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Conducting Sociological Research

Author: Zach Lamb

Source: Intro Music by Mark Hannan; Public Domain

Video Transcript
Terms to Know
Dependent Variable

The effect of the change.

Hypothesis

Commonly known as an educated guess; a statement about how two or more variables are related.

Independent Variable

The cause of the change, or what drives the change in the dependent variable.

Sample

A smaller group of subjects that ideally represents the larger population as a whole.

Snowball Sampling

A sampling technique where initial subjects are found through acquaintances, and later subjects are found through acquaintances of acquaintances.

Value-Free Research (Max Weber)

Research must be objective and should not be biased by our values, principles, or beliefs.

Value-Relevant Research (Max Weber)

An acknowledgment that our values guide us to our research topics; we study what we find valuable and interesting.

Variable

A characteristic such as age, education, income, married, or single that can vary throughout the population.