Download Research Methods: Experiments, Quasi-Experiments, Surveys, and Participant Observation and more Study notes Introduction to Cultural Anthropology in PDF only on Docsity! 01/10/12 – Scientific Methods Reading Notes The research methods that you choose will determine what you see because each method charts a different route and reveals different relationships. For instance: Crossing the country on foot, by car, and by plane- each gives you a different perspective on what the country looks like. -likewise: some places are only accessible via a certain type of transportation. *Four modes of designing research -experiments -quasi experiments -surveys -participant observation *Each is useful, but suited for certain research. 1. Experiments: designed to answer questions about cause and effect. 2. Quasi Experiments: designed to answer questions about cause and effect in settings where experiments cannot be done, 3. Surveys: designed to answer questions about relationships, including: cause and effect relationships and fact and description. 4. Participant Observation: useful for studying social organization in setting ranging from small groups to large institutions. 5. Evaluation Research**: purposely applied research undertaken to determine whether social programs are working the way they should. ** Not a different method, because evaluation researchers can use any of the other four modes. *Three techniques for measuring characteristics of social world -direct questionnaires & interviews -indirect assessments -observational and archival measures ~All techniques must meet requirements of good measurement: -reliability -validity Theories and Hypotheses It is important to remember that throughout your research, ethical issues arise. The question you set out to answer may be value-laden. The methods you use may hurt the people that you study. Each decision you make can have ethical implications. ~Theory: a large body of interconnected propositions about how some portion of the social world operates. ~Hypothesis: Small version of a theory, some even derived from theories. The scientific method has a conservative bias that makes it impossible to verify hypothesis and theories or conclude that they are definitely true. *Hypothesis testing is called Deductive research. *Hypothesis generating is called Inductive research. Quasi experimenters and survey researchers being their work with hypotheses, but often through data analysis generate new hypotheses. Research is rarely purely deductive or purely inductive. Hypotheses are inevitable in scientific research. Scientific Theories and Superstitious Beliefs The philosophy of science decrees that we can only falsify, not verify, theories because we can be sure that a give theory provides the best explanation for a set of observations. Science progresses by rejecting false ideas and providing tentative support for the ideas that have survived current tests. Why Study Science? To be able to predict how people will behave to forsee the future. To understand how the social world works by discovering the casual connections. To learn how to control events *Science isn’t always a predictor for what is best for humanity, but it can promise the outcome will be the most accurate mapping of the empirical world that can be achieved with out current state of theories and methods.
