100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Summary for Social Science Methods (CC1016) $11.76   Add to cart

Summary

Summary for Social Science Methods (CC1016)

 38 views  1 purchase
  • Course
  • Institution

This is a summary using lectures and the textbook for the first year course, Introduction to Social Science Methods at Erasmus University.

Preview 4 out of 62  pages

  • January 12, 2021
  • 62
  • 2019/2020
  • Summary
avatar-seller
INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODS


WEEK 1
- Research;
- 2 forms (or ​strategies)
- Qualitative​, or interpreting stuff
- Quantitative​, or counting stuff
- Looking for and finding relevant information
- ...in a systematic way
- ...in answer to a question
- What? Who? How?
- Social research
- In relation to social reality
- Social science research
- Science = research + theory
- Methodology;
- The many considerations and choices that are at stake when obtaining
the information that is needed
- Balancing strengths and weaknesses;
- Often no ideal solution, but optimal solution
- Use your COMMON SENSE
- Theory
- A set of statements that are logically related,
- Explain observed regularities
- Often about relations between things
- Reduce complexity
- Apply to more situations than the ones studied (more or less
generalizable)
- Constructions
- Theories ​are not​ reality
- Theories ​are just​ ways to make sense of reality
- Work in progress
- Theories are only useful until they stop being useful
- Grand theories
- Explain a lot
- Massive complexity reduction

, - Very abstract
- Difficult to apply in research
- Middle range theories
- Explain a lot less
- Bound to specific contexts/situations
- Less abstract
- Easy to apply in research
- Relation theory-research
- Deduction;
- From theory to empirical data
- Expectation​ on the basis of theory (​hypothesis)
- “People with a low brow are less intelligent”
- Collecting data ​(doing observations)
- Testing ​theory
- Observations in line with hypothesis
- Confirmation
- Observations contrast hypothesis
- Falsification
- Induction;
- From empirical data to theory
- Collecting data (doing observations)
- “Which people are more intelligent?”
- Interpreting findings
- Theory building by synthesis of findings
- Grounded theory
- But…
- Induction
- You need to know what/where to observe
- Some theory is prerequisite
- You might have some expectations about what you
will find
- Deduction
- Theory does not come out of the blue
- Based on prior research or (unsystematic)
observations
- In case of falsification, theory needs inductive
revision
- Empirical cycle:
- Inductive:

, - Question > Observation > Interpretation > Theory >
Question
- Deductive:
- Theory > Question > Hypothesis > Observation > Testing >
Evaluation > Theory
- The nature of scientific research
- Scientific research is about understanding (social) reality
- What is social reality > ​ontology
- How can we understand it > ​epistemology
- Ontology
- What is reality?
- Age-old philosophical debate
- How should we consider the ​being​ of things
- What is social reality?
- Is there such a thing as a ​social​ reality?
- Is this reality ​external t​ o us?
- 2 positions;
- Objectivism
- Social reality is REAL
- ‘Social fact’
- Objective
- External to us
- Groups are not just collections of individuals,
they are of a different order
- Social reality has an impact on our behaviour,
thinking, ...
- We cannot control social reality
- Gender roles, national identity, social class system,
...
- Affect the way we are, think and behave
- Constructivism
- Constructionism (constructivism)
- Social reality is CONSTRUCTED
- Only real in people’s minds (perceptions,
interpretations, ...)
- Intersubjective
- Constructed through interaction
- Groups depend on individuals,
no groups without individuals

, - Our behaviour, thinking, ... has an impact on
social reality
- We shape – and change – dynamic
social reality
- Gender roles, national identity, social class
system,...
- the outcome of how we think and
behave
- Or somewhere in between
- Once that social reality has been constructed, it does
become real
- “It is not important whether or not the
interpretation is correct – if men define situations
as real, they are real in their consequences.”
Theorem of W.I. Thomas (1928)
- Epistemology
- Given a conception of social reality, how can we gain an understanding
of it?
- What is the nature of knowledge?
- And when is this knowledge scientific? In other words, what is
the proper way to study things?
- Again, 2 positions;
- Positivism
- Social reality is like physical reality
- So, social sciences should operate like natural sciences
- Human behaviour is regular
- Research to capture and test regularities/patterns
- Universal laws ‘Social physics’ (Comte,
Quetelet)
- Explaining behaviour by finding its causes
- Studying facts by measuring/counting aspects of human
behaviour
- Interpretivism
- People are not just natural elements, because they make
sense of their surroundings
- So, social sciences are totally different from natural
sciences
- People make interpretations, scientist makes
interpretations of interpretations

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

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

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

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 fozhankham. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy these notes for $11.76. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

83662 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now

Start selling
$11.76  1x  sold
  • (0)
  Add to cart