1. Paradigms of Research

2. Paradigms
Frames of reference we use to organize our observations and reasoning.
Often implicit, assumed, taken for granted.
Become entrenched, resisting change
Shift requires revolutionary change in view
New paradigms proposes unique ways of seeing and explaining things that then take hold

3. Macrotheory and Microtheory
Macrotheory deals with large, aggregate entities of society or even whole societies.
Struggle between economic classes, international relations, interrelations among major institutions
Microtheory deals with issues of social life at the level of individuals and small groups.
Social interactions, collective deliberation, social perceptions, sense-making

4. Positivism
View that science would replace religion (belief) and metaphysics (logic) by basing knowledge on observation through senses
All social research descends from Comte’s view that society could be studied scientifically.
Coined the term “sociologie” - study of society
Coined the term positivism, in contrast to what he regarded as negative elements of his age.

5. Social Darwinism Influence of Darwin’s Origin of Species
Process of evolution through natural selection
Scholars began to apply Darwin’s ideas to changes in the structure of human society.
Shift to progressively “fitter” forms of society.
“Survival of the fittest” - Herbert Spencer
Arguably a misapplication of biological theory

6. Conflict Theory
Karl Marx asserted social behavior could be seen as the process of conflict
To dominate and avoid being dominated.
Focus on struggle among classes
Social Relations of Production
Capitalism and Alienation
Class Struggle and Hegemony

7. Symbolic Interactionism
Interactions revolve around the process of individuals reaching understanding through language and other systems - Mead & Cooley
Meaning - Definition
Language - Symbol System
Thought - Negotiation
Can lend insights into the nature of interactions in ordinary social life, and help understand unusual forms of interaction.

8. Structural Functionalism
A social entity, such as an organization or a whole society, can be viewed as an organism.
A social system is made up of parts, each of which contributes to the functioning of the whole, each serves a purpose.
This view looks for the “functions” served by the various components of society.

9. Feminism
Focuses on gender differences and how they relate to social organization
Attend to women’s oppression in societies, as well as other kinds of oppression
Critique of patriarchal structure
Critique of dominant social order and norms

10. Social Cognition
Study of mental processes underlying social perception, judgment, and influence
Human perception and judgment prone to systematic biases and distortions
Conceive of the social world based on “what is at the top of our heads”
Schemata - categories of knowledge
These categories structure understanding

11. Group Exercise
Get in groups of three and discuss what paradigm you would use to study the relationships between news media and advertisers…
Be sure to explain what insights this paradigm would provide
Five minutes and then collective discussion

12. Traditional Model of Science
Four elements: theory, conceptualization operationalization, and observation.
Develop a Theory.
Conceptualize it components
Develop operational definitions that specify the process involved in measuring a variable.
Observe and measure of what is seen.

13. Generating Theories Theory: Identifying: A “generalizable” explanation
An organized framework of knowledge
Identifying:
Antecedent factors and processes
Consequent factors and processes
Contingent conditions

14. Hypotheses Testable statements derived from theories
Observations used to test hypotheses
Hypotheses “supported” or “not supported”
Not “proven” or “disproven”
When hypotheses are not supported:
Theory is considered falsified (not useful)

15. Purpose of Systematiziation
Designed to yield “objective” knowledge
Different researchers using the same procedures would produce:
A. Similar results
B. Similar conclusions
Known as “inter-subjectivity”

16. Importance of “Control”
Control in scientific observation:
Isolating cause and effect
Controlling for extraneous factors
Removing the biases of the observer
Clear conceptual and operational definitions

17. Knowledge Accumulation
Identifying, defining, refining concepts:
Operating on two levels:
1. Concrete empirical observations
2. Abstract, generalizable terms:
E.g., “social conflict,” “social capital,” or “social status”
E.g., “attitudes,” “motivations,” or “perceptions”
Integration of the concrete and abstract

18. Nature of Scientific Evidence
1. Gathered under controlled conditions
Specified conditions of observation, procedures
Permits replication by other scientists
2. Evidence considered tentative
Results could have occurred by chance
Statistics used to estimate probability that results occurred by chance
Margin of error and confidence intervals
3. Evidence describes patterns that are generalizable
Evidence yields inferences to other situations

19. Frankfurt School Critique of Social Science
1. Inappropriateness of mechanistic approaches
“Hard” science approach adapted to human behavior
Humans not as predictable as molecules
2. Some important concepts hard to measure:
E.g., intelligence, social class, class struggle
3. Focuses only on what currently exists
Ignores possibilities of what could be
4. Instrumental nature of knowledge collected
Knowledge may reinforce rather than critique existing relations of power in society