UUU100

• Epistemology is the science of knowing or the science of knowledge
• Paradigm is the frame of reference or model used to organize observations and reasoning
• Research is an original, creative and systematic investigation undertaken to add to the fund of generalizable knowledge
• Social research is a systematized investigation to gain new knowledge about social phenomenon and problems
• Research is a search for facts, answers to questions, and solutions to problems
• Research is the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way to generate new concepts, methodologies, and understandings
• Characteristics of research:

  • Systematic and critical investigation into a phenomenon
  • Adopts scientific method
  • Objective and logical
  • Based on observable experience or empirical evidence
  • Directed towards finding answers to pertinent questions and solutions to problems
  • Emphasizes the development of generalization
• Research is a process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information to answer questions. It must be systematic, controlled, rigorous, valid, verifiable, empirical, and critical
• Knowledge does not 'hang' in space; it is about social processes and its production usually begins when the state of knowledge in a particular area of life is recognized as insufficient
• Research data about social processes is gathered through observation, interviewing people, and using textual material
• 2 types of research data:

  • Quantitative data: numerical data answering questions of how much/how many and how often
  • Qualitative data: non-numerical data describing the quality of events being studied
• Basic aims of research:

  • To produce knowledge about human society and behavior
  • To test competing theories, conflicting claims, or opposing viewpoints
  • To develop or build theories that seek to explain social phenomena
• 2 types of research:

  • Pure (Basic/Scientific) Research: gaining knowledge for knowledge's sake
  • Applied (operational) Research: gaining knowledge and applying it to improve social phenomena or policy improvements
• Varieties of research:

  • Exploratory: gaining in-depth knowledge of social processes or phenomena through sustained observations
  • Descriptive: describing situations and events to answer questions of what, where, when, and how
  • Explanatory: testing hypothesis, examining cause and effect of variable relationships, explaining rather than describing
• Research aims include testing theory in a new empirical setting, deriving new theory, constructing a new data-set, replicating an existing study, questioning existing orthodoxy, etc.
• Common errors in inquiry:

  • Inaccurate observation
  • Overgeneralization
  • Selective observation
  • Illogical reasoning
• Research as a process involves phases like selecting and clarifying the research question, data collection, and data analysis and presentation
• Conceptualization is forming an idea, while operationalization is defining variables into measurable factors
• 2 forms of stating a research question:

  • Hypothesis: a testable expectation about empirical reality derived from a theory
  • Research Objective: a statement of research objective when the goal is to describe rather than explain
• Research question is a question that is answered in a research and should be specific rather than general, allowing empirical research