Essay/Term paper: Theory and research

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Social Issues

Theory and Research

Introduction

This paper will focus on the quantitative correlation study method used
in survey based researches such as the attached article entitled "Horatio Alger
lives". Social research is a collection of methods people use to systematically
combine theories and ideas to produce knowledge. Because of it's complexity,
researchers must be able to carefully select a method or methods that will best
suit their study objectives. Quantitative research method consists of:
experiment, content analysis, existing statistics (correlation), and survey.
The correlation and survey will be the two main methods that will be emphasized.
In a survey research, people are asked questions either through the use of
questionnaires or during an interview. Unlike the experiment approach, the
condition and situation in a survey requires no manipulation. All the subject
have to do is to answer questions. Good quantitative research is determined by
validity and reliability of the research method used (Teevan, 1995:161).
Therefo re, the straight correlation study method used in the survey research of
"Horatio Alger lives" lack components of validity and reliability.

News Article Summary

This article entitled "Horatio Alger lives" is basically a survey
correlation study done on two distinct social classes; sons of wealthy fathers
and sons of lower income fathers. The goal in this research was to determine
which sons of the two distinct social groups mentioned, were to likely make more
money in the future. Therefore, they surveyed 400,000 males age 16 and 19 that
was still living with their fathers. After the eleven year period the same
groups of men were again surveyed, and their incomes was correlated with their
fathers. The research revealed that overall sons of wealthy fathers was more
likely to earn higher salaries than their dads. Based on this fact the
researcher further generalized that sons of wealthy fathers was more than likely
to obtain a higher income than those sons of lower income fathers. Despite the
overall results a small percentage of sons of fathers in the lower income
families made more money than their father.

Class Discussion

The class discussion evolved around two questions. The first question
was; do you agree with the researcher's angle in which he derived a general
assumption that, sons of wealthy fathers will make more money than sons of lower
income fathers? Before allowing anyone to answer I quickly brought up the third
variable which was attitude, in addition to the previous question. This
question had two very interesting but opposing points of views brought to light
by two very different opinionated classmates. One classmate (female) agreed
with the researchers measures and assumptions, arguing on the bases that if your
father had more money than you are more than likely to get a better education
therefore, with this education one will be able to earn more money. She further
added that wealtheir families had higher expectations on their children and as a
result the child were likely to live up to that expectation. On the contrary,
the other classmate (male) disagreed with the researcher's approach and
generalization. His argument was that regardless of how rich one's father may
be it is solely dependent upon the individual's attitude. He further argued
that if that individual had a good attitude (ambitious and motivated) then the
wealth and connection on his/her father's behalf will only enhance his/her
success financially. However, given a hypothetical situation both the classmate
including myself and others agreed that on a general basis, sons of wealthier
fathers will be more likely to secure better jobs than those sons of fathers in
lower income. We further discussed the importance of the third variable which
was attitude and agreed on how important it is to be motivated. The question of
validity was also brought up during discussions because the researcher measured
wealth using only the income of the father. Further discussions of this
suggested that to get a better measure the average of both mother and father's
income should be taken. Finally, there was the last question; in the case of
this article what is the independent and dependent variable? Independent
variable is the cause and the dependent is the outcome resulting from the cause.
The article suggested independent variable was the sons of either rich or poor
dads and the dependent variable was did they make more than their fathers.
Discussions of this topic concluded that the independent variable be the
attitude of the son and the dependent was how much they made.

Sociological Analysis of Article

The research "Horatio Alger lives" uses a inductive reasoning logic.
This means that the researcher begins with a specific result. In this case the
results are based on 400,000 male subject (aged 16-19) taken from one area, and
generalizes the results to the overall population. Due to the results of this
research, the researcher concluded that overall, sons of wealthy fathers were
making more money than those sons who's fathers were in less favorable financial
status. This generalization yields questions of reliability because of the fact
that the research was done on 400,000 males in one area. Reliability is defined
as when a the method of conducting a study where the results can be replicated
or duplicated by another researcher without a change in result. For example,
measuring height with an elastic ruler may not be as reliable as measuring it
with a stiff ruler because the elasticity would cause the results to vary from
one time to the next (Gray, 1994:39). Several criticisms can be made about the
reliability of this research due to the method used to derive a conclusion.
First of all, if this same research was to be done in another area, the results
may differ. Differentiation in results may be attributed to the different
attitudes that the men have in the different areas-the group measured may have
totally different attitudes than those not measured in other areas. Attitudes
play a crucial role in determining how successful an individual will be
financially. For example, if you are ambitious and motivated to be successful
than you are more likely to be one step closer to that goal compared to those
who are less motivated and ambitious. It is another way of saying "if you don't
do your road-test how are you going to get your license". Secondly, the type of
research method incorporated in the study is longitudinal. Longitudinal
research is when the same individuals are studied at a different age, in this
case it's over an eleven year period (Nueman, 1994:133-138). The problem here
is that the only means of measure is correlation of the sons income over the
eleven year period with the fathers. Also, researches could have included only
fathers of wealthier families which poses a problem because the fathers of the
wealthier family may not be the ones making the top dollars bringing the family
as a whole to be classified as wealthier. Moreover, it may be the mothers that
are making the higher salaries in the wealthier families. Which in turn means
that no matter how many years have past it would yield the same result. Meaning
that the only way this research would be reliable is providing that on the
overall average, the so-called wealthier fathers made more money than poorer
ones. Whereas, if this were to be the opposite (poorer fathers made more money
on average than wealthier ones) then it would simply mean that this research is
unreliable.
On the other hand, the validity in this kind of research can also be
questioned. A validity is the degree to which a measure actually measures what
it claims to. In the case of this article, it claims to measure the financial
future of the sons of both rich and poor fathers. Threats of validity stems
from researches done on a survey or interview basis. First of all, the
respondents may not answer the questions truthfully or lie by giving socially
approved answers that reflect well on them and avoid responses that put them in
unfavorable light (Teevan, 1995:174). Let's suppose that hypothetically,
respondents of the wealthier fathers lied on the questionnaire that they made
more than their fathers, putting themselves in a more favorable and socially
approved status. If this was the case then the study would be considered
invalid. Secondly, survey researchers must be careful of spurious relationships
in these correlation's (Reaves 1992:130-131). A spurious relationship assumes
that a relationship is causal, when in fact each is effected by a common third
variable. For example, this article claims that the sons of wealthier fathers
will make more money then those of poorer fathers, does this also mean that the
richer the father the more money the son will make in the long-run? If so, then
is the wealthier the father the independent variable and how much the son makes
the dependent variable? The answer is no because the real relationship is
between attitudes of sons of wealthy fathers and making more money and attitudes
of sons of wealthier fathers and making even more money (Bower, 1990). This
third common variable in the spurious relationship stems back to what was said
earlier about attitudes, if you don't have a good attitude the chances of you
being independently successful financially in the future are very slim despite
the financial positions of your family. However, if you do have a good attitude
and a wealthy father than you would have an edge of being more successful over
the sons of poorer fathers.

Summary and Conclusion

In order to make a survey valid and reliable researchers must consider
all factors involved. Survey's must include subjects from varying social and
economic backgrounds. This survey could have been made more concise if random
sampling (is a method in which subjects are randomly selected from various
areas) was used (Teevan, 1995:162). This would ensure that there would not be
any biases involved when choosing subjects. The researcher when initializing
this survey overlooked the possibility of double-income households and therefore,
documented the fathers as the only means of income in a family. As a result,
the research is only accurate in measuring single income families, providing
that the wealthier fathers made more on average compared to the poorer ones. In
conclusion, straight correlation study methods used in survey research like
"Horatio Alger lives" will lack components of validity and reliability due to
these facts previously mentioned.

Bibliography

Bower, B. (1990b). Anxiety weighs down pregnancies and births. Science News, 138,
102.

Gray, Peter 1994. Psychology Second Edition. United States of America: Worth
Publishers, Inc.

Teevan, James J. 1995. Introduction to Sociology a Canadian Focus Fifth Edition.
Scaraborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

Reaves, Celia C. 1992. Quantitative Research for the Behavioral Sciences.
Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

W. Lawrence Neuman 1994. Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative
approaches. Massachusesetts: Allyn and Bacon A Division of Simon & Schuster,
Inc.