HSS 3101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Social Capital, False Consciousness, Emergence

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Health Sciences
• Course: HSS 3101
• Professor: Jason Steffener

Document Summary

A research paradigm re ects one"s beliefs about what constitutes knowledge and how that knowledge is to be generalized. Differences in the kinds of knowledge they call for, and in the kinds of research methods that they employ can be understood as re ecting different research paradigms: epistemological foundations. Epistemological foundations de ne the types of data that would be considered valid and useful. There are three important epistemologies: positivism, interpretivism, and critical realism: positivism: argues that valid knowledge and truth is generated through a scienti c process based on observation/measurement and generalization. Emphasizes the rigorous measurement of variables and the analysis of cause and effect relationships (randomized controlled trial) Criticized for focusing too much on characteristics of individuals, at expense of places where they live and work. Limitations of positivism: data gathering due to subjectivity. The unity of scienti c method (with natural science as a model for social science)