the research process Wk1 & 2

Question 1

Science is not

Answer 1

a thing, it is a process; a method of inquiring about, and understanding, nature

Question 2

There are two types of knowledge:

Answer 2

(i) agreement (i.e. second-hand, e.g. tradition and authority; social) and (ii) experiential (i.e. first-hand; personal)

Question 3

The two benefits of agreement knowledge are:

Answer 3

(i) it’s practical and (ii) socially reinforcing

Question 4

Some of the characteristics of science are:

Answer 4

(i) that it is conscious, deliberate, and rigorous; (ii) that is searches for what reality is and how we know what reality is; and (iii) that it requires logic and testing to help us decide what reality is when agreement and experiential knowledge contradict each other

Question 5

The nature of reality is a philosophical problem with three approaches:

Answer 5

(i) pre-modern, (ii) modern, and (iii) post-modern

Question 6

What is the difference between the approaches to reality for pre-modernism and modernism

Answer 6

they both hold that reality exists and that humans see that reality, but that modernism does not make judgments in accuracy about differences in what is seen;

Question 7

Social scientists are humans and so they can make cognitive errors, but

Answer 7

that they can use science to help guard against these errors

Question 8

Four of the more common cognitive errors that can occur when trying to find reality (and how science guards against them) are:

Answer 8

(i) inaccurate observation (deliberate observation), (ii) overgeneralisation (large and representative sampling and replication), (iii) selective observation (involve other researchers), and (iv) illogical reasoning (involve other researchers)

Question 9

The meaning of epistemology is that

Answer 9

it refers to the science of knowing

Question 10

There are two main characteristics of science:

Answer 10

logic and observation

Question 11

There are three activities involved in science:

Answer 11

theory, data collection, and data analysis

Question 12

Logic is used to

Answer 12

design and develop scientific theory; that observations are made when collecting data; and that data analysis compares what is actually observed or collected with what would logically be expected (as outlined in the theory)

Question 13

Scientific theory is not based on

Answer 13

philosophy or belief and therefore cannot answer debates about ethics/morality/values

Question 14

Scientific theory in the social sciences focuses

Answer 14

not on individuals (in the way psychology does) but on groups of people. As a result, it is also concerned with the system that influences groups of people

Question 15

The three main functions of scientific theory are to

Answer 15

(i) explore, (ii) describe, and (iii) explain patterns in social life

Question 16

Even though there is less regularity in social life

Answer 16

than in physical life, there are still patterns (both formally prescribed and less informally socially normative) that can be investigated in the social sciences

Question 17

Exceptions to the rule, people’s choice to behave inconsistently, and the charge of triviality do not make the patterns investigated in social science

Answer 17

null or insignificant

Question 18

There are four different theoretical approaches to social research; each of which represent an opposing view, but are best used as complementary rather than competing approaches:

Answer 18

(i) idiographic and nomothetic, (ii) inductive and deductive, (iii) qualitative and quantitative, and (iv) pure and applied

Question 19

Idiographic explanations seek only to fully explain

Answer 19

one specific event,

Question 20

but that nomothetic explanations seek to partially explain

Answer 20

many similar events

Question 21

Inductive reasoning uses

Answer 21

a specific event to make general inferences,

Question 22

deductive reasoning uses

Answer 22

general patterns to make an inference about a specific event

Question 23

Qualitative data is

Answer 23

non-numeric and captures the reasons why a pattern may be occurring

Question 24

quantitative data is

Answer 24

numeric and captures the extent to which the pattern is occurring

Question 25

The main advantage of quantitative data is

Answer 25

that it allows researchers to aggregate, compare and summarise data,

Question 26

the main disadvantage of quantitative data is

Answer 26

that the numbers do not capture the rich meaning behind them

Question 27

The main advantage of qualitative data is

Answer 27

that it allows researchers to capture the rich meaning of people’s experiences,

Question 28

the main disadvantage of qualitative data is

Answer 28

that people mean different things and therefore they cannot be compared

Question 29

Pure research is conducted simply

Answer 29

for the sake of understanding a social phenomenon, and that applied research puts pure research into practice with the intention of making society more humane

Question 30

There are 11 main activities involved in research:

Answer 30

(i) choose a topic, (ii) develop a research question, (iii) design the study, (iv) select the sample, (v) select the measures, (vi) collect the data, (vii) thematically code the data, (viii) enter the data into software, (ix) analyse the data, (x) write up the results, (xi) disseminate the results

Question 31

There are nine main parts of a research report:

Answer 31

(i) title, (ii) abstract, (iii) introduction, (iv) literature review, (v) method, (vi) results, (vii) discussion, (viii), references, and (ix) appendices

Question 32

‘Abstract’ contains

Answer 32

ALL the parts,

Question 33

‘Introduction’ contains

Answer 33

the topic area,

Question 34

‘Literature review’ contains

Answer 34

the hypothesis/research questions

Question 35

‘Method’ contains

Answer 35

the sample, measures, data collection, coding, and entry

Question 36

‘Results’ contains

Answer 36

preliminary and indirect analysis

Question 37

Discussion’ contains

Answer 37

in-depth and direct/overt analysis

Question 38

Theory, research and practice are not

Answer 38

mutually exclusive, but rather mutually affect one another

Question 39

Pre-modern approach:

Answer 39

Reality exists
Humans see reality
If humans differ on what they see, the ‘other’ is wrong

Question 40

Modern approach:

Answer 40

Reality exists
Humans see reality
If humans differ on what they see, neither are right or wrong
“Different strokes for different folks”
Reality exists but the views about it do not belong to the object, only the viewer

Question 41

Post modern approach:

Answer 41

Humans do not see reality because there is no reality to see

All that is real is the viewer’s ‘perspective’

Question 42

What is the difference between the post-modernism approach to reality

Answer 42

it holds that an objective reality does not exist independent of perceived reality