SCS 2150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Human Behavior, Antipositivism, Verstehen
31 Jan 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Purpose: an explanation of observed regularities or patterns, to assess the adequacy of a particular social theory, to gather information to create social theory, to understand pressing social problems, to explore personal experience. Video example: what is the purpose of the theory of friendship (big bang theory) To asses the adequacy of a particular social theory. Limited in scope and can be tested directly: e. g. , seymour martin lipset"s theory of democracy. Grand theories (paradigms: general and abstract, cannot be tested directly, e. g. , rational choice, structural functionalism, etc. One way to conduct social scientific inquiry is through deduction. Using deduction, one begins with a theory or explanation for something, then goes out into the world and tests it. Research hypothesis: testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition (a theory: the level of economic development has a positive effect on democracy, americans express less support for labour unions than canadians.
