75 exam questions about Bryman's book: Social Research Methods. The questions are all in English, the answers are extensive and also written in English. My own exam was in oral form, in which I had to answer several questions with two professors in English. Because the degree of difficulty of this ...
The oral exam will be on the basis of the course reading as well as the content of the
lectures. Which means that you can expect questions as drawn from the following
corresponding chapters of Bryman (2015): 2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,15,17,18,19,20,21,24 (see
below for questions).
When applicable, the questions asked during the exam will be related to the research
you conducted with your team (e.g., explain whether the approach to your research is
inductive, deductive, retroductive, or abductive?).
THE RESEARCH PROCESS (PART 1)
Chapter 2: Social research strategies: quantitative and qualitative research
1. Outline the difference between grand and middle-range theory.
a. Grand theory = more abstract level; offer few indications to researchers as
to how they might guide or influence the collection of empirical evidence;
difficult to make necessary links with the real world.
b. Middle-range theory = intermediate to general theories of social systems
which are too remote from particular classes of social behavior, organization
and change to account for what is observed and to those detailed orderly
descriptions of particulars that are not generalized at all; more likely to
focus on empirical enquiry; operate in a limited domain; vary in range of
application.
2. Describe what is meant by inductive and deductive reasoning.
a. Inductive = researcher infers the implications of his/her findings for the
theory that prompted the whole exercise; findings are fed back into the
stock of the theory and the research findings associated with a certain
domain of enquiry; theory is the outcome of the research, drawing
generalizable inferences out of observations; observations/findings !
theory.
b. Deductive = researcher draws on what is known about in a particular
domain and on relevant theoretical ideas in order to deduce a hypothesis
(hypotheses) that must then be subjected to empirical scrutiny; deduce
hypothesis and translate it into operational terms; specify how data can be
collected in relation to the concepts that make up the hypothesis;
connection with middle-range theory; steps not always followed in the
proper/logical sequence; theory ! observations/findings.
3. What is meant by positivism, realism, interpretivism?
a. Positivism = epistemological position that advocates the application of the
methods of the natural sciences to the study of social reality and beyond;
principles:
i. Only phenomena and hence knowledge confirmed by the senses can
genuinely be warranted as knowledge (phenomenalism).
ii. Purpose of theory is to generate hypotheses that can be tested and
that will thereby allow explanations of laws to be assessed
(deductivism).
iii.Knowledge is arrived at through the gathering of facts that provide
the basis for laws (inductivism).
iv. Science must be conducted in a way that is value free (objective).
v. Clear distinction between scientific statements and normative
statements and a belief that the former are the true domain of the
scientist; last principle is implied by the first because the truth or
otherwise of normative statements cannot be confirmed by the
senses.
Positivists take the view that the scientist’s conceptualization of reality
actually directly reflects that reality.
b. Realism = shares two features with positivism: a belief that the natural and
social sciences can and should apply the same kinds of approach to the
collection of data and to explanation, and a commitment to the view that
, there is an external reality to which scientists direct their attention; argue
that the scientist’s conceptualization of reality is simply a way of knowing
that reality.
c. Interpretivism = contrasts with positivism; strategy is required that respects
the differences between people and the objects of the natural sciences and
therefore requires the social scientist to grasp the subjective meaning of
social action; “Verstehen”; subject matter of social sciences (people and
their institutions) is fundamentally different from that of natural sciences
and therefore requires a different logic of research procedure, one that
reflects the distinctiveness of humans as against the natural order; aim to
place the interpretations that have been elicited into a social scientific
frame; double interpretation: researcher provides interpretation of others’
interpretation; and third interpretation in concepts/theories/literature.
4. What is meant by empirical and critical realism?
a. Empirical realism = through the use of appropriate methods, reality can be
understood (naïve realism, to reflect the fact that it is often assumed by
realists that there is a perfect correspondence between reality and the term
used to describe it); ‘fails to recognize that there are enduring structures
and generative mechanisms underlying and producing observable
phenomena and events’
b. Critical realism = manifesto is to recognize the reality of the natural order
and the events and discourses of the social world and holds that ‘we will
only be able to understand – and so change – the social world if we identify
the structures at work that generate those events and discourses. Structures
are not spontaneously apparent in the observable pattern of events; they
can only be identified through the practical and theoretical work of social
sciences’. Blaikie refers to it as ‘retroductive reasoning’ = making an
inference about the causal mechanism that lies behind and is responsible for
regularities that are observed in the social world.
5. Why are epistemological considerations important in practical research?
a. .
6. What are the main differences between epistemological and ontological
considerations?
a. Epistemological = question of what is (or should be) regarded as acceptable
knowledge in a discipline
b. Ontological = question of whether social entities can and should be
considered objective entities that have a reality external to social actors, or
whether they can and should be considered social constructions built up
from the perceptions and actions of social actors.
c. Difference:
7. What is meant by objectivism and constructionism?
a. Objectivism = ontological position that asserts that social phenomena and
their meanings have an existence that is independent of social actors; it
implies that social phenomena and the categories that we use in everyday
discourse have an existence that is independent or separate from actors;
social phenomena confront us as external facts that are beyond our reach/
influence; classic ways of conceptualizing organization and culture (object/
objective reality).
b. Constructionism = ontological position (constructivism) that asserts that
social phenomena and their meanings are continually being accomplished by
social actors; social phenomena are not only produced through social
interaction but are in constant state of revision; researcher always presents
a specific version of social reality (no definitive); knowledge is
indeterminate; linked to meanings.
8. Outline the main differences between quantitative and qualitative research
teams in terms of:
Quantitative Qualitative
, Principal orientation to Deductive; testing of Inductive; generation of
role of theory in relation theory theory
to research
Epistemological Natural science model; Interpretivism
orientation positivism
Ontological orientation Objectivism Constructionism
Relationship between Quantification in Emphasizes words in
theory and data collection and analysis of collection and analysis of
data data
9. Describe what Popper means by falsification.
a. Falsification = >>> check artikel Blaikie!!
Chapter 3: Research designs
10.Describe what is meant by reliability, validity and replicability.
a. Those are criteria for the evaluation of social research.
b. Reliability = question of whether the results of a study are repeatable; are
measures consistent?; mainly related to quantitative research. (test-retest;
consistency results)
c. Validity = integrity of the conclusions that are generated from a piece of
research; most important quality criterion. (findings truly represent the
phenomenon you are claiming to measure; design & methods)
d. Replicability = must be replicable; procedures need to be spelt out in
detail; rare in social sciences. (duplicable)
11.Describe the relation between reliability and validity.
a. Measurement validity is related to reliability: if a measure of a concept is
unstable in that it fluctuates and hence is unreliable, it simply cannot be
providing a valid measure of the concept in question; assessment of a
measure’s validity presupposes that it is reliable.
12.What is the meaning of measurement validity, internal validity, external validity
and ecological validity?
a. Measurement validity = quantitative research and to search for measures of
social scientific concepts; question of whether a measure that is devised for
a concept really does reflect the concept that it is supposed to be
denoting.
b. Internal validity = issue of causality; question of whether a conclusion that
incorporates a causal relationship between two/more variables holds
water.
c. External validity = question of whether the results of a study can be
generalized beyond the specific research context.
d. Ecological validity = question of whether social scientific findings are
applicable to people’s everyday, natural social settings.
e. (inferential validity = whether the authors of a report of research produce
inferences and draw conclusions that are warranted by their research and
the findings generated from it)
13.How can you make your literature review replicable?
a. Make the method and procedures very clear. Difficult in social research since
there are hardly any standard procedures.
14.What are the main research designs (according to Bryman)?
a. Experimental design (less used in qualitative research)
b. Cross-sectional / survey design (=entails the collection of data on a sample
of cases and a single point in time in order to collect a body of
quantitative or quantifiable data in connection with two/more variables,
which are then examined to detect patterns of association).
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