Social Science Test 1

What is “social science”

• The scientific study of human behaviour and thought

• Social (human behaviour) and science (the systematic creation of knowledge)

What are the aims of social science

• To build knowledge and understanding about peoples, cultures, and societies 

  • With the purpose of using that information to make society better

What disciplines are considered to be social sciences?

• Anthropology, economics, public science, psychology, sociology are considered ‘original’

When, how, and why did social science originate (what is the history of social science)?

• Various accounts but generally considered to trace back to the 18th cen. Enlightenment

• Term “behaviour science” from the 1950s (with anthropology emergence) 

• Emergence of science being applied to social phenomena 

  • Although people have always been exploring humanity

    • Ancient Greeks and Romans → human nature and morality 

    • Hebrew Bible → shaping Western thought, social issues, etc.  

Are the social sciences really science? Why or why not?

• Yes, but they struggle to be recognized as such

• Social sciences are a soft science

  • They are so complex that they are difficult to study

  • This does not mean that they are illegitimate

Are the social sciences interested in knowing (research) or doing (practice)? Why?

• It is about both

• Social scientists seek to understand and to change

  • First, they should research, then they should go out and do something with their findings

Social science is one way to reduce errors in reasoning. What are some errors in reasoning that people make?

• Selective observation (choosing to look only at things that are in line with our preferences or beliefs) 

• Overgeneralization (unjustifiably concluding that what is true for some cases is true for all case)

• Illogical reasoning (prematurely jumping to conclusions or arguing on the basis of invalid assumptions)

Four secular ways of understanding justice

1. Libertarian 

• Justice = freedom

• Individuals belong to themselves (definitely not state)

2. Liberal 

• Justice = fairness

• Everyone deserves equal access to everything (allows for state-run distribution)

• Rationality 

3. Utilitarian 

• Justice = happiness

• Maximum happiness for the most amount of people is justice in a society 

4. Post-Modern (/critical theory)

• Justice = power 

• Redistribution of power from “oppressers” to “oppressed”

What is a Biblical analysis for the 4 secular ways of understanding justice? What are the characteristics of biblical justice according to Timothy Keller?

1. Libertarian 

• We belong to God, not ourselves 

• Lacks community value 

• What are we free from? 

2. Liberal 

• Behind the concept of equality is the Christian underlying belief in human dignity 

• If rationality is king, there is no absolute truth and no way to resolve conflict 

• Lacks shared commitment 

3. Utilitarian

• Sin affects everyone, so when the majority becomes corrupt what happens to this system? 

4. Post-Modern 

• Overly simplistic 

• Social systems are not the only cause of injustice 

• Undermines common humanity and reconciliation potentials 

Facets of Biblical justice:

• Generosity

• Equality

• Advocacy

• Responsibility

What is pseudoscience?

• Science imposters (false or “sham” science”)

  • Not characterized by carefully controlled studies resulting in verifiable knowledge 

Practice lacking evidence (the substance of science)

What are the warning signs of pseudoscience?

1. Lacking falsifiability (not able to be potentially proven wrong)

2. Lack of self-correction (often in the face of outside opposing evidence) 

3. Emphasis on confirmation 

4. Evasion of peer review 

5. Overreliance on anecdotal or testimonial evidence

6. Absence of connectivity (unrelated to all other proven research)

7. Extraordinary claims 

8. Ad antiquitatem fallacy (something has been around so long/ is so popular that it must be true) 

9. Use of hypertechnical language

10. Absence of boundary (no limits, can be very broad)

What are some tips for distinguishing pseudoscience from science?

• Understand what constitutes science 

  • Scientific method

  • Testing and a willingness to be wrong

• Understand human propensity for error 

  • Humans are prone to error in reasoning

• Be aware of flawed science (and know signs) 

• Recognize good science 

  • See science as important and learn a little about it 

• Be good consumers of science 

  • Note disconfirming evidence, loose hunches as science, rival findings, tests, blind spots in research, and humility

What is quantitative research?

• Interested in numbers 

• Tests theories 

• Has generalizable information

What are some important features/characteristics of quantitative research

• Hypotheses 

• Variables 

• Numbered data 

• Statistics

What is the purpose of a survey?

• To easily gather data from diverse groups in a practical, low cost, high participation way

• Good for identifying correlation (not causation)

What should researchers consider to ensure that a questionnaire is good quality?

• The phrasing of questions and different question types 

  • Things to avoid:

    • Leading questions

    • Loaded questions (try to make questions neutral)

    • Double-barreled questions 

    • Absolutes 

    • Unclear language 

  • Ensure response categories are mutually exclusive and exhaustive 

• Potential missing data 

• Participant flaws 

  • Agreement bias 

  • Social desirability

  • Fence-sitters

  • Floaters

Assets and limitations of surveys

• Assets: 

  • Practical 

  • Versatile 

  • Reaches diverse groups 

  • Low cost 

  • High participation

  • Low time/ effort to implement 

• Limits: 

  • Potential for missing data 

  • High bias risk from participants (see above)

What is the purpose of an experiment

• A sample of participants divided into experimental groups and a control group - which are then used to measure against each other 

• Better for studying causation 

  • Cross-sectional 

  • Longitudinal 

What are some feature of an experiment

• Large numbers of participants

• Randomization 

• Clear hypothesis 

• Clear variables 

• Statistical significance

What is a sample?

• A small group of people representing a larger population that is being studied

• A subset of the population

What does population mean?

• The entire group, or demographic, being studied for their shared characteristics

• The complete pool of data that researchers draw their participants from and apply their generalizations to 

• The entire group of people or things being studied

What is randomization?

• The random order in which participants are selected and sorted into experimental groups 

• To help replicate the population for the sake of generalization

What is a hypothesis?

• Testable statement of study outcomes 

• Relationship between variables 

Experimental, control and comparison groups

• Experimental - the group(s) being manipulated and measured against control (dependent variable)

• Control - the group that is static (not manipulated) and is a baseline for the experimental group to be compared against (independent variable)

• Comparison - a secondary group to the experimental group to be compared with the experiment group (also undergoes manipulation)

Independent vs dependent variable

• Independent variable: manipulated variable 

• Dependent variable: measured variable (against independent)

What does it mean when 2 variables are related?

They are correlated in some way (positive correlation - between 0 and 1)

What does it mean to say one variable caused an effect in another

Correlation does not equal causation HOWEVER if you have ruled out all other possible plausible alternative explanations, then you can determine causation to be the effecting variable

What does it mean to say social science research measures things that don’t exist?

• Measuring intangible concepts pointed to by tangible indicators 

  • Justice, love, etc. 

  • Ex. Crying while watching a sad movie is an indicator of emotion

What does it mean to say that a result is “statistically significant?”

• Mathematical comparison of two groups where the p value is < 0.05

What is “generalizability?”

The ability for findings to be applied to a larger population or group because of the high number and randomized participants

What is qualitative research?

Research exploring and understanding meaning and experiences

What are some important features or characteristics of qualitative research?

• Goal to explore and understand experiences 

• Data = conversions (data is words) - cannot be quantified

• Depth (vs. quantitative which is interested in breadth) 

• Sample size is fairly small (1-15) 

• Data used to identify themes 

• Transferability (not a key focus) 

What is meant by “transferability?”

• The extent to which findings from one study can be applied to other contexts 

• Not universal application like in generalization

How do you analyze qualitative data?

“Value-added” analysis → theoretical abstraction for reconceptualizing phenomena and creating generalizable knowledge

What are some of the criticisms and realities of qualitative research?

• Value 

• “Invalid” → questioning of the methods for actual scientific conclusions 

• Rigour 

What is the purpose of a focus group?

• A space with a number of people that are there to be asked specific questions in a moderated conversation

• They are convenient because they are fairly easy and collect a high volume of data at a single time 

Advantages and disadvantages of focus groups

• Advantages: 

  • High reach

  • Unanticipated topics 

  • Interaction

  • Equality

• Disadvantages:

  • Participants 

  • Analysis 

  • Data collection versus duration

What are the purposes, advantages, and disadvantages of an interview?

• Purposeful, slightly organized one-on-one conversation

• She literally does not list these anywhere but here’s some things to consider for interviews (shoot me):

• Order 

• Wording

• Language

• Tech