SOCL 2001 Chapter : Chapter 2 Notes
Document Summary
Social research: a systematic study of human behavior: objective gathering of data not just on opinion. Reliability: the consistency with which the same measure produces similar results time after time. Validity: the degree to which a measure is accurate and really measures what it claims to measure. Deductive reasoning: an inquiry process that begins with a theory, prediction, or general principle that is then tested through date collection. Inductive reasoning: an inquiry process that begins with a specific observation, followed by data collection, a conclusion about patterns or regularities and the formulation of hypotheses that can lead to theory construction. Data collection: which method should you use: qualitative research: research that examines nonnumeric material and interprets it, quantitative research: research that focuses on a numerical analysis of people"s response or specific characteristics, ex: surveys. Some notes from class under qualitative: ethnography: studying people in their own environment in order to understand their activity, field note: to describe activities and interactions.
