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Outline on Units
of Analysis
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External
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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 |
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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 |
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In social science research, the most typical Units of Analysis are
individual people, groups, organizations, & social artifacts |
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Other types of Units of Analysis include institutions, cultures, societies,
et al |
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Some studies make descriptions or explanations pertaining to more than
one unit of analysis |
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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 |
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Individuals as Units of Analysis: |
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Individuals are the most typical Units of Analysis in the social sciences |
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The norm of generalized understanding in social science suggests that
scientific findings are most valuable when applied to all kinds of people |
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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. |
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Some comparative studies specifically design their study to examine
phenomenon across national boundaries |
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Thus, in most studies the groups whose members may be units of analysis
are circumscribed |
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Examples of circumscribed groups whose members may be units of analysis
at the individual level include: students, residents, workers, voters,
parents, faculty, etc. |
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Each of these units of analysis implies some circumscribed population;
i.e., a sub-population |
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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. |
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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 |
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Descriptive studies having individuals as their units of analysis aim
to describe the population that comprises those individuals |
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Explanatory studies aim to discover the social dynamics operating w/in
that population |
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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 |
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Individuals, as the units of analysis, may be characterized in terms
of their membership in social groupings |
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A research project might examine whether people w/ college-educated
mothers are more likely to attend college that those with non-college-educated
mothers |
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The individual is the unit of analysis, not mothers or children of
mothers |
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A research project might examine whether high school grads in rich
families are more likely to attend college than those in poor families |
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The individual is the unit of analysis, not rich or poor families |
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Each individual unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population
that must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization |
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See Also: Operationalization |
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Groups as Units of Analysis: |
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Social Groups themselves may be the units of analysis for social research |
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Groups as the units of analysis for social research is not the same
as studying the individuals w/in a group |
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In studying a criminal gang in order to learn about gangsters, the
individual, the gangster, is the unit of analysis |
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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 |
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Other units of analysis at the group level include: the family,
cliques, couples, census blocks, cities, regions |
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When social groups are the units of analysis, their characteristics
may be derived from the characteristics of their individual members |
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A family might be described in terms of the age, race, or education
of its head |
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Groups & individuals may be characterized in other ways; for instance
according to their environments or their membership in larger groupings |
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Each group unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that
must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization |
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Organizations as Units of Analysis: |
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Formal organizations, such as corporations, implying the population
of all corporations, may be the units of analysis in social research |
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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 |
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Each group unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that
must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Social Artifacts as Units of Analysis: |
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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. |
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Each social artifact implies a population of all such objects |
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Social interactions are another important class of social artifacts,
including most social rituals such as weddings, divorces, parties, church
services, etc. |
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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 |
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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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