Chapter 1: Why Do Research? MAN-10 Research Methods Instructor Erlan Bakiev, Ph. D. Chapter 1: Why Do Research?
Non-Scientific Production of Knowledge Personal Experience and Common Sense Overgeneralization Selective Observation Premature Closure Halo Effect False Consensus
Non-Scientific Production of Knowledge Experts and Authority Someone in power says so.. Popular and Media messages Window into a distorted reality Road Rage Holiday Havoc Ideological beliefs and values “it’s the way things have always been”
What Research Involves: A Scientific Approach Enlightenment Industrial Revolution Science Natural Sciences vs. Social Sciences Social Theory Data Empirical
What Research Involves: A Scientific Approach Pseudoscience Junk Science Scientific Community Innumeracy Scientific Literacy
What Research Involves: Norms of the Scientific Community Universalism Organized Skepticism Disinterestedness Communalism Honesty
What Research Involves: A Scientific Approach Scientific method Scientific attitude Scientific orientation Journal articles Blind review Transformative process
Steps in the Research Process Quantitative Approach
Quantitative Example 1 Lowery and colleagues (2007) Select a topic Priming and academic performance Focus the question Do students who are primed improve academic performance Design the study experiments Collect the data Collected data from social psychology courses Analyze the data Statistical analysis employed Interpret the data Students who were primed scored higher on exams Inform others Published in Applied Social Psychology
Steps in the Research Process Qualitative Approach
Qualitative Example 1 McCammon and colleagues (2008) Select a topic Women gaining full citizenship Socio-cultural context/ Adopt perspective Women gained citizenship differently in different states Design the study State archives, local newspapers and magazines, legal and political documents Collect and analyze data Analysis of when and how women gained citizenship in each state Interpret the data Inform others American Journal of Sociology
Varieties of Social Research Quantitative Objective observation Focus on variables Reliability Separation between theory and data Generalizable Large N Statistical analysis
Approaches to Social Research Qualitative Cultural meanings Focus on events Authenticity Merging between theory and data Situational Small N Thematic analysis