SOCA02H3 Lecture Notes - Participant Observation, Grounded Theory, Operationalization
Document Summary
Experience helps determine how we perceive reality, including what patterns we see and whether we are able to see patterns at all. Experience filters perceptions -> the single biggest problems for sociological research. Filtering occurs in 4 stages: our values often help us decide which problems are worth investigating. Values -> theories -> previous research -> methods reality . Values, theories, previous research and research methods filter our perceptions we can never perceive society in a pure or objective form. Researchers generally tend to be objective in order to perceive reality as clearly as possible. The research cycle (6 steps): the sociologist must formulate a questions, review the existing research literature, select a research method, collect data, analyze the data, report results. Field research is research based on the observation of people in their natural settings. Detached observation: an approach that involves clarifying and counting the behaviour of interest according to a predetermined scheme.
