Ch 1. General Research Orientations

Question 1

An explanation of observed regularities or patterns

Answer 1

what is a theory?

Question 2

middle range theories are limited in scope and testable (ex. merton’s theory of anomie) while…

Answer 2

…grand theories are general, abstract, and provide ways to look at the world (ex. structural functionalism)

Question 3

What is the relationship between theory and research?

Answer 3

– Theory can guide research
– Research can test theory

Question 4

what method…

• is the most common approach to social research
• begins with theory
• helps understand specific phenomena through background research
• develop hypotheses
• test with empirical data
• revise if necessary

Answer 4

deductive method

Question 5

the process of deduction:

1. theory
2. hypothesis
3. data collection…

Answer 5

4. findings
5. hypothesis confirmed/rejected
6. substantiation, revision, or rejection of theory

Question 6

what method…

• theories/interpretations are the outcome of theory
• gather and examine data first
• then create theory from the observations

Answer 6

inductive method

Question 7

deductive method begins with theory and applies it to observations while…

Answer 7

…inductive method creates a theory from observations

Question 8

epistemology asks what question?

Answer 8

How do we know the world?
How does knowledge become acquired?

Question 9

what are the three broad positions of epistemology (knowing the world)?

Answer 9

• positivism
• interpretivism
• critical approaches

Question 10

what epistemological view follows the natural sciences and uses the principle of empiricism to generate hypotheses to test?

Answer 10

positivism

Question 11

what epistemological view is a critique of positivism and has the goal of grasping the subjective meaning of people’s lives? Believes that people interpret the reality of their own lives (social construction theory) and views the social world form the point of view of the social actor with empathetic understanding and interpretation of existence

Answer 11

interpretivism

Question 12

what major perspective in sociology uses interpretivism?

Answer 12

symbolic interactionism (george herbert mead & irving goffman)

Question 13

what epistemological view is also a critique of positivism, rejects “value-free” science, and is anti-oppressive in practice and political in nature? Ex is Karl Marx and conflict theory.

Answer 13

critical theories

Question 14

what is an ontology?

Answer 14

metaphysics, dealing with the nature of being. What is ‘reality’?

Question 15

what are the three ontological perspectives?

Answer 15

1. objectivist perspective
2. constructionist perspective
3. soft constructionist (middle ground)

Question 16

what is the difference between quantitative research and qualitative research?

Answer 16

• quantitative research: Uses numbers and statistics in the collection and analysis of data
• qualitative research: uses mainly words and other non-numeric symbols in the collection and analysis of data

Question 17

quantitative research is mainly deductive, positivistic (natural science model), has a narrowed research question to make a testable hypothesis, and is objective while qualitative research…

Answer 17

…is mainly inductive, interpretivist, has a less specific research question, no hypothesis, and constructionist.

Question 18

A researcher’s values can contribute to bias in research. What are some biases that may happen?

Answer 18

– Choice of topic
– Formulation of the research question
– Choice of method
– Formulation of research design and data collection methods – Actual data collection
– Analysis of data
– Interpretation of data
– Conclusions

Question 19

Researchers’ awareness that their values and decisions have an
impact on the research

Answer 19

Reflexivity

Question 20

What are the three different positions on values in social research?

Answer 20

1. Research should be value-free
2. Research cannot be value-free, but researchers should be open and explicit about their values
3. Researchers should use their values to direct and interpret their investigations: value commitment is a good thing for researchers to have

Question 21

researchers sometimes “takes sides” politically. This has to do with…?

Answer 21

funding - government may fund research to benefit them politically

Question 22

Gatekeepers of research findings evaluate:

Answer 22

What sorts of findings are “acceptable”

Question 23

When little or no research has been done, what research method is preferable?

Answer 23

A qualitative, exploratory approach may be preferable

Question 24

• Research questions should (5)

Answer 24

– be clear
– be researchable
– relate to established theory and research
– be linked or closely related to each other
– allow the researcher to make a contribution to existing knowledge – be neither too broad nor too narrow