CHAP 2: EVALUATING SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES & RESEARCH Flashcards
WHAT ARE THE 3 FEATURES OF #SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR?
- Constructs that are if theoretical interest and that it attempts to explicate or account for in some way.
- Describes associations among these constructs.
- Theory incorporates hypothesized links between the theoretical constructs and observable variables that can be used to measure the constructs.
WHAT IS A VARIABLE?
a. SOMETHING OFTEN CHANGES RANDOMLY
b. ANY #ATTRIBUTE THAT CHANGES VALUES ACROSS PEOPLE OR THINGS BEING STUDIED.
b
WHAT ARE THE 3 FEATURES OF A THEORY ABT SOCIAL BEHAVIOR?
- IT CONTAINS CONSTRUCTS THAT IT ATTEMPTS TO EXPLICATE OR ACCOUNT FOR IN SOME WAY
- IT DESCRIBES ASSOCIATIONS AMONG THE CONSTRUCTS. THESE ASSOCIATIONS ARE FREQUENTLY
WHAT ARE THE 3 FEATURES OF A THEORY ABT SOCIAL BEHAVIOR?
- IT CONTAINS CONSTRUCTS THAT IT ATTEMPTS TO EXPLICATE OR ACCOUNT FOR IN SOME WAY
- IT DESCRIBES ASSOCIATIONS AMONG THE CONSTRUCTS. THESE ASSOCIATIONS ARE FREQUENTLY
- INCORPORATES HYPOTHESIZED LINKS BETWEEN “THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS” & “OBSERVABLE VARIABLES” THAT CAN BE USED TO MEASURE CONSTRUCTS.
WHEN IS A THEORY “PRODUCTIVE”?
11 FEATURES
WHEN IT:
- IS FALSIFIABLE
- STATES HYPOTHESIS AS SPECIFICALLY AP
- SIMPLEST, HAS LEAST ASSUMPTIONS
- ARRESS AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL PHENOMENON
- INTERNALLY CONSISTENT (DONT CONTRADICT EACH OTHER)
- COHERENT + UNDERSTANDABLE
- SPECIFIES CONSTRUCTS & HOW TO MEASURE
- = LITERATURE (WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABT THE TOPIC)
- EXPLAIN DATA BETTER > EXISTING THEORIES ABT THE #SAME TOPIC
- = EXISTING THEORIES ABT #RELATED TOPIC
- GENERATES NEW #INSIGHTS
HOW MANY TYPES OF HYPOTHESES MAKE OF A THEORY?
2 TYPES:
- HYP ASSOC AMONG “CONSTRUCTS”
- HYPS ASSOC BTW “CONSTRUCTS” / “VARIABLES” / “MEASURES”
SIMPLER OR MORE COMPLEX EXPLANATIONS ARE BETTER?
SIMPLER DUHHHHHHH
WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH IN CONSTRUCTING THEORIES?
4 FUNCTIONS
- DISCOVERY (INDUCTIVE)
- DEMONSTRATION (DEDUCTIVE)
- REFUTATION
- REPLICATION
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING SSC RESEARCH?
- CONSTRUCT VALIDITY (RELEVANT?)
- INTERNAL VALIDITY (CAUSAL?)
- EXTERNAL VALIDITY (GENERALIZABLE?)
- CONCLUSION VALIDITY (ADEQUATE?) (TYPE 1 ERROR: THINK YES BUT NO/ T2: THINK NO BUT YES)
IN WHAT WAY IS CONCLUSION VALIDITY DIFFERENT FROM INTERNAL VALIDITY?
CON VAD DOESN’T CARE IF RELA IS #CAUSAL OR NOT, IT CARES WHETHER THERE IS A RELA OR NOT.
WHAT ARE THE 3 COMPONENTS OF A VARIABLE?
- CONSTRUCT OF INTEREST
- CONSTRUCTS OF DISINTEREST
- RANDOM ERROR
WHAT IS THE CONSTRUCT OF INTEREST?
ACHIEVEMENT
WHAT ARE THE CONSTRUCTS OF DISINTEREST? (3)
- MOTIVATION
- TEST ANXIETY
- ENGLISH PROFICIENCY
WHAT ARE THE RANDOM ERRORS?
3
- GRADING MISTAKES
- RECORDING MISTAKES
- GUESSING CORRECTLY / INCORRECTLY
HOW TO MAXIMIZE “INT VAL”?
RADOMIZED EXPERIMENTS
