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Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and practices Anol…
Social Science Research: Principles, Methods, and practices
Anol Bhattacherjee
Chapter 2
Thinking Like a Researcher
Concepts, Constructs, and Variables
A construct
is an abstract concept that is
specifically chosen (or “created”) to explain a given phenomenon.
The Types
Construct may be a simple
concept.
Combination of a set of related concepts.
which may consist of several underlying concepts
A variables
is a
measurable representation of an
abstract construct.
variables may be classified as
independent,
dependent, moderating, mediating, or control variables.
A Concepts
they are
characteristics associated with objects,
events, or people.
may also have progressive levels of abstraction
Unit of Analysis
refers to
The person, collective, or object that is the target of the investigation.
include
Individuals, groups, organizations,
countries, technologies, objects, and such.
is important
Because it shapes what type of data you
should collect for your study and who you collect it from.
Theories and Models
A theory
Is a
set of systematically interrelated constructs and propositions intended
Essentially is a
systemic collection of related theoretical
propositions.
Hence
The theories can be substantially more
complex and abstract and of a larger scope than propositions or hypotheses.
A models
Is a
representation of all or part of a system that is constructed to study that system
Hence a
theory tries to explain a phenomenon, a model tries to represent a phenomenon.
The Types Models
Models can also be descriptive, predictive, or normative.
Propositions and Hypotheses
Hypotheses
Is a
The empirical formulation of
propositions, stated as relationships between variables.
hypotheses are empirically testable using observed data, and may be rejected if not supported by empirical observations.
Propositions
Is a
tentative and conjectural relationship between constructs that is stated in a declarative form.
This declarative statement.
does not have to be true, but must be
empirically testable using data, so that we can judge whether it is true or false
Chapter 3
The Research Process
Common Mistakes in Research
Insufficiently motivated research questions
the researcher must be able to convince others, in fact deal with real problems (and not hypothetical problems)
Favored research methods
Methods should be chosen to best fit a research problem, and not the other way around.
Pursuing research fads
Mistake is pursuing “popular” topics with limited shelf life. A better strategy may be to study “timeless” topics that have always persisted through the years.
Overview of the Research Process
All scientific research is an iterative process of observation, rationalization, and validation
In the
observation
phase, we observe a natural or social phenomenon, event, or behavior that interests us.
Rationalization
phase, is make sense of or the observed phenomenon, event, or behavior by logically connecting the different pieces of the puzzle that we observe, which in some cases, may lead to the construction of a theory.
Validation
phase, we test our theories using a scientific method through a process of data collection and analysis.
The first phase of research is exploration
Includes
exploring and selecting research questions, examining the published literature, and identifying theories that may help answer the research questions of interest.
The first phase is to identify one or more questions of research interest
The next step is to conduct a literature review
The third step is to
identify one or more theories can help address the desired research questions.
Operationalization
Sampling strategy
Following data collection
1 more item...
select a sample from that population
decide
what research method they wish to employee for collecting data.
1 more item...
(1) to survey the current state of knowledge.
(2) identify authors, theories, and findings in that area.
(3) to identify gaps in knowledge in that research.
What, why, how, when, and so forth.
Paradigms of Social Research
Paradigms
The word “paradigm” was popularized by Thomas Kuhn in (1962)
they are
belief systems, have different opinions
a fuller understanding of the problem may require an understanding and application of multiple paradigms.
Positivism
is a
Positivism tends to rely exclusively on theories that can be directly tested
that's why
It holds that science or knowledge creation should be restricted to what can be observed and measured.
Post-positivists
is a
view science as not certain but probabilistic, and often seek to explore these contingencies to understand social reality better.
Hence a
view the world as a subjective construction of our subjective minds rather than as an objective reality.
Ontology
refers to
assumptions about how we see the world, e.g., does the world consist mostly of social order or constant change.
Epistemology
refers to
assumptions about the best way to study the world, e.g., should we use an objective or subjective approach to study social reality.