Expertise is an integral part of the field as it determines who will be cited and referenced which relates to what becomes knowledge in the field. Expertise can also be determined by how many times one’s research is cited as an author. In her article, Is There a Motherhood Penalty, Shelley Correll blatantly states her variables that she is controlling for to lead to a causal relationship. The act of stating research limitations and variables adds to the credibility of a study and the researcher’s expertise in turn. She also uses facts such as numbers found in descriptive research questions to further her argument of the motherhood penalty. Shelley would be considered an expert because she is able to demonstrate that she is well versed in her field, gender studies, by citing other articles and their strengths and weaknesses.
A sociologist is an expert when her work is well known, credible, and/or she is a faculty member teaching a field of sociology. Those who are referenced and taught in those classes are also considered experts of their time in that field. It is also common to regard “experts” as respected researchers. This would broadly be saying that his/her methods are sound and the interpretation of the information found would widely be deemed as a strong correlation or a causal relationship. When a causal relationship is found, the expert would have been able to control for all outside variables and interpret their data into information that can be explicitly applied to the explanations of societal behaviors.
Sociological World 