"Research Methods" Chapter 2 pg. 28-53 Flashcards
- Learn to define social research methods and list the goals of conducting social research -Learn how to design a research study - Different research approaches: qualitative, quantitative, mixed -Differentiate b/ween ways that 4 theories approach social research -Evaluate different methodological approaches and weigh their strengths and weaknesses in relation to study -Ethical dimensions relevant to setting up research study
Bias
Any opinion, characteristic, or attitude of a researcher thatc an influence any part of the research process, like interpretation of data
Social research methods
A wide range of thechniques and approaches to learning about the social world following a plan or research design
What are the five main goals of research methods?
- Enumeration and description
- Prediction
- Explanation
- Debunking
- Social Justice
pg.29
The process of research
- Identifying an area of study
- Formualting question/hypothesis
- Literature review
- Developing research design
- Collecting & analyzing data
- Write-up and dessemination
- critical reflectioin
Quantitative Methods
- numerical values through surveys
- looks at relationship between two variables
- aim is to test hypothesis
- deductive
- correlation
- reliability
- validity
Qaulitative Methods
- interviews, images, videos,narratives
- not to test hypothesis but to create a new theory
- inductive
* saturation & triangulation
Mixed Methods
- combines strengths of different data collection and analysis approach
- time consuming
- researcher must have experince in both qual and quant analysis
What are the different research approaches?
- qual
- quant
- mixed
How conflict thoery appraches social research?
- aims to uncover & better understand social inequalities related to access to power, resources and privilege
Method have three key features
* Position of researcher: position of researcher and what is being researched & how they place themself in the situation
* Topic of inequality: Focus on marginalized groups
* Critical reflection: Studies shift from knowledge to deeper undertsanding of critical, indigenous, and antioppressive approaches
How feminism approaches social research?
- developes methodologies that focus on gender inequalities and consequences
- Uses standpoint theory to understand how different positions in the world see the world.
- i.e., gender imbalances in pay
Standpoint thoery
individuals view society from different social locations depending on thier past experiences, status, and position.
How functionalism approaches social research?
- innvestiagates structural change over time
- focuses on the role of institution and how we can measure institutional change over time with large-scale quantitative research
i.e., change in age of first marriage from 1970s to 2000s and what factors delay or replace marriage
How symbolic interactionism approaches social research?
- aims to study the everyday and social order imposed on it such as participant observation
- uncovering roles of symbols in society and thier meaning, including language
- “Common-sense” rationales
MOR
Survey
- to gather systematic info on a topic
- collecting data on a specific population
- allows researcher to gather large quantities of data
- self-adminsistered questionaire & research administered questionnaire
MOR
Interview
- convos w select group of individuals who belong to a social groups of interest
- pS can provide opinions in thier own words
- unstructured & semi-structured interviews
