Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Why do sociologists do research?
  • What are some of the different ways that sociologists collect data?
  • How do sociologists analyze data?
  • Think of a topic you might like to study. What would be the first steps in developing a research project on that topic?
  • Think of a hypothesis you’d like to test. What are the variables you would use to test it, and what type of sample would you use?
  • How do sociologists evaluate the quality of research?
  • How do sociologists evaluate news articles and graphical presentations that use survey data?