Lecture 2 Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is social science?
Any discipline that deals with human behaviour in its social and cultural aspects.
Social sciences include anthropology, sociology, social psychology, political science, economics and social work
Epsitemology:
How well do we know what we think we know
A set of assumptions about the nature of knowledge:
- when does knowledge count?
- What counts as evidence?
- What types of knowledge are valued?
- What can be known?
- Who can know??
Ontology
relates to assumptions about the nature of reality
is there a single truth
is it our task to make the discovery regarding a single truth
Heuristic Adjective
- Serving to indicate or point out; stimulating interest as a means of furthering investigation.
- Encouraging a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error.
- Of, pertaining to, or based on experimentation, evaluation, or trial—and—error methods
Methodology
a SPECIFIC system used in a particular area of study or activity.
Categories of Information
FACT – empirical reality
BELIEF – something thought
ASSUMPTION - If…then
Positivism
- Social reality is patterned and orderly
- The scientific method — the nature of the universe can be known
- Truth exists
- Causality — X causes Y
- Theories are reductionist
- Measurement is quantitative
- Conclusions dichotomous
- A linear method
Constructivism
- There is no truth or reality, rather ideas about the world, particularly the social world, are constructed in the minds of individuals and are shaped by culture
- Constructions do exist and can be described but are not necessarily THE truth
- Constructions change as a result of Education, maturation and interaction with the environment
- Reality is created by the participants of a system and thus multiple realities are possible
- The meaning that is attributed to an event, rather than the event itself is the important aspect for understanding behaviour and social relations
- Thus, as both investigator and the object of research are part of the same system they cannot be conceived of separately
- Hermeneutics — activity of interpretation of the data
- Dialectics — interaction between participant & investigator
- A recursive method, where results and’ methods influence each other
Social Constructivism
- Social relations are constituted through interaction and language
- There are multiple subjective realities
- Meaning is created & inscribed through communication and conversation
- Social inquiry itself is a form of interaction that requires reflexive awareness
- Social, historical and cultural contexts influence the production of meaning and actions
- Social constructionist is necessary moral, ethical, critical, and political inquiry
Marxist Foundation
- Marxist Foundation
- Everything is economics
- The economic system is unjust and creates inequality
- This exploitation of the masses produces alienation
- The system produces profits for a minority at the expense of the majority
- The one true item we all have is our labour
- Labour gives us meaning in our lives
Feminist Principles
- Women are oppressed by comparison with men
- The personal is political
- Choice
- Equalization of Power
Critical Theory
- People’s social constructions are shaped by social, political, cultural and economic environmental forces, particularly forces created by powerful individuals
- Over time these constructions take on the appearance of reality, a social reality grown from a social context, that is perceived as THE truth
- As the construction is so deeply embedded in society, including researchers, it is very difficult to comprehend that the constructions were created by societal influences and are in fact not THE truth
- Investigator & participant form a relationship & the values of the researcher are considered part of the process
- The goal is to have participants view structures for what they are — socially constructed beliefs
- Society is unjust and unequal due to structural issues that need to be addressed
Personal Reflexitivity
Reflection upon the way our values, experiences, interests, beliefs and political environment shape the research
