Introduction to Sociology

Participant Observation

Ethnography

Case Study

Experiments

Secondary Data Analysis

Which method would you select to examine the scene in Figure 1? Why? What would you need to consider before you begin your research?
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Answers to the "Try It" Questions Above

Question 1 Answer: empirical evidence; interpretive framework
While empirical evidence follows the hypothesis-testing model, the interpretive framework seeks to understand worldview from the perspective of the participant. In positivist, or empirical experiments, the researcher generally starts with a hypothesis and tests it, while in the interpretive framework, a research will start with the data and evidence and then work in the other direction to derive a theory.


Question 2 Answer: valid
Validity refers to the degree to which measurement accurately reflects what it was intended to study.


Question 3 Answer: body weight at least 20 percent higher than a healthy weight for a child of that height
This gives a clear and measurable criterion of what would constitute as childhood obesity.


Question 4 Answer: variable
Research looks at the impact of the independent variable on the dependent variable to determine the relationship between the two.