Scope

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Goertz ◽  
James Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Causal Model ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Model Fit ◽  
Empirical Testing ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Causal Complexity

This chapter focuses on scope conditions in qualitative and quantitative research. It begins with a simple example, Hooke's law from physics, to illustrate the concept of “scope.” It then considers some of the most popular “within-model” responses to causal heterogeneity problems, showing that the option of changing the causal model to address causal heterogeneity issues is more attractive to quantitative researchers than to qualitative researchers. It also examines how the existence of causal complexity and concerns about fit with data can lead scholars to use scope conditions. Finally, it discusses the relationship between empirical testing and the proposed scope of theories and suggests that issues of scope raise Fundamental Tradeoffs in social science research, including tradeoffs concerning the tension between generality and parsimony, and between generality and issues of model fit.

scholarly journals Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to the Study of Poverty: Taming the Tensions and Appreciating the Complementarities

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sulaiman Balarabe Kura
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Reliable Data ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Quantitative Approaches

There is a germane relationship between qualitative and quantitative approaches to social science research. The relationship is empirically and theoretically demonstrated by poverty researchers. The study of poverty, as argued in this article, is a study of both numbers and contextualities. This article provides a general overview of qualitative and quantitative approaches to poverty studies and argues that only a combination of the two approaches, where necessary, would provide a robust, rich and reliable data for researching issues of poverty. Hence, the contemporary drive towards a mixed methods approach in poverty research is not only welcomed but certainly timely as well. Thus, understanding ontological and epistemological paradigms about social sciences is imperative in dousing such tensions.

A Tale of Two Cultures

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Goertz ◽  
James Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Measurement Data ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Scientific Worldview ◽  
Different Cultures

Some in the social sciences argue that the same logic applies to both qualitative and quantitative research methods. This book demonstrates that these two paradigms constitute different cultures, each internally coherent yet marked by contrasting norms, practices, and toolkits. The book identifies and discusses major differences between these two traditions that touch nearly every aspect of social science research, including design, goals, causal effects and models, concepts and measurement, data analysis, and case selection. Although focused on the differences between qualitative and quantitative research, the book also seeks to promote toleration, exchange, and learning by enabling scholars to think beyond their own culture and see an alternative scientific worldview. The book is written in an easily accessible style and features a host of real-world examples to illustrate methodological points.

Politics and Research: Epistemological Moments

1990 ◽  
Vol 15 (01) ◽  
pp. 149-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adelaide H. Villmoare
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Law And Society ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Relationship

In reading the essays by David M. Trubek and John Esser and Boaventura de Sousa Santos, I thought about what I call epistemological moments that have provided contexts within which to understand the relationship between social science research and politics. I will sketch four moments and suggest that I find one of them more compelling than the others because it speaks particularly to social scientists with critical, democratic ambitions and to Trubek and Esser's concerns about politics and the intellectual vitality of the law and society movement.

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.

Introduction: Defining Moments in the British-Irish Relationship

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-47
Author(s):  
John Coakley ◽  
Jennifer Todd
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Source Material ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Defining Moments ◽  
History Of ◽  
Elite Interviews ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter traces the history of the relationship between the two communities in Northern Ireland and the tension between the British and Irish governments within which it was traditionally embedded. It documents the process of incremental—and sometimes radical—societal change that has transformed the nature of the conflict, as the overwhelmingly dominant position of the unionist community has been replaced by a more evenly balanced relationship. Associated with this has been the evolution of institutional machinery designed to facilitate conflict resolution and the emergence of effective channels of communication between British and Irish elites. The chapter describes the manner in which the testimonies of these elites were collected as part of research on the process of negotiation of peace in Northern Ireland. It assesses the value of elite interviews and witness seminars as significant source material for social science research.

5. Finding Answers: Theories and How to Apply Them

2020 ◽  
pp. 123-158
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Key Terms ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter shows how to develop an answer to a particular research question. It first considers the requirements and components of an answer to a research question before discussing the role of ‘theory’ in social science research, what a ‘theoretical framework’ is, and what a hypothesis is. It then explores the three components of a hypothesis: an independent variable, a dependent variable, and a proposition (a statement about the relationship between the variables). It also looks at the different types of hypotheses and how they guide various kinds of research. It also explains why conceptual and operational definitions of key terms are important and how they are formulated. Finally, it offers suggestions on how to answer normative questions.

scholarly journals Labor Laid Waste: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Waste Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 95 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Doherty ◽  
Kate Brown
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Labor History ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Material Quality ◽  
Precarious Labor ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractWaste studies brings to labor history a suite of conceptual tools to think about precarious labor, human capital, migration, the material quality of labor in urban and rural infrastructures, and the porosity and interchangeability of workers’ bodies in the toxic environments in which they labor. In this introduction, we explore the conceptual insights that the study of waste offers for the field of labor history, and what, in turn, a focus on labor history affords to social science research on waste. We examine the relationship between surplus populations and surplus materials, the location of waste work at the ambiguous fulcrum of trash and value, and the significance of labor for the understanding of infrastructure.

scholarly journals Study Designs for Quantitative Social Science Research Using Social Media

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Pamela Davis-Kean ◽  
Lisa Singh ◽  
Tanya Berger-Wolf ◽  
Ceren Budak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Social Media Data ◽  
Computer Scientists ◽  
Media Data

Social media provides a rich amount of data on the everyday lives, opinions, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors of individuals and organizations in near real-time. Leveraging these data effectively and responsibly should therefore improve our ability to understand political, psychological, economic, and sociological behaviors and opinions across time. This article is the first in a series of white papers that will provide a summary of the discussions derived from meetings of social scientists and computer scientists with the goal of creating consensus for how social and computer science could converge to answer important questions about complex human behaviors and dynamics using social media data. We present three basic research designs that are commonly used in social science and are applicable to research using social media data: qualitative observation, experiments, and surveys. We also discuss a fourth design that is primarily informed by computer science, non-designed data, but that can inform social science research. After a brief discussion of the general approach of these designs and their applicability for use with social media data, we discuss the challenges associated with their use with social media data and potential solutions for “convergence” of these methods for future quantitative research in the social sciences.

The Impact of Race on Environmental Quality: An Empirical and Theoretical Discussion

1996 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Pinderhughes
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Environmental Hazards ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Pollution Problem ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The toxic pollution problem is composed of several interrelated parts which are involved in the process of production, use, and disposal of chemicals and products considered necessary for society. Each day, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals are used, stored, disposed of, and transported in and out of communities throughout the United States. Most Americans assume that pollution and other environmental hazards are problems faced equally by everyone in our society. But a growing body of research shows that the most common victims of environmental hazards and pollution are minorities and the poor. Disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards is part of the complex cycle of discrimination and deprivation faced by minorities in the United States. This article examines social science empirical research on the relationship between race, class, and the distribution of environmental hazards and the theoretical perspectives which have emerged to explain environmental inequities. The article also discusses the link between the environmental justice movement, which seeks to confront the causes and consequences of environmental inequities, and social science research on environmental inequity.

Causes-of-Effects versus Effects-of-Causes

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Goertz ◽  
James Mahoney
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Cross Case Analysis

This chapter examines two approaches used in social science research: the “causes-of-effects” approach and the “effects-of-causes” approach. The quantitative and qualitative cultures differ in the extent to which and the ways in which they address causes-of-effects and effects-of-causes questions. Quantitative scholars, who favor the effects-of-causes approach, focus on estimating the average effects of particular variables within populations or samples. By contrast, qualitative scholars employ individual case analysis to explain outcomes as well as the effects of particular causal factors. The chapter first considers the type of research question addressed by both quantitative and qualitative researchers before discussing the use of within-case analysis by the latter to investigate individual cases versus cross-case analysis by the former to elucidate central tendencies in populations. It also describes the complementarities between qualitative and quantitative research that make mixed-method research possible.

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