SCS 2150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Dependent And Independent Variables
20 Aug 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
SCS2150
February 26 2016
Quantitative Research
-contrasts between quantitative and qualitative research
-positivist vs. non-positivist
-deductive vs. inductive
-theory and research hypothesis tested vs. theory and developed from data and research
questions answered
-numbers vs. words/images
-thin descriptions vs. thick descriptions
-large number of cases vs. small number of cases
-concept: ideas or mental representations of things
-example: crime, gender, alienation, love, life satisfaction
-coding: transforming a measure into numbers (variables)
-variables provide measurements of concepts
-they contain different values
-in measuring life satisfaction, respondents who say they
are satisfied may be given a code/value of 1, which is
recorded. respondents who are not happy may be given
a code/value of 0, which is then recorded in a file
-why measure concepts?
-measurements allows a delineation of small or fine
differences between people or issues we are interested
in
-measurements provides a way to identify and gauge
those differences with consistency
-it allows us to estimate what the relationship is between
concepts and the strength of that relationship
-main goals of quantitative researchers:
-measurement: data is used to understand and quantify
social phenomena, concepts and their interrelations in
general
-establishing causality: researchers want to know what causes social phenomena
(prejudices, crime, class conflict)
-distinguishing dependent and independent variables
-generalization of findings to those not studied
-goal is to come up with law-like findings that apply to large numbers of people
-replication, or repeating a study using the same methods, provides a check for basis and
routine errors
-if findings are consistent, researchers have greater confidence in the original findings
-dependent variable: is one assumed to depend on or be affected by the independent variable
-a variable which we are interested in explaining
-example: membership in political parties in Canada is affected by the level of education
-independent variable: is one which is presumed to affect the dependent variable
-a variable which we use to explain the dependent variable
-example: membership in political parties in Canada is affected by the level of education
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Theory and research hypothesis tested vs. theory and developed from data and research questions answered. Large number of cases vs. small number of cases. Concept: ideas or mental representations of things. Example: crime, gender, alienation, love, life satisfaction. Coding: transforming a measure into numbers (variables) Measurements allows a delineation of small or ne differences between people or issues we are interested in. Measurements provides a way to identify and gauge those differences with consistency. It allows us to estimate what the relationship is between concepts and the strength of that relationship. Measurement: data is used to understand and quantify social phenomena, concepts and their interrelations in general. Establishing causality: researchers want to know what causes social phenomena (prejudices, crime, class con ict) Generalization of ndings to those not studied. Goal is to come up with law-like ndings that apply to large numbers of people.
