research methods 1

scientific research

research methods

the process researchers use to collect and analyze information

data

what we call the info we collect

qualitative

uses verbal, written, or visual data

Interviews

• Focus Groups

• Participant Observation

• Comparative case method

quantitative

uses numerical data

Content analysis

• Surveys

• Experiments

mixed methods

uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to study the same phenomenon

Personal experience / common sense

Overgeneralization, selective observation, confirmation bias, premature closure, halo effect, false consensus, illusion of explanatory depth

experts /authority

media messaging / pop culture

ideology and values

normative vs empirical questions

pseudoscience

claims that appear scientific but do not follow the standards of scientific inquiry

scientific

must be observable, consistent, predictability, testable

in order to be considered

universalism

organized skepticism

disinterestedness

communalism

honesty

quant v qual - criticisim

communication in science

what makes social science scientific

Social phenomena must be: observable, consistent, predictable, testable – what does this mean?

why do we do social scientific research