Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition What is a concept? Concepts are: Building blocks of theory Labels that we give to elements of the social world Categories for the organization of ideas and observations (Bulmer, 1984) Concepts are useful for: Providing an explanation of a certain aspect of the social world Standing for things we want to explain Giving a basis for measuring variation Page 163

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Why measure? To delineate fine differences between people, organizations, or any other unit of analysis To provide a consistent device for gauging distinctions To produce precise estimates of the degree of the relationship between concepts Page 164

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Produced by the operational definition of a concept Less directly quantifiable than measures Common sense understandings of the form a concept might take Multiple-indicator measures concept may have different dimensions Indicators of concepts Pages 164, 165

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Why use more than one indicator? Single indicators may incorrectly classify many individuals Single indicators may capture only a portion of the underlying concept or be too general Multiple indicators can make finer distinctions between individuals Multiple indicators can capture different dimensions of a concept Pages 166, 167

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition What does reliability mean? Stability is the measure stable over time? e.g. test–retest method Internal reliability are the indicators consistent? e.g. split-half method Inter-observer consistency is the measure consistent between observers? Key concept 7.3 Page 169

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Does the indicator measure the concept? It does if it has: Face validity (right for the concept?) Concurrent validity (supported by a relevant criterion today?) Predictive validity (likely to be supported by a relevant criterion tomorrow?) Construct validity (are useful hypotheses produced?) Convergent validity (supported by results from other methods? What does validity mean? Page 171, 172

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Causality Explanation why things are the way they are Direction of causal influence relationship between dependent & independent variables Confidence in the researcher's causal inferences Pages 175, 176

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Generalization Can findings be generalized beyond the confines of the particular context? Can findings be generalized from sample to population? How representative are samples? Page 176

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Replication Minimizing contamination from researcher biases or values Explicit description of procedures Control of conditions of study Ability to replicate in differing contexts Page 177

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition The process of quantitative research Figure 7.1, page 161

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Failure to distinguish between objects in the natural world and social phenomena Artificial and spurious sense of precision and accuracy Lack of ecological validity reliance on instruments and measurements Static view of social life Criticisms of quantitative research Pages 178, 179

Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4 th edition Published accounts of quantitative research rarely report evidence of reliability and validity (Podsakoff & Dalton, 1987) Researchers are primarily interested in the substantive content and findings of their research Running tests of reliability and validity may seem an unappealing alternative! But researchers remain committed to the principles of good practice Pages 180, 181