32. How can researchers develop a sample of homeless persons in order to study the issue of homelessness?

Homelessness continues to be a vexing social problem that concerns many

community psychologists and other professionals, as well as the general

public. Responding to the obvious need, research has progressed rapidly over

the past decade. The eight papers in this Special Issue provide examples of

the many methodological and conceptual advances that have been made in

the recent research on homelessness. The papers provide policy analysis,

develop measures and methods for collecting representative samples, compare

important subgroups in the homeless population, conduct longitudinal

investigations, and describe and evaluate innovative interventions. © 1999

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The lifetime prevalence of homelessness in the United States has been estimated at over

seven percent and there has been a dramatic increase of interest in homelessness in both

popular and professional literatures over the past 10–15 years. Public opinion polls have

indicated genuine concern about the problem and a variety of studies on homelessness

have been completed. Many of the earliest of these studies documented the characteristics

of the homeless populations in our cities, often focusing on mental health and substance

abuse. More recently, studies have become more methodologically sophisticated

and have investigated a variety of previously unexplored issues. This Special Issue on

Homelessness involves eight papers that illustrate various methodological and conceptual

advances that community psychologists and other researchers have made over the

past decade. As a group, these papers represent eight different data sets involving thousands

of homeless people in five different cities across the nation.

33. Why does the conclusion of a sociological study invariably point the way to new research?

Social life is full of experiences that prompt people to reexamine their surroundings. For example, an unpleasant public encounter may motivate us to try retrospectively to make sense of the event (i.e.,we ask how and why things happened as they did). In many ways, all human beings are novice researchers who give meaning to, interpret, and predict their social world. This work of researching and theorizing about society encompasses an infinite number of topics. For instance, some may wonder about their personal relationships (e.g., ‘Why did my significant other not return my phone call?’), while others may be preoccupied with weightier matters of social justice (e.g.,‘How can we stop all the violence in the world?’) or, as is often the case, we may be interested in both personal and global issues. The specific focus of questions aside, all human beings are interested in understanding and explaining everyday experiences. This basic sense of curiosity is the foundation of social science research, or what may be defined loosely as the act of re-examining the social world with the goal of better understanding or explaining why or how people behave.This elementary definition emphasizes the rediscovery process that is invariably embedded in research. In a sense, the word ‘research’ can literally be interpreted as ‘renewed search,’ or ‘re-examination.’ Naturally, most people are not inclined to invest time or effort to formally study their social environment. Social scientists, by profession, are in the business of exploring all aspects of human behavior and environment.

34. What are the practical and ethical challenges faced by sociologists who wish to conduct participant-observation research?

METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Unit two examines sociology as asocial science.The basic principles and stages of scientific method are described. A number of techniques commonly used in sociological research are presented. Particular attention is given to the practical and ethical challenges that sociologists face in studying human behavior and to Max Webers call for value neutrality in social science research.

Learning Objective

After studying this unit, you should be able to answer the following questions:

1. How do sociologists use scientific method

2. Why does the conclusion of a sociological study point the way to new research

3. What are the practical and ethical challenges faced by sociologists who wish to conduct participant-observation research

4. How can sociologists use unobtrusive measures to study social phenomena indirectly

5. Why is it valuable for sociologists to have a code of professional ethics

6. What is the objective of basic sociology, and what relationship should there be between basic and applied sociology

35, Unobtrusive measures. They include a variety of research techniques that have no impact on who or what is being studied. Social scientists and students from the University of Arizona studied people's spending and eating habits by examining household garbage left out on the street. This is an unconventional example of the use of unobtrusive measures in social scientific research.

The basic techniques of unobtrusive measures are the use of statistics and studying cultural, economic and political documents, including newspapers, periodicals, radio and television tapes, diaries, songs, folklore and legal papers, to name a few examples.

It is important to realize that research designs need not be viewed as mutually exclusive. Two or more methods used together may be especially informative. For example, unobtrusive methods have proved to be valuable as a supplement to other research methods. One investigator wished to examine the relationship between reported and actual beer consumption. He obtained a «front door”measure of consumption by asking residents of houses how much beer they drank each week. At the same time, a «backdoor» measure was developed by counting the number of beer cans in their garbage. This backdoor method produced a considerably higher estimate of beer consumption. Ethics of research . Most sociological research uses people as sources of information — as respondents to survey questions, participants in experiments or subjects of observation. That is why in conducting research sociologists must abide by the code of ethics that puts forth the following basic principles:

1.        Maintain objectivity and integrity in research.

2.        Respect the subject's right to privacy and dignity.

3.        Protect subjects from personal harm.

4.        Preserve confidentiality.

5.        Acknowledge research collaboration and assistance.

6.        Disclose all sources of financial support.