Monday, February 18, 2013

Sense and nonsense about surveys

Among the three articles , " Sense and Nonsense about Surveys is relatively close to the chapter reading in Chapter 2 of Experience Sociology .The article states about how the method of collecting data through surveys can be misleading sometimes and not always accurate . Connoting to the book , the survey research method is a data collection technique that involves asking someone a series of questions.Surveys are popular in part because they are very versatile, are useful for a wide variety of issues, and effectively describe large populations, if appropriate sampling techniques are used ( Czaja and Blair 2004) 
According to the article , the survey method cannot be relied 100 percent as the data collected are generalized when it is impossible to generalize the whole publics opinions. Therefore the survey method is only reliable when it is divided into focus group and asked closed-ended questions and open ended questions.The book and the article agrees on the fact that researchers need to pay extra attention to the wording of the survey as even the slightest variations may result in a totally different data survey.The phrasing of words need to be carefully examined and thoroughly checked in order to get an accurate findings.The chapter also focuses on the pros and the cons of using the Survey method .The various problems that the survey method have are the lack of clarity in the questions, different definitions or wordings ,loaded language that were misunderstood and double barreled questions.Schuman also mentions sampling  method of surveys being crucially biased and the possibility of the method being very limited to the data.He also mentions about the change in the shift of 
how sampling process gained recognition and credibility.In the 1936 presidential election , the poll predictions between the Literary Digest and sociologist George Gallup proved to be one of the most 
recognized sampling method.The fact that the Literary Digest's false prediction of FDR to lose resulted in the recognition of sampling method to be accurate.
There are many flaws in understanding a survey as there is no definite number of subject groups agreeing to this and that and the method itself is time consuming makes it unreliable. Sociologists uses datas and information to make others aware.Relatively , there might be missing information and sometimes  no participation.The questions itself are very limited to the answer.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

New york and me

I am karsang It's been almost five years since coming to america.What I left and what I gained has changed the whole sociological  perspective of being in america. I have come from a very different culture than what I have experienced in NewYork. Here , life is really busy. Time is limited .We have work to go to  big or small. We spent most of our time in commuting from day to day work and home . People here are so driven to their goals.There are times I question myself  why my parents wanted me to come here in America?A land they have never seen yet they have so many ideas about it being "THE ONE" place every person should live.and I have started to think it is indeed a dream come true to be living in this great America . Everyone back home thinks if you are living in America you have  lots of dollars . Which is a very funny thought , it is hard enough to sustain living here forget about savings in abundance. Comparing life there it's a different world. There are three types of social group high class middle class and low class.There are two major races aryan and mongolian.The races are scattered in its own geographical region. The Aryans occupying mostly the southern and the hilly territories and the mongolians living mostly to the north in the mountains.Life in Nepal is all about three major things bread , clothes and shelter . If you have money you get all these three things and if you dont then its a very close call to hell. I have been raised by my parents very well. They sent me to a boarding school in Nepal , while they worked in India to earn a living and pay my bills.I have never been denied of what I have asked yet it was simple demands .I never got to know the importance of these three factors until i came to New York. What my parents taught me it has come to effect while living here. Working and going to school is quite a challenge. Living these five years here has changed not only my appearance but have changed the overall importance of my existence in New York.