Social Research Flashcards
Re + search =
Repeated Search
Why do we do research?
to find things out.
The aim of ____________ is to discover laws and postulate theories for scientific knowledge meant for explaining natural or social phenomena (Caillods & Jeanpierre, 2010.)
scientific research
is an all-embracing explanation, but it is not an exact science.
Social Science Research (Bhattacheriee, 2012)
Research focuses attention on issues to challenge conventionally held beliefs about the social or natural worlds.
Social Science Research (Bhattacheriee, 2012)
Systematic gathering of data and generation of information from the analysis of the data, and development of new theories that challenge our understanding of the social world are central parts of the practice of social sciences.
Social Science Research (Bhattacheriee, 2012)
Principles of Social Science Research
- Objectivity
- Positivism
- Empiricism
- Realism
A principle of Social Science Research states that means to produce evidence to substantiate our refute existing knowledge, or generate new knowledge that challenges our own beliefs and those of society in general.
Objectivity
A principle of Social Science Research states that means to explain and predict people’s behavior from a neutral ground than being part of the society.
Positivism
A principle of Social Science Research states that means facts speak for themselves and require no explanation through theoretical propositions.
Empiricism
A principle of Social Science Research states that means to uncover the structure of social relations in order to understand people’s behavior and their interactions with the society.
Realism
S.M.A.R.T. stands for:
S– Specific M– Measurable A– Attainable R– Realistic T– Time-bound (Timely)
Refers to a standardized set of techniques for building scientific knowledge, such as how to make valid observations, how to interpret results, and how to generalize those results.
Scientific Method
The Key Characteristics of the Scientific Method
- Logical
- Confirmable
- Repeatable
- Scrutinizable
This requires visualizing the abstract from actual observations, mentally connecting the dots to identify hidden concepts and patterns, and synthesizing those patterns into generalizable laws and theories that apply to other contexts beyond the domain of the initial observation. (Bhattacheriee, 2012)
Thinking Like a Researcher
What are the classifications of research by purpose:
- Basic
- Applied
- Evaluation
- Action
classifications of research by purpose:
Aimed at generating knowledge and theoretical understanding of human behavior and social phenomena.
Basic Research
classifications of research by purpose:
Focused on answering real-world problems to provide evidence-based solutions
Applied Research
classifications of research by purpose:
Involved in determining the worth, merit, or qualities of a particular object of analysis.
Evaluation Research
classifications of research by purpose:
Designed to address specific problems that will result to specific actions and improved practices
Action Research
Classification of Research by Method/ Approach:
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE
Classification of Research by Method/ Approach:
Explaining phenomena by collecting numerical data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods (particularly statistics)
QUANTITATIVE
Classification of Research by Method/ Approach:
Interested in understanding the meaning of people have constructed that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world.
QUALITATIVE
QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE
Philosophical foundation is deductive; reductionalist
QUANTITATIVE
