SOC 302 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Operationalization, Critical Thinking
Document Summary
Traditional scientific method: theory: how we believe some process works, operationalization: specifying how one intends to carry out research, observation and analysis. Social science can provide us with a better understanding of what we do, and perhaps why. But science can"t tell us what we ought to want. But science is done by scientists, who will tell you what they want. A topic appropriate for social research is one that you generalize about social patterns that operate in aggregates and are empirically observable. Applied: addresses specific concerns or offers solutions to particular problems. Research questions are specific questions we ask mentally about relationships among concepts. A hypothesis is a specified testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition or research question. The deductive approach vs. the inductive approach. Narrow the topic into specific research questions. Develop a detailed plan of how to carry out the study. Summarize ideas about cause and frame as a hypothesis.
