What Does "Doing Social Science" Research Mean? Flashcards
Science starts with asking why: what are the two main components of sociological research?
Theory construction and theory testing.
Induction process
From specific observations to abstract generalizations.
Deduction process
From abstract generalizations to specific observations
Field Research
Studying a process from the inside, making detailed observations to create concepts that generate a theory.
Strengths of Field Research
-Field research reveals a rich, in depth details on a particular event
-Best for creating a hypothesis or theory
Weakness of Field Research
Results are hard to generalize to other settings
Dependent variable
Effect, depends on another
Independent variable
Cause, changes others
Control variables
Constant and unchanged
Operationalization
Creating observable, valid, and reliable variables. Measurement.
Causal relation
Correlation, time order, and non-spuriousness
Survey
Uses random sampling to describe possible answers in the general population.
Margin of error
Error accounted for in results
Random sampling
Random subset of chosen individuals for a survey
Experiment
Randomly assign subjects to experimental and control group, comparing results to see if the independent variable makes a difference.
