(H) (29-47) Henslin, Doing Sociological research

It takes multiple perspectives to understand a situation. In “How Sociologists do research”, and the use methods. I learned the six methods that they use are surveys, secondary analysis, document, experiments, unobtrusive measures, and participant observation. They use those methods to gather the data they need. This relates to me in a kind of way because when I was in high school we would have to answer some surveys and now that I am realizing we answer those surveys so they can gather data. Also in classes I did several research project and experience. This taught me what an unobtrusive measure is and it is, observing people’s behavior when they do not know they are being studied. This can relate to how sociologists use different methods such as experiments and interviews. The word theory can be a little scary. The first thing that comes to mind is science and concepts that are difficult to understand. I agree that people want to know things about ourselves. Our physical structure, the human mind, our future, and so many other things. We take personality quizzes to better understand ourselves and there are fields dedicated to understanding humanity. The third theory, conflict theory, makes me think of how competition and incentives work between different companies and the economy. People can’t buy every product, so it makes sense to buy the best one. However, the idea of society being unbalanced is something I don’t agree with. Although things aren’t perfect, our country is still running without any immediate danger. In the next article, it talks about how common sense gives us some information based on personal experiences. The last but not least important step would be Sharing Results in which the researcher would write about the data that was collected, the research method that was used, and the information that was present prior to his/her research. This would help the researchers who are interested in “replicating” the research. The six types of research methods are; Surveys, Secondary Analysis, Documents, Experiments, Unobtrusive Measures, and Participant Observation. All of these methods are equally important and serviceable methods of research. The two elements that could affect the choice of the researcher are: “the resources available to the researcher” and “the researcher’s background” However they do not serve as facts or the truth. One of the other methods of research, unobtrusive measure, seems to be the most interesting way to gain information. Seeing people in their normal natural life might be most beneficial. It would be like stalking, but with a scientific purpose. While reading “Doing Sociological Research” this mainly talked about how sociologists gather information that basically represents people’s attitudes and behaviors. It explained how theories scares people and how sociological theory is more rigorous than everyday life theory. There is a theory called symbolic interactionism, that stresses what you already know quite well. This taught me what symbolic interactionism actually is and how it has three themes which are, human beings having a self, people construct meanings, and people take into account the possible reactions of others. A second theory is called functionalism and people who are functionalists stress that society is an integrated system that is made up of many parts. Lastly, it mentioned the third theory which is conflict theory meaning society having many parts that are in competition and conflict. In today’s world, there are many conflicts that are around such as, things leading to violence