General Research Concepts Flashcards
EXAM ONE
What is inductive research?
Data to theory; generalizable inferences from observations; qualitative research.
What is deductive research?
Theory to data; Explicit hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected; quantitative research.
What is an input?
the factors or resources that are used as the starting point of a system or process
What is a theory?
a well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws, hypotheses and facts
What is a value?
individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another
What is epistemology?
The study of knowledge
What are the goals of scientific research?
Explore, describe, explain, predict, control, interpret, and criticize
What is epistemology in comparison to ontology?
ontological considerations: the nature of social entities; do social entities or social phenomenon have a reality outside of the actors?
epistemological considerations: what is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge? positivist and interpretivist epistemologies
What is empiricism?
“knowledge is based on experience”
What is the difference between everyday ways of knowing versus unique characteristics of science?
Everyday ways of knowing is a method of tradition, authority, logic (common sense) and experience.
Unique characteristics of science are that scientific research is public, objective, cumulative, empirical, and systematic. (POCES) Can give us an explanation a prediction.
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?
Qualitative: understanding the subjective meanings held by actors; commentators methods = interviews, ethnography; inductive approach- theory emerges from data; constructionist view of reality/ontology.
Quantitative: measurement of social variables; common research designs = surveys and experiments; numerical and statistical data; objective view of reality/ontology.
How do you read, format, and section scholarly articles?
Will be divided into sections
- Abstract
- Intro/literature review
- results
- discussion
- conclusion
Read the introduction, identify big question, summarize background, identify specific questions, identify approach, summarize results from each section, do results answer the specific question, read conclusion, read abstract, what do other researchers say about this paper?
