Intro to Social Science Research

epistemology

the science of knowing

methodology

the science of finding out

causal reasoning

assume that a certain condition always leads to a specific outcome

probabilistic reasoning

acknowledging that a condition may increase the likelihood of an outcome without guaranteeing it

relevance vs. patterns

relevance: what are the principal focuses of the study 

patterns: the bigger the pattern, the more relevant is the study

scientific research must…

make sense & correspond with what we observe

the two agreed-on knowledge sources

tradition and authority

what is theory

systematic explanations for observations

what is the aim of social science research

discuss what is, not what should be. looking for (ir)regularities in social life

attribute

a certain characteristic (sex, gender…)

3 purposes of social research

exploring, describing and explaining social phenomena

idiographic 

looking for causes/explanations of a particular case 

nomothetic

looking for explanations/causes of something that impacts a class of conditions or event

inductive vs deductive

inductive: starting from specific cases to find a general pattern

deductive: starting from general statements and make specific observations

paradigms

a model or framework for observation or understanding which shapes both what we see and how we understand it

hypothesis

a testable expectation about empirical reality 

microtheory and macrotheory

microtheory: a theory aimed at understanding social life on an individual level

macrotheory: a theory aimed at understanding society/societies and how they interact

unit of analysis

who / what is being studied

research focus

exploration, description, explanation, application

the different parts of a research design

who - unit of analysis, size of study

where - location being studied

when - timespan

what - the research question

how - methods used + sources

timespans of research

cross sectional - at one point in time

trend studies - every x amount of time

cohort studies - repeat study on different groups

panel studies - observing the same persons repeatedly over time

historical studies - investigating how things worked in the past

misconception of causality

mere association or correlation does not mean there is a causation

ecological fallacy

applying conclusions drawn from group analysis to individuals

reductionism

an attempt to understand a complex phenomenon in terms of a narrow set of concepts