Untitled Flashcards Set

1. Know the definitions of anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and their various fields and research methods.

1. matching (10 marks)

2. Identify the steps of the social science inquiry method and be able to explain what each step entails.

2. fill in the blanks (10 marks)

1. Identify a problem or research question

• THE STARTING POINT FOR ALL INQUIRY IS A QUESTION OR A PROBLEM. A QUESTION/PROBLEM PROVIDES A REASON FOR UNDERTAKING THE INQUIRY AND HELPS TO ESTABLISH A PLAN OF ACTION (How the inquiry will be conducted i.e. research method)

• FOR EXAMPLE, A SOCIAL SCIENTIST MIGHT BE WONDERING ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF VIOLENT VIDEOGAMES ON PEOPLE WHO PLAY THEM.

• THEY WOULD FORMULATE A QUESTION: IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND YOUTH AGGRESSION?

2. Develop a hypothesis

• A HYPOTHESIS IS A POSSIBLE ANSWER TO A QUESTION AND A STARTING POINT FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION. 

• A HYPOTHESIS INDICATES WHAT NEEDS TO BE TESTED AND WHICH RESEARCH METHOD TO USE. 

• THIS STEP IS CRUCIAL BECAUSE WITHOUT A GOOD HYPOTHESIS A RESEARCHER CAN WASTE A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY COLLECTING INFORMATION THAT MIGHT NOT BE RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC. 

• A GOOD HYP. COULD BE: THERE IS A LINK BETWEEN VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND YOUTH VIOLENCE.

3. Gather data

• THE INQUIRER MUST THEN DETERMINE HOW TO GATHER DATA OR INFORMATION. 

• THE METHOD USED SHOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO THE QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS. 

• THERE ARE SEVERAL RESEARCH METHODS THAT A RESEARCHER MIGHT USE INCLUDING CASE STUDIES, SAMPLE SURVEYS, EXPERIMENTS, INTERVIEWS, OBSERVATIONS, ETC…

• RESEARCH METHODS CAN BE COMBINED

•     i.e. surveys + interviews. 

4. Analyze data

• EXAMPLE (BROCK UNIVERSITY - 2012): 

• Surveys were carried out annually across four school years with the participants aged 14 or 15 at the start of the study and 17 or 18 at its conclusion.

• The teenagers were asked a series of questions such as:

  •  how often they pushed or shoved people and whether they frequently kicked or punched people who made them angry.

5. Draw conclusions

• THE RESEARCHER MUST THEN ORGANIZE THE RAW DATA INTO MEANINGFUL FORMS i.e. Graphs, charts, tables… 

• DATA IS GENERALLY USELESS UNLESS IT IS ORGANIZED, INTERPRETED AND ANALYZED. 

  • EXAMPLE: Psychologists used their answers to give each individual a score for their aggression level at each point in time.

3. Know the key areas of focus for anthropology, psychology, and sociology, and how the perspectives differ in their approaches to questioning and understanding various social phenomena.

(E.g. a crime, a slumping hockey team etc.)

3. short answer (9 marks)

Anthropology:The study of the lives and cultures of human beings, alive or dead

Includes 2 main areas

• Physical - study of human evolution, human biology & other primates

• Cultural/Social -  Looks at culture in different global settings/focuses on social organization of living peoples

Looks at human life throughout history

• Aims to describe what it means to be human

Sociology: Study of human social life, groups & societie

Focuses on relationships between people & the societies they develop & how society shapes who you are

• Examines the differences and similarities of people
  and their respective cultures

Psychology:The study of mental processes & behaviours of people

• Personality of individual (thoughts & feelings)

• Cognition (ability to acquire knowledge)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X0LIJzoT4-d8yix12Y68iIE_-3EFADcYsVYbxvvR8s4/edit?tab=t.0