CMN 3103 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Nonprobability Sampling, Operationalization
5 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
Social life operates within fairly regular patterns; patterns are tendencies, representing typical and expected forms of action around which innumerable individual variations may be found. One purpose of scientific research is to find the meaning underlying these various patterns, which is accomplished by theory. Theory is the meaning that we assign to things that we observe in order to make sense of them; a general, comprehensive set of statements that describe different aspects of a phenomenon. Theory can also represent attempts to develop coherent narratives about reality or ways to classify and organize events (theories have general applicability) In order to construct theories, one needs smaller components or basic building blocks concepts; are symbolic or abstract elements representing objects, properties, or features of objects, processes, or phenomenon. Concepts may communicate ideas or introduce particular perspectives, or they may be a means for explaining a broad generalization; are important because they allow information to be shared.
