Doing Social Research

Question 1

Theory

Answer 1

logical explanations for empirical patterns

Question 2

Deterministic Theory

Answer 2

if you know the value of one or more variables, we can precisely estimate the value of another variable
- ie; age based on year you were born

Question 3

Probabilistic Theory

Answer 3

two variables go together with some degree of variability but the relationship is not guranteed
- ie; studying increases grade on test

Question 4

Middle Range Theories

Answer 4

Areas of social life at the level of the individual or the social group
- attempts to explain a very specific phenomenon
- can be tested through empirical evidence

Question 5

Grand Theories

Answer 5

general and abstract; provide way to look at the world
- offer only a few ways to test them
- big picture of institutions, iterations between groups, and just overall bigger picture of societies

Question 6

Deductive Approach

Answer 6

• most common approach to social research
• begins with a theory, understand specific phenomenon through background research, develop hypotheses which are then tested with empirical data
• revise theory if necessary

Question 7

Inductive Approach

Answer 7

theories and interpretations are the outcome of research
- gather and examine data first then create theory from the observations
- commonly used in qualitative research
- unlike deductive, researchers cannot twist data and facts to fit their theory
- criticized because data may not contribute to the development of a theory

Question 8

Epistemology

Answer 8

study of knowledge; opinions and justified beliefs
- three broad positions of knowing the world are positivism, interpretivism, and critical approaches

Question 9

Value-free

Answer 9

researchers must minimize personal biases

Question 9

Positivism

Answer 9

follows the natural sciences
- uses the principle of empiricism (use of the senses for knowledge)
- knowledge must be subjective to empirical testing before they can be considered as such
- science is value-free

Question 10

Normative

Answer 10

questions of beliefs or morals
- have no place in science

Question 11

Criticisms of Positivism

Answer 11

• tend to neglect the subjective experiences of people; don’t value qualitative methods as highly as they should
• can science truly be value-free

Question 12

Interpretivism

Answer 12

critique of positivism
- must be based on the perspectives and the experiences of those who they study
- can be done through ethnography or lengthily interviews
- known by social scientist as a valid epistemological interpretation

Question 13

Symbolic Interactionism

Answer 13

individuals self-concept emerges only through the meaning of their environment and perspectives on others
- looking-glass self

Question 14

Critical Theories

Answer 14

also critiques of positivism
- disagree with the positivist notion of ‘value-free’ knowledge
- anti-oppressive in practice and political in nature
- involves praxis
- common in participatory action research
- ie; marxism- critique of the capitalist system

Question 15

Praxis

Answer 15

action-oriented
- putting theoretical positions into actions

Question 16

Objectivist Perspective

Answer 16

social phenomena have an objective reality, independent of our perceptions

Question 17

Constructionist (Hard) Perspective

Answer 17

reality is merely a set of mental constructions

Question 18

Constructionist (Soft) Perspective

Answer 18

more middle ground
- there is an objective social reality that is marred by human interpretation

Question 19

Quantitative Research

Answer 19

• uses numbers and statistics in the collection and analysis of data
• easier to talk to many people, which gives us the ability to generalize and know how things affect the population on average

Question 20

Qualitative Research

Answer 20

• uses mainly words and other non-numeric symbols in the collection and analysis of data
• easier to talk to people in depth, which gives us the ability to get into detail and really understand the nuances

Question 21

General Orientation of Quant research

Answer 21

• mainly deductive (testing new theory)
• positivism
• objectivism

Question 22

General Orientation of Qual Research

Answer 22

• mainly inductive (generation of theory)
• interpretivism
• constructionism

Question 23

Reflexivity

Answer 23

researchers awareness that their values and decisions have an impact on the research
- personal biases are made explicit
- researchers recognized that their research is not ‘value-free’

Question 24

Gatekeepers

Answer 24

non researchers that might be concerned by the motives of the researchers, what the company would gain from the research, and the impacts on the company from the research, positive or negative