Sociology and Anthropology Because Sociology and Anthropology Essay

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Sociology and Anthropology

Because sociology and anthropology are both social sciences, one might assume that the same research methods would be utilized in the different fields. However, while some of the same approaches can be used in both fields, it is important to realize that the differences in the fields make different approaches possible for each discipline. Sociology specifically examines social life, social change, and the social factors that contribute to individual behavior. Sociologists use surveys, interviews, experiments, observation, and secondary analysis (Sociology.com, 2013). Cultural anthropology examines human culture. Anthropologists employ the following research methods: participant observation, cross-cultural comparison, survey research, interviews, archival research, media analysis, and historical analysis (Donahue-Lynch, 2000). Clearly, the disciplines are related; however, they are not the same. As a result, some approaches that are appropriate for one discipline would not be appropriate for the other discipline. This paper will investigate the different research methods used in both disciplines.

One of the most popular research methods used in sociology is the survey (Sociology.com, 2014). This is because the survey can be used to collect a variety of different types of information and can be utilized in a variety of different manners. Surveys involve asking people questions. Surveys can utilize open-ended responses or fixed responses. They can be administered orally, in writing, or via the internet. In other words, surveys are flexible. The survey is not an experimental research method, but, instead, a descriptive research method (Palmquist, 2001). As a result, while surveys may be able to identify correlations, they cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect. In sociology, this limitation is acceptable, since social conditions may focus on factors that co-occur, rather than examining whether variables cause other variables to occur.

Another research method frequently used in sociology is the experiment.

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Experiments compare control and experimental groups to determine the relationship between different variables. In experiments, the presence of a control and experimental group is critical, in order to determine whether the variable that is being tested has an impact on the outcome. In addition, there should be pretesting of the dependent variable for both groups in order to determine the strength, if any, of the impact of the independent variable. Furthermore, the two groups should be roughly equal prior to the introduction of the independent variable, which can be verified through pretesting. The philosophical justifications for using an experimental research design in sociology is that it can allow a researcher to isolate variables, which can help determine cause and effect.

One research method used in cultural anthropology is the interview. Interviews are similar to surveys, but allow the researcher to gain a more in-depth understanding of the issues being examined. Interviews allow for an interaction between the researcher and the subjects, and provide opportunities for the researcher to gain further information about topics raised by the subjects. The interview is a qualitative research method; rather than providing numerical data about the relationship between variables, the interview seeks to provide in-depth data, generally about a single subject or a smaller number of subjects. The interview is used by sociologists, as well. However, it is important to consider that both cultural anthropology and sociology focus on whether individual experiences are generalizable to larger groups; if they are not, then the results of a research design may be of limited utility to the social scientists that use them. The interview is one example of such a research design.

Participant observation is probably the primary means of research utilized by cultural anthropologists. "Participant….....

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