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Research > Basics of Research > Flashcards

Basics of Research Flashcards

1
Q

Why do we need research?

A
  • theories we learn are based in research
  • we use research to develop social policy
  • helps us understand validity of programs and services
  • helps us focus on target populations
  • good for evaluating programs and funding
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2
Q

What is Reality

A
  • the quality or state of things as they actually are

- however, people have different views about what ‘actually exists’

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3
Q

What is Realism

A
  • holds that reality exists independently of both the human mind and particular things
  • things exist independently from their perceived being, or facts are out there just waiting to be discovered
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4
Q

definition of multiple realities

A

there is no one reality

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5
Q

The story with the boy, girl, and old woman

A

Moral of the story: we have incomplete information of the story, but we can make a logical conclusion about it

  • the same event can mean a different reality for others
  • people make observations based on their own observations and assumptions
  • therefore, people may argue about the same thing with different concepts
  • our assumptions aren’t always correct
  • issue of epistemology (Knowing)
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6
Q

What can we do when we deal with multiple realities?

A
  • clearly state definitions
  • clearly describe the observation, the conditions the observation was taken in, the logic to reach the conclusion, and the basic assumptions.
  • if all these conditions are satisfied, there will only be one reality ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’
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7
Q

What is the meaning of the island story ?

A
  • we all have the same information, but can make different conclusions based on social values
  • an ethical issue
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8
Q

What is Ontology

A
  • the study of being or existing
  • deals with basic categories and relationships of being to define entities and types of entities within its framework
  • examples of basic categories of being are: physical objects, minds, relations, singular/universal, time and space
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9
Q

What is epistemology and what are its branches?

A
  • about how do we know
  • the science of knowing

-various branches: positivism & post positivism, interpretivism/naturalism

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10
Q

deterministic and indeterministic issues are the problems in both ontology and epistemology

A
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11
Q

Types of ontological questions

A

Is human consciousness independent of physical entities?

What is reality? Can we know it?

Is there any causality?

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12
Q

What is Phenomenology

A

-believes that reality lives in human consciousness

(reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived in human consciousness and not of anything independent of human consciousness

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13
Q

Positivism formulated by Auguste Comte (1798-1857)

A
  • only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge
  • Comte’s view was to form the basic foundation for the subsequent development of social sciences
  • thought society could be studied rationally and logically, or scientifically with basing knowledge on observations
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14
Q

Key roles of positivism:

A

1) scientific statements are grounded in direct, immediate, and empirical experiences; observation is privileged over theoretical statements
2) observations must be repeatable; using the ‘scientific method,’ which involved hypothesis testing and controlled experiments
3) science progresses through the formulation of laws–the results of empirically verified theories
4) Law takes the form of ‘if A, then B,’ being purely technical or descriptive, without moral judgement–the scientist is a neutral observer
5) Scientific laws are to be progressively integrated into a coherent body of external knowledge and truth

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15
Q

Critiques of Positivism

A
  • there is no absolute truths
  • we can not accurately predict the future
  • there is no methodological unity of science (we cannot use the same tools to study natural science and social science)
  • it is not possible to view life from an objective point of view
  • positivism’s two goals–explanation and prediction–are incomplete since they lack the goal of understanding
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16
Q

Post positivism (Popper)

A
  • Ironically, objectively is closely bound up with the social aspect of scientific method
  • science and scientific objectivity do not (and cannot) result from the attempts of an individual scientist to be ‘objective,’ but more so from the friendly-hostile cooperation of many scientists
  • important that science is open and public enterprise, within which the work of any contributor is subject to inspection by any person for its ‘objectivity’ – this helps to avoid prejudice, bias, limited preconceptions
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17
Q

What is the remedy of positivism?

A
  • contemporary positivists realize that humans do not act rationally
  • they recognize that scientists are not as objective as the ideal image that science assumes
  • they use highly structured methods, but they are also likely to use flexible methods to fit reality
  • they are skeptical about the results
  • they assume that others can judge the findings
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18
Q

Interpretivism

A

-school of epistemology that attempt to gain an understanding of how people feel inside, seeking to interpret peoples’ everyday experiences, deeper meanings and feelings, and idiosyncratic reasons for behaviours

19
Q

Types of Interpretivism

A
  • qualitative methods

- examples include phenomenology and ethnography

20
Q

What is ethnography

A

a descriptive method of inquiry used for the study of a particular human society.

contemporary ethnography is based generally on fieldwork. the ethnographer lives among people who are the subjects of the study for a period of time (months or years), learns the local language, and participates in their everyday activities while striving to maintain a degree objective detachment

21
Q

key characteristics of interpretive inquiry

A
  1. focus on people and observe them in a natural setting
  2. focus on a small number of individuals to develop an in depth understanding, rather than relying on statistics for causality over a large number of people
  3. believes that the best way to learn about people is through the subject’s own eyes, rather than applying standardized measurements
  4. may or may not agree with positivism that objective external reality can be discovered
22
Q

Weaknesses of interpretivism

A
  • hard to be generalized
  • you do not know if your subjects are being truthful (what they say may not be what they think)
  • you can be bias and interpret things differently than others
  • not repeatable
23
Q

Describe critical theory

A
  • uses a wide variety of approaches such as Marxism and feminism
  • key characteristics of this paradigm is to focus on oppression and its commitment to use research procedures to empower oppressed groups
  • critical researchers may use research approaches of all other paradigms, and in the meanwhile set out to interpret findings for their aims
24
Q

What is postmodern philosophy

A
  • a general name for a bunch of ideas associated with an eclectic and elusive movement characterized by its criticism of Western philosophy
25
Q

What is determinism?

A

a philosophical doctrine that every state of affairs, including every human event, act, and decision is an inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs

aka determined by causes external to will

there are reasons for every event

26
Q

What are examples of determinist theories?

A

Darwin’s theory, Newton’s physics, Marx’s social theory

27
Q

What is indeterminism?

A

a philosophical belief contradictory to determinism… the doctrine that NOT all events are wholly determined by antecedent causes

no event is certain or outcomes are probabilistic

Karl Popper a major thinker in indeterminism

28
Q

Three different types of determinism, depending on whether views are… (3 fill in the blank)

A
  • uncaused
  • probabilistic
  • agent caused
29
Q

What are indeterministic approaches? (2)

A
  • probability theory

- statistical methods

30
Q

Can determinism be proved?

A

No. We cannot prove determinism because causal links are many times bigger than the entities in the universe.

Although there could be one version of the future like the one in the past, this version is not accurately predictable

31
Q

Can indeterminism be falsified ?

A

Yes. If we find a single causality, ‘hard’ indeterminism is falsified

We use indeterministic methods such as statistics because we use it as a tool for dealing with uncertainty

32
Q
  • Some people believe that good research should be an integration between determinism and indeterminism
  • We need statistics (an indeterministic approach) even if we hold a deterministic idea, because we have limited information most of the times
A
33
Q

What is big data analytics?

A

the process of examining large data sets containing a variety of data types from a variety of sources in order to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations, customer preferences, and other useful information

we are more sure of what is going on with big data

34
Q

What does the development of Complex theory signify?

A

The trend that people are giving up ‘chaos theory,’ that is based in indeterminism and are adopting the combination of determinist and indeterminist theories at the same time

35
Q

What is a theory?

A

a set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts of phenomena

can be used to make explanations and predictions about natural or social phenomena

often a generalization of a study to other circumstances

36
Q

What is the purpose of a theory?

A

to make explanations, predictions, and to gain better understanding of a phenomena

37
Q

What are the two types of study and explain them

A

descriptive (describes something that happens)

explanatory (explains why it happens)… they study something that is unknown

38
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

a tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation

predicts relationships between things, or variables

39
Q

How is investigation done?

A

investigation can be done by any available method, either by logical deduction of consequences which may be checked against what is known or by direct experimental investigation

40
Q

What is an independent variable?

A

a variable that explains other variables

41
Q

What is a dependent variable?

A

a variable being explained

42
Q

What are attributes?

A

concepts that make up a variable are called attributes

attributes are the characteristics or qualities that describe someone or something

example: age is a variable, “old” or “young” is an attribute of age

43
Q

What are the criteria for judging a theory

A
  • Every theory requires a basic assumption which cannot be proved by the theory itself. If these basic assumptions do not hold in certain conditions, theory cannot apply to these conditions.
  • Testability is one of the requirements of a scientific theory. if a theory fails a test, it can be discarded or modified

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