Empirical Study

Empirical research is the foundation of sociological study. This research is an attempt to answer questions related to human behavior through a systematic collection and analysis of data. The first three steps of the scientific method includes asking a question, research existing sources, and formulating a hypothesis (Keirns, Strayer, Griffiths, Cody-Rydzewski, Scaramuzzo, Vyain; 2012). When asking a question, it must be a question that can be investigated by scientific method. The question that is used should be original and of personal interest. Asking a question is important as it can be the most challenging part of research. The second step is researching existing sources, which consists of finding books and journal articles with documented research on similar or related studies to the topic of choice. Researching existing sources is of equal importance as this will help researchers gain a broad understanding of the topic at hand, and also allow them to use their own research to build onto prior knowledge. The third step is formulating a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an assumption about how two or more variables are related; it makes a conjectural statement about the relationship between those variables (Keirns et al, 2012). Forming a hypothesis is important because it often predicts how one form of human behavior influences another (Keirns et al, 2012). The first three steps of the

In forming the question on the topic of interest requires a manageable amount of information. Depending on the amount of information found in existing sources may call for narrowing or broadening of the question. Too much information may require narrowing the topic while too little information may require broadening the topic at hand (North Hennepin Community College, nd). After completing the literature review, the question became: “Is there a higher rate of divorce with interracial marriages in comparison to same-race