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In this lecture, Dr. Andrew Jorgenson presents an overview of methodological tools used in sociological research. He notes the distinctions between exploratory analysis and hypothesis testing and between inductive and deductive reasoning and he highlights differences among data types. He provides examples of qualitative research approaches, including ethnography and case study methodologies, and quantitative research approaches, overviewing multivariate regression and other techniques. He provides several examples of studies from environmental sociology that use methodological techniques. He concludes by noting that research questions should determine the methods that are used, and that environmental sociology embraces diverse methodological approaches to answer a range of research questions.
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About the Presenters
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Andrew Jorgenson
Dr. Andrew Jorgenson is Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology, Professor of Environmental Studies, and coordinator of the Global Environmental Sociology Lab at Boston College. Working in the areas of environmental sociology, global political economy, the sociology of development, and sustainability science more broadly, he conducts research on the human dimensions of global and regional environmental change, with a focus on how development, inequality, and the structure of global production and trade networks contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, industrial pollution, land-...
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Andrew Jorgenson
Dr. Andrew Jorgenson is Professor and Chair in the Department of Sociology, Professor of Environmental Studies, and coordinator of the Global Environmental Sociology Lab at Boston College. Working in the areas of environmental sociology, global political economy, the sociology of development, and sustainability science more broadly, he conducts research on the human dimensions of global and regional environmental change, with a focus on how development, inequality, and the structure of global production and trade networks contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, industrial pollution, land- cover change, and relationships between environmental conditions and population health. In 2020, Andrew received the Fred Buttel Distinguished Contribution Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Environmental Sociology for his innovation, publication, and service in the field of environmental sociology. He was recently appointed by the U.S. Global Change Research Program to serve as an author for the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which is scheduled for completion in 2023. He is the founding co-editor of Sociology of Development, a journal published by University of California Press, and he serves on the editorial board for various journals.
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Supporting Materials
Presentation slides:
DocumentJorgenson_Sociological Methods.pdf (673.44 KB)
Reading list:
Marquart-Pyatt, S.T., Jorgenson, A.K., and Hamilton, L.C. (2015). Methodological approaches for sociological research on climate change. In Climate Change and Society: Sociological Perspectives. R.E. Dunlap and R.J. Brulle, eds. Oxford University Press, 369-411.
Presenters
Andrew Jorgenson, Boston College
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