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 Outline on  Units of Analysis
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  See Also:  Research Design
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  See Also:  Conceptualization
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  See Also:  The Worker & the Labor Force as Units of Analysis
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  Units of Analysis are the what or whom being studied
 
 
Choosing the Units of Analysis is done in the Conceptualization stage & after the formulation of the Research Objectives & must be done before choosing the Research Instrument
1.   Select a Topic
2.   Formulate a Thesis Statement...
3.   Choose the Types of Analyses
4.   Research & Write a Literature Review
      & Refine the Thesis
5.   Formulate the Research Objectives & Questions
6.   Conceptualize a topic
       Choose the Units of Analysis
7.   Choose Research Method / the Research Instrument
8.   Operationalize concepts / construct the instrument		   9.   Formulate the Data Collection Strategy
10.  Obtain HIC Approval
11.  Perform a Pilot Study
12.  Collect Data
13.  Prepare the Data for processing & analysis
14.  Process & Analyze Data
15.  Interpret & make Inferences about Data
16.  Write the Research Paper
17.  Write Final HIC Report
 
  In social science research, the most typical Units of Analysis are individual people, groups, organizations, & social artifacts
 
  Other types of Units of Analysis include institutions, cultures, societies, et al
 
  Some studies make descriptions or explanations pertaining to more than one unit of analysis  
  In studies using multiple units of analysis, it is important to anticipate what conclusions the researcher wishes to draw w/ regard to what units of analysis  
  Individuals as Units of Analysis:  
  Individuals are the most typical Units of Analysis in the social sciences  
  The norm of generalized understanding in social science suggests that scientific findings are most valuable when applied to all kinds of people
 
  But it must be understood, that unless designed otherwise, i.e. unless the Units of Analysis are chosen from all people, most studies are generalizable only for a much narrower population of the people w/in a nation, region, city, etc.
 
  Some comparative studies specifically design their study to examine phenomenon across national boundaries
 
  Thus, in most studies the groups whose members may be units of analysis are circumscribed
 
  Examples of circumscribed groups whose members may be units of analysis at the individual level include:  students, residents, workers, voters, parents, faculty, etc.
 
  Each of these units of analysis implies some circumscribed population; i.e., a sub-population
 
  In descriptive studies, the researcher makes observations describing the characteristics of a large number of individual people, such as their sexes, ages, regions or birth, attitudes, etc.
 
  In most studies, the results of examining individual units of analysis are aggregated to describe the general sub-population circuscribed by the units of analysis
 
  Descriptive studies having individuals as their units of analysis aim to describe the population that comprises those individuals
 
  Explanatory studies aim to discover the social dynamics operating w/in that population
 
  In explanatory studies, individuals may be examined as the the factors that cause them to act in a particular manner, & then these results are aggregated to explain the behavior of the general population
 
  Individuals, as the units of analysis, may be characterized in terms of their membership in social groupings
 
 
 A research project might examine whether people w/ college-educated mothers are more likely to attend college that those with non-college-educated mothers  
 
 The individual is the unit of analysis, not mothers or children of mothers  
  A research project might examine whether high school grads in rich families are more likely to attend college than those in poor families  
  The individual is the unit of analysis, not rich or poor families  
 
 Each individual unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization  
 
 See Also:  Operationalization
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  Groups as Units of Analysis:
 
  Social Groups themselves may be the units of analysis for social research  
  Groups as the units of analysis for social research is not the same as studying the individuals w/in a group  
  In studying a criminal gang in order to learn about gangsters, the individual, the gangster, is the unit of analysis  
  But in studying all the gangs in a city to learn the differences btwn, for example, big & small gangs, or uptown & downtown gangs, etc., the gang, i.e. the group, is the unit of analysis  
  Other units of analysis at the group level include:  the family, cliques, couples, census blocks, cities, regions  
  When social groups are the units of analysis, their characteristics may be derived from the characteristics of their individual members  
  A family might be described in terms of the age, race, or education of its head  
  Groups & individuals may be characterized in other ways; for instance according to their environments or their membership in larger groupings  
  Each group unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization  
  Organizations as Units of Analysis:  
  Formal organizations, such as corporations, implying the population of all corporations, may be the units of analysis in social research  
  Organizations are, in many respects, easier to operationalize as units of analysis than informal social groups because the organization itself, or the law often provides clear boundaries  
  Each group unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization  
  At the level of social groups & organizations, the researcher may examine characteristics of individuals or characteristics of the groups & orgs themselves & still use the population of the group or org as the unit of analysis  
  If the researcher examines characteristics of individuals in a sample of orgs, & then aggregates that info to compare orgs, then the orgs are the units of analysis  
  If the researcher examines characteristics of the orgs themselves, such as the income of the org, then the orgs are the units of analysis & individuals are not even looked at  
  Social Artifacts as Units of Analysis:  
  Social Artifacts are the products of social beings or their behavior such as music, homes, cars, ideas, poems, books, paintings, pottery, jokes, scientific discoveries, etc.  
  Each social artifact implies a population of all such objects  
  Social interactions are another important class of social artifacts, including most social rituals such as weddings, divorces, parties, church services, etc.  
  It is important to be clear whether one is studying a social artifact or the individuals who create or use the social artifact; i.e., is the purpose of the research to examine brides or weddings  
  Other examples of social artifacts include friendships, court cases, traffic accidents, fist fights, ship launchings, airline hijackings, race riots, congressional hearings, etc.  

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