General Research Orientations and Ethics

Flashcards reviewing key social research orientations, research designs, and historical and contemporary research ethics based on Chapter One lecture notes.

How is "theory" defined in the context of social research?

Theory is defined as an explanation of observed regularities or patterns.

What are the six sequential steps in the process of deduction?

1. Theory, 2. Hypotheses, 3. Data collection, 4. Findings, 5. Hypotheses confirmed or rejected, 6. Substantiation, revision, or rejection of theory.

How do deductive and inductive approaches differ in their relationship between theory and observations?

A deductive approach moves from Theory to Observations/Findings to test hypotheses, whereas an inductive approach moves from Observations/Findings to Theory to generate new interpretations.

What is grounded theory?

An inductive approach commonly used by qualitative researchers where theory is directly derived from empirical observations.

What are the core characteristics of a positivist research orientation?

Positivism follows the natural science model, relies on empiricism (knowledge via senses), uses deductive hypothesis testing, views science as value-free, and emphasizes intersubjectivity.

What is the primary objective of interpretivism in social science?

The goal of interpretivism is to grasp the subjective meaning of people's actions by viewing the social world from the point of view of the social actor.

What is praxis in critical approaches to social science?

Praxis is the act of putting one's theoretical positions into practice.

How do objectivist and constructionist ontological positions differ?

Objectivism holds that social phenomena have an objective reality independent of our perceptions, whereas constructionism holds that social reality is constructed through mental interpretations or social interactions.

How do quantitative and qualitative research orientations differ across theoretical, epistemological, and ontological dimensions?

Quantitative research is deductive (theory testing), positivist (natural science model), and objectivist. Qualitative research is inductive (theory generation), interpretivist, and constructionist.

What is the difference between a nomothetic approach and an idiographic approach?

A nomothetic approach seeks general patterns applying across many people or cases, while an idiographic approach aims to understand a specific person, case, or experience in depth.

What three criteria must be satisfied to establish causation between variables $X$ and $Y$?

1. Covariation, 2. Temporal order, and 3. Non-spuriousness.

What is the ecological fallacy?

The logical error of assuming that relationships or patterns observed at a group level automatically apply to individual-level relationships.

How do between-subjects, within-subjects, and mixed experimental designs differ?

In between-subjects designs, separate groups experience different conditions; in within-subjects designs, each participant experiences all conditions; in mixed designs, participants are assigned to different groups and tested repeatedly (e.g., pretest and post-test).

What six factors can threaten internal validity in experimental research?

History, testing, instrumentation, mortality, maturation, and selection.

What is a quasi-experiment, and what are its key trade-offs?

A quasi-experiment lacks random assignment of participants; it offers higher external validity due to real-world conditions, but lower internal validity because it is vulnerable to confounding variables and selection bias.

What is the primary operational difference between a cross-sectional design and a longitudinal design?

A cross-sectional design collects data at a single point in time, whereas a longitudinal design collects data repeatedly across multiple time points.

What are age, cohort, and period effects?

An age effect is change occurring as an individual grows older; a cohort effect is variation due to growing up in a specific generation; a period effect is change resulting from a specific historical moment.

What is the cross-sectional fallacy in aging research?

The mistaken assumption that age differences observed across different age cohorts measured at one point in time represent true age changes occurring within individuals over time.

How do instrumental and intrinsic case studies differ?

An instrumental case study examines a specific case to understand a broader issue or test a theory, while an intrinsic case study explores a case simply because the unique case itself deserves to be studied.

What are the three Tri-Council funding agencies in Canada and their corresponding research areas?

1. NSERC/CRSNG: Natural sciences and engineering. 2. SSHRC/CRSH: Social science and humanities. 3. CIHR/IRSC: Health sciences.

What were the primary ethical violations of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972)?

600 Black men were deceptively told they were being treated for 'bad blood', effective treatment (penicillin) was intentionally withheld starting in 1947, and the study was prolonged for 40 years without informed consent.

What major ethical violations were highlighted by Stanley Milgram's obedience experiment?

Deception of participants regarding real electric shocks, infliction of severe psychological distress and guilt, and failure to provide immediate debriefing or respect the right to withdraw.

What ethical violations occurred in the nutritional experiments on Indigenous children during the 1940s and 1950s?

Canadian state researchers deliberately withheld nutrients and food rations from malnourished Indigenous children in residential schools without parental or participant informed consent.

What are three key ethical principles established by the Nuremberg Code in 1947?

1. Voluntary consent of human subjects, 2. Avoidance of all unnecessary physical and mental suffering, and 3. The freedom of subjects to quit the study at any time.

What three core principles are defined in the 1978 Belmont Report?

1. Beneficence (do no harm, maximize benefits), 2. Justice (fairness in distribution of risks/benefits), and 3. Respect for Persons (acknowledging autonomy and protecting individuals with diminished autonomy).

What do the novel, arguable, and feasible criteria mean for an effective research question?

Novel means building on existing research to add new info; Arguable means open-ended with multiple possible answers requiring empirical investigation; Feasible means accessible data can be gathered and analyzed within the study timeframe.

Theory is an explanation of observed regularities or patterns.

True.

What is the relationship between theory and research?

Theory guides research; research can test theory.

T/F: Deductive research begins with observations and ends by creating theory.

False. Deduction begins with theory and tests it.

What are the main steps of deduction?

Theory → background research → hypotheses → empirical testing → revision.

T/F: Deductive research is the most common approach in social research.

True.

What is the inductive method?

Gather and examine data first, then develop theory from observations.

What is grounded theory?

A method of deriving theory from observations, often used by qualitative researchers.

T/F: Inductive research must begin with an existing theory.

False. Theory can emerge from the research process.

What does positivism follow?

The natural sciences.

What is empiricism?

Using the senses and observations as a basis for knowledge.

T/F: Positivism commonly uses deduction and hypothesis testing.

True.

How does positivism view science and values?

Science should be value-free; objectivity is now often discussed as intersubjectivity.

What is intersubjectivity?

Agreement or shared understanding among researchers about scientific observations.

What is the goal of interpretivism?

To understand the subjective meanings people attach to their actions.

T/F: Interpretivism views social reality entirely from the researcher’s perspective.

False. It emphasizes the perspective of the social actor.

What does interpretivism emphasize?

Socially constructed reality, empathetic understanding, and interpretation of existence.

Which sociological perspective commonly uses interpretivism?

Symbolic Interactionism.

Name two scholars associated with symbolic Interactionism.

George Herbert Mead and Irving Goffman.

t/f: Critical approaches accept value-free science.

False. Critical researchers reject the idea of value-free science.

What approaches can critical researchers use?

Both deductive and inductive approaches, using many research methods.

What does praxis mean in critical research?

Putting theoretical positions into practice.

What is an objectivist ontology?

Social phenomena have an objective reality independent of our perceptions.

What is hard constructionism?

Reality is viewed as a set of mental constructions.