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What is Qualitative Research

Key Epistemological Question: Can the social world be studied with the same methods used in the natural sciences?. YES ? Positivism and deductive researchTheory ?Hypothesis? Collect Data ?Findings ?Hypothesis confirmed or rejected ? Revise theory

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What is Qualitative Research

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    1. What is Qualitative Research? Sociology 3522 31 Jan. 2008

    2. Key Epistemological Question: Can the social world be studied with the same methods used in the natural sciences? YES ? Positivism and deductive research Theory ?Hypothesis ? Collect Data ? Findings ? Hypothesis confirmed or rejected ? Revise theory ‘Building blocks’ of positivistic research Theories, hypotheses, variables (proxies, measurement validity)

    3. In-Class Exercise: 1) Write a one sentence hypothesis about the following social problems: poverty gender inequality in the workplace anti-social behavior among teenagers 2) Identify the variables in your hypotheses 3) How you would measure these variables?

    4. Possible Answers for In-Class Exercise: 1) Write a one sentence hypothesis about poverty. Answer: Most families living in poverty are headed by individuals with low levels of education. 2) Identify the variables in your hypotheses. Answer: “Poverty” and “education” 3) How you would measure these variables? Answer: Poverty = Łs by which a family’s annual income falls below the national poverty line. Education = number of years of formal education for head of household. 4) What’s the “unit of analysis”? Answer: Families

    5. Key Epistemological Question: Can the social world be studied with the same methods and principles used in the natural sciences? NO?Interpretativism (or Verstehen) Focuses on understanding ‘motivations for actions’ rather than anonymous social forces operating beyond the individual’s control Emphasizes the subject’s point of view and how it influences his or her behaviour. Inductive research (usually qualitative research) General Interest ? Collect Data on Topic ? Develop Findings/Insights ? Revise or develop theories

    6. Example of Inductive Research Degiuli, F and C Kollmeyer. 2007. “Bringing Gramsci back in: Labor control in Italy's new temporary help industry.” Work, Employment & Society 21(3): 497-515 http://wes.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/21/3/497

    7. Key Ontological Question: Does the social world contain forces that operate wholly independent of individual social actors? Yes = Objectivism ? positivistic approach Social forces seen as external realities lying beyond our control No = Constructionism ? interpretive approach People and groups often actively participate in creating and interpreting social forces. Thus, they are embedded in the social process. It’s not external to them.

    8. Structure, Agency, and Reflexivity

    9. Example of Research in the Interpretivistic Tradition Duneier, Mitchell. 1999. Sidewalk. New York: FSB Basic Steps Interested in the Creation of Safe Urban Communities Broken Widows Thesis Informal Social Control Pick Field Work Site Participant-Observer Conceptualize Findings / Generate Theoretical Insights Reframe Original Research Question

    10. Key Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Research

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