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GSSR Research Methodology and Methods of Social Inquiry socialinquiry.wordpress.com January 24 , 201 2. Summary. Formulation of Theoretical Model & Research Problem (1). THE POSSIBILITY OF SURPRISE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH ; RESEARCH PROBLEM AS A PUZZLE Selecting Research Question s

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  1. GSSRResearch Methodology and Methods of Social Inquirysocialinquiry.wordpress.comJanuary 24, 2012 Summary

  2. Formulation of Theoretical Model & Research Problem (1) THE POSSIBILITY OF SURPRISE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH; RESEARCH PROBLEM AS A PUZZLE Selecting Research Questions • difference btw. advocacy research & scientific research (Advocacy research refers to research that sifts through evidence to argue a predetermined position) (Scientific research does not suppress contrary/ inconvenient evidence)

  3. Formulation of Theoretical Model & Research Problem (2) Researchable question What to avoid? Questions that imply answers dealing with different moral/ aesthetic values Questions whose answering involves unethical procedures Good questions: What proceeds (happens) why? Galileo’s maxim: description first, explanation second • Proposing new research • Challenging prior research • Extending prior research

  4. Formulation of Theoretical Model & Research Problem (3) Interesting question “The heart of good work is a puzzle and an idea” (Abbott 2003, p. xi). The no-surprise objection: “the answer is already well documented”, “we know answer before we do research” “the question is trivial” The “so what” objection: “no relevance for social theory/ for social life” Choosing variables & specifying hypotheses At minimum, any hypothesis involves 2 variables: an independent variable & a dependent variable. “You can’t explain a variable with a constant.”  Maximize variance to find the effect of a cause

  5. Preparation of Research Design (1) A research design is a plan that shows, through a discussion of the model and data, how we expect to use our evidence to make inferences. Model implies variables, units, & observations (values) Data collection - refers to observation, participant observation, intensive interviews, large-scale surveys, histories recoded from secondary data, ethnographies, randomized experiments, and other types.

  6. Preparation of Research Design (2) How will/are the data collected? Decisions: What data are available? What additional data will be needed? We have to know how the data will be used Discussion of data analyses methods Multi-method approaches

  7. Measurement Criteria of good measurement: • Valid • Reliable • Exhaustive • Mutually Exclusive All involve measurement errors Observed reality = True reality + Error Minimizing errors through multi-indicator approach

  8. Sampling Coverage Error Sampling Error Non-responese Error

  9. Data collection Politics of data collection Data collection as a social process. Sociology of data collection: Who needs what data for what purpose? Quality control of data collection

  10. Processing the Data: Analyses & Interpretation Statistics & substance in causal inferences Special issues of causal inferences: - endogeneity - types of errors • Type I (α): reject the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is true • Type II (β): accept the null hypothesis when the null hypothesis is false

  11. Glenn Firebaugh, 2008. Seven Rules for Social Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press • THE POSSIBILITY OF SURPRISE IN SOCIAL RESEARCH. RESEARCH PROBLEM AS A PUZZLE • LOOK FOR DIFFERENCES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE, & REPORT THEM • BUILD REALITY CHECKS INTO YOUR RESEARCH • REPLICATE WHERE POSSIBLE • COMPARE LIKE WITH LIKE • USE PANEL DATA TO STUDY INDIVIDUAL CHANGE & REPEATED CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA TO STUDY SOCIAL CHANGE • LET METHOD BE THE SERVANT, NOT THE MASTER

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