Intro to SS Flashcards
Anthropology
The scientific study of the origin, behaviour and development of humans.
Psychology
The scientific study of the human mind, behaviour and mental state.
Sociology
The study of human relationships within social organizations and groups. It’s the scientific study of development, structure and functioning of human society.
Theory
An interrelated, coherent set of ideas that help explain and make predictions.
Hypothesis
Specific assumptions and predictions that can be tested and determine their accuracy.
The Social Science Inquiry Process
Step One: Identify a problem or question
Step Two: Develop a hypothesis
Step Three: Gather data
Step Four: Analyze data
Step Five: Draw conclusions
Primary Sources
First hand data
Secondary Sources
Data gathered from others
Quantitative Data
Involves numerical values
Qualitative Data
Involves qualities and observations without numerical values.
Case Studies
An in DEPTH OBSERVATION of an individual situation over a period of time.
Experiments
They are a test conducted in a CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT in order to determine how one factor is related to another.
Observation
Observations involves studying the behaviour of people in relation to your subject matter to learn about them in their “normal surroundings”.
Unstructured Observation
Studying people without a predetermined idea of what to look for.
Structured Observation
Involves planning in advance what will be observed and noted, and keeping lists of things to look for.
Participant Observation
Used mostly by ANTHROPOLOGISTS and is when a researcher lives among the culture being studied. The researcher is a participant in the group, and the subjects are aware that they’re being observed.
Sample Surveys
Are a series of questions designed to obtain information about the thoughts or behaviours of a limited number of people who represent a larger group. Two types of sample surveys are interviews and questionnaires.
Interviews
INTERVIEWS are a set of questions asked by one person to another looking for explanations or descriptions of thought and behaviour.
Pros of Case Studies
Can reveal a great deal about a single situation e.g family, class and personal issues
Cons of Case Studies
Time consuming, expensive, generalizations cannot always be made.
Pros of Experiments
Controlled environments where variables can be manipulated.
Cons of Experiments
Expensive
Is it natural behaviour?
Is the experiment ethical?
Pros of Observations
- True responses
- Can gain trust by spending time with the group, they get to know the researcher
Cons of Observations
- Don’t know other contributing factors
- May “miss” important occurrences
- Time consuming
Pros of Sample Surveys
- Anonymous should produce honest answers
- Quick easy to calculate efficient, cheaper
Cons of Sample Surveys
- May be difficult to make generalization if the results are too varied
- Bias
Pros of Interviews
- Allows for more in-depth explanation of responses
- May be more clear/honest than other methods
Cons for Interviews
- Time consuming
- Danger in making generalizations from few interviews
Scientific Method
A process that scientists use to better understand the world around them.
Scientific Law
This describes an observed pattern in nature.
