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### Summary of Key Questions and Answers

#### Hurst (2023)

- Key Difference: Qualitative research focuses on understanding phenomena through textual/narrative data, exploring meanings and contexts, while quantitative research uses numerical data to test hypotheses and identify patterns.

#### Merriam & Tisdell (2015)

- Key Difference: Qualitative research seeks to understand how people interpret experiences, whereas quantitative research focuses on measuring variables and testing relationships.

- Data Difference: Qualitative uses words/images (e.g., interviews, observations); quantitative uses numerical data (e.g., surveys, experiments).

- Four Characteristics:

1. Focus on meaning/interpretation.

2. Researcher as primary instrument.

3. Inductive process (themes emerge from data).

4. Rich, holistic descriptions.

#### King, Keohane, & Verba (2021)

- Style Differences: Qualitative = narrative, small-N, context-rich; Quantitative = statistical, large-N, generalizable.

- Commonality: Both aim for valid causal inference through systematic, empirical methods.

- Scientific Research Characteristics:

1. Testable hypotheses.

2. Public methods/data.

3. Uncertainty acknowledgment.

4. Replicability.

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### Reflection: Contrasting Views

- Hurst & Merriam/Tisdell emphasize epistemological/methodological divides (interpretive vs. positivist, context vs. generalization).

- King et al. stress shared scientific principles (e.g., hypothesis testing, transparency), downplaying methodological differences.

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### Merriam & Tisdell (Ch. 7)

- Public Records: Official, ongoing societal records (e.g., census, court transcripts).

- Personal Documents: First-person narratives (e.g., diaries, blogs).

- Advantages: Insider perspectives.

- Limitations: Subjectivity, potential bias.

- Popular Culture Documents: Media for public consumption (e.g., films, newspapers).

- Visual Documents: Photos, digital images, films.

- Artifacts: Physical objects (e.g., tools, clothing).

- Steps in Documentary Research:

1. Identify sources.

2. Authenticate/evaluate.

3. Analyze content.

- Primary vs. Secondary Sources:

- Primary: Direct evidence (e.g., diaries).

- Secondary: Interpretations (e.g., biographies).

- A document can be both (e.g., a memoir is primary for the author’s life but secondary for historical events).

- Limitations of Documents: Bias, incompleteness, accessibility.

- Advantages: Nonreactive (not influenced by the researcher), cost-effective.

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### Browning (1992) - Preface & Chapters

- March 1942–Feb 1943 Significance: Peak of Holocaust deportations/mass killings.

- Sources Used: Trial testimonies, postwar interrogations, Battalion records.

- Problems: Memory lapses, self-justification, missing records.

- Document Types: Public records (court transcripts), personal documents (letters).

- Primary/Secondary: Trial records = primary; historical analyses = secondary.

- Advantages/Limitations:

- Advantages: Detailed firsthand accounts.

- Limitations: Survivor bias, incomplete records.

- Other Holocaust Documents:

- Public: Deportation lists.

- Personal: Victim diaries.

- Popular Culture: Nazi propaganda.

- Visual: Ghetto photographs.

- Artifacts: Prisoner uniforms.

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### Browning - Chapters 1, 5, 7

- Battalion Characteristics: Middle-aged, working-class, low Nazi/SS membership.

- Trapp’s Offer: Allowed men to opt out of Józefów massacre; only 10-20% refused.

- Post-Massacre Adjustments: Shift to less personal killing methods (e.g., deportations to camps).

- Atrocity Types:

1. Combat-driven (e.g., revenge killings).

2. Systematic genocide (Battalion’s role).

- Explanations for Participation: Conformity, peer pressure, not ideology.

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### Browning - Chapter 18

- Milgram Comparison:

- Differences: Real-life consequences, group dynamics.

- Obedience: Less relevant than conformity and incremental participation.

- Broader Lesson: Ordinary people commit atrocities under situational pressures (e.g., group conformity, authority).

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### Reflection Questions

1. Browning’s Focus on Demographics: Highlights that perpetrators were ordinary, not ideological extremists, challenging Holocaust stereotypes.

2. Trapp’s Offer: Emphasizes agency—participation was often voluntary, complicating narratives of coercion.

3. Milgram’s Relevance: Browning’s case shows real-world atrocities involve complex social dynamics beyond lab-controlled obedience.

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### Key Takeaways

- Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Divergent philosophies but shared scientific goals.

- Document Analysis: Rich but requires critical evaluation.

- Holocaust Perpetrators: Situational factors (conformity, bureaucracy) outweigh individual pathology.