Chapter 1: Why Know about Social Science Research? Flashcards
True or false, much of our flawed information comes form moral authorities
True
What are moral authorities?
sources of info we tend to take for granted that they’re correct
eg. parents and teachers
How do we use social information practically?
by changing our behaviour in different settings in order to cope
When did scientific methods start being used?
1600-1800
What is faith?
something that is unquestionably right, and to question it is wrong
What are folkways?
assumptions about ways to do things and how to think about things, these give us meaning and organize us
What two ways did pioneer scientists defend claims?
1– look at information and how it was gathered (telescope)
2– present findings clearly and logically (make it easy to replicate)
What is systematic empirical research?
research that follows the scientific method
what are the 4 goals of systematic empirical research?
observe, describe, explain, and predict
True or falser, social sciences started out as a set of philosophical ideas and revolutions
True
What is objective knowledge?
knowledge that isn’t tied to one person or problem
Why know about social science research?
teaches us about the world around us
expansion of knowledge, not based on superstition
What three stages did the evolution of the social sciences involve?
1– separation of discipline from predecessors
2– development of the discipline, own approach
3– emergence of own institutions that reinforce practise
What are the 7 social sciences?
anthro, history, poly sci, economics, sociology, psych, geo
True or false, faith and folkways provide guidelines for social life
True
True or false, science aims at objective knowledge
True
True or false the scientific method calls us to look at bias and narrowfocus, and is systematically gathered
True
What question does ontology allow us to ask?
what kind of things do we believe exist?
True or false, ontology attempts to ask questions like “why are we here, and what kind of things do we believe exist?”
True
Do ontological answers condition us? How?
they condition:
the way we view the purpose of sociology as a subject
the way we address ourselves to research matters
the way we see it as appropriate to study the social world
What does epistemology allow us to ask?
How do we access knowledge?
What perpective helps us clarify what we claim to know about the world? (epistemology, ontology)
Epistemology
True or false, epistemology asks “what evidence do you need to believe something?”
True
What do you need to beleive something?
True or false, ontological and epistemological questions provide our base for seeing our world and guides what type of research you’ll use
True
True or false, the best research combines qualitative methods and quantitative methods
True
What is methodology?
The study of the use of methods, how they’re justified and compared
ALSO looks at theoretical assumptions and how they underpin decisions
What are methods?
techniques of data gathering and analysis
True or false, methods impose certain perspectives on reality
True
What do naturalists believe?
that researchers should use the scientific methods to study the social world
What do interpretivists believe?
that researchers shouldn’t use scientific methods to conduct social research
What is validity?
is it true?
are you studying what you say you are studying?
What is generalizability?
can your findings be applied to a larger population?
are your findings true in general?
What are the two aspects of the ontological dimension? society exists..
objectively: naturalist/positivist
subjectively: interpretivism
True or false, quantitative methods seek laws and typically use deduction
True
