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| - Syllabus |
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| - Course Schedule & Review Notes List |
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| - ALL Review Questions |
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| - Review Questions on WO 2: Studying the Workplace |
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| - Projects |
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| - Resources |
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| METHODS | |||||
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An Introduction to Methods | ||||
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Ethnography | ||||
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Field Research | ||||
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The Hawthorne Studies | ||||
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The Hawthorne Effect & Placebos | ||||
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The Case Study | ||||
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The Survey | ||||
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Other Research Instruments in the Social Sciences | ||||
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Units of Analysis | ||||
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The Worker & Labor Force as Units of Analysis | ||||
| THE STUDY OF THE WORKPLACE | |||||
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Unemployment | ||||
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Unemployment Compensation | ||||
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Industrial Economic Systems | ||||
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Industries | ||||
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The Categorization of Industries | ||||
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Lower Level Employees: White-Blue-Collar Divisions | ||||
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Occupations & Occupational Groupings | ||||
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Occupational Prestige | ||||
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Legal Forms of Orgs: Workplaces | ||||
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| - Project: Your Field Research |
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Field research (FR) is the method of social investigation where the researcher observes human behavior as it occurs in natural, "real-life" situations |
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Field research is always either participant or nonparticipant & obtrusive or unobtrusive & thus field research may be participatory-obstrusive, nonparticipatory-unobtrusive, participatory-unobtrusive, or nonparticipatory-obtrusive |
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Participant observation (PO) occurs when the researcher participates in the activities that the subjects are carrying out as if she or he were an actor in the setting |
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In studying the workplace & the worker, the researcher conducting participant observation may, for example, actually becomes a worker for a period of time |
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PO gives the researcher an intimate, everyday familiarity w/ the task, social relationships, setting, etc. |
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Everett C. Hughes & his students at the U of Chicago in the 1950s & 1960s popularized PO w/ studies of medical students, janitor, taxi dancers, & other occupations |
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PO are valuable for the rich detail they provide about the setting, the social relationships, the actors, etc. |
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| The validity & reliability of FR & PO has noteworthy limitations | |||||
| PO can typically study only a limited range of settings | |||||
| It is unlikely that a sociologist observer has the skills or access necessary to participate, even for a short time, in highly technical jobs or top-level mgt. | |||||
| The PO may inadvertently choose an atypical setting or joint a group of actors that is atypical | |||||
| Different observers may view the research sight quite differently because of their different backgrounds, predispositions, areas of research, gender, race, experiences, etc. even though professional methods are designed to limit the impact of the researchers biases | |||||
| Because of the limits of researchers' abilities to participate, many researchers choose non-participatory observation | |||||
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Non-participatory observation (NPO) occurs when the researcher does not participate participates in the activities that the subjects are carrying out, but instead remains separated, aloof, as an outside, independent observer |
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In NPO, a trained researcher does not actually become a part of the work group |
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One famous example of NPO is the study of the Bank Wiring Room in the Western Electric Company Plant in Hawthorne, IL (Roethlisberger & Dickson, 1939, p. 379-408) |
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See Also: The Hawthorne Studies | ||||
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NPO is useful to sociologist who cannot study a job as a participant observer |
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| It would be difficult, for example, for a sociologist to do research as a medical student through PO & thus must utilize NPO methods | |||||
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A NPO as a medical student might accompany students on rounds w/ attending physicians, observe them examine patients, sit in on discussions & oral exams, etc. | ||||
| NPO has the disadvantage that the researcher may have more difficulty winning the confidence of the research subjects because the NPO is recognized as an outsider | |||||
| During NPO, it is also more likely that the research subjects will change their behavior because of the observation they are under-going; i.e., NPO increases the likelihood of the Hawthorne Effect | |||||
| See Also: The Hawthorne Effect | |||||
| Field research may be either overt, i.e. obtrusive, or covert, i.e. unobtrusive | |||||
| During obtrusive observation, the researcher is recognized as a researcher, i.e. the researcher's identity as a research is overt, open, apparent to the subjects | |||||
| The researcher's "cover story" is often that she or he is writing a book | |||||
| The researcher may be disguised as a customer, an inspector, or some other stranger w/ a right to be in the workplace | |||||
| If the researcher is using obtrusive methods, the subjects may exhibit subject reactivity, i.e. may act differently than if the researcher were unobtrusive | |||||
| During unobtrusive observation, the researcher is not recognized as a researcher, i.e. the researcher's identity as a researcher is covert, closed, unapparent to the subjects | |||||
| Unobtrusive researchers are more likely to be able to avoid experimental bias, but the validity of the study is counterbalanced by the ethical issues raised by subterfuge & pretense | |||||
| Unobtrusive researchers may not be able to ask clarifying question, & so their interpretations may be superficial or incorrect | |||||
| Most types of field research require the use of some type of rating rorm | |||||
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A rating form for field research is the form used in field research to organize observations |
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After a sample of observation, a researcher may expect to see particular behaviors w/ some regularity |
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The purpose of a rating rorm is to enhance & ease record keeping |
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Field notes are a journal where unstructured observations are recorded |
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Interpretations should be recorded in a separate section of the field notes or even a separate notebook |
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It is important to examine one's own cultural bias when doing field research because our interpretations are based on our own cultural heritage & may be inaccurate in other cultures & subcultures | ||||
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Going native is the term used to describe a researcher who so identifies w/ the group they are studying that they become biased | ||||
| There is some ethical debate over whether advocating for or against a group is going native or simply strong, ethical behavior | |||||
| Field research is difficult to generalize from | |||||
| Field research may lack external validity | |||||
| Examples of Field Research:
Festinger, Riecken, & Schachter. (1956) cult that predicted a flood Zimbardo (1969) street vandalism Rosenhan (1973) mental hospital |
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| Summary: Elton Mayo headed a research project utilizing non-participatory, obtrusive observation at the Bank Wiring Room in the Western Electric Company Plant in Hawthorne, IL (Roethlisberger & Dickinson, 1939, p. 379-408) & eventually developed the concept, of what is now known as the Hawthorne Effect, & also found that workers are socially motivated as well as economically motivated, & that workers control the pace of the work | |||
| The Hawthorne studies examined many setting including one w/ mostly young women working in a room at the plant wiring, soldering, & inspecting electrical boards in Hawthorne, IL | |||
| An obtrusive (overt) non-participatory observer sat w/ women in the plant for a number of days, watching their work & interactions | |||
| Initially, the observer noticed how the workers joked w/ & teased each other or occasionally helped one another | |||
| The researcher noted that the group's productivity was basically constant, despite company efforts to increase it | |||
| The research project eventually concluded that the small work group had developed an informal norm, as part of their organizational culture, defining an appropriate level of productivity | |||
| See Also: Culture on folkways, mores, norms, laws, etc. | |||
| See Also: Organizational Culture | |||
| The advent of the work-pace norm meant that for social scientists studying the workplace, the concept of the the Economic Person, often called Homo Economus, w/ the concept of the Social Person because the Hawthorne researchers found that the workers sought more from work than just money | |||
| The concept of Homo Socialus opened a whole new phase of workplace analysis whereby researchers, managers, & consultants all started examining workers' social needs & desires rather than just economic motivators | |||
| The Hawthorne Studies created the realization that the work-pace is informally set by workers via social relations of production, that mgt. efforts are secondary, that workers actively resist control were major findings that are still valid today | |||
| The findings of the Hawthorne Studies were found serendipitously through the FOUR phases of the study over several years | |||
| During Phase 1, the researchers noted some inconsistent data | |||
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During Phase 2, the researchers found that productivity increase irregardless of whether illumination was increased or decreased, which lead to the discovery of the concept of the Hawthorne Effect | ||
| See Also: The Hawthorne Effect | |||
| The concept of worker norms on work-pace & the foundational research on organization culture were discovered in the latter stages of the Hawthorne Studies | |||
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During Phase 3, the researchers found that productivity was determined by an individual w/in a group | ||
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Roethlisberger conducted 20,000 interviews & was important at this phase of the research | ||
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During the interviews of the Hawthorne Studies, people tended to give standard, stereotyped answers to direct questions & therefore a nondirect approach was substituted | ||
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During Phase 3, the researchers found that productivity was controlled by the workers, not managers | ||
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In the Hawthorne Studies, in the Bank Wiring Room: | ||
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1. Workers restricted output | ||
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The workers restricted output because: | ||
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a. the workers were afraid of working themselves out of a job | ||
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b. the workers were afraid that if they did work faster, mgt. might raise standards, & then they wouldn't be able to achieve the goal set by mgt. | ||
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c. the low rate protected slow workers | ||
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d. mgt accepted the current rate | ||
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2. Workers treated different mgrs differently in that they had more respect for upper mgt | ||
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3. Workers formed cliques or subgroups such as gamesmen, job-traders, etc. | ||
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4. Roethlisberger & Dickinson concluded that workers formed codes of conduct which held that: | ||
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a. no rate-busters were allowed to turn out too much work | ||
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Contemporary terms for rate-busters are brown-noser, mgt. material, shrimp, slave, speed king, etc. | ||
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b. no chiselers were allowed to turn out too little work | ||
| Contemporary terms for chiselers include slug, ghost, slacker, gold-brick (WW2), etc. | |||
| c. no squealers were allowed to tell a superior anything that will hurt another worker or group | |||
| Contemporary terms for squealers are brown-noser, snitch, rat, fink, snitch, informer, whistle blower, etc. | |||
| d. no stand-off-ish-ness is allowed so that no one, not even an inspector, should maintain social distance or act officiously |
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| Summary: The Hawthorne Studies began in 1924 at the Hawthorne Works of the West Electric Co. near Cicero, IL, & were conducted under auspices the National Research Council. The Objectives were to examine the effect of illumination on output. After 2.5 yrs. & many experiments, researchers could see no effect because output in both control & experimental groups had increased because the effect of being studied impacted the research subjects | |||||
| Reactivity is the tendency of people being studied by social scientists to react to the researcher or to the fact that they are being studied | |||||
| The Hawthorne Effect (HE) is a form of reactivity |
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| The concept of the HE, which was developed during the Hawthorne Studies, holds that added social attention to workers will increase their productivity |
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People in some parts of the Hawthorne Studies found that the people being studied attempt to please the researcher |
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The Placebo Effect (PE) is a form of reactivity whereby people react as a result of being studied when in fact nothing has changed |
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| A Placebo is a false or phony treatment designed to differentiate btwn changes due to real treatment & "imagined" treatment | |||||
| A Placebo is a thing or treatment given by researchers that can provide remedy because subjects believe that their condition is being treated | |||||
| The PE is widely known in medical studies because even groups who receive sugar pills instead of medicine often show improvement |
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| The HE & the PE are very similar except the HE is often, at some level, consciously chosen whereas the PE is never consciously chosen |
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| During the Hawthorne Studies the HE was serendipitously discovers through dogged research |
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| The Hawthorne Studies lasted several years & applied different treatments in different settings |
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| One of the dynamics of the study was that the Motor Wiring Room was mostly staffed by young women while the researchers were all young "college men" |
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| The focus of the study was an examination of the effect of illumination on the workplace; i.e., what was the optimal level of lighting for factory work | |||||
| The findings of the Hawthorne Studies were found serendipitously through the FOUR phases of the study over several years | |||||
| During Phase 1, the researchers noted some inconsistent data |
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| During Phase 2, the researchers found that productivity increase irregardless of whether illumination was increased or decreased |
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| The Observers, college males in lab coats, observed isolated small groups of workers, who were mostly young women |
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| The women were told to ignore the researchers & work at their regular pace |
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| The women & the men interacted |
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| The researchers wondered if other factors were intervening, so they introduced hot lunches, rest periods, days off, Saturdays work, longer hrs., shorter hrs., high fatigue, etc. |
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| When the researchers introduced & controlled various other factors in the workplace, output rose & stayed high! |
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| There was no easily identified relationship btwn productivity & changes in the work environment | |||||
| The impact on productivity seemed to lie more w/ social factors than w/ anything else | |||||
| It was through intensive interviews that Roethlisberger discovered that the women were deliberately increasing productivity because of the intense observation, & the nature of the observers, that they were experiencing | |||||
| The Hawthorne Studies revealed that the workers were reacting to being observed & that at some level, this reaction was conscious or deliberate | |||||
| In the later phases of the Hawthorne Studies, it was found that workers develop norms & organizational culture which impact, among other things, work-pace | |||||
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| The case study (CS) is a type of field research which examines a site using a combination of personal interviews, analyses of written documents, & observations |
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| The CS attempts to bring in several perspectives to understand a site such as a workplace including, for example, the views of workers, supervisors, customers, suppliers, union leaders, & others |
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| Thus, the CS brings in perspectives from all of the major vantage points w/in the site |
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| A CS is like an ethnography, but larger in scope, using more types of data, & is usually conducted over a longer period of time |
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| In a CS, official documents & personal records of subjects should be examined |
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| CS's frequently examine entire companies or large division w/in companies |
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| The findings & conclusions of CS's emerge from all the material & people that the researcher consults |
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| Action research is a type of a case study whose goal is to provide action initiatives for change w/in the setting as opposed to a simple CS where pure research is the goal |
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| Thus action research is applied research whereas the CS is pure research |
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| Through the use of written documents, the CS provides info about the history of a work site & how existing arrangements come about (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991) |
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| CS examine how orgs identify & solve problems, & the effects of recent change |
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| A CS might examine a before & after situation where the researcher wants to examine the effect of some major change in the workplace |
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| See Also: Evaluation Research | |||||
| The advantage of the CS's method of using multiple sources is that the research can search for agreement & disagreement among the various sources |
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| Cross-checking of sources improves validity & reliability |
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| A lack of agreement among sources does not necessarily indicate a lack of validity & reliability; rather, it may indicate problems, conflict or contradictions among actors w/in the research site |
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| CS's nearly always require the cooperation of central actors w/in the research site in order to gain info, as well as access to the site & other, minor actors |
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| Actors at research sites often insist that published research refer to the site by pseudonym, i.e. a disguised name, & this even if the actors do not insist on this, it is often a good, standard practice | |||||
| Because access is a primary concern for the researcher in any site, & because many sites, such as workplaces often have privacy issues, the researcher must nearly always have the cooperation of one or more top mgrs |
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| In many sites, certain documents, sites, actors are off-limits to the researcher & the researcher must interpret the impact & extent of these omissions on their research | |||||
| For example, some companies are in highly competitive situations, are closely regulated by the govt., have legal privacy requirements, may be under legal investigation by the govt., may be being sued, etc. & thus cannot make all info available to a researcher | |||||
| Orgs in such conflicted settings are often the very orgs that researchers are the most interested in | |||||
| Kanter, 1977, in her book Men & Women of the Corporation, used the CS method & found that secretaries to upper mgt. often experienced praise-addiction in that they were rewarded w/ liberal amounts of praise & were rarely criticized | |||||
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| - Project: Surveying |
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| Surveys are systematic attempts to collect info to describe & explain the beliefs, attitudes, values & behavior of selected groups of people |
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| The Content of a Survey should be constructed in light of all the needs of the Research Project, including the: |
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| - Research Design | |||||||||||||||||
| - Topic |
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| - Thesis |
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| - Types of Analysis |
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| - Literature |
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| - Operationalization |
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| Types of Surveys: |
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| There are FOUR kinds of surveys:
a. questionnaires b. telephone interviews c. panel interviews d. personal interviews |
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| Each of the kinds of surveys affects the data gathering technique | |||||||||||||||||
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The data gathering techniques of surveys include
a. individual self-administered questionnaires b. group self-administered questionnaires c. face-to-face interviews d. telephone surveys |
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| A sample survey surveys only a selected, representative sample of the entire population of possible respondents |
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| An example of a sample survey is the Gallop Poll, who generally surveys about 1,100 people to determine the opinion of the general population of the US, which is 285 mm, on a given topic | |||||||||||||||||
| See Also: Sampling | |||||||||||||||||
| A population survey surveys the entire population of possible respondents | |||||||||||||||||
| An example of a population survey is when the administration of a college surveys the entire student population | |||||||||||||||||
| A cross sectional survey is administered once to a sample of respondents | |||||||||||||||||
| With a cross sectional survey, the same questionnaire may be administered again to a different sample of respondents | |||||||||||||||||
| The repeated use of cross sections is for detecting trends | |||||||||||||||||
| The US Census is an example of a cross sectional survey in that they typically ask the same or similar questions over a period of years or decades | |||||||||||||||||
| A longitudinal survey, which is also known as a panel study, the same or similar survey is given repeatedly over a period of time to the same or similar group of respondents | |||||||||||||||||
| An establishment survey is a survey that has, in effect, been institutionalized because of its widely recognized validity, reliability, & generalizability | |||||||||||||||||
| An example of an establishment survey is the National Organization's Survey which asks a series of standard questions about the characteristics of companies & their employees | |||||||||||||||||
| An example of an establishment survey is the Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI) which asks a series of questions to quantify a person's personality | |||||||||||||||||
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Survey Questions: | ||||||||||||||||
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There are TWO kinds of Survey Questions: |
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| a. Fixed-Response Questions are like multiple-choice exam questions | |||||||||||||||||
| b. In Open Ended Questions, the respondent states or writes an answer to the question in their own words. (Similar to an interview) | |||||||||||||||||
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Avoid loaded questions in surveys. |
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Bias is the effect you get when you have a loaded question |
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In closed ended questions many formats are used, but try & give a clear range of choices ( Likert Scale ) on a 5 or 7 pt scale |
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Example of a Likert scale:
Please mark the answer that most closely matches your belief: I study very hard
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Survey questions may address
any of FOUR tyes of data that may either be fact based (objective)
or belief based (subjective), including
a. Background (demographics) b. Activities c. Knowledge d. Sentiments (opinions, values, attitudes, feelings, etc.) |
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In general, the survey should try & use fact based, objective type questions wherever possible, even on topics that may be subjective in nature | ||||||||||||||||
| Example, in asking people about family values, the survey may ask a question such as: "How many times does your family have meals (include all meals, morning, noon & night) together per week?" | |||||||||||||||||
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A master survey is a special survey in which only the researcher sees which indicates the function of each question |
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The master survey should label each question w/ respect to the: |
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- Types of Data |
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- Thesis |
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- Research Objectives |
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-Variables w/ respect to independent, dependent, & control variables |
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The master survey should group the questions together by independent, dependent, & control variables |
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Make each question count by
- asking, "Is this important to my thesis or hypothesis?" - trying to avoid sentiments - using short statements |
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Question ordering
Start w/ safe questions to try to gain trust, build rapport Put most controversial questions near end End w/ safe questions |
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| The Advantages & Disadvantages of Survey: | |||||||||||||||||
| Compared to an ethnography or a case study, surveys are more easily generalized to the population they were designed to represent | |||||||||||||||||
| By directly questioning respondents, a survey can measure subjective indicators such as job satisfaction | |||||||||||||||||
| Changes in facts & attitudes an be traced & studied if the same question is asked in repeated surveys | |||||||||||||||||
| One problem w/ surveys is selection bias in which only certain types of people respond to a survey | |||||||||||||||||
| Selection bias can be minimized through strong sampling procedures | |||||||||||||||||
| See Also: Sampling | |||||||||||||||||
| One problem w/ surveys is response error in which results when a respondent misunderstands a question or intentionally give an untrue answer | |||||||||||||||||
| Response error can be minimized through strong survey construction | |||||||||||||||||
| See Also: Survey Construction | |||||||||||||||||
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Survey sampling is the process by which you chose who will take the survey | ||||||||||||||||
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- If you compare two or groups of people, survey equal numbers of each |
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- In many cases, a sample of 50 gives one a scientifically valid sample for each variable examined |
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Survey construction discusses the process of creating a survey | ||||||||||||||||
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Survey sampling discusses the issues of acquiring a representative sample | ||||||||||||||||
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Surveys may be pre tested in the pilot study | ||||||||||||||||
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Data collection discusses the process of administering surveys | ||||||||||||||||
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The preparation of the data of the survey goes through THREE
steps
a. Precoding b. Coding c. Construct the Data Matrix |
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| - Introduction: Various research instruments may be used w/ a given type of analysis | ||||||
| The choice of methodology / of the research instrument is where the researcher chooses the data collection tool, such as a survey, experiment, etc. to achieve the research objectives | ||||||
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| Several different research instruments can be used to achieve the same research objectives | ||||||
| With the topic, thesis, types of analysis, lit review, objectives & conceptualization understood, the researcher should have a general idea of which data collection method is best suited for the topic | ||||||
| Research design is an iterative process, therefore after the construction of the instrument, the researcher returns to the steps of topic, thesis, types of analysis, lit review, objectives & conceptualization to confirm that the appropriate instrument is being used | ||||||
| The researcher must determine whether the research objectives can be met w/ a single instrument ( survey, interview, observation schedule, etc. ) or whether several are needed | ||||||
| The relationship between types of analysis &
research instruments is that of
is that of questions & How the researcher will determine the answer |
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| The types of analysis & the more detailed research objectives clearly explain what it is the researcher wants to know | ||||||
| The research instruments, such as a survey, will ask questions that directly address the research objectives | ||||||
| Example:
Thesis: Deinstitutionalization is more effective than institutionalization Type of Analysis: Cause & Effect & Comparison Research Objective: Deinstitutionalization causes well-being Survey: Deinstitutionalized clients are generally happy 1 2 3 4 5 Institutionalized clients are generally happy 1 2 3 4 5 |
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| The choice & development of the research instrument must be done in conjunction w/: |
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| - Operationalization | ||||||
| - the development of the strategy for data collection | ||||||
| There are MANY types of research instruments; some of the primary instruments are listed below | ||||||
| - Aggregate Data Analysis | ||||||
| - Case Studies | ||||||
| - Content Analysis | ||||||
| - Ethnography | ||||||
| - Evaluation Research | ||||||
| - Experimental Research | ||||||
| - Human Factors Analysis | ||||||
| - Interviewing | ||||||
| - Observation: Field / Naturalistic or Structured | ||||||
| - Organizational Analysis | ||||||
| - Policy Analysis | ||||||
| The Development of Policy Analysis | ||||||
| - Social Impact Analysis | ||||||
| - Surveys | ||||||
| Survey Construction | ||||||
| Survey Sampling | ||||||
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| Units of Analysis are the what or whom being studied |
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| In social science research, the most typical units of analysis are individual people, groups, orgs, & social artifacts |
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| Other, less often examined types of units of analysis include institutions, cultures, societies, social structures, et al |
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| 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 |
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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, i.e. are a sub population of the total population |
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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 circumscribed 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 because everyone has either a college educated mother or not | |||||
| 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 | ||||||
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Each individual unit of analysis implies a circumscribed population that must be delineated in the research design process of operationalization, therefore the units of analysis would include two categories of individuals: rich & poor | |||||
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See Also: Operationalization | |||||
| GROUPS AS UNITS OF ANALYSIS: |
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| 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, thus groups may be part of larger groups, i.e. almost all groups are sub groups | ||||||
| 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 on individuals 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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| - Project: Workplace Research |
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| Researchers often study work via ethnographies, case studies, & sample surveys |
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| The unit of analysis may be individual workers, groups of workers, or the formal organizations, i.e. the businesses they work in |
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| Social scientists may study unions, businesses, factories, corporate networks, etc. which are at the organizational, not individual level |
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| The labor force itself is an important unit of analysis in the study of work |
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| The labor force is a collective term for all the workers w/in a country |
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| Workers can be described in terms of their background, or demographics |
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| Ascribed demographic characteristics of workers include gender, race, age, occupation of parents, stage of industrial development in the locale, etc. |
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| Achieved demographic characteristics of workers include education, work experience, skills, work ethic, etc. |
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| If the researcher is looking at social injustices, ascribed demographic characteristics of the workforce are often more important; however, if the researcher is looking at a change or consulting study, achieved demographic characteristics of the workforce are often more important | |||||
| The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the size & composition of the labor force every month by using info from the Current Population Survey (CPS) |
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| The labor force is defined as anyone who is 16 or older who is not institutionalized |
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| In the definition of the labor force, institutionalized individuals include those in prison, a residential hospital, a mental hospital, school, retirees, disabled people, home makers & more |
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| Employed people are those in the labor force who in the previous week who: |
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| a. worked at least one hour for pay or profit |
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| b. worked at least 15 hrs w/o pay in a family business |
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| c. were temporarily not working because os illness, vacation or similar reason |
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Unemployed people are those in the labor force who |
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a. are not employed |
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b. who actively sought work during the four weeks preceding the survey | ||||
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c. who were currently available to take work | ||||
| d. have not been out of work longer than 6 mos. | |||||
| See Also: Unemployment | |||||
| Eligible people who do not fall into either the employed or unemployed categories are termed Not In the Labor Force (NILF) | |||||
| The Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is defined as the number of people in the labor force divided by the number of people eligible in it, multiplied by 100 to convert to a percentage | |||||
| LFPR = (LF/All noninstitutionalized persons who are 16 or older) X 100 | |||||
| The LFPR represents the proportion of the eligible population that is economically actively | |||||
| In January of 1994, the LFPR was 58.2% for women, 20 yrs. old & older, & 76.5% for men 20 yrs. old & older | |||||
| In September of 2000, the LFPR was 60.6% for women, 20 yrs. old & older, & 76.5% for men 20 yrs. old & older | |||||
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