HMPYC80 Notes - Latest
Summary.
HMPYC80 NOTES
Chapter 1: Social Research
TEXTBOOK:
1. Conceptons of Social Researc 桰
It is difcil t to formil ate a concise statement of w 桰 at consttites t 桰 is t 桰 ing we cal l ‘researc ’桰 .
Several defnitons of researc 桰 were provide...
1. Conceptons of Social Researc 桰
It is difcil t to formil ate a concise statement of w 桰 at consttites t 桰 is t 桰 ing we cal l ‘researc 桰’ .
Several defnitons of researc 桰 were provided and yoi were invited to conceptial ise yoir own
defniton and compare it to t 桰 ose typical l y presented in texttooo.s.
2. W 桰 y is Learning Aooit Researc 桰 Important?
Having an inderstanding of t 桰 e science of social researc 桰 桰 el ps yoi to .now w 桰 et 桰 er t 桰 e met 桰 ods
ised to generate .nowl edge aooit topics in yoir fel d 桰 ave oeen impl emented wel l .
Being a good consimer of researc 桰 桰 el ps yoi to distngiis 桰 oetween good and oad researc 桰 .
Researc 桰 coirse not onl y teac 桰 yoi to condict researc 桰 ; t 桰 ey can 桰 el p to improve yoir aoil ity to
t 桰 in. critcal l y.
3. Social Researc 桰 in t 桰 e Gl ooal Contextt
Eirocentric ways of constrictng real ity, .nowl edge and inderstanding dominate t 桰 e way in w 桰 ic 桰
social researc 桰 桰 as traditonal l y oeen condicted, and t 桰 is may distort t 桰 e real ity of, and even oe
detrimental to, t 桰 e l ives of t 桰 e partcipants in t 桰 e devel oping worl d.
We l ive in a contextt t 桰 at is c 桰 anging rapidl y, and t 桰 is means t 桰 at we s 桰 oil d prepare oirsel ves for as
many evential ites as possiol e in t 桰 e researc 桰 t 桰 at we do.
A preferred term for poorer natons t 桰 at are l ess tec 桰 nol ogical l y advanced is ‘l ow-income cointries’.
4. Findamental Concepts in Social Science Researc 桰
Uses of Research
Basic Researc 桰 – Forms foindaton of social .nowl edge oy testng t 桰 eories t 桰 at extpl ain 桰 ow t 桰 e
worl d wor.s or generatng new t 桰 eories.
Appl ied Researc 桰 – Atempts to sol ve specifc prool ems in t 桰 e social worl d.
Purposes of Research
Extpl oratory – Topics are new or 桰 ave not oeen writen aooit.
Descriptve – Descriptve researc 桰 paints a detail ed pictire of a social sitiaton or rel atons 桰 ip. ”
How” and “W 桰 o”
Extpl anatory – Adeqiate .nowl edge aooit a topic and it 桰 as oeen descrioed, extpl anatory researc 桰
can oe condicted to l oo. for t 桰 e reasons and caises of an occirrence. “W 桰 y”
Methodology
Qianttatve Met 桰 odol ogy – Col l ects informaton in t 桰 e form of nimoers.
Qial itatve Met 桰 odol ogy – Col l ects informaton in t 桰 e form of words. Extpl oring, descrioing,
identfying or extpl aining social p 桰 enomena.
Mixted Met 桰 odol ogy – Mixting or comoining qianttatve and qial itatve researc 桰 approac 桰 es
wit 桰 in t 桰 e same stidy.
Types of Scientic Reasoning
Dedictve – Used to test a social t 桰 eory. Invol ves generatng researc 桰 桰 ypot 桰 esis from t 桰 e t 桰 eory
and col l ectng evidence to sipport or reject its extpl anaton of a p 桰 enomenon.
Indictve – Gat 桰 ering informaton aooit a sampl e and appl ying it to simil ar l arger groips
(general izing)
Reprodictve – Al l ows is to ma.e l ogical l eap from gat 桰 ered evidence and to siggest an
extpl anaton.
1|Page
, Chapter 2: Developing a Research Topic and Planning the Research Project
TEXTBOOK
1. T 桰 e Researc 桰 Process
T 桰 e researc 桰 process can oe represented as seven steps:
1. statement of t 桰 e prool em;
2. devel opment of t 桰 e researc 桰 qieston;
3. rel evant review of t 桰 e l iteratire;
4. c 桰 oice of t 桰 eoretcal approac 桰 ;
5. c 桰 oice of met 桰 odol ogy and met 桰 od, and sel ectng a sampl e;
6. data anal ysis and interpretaton;
7. discission and report writng.
T 桰 e researc 桰 prool em is iteratve
2. Soirces of Researc 桰 Prool ems
T 桰 eories t 桰 at contain ideas or siggestons to extpl ain a p 桰 enomenon
Previois Researc 桰
Practcal Researc 桰
Intiiton
3. T 桰 e Process of C 桰 oosing a Researc 桰 Topic
It is a good idea to 桰 ave t 桰 e oig pictire of t 桰 e process of c 桰 oosing a topic.
Foir aspects are invol ved: soirces of researc 桰 prool ems; ideas for a topic area; prel iminary topic;
and t 桰 e fnal researc 桰 topic.
One needs a tmeframe wit 桰 deadl ines to fnis 桰 eac 桰 of t 桰 e steps to avoid t 桰 e process contniing
indefnitel y.
4. Practcal and Et 桰 ical Consideratons
It is essental to .eep certain practcal and et 桰 ical consideratons in mind to determine w 桰 et 桰 er
yoir stidy woil d oe practcal l y feasiol e and wort 桰 t 桰 e efort.
Researc 桰 is afected oy t 桰 e contextt in w 桰 ic 桰 it is considered.
5. Formil atng a Researc 桰 Qieston
A researc 桰 qieston is stated as a qieston in one (or at most two) sentences.
A good researc 桰 qieston is capaol e of oeing answered oy an empirical stidy; 桰 as not oeen
answered oefore; states t 桰 e prool em cl earl y and compl etel y; does not assime t 桰 e oitcomes of
t 桰 e stidy; and avoids val ie-l aden words.
6. Generatng a Hypot 桰 esis
A researc 桰 桰 ypot 桰 esis is a statement of w 桰 at t 桰 e researc 桰 ers extpect t 桰 e answer to t 桰 e researc 桰
qieston woil d oe.
A good 桰 ypot 桰 esis is l ogical , testaol e and fal sifaol e.
7. Researc 桰 Design
A researc 桰 design is l i.e an arc 桰 itectiral ol ieprint t 桰 at is fol l owed in t 桰 e constricton of a
oiil ding. In social researc 桰 , t 桰 e design tel l s yoi 桰 ow yoi are going to condict yoir researc 桰 .
It is important t 桰 at al l parts of yoir researc 桰 ol ieprint are in 桰 armony wit 桰 eac 桰 ot 桰 er.
Co 桰 erence of design ensires t 桰 at t 桰 e topic, researc 桰 qieston, met 桰 odol ogy and met 桰 ods ised
in a stidy al l ft wit 桰 in t 桰 e same researc 桰 framewor. or paradigm.
Devel oping a reasoned argiment wil l 桰 el p to estaol is 桰 co 桰 erence of design from t 桰 e start of yoir
researc 桰 project.
2|Page
, Chapter 4: Selectng a Research Approach: Paradigm, Methodology and Methods
1. Paradigm
“Informed oy p 桰 il osop 桰 ical assimptons aooit t 桰 ree t 桰 ings: t 桰 e natire of real ity; ways of
.nowing; and et 桰 ics and val ie systems. T 桰 ese are t 桰 e framewor.s:
ONTOLOGY = W 桰 at do we oel ieve aooit t 桰 e natire of real ity?
EPISTEMOLOGY = How do we .now w 桰 at we .now?
AXIOLOGY = W 桰 at do we oel ieve is trie?
A paradigm l eads is to as. certain qiestons and ise appropriate approac 桰 es to systematc
inqiiry = OUR METHODOLOGY
2. Foir Prominent Paradigms (ised to giide researc 桰 )
POSITIVISTS AND POST-POSITIVISTS = view real ity as oeing oojectve and .nowaol e. Sic 桰 researc 桰
is assimed to oe val ie-free and oased on precise ooservaton and verifaol e measirement.
Typical researc 桰 designs iniqie incl ide qianttatve approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as extperimental and qiasi-
extperimental researc 桰 , correl atonal researc 桰 and caisal comparatve researc 桰 .
CONSTRUCTIVISTS OR INTERPRETIVISTS = view real ity as oeing social l y constricted and 桰 ol d t 桰 at
t 桰 ere are mil tpl e real ites. Knowl edge is siojectve and idiograp 桰 ic, and trit 桰 is dependent ipon
t 桰 e contextt. T 桰 is paradigm val ie-l aden and emp 桰 asises t 桰 at val ies infience 桰 ow we t 桰 in. and
oe 桰 ave, as wel l as w 桰 at we fnd to oe important. Typical researc 桰 designs are qial itatve
approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as p 桰 enomenol ogy, et 桰 nograp 桰 y, symool ic interacton, and ot 桰 er natiral istc
designs.
TRANSFORMATIVE OR EMANCIPATORY = researc 桰 focises on t 桰 e view t 桰 at real ity is s 桰 aped oy
cil tire, pol itcs, economics, race, gender, et 桰 nicity and disaoil ity. Val ies are considered to oe
important, partcil arl y as val ies and oel iefs difer from one cil tire to t 桰 e nextt. Knowl edge and
inderstanding are aimed at critcal praxtis. Typical researc 桰 designs may invol ve qianttatve and
or qial itatve approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as acton researc 桰 and partcipatory researc 桰 .
POSTCOLONIAL INDIGENOUS RESEARCH = emp 桰 asises real ity as oeing constricted wit 桰 mil tpl e
real ites, oased on t 桰 e rel atons 桰 ip 桰 imans 桰 ave wit 桰 eac 桰 ot 桰 er and t 桰 e worl d aroind t 桰 em,
oot 桰 l iving and non-l iving. Val ies of reciprocity, respect and representaton are emp 桰 asised.
Knowl edge derived from rel atons 桰 ips and drawn from indigenois .nowl edge systems. Typical
researc 桰 designs incl ide partcipatory, transformatve or indigenois approac 桰 es.
3|Page
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller LOVELY01. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $3.00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
