| Hi Crowding is correlated Hi Delinquency |
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| Lo Crowding is correlated Lo Delinquency |
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| Fischer found that |
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| Lo Income :: Hi Crowding :: Hi Delinquency |
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| Lo Income :: Lo Crowding :: Hi Delinquency |
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| Hi Income :: Hi Crowding :: Lo Delinquency |
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| Hi Income :: Lo Crowding :: Lo Delinquency |
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| In other words, Fisher found that the Level of Income is correlated w/ the Level of Crowding, which is Correlated w/ the Level of Delinquency | |||||
| Fischer used a research technique called control, where he held constant all relevant variables except one in order to clearly see its effect |
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| Fischer used Income as a Control Variable |
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| Holding Income constant at a low level, Fischer found that delinquency was high in both crowded & uncrowded areas |
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| Holding Income constant at a high level, Fischer found that delinquency was low in both crowded & uncrowded areas |
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| The correlation btwn Crowding & Delinquency is Spurious, that is, there is an apparent, although false, association btwn two or more variables caused by some other variable | |||||