SOC101Y1 Chapter Notes -Convenience Sampling, Historical Sociology, Participant Observation
Document Summary
Understanding complexities of scientific methods requires distinguishing between times when subjectivity is beneficial and times when it is not. Good science integrates strong theory and robust research. Values and expectations influence our perceptions of reality, but they do not completely determine what we see. 2 ways of reducing bias: public (open) scrutiny and skeptical reasoning. Casuality is controversial because it often involves something we cannot observe directly; we infer that conclusion from assembled evidence that fits with theoretical conjecture. Methods of social research: explanation and understanding (they work together). Techniques of social research: experiments, surveys, observational studies (participant observation), historical sociology, documentary analysis, use of official statistics. Experiment: carefully controlled artificial situation that allows researchers to isolate causes and measure their effects precisely: advantages: very high reliability, and very good for theory testing, disadvantages: low validity and bad for exploratory research.
