scholarly journals Dialectic Critical Realism: Grounded Values and Reflexivity in Social Science Research

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bagley ◽  
Alice Sawyerr ◽  
Mahmoud Abubaker
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Level Model ◽  
New Research ◽  
Philosophical Writings

Critical realism emerged from the philosophical writings of Roy Bhaskar, and has evolved into a philosophy of social science research using the model of “dialectical critical realism” (DCR) which begins with the researcher’s assumptions that the structures being researched have a real, ontological grounding which is independent of the researcher. This approach has proved fruitful in British and European social science research, but has had less influence in North America. We outline DCR’s four level model for understanding society and its changing social structures through “the pulse of freedom”. DCR has been used by Marxists, Muslims, Catholics and secular scholars who engage fruitfully in morphogenic dialogues leading to a critical realist understanding of society and social research, which transcends positivist and social constructionist models. Examples of DCR’s application in the fields of childhood research, child abuse, education, and research on organisations are outlined to illustrate the working of this new research paradigm. We are enthusiastic in our advocacy of DCR as a model of qualitative research, and for constructing models of positive social change, and are particularly impressed by the substantive and theoretical expositions of DCR by Priscilla Anderson, Matthew Wilkinson and Margaret Archer, whose work we document and review.

Book Reviews: Behavioral Sociology: The Experimental Analysis of Social Process, Balance in Small Groups, Racial Violence in the United States, The Education of Borstal Boys, The Sociology of Religion: A Study of Christendom, IV, Types of Religious Man, Men in Mid-Career: A Study of British Managers and Technical Specialists, The Family and the Handicapped Child: A Study of Cerebral Palsied Children in Their Homes, The Assessment of Social Research: Guidelines for the Use of Social Research in Social Work and Social Science, The Conditions of Social Performance: An Exploratory Theory, Families and Their Relatives: Kinship in a Middle-Class Sector of London, The Population Census: A Social Science Research Council Review, Introduction to Social Work, Theories of Social Psychology, Put Away: A Sociological Study of Institutions for the Mentally Retarded, City Lads in Borstal: A Study Based on 100 Lads Discharged to Addresses in Liverspool, Science, Industry and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Science, Interaction Concept of Personality, Hightown Grammar: The School as a Social System, Causes of Delinquency, towards a Sociology of the Cinema: A Comparative Essay on the Structure and Functioning of a Major Entertainment Industry

1970 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-456
Author(s):  
A. P. M. Coxon ◽  
Patrick Doreian ◽  
Robin Oakley ◽  
Ian B. Stephen ◽  
Bryan R. Wilson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Sociology Of Religion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Sociological Study

Organising: creating research worlds

2020 ◽  
pp. 79-110
Author(s):  
Paul Thompson ◽  
Ken Plummer ◽  
Neli Demireva
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Community Studies ◽  
Central Statistical ◽  
Major Section

This chapter looks at how social research gradually became organized through the work of our pioneers. It starts by looking at the growth of both universities and academic disciplines (like anthropology and sociology) as key backgrounds for understanding the growth of organized research. A major section discusses a range of early research agencies — the Colonial Research Council, Political and Economic Planning (PEP), the Institute of Community Studies, the CSO (Central Statistical Office), the SSRC, Social Science Research Council, and the UK Data Archive. Some new university-based centres are also considered: medical social science at Aberdeen, methods at Surrey and the BCCS (Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies). There are brief discussions of the Banbury Study with Meg Stacey and Colin Bell; and the Affluent Worker study. The chapter closes with some pioneering work on quantitative research, longitudinal studies and the rise of computing.

Social science ethics: the changing context for research

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Webster
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Science Ethics ◽  
Ethics Framework ◽  
Ethical Content ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Way

This article looks at recent developments that have had an impact upon the way in which the ethical content of research is judged. It then goes on to look in some detail at the guidance offered to social science researchers in the Economic and Social Science Research Council's new Research Ethics Framework.

scholarly journals A Citizen’s Claim: Science With and for Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 943-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Soler ◽  
Aitor Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Science Inquiry ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
The Social ◽  
Qualitative Methodologies

Social science research has been attacked by neoliberal thinkers who allege that such research lacks economic objectives. In the face of neoliberal and positivist criteria for evaluating the social impact of social science inquiry, social science researchers are developing qualitative evaluation methodologies through which we can have direct contact with citizens. These qualitative methodologies declare our social responsibility as social researchers in addressing relevant problems, especially those affecting the most vulnerable people. From these qualitative methodologies, the most vulnerable groups are included in the assessment of the social impacts of social research. Some examples of people who have participated in this qualitative evaluation include women, youth, immigrants, and Roma organizations. Participants perceived social science researchers as being far from their social reality, but in this research, they began to overcome their skepticism that social science research can help to solve those problems affecting their everyday lives.

scholarly journals Dialectic Critical Realism: Grounded Values and Reflexivity in Social Science Research

2016 ◽  
Vol 06 (12) ◽  
pp. 400-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bagley ◽  
Alice Sawyerr ◽  
Mahmoud Abubaker
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research

New Data Sources in Social Science Research: Things to Know Before Working With Reddit Data

2019 ◽  
pp. 089443931989330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Amaya ◽  
Ruben Bach ◽  
Florian Keusch ◽  
Frauke Kreuter
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Front Page ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
New Research ◽  
Media Data

Social media are becoming more popular as a source of data for social science researchers. These data are plentiful and offer the potential to answer new research questions at smaller geographies and for rarer subpopulations. When deciding whether to use data from social media, it is useful to learn as much as possible about the data and its source. Social media data have properties quite different from those with which many social scientists are used to working, so the assumptions often used to plan and manage a project may no longer hold. For example, social media data are so large that they may not be able to be processed on a single machine; they are in file formats with which many researchers are unfamiliar, and they require a level of data transformation and processing that has rarely been required when using more traditional data sources (e.g., survey data). Unfortunately, this type of information is often not obvious ahead of time as much of this knowledge is gained through word-of-mouth and experience. In this article, we attempt to document several challenges and opportunities encountered when working with Reddit, the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet” and popular social media site. Specifically, we provide descriptive information about the Reddit site and its users, tips for using organic data from Reddit for social science research, some ideas for conducting a survey on Reddit, and lessons learned in merging survey responses with Reddit posts. While this article is specific to Reddit, researchers may also view it as a list of the type of information one may seek to acquire prior to conducting a project that uses any type of social media data.

Using Video Diaries in Social Science Research

2022 ◽  
pp. 442-460
Author(s):  
Amanda Vettini ◽  
Ruth Bartlett
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Older People ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Digital Ethics ◽  
Diary Method ◽  
Visual Diary ◽  
Situated Ethics ◽  
Video Diary

The focus of this chapter is the use of video-diaries in social research. The aim is to examine and reflect upon the particular ethical terrain and situated ethics of using visual diary method in social science research with different participant groups who arguably present specific ethical concerns, including children and older people, people with disabilities (either physical, cognitive, or psychiatric), and older people. The authors present a discussion of the specific ethical considerations arising from the use of this method due to the particular type of data it generates, namely audio and moving visual data. As such, the process of creating a video diary and the procedures involved in collecting and analysing video diary data are fundamentally different from a paper-based (non-digital) diary. For these reasons, it is important to step back and reflect on the situated ethics, including the digital ethics encountered when using this method.

scholarly journals Investigar participando / participar investigando. Relatos de una experiencia etnográfica

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (15) ◽  
pp. 315-332
Author(s):  
María Eugenia Isidro
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Essential Tool ◽  
Investigation Process

Although ethnography is a widely used approach in Social Science research, in this work we reflect on the experience of having carried out an ethnographic work in a socio-territorial movement. Carrying out an ethnography in a socio-territorial movement generates tensions since participation is not only essential for research, but it is also an indispensable condition to be part of the movement. In this sense, we are dedicated to retracing the path of the investigation, describing in detail how the participant observation was carried out and the interviews were carried out. In addition to analyzing what were the potentialities of its use and we will delve into the tensions that had to be faced during the investigation process placing the accent on reflexivity as an essential tool of social research. Far from believing that objectivity is achieved from the distance with the actors studied, in this work we try to realize that even when involvement seems to be an obstacle in the investigation, this is very rich in ethnographic work if it is accompanied by deep reflective work.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document