Bryman Chapter 2: Social Research Strategies: quanttatte research and qualitatte research
What type of theory?
Theory: explanaton of obserted regularites
Distncton between theories of the middle range and grand theories (operate at more
abstract letel)
For research mostly middle range theories are used as they present a connecton to the real
world
Social scientst use theories either as background for their research or do research in order to
find new theories
Empiricism: approach to a study on the grounds of knowledge gained through experience and the
senses // accumulaton of facts is a legitmate goal in its own right
Naïte empiricism: research that has no connecton with theories
Deductte theory (mostly employed in quanttatte research)
Researcher draws on what is known about a partcular domain and on reletant theoretcal
ideas in order to create a hypothesis for his research
The researcher must first deduce the hypothesis and then translate it into operatonal terms
The process of deducton
1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Data collecton
4. Findings
5. Hypothesis confirmed or reeected
6. Retision of theory opposite directon of deductonn intoltes inducton as the researcher
infers implicatons of the findings for the theory that prompted the whole exercise
Findings are fed back into the stock of theory
Research findings are associated with a certain domain of inquiry
Inductte approach (mostly employed in qualitatte research)
Theory is the outcome of research
Generalizable inferences are drawn out of obsertatons
May contain an element of deductonn the researcher may want to collect further data afer
establishing a theory to test whether the theory will hold or not (iteratte strategy)
Epistemological consideratons
What is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge in a discipline?
Can and should the social world be studied according to the same principles, procedures and
ethics as the natural sciences?
Posittism: applicaton of methods from natural sciences is fatourable for the study of the social
world
1. Only knowledge that is confirmed by the senses can be terified as knowledge
(phenomenology)
2. Theory is there to generate hypotheses that can be tested and explain laws (deducttism)
3. Knowledge is arrited at through the gathering of facts, those facts protide the basis for laws
(inducttism)
What type of theory?
Theory: explanaton of obserted regularites
Distncton between theories of the middle range and grand theories (operate at more
abstract letel)
For research mostly middle range theories are used as they present a connecton to the real
world
Social scientst use theories either as background for their research or do research in order to
find new theories
Empiricism: approach to a study on the grounds of knowledge gained through experience and the
senses // accumulaton of facts is a legitmate goal in its own right
Naïte empiricism: research that has no connecton with theories
Deductte theory (mostly employed in quanttatte research)
Researcher draws on what is known about a partcular domain and on reletant theoretcal
ideas in order to create a hypothesis for his research
The researcher must first deduce the hypothesis and then translate it into operatonal terms
The process of deducton
1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Data collecton
4. Findings
5. Hypothesis confirmed or reeected
6. Retision of theory opposite directon of deductonn intoltes inducton as the researcher
infers implicatons of the findings for the theory that prompted the whole exercise
Findings are fed back into the stock of theory
Research findings are associated with a certain domain of inquiry
Inductte approach (mostly employed in qualitatte research)
Theory is the outcome of research
Generalizable inferences are drawn out of obsertatons
May contain an element of deductonn the researcher may want to collect further data afer
establishing a theory to test whether the theory will hold or not (iteratte strategy)
Epistemological consideratons
What is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge in a discipline?
Can and should the social world be studied according to the same principles, procedures and
ethics as the natural sciences?
Posittism: applicaton of methods from natural sciences is fatourable for the study of the social
world
1. Only knowledge that is confirmed by the senses can be terified as knowledge
(phenomenology)
2. Theory is there to generate hypotheses that can be tested and explain laws (deducttism)
3. Knowledge is arrited at through the gathering of facts, those facts protide the basis for laws
(inducttism)
