FMST 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Vending Machine, Webmd, Mass Media
19 Feb 2018
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Chapter 2: Studying the Family
2.1 Why Theories and Research Are Important in Our Everyday Lives
1. What we don’t know can hurt us
• Misinformation can be dangerous
• Websites are maintained by people who know little about family
issues (Ex: vaccinations & webmd)
2. Theories and Research help us understand ourselves and our families
• Illuminate many aspects of our family life
• Ex: if you spank a child this is what happens; vending machine
3. Theories and Research help us make informed decisions
• Most statistical information is correct
• However, much is biased, inaccurate or generated by self-proclaimed
“experts”; create anxieties
2.2 Theoretical Perspectives on Families
Theory Defined
• Theory = a set of statements that explain why a particular
phenomenon occurs
• Helps drive research, analyze our findings, offer solutions for family
problems
• Comes first before research
Family Research Methods
• Qualitative research = non-numerical material
• Quantitative research = numerical material; Ex: age, family size
• 7 Different Methods
1. Survey
2. Questionnaire (Ex: student course evaluations)
3. Clinical Research
4. Field Research
5. Secondary Analysis
6. Content Analysis
7. Experiment
8. Evaluation Research
• People do not believe research on social, moral, or political topics
when it proves against their personal beliefs
• Scholarly journals are usually peer-reviewed or (‘referred’)
• Mass media reports are usually NOT peer-reviewed
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
