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Social Science Research Methods: Key Concepts and Definitions, Exams of Sociology

This course provides a thorough introduction to key concepts and definitions in social science research methods. It covers topics such as research questions, units of analysis, scientific method, positivist and post-positivist views of science, objectivity, theory, basic and applied research, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, research designs, concepts, variables, hypotheses, measurement, deductive and inductive reasoning, ethical principles in research, institutional review boards (IRBs), sampling methods, and data analysis techniques.

Typology: Exams

2024/2025

Available from 02/04/2025

AmiaSmith
AmiaSmith 🇨🇦

569 documents

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Social Science Research Methods
Research Question -
A question about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through
research.
Unit of Analysis -
A unit about which information is collected.
Authorities -
Socially defined sources of knowledge.
Personal Inquiry -
Inquiry that employs the senses' evidence.
Scientific Method -
A way of conducting empirical research following rules that specify objectivity,
logic, and communication among a community of knowledge seekers and the connection
between research and theory.
Positivist View of Science -
A view that human knowledge must be based on what can be perceived.
Post-Positivist View of Science -
A view that knowledge is not based on irrefutable observable grounds, that is always
somewhat speculative, but that science can provide relatively solid grounds for that
speculation.
Objectivity -
The ability to see the world as it really is.
Intersubjectivity -
Agreements about reality that result from comparing the observations of more than
one observer.
Theory -
An explanation about how and why something is as it is.
Basic Research -
Research designed to add to our fundamental understanding and knowledge of the
social world regardless of practical or immediate implications.
Applied Research -
Research intended to be useful in the immediate future and to suggest action or
increase effectiveness in some area.
Exploratory Research -
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Social Science Research Methods

Research Question - A question about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through research. Unit of Analysis - A unit about which information is collected. Authorities - Socially defined sources of knowledge. Personal Inquiry - Inquiry that employs the senses' evidence. Scientific Method - A way of conducting empirical research following rules that specify objectivity, logic, and communication among a community of knowledge seekers and the connection between research and theory. Positivist View of Science - A view that human knowledge must be based on what can be perceived. Post-Positivist View of Science - A view that knowledge is not based on irrefutable observable grounds, that is always somewhat speculative, but that science can provide relatively solid grounds for that speculation. Objectivity - The ability to see the world as it really is. Intersubjectivity - Agreements about reality that result from comparing the observations of more than one observer. Theory - An explanation about how and why something is as it is. Basic Research - Research designed to add to our fundamental understanding and knowledge of the social world regardless of practical or immediate implications. Applied Research - Research intended to be useful in the immediate future and to suggest action or increase effectiveness in some area. Exploratory Research -

Groundbreaking research on a relatively unstudied topic or in a new area. Qualitative Data Analysis - Analysis that results in the interpretation of action or representation of meanings in the researcher's own words. Descriptive Study - Research designed to describe groups, activities, situations, or events. Quantitative Data Analysis - Analysis based on the statistical summary of data. Explanatory Research - Research designed to explain why subjects vary in one way or another. Evaluation Research - Research designed to assess the impacts of programs, policies, or legal changes. Concepts - Words or signs that refer to phenomena that share common characteristics. Conceptualization - The process of clarifying what we mean by a concept. Variable - A characteristic that can vary from on unit of analysis to another or for one unit of analysis over time. Hypothesis - A testable statement about how two or more variables are expected to relate to one another. Dependent Variable - A variable that a researcher sees as being affected or influenced by another variable (contrast with independent variable). Independent Variable - A variable that a researcher sees as affecting or influencing another variable (contrast with dependent variable). Antecedent Variable - A variable that comes before both an independent variable and a dependent variable. Spurious - Non-casual. Intervening Variable - A variable that comes between an independent and a dependent variable. Extraneous Variable -

When no third party knows the identities of the research participants. Honest Reporting - The ethical responsibility to produce and report accurate data. Research Questions - Questions about one or more topics or concepts that can be answered through research. Hypothesis - A testable statement about how two variables are expected to be related to one another. Researchable Question - A question that is feasible to answer through research. Literature Review - The process of searching for, reading, summarizing, and synthesizing existing work on a topic or the resulting written summary of a search. Keywords - The terms used to search for sources in a literature review. Feasibility - Whether it is practical to complete a study in terms of access, time, and money. Access - The ability to obtain the information needed to answer a research question. Research Costs - All monetary expenditures needed for planning, executing, and reporting research. Time Expenditures - The time it takes to complete all activities of a research project from the planning stage to the final report. Sampling - The process of drawing a number of individual cases from a larger population. Element - A kind of thing a researcher wanted to sample. Population - The group of elements from which a researcher samples and to which she or he might like to generalize. Sample - A number of individual cases drawn from a larger population. Target population -

The population of theoretical interest. Sampling frame (study population) - The group of elements form which a sample is actually selected. Nonprobability Samples - Samples that have been drawn in a way that doesn't give every member of the population a known chance of being selected. Probability samples - Samples drawn in a way to give every member of the population a known (nonzero) chance of inclusion. Biased samples - Samples that are unrepresentative of the population from which they've been drawn. Generalizability - The ability to apply the results of a study to groups or situations beyond ose actually studied. Coverage error - An error that results from differences between the sampling frame and the target population. Nonresponse Error - An error that results from difference between nonresponders and responders in a survey. Sampling Error - Any difference between sample characteristics and the equivalent characteristics in the sampling frame, when this difference is not due to Nonresponse error. Parameter - A summary of a variable characteristic in a population. Statistic - A summary of a variable in a sample. Random-digit dialing - A method for selecting participants in a telephone survey that involves randomly generating telephone numbers. Sampling variability - The variability in sample statistics that can occur when different samples are drawn from the same population. Simple random sample - A probability sample in which every member of a study population has been given an equal chance of selection.