1Class 3Theory and ResearchSocial Research RoadmapTheoryDataHypothesisEmpirical GeneralizationsOperationalizationMeasurementSamplingData analysisReasoningHypothesis supported?Paradigms• Paradigm (theoretical perspectives): A set of beliefs that guide scientific work in an area, including unquestioned presuppositions and accepted theories.• Paradigms tell us what questions are important to ask about the social world and what are trivial pursuits.• Paradigm shift, scientific revolution2Functionalism• A social entity, such as an organization or a whole society, can be viewed as an organism.• All parts of a society--institutions, roles, norms, etc.--serve a purpose.• Durkheim’s mechanical and organic solidarity• Merton’s manifest function and latent functionConflict “Theory”• Karl Marx suggested that social behavior could be seen as the process of conflict: the attempt to dominate and avoid being dominated.• Marx focused on the struggle among economic classes.• It also applies to gender and race conflicts.• Overemphasis on the tensions and divisions between the groups in a society.• Overemphasis on economic factors as the driving force of human actions.Symbolic Interactionism • Interactions revolve around the process of individuals reaching understanding through language and other such systems.• Can lend insights into the nature of interactions in ordinary social life, and help understand unusual forms of interaction.• Simmel, Mead, and Cooley• Example – How are girls and boys treated differently in the classroom? Do children become “genderized” in this process?3Rational Choice• Rational choice theorists explain individual behavior in terms of cost/benefit calculations. • Prevalent in economics.• Examples – Top-loading or front-loading washer?– How do people decide whether they should go to college or not? Feminism• Focuses on gender differences and how they relate to the rest of social organization.• Draws attention to the oppression of women in many societies.• Examples– Why are female professors paid less than male professors? – Why are women less represented in the fields of science and engineering?Comparison of ParadigmsA. Imagine that you’re visiting a city for the first time, what kind of an overview will a _______ tour guide give you?1. Functionalist2. Conflict3. Symbolic interactionistB. Think about immigration. What issues are likely to be examined under the functionalist (conflict, and interactionist, feminist, rational choice) paradigm?4Social Research Philosophies• Positivism– A belief that there is a reality external to us that we can understand through empirical research.– Auguste Comte• Interpretivism and Constructivism– Social reality is socially constructed and that the goal is to understand the meanings people give to reality.– Max Weber “verstehen”Positivism vs. Interpretivism• One reality out there• Social science modeled after natural science• Seeking causal explanations, generalization• Detached, objective researcher; value free• Quantitative data & methods• Multiple realities, socially-constructed realities• Seeking understanding, situation specific• Researcher as a participant; emphasis on personal experience• Qualitative data & methodsTheory and Hypothesis• Theory: a systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life.• Hypothesis: a testable expectation about empirical reality derived from a theory, involving a relationship between two or more variables.5Example 1: Abusing SpouseRational Choice Symbolic InteractionismTheoreticalperspectiveCriminologicalcomponentPrediction(effect of arreston domesticassault)People’s behavior is shaped by calculations of the costs of benefits of their actions.Deterrence theory: People break the law if the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs.Abusing spouse, having seen the costs of abuse (arrest), decides not to abuse again.People give symbolic meanings to objects, behaviors, and other people.Labeling theory: People label offenders as deviant, promoting further deviance.Abusing spouse, having been labeled as an “abuser”, abuses more often.Example 2: Why Is Education Positively Related to Earnings?Rational Choice Conflict TheoryPeople’s behavior is shaped by calculations of the costs of benefits of their actions.Employers are willing to pay more salaries to more productive workers.Economic classes attempt to dominate and avoid being dominated.The lack of educational credentials keep the have-nots out of desirable jobs.Educated workers receive higher pay.Theoretical perspectiveMechanismPrediction (effect of education on pay)Two Logical Systems• Deduction - Moves from a general theoretical premise to specific expectations (hypotheses).• Examples: determine the date of eclipse• Induction – Moves from specific observations to the discovery of general pattern or explanation.• Example: statistical inference6The Interaction between Deduction and InductionTheoryDataHypothesisEmpirical GeneralizationsDeductionInductionFrom Empirical Generalizations to ExplanationsAsian Americansface racial discriminationin the labor market.Asian Americans earn less than whites with the same qualifications.AA earn less than whites because immigrants face difficulties assimilatinginto mainstream society.U.S.-born Asians have the same earnings as whites. Only Asian immigrants face an earnings disadvantage.Empirical Generalizations ExplanationAA earn less than whites because foreign human capital is worth less than domestic human capital.AA with U.S. educational credentials have the same earnings as whites. Only Asian immigrants who were educated in foreign countries earn less.Example: Why Do Asian Americans Earn Less than Whites?Summary• Social Science Paradigms• Theory and Hypothesis• Research Philosophies: Positivism and Interpretivism• Induction and Deduction• The Links Between Theory and
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