Social Science 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?

• Religion  Faith / Tradition / Dogma
• Natural Sciences  Scientific Method
• Social Sciences  3 Research Orientations
  • Positivism
  • Realism
  • Interpretivism

The Scientific Method

Unexplained Phenomenon

Tentative Explanation (Hypothesis)

Observable Prediction

Experiment

Supported Theory

Key Characteristics of

the Scientific Method:

• Falsification
  • Karl Popper (1959) “The Logic of Scientific Discovery”
  • Either reject or support hypothesis, but never “prove” it
  • existential statements
• Repeatable / Verifiable / Peer Reviewed
• Theories  Scientific Laws (Accepted Theories)
  • “Laws” can be overturned
  • Science is dynamic

Key Epistemological Question :

Can the social world be studied with the same methods

and principles 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

Positivism

• Scientific knowledge derived from observations

(empiricism)

• Theory alone is not scientific knowledge  philosophy
• Scientific knowledge based on data and facts
• Science is value free
• Objective vs. normative statements
• Deductive research is best

Theory Hypothesis  Collect Data  Findings  Hypothesis confirmed or rejected  Revise theory

Building Blocks of Positivistic Social Research:

Theories, Hypotheses, and Variables

Theory : Elaborate and detailed explanation for a

particular social phenomenon.

• Theory determines the ‘causal relationship’ between social variables.
• The data determine the ‘correlation between variables’.

Founding Theories of Sociology

• Karl Marx (Capitalism and Society)
• Max Weber (Religion and Capitalism)
• Emile Durkheim (DOL and Anomie)
• Sigmund Freud (social norms and individual happiness )

Hypothesis : A short and empirically testable statement,

based upon a theory, that describes a certain social

phenomenon.

Possible Hypotheses for Founding Theories:

• Marx : The more the economy is privately owned, the more economic inequality that society will experience.
• Weber : Protestant dominated countries have stronger economies than Catholic dominated countries.
• Durkheim : The more advanced the division of labor in a society, the more that society will suffer from anomie.
• Freud : People living in societies with repressive sexually norms tend to have more nervous disorders.

Variables : An important “social 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:
• Age:
• Sexual orientation:
• Income: docsity.com

Proxies : A variable that represents (albeit imperfectly) a more complicated sociological concept. Proxies enable researchers to measure abstract social phenomena.

Examples :

Concept Possible Proxy Economic inequality ---- Gini Coefficient Industrial Conflict ---- Strikes per year Gender Equality -- Gender pay gap Political participation --- ??? Academic abilities -- ??? National Prosperity --- ????

Measurement Validity

In-Class Exercise:

1. Write out a one sentence hypothesis that may explain the following social problems:

–poverty –gender inequality in the workplace –low voter turnout –anti-social behavior among teenagers

2. H ow you would measure the variables identified in your hypothesis?