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Social Research Methods Chapter 2 Terms

Terms in this set (31)

theory
a sequential argument consisting of a series of logically related statements put forward to illuminate some element of social life
empiricism
the idea that the world can be subjected to observation, or the use of the senses to gather data about social phenomena
scientific method
the systematic process of asking and answering questions in a rigorous way
macro level
the broadest way of thinking about social life, focusing on the structure, composition, and processes of society
micro level
the most intimate way of thinking about social life, focusing on face-to-face interaction and small-group processes
meso level
the middle ground way of thinking about social life, focusing on the physical settings and organizations that link individuals to the larger society
inductive approach
the process by which scientists draw a general understanding of some social phenomenon through specific empirical observations
deductive approach
the translation of general theory into specific empirical analysis
paradigm
a broad set of taken-for-granted and often unacknowledged assumptions about how social reality is to be defined
positivism
the paradigm holding that all knowledge can be confirmed or refuted through empirical observation
postmodernism
a paradigm characterized by significant skepticism of claims about general truths, facts, or principles
concept
an idea that can be named, defined, and eventually measured in some way
mediation
the expected relation between two concepts is channeled through a third concept that links them to each other
moderation
the strength of the association between two variables is made weaker or stronger by a third variable
spuriousness
when an apparent relation between two concepts is actually the result of some third concept (confound) influencing both of them
confound
a third variable that is linked to two concepts in a way that makes them appear to be related even when they are not
hypothesis
a testable statement of a relationship between two concepts
null hypothesis
a hypothesis that no relationship between concepts exists or no difference in the dependent variable between groups exists
hypothesis of difference
a testable statement about group differences in some concept
hypothesis of association
a statement that two variables will increase or decrease together, without an explicit specification of cause and effect
causal hypothesis
a statement that the relationship between two concepts is the result of cause and effect
causal inference
the degree of confidence that an observation based on the test of a hypothesis is truly causal
conceptualization
the process of precisely defining ideas and turning them into variables
operationalization
the process of linking the conceptualized variables to a set of procedures or measuring them
variables
representations that capture the different dimensions, categories, or levels of a concept
literature review
a systematic reading of the body of theory and evidence to determine what has been done (and how) and what needs to be done
abstract
a brief description of the content of a scientific report
annotated bibliography
a list of cites with a short description of the content of the text as well as the reader's thoughts on the text
independent variable
in a causal hypothesis, the concept purported to be the cause; the variable on which values of the dependent variable may depend
dependent variable
in a causal hypothesis, the variable that is acted upon; the outcome we are seeking to understand
mediating variable
the variable that links the independent variable to the dependent variable
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...