《社会研究方法》艾尔巴比 英文ppt ch1.ppt

The Practice of Social Research,Earl Babbie Chapman University,Part 1,An Introduction to Inquiry,Chapter 1,Human Inquiry and Science,Chapter Outline,Looking for Reality The Foundations of Social Science Some Dialectics of Social Research The Ethics of Social Research,How We Know What We Know,Direct Experience and Observation Personal Inquiry Tradition Authority,Looking for Reality,Our attempts to learn about the world are only partly linked to direct, personal inquiry or experience. A larger part comes from agreed-on knowledge that others give us, things “everyone knows.” This agreement reality both assists and hinders our attempts to find out for ourselves.,Sources of Secondhand Knowledge,Both provide a starting point for inquiry, but can lead us to start at the wrong point and push us in the wrong direction. Tradition Authority,Science and Inquiry,Epistemology is the science of knowing. Methodology (a subfield of epistemology) might be called the science of finding out.,Question,How do individuals learn all they need to know? personal experience Discovery from what others tell us all of these choices,Answer: D,Individuals learn all they need to know from personal experience, discovery and from what others tell us.,Ordinary Human Inquiry,Humans recognize that future circumstances are caused by present ones. Humans learn that patterns of cause and effect are probabilistic in nature. Humans aim to answer “what” and “why” questions, and pursue these goals by observing and figuring out.,Inquiry: Errors and Solutions,Inaccurate observations Measurement devices add precision. Overgeneralization Repeat a study to make sure the same results are produced each time.,Inquiry: Errors and Solutions,Selective observation Make an effort to find cases that do not fit the general pattern. Illogical Reasoning Use systems of logic explicitly.,Views of Reality,Premodern - Things are as they seem to be. Modern - Acknowledgment of human subjectivity. Postmodern -There is no objective reality to be observed.,A Book,All of these are the same book, but it looks different when viewed from different locations, perspectives, or “points of view.”,Point of View,Wife’s Point of View. There is no question in the wife’s mind as to who is right and rational and who is out of control.,Point of View,Husband’s Point of View. The husband has a very different perception of the same set of events, of course.,Question,In your discussion of measurement with a friend, she argues that what you are trying to measure does not exist and your own point of view will determine what you perceive in measuring. She has which view of reality? correct premodern modern postmodern Scientific,Answer: D,In your discussion of measurement with a friend, she argues that what you are trying to measure does not exist and your own point of view will determine what you perceive in measuring. She has the postmodern view of reality.,Question,You've gotten A's on the last three tests. You have a research project due the last day of class and you’re sure you’re going to flunk because something has to break this streak of good luck. You’ve fallen prey to: illogical reasoning. inaccurate observation. selective observation. over-emphasis on tradition. overgeneralization.,Answer: A,You've gotten A's on the last three tests. You have a research project due the last day of class and you’re sure you’re going to flunk because something has to break this streak of good luck. You’ve fallen prey to illogical reasoning.,Foundations of Social Science,The foundations of social science are logic and observation. A scientific understanding of the world must make sense and correspond to what we observe. Both are essential to science and relate to the three major aspects of social scientific enterprise: theory, data collection, and data analysis.,Foundations of Social Science,Theory - Systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life. Data collection - observation Data Analysis - the comparison of what is logically expected with what is actually observed.,Social Regularities,Examples of Patterns in social life: Only people 18 and older can vote. Only people with a license can drive.,Aggregates,The collective actions and situations of many individuals. Focus of social science is to explain why aggregated patterns of behavior are regular even when individuals change over time.,Birthrates,United States: 1980– 2002,1982 15.9 1983 15.6 1984 15.6 1985 15.8 1986 15.6 1987 15.7 1988 16.0 1989 16.4 1990 16.7 1991 16.2 1992 15.8,1993 15.4 1994 15.0 1995 14.6 1996 14.4 1997 14.2 1998 14.3 1999 14.2 2000 14.4 2001 14.1 2002 13.9,Question,Social research aims to find __________ in social life. answers knowledge practicality regularity truth,Answer: D,Social research aims to find regularity in social life.,A Variable Language,Variable Logical groupings of attributes. Attribute Characteristics or qualities that describe an object.,A Variable Language,Independent variable。