CH 1 - 6 Flashcards
Experiential Reality
Things we know from direct experience (touching a hot stove)
Agreement reality
Things we consider real because we have been told they are real, and everyone agrees (sun sets in the west)
Kansas City Preventative Patrol Experiment
Revealed the agreement reality that simply increasing patrols decreased crime was misleading
Empirical Research
Knowledge produced based on experience or observation
Methodology
The science of finding out, a logical plan to discover truth.
Tradition
Things that everybody knows
Authority
Trusting the judgement of someone with special expertise
Inaccurate Observation
Overcome by using measurement devices
An assertation must have both _____ and ____ support
logical and empirical
What kind of reasoning do we use in personal human inquiry?
Causal and Probabilistic
Overgeneralization
Overcome by replicating the study to see if you get the same results
Selective Observation
Specify in advance the number and types of observations (stems from overgeneralization)
Illogical reasoning
The exception that proves the rule “gambler’s fallacy”
Ideology and Politics
guard against the influence (faith versus science)
Purpose of Research (4)
Exploration, Description, Explanation, Application
Literature Review
The most important step of research proposal; tells what is known and unknown
The Research Process
Conceptualize, Operate, Observe, Analyze, Apply
Basic Elements of Research Proposal
Problem/Objective, Literature Review, Research Questions, Subjects for Study, Measurement
Basic Elements of a Research Proposal (Part 2)
Data Collection Methods, Analysis, References, Schedule, Budget
Social Scientific Theory
Discovering what is, what is not, and what should be
Attributes
Characteristics or qualities that describe some object, such as a person
Variables
Logical groupings of attributes
Causation
A persons attributes on one variable are expected to cause or encourage a particular attribute on another variable
Independent Variable
“Cause” “Influencer”
Dependent Variable
“Effect” “depends”
Ideographic explanation
When we attempt to explain a single situation exhaustively
Nomothetic Explanation
Seeks to explain a class of situations or events rather than a single one
Deductive Reasoning
Observations that test the presence of a pattern. General to Specific
Inductive Reasoning
Specific to general, a set of observations to discovering a pattern (Grounded Theory)
Qualitative
Non-numerical (Qualities)
Quantitative
Numerical (quantities)
Theory
Propositions explaining why events occur in the manner that they do
Objectivity
“independent of mind”
Hypothesis
Specific expectations about empirical reality, derived from propositions
Paradigm
Fundamental model or scheme that organizes our view of something; a lens which we view a certain piece of reality in our world
Conceptualization
Scientists use theory to develop research questions that can be examined through observations
Operationalization
Specification of the steps, procedures, operations, to identify and measure variables
Observation
Look at the world systematically, develop theoretical expectations, and measure