Family Relationships
1/17/17
Important ideas/terms to remember:
Fact: a statement that can be verified and is established w/ overwhelming evidence
(Opposite could be thought of as a myth)
Value / Opinion / Belief: a statement that is not possible to prove or disprove
through scientific evidence
Sample Selection
Population
o
All individuals in a group that share a particular characteristic
o
Often impossible to find and survey all individuals in the group
Sample
o
A group of individuals who represent the entire population
Methods: Surveys
Used to systematically collect information
Predetermined questions
Questionnaires
Interviews
Focus groups
Methods: Field Research
Systematic observation of people in their natural surroundings
Participant observers
o
Researchers interact naturally, but do not reveal their identities as
researchers
Methods: Secondary Analysis
Use of data that was collected by someone else
o
Historical documents
o
Public records
o
Official statistics
o
Surveys obtained by other researchers
Methods: Experiments
Examination of cause and effect relationships under controlled conditions
Individuals assigned by experimenter into one of two or more groups
The Ethics and Politics of Family Research
Codes of Ethics
o
Helps protect human research subjects

Data is confidential
Protect participant’s identity
o
Helps keep research “honest”
Prevents biased researched
Political issues can affect both research agendas and reporting procedures
o
Grant funding targeted toward specific diseases
1/24/17
The Ethics and Politics of Family Research
Political issues can affect both research agendas and reporting procedures
o
Grant funding targeted toward specific diseases
o
Criticism from Congress on use of funds (The Wastebook)
o
Having healthy relationships lead to a more healthy, developed society
Liberals
More concerned with social problems
More likely to be left-winged than right
What is Family?
A family is
o
A group of related people living together: share genetic material, are married,
adopted
A household is
o
The person(s) who live in a housing unit
Sociological Perspective
“The family deals with reproduction and care and support for children and adults”
(Skolnick & Skolnick, 2009)
Historical Perspectives
Love as a requirement for marriage is a more recent development
o
Still not necessary in arranged marriages
o
Pre-industrial families – love and commitment not related
Role of children has changed
o
Pre-industrial children were producers
o
Transformation to economic dependents
Children now play more than work
o
Rates of childbirth have decreased with this change
Function of family has changed
o
Shift from public to private
o
No longer the same contract for production as part of society
Gender Roles



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- Spring '08
- Gray
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