Unit 1 Research Methods Exam

knowledge from authorities

things you know bc you have been told and chose to believe it

advantages of knowledge from authorities

dont have to know everything, spares you trouble finding out yourself

disadvantages of knowledge from authorities

false info, misleading, info changes

knowledge from personal inquiry

things you know bc you have experienced it

advantages of knowledge from personal inquiry

trust ourselves

disadvantages of knowledge from personal inquiry

inaccurate observations, overgeneralization, selective observation

scientific method

ideas, rules, techniques, and strategies scientific community use to build knowledge

research question

statement in form of ? of what researcher wants to find out

5 guidelines to research questions

1. reflect your interests

2. have existing research

3. follow ethical guidelines

4. feasible

5. scientifically relevant

three main elements of social research

literature review, concepts, research questions

literature review

a summary of social science research you found + citations

theory

an idea about how or why things happen in a certain way

explanation for something we observe

deductive approach

general theory to specific observations

hypothesis

cause and effect

testable statement about relationship we expect in 2 variables

variable

characteristic that varies from one subject to another or over time

must have TWO CATEGORIES (otherwise a constant)

IV

researcher manipulates this (cause)

DV

what’s measured (effect)

direction of association

pattern in relationship between variables

positive direction of association

values go in same direction (both up or both down)

negative direction of association

values are opposite (one down and one up, vice versa)

criteria of causality

to argue that the IV causes DV, you must have…

1. association: two variables vary tg (correlation coefficients, -1, 0, +1)

2. time order: cause comes before effect

3. nonspuriousness: need to demonstrate relationship between IV and DV is not due to 3rd factor

spurious correlation

stat related but not casually linked (dont want this)

multivariate analysis

look at relationship between 3 or more variables

inductive research

observations/data ——→ theory

what is in the middle of inductive research

empirical generalizations

empirical generalizations

statements that summarize patterns found in a set of observations

what are the steps of inductive research

1. start w observations

2. look for patterns or relationships between variables

3. use creativity to develop explanations (theory)

theory of social constraints

social factors can serve to restrict behavior

more social constraints + stronger you feel about them = less likely to engage in certain behaviors

wheel of science

what are the ethical guidelines

1. research should cause no harm

2. benefits should outweigh the risks

informed consent

need to tell them enough about the project so they can make a knowledgeable decision on if they want to do it or not

privacy

do not have to provide info they dont want to

anonymity

nobody knows who provided info (not even researcher)

confidentiality

researcher knows but wont release info