Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
1. To think in a Scientific way about our
Topic: What do I want to learn
questions we need to consider....
about? Hypothesis: What do I
think is true?
Literature review: What proof/evi-
dence is there about my topic?
Objectivity:How ok am I with
being wrong about what I think
is true?
2. Epistemology The science of knowing,
investiga- tion of what
distinguishes justified belief
from opinion, it questions
what knowledge is & how it is
ac- quired.
3. 4 Types of Knowledge 1) Tradition
2) Experience
3) Authority
4) Scientific
4. Experience: Seeing is Believing and it's 1) People aren't always
limita- tions
good ob- servers
Social location (age, gender, race,
SES) attect our interpretations
2) People tend to over-
generalize (based on too few
people) & se- lectively
observe (focus on 'deviant
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, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
case')
3) 'Gamblers fallacy' (I've been on a winning streak so I will
lose soon, I'm on a losing streak so I will win soon) illogical
reasoning
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, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
4) May have a vested
interest in see- ing things in a
way that benefit them
5. Scientific Solutions to Errors in Experience Errors in Inquiry and Some
Solu-
tions:
1) Inaccurate Observations
-Measurement devices otter accura-
cy.
2) Overgeneralizations
-Large, Representative samples are a
safeguard against
overgeneraliza- tion.
-Replication - Repeating a research
study to test and either confirm
or question the findings of an
earlier study.
6. Authority -We often benefit from knowledge
from those in authority.
Limitations:
-We still can not blindly accept this
type of information
-Sometimes authorities are still in-
correct in their own field &
some- times they speak outside
their area of expertise
7. Scientific Method -Empirical: Based on direct
3/
48
, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
observa- tion of reality (not
value judgments)
4/
48
1. To think in a Scientific way about our
Topic: What do I want to learn
questions we need to consider....
about? Hypothesis: What do I
think is true?
Literature review: What proof/evi-
dence is there about my topic?
Objectivity:How ok am I with
being wrong about what I think
is true?
2. Epistemology The science of knowing,
investiga- tion of what
distinguishes justified belief
from opinion, it questions
what knowledge is & how it is
ac- quired.
3. 4 Types of Knowledge 1) Tradition
2) Experience
3) Authority
4) Scientific
4. Experience: Seeing is Believing and it's 1) People aren't always
limita- tions
good ob- servers
Social location (age, gender, race,
SES) attect our interpretations
2) People tend to over-
generalize (based on too few
people) & se- lectively
observe (focus on 'deviant
1/
48
, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
case')
3) 'Gamblers fallacy' (I've been on a winning streak so I will
lose soon, I'm on a losing streak so I will win soon) illogical
reasoning
2/
48
, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
4) May have a vested
interest in see- ing things in a
way that benefit them
5. Scientific Solutions to Errors in Experience Errors in Inquiry and Some
Solu-
tions:
1) Inaccurate Observations
-Measurement devices otter accura-
cy.
2) Overgeneralizations
-Large, Representative samples are a
safeguard against
overgeneraliza- tion.
-Replication - Repeating a research
study to test and either confirm
or question the findings of an
earlier study.
6. Authority -We often benefit from knowledge
from those in authority.
Limitations:
-We still can not blindly accept this
type of information
-Sometimes authorities are still in-
correct in their own field &
some- times they speak outside
their area of expertise
7. Scientific Method -Empirical: Based on direct
3/
48
, Social Research and Methods Ch 1-4
observa- tion of reality (not
value judgments)
4/
48
