Sociological Research Methods - Case Study Example

16th October Sociological research methods Question With respect to race, Penner & & Saperstein indicates that social position of individuals is a major determinant of how they perceive their own race and how it is viewed by others. Based on their research on the perceptions of race, Penner & & Saperstein also indicates that individuals who are incarcerated, unemployed or impoverished are more likely to be classified as black and less likely to be identified as white. Question 2Penner & & Saperstein examine race in two major approaches.

First, they look at how individuals are racially classified by others and how they identify themselves. Secondly, Penner& Saperstein indicates that the racial change that occurs overtime is related to social position of individuals. By undertaking the study, the authors indicate that race is not a fixed characteristic but rather a flexible marker of social status. Question 3In order to come with a sound conclusion, Penner & Saperstein adopts three major variables which include white, black and other.

Additionally, the respondents were provided with an opportunity to report their race. For example, in 1979, the respondents were required to provide their descent or origin while in 2002 they were asked to indicate whether they were of Hispanic origin as well as the race they considered themselves to be (Andrew and Aliya 1).The relationship between the variable is positively strong since each one of them makes the other to have impact in the conclusion of the study. Question 4I feel that this study is valid with respect to the two forms of validity.

Based on the data that was taken from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and the interviewing of 12,686 individuals, the study was able to reach at the conclusion. Thus, the validity can be used by other people and researchers in future to undertake more research. The first form of validity for this study is internal validity. The study indicates the casual relationship between the various variables such as unemployment and race, as well as origin and race. The second validity is measurement validity.

This is due to the aspect of data and interview that was done by sampling 12,686 people. Works CitedAndrew. P and Aliya, S. How social status shapes race. Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine. 2008. Print.