Logic of Social Research - Social Research Method - Lecture Slides, Slides of Research Methodology

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The Logic

of

Social Science Research

Epistemology:

How do we know when something is true?

• Natural Sciences  Scientific Method
• Social Sciences  3 Research Orientations
  • Positivism (often quantitative research)
  • Interpretivism (often qualitative research)
  • Realism

The Scientific Method

Research Question

Unexplained Phenomenon

Theory Tentative Explanation

Hypothesis Observable Prediction

Experiment

Falsification Support or Refute Theory

Other Characteristics of

the Scientific Method:

• Falsification
  • Karl Popper (1959) “The Logic of Scientific Discovery”
  • Either reject or support hypothesis, but never “prove” it
  • Not falsifiable = philosophical question
• Verifiability (Replication)
  • Repeatable (hopefully with same results)  peer reviewed
• Science is Dynamic
  • Scientific ‘laws’ = Theory and facts match over numerous experiments
  • But ‘laws’ can be overturned with new evidence  knowledge changes

Key Epistemological Question for the Social

Sciences :

Can the social world be studied with the same methods used

in the natural sciences?

• YES  Positivism (Emile Durkheim)
  • Typically Deductive Research
• NO  Interpretivism or Verstehen (Max Weber)
  • Typically Inductive Research
• YES  Realism (Karl Mark, Sigmund Freud)
  • No methodological preference

Social Science Tradition (1):

Positivism

• Knowledge derived from observations (empiricism)
  • Theory alone is not scientific knowledge  philosophy
  • Scientific knowledge: theories supported by data
• Research is deductive

Theory  Hypothesis  Collect Data  Findings   Findings confirm or reject hypothesis  Revise theory

• Social science should be value free
  • Social scientist’s personal opinions shouldn’t matter

Building Blocks of Positivism:

Theories, Hypotheses, and Variables

Theory : Plausible explanation for a particular social

phenomenon.

• Theory explains the ‘causal relationship’ between social variables.
• The data determine the ‘correlation between variables’.
• Spurious theories

Founding Theories of Sociology

• Karl Marx (Capitalism and Society)
• Max Weber (Religion and Capitalism)
• Emile Durkheim (DOL and Anomie)

Variables : An important “object” within a theory that

can take on two or more different values or categories.

Examples of Sociological Variables :

• Economic systems : capitalism, socialism, mixed economies.
• Social Class: upper class, middle class, working class, lower class.
• Gender: male, female (perhaps transgendered)
• Age:
• Education:

Proxies : A variable that represents (albeit imperfectly) a

more complicated sociological concept. Proxies enable

researchers to measure abstract social phenomena.

Examples :

Concept Possible Proxy Community disorder ---- ASBOs issued per year Gender Equality -- Gender pay gap Political participation --- Voter participation rates National Prosperity --- Income per capita

Measurement Validity

Hypothesis : A short and empirically testable statement,

derived from theory, which predicts a certain outcome.

Possible hypotheses for classical theories in sociology:

• Marx : The more the economy is privately owned, the more economic inequality will grow in that society.
• Weber : Protestant-dominated countries have stronger economies than Catholic-dominated countries.
• Durkheim : The more advanced a society’s division of labor, the more people in that society will suffer from anomie.

Important note: All of these hypotheses can be tested; thus they are said to be ‘falsifiable’.

In-Class Exercise:

1. Write out a one sentence hypothesis that offers a

plausible explanation for the following social problems:

• poverty
• gender inequality in the workplace
• anti-social behavior among teenagers

2. Identify the variables in your hypotheses

3. H ow you would measure these variables?