Sociology 2206A/B Lecture : Linking Theory and Research

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 2206A/B
• Professor: Ryan Broll

Document Summary

Linking theory and research y the backbone of the social sciences y researchers combine a way of thinking about the operations of the social world (theory) with what they observe about it (data) A system of interconnected abstractions or ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge about the social world . Social theorists create explanations about the workings of society and the interactions between members of social groups. Social theorists create explanations about the workings of society and the interactions between members of social groups: classical theorists (ex: marx, durkheim, weber) provided foundation for our understanding of the social world. Inductive y begin with detailed observation of the world y work towards developing more abstract generalizations and ideas y. Involves refining concepts, developing empirical generalizations, and identifying preliminary relationships y often use grounded theory (popular for quantitative) Deductive y begin with an abstract, logical relationship among concepts y work towards finding concrete, empirical evidence y.