exam 1 Flashcards
know it all
what is theory?
an explanation of observed regularities or patterns
what are the components of theory?
Definitions, Descriptions, Relational statements
Definitions
What are the key terms?
Descriptions
What are the characteristics?
Relational statements
How are the variables related?
Hypothesis
A proposed explanation for a phenomenon, or a conjecture about how certain variables are related
Axiom
A statement or proposition we take to be true without needing proof within the context of a particular system of logic or theory
What is epistemological research concerned with?
How is knowledge acquired?
What constitutes as knowledge?
How can we distinguish between knowledge and belief
What is ontological research concerned with?
What really exists?
Do social phenomena have an objective reality?
Is what passes for objectively real just mentally constructed?
What is objectivism?
An ontological perspective that suggests social phenomena have an objective reality outside of our perceptions.
What is constructionism?
Hard: reality is a set of mental constructs
Soft: social reality is marred by human interpretations
What is phenomenological research concerned with?
Human experiences as they are consciously perceived without any preconceived theoretical interpretations or frameworks
What is positivism?
An epistemological approach that follows natural science and uses empiricism to uncover social laws governing reality
How does positivism generate hypotheses?
Via deduction. It is scientific, not normative and therefore said hypotheses can be tested empirically and supported or rejected
What does empiricism posit?
Knowledge must be based on information gathered through senses
What is interpritivism?
An empathetic critique of positivism that views the social world from the POV of the actor
What is the goal of interpretivism?
Grasp the subjective meaning of people’s lives
What does interpretivism posit?
People interpret the reality of their own lives
What is symbolic interactionism?
An interpetivist perspective that focuses on the role of symbols and interactions in shaping identities and behaviours
What is critical theory?
-Both deductive and inductive
-Rejects the concept of value-free science
-Praxis: research should revolve around practice
-Political in nature
What are the interpretivist critiques of positivism?
-Natural sciences are limited in knowledge production of social world because it is created by individuals
-Uncovering social laws is less important than grasping subjective meaning of people’s lives
-Actions should be viewed from actor POV
-Positivism is not empathetic
What are critical theory critiques of positivism?
-Researchers should support those they study rather than attempt to be value neutral
-Knowledge should be used to change social reality, not just understand it
-Social research should be practice oriented
What are the 2 types of relational statements?
Deterministic, Probabilistic
What does a deterministic relational statement state?
The two variables will always go together in a particular way. “The acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the net force acting on it”
What does a probabilistic relational statement state?
The two variables will go together with some degree of regularity but the relationship is not inevitable. “The likelihood of rain occurring tomorrow increases when atmospheric humidity levels rise”
What are the 3 types of theory?
Descriptive, Predictive, Explanatory
What are the properties of descriptive theory?
-Don’t provide explanations/predictions
-Identify patterns
-Provide foundational knowledge to be built upon
What are the properties of predictive theory?
-Forecast future outcomes
-Uses empirical data/stats
-Predict trends
What are the properties of explanatory theory?
-Explain why certain phenomena occur and how they function
-Examine underlying mechanisms/causes/processes
What are concepts?
Ideas/mental representations of points around which social research is conducted
What is conceptualization?
Defining abstract concepts in terms that can be measured/observed
What is operationalization?
Devising measures of a concept
What are dimensions?
Specific aspects or variables that are measured within a particular concept
What are indicators?
Representations of a concept
Direct: reported income tax return as an indicator of wealth
Indirect: absenteeism as an indicator of employee morale
What is the nominal definition of a concept?
A description that uses words
What is the operational definition of a concept?
The spelling out of operations a researcher must conduct to measure a concept
What is the process of inductive research?
Gather data and then use said data to formulate theories
What is inductive research?
Drawing conclusions about unobserved cases on the basis of observed cases
What is the process of deductive research?
- Theory
- Hypotheses
- Data collection
- Findings
- Hypothesis supported/rejected
- Substantiation/revision/rejection
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?
Quantitative research seeks to quantify phenomena and establish generalizable patterns, whereas qualitative research aims to uncover nuanced insights and understand the complexities of human behaviour and social phenomena.
What are the differences in measurement between qualitative and quantitative research?
Quantitative is mostly deductive (numerical data/stats)
Qualitative data is mostly inductive (interviews/observations)
What are the epistemological and ontological orientations of qualitative and quantitative research?
Quant: Positivism (E), Objectivism (O)
Qual: Interpretivism (E), Constructionism (O)
What is a natural experiment?
Taking advantage of naturally occurring events to investigate the effects of an intervention
What are some characteristics of a natural experiment?
-No manipulation of variables
-Lack of overall control
-Pre-existing groups
-Real-world influence
-Value in situations where controlled experiments would be unethical
What is a field experiment?
A study of behaviour in natural settings
What are some characteristics of a field experiment?
-Direct intervention in a natural setting
-Manipulation of variables
-High external validity
-Can be generalized to real-world contexts
What is a laboratory experiment?
A highly controlled experiment in a controlled environment
What are some characteristics of a laboratory experiment?
-Easy to randomly assign participants to different experimental conditions
-Easier to induce nomothetic causation (IV on DV)
-Low external validity
-True experiment
What is characteristic of a true experiment?
-Deliberate manipulation of variables
-Controls for extraneous variables
-Systematic comparison of groups with different levels of subjection to variables
What is the classical experimental design?
-Experimental group
-Control group
-DV measured before and after IV introduction
-Random assignment to ensure equality
-OBServation of dependent variable->EXPerimental treatment (No exp means control group)->Timing of observations made in relation to dependent variable
What is a quasi-experiment?
An experiment that exhibits characteristics of the experimental model but lacks features that help researchers establish causation
-If an experiment does not exhibit random assignment of groups, for example, it is a quasi-experiment
What are the limits of experimental design?
-Some variables of interest cannot be subjected to experimental manipulation
-Ethics
-Many phenomena cannot be measured by short-term experiments
-Does not account for perception/emotion
Research ethics in quantitative research:
-Easier to obtain approval
-Considered more scientific
-Data gathered from individuals one at a time
Research ethics in qualitative research:
-Intrusive
-May capture data on people who wish not to be observed
-Lack of consent
-Not concerned with reactivity
-Indeterminate methods
What are the 3 core principles of research ethics?
Respect, Concern for welfare, Justice
What are the hallmarks of respect?
-Informed consent
-Participants should be advised of risks and benefits
What are the hallmarks of concern for welfare?
-Avoid harm, embarrassment, inadvertent identification
-Maintain confidentiality
What are the hallmarks of justice?
-No exploitation
-Burden and benefit should be equally distributed
-Inclusivity
What is the random response technique for sensitive topics?
-Everybody equipped with a coin
-Heads answer yes, tails tell the truth
-Based on coin outcome, respondents provide their response
-Assumes 50% land on heads, so every % over 50 is multiplied by 2 to give the actual answer for what % is yes
What is covert research?
Investigations where people are being observed, but have not been informed that they are part of a study
What is wrong with covert research?
It violates the informed consent policy of respect for others
What is characteristic of a middle range theory?
-Limited in scope
-Testable
What is characteristic of a grand theory?
-General/Abstract
-Provide ways to look at the world
What is characteristic of grounded theory?
-Practice of deriving theories from qualitative data
-Used by qualitative researchers
-Inductive
What is validity?
Whether an indicator devised to gauge a concept does so accurately
What is face validity?
A measure appears to reflect the content of a concept in question
How can face validity be confirmed?
Ask experts in the field whether the measure reflects the concept concerned
What is construct validity?
Concepts used in research relate to one another in a way that is consistent with what their theories would predict.
What is convergent validity?
A concept measurement corresponds with a second measure of the same concept that used a different technique
What is predictive validity?
A measurement instrument can accurately predict outcomes/behaviours in a way that coincides theoretically with the observed construct
What is reliability?
Consistency of measures, stability over time
What is internal reliability?
Whether respondents’ scores on one indicator relate to their scores on others
ex: people who agree with right to vote also agree with free speech when measuring liberal democracy
What is inter-observer consistency?
Results consistent with results of others observing the same thing
What is validity?
Whether an instrument of measurement is accurately measuring the intended construct
What is the difference between reliability and validity?
Reliability is concerned with consistency, validity is concerned with accuracy
What is internal validity?
The extent to which an experiment accurately measures the effects of a variable
What is external validity?
How applicable an experiment is to the outside world
What does the cross-sectional research design look like?
Collecting data from a sample of individuals at one point in time to examine variables of interest
How is external validity of the cross sectional research design supported?
Random sampling
What is the longitudinal research design?
Cases examined at multiple points in time without manipulation of the IV
What is the benefit of the longitudinal design?
Examine a group of individuals over a long period of time
What is a panel study?
A type of longitudinal study where the same group of people is studied over time
What is a cohort study?
A type of longitudinal study where a group of people who share a common characteristic are studied over time.
What is the case study design?
Intensive and detailed analysis of one or several cases comparatively
What is coding?
Categorizing and labelling data to identify themes, patterns, and relationships
What is a coding schedule?
A table that visually represents code
What is a coding manual?
Instruction form for coders that includes all possible categories for each dimension to be coded
When do we code?
Predominantly when qualitative data is involved
What is a questionnaire?
A structured interview without the interviewer
What is the Likert scale?
Rate on a scale from 1-5 1 being x and 5 being y
What do the columns and rows of a coding schedule entail?
Columns: Dimension
Rows: Cases
What are some rules for a questionnaire?
-Closed questions only
-Questionnaire must be short
-Must be easy to follow
-Must be clear
What is an interview schedule?
The format that dictates the order of questions in an interview
What are some rules of an interview schedule?
-Sensitive questions should be placed well into the interview
-The interviewer must know the schedule
Nomothetic explanations…
Apply to humanity in general, not just study participants
What are the requirements of a nomothetic explanation?
Correlation: Cause and effect must vary together
Non-spuriousness: Alternative explanations must be ruled out
Time order: Cause must precede effect
Idiographic explanations…
Produce a description of a person or group based on the feelings/perceptions of study participants
Some characteristics of idiographic explanations:
-Empathetic
-Storytelling
Rules for writing research questions
o Keep the research question in mind
o Focus on exactly what you want to know
o Ask yourself the question
o Avoid ambiguity
o Be brief
o No double barrel questions
o No generalities
o No leading questions
o No negatives
o No technical terms
o Don’t overstretch participant memory
What is the reactive effect?
People change their behaviour when they know they’re being studied
What are the 2 main components of cross-sectional design?
Structured interviewing and structured observation
What is structured interviewing?
All respondents are asked exactly the same question with the help of a formal interview schedule
What are structured observations?
Researchers follow rules of when, where, how, and what they should look for and record observations
What are the strengths and weaknesses of open ended questions?
Encourage respondents to share their thoughts/feelings (S)
Useful for in depth analysis (S)
Time consuming (W)
Limited standardization (W)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of closed ended questions?
Collect structured data (S)
Limited insight (W)
Response bias (W)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of a questionnaire?
Quick, cheap, easy (S)
Absence of interviewer effects (S)
Order effects (W)
Risk of missing info (W)
Can’t go into too much depth (W)
What are the strengths and weaknesses of a structured interview?
Researchers present to explain questions (S)
No risk of missing data (S)
Can ask different kinds of questions (S)
