Lecture 1 Flashcards
Concepts
Organizing principles that describe aspects of the world
Theory
a coherent system of ideas intended to explain and predict regularities in the world
An hypothesis should be:
testable: (in practical terms) falsifiable: is it possible to concieve of an observation or argument that proves the hypothesis to be false?
Sample
the segment of the population that is selected for research.
Design
A framework for the collection of data
Quantitative analysis
The application of statistical techniques to the data to test your hypotheses
Qualitative analysis
analysis that focuses on the description, understanding, or interpretation of information
Positivism
The application of natural science methods to the study of social reality; universal laws, experiments, numbers
Interpretivism
Subjective meaning plays a crucial role; focus on interpretation and meaning of social reality
Ontology
What is the nature of reality?
Objectivism
Social phenomena exist independently from social actors (is “mind-independent”)
Constructionism
Social phenomena are dependent on social actors and social interaction; focus on change; subjectivity (also as a researcher!)
Deductive research
Research in which a specific expectation (hypothesis) is inferred from theory and then tested
Inductive research
Research in which general conclusions (theory) are drawn from data
Quantitative research
(commonly deductive) Research strategy that relies on the collection of numerical data, and the statistical analysis of those numbers
