CHAPTER 2: Paradigms, Theory, and Research

Theories seek to:

1. Theories prevent us from attributing a pattern to reality if the pattern occurs by chance. 2. Theories make sense of observed patterns in ways that can suggest other possibilities. 3. Theories can shape and direct research efforts, pointing toward likely discoveries through empirical observation.

3 Elements in the Traditional Model of Science:

1. Theory 2. Operationalization- One step beyond conceptualization. The process of developing operational definitions—specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a variable. 3. Observation- Looking at the world and making measurements of what we have seen.

Paradigms Determine:

1. What is studied and researched. 2. The type of questions that are asked. 3. The exact structure and nature of the questions 4. How the findings of any research are interpreted.

Paradigms

A model or framework for observation and understanding, which shapes both what we see and how we understand it. Ex. the conflict paradigm causes us to see social behaviour one way, the interactionist paradigm causes us to see it differently; Ways of looking at reality; a framework containing all of the commonly accepted views about a subject, a structure of what direction research should take and how it should be performed; Paradigms are neither true nor false, only more or less useful

Informed Consent

A norm in which research subjects base their voluntary participation in a study on a full understanding of the potential risks involved

Confidentiality

A research project guarantees confidentiality when the researcher can identify a given person's responses but promises not to do so publicly

Hypothesis

A specified testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition; more generally, an expectation about the nature of things derived from a theory. It is a statement of something that ought to be observed in the real world if the theory is correct.

Theory

A systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life such as juvenile delinquency, gender, religion, family, social stratification, or the like; A systematic set of interrelated statements intended to explain some aspect of social life' In contrast, a paradigm offers a way of looking while a theory aims at explaining what we see.

Hypothesis:

A testable expectation about empirical reality that follows from a more general proposition; more generally, an expectation about the nature of things derived from a theory. It is a statement of something that ought to be observed in the real world if the theory is correct.

Microtheory

A theory aimed at understanding social life at the intimate level of individuals and their interactions. Examining how the play behaviour of girls differs from that of boys would be an example of microtheory.

Macrotheory

A theory aimed at understanding the "big picture" of institutions, whole societies, and the interactions among societies. Karl Marx's examination of the class struggle is an example of macrotheory; Paradigms that focus their attention on aggregate numbers of individuals and society at large The "big" view of social life; Durkheim's image of folk religion and Marx's view of class

Concept or construct

Abstract element representing classes of phenomena

Social Scientific Theory

An interplay of theory and research, logic and observation, induction and deduction—and the fundamental frames of reference known as paradigms. Research begins in the observations of patterns in social action. Not all social science research seeks to explain. Some research is dedicated to description of social phenomena

grounded theory

By observing aspects of social life and then seeking to discover patterns that may point to relatively universal principles

Proposition:

Conclusion about the relationships between concepts derived from the axiomatic framework

Attribute:

Describes the intensity, magnitude, quality, nature of a variable

Early Positivism

French classical founder of sociology: Auguste Comte (1798-1857) originated the term sociology (Latin: socius, meaning social, and Greek: logos, meaning the study of). ; Application of natural science methods to study social reality (positivism); Only regularities confirmed by the senses constitute genuine knowledge.; Knowledge is arrived at by gathering facts that allow for generalizations.; Theory yields testable hypotheses. Science should be value-free (objectivity).

Inductive Reasoning

From particular instances to general principles. One starts with observed data and develops a generalization that explains the relationships between variables.

Deductive Reasoning

From the general to the specific. One starts from some general law and applies it to a particular instance

Axiom (or postulate):

Fundamental assertion, taken to be true, on which theory is grounded

Axioms/Postulates

Fundamental assertions, taken to be true, on which a theory is grounded

ETHNOMETHODOLOGY (MICRO)

Garfinkel: Focus on how people create reality and social structure through their actions and interactions; How people change social structure through interactions; How is the social order created by participants?; Interested in social norms, people's expectations and how they make sense of their world; People are continuously trying to make sense of the life they experience

Steps in Deductive Theory Construction

General overview: Pick a topic • What have others said about your topic? Now you are better prepared to engage in the process: 1. Select a topic of interest (having learned about previous work). 2. Specify the range: All people, Canadians, Aboriginals, etc. 3. Identify and specify your major concepts and variables. 4. Find out what is known (propositions) about the relationship among these variables. 5. Reason logically from these propositions to the specific topic you are examining.

Debriefing

Interviewing subjects following their participation in the research project to learn about their experiences and reactions to their participation. Particularly important if there's a possibility that they have been damaged by their participation

2 essential features of deductive theory construction

LOGICAL INTEGRITY: There needs to be a logical sequence of relationships among variables in the construction of propositions and the creation of a theory. EMPIRICAL VERIFICATION: When constructs and propositions have been operationalized, they need to be tested with observations. Only in this way are we in a position to confirm a proposition or theory or disconfirm a proposition or theory.

Anonymity

May be guaranteed in a research project when neither the researchers nor the readers of the findings can identify a given response with a given respondent

Operationalization

One step beyond conceptualization. The process of developing operational definitions- that is, specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a variable.

Conflict Paradigms (macro and micro)

Origin: Karl Marx (1818-1883); Suggested that social behaviour is the process of conflict between groups competing for scarce resources; The attempt to hold power and dominate others while avoiding being dominated; Class struggle: Bourgeois vs. proletariat under capitalism; Simmel (1858-1918): Small-scale conflict

STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM (MACRO)

Origins: Comte, Durkheim, and Parsons Also known as social systems theory A social entity can be viewed as an organism, made out of parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole; Interested in the function served by the various components of society; These help maintain some equilibrium. Social institutions exist to perform a specific function; Societies evolve over time; from primitive to modern, simple to complex, mechanic to organic (Durkheim).

FEMINIST PARADIGMS

Predominant beliefs, values and social norms have been constructed by people representing only a portion of society: men Excludes women's experience Influence of postmodernism Looks into how much of society depends on gender; Social privileges, legal, political, and economic opportunities ; Scientific knowledge and methodology is gendered and biased by men; advocates for subjective experience/epistemology

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM (MICRO)

Simmel: Focuses on the nature of interactions between individuals that are either dyadic (of two people) or triadic (three people) or more Mead (1863-1931) and Cooley (1864-1929): How we form our identity through daily interactions and by looking into the reactions of others (looking-glass self); Key terms: Primary groups, looking-glass self, and taking the role of another, communications and language in human affairs

Variable:

Special kind of concept with some special relationship to observed phenomena

Propostitions

Specific conclusions about the relationships among concepts that are derived from the axiomatic groundwork

Comte considered that there were three stages of societal development:

THEOLOGICAL: Supernatural, Supernatural beings, Highest point is the idea of a single deity (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)., Priests and military maintained order. Gods thought for humans. METAPHYSICAL: 1300-1800, Thought based on nature and abstract forces, Least important of all the stages, It is too long a leap from the theological to the positivist. Sunset of the theological stage POSITIVIST: 1800-present; Relies on science; Knowledge based on empirical laws and observations; The individual becomes the object of science; Individual becomes the subject who makes science possible. Emphasis on objectivity and value-free no allowance for subjective experience/epistemology; science through a white male view

Operational Definition

The concrete and specific definition of something in terms of the operations by which observations are to be categorized. Ex. The operational definition of earning an A in a particular course may be scoring 90% on the final exam

Hypothesis Testing

The determination of whether the expectations that a hypothesis represents are, indeed, found to exist in the real world

Hypothesis testing:

The determination of whether the expectations that a hypothesis represents are, indeed, found to exist in the real world.

Links between theory and research

Theories and research are central to the enterprise of research. We EITHER TEST theory by research (deductive) or WE CONSTRUCT THEORY from research (Inductive) and then test it again. Or there may be a combination of both. Social science (and science in general) rests on two pillars: logic and observation.

Conceptualization

a process of defining the agreed meaning of the terms used in a study. From conceptualization the researcher creates a nominal definition to identify the focus of the study.

Operationalization

a process of defining the measurement of a phenomenon that is not directly measurable, though its existence is indicated by other phenomena. An operational definition is created to defined the procedures or steps used in measuring a concept. An operational definition must be specific and unambiguous.

Steps in Inductive Theory Construction (aka grounded theory)

another term: grounded theory Meaning: By observing aspects of social life and then seeking to discover patterns that may point to relatively universal principles Kinds: Analysis of text (content or discourse analysis) Field research (anthropologists term it ethnography) Goal: To discover patterns → to construct propositions → to construct a theory.

Fact

observed phenomenon

Observation

seeing and hearing