Midterm 1

Question 1

what is Ontology

Answer 1

A branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of reality
(objectivist, and constructionists)

Question 2

What are the two branches of ontology

Answer 2

Objectivist: there is on objective reality (we all experience the same

Constructionists: there is not objective reality only interpretations of reality

Question 3

what is Epistemology

Answer 3

a branch of philosophy concerned with how knowledge is acquired

(positivism interpretivism, and critical approach)

Question 4

how is new knowledge created

Answer 4

• Epistemology = a branch of philosophy concerned with how knowledge is acquiredPositivism
  Interpretivism
  Critical approaches

Question 5

What is positivism

Answer 5

a category of Epistemology
* Comes from the natural sciences
* Knowledge is gained from observation by the senses
* Hypotheses are generated and tested
* Facts are gathered to develop scientific laws
* Science is unbiased – it doesn’t matter who the researcher is, everyone will get the same answer
* Related to the objectivist ontology

Question 6

what is intuitivism

Answer 6

a category of Epistemology
* Knowledge is gained by understanding the meanings of peoples’ actions
* Gathering lived experiences
* Understand how people interpret their own actions
* Understand how people interpret the actions of other people
* Understand how peoples’ interpretations affect their behaviors
Related to the constructionist ontology

Question 7

what is critical approach

Answer 7

a category of Epistemology
* Argue that social research should be done with the goal of opposing oppression
* A variety of methods are used (positivist and/or interpretivist)
* Used by feminist researchers, anti-poverty research, queer studies, Indigenous research, anti-racism research
* Critical approaches are action oriented

Question 8

What’s the difference between Qualitative and quantitative research

Answer 8

• Qualitative research
  ○ Uses lived experiences and meaning making, often lengthy interviews
• Is related to the interpretivist epistemology and the constructionist ontology (based on prospective)
• Quantitative research
  ○ Uses numbers to measure things
  ○ Is related to the positivist epistemology and the objectivist ontology (there is an objective reality that we can measured)

Question 9

what is the quantitative research process

Answer 9

1. quantitative theory
2. hypotheses/ research questions
3. collect data
4. findings
5. hypotheses/theories accepted or rejected

Question 10

what is the qualitative research process

Answer 10

1. qualitative research question
2. data collection
3. interpretation
4. development of theory

Question 11

what is a theory

Answer 11

explanations for why/how things (observed patterns) happen

Question 12

what is a middle-range theory

Answer 12

explain specific issues in society
○ Why do people get road rage?
○ Why are some seniors lonely and others are not?
○ How does parenting influence picky eating behaviours?

Question 13

what are grand theories

Answer 13

general and abstract and provide a way of looking at the social world
○ Feminist theory
○ Structural functionalism
○ Symbolic interactionism

Question 14

what are types of quantitative research questions

Answer 14

○ How many people are there with a characteristic?
○ Are characteristics of people changing over time?
○ Are there differences between groups?
○ Is there an association between things?
○ Is there a causal relationship between things?
○ Is an intervention successful?

Question 15

what are types of qualitative research questions

Answer 15

• Types of questions are typically broader that quantitative questions
  ○ What is the story behind the numbers?
  ○ What are the meanings of peoples experiences?
  ○ Initial questions may be broad and refined to be more specific during the research process