English
In this essay, we would like to provide the answers to the next questions. Those are:
What is a social research?
What are the scientific methods of social research?
Why are social researches important nowadays?
The results of our theoretical part we will present with the help of the actual social research analysis. For this task, we chose the article by Mignon R. Moore 'Gendered Power Relations among Women: A Study of Household Decision Making in Black, Lesbian Stepfamilies'. We will analyze the methods the author used and the conclusions she got.
Sociology is a science which studies the most complex, variable object - the human society, its structure, and laws of human behavior. This is the science that forms and establishes a view on civil society as a coherent unity, which is constantly in a state of volatility and development. This is a science which discovers the place and function of each social phenomena and processes give people needed guidance, helps to understand the life circumstances that surround them in the vast process of human relations. Sociology was always like a weapon to solve dubious problems (Best, 11).
Social research is a process held by a person or a group of people in order to find out an answer to an important and substantial question for a society. The process of the research presupposes addressing to a social theory, collecting evidence, and analyzing (Ragin and Amoroso, 8). The Scientific method is a succession of steps in which the social research is usually held in order to achieve accurate results (Ragin and Amoroso, 17). The first step is setting a research question. The question should be dubious and socially valuable. The second point is putting this question into reality. The third one is measurements. On this stage, researcher begins to collect data material. The next step is, obviously, analysis of the collected data. And the last one is setting a conclusion and building up new questions.
Let us try to find and describe the methods mentioned above in the article written by Mignon R. Moore 'Gendered Power Relations among Women: A Study of Household Decision Making in Black, Lesbian Stepfamilies'. at the beginning of the research Mignon, R. Moore uses the two scientific methods of the social research. She provides us with the theory, background, and current conditions of the problem of distribution of responsibilities in black lesbian families. Mignon R. Moore shows us the question, provides us with the plot and the results of previously held researches. In her final question, she proposes to compare what is written in the family literature about the responsibilities in such families and how it is in reality. The author makes some suggestions still she says that there can be unexpected results. Then we move to the step three where the researcher provides us with the conditions under which her social research will be carried out. New York City was chosen to be a place of the study because of the population and the ability of black gay people there (Mignon R. Moore, 340). Also, we should mention that Mignon R. Moore chooses to be the direct observer of the research and decides to visit various public events with a massive presence of black lesbians like parties, religious gatherings, different kinds of workshops (Mignon R. Moore, 340).
We can assume that she made a thorough preparation work on the research. She spent a year just getting acquainted with the field of her study. For the research Mignon, R. Moore took 100 women who had experience having a family with other women (Mignon R. Moore, 340). The researcher provides us with precise information about the data gathered. Also, she provides the descriptive statistics of all the participants with their peculiarities (Mignon R. Moore, 342).
In the analysis of the data she arises the importance of economic independence, 'mother' status, and gender role in dividing household responsibilities. Then Mignon R. Moore provides the reader with a thorough analysis of all the three points of her research using various tables and real life situations and conversations that happened during the research. Also, she shows the difference between the division of the household responsibilities of lesbian couples with and without children. And with the help of the provided table, we can see a clear difference. In couples with children, most of the labor is done by the biological mother. On the other hand, couples without children shared their responsibilities more equally. Still, we can see that more man-like work like yard work, cleaning floors, taking the trash out, repairing is done by the less feminine partner. However, dusting, washing dishes, arranging meals is done by the most feminine partner (Mignon R. Moore, 352).
In the conclusion section, the author writes that the results she got differ from the common assumptions that she provided at the beginning of the research as the background information. What is more important she provides the readers with the brief overview of the whole research and put together gathered information. She even compares the particular results and shows the how it differ from particular studies (Mignon R. Moore, 353). Nevertheless, we cannot find any new questions held at the end of the research.
In a nutshell, Mignon R. Moore did a thorough research considering the majority of scientific methods that should be present in the sociological research such as, setting a research question, putting the question into reality, taking measurements, collecting of data begins, analyzing the collected data, and setting a conclusion.
Works cited
Best, Joel. Damned Lies And Statistics. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 2012. Print.
Moore, M. R. "Gendered Power Relations Among Women: A Study Of Household Decision Making In Black, Lesbian Stepfamilies". American Sociological Review 73.2 (2008): 335-356. Web.
Ragin, Charles C and Lisa M Amoroso. Constructing Social Research. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2011. Print.
