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CHAPTER 2: The
Importance of Theory
CHAPTER OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
INQUIRY
PARADIGMS IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES [LO1]
Positivist Paradigm
Interpretative Paradigm
Critical Paradigm
Pragmatic Paradigm
THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORKS AND THEORIES [LO2]
THE
ROLE OF THEORY IN RESEARCH
Deductive Forms of Reasoning [LO3]
Testing
Hypotheses Derived from Theories
Inductive Forms of Reasoning
The Role of Theory in Quantitative and Qualitative
Research
FORMULATING
RESEARCH QUESTIONS [LO4]
Locating a Topic of Interest
Framing an Interest into a Social Research Question
THE
IMPORTANCE OF A LITERATURE REVIEW [LO5]
LOCATING
RELEVANT LITERATURE [LO6]
Searching for Books
Searching for Periodicals
CHAPTER
SUMMARY
RESEARCH REFLECTION
LEARNING
THROUGH PRACTICE
RESEARCH RESOURCES
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
LO1 Outline
the main assumptions of positivist, interpretive, critical, and pragmatic
paradigms.
LO2 Define and
differentiate between theoretical frameworks and theories.
LO3 Distinguish
between deductive and inductive reasoning and explain how the role of theory
differs in qualitative and quantitative research.
LO4 Formulate
social research questions.
LO5 Explain
the importance of a literature review.
LO6 Locate
appropriate literature and evaluate sources of information found on the
Internet.
CHAPTER
SUMMARY
Paradigms shape our views of social science
research. The positivist paradigm
emphasizes objectivity and the importance of discovering truth through the use
of empirical methods. The interpretive paradigm stresses the importance of
subjective understanding and discovering meaning as it exists for the people
experiencing it. The critical paradigm focuses on the role of power in the
creation of knowledge. The pragmatic
paradigm begins with a research problem and determines a course of action for
studying it based on what seems most appropriate given that particular research
problem. Theoretical frameworks are
perspectives based on core assumptions that provide a foundation for examining
the social world at a particular level. For example, theoretical frameworks at
the macro level tend to focus on broader social forces; whereas, those at the
micro level stress individual experiences. Theories develop from theoretical
perspectives and include propositions that are intended to explain a fact or
phenomenon of interest. Deductive
reasoning is a top-down theory-driven approach that concludes with
generalizations based on research findings. Inductive reasoning is a bottom-up
approach that begins with observations and characteristically ends with theory
construction. Inductive approaches to reasoning guide qualitative research
processes; whereas, deductive approaches guide the stages of quantitative
research. Theory tends to be the initial point for quantitative research;
whereas, it is interspersed throughout and emphasized more in the advanced
stages of qualitative research. Based on
a general area of interest and a vigilant literature review, a researcher ultimately
shapes a research interest into a social research question, which is a question
about the social world that is answered through the collection and analysis of
data. For example, a researcher might begin with an interest in gender that
develops into an examination of the effects of body size on income for male and
female workers. A literature review is
the starting point for formulating valuable social research questions. A
literature review helps to identify what is previously known about and still
needs to be done in an area of interest. A literature review also points out
debates and issues in an area of interest along with the most relevant concepts
and means for going about studying the issue in more depth. Appropriate literature sources include
periodicals, books, and government documents, most of which can be accessed
online via the library at the post-secondary institution. The quality of information
gleaned from Internet websites should be evaluated prior to using that
information as a primary source in a literature review. Evaluating information
on the Internet usually takes the form of asking questions that center on the
authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, and general ease of use
of the website and information located at that website. For instance, in
assessing objectivity, you can ask: “Is the information provided as a public
service?”
LECTURE IDEAS/EXAMPLES
Literature
Review
Use the question
prompts located at http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/literature-review – which
are listed below – to get students to practice asking questions like these
about a book or article they will include in a paper (not necessarily for your
course):
1.
“Has the author formulated a problem/issue?”
2. “Is it
clearly defined? Is its significance (scope, severity, relevance) clearly
established?”
3. “Could
the problem have been approached more effectively from another perspective?”
4. “What is
the author’s research orientation (e.g., interpretive, critical science,
combination)?”
5. “What is
the author’s theoretical framework (e.g., psychological, developmental,
feminist)?”
6. “What is
the relationship between the theoretical and research perspectives?”
7. “Has the
author evaluated the literature relevant to the problem/issue? Does the author
include literature taking positions she or he does not agree with?”
8. “In a
research study, how good are the basic components of the study design (e.g.,
population, intervention, outcome)? How accurate and valid are the
measurements? Is the analysis of the data accurate and relevant to the research
question? Are the conclusions validly based upon the data and analysis?”
9. “In
material written for a popular readership, does the author use appeals to
emotion, one-sided examples, or rhetorically-charged language and tone? Is
there an objective basis to the reasoning, or is the author merely ‘proving’
what he or she already believes?”
10. “How does
the author structure the argument? Can you ‘deconstruct’ the flow of the
argument to see whether or where it breaks down logically (e.g., in
establishing cause-effect relationships)?”
11. “In what
ways does this book or article contribute to our understanding of the problem
under study, and in what ways is it useful for practice? What are the strengths
and limitations?”
12. “How does
this book or article relate to the specific thesis or question I am
developing?”
This
guide is the first of three looking at the purpose and process of conducting a literature review: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/sta/A5_Literature_Reviews_1_Starting.pdf. It includes advice on writing a literature
review; what is a literature review; how to get started; and searching for
sources. It is in pdf format and is designed
to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet.
Students
might find the following website – http://www.rlf.org.uk/fellowshipscheme/writing/literaturereviews/index.cfm – a
useful contribution to the following topics:
1.
What is a literature review?
2.
Why write a literature review?
3.
Key points to remember.
4.
The structure of a literature
review.
5.
How to do a literature search.
Ask
students to list questions a Literature review
should answer. Then, have students visit
http://www.smu.ca/administration/library/litrev.html for a list of such questions. Compare and contrast the website list with
the students’ list.
Paradigms
For an
excellent discussion of various sociological paradigms and examples of each, go
to http://cnx.org/content/m33962/latest/. The examples are user-friendly.
To get
your students excited about the people behind the theories, you might draw on
the following websites:
3.
Charles Horton Cooley: http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/charles-horton-cooley-1864-1929
See also http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/charles-horton-cooley-1864-1929/charles-horton-cooley-powerpoint-study-aids-and-video-clip for PowerPoint,
Study Aids, and Video Clip
See http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/w-e-b-dubois-1868-1963/w-e-b-dubois-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
See http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/emile-durkheim-1858-1917/emile-durkheim-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
See http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/karl-marx-1818-1883/karl-marx-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
See http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/george-herbert-mead-1863-1931/george-herbert-mead-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
See http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/georg-simmel-1858-1918/georg-simmel-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
See www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/max-weber-1864-1920/max-weber-powerpoint-and-study-aids for PowerPoint
and Study Aids
Karl Marx
With your
students watch as Karl Marx – the puppet – visits Occupy Wall Street at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFrKhBiervM. He interviews protesters while Adam Smith
sets up the First Occupied Bank. Mexican
artist Pedro Reyes shot the video series entitled, “Baby Marx.” In terms of the discussion in Chapter 2,
discuss what Marx might have thought of Occupy Wall Street. Since your students may be unfamiliar with
the movement, offer them an overview first.
Grounded
Theory
The
Pandit article entitled, “The Creation of Theory,” located at http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR2-4/pandit.html is an
interesting text to use as a working example of grounded theory. According to http://www2.widener.edu/~aad0002/714grounded.html:
Pandit
demonstrates how technical literature is reviewed to refine research questions
and to develop concepts and assumptions. He shows how theoretically important
cases were selected so that substantive information about the setting and its
travails would be accessible. He describes the development of a database
through the use of multiple sources of data and multiple methods of data
collection, arguing that this will ground his study in a network of information
and ultimately will improve both accuracy and construct validity. Pandit
further describes how he allows data analysis and data collection to be
overlapping. In this way emergent themes and patterns can be permitted to
refine definitions of concepts and new questions can be pursued. Pandit
illustrates how open, selective and axial coding are all used to integrate data
and develop connections between patterns and themes. Finally he describes how
saturation determines the end of data analysis … Pandit returns to his original
propositions and compares them with two conceptual frameworks. One is the framework
that emerges from the data after data analysis. The other is the framework
suggested by the literature. He concludes his study by demonstrated how his
original propositions concur and deviate in some way with data and with theory.
This allows him to describe how his original thinking must be revised (compared
to emergent themes in data) and how the literature and theory need to be
rethought (http://www2.widener.edu/~aad0002/714grounded.html).
Hypothesis
Generating
For variations on this lesson plan, whereby students
generate a hypothesis, visit http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/psyc320/lessons/lesson02/lesson2-2-1_activity.htm.
Deductive
Reasoning
Deductive
reasoning is using logic to move from generalisations to a more concrete and
specific conclusions. Inductive reason, on the other hand, employs logic to
move from specifics to generalisations. Many fields of study rely upon deductive
reasoning; consequently, it is imperative that students learn to develop this
method of critical thinking. ,
an eHow Contributor (http://www.ehow.com/info_12015563_fun-activities-using-deductive-reasoning.html),
recommends that educators use entertaining activities to teach and practice
deductive reasoning. The following are a
version of the activities Farley suggests.
These in-class activities teach students how deductive reasoning works,
by moving from general statements of fact to a precise conclusions. These activities also encourage students to
become acquainted; thus, serving as an ice-breaker early in the course.
1.
Guess Who: Divide
the class into groups. Explain to
students that they will play a variety of the board game Guess Who, which requires deductive
reasoning. Distribute to students a full roster of the class. Read aloud clues,
such as the following: This student has blond hair. This student wears a nose
ring. This student was born on 10 February. Also, use clues based on amusing
facts and trivia regarding students, such as students’’ favourite books, favourite
television shows, their non-human animal companions, and/or foreign countries
visited.
2. Murder
Mystery: Together, the entire class will piece together clues presented
by the instructor and draw conclusions about a murder. Present to students different clues that are established
facts upon which to decipher the mystery. For example, offer clues about the
murder weapon, items found at the scene of the crime, and information concerning
probable suspects. To make this activity more stimulating, include extraneous
clues to function as ‘red herrings.’
3. Literary
Analysis: Deductive reasoning, while generally employed in
logic-based disciplines such as science and mathematics, is also used to
critically think about literary texts. To establish how deductive reasoning is
applied to fiction, read aloud a chapter from a book. Then, based on the
details and plot presented, ask students to make deductive conclusions about
characters or themes. As a case in point, ask students if a character has moral
or immoral intents. Students must refer
to specific passages to support their claims.
4. Logical
Syllogisms: To practice deductive thinking skills, invite student volunteers to
complete logical syllogisms. Explain to the class that a logical syllogism is
an argument that is dependent on two premises to infer (i.e. deduce) a
conclusion. For example, eHow
Contributor (http://www.ehow.com/info_12015563_fun-activities-using-deductive-reasoning.html),
offers
the following logical syllogism: “Tigers are cats. All cats have four legs.
Therefore, tigers have four legs.” Ask students
to generate premises based on humorous scenarios or fascinating facts that will
engross them in the lesson.
CLASSROOM
ACTIVITIES
Practicing
deductive reasoning is fun, takes only a few minutes, and you can use most
anything to create a practice activity. At first, you should talk through the
activity while you are presenting it. Here are some examples:
Activity 1: Choose four students to stand at the front of
the classroom. Choose precise attributes when choosing students. Examples: two students should be taller
females; one tall female student should have red hair and the other black hair;
the two other students should be male and female. Next, make the following prompts and, after
each prompt, ask the class if they are sure of the answer.
1.
The student I am thinking of is female. (Students cannot
be certain of a final response at this point because three of the four students
are female. Students can only exclude the
male at this point.)
2.
The student I am thinking of is tall. (At this
time, students can exclude the shorter female, but are still unsure of the absolute
answer.)
3.
The student I am thinking of has red hair.
(Students can use all of the clues to provide the right answer.)
Activity 2: Place a loonie,
quarter, nickel, and dime in the center of a circle of students. The instructor will make the following
prompts:
1.
The coin I am thinking of is silver in color.
2.
The coin I am thinking of is not the largest in
size.
3.
The coin I am thinking of is bigger than a dime in
size, but smaller than a quarter.
Answer:
The nickel
Activity 3: To answer the
discussion questions that follow, students must first read, “Transforming the
political agenda? Gender differences in bill sponsorship on women’s issues,”
located at http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/transforming%20agenda%2010-00.pdf
1. Is this research study in the positivistic tradition? Justify your answer.
1. Is this research study in the positivistic tradition? Justify your answer.
2. Categorise the
research steps the researchers followed.
3. What is the
research question?
4. Is the research
question suited to a qualitative or quantitative research approach? Justify
your answer.
DISCUSSION TOPICS
1.
A literature review is a piece of discursive
prose. Explain.
2. Describe
the commonalities and dissimilarities between a research article and a
non-research article.
3. Discuss
the issues you need to take into consideration before critiquing a research
article.
4. Why is
it necessary to review the literature when doing a research study?
5. Describe
in detail what a literature review is and how it is beneficial when completing
social scientific studies.
6. Discuss
where and how to search the literature. Provide a social scientific example
during the course of the discussion.
7. Discuss
what constitutes a well-written abstract.
8. Discuss
how to amass and manage the information you find when completing a literature
review. Provide a social scientific example during the course of the
discussion.
9. Discuss
how to develop a theoretical framework when completing a literature review.
10. Discuss
standards that a good literature review will uphold.
11. Discuss
why one must locate existing knowledge in their topic area when one wants to
complete a social scientific research study.
12. Discuss
how to find existing sources of knowledge in a topic area of your choice. Provide a social scientific example during
the course of the discussion.
13. What
are journal articles?
14. What
are peer-reviewed journals?
15. How
does one go about critically evaluating social scientific evidence?
16. Discuss
why all empirical evidence is not
made equal.
17. Discuss
the benefits and drawbacks of the positivistic research approach to knowledge
generation.
18. Four key
paradigms are outlined in Chapter 2. Discuss each. Which of the four is most
appealing to you? Explain.
19. Positivist,
interpretive, critical, and pragmatic paradigms all offer a broad worldview
from which theoretical frameworks emerge. Discuss the connection between
paradigms and theoretical frameworks.
20. Palys
and Atchison (2014) – as cited in Chapter 2 – state: “[G]ood theory is not
imposed; rather, it emerges from direct observation and contact with people in
context.” Discuss.
21. A chief
criticism of the positivist paradigm concerns the separation of the researcher
from what is being researched. The expectation that a researcher can observe
without allowing values, or interests, to interfere is arguably
impossible. Where do you stand on the
issue? Be sure to cite Chapter 2 in your
answer.
22. One of
the criticisms of the interpretive paradigm (also called constructivism) is
that it does not allow for
generalisations. Your task is to argue that the details and efforts involved in
interpretive inquiry permit researchers to gain insights and perspectives that
may not come to light under the positivist paradigm.
23. In a
nutshell, the critical paradigm focuses on eliminating injustice in
society. Critical researchers aim to
transform society to address inequality, in relation to ethnicity, race, gender,
sexual orientation, and disability, for example. Similar to interpretivist researchers,
critical researchers recognise that research is not value-free. They go further, however, in arguing that the
goal of the research is to actively challenge interpretations and values in
order to bring about change. Do you
think social scientists should take on the dual role of researcher and activist? Why or why not?
24. In 1845
the young Karl Marx wrote, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world. The
point, however, is to change it.” Using the conflict paradigm as your starting
point, explain what Marx means.
25. Compare
and contrast the pragmatic paradigm with positivism and the interpretive paradigm.
26. Within
the discipline of sociology, the functionalist, conflict, interactionist,
feminist, and postmodern frameworks provide different lenses from which
sociologists view society. Which theory
or theorises come closest to your view of the world?
27. The
functionalist framework is rooted in positivism in its focus on observables in
the form of “social facts” and “universal truths.” What “social facts” or “universal truths”
arise from sociological research?
28. According
to Joe
R. Feagin and Hernán Vera, the authors of Liberation Sociology (Westview
Press), the goal of liberation Sociology is not merely to study and understand the social
world, but ultimately to shape a more just world. As they suggest,
“questioning and researching hierarchies of class, gender, and racial power are
at the heart of a sociology of liberation and emancipation. The point of liberation sociology is not just
to research the social world but to change it in the direction of democracy and
social justice” (2001:11; ix;1). Sociologists
working in this tradition take sides with, and the perspective of the
oppressed, employing sociological insights and findings as tools for their
liberation. Liberation sociology is better understood, therefore, as a
perspective on, rather than a topic of, sociological inquiry. Research that
adopts this perspective characteristically involves: questioning social
hierarchies, identifying sources of oppression, facing challenges in
communities, looking beneath the surface and probing underlying assumptions,
and taking an overt moral stance. The
task of the student is to locate an example of a Canadian social scientist
working in this tradition and come to class prepared to discuss the individual
and her/work. For example, American-born
sociologist, William K. Carroll’s (The University of Victoria) research focus,
for some years, has been on mapping the structure of the transnational
capitalist class, using social network analysis. This work falls within
the tradition of ‘power-structure research.’ For liberation sociology, the
contribution is one of providing a detailed analysis that shows how
concentrated corporate power is, worldwide, and thereby raises issues of
inequity and lack of democracy. He published a book on this in 2010 (The Making of a Transnational Capitalist
Class, Zed Books), and he has an essay in Socialist Register 2014 entitled, “Whither the transnational
capitalist class?”
29. “Alternative
Policy Groups and Global Civil Society” is a collaborative research project
involving scholar/activists based in Canada, France, the United States, South
Africa, and Japan. It is funded by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
(2011-14). The project concerns the role
that transnational alternative policy groups play in producing
knowledge for democratizing kinds of social change. Data include transcripts from more than 100
in-depth interviews with activist-intellectuals whose work powers these sites
of counter-hegemony. Based on this
information alone, students will determine the paradigm on which the research
is based along with the theoretical frameworks most likely
informing the collaborative research project.
30. Compare
and contrast deductive and inductive logic. Describe explicit research issues
that are applicable to each. Explain
why.
31. Grounded
theory is an inductive approach in the extreme.
Explain.
32. As
inductive theory, grounded theory makes no distinction between theory and
design. Explain.
33. Compare
and contrast grounded theory and ethnographic interviewing. How are they
similar in their assumptions about how people think and what the goals of
research are? How are they different?
34. Compare
and contrast content analysis and grounded theory. Be sure to consider
similarities and differences in purposes, categories of data, procedures,
epistemology, and relationship to quantitative approaches.
35. Describe
in detail and critically assess the grounded theory methodology.
36. The
practises of grounded theory vary from those of conventional social science
research. A literature review is needed. Nevertheless, it is not used to discover
a theoretical model, ready made in the work of other researchers that will be
used to make design choices. Discuss
then how you would go about doing such a literature review. Is it really that different from the more characteristic
literature review?
37. There
are numerous ways to structure a literature review. Two common ways are
chronologically and thematically. Which
would you prefer? Does circumstance
matter? Explain.
38. Literature
reviews can have different types of audiences.
Discuss how this ‘fact’ influences how literature reviews are conducted
(e.g. literature reviews are characteristically written as a chapter for a
thesis or dissertation; hence, the readership will want to know in what manner
the research is significant and original).
39. Challenge
the notion that scientists can be as objective as the positivist ideal proposes.
40. Joe R.
Feagin and Hernán Vera (2008:23) address the notion of objectivity in their book
Liberation Sociology, stating:
Mainstream sociology is often
committed, albeit in disguised ways, to vested interests in the established
hierarchies. The noncommittal attitude of much sociology today—usually
formulated as scientific detachment, objectivity, or value freedom—is often a cover-up
for the dominant group interests actually being served by the research so
labeled. Sociology, like other intellectual endeavors, is part of the
political, social, and psychological status quo.
Discuss Feagin and Vera’s
claims as a criticism of positivism.
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