In Summary: Scientific Method

Let us briefly summarize the process of scientific method through a review of the example. The researchers defined a problem (the relationship be­tween homelessness and mental illness). They re-

PART ONE ♦ THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

viewed the literature (other studies of the presence of mental illness among the homeless) and formu­lated a hypothesis ("Most homeless persons are not mentally ill"). Snow and his colleagues then ad­dressed the issue of creating an appropriate sam­ple of homeless persons in Austin, Texas. They collected the data and analyzed the data. Finally, they developed the conclusion: the typical homeless per­son is likely not to have a history of mental illness. Thus, through the systematic, organized applica­tion of scientific method, these researchers stud­ied a contemporary social issue and generated meaningful findings of interest to sociologists, mental health workers, and policymakers.

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