Chapter 1: Why Know about Social Science Research?

Question 1

True or false, much of our flawed information comes form moral authorities

Answer 1

True

Question 2

What are moral authorities?

Answer 2

sources of info we tend to take for granted that they’re correct

eg. parents and teachers

Question 3

How do we use social information practically?

Answer 3

by changing our behaviour in different settings in order to cope

Question 4

When did scientific methods start being used?

Answer 4

1600-1800

Question 5

What is faith?

Answer 5

something that is unquestionably right, and to question it is wrong

Question 6

What are folkways?

Answer 6

assumptions about ways to do things and how to think about things, these give us meaning and organize us

Question 7

What two ways did pioneer scientists defend claims?

Answer 7

1– look at information and how it was gathered (telescope)

2– present findings clearly and logically (make it easy to replicate)

Question 8

What is systematic empirical research?

Answer 8

research that follows the scientific method

Question 9

what are the 4 goals of systematic empirical research?

Answer 9

observe, describe, explain, and predict

Question 10

True or falser, social sciences started out as a set of philosophical ideas and revolutions

Answer 10

True

Question 11

What is objective knowledge?

Answer 11

knowledge that isn’t tied to one person or problem

Question 12

Why know about social science research?

Answer 12

teaches us about the world around us

expansion of knowledge, not based on superstition

Question 13

What three stages did the evolution of the social sciences involve?

Answer 13

1– separation of discipline from predecessors
2– development of the discipline, own approach
3– emergence of own institutions that reinforce practise

Question 14

What are the 7 social sciences?

Answer 14

anthro, history, poly sci, economics, sociology, psych, geo

Question 15

True or false, faith and folkways provide guidelines for social life

Answer 15

True

Question 16

True or false, science aims at objective knowledge

Answer 16

True

Question 17

True or false the scientific method calls us to look at bias and narrowfocus, and is systematically gathered

Answer 17

True

Question 18

What question does ontology allow us to ask?

Answer 18

what kind of things do we believe exist?

Question 19

True or false, ontology attempts to ask questions like “why are we here, and what kind of things do we believe exist?”

Answer 19

True

Question 20

Do ontological answers condition us? How?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What does epistemology allow us to ask?

Answer 21

How do we access knowledge?

Question 22

What perpective helps us clarify what we claim to know about the world? (epistemology, ontology)

Answer 22

Epistemology

Question 23

True or false, epistemology asks “what evidence do you need to believe something?”

Answer 23

True

What do you need to beleive something?

Question 24

True or false, ontological and epistemological questions provide our base for seeing our world and guides what type of research you’ll use

Answer 24

True

Question 25

True or false, the best research combines qualitative methods and quantitative methods

Answer 25

True

Question 26

What is methodology?

Answer 26

The study of the use of methods, how they’re justified and compared
ALSO looks at theoretical assumptions and how they underpin decisions

Question 27

What are methods?

Answer 27

techniques of data gathering and analysis

Question 28

True or false, methods impose certain perspectives on reality

Answer 28

True

Question 29

What do naturalists believe?

Answer 29

that researchers should use the scientific methods to study the social world

Question 30

What do interpretivists believe?

Answer 30

that researchers shouldn’t use scientific methods to conduct social research

Question 31

What is validity?

Answer 31

is it true?

are you studying what you say you are studying?

Question 32

What is generalizability?

Answer 32

can your findings be applied to a larger population?

are your findings true in general?

Question 33

What are the two aspects of the ontological dimension? society exists..

Answer 33

objectively: naturalist/positivist
subjectively: interpretivism

Question 34

True or false, quantitative methods seek laws and typically use deduction

Answer 34

True