Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches

599 Pages·2014·5.2 MB·English

by  W. Lawrence Neuman

Social Research Methods:
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
W. Lawrence Neuman
Seventh Edition
ISBN 10: 1-292-02023-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02023-5
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ISBN 10: 1-292-02023-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-292-02023-5
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P E A R S O N C U S T O M L I B R AR Y
Table of Contents
1. Why Do Research?
W. Lawrence Neuman 1
2. What Are the Major Types of Social Research?
W. Lawrence Neuman 25
3. Theory and Research
W. Lawrence Neuman 55
4. The Meanings of Methodology
W. Lawrence Neuman 91
5. How to Review the Literature Review and Conduct Ethical Studies
W. Lawrence Neuman 125
6. Strategies of Research Design
W. Lawrence Neuman 165
7. Qualitative and Quantitative Measurement
W. Lawrence Neuman 201
8. Qualitative and Quantitative Sampling
W. Lawrence Neuman 245
9. Experimental Research
W. Lawrence Neuman 281
10. Survey Research
W. Lawrence Neuman 315
11. Nonreactive Research and Secondary Analysis
W. Lawrence Neuman 367
12. Analysis of Quantitative Data
W. Lawrence Neuman 393
13. Field Research and Focus Group Research
W. Lawrence Neuman 431
I
455571487377
14. Analysis of Qualitative Data
W. Lawrence Neuman 477
15. Writing the Research Report and the Politics of Social Research
W. Lawrence Neuman 513
16. Bibliography
W. Lawrence Neuman 547
Index 587
II
Why Do Research?
Alternatives to Social Science Research Steps in the Research Process
What Research Involves—A Scientific Why Learn How to Conduct Social
Approach Research?
Varieties of Social Research Conclusion
The sociologist,then,is someone concerned with understanding society
in a disciplined way. The nature of this discipline is scientific. This means that
what the sociologist finds and says about the social phenomena he studies
occurs within a certain rather strictly defined frame of reference.
—Peter Berger,An Invitation to Sociology,p. 16
I wrote this text to help you learn about how social ers, managers, administrators, officials, service
scientists do research and so you can conduct your providers,health care professionals,and others use
own studies. I consider two main issues in this chap- its findings and principles. They use them to raise
ter: why you should learn about doing social re- children, reduce crime, manage health concerns,
search and the basics of what social science research sell products or services,digest news events,and so
is all about. forth. There is little doubt about the importance and
Social science research is pervasive,and it af- centrality of social science research. Despite scat-
fects your daily life as well as that of your family, tered criticism to the contrary,research is highly rel-
friends,neighbors,and co-workers. Findings from evant for understanding social life generally and to
social science studies appear on broadcast news pro- the decisions you make each day.
grams,in magazines and newspapers,and on many To see the practical relevance of social research,
Web sites and blogs. They cover dozens of topics let us consider a couple raising a three-year-old
and fields:law and public safety,schooling,health child. One study (Wrigley and Derby,2005) found
care,personal and family relations,political issues, that paid child care is quite safe but also discovered
and business activities as well as international and striking differences in fatality rates across various
social trends. We use the knowledge and principles types of care. Center-based care is far safer than
of social science research,directly or indirectly,as care provided in private homes. Another study
we engage in relationships with family,friends,and (Bridges et al., 2007) showed that center-based
co-workers,participate in community life or public care significantly raises a child’s reading and
policy,and make daily decisions in business,pro- mathscores,but it has a negative effect on socio-
fessional life,and health care. Social research is not behavioral measures (e.g.,the child exhibits less
just for college classrooms and professors; high cooperation,more aggression). Children who start
school teachers,parents,business owners,advertis- at agestwo to three get the largest benefit rather
From Chapter 1 ofSocial Research Methods:Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches,7/e. W. Lawrence Neuman.
Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education. Published by Allyn & Bacon. All rights reserved.
1
WHY DO RESEARCH?
than younger or older children. Active parental Reading and doing social research can be ex-
involvement with a child lessens any negative be- citing:It is a process of discovery in which we learn
havioral consequences from child care. Another many new things. Doing social science research re-
study (Love et al., 2003) showed that child care quires persistence,personal integrity,tolerance for
centers vary widely in quality. Quality of care ambiguity, interaction with others, and pride in
makes a bigger difference than amount of time in doing top-quality work. It also requires logical
care or whether parents or a care center is provid- thinking,carefully following rules,and repeating
ing the care. Another study (Sosinsky,Lord,and steps over and again. In the research process,we
Zigler,2007) learned that care center quality was join theories or ideas with facts in a systematic way.
generally higher in nonprofit,nonreligiously affil- We also use our creativity. To conduct a study,we
iated centers than other types. Based on these find- must organize and plan. We need to select research
ings,a couple may decide to look for a specific type methods appropriate to a specific question. We must
of child care center,devote time to checking into always treat the study participants in an ethical or
the quality of care it offers,and make special ef- moral way. In addition,we need to communicate to
forts to encourage their child’s social skill devel- others how we conducted a study and what we
opment. The studies are not only relevant for learned from it.
specific parents but also have implications for pub- In this chapter,we consider some alternatives
lic policy and how a community addresses child to social science research and why research is pre-
care issues. ferred. We next examine how the enterprise of sci-
Social science research yields valuable infor- entific research works,including the steps in doing
mation and expands our understanding,but it is not a research study and types of social science studies.
100 percent foolproof. It does not guarantee perfect
results every time or offer “absolute truth.”This may
ALTERNATIVES TO SOCIAL
be why some people distrust research-based knowl-
SCIENCE RESEARCH
edge or why some people,including a few media
commentators, even ridicule professional re- In this section, we look at four commonly used
searchers and study results. Despite some derision, alternatives to social science research that many
in a head-to-head comparison with the alternative people rely on to acquire knowledge and make
ways we can learn about the world and make deci- decisions:
sions,research readily wins hands-down. This is
why professionals,educated people,and respon- Personal experience and common sense
sible leaders consistently turn to the methods,prin- Experts and authorities
ciples,and findings of social research when they Popular and media messages
want to learn more or make important decisions. Ideological beliefs and values
This text considers both the methodology and
methods of social science research. The terms may
Knowledge from Personal Experience
seem to be synonyms,but methodology is broader
and Common Sense
and envelops methods. Methodologymeans under-
standing the entire research process—including its If something happens to us,if we personally see it
social-organizational context, philosophical as- or experience it,we probably accept it as true. Per-
sumptions,ethical principles,and the political im- sonal experience or “seeing is believing”is a pow-
pact of new knowledge from the research enterprise. erful type of knowledge. Unfortunately,it can also
Methods refer to the collection of specific tech- lead us astray. Something similar to an optical illu-
niques we use in a study to select cases,measure sion or mirage can occur. What appears to be true
and observe social life,gather and refine data,ana- actually is due to an illusion,yet the power of im-
lyze data,and report on results. The two are closely mediacy and direct personal contact is so strong that
linked and interdependent. we easily fall for illusions without even realizing it.
2
WHY DO RESEARCH?
This is why many people insist on believing what
EXPANSION BOX 1
they personally experience rather than what they
What We Think We Will Do and
learn by reading a carefully conducted research
What We Actually Do
study that was designed to avoid the errors of per-
sonal experience. This is especially true when re-
Social scientists note a paradox: Most people
search studies contradict what personal experience
strongly condemn overt racism, yet acts of blatant
or common sense tell us. Moreover,errors of per-
racism still occur. To examine this, Kawakami and as-
sonal experience reinforce each other. A few people
sociates (2009) conducted an experiment. They
even purposely use the distortions of personal ex- thought perhaps people inaccurately estimate what
perience to mislead others through propaganda, they would feel and do if they were to witness
cons or fraud,magic tricks,political manipulation, racism. To examine this, they asked non-Black stu-
and advertising gimmicks. dents how they would feel and what they thought
Entire subfields of research are devoted to un- they would do if a racist act occurred. Most predicted
covering the ways we misjudge,over- or underesti- that they would be very upset. However, when the
researchers staged a racist act in front of them, most
mate, and make mistakes. Here is an example:
of the students showed little distress. Most said they
Women tend to stick with skin creams that do not
would avoid a person who made a crude racist com-
work. Moreover,the less effective a beauty product
ment, but again what people said did not match their
or treatment,the more likely they will keep using it.
actual behavior. Study results suggest that one rea-
These are the findings of a study of 300 women,
son racism continues is that many people who be-
ages 27 to 65,who were trying to achieve a more lieve they would feel upset or take action actually
youthful appearance by using creams,vitamins,and respond with indifference when an act of racism
other beauty treatments. The findings were not what actually occurs. Apparently, we are not good at
we might expect:The women were most loyal to predicting how we will act in real situations when
products and treatments when they didn’t work! they happen.
Among women who felt that the treatments were
not working, 27 percent stopped using them.
Among women who felt the treatments were suc-
cessful, 55 percent stopped using them. The re- decreases violent crimes—yet numerous studies
searchers think the women keep doing something suggest that both of these beliefs are false. Most
that did not work because when people don’t feel people think an eyewitness account of a crime is
good about themselves,fear is a more powerful mo- ideal,but studies show they are highly inaccurate.
tivator than success. Fear about looking older Many of us worry about tragic accidents and horrific
spurred the women to keep trying even when prod- events,such as a plane crash or a school shooting.
ucts don’t work.1 However, we tend to worry about the “wrong”
While studies that uncover our tendency to mis- things because our estimates of something happen-
judge are fun to read,they point to a general prin- ing are far from actual probabilities based on care-
ciple: Everyday reasoning and perceptions are ful studies. Likewise,we can be misled by surface
imperfect and subject to error. More significantly,we appearances. Many people purchased a large,
rarely notice or catch such errors right away if at all. powerful-looking SUV for its safety at a time when
Knowledge from personal experience, com- crash tests and accident records showed SUVs to be
mon sense “facts,”and reasoning might be correct, less safe than many meeker looking cars.2
but they can lead us astray (see Expansion Box 1, Erroneous “common sense” misperceptions
What We Think We Will Do and What We Actually have real consequences. Moreover,the media often
Do). For example,common sense says that distrib- repeat and spread the misperceptions,schools or
uting free condoms in high schools will encourage businesses make decisions based on them,and law-
teens to engage in sexual activity or that impos- makers and politicians advance new laws or poli-
ingharsh punishment,such as the death penalty, cies founded on them. We often make the following
3
WHY DO RESEARCH?
five errors in our everyday decisions, but the re- evidence that confirms what we already believe.
search process tries to reduce such errors. At the same time,most of us tend to overlook the
entire range of cases. We often dismiss contradic-
Overgeneralization
tory information as being an exception we can ig-
Selective observation
nore. For example, I believe people who are
Premature closure
overweight are more outgoing and friendly than
Halo effect
thin people. My belief comes from stereotypes
False consensus
learned from my parents and media sources. I ob-
serve people who are overweight and, without
1. Overgeneralizationoccurs when we have
being aware,pay more attention to their smiling,
some believable evidence and then assume that it
laughing, and so on. I notice thin people more
applies to many other situations as well. Note the
when they are looking serious,distracted,or angry.
word “over.”Generalization can be appropriate but
Without realizing it,I notice people and situations
it is limited. We can generalize a small amount of
that reinforce my preconceived way of thinking.
evidence to a broader situation but only if we do so
Studies also document our tendency to “seek out”
with great care. Unfortunately,many of us tend to
and distort memories to make them more consis-
generalize far beyond what is acceptable with lim-
tent with what we already think.
ited evidence. We often generalize from what we
3. Premature closureoperates with and in-
know to unknown areas. For example, over the
forces the first two errors. It occurs when we feel
years,I have personally known five people who are
we have the answer and no longer need to listen,
blind. All of them were very outgoing and friendly.
seek information,or raise questions. For practical
Can I conclude that all people who are blind are
purposes,at some point,we need to stop gathering
friendly? Do the five people with whom I had per-
information and come to a decision. Unfortunately,
sonal experience fully represent all people on the
most of us are a little lazy or get a little sloppy. We
planet who are blind?
gather a small amount of evidence or look at events
2. Selective observationis slightly different
for a short time and then think we have it figured
than overgeneralization. It occurs when we take
out. We look for evidence to confirm or reject an
special notice of certain people or events and then
idea and stop after getting a small amount of evi-
generalize from them. Most often we focus on par-
dence and jump to conclusions.
ticular cases or situations,especially when they fit
4. Thehalo effectoccurs when we overgen-
preconceived ideas. We also tend to seek out
eralize from what we believe to be highly positive
or prestigious. We give a halo to,or a positive rep-
utation to,things or people we respect. This halo
Overgeneralization Statement that goes far beyond “rubs off”on other things or people about which
what can be justified based on the data or empirical we know little. Thus,I pick up a report by a person
observations that one has. from a prestigious university,say,Harvard or Cam-
Selective observation Process of examination in a bridge University. I assume that the author is smart
way that reinforces preexisting thinking rather than in and talented,and I expect the report to be excellent.
a neutral and balanced manner. I do not make the same assumption about a report
Premature closure Act of making a judgment or written by someone from Unknown University. I
reaching a decision and ending an investigation before form an opinion in advance,and I do not approach
gathering the amount or depth of evidence required
each report on its own merits alone. Perhaps a
by scientific standards.
celebrity or person I trust endorses a product or
Halo effect Occurrence that allows the prior reputa- political candidate about which I know little. I use
tion of persons, places, or things to color one’s evalua-
my positive feelings as a substitute for doing the
tions rather than evaluating all in a neutral, equal
work of finding out for myself or as a shortcut when
manner.
making decisions.
4
WHY DO RESEARCH?
5. False consensusis a psychological effect
False consensus A tendency to project one’s way of
documented by dozens of studies (Marks and
thinking onto other people. In other words, the person
Miller,1987). It suggests that we are not good at assumes that everyone else thinks like he or she does.
distinguishing between what we personally think
and what we think most other people believe. In
short,we tend to see the views of most other people with an impressive name,such as the Center for the
as being similar to our own views. This is not a mat- Scientific Study of X. Some think tanks are legiti-
ter of purposely conforming to and copying a mate research centers, but many are fronts for
crowd perspective. Rather,most of us feel that our wealthy special-interest groups who want to engage
own views are “normal”or “ordinary”in compar- in advocacy politics. No regulations control the titles
ison with others. While this might be true, we of think tanks,and anyone can become a “scholar”in
greatly overestimate how much our views match the group. Think tanks enable an “expert”to make
those of other people. In terms of social events and authoritative statements to the mass media,giving the
issues,studies suggest that most of us are not very impression of being neutral and knowledgeable.
good at judging the thoughts of people around us. Such people may lack real expertise and make state-
Social research helps address the errors of per- ments based on opinion or ideology,not on research.3
sonal experience. Research standards, rules, and Later in this chapter,you will read about how the sci-
principles are designed to reduce the misjudgment, entific community operates and how it determines
bias,and distorted thinking that frequently occurs who is a genuine expert.
with personal experience. Even if we locate legitimate experts in a specific
field,they may disagree. Perhaps you have heard the
dozens of contradictory and confusing research-
Knowledge from Experts and Authorities
based recommendations about health and diet. You
Most of what we know probably comes from our might ask what is so great about research if there is
parents,teachers,and experts as well as from books, so much disagreement. This situation happens be-
film,television,the Internet,and other media. Often cause much of what fills the mass mediausing the
we accept something as being true because someone words “research”or “scientific”does not involve sci-
with expertise or in a position of authority says it is so entific research. Unfortunately,the media often use
or because it appears in an authoritative, trusted “research”when technically no real research backs a
source. This is using authority as a basis of knowl- statement. Nonetheless,scientists or experts do not
edge. In many ways,relying on the wisdom of experts agree 100 percent of the time. In many areas—the
and authorities is a quick,simple,and inexpensive best diet,health practice,public policy,or climate
way to learn something. An expert may spend a great change—there is some disagreement. Later in this
amount of time to learn something,and we can ben- chapter,you will read about the principles of science
efit from that person’s experience and efforts. and the operation of the scientific community and see
Relying on experts has limitations,and it is easy how disagreement arises and is resolved as part of the
to overestimate someone’s expertise. Authorities may process of scientific research.
speak on fields they know little about; they can be More than finding an expert,it is important for
plain wrong. Someone with expertise in one area may us to learn how to think independently and evaluate
extend his or her real authority to an unrelated area. research on our own. Always relying on experts and
Using the halo effect,an expert on one area may ille- authorities is not consistent with the principles of a
gitimately act as an authority in a different area. Have free, democratic society. Experts might promote
you ever seen commercials in which a movie star or ideas that strengthen their power and position. We
football hero tries to convince you to buy a product? lose the ability to decide for ourselves if we follow
Who decides who is or is not a genuine expert only the authorities. This is a reason to learn about
or authority? A person might become a “senior fel- research and acquire the skills so we can evaluate
low”or “adjunct scholar”in a private “think tank” strong from weak studies.
5