chapter 11 short answer Flashcards
(13 cards)
H-C research studies….
> address basic research questions.
> generally take a long time to complete.
> assume a minimal level of historical-geographic knowledge.
> qualitative data.
How are Field Research and H-C Research Alike?
They incorporate an individual researcher’s point of view as a part of the research process;
They examine a great diversity of data types (diaries, maps, official statistics, newspapers, novels);
They focus on processes, time passage and sequence;
They use grounded theory, and
They make limited generalizations
What is Unique about H-C Research?
.
Build on limited and indirect evidence.
Integrate the micro and macro levels, and
Use specific and trans-cultural, trans-historical concepts.
universal vs culture
How to Do A Historical-Comparative Research Study
Acquire necessary background.
Conceptualize the issue.
Locate and Evaluate Evidence
Organize Evidence
Synthesize and develop concepts
Write the Report
As you gather evidence, try to keep two questions in mind:
How relevant is the evidence to emerging research questions and evolving concepts?
How accurate and strong is the evidence?
The historian usually»
- sees collecting highly accurate historical evidence as a central goal in itself;
- interprets the data’s significance in light of other historical events; and
- is not overly concerned about developing a theory to explain social relations or processes.
The H-C social researcher»
- treats gathering carefully documented, extremely accurate and highly detailed descriptions of specific past events as important but secondary;
- wants to extend or build a theory or apply social concepts to new situations;
- uses historical evidence as a means to an end, i.e. to explain and understand social relations.
Four types of historical evidence:
PRIMARY SOURCES
Running records
Recollections =
Secondary sources
Researchers who study primary sources try to avoid a specific form of super-context awareness distortion:
Presentism
Ethnocenticism
Two limitations of running records are:
(1) organizations do not always maintain them, or
(2) organizations do not record information consistently over time
Blood pressure is good > Then spike happens
Inconsistencies can happen, sometimes records can get lost
Can You Really Compare?
Many comparative researchers use the nation-state as a socially and politically defined unit, as their unit of analysis.
However, for comparative research, the relevant unit is often the culture, which is more difficult to define.
You need to ask, what is the appropriate comparative unit for my research question—the nation, the culture, a region, or a subculture?
Four major types of data are:
- Comparative field research
- Existing sources of qualitative data
- Cross-national survey data
- Existing cross-national quantitative data
Primary historical sources can introduce special ethical issues»>
carefully document where and how primary sources were obtained;
be sensitive to issues of cross-cultural interaction, respecting moral values and beliefs;
a researcher’s presence or findings can create diplomatic problems among governments.
