COMM 2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Scientific Method, Inductivism, Ethnography
21 Dec 2015
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What we can study theory: explanation of observed regularities or patterns in society ex. Social science= the social phenomenon the theory that is generating the research process and understanding the acquisition of knowledge is generating the theory- circular process. Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural sciences to social science research. What are we going to study- ontological questions. What kinds of objects exist in the social world. Objectivist ontology- social phenomena do confront us as external facts. Constructionist ontology- object of study are social productions- art, poetry, conversations, music. They have research questions, no hypothesis, test the world around them, make sense of it, how does it make sense of what we already know about the social world around us- aquire knowledge about the social world. A structure of framework to guide data collection and analysis. Are you searching for casuality, understanding, or generalization to a population. Research questions research design research method.
