LS221 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Arson, Antipositivism, Grounded Theory
26 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Theory - an explanation of observed regularities or patterns. Descriptions - talk about what you are studying. Relational statements - comparing two + variables. Deterministic - two variables always go together in a particular way (as the economy rises 1%, then the arson rate decreases 5%) Probabilistic - two variables go together to a degree (as the economy drops, arson rates increase compared to a region with a growing economy) Theories of middle range - limited in scope and can be tested directly by gathering empirical evidence (speci c) Theories can be applied to situations to yield results. Not all researchers use a theory, but they are typically pressured to do so. Deductive approach - theory comes rst, research comes after. Inductive approach - theory is the outcome of research. Research is gathered in order to construct a theory. Deductive is the most common research method.
