HSS 3101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Social Capital, Regression Analysis, Marxist Philosophy

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Health Sciences
• Course: HSS 3101
• Professor: Jason Steffener

Document Summary

Epistemological foundations: defines type of data that would be considered valid & useful (how do we generate knowledge, 3 epistemologies. Instrumental knowledge: technically useful knowledge is paramount, limitations harder to measure (dealing w/ human behaviour, thoughts) Interpretivism: generate a subjective understanding of a social phenomena, stark contrast to positivism, types. Interpretation of meanings: hermeneutics, anti-scientism, separation of natural & social sciences, value freedom, descriptive rather than critical, tends toward ethical-relativism, humanism, human nature makes interpretation possible, linguistic constructivism, language defines the social world (tendency toward epistemological relativism) Inter-subjectivity: the hermeneutic circle (relationship b/w researcher and researched, subject-object relation of natural science is replaced w/ subject-subject relation in social science. Quantitative: relies on numeric data and statistical analysis, often collected using surveys w/ fixed response ranges, aligned w/ positivist epistemology & objectivist ontology. Qualitative: open-ended research questions concerned w/ meaning, aligned w/ interpretivist epistemology & constructionist ontology, mixed methods. Brings together advanced statistical regression analysis w/ extended fieldwork/ethnography.