Social research strategies: quantitative research and qualitative research
The interpretivist view of the social sciences is that:
Their subject matter is fundamentally different to that of the natural sciences
We should aim to achieve the interpretive understanding of social action
It is important to study the way people make sense of their everyday worlds
All of the above
All of the above
All of these answers reveal something about the interpretivist view of the social sciences. The approach is based on a reaction to positivism, insisting that people are not objects that can be studied by means of natural science’s methodologies. Most social phenomena are produced through human interaction and their meanings are formed through human discourse. Consequently, what things mean to human actors is an essential part of social research. Some research philosophers hold that this is the only proper object of social research; the study of what things mean to people and how people feel and react to that interpretation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 26-28
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 26-28
All of the above All of these answers reveal something about the interpretivist view of the social sciences. The approach is based on a reaction to positivism, insisting that people are not objects that can be studied by means of natural science’s methodologies. Most social phenomena are produced through human interaction and their meanings are formed through human discourse. Consequently, what things mean to human actors is an essential part of social research. Some research philosophers hold that this is the only proper object of social research; the study of what things mean to people and how people feel and react to that interpretation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 26-28
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 26-28
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The qualitative research strategy places a value on:A. Using numbers, measurements and statistical techniques
B. Generating theories through inductive research about social meanings
C. Conducting research that is of a very high quality
D. All of the above
The constructionist ontological position suggests that:
A. Social phenomena and their meanings are constantly being accomplished by social actors
B. Individuals are born into a world of rules and structures that they cannot change
C. Building and construction work presents an ideal opportunity to exercise the sociological imagination
D. Social facts and objects have an external reality, independently of the people who perceive them
What is the epistemological position held by a positivist?
A. There is no substitute for an in-depth, hermeneutic understanding of society
B. Scientific research should be based on value-free, empirical observations
C. Events and discourses in the social world prevent us from having direct knowledge of the natural order
D. It is important to remain optimistic about our research, even when things go wrong
Which of the following is an ontological question?
A. Should I use questionnaires or interviews in my project?
B. What can (and should) be considered acceptable forms of knowledge?
C. How long is it since I last visited the dentist?
D. Do social entities have an objective reality, external to social actors?
What does an empiricist believe?
A. We should not apply natural science methods to social science research
B. It is the sociologist’s aim to understand the meaning of social action
C. Knowledge, in the form of ‘facts’, should be gained through sensory experience
D. Research conducted within the British empire was biased and unreliable
What is a ‘grand theory’?
A. One that was proposed by one of the major theorists in the sociological tradition
B. One that is highly abstract and makes broad generalizations about the social world
C. An intermediate level explanation of observed regularities
D. A particularly satisfactory theory that makes the researcher feel happy
Which of the following is an example of value-free research?
A. Conscious partiality
B. Sympathy for the underdog
C. Unstructured interviewing
D. None of the above
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