Theory and research in social sciences Flashcards
What are the seven steps in the research process?
- select a topic
- develop a research question
- design the study
4) collect the data - analyze the data
- give meaning to the findings
- inform others
Interviews, focus groups and field research are all examples of…
qualitative methods of research
Quantitate methods of research include…
experiments, correlational studies, content analysis and existing statistics
What are examples of non-scientific ways of knowing?
common sense, tradition, authority, internet/social media
What are the 4 main principals that social scienctists believe in
determinism
empiricism
parsimony
testability
What is a paradigm?
a way of looking at the world
What is a positivist paradigm?
believes social behaviour should be interpreted the same way that the natural world is interpreted
What is an interpretive paradigm?
Believes we should use different methods than those used to study the natural world
What is a critical paradigm?
believes research is not value free and that we must deal with bias and distortions
Taking a broader topic and breaking it down into smaller ideas is called..
deductive reasoning
Starting with observations and then developing a theory is most commonly used by social scientists and this is an…
inductive reasoning approach
