SOCI 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Snowball Sampling, Prima Facie, Simple Random Sample
3 Nov 2017
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Document Summary
Measuring variables: turn abstract concepts into observable variables, then decide on how to measure these variables (only in quantitative research/ qualitative researchers are more interested in describing thins and using language and words) Things to consider: what varies in the variables (categorical vs continuous, what instruments are used to measure the way the variables vary, what units are used to report variation (e. x. Crimes stats = violent offenses vs non violent/females vs males. Difficulties in measuring crime: never be certain that numbers accurately reflect amount of crimes that take place (dark figure of crime, not always clear how you would measure and count reported crimes to police. Collecting data: once measure for variable is identified, data collection process can begin, observation. Interviews and surveys: examining records and documents - content analysis, need an instrument that allows us to collect and measure data in a systematic and standardized way, consider the validity and reliability of data collected.
