Professional Documents
Culture Documents
COURSE ASSESSMENT
Method %
Course Work: Midterm Exam Research Report Presentation of the Report/Exercise/Quizzes Class Participation & Attendance
Final Examination Total
60 25 20
10 5 40 100
is Social Research?
of Social Research
Research guide decisions. Research helps individuals/leaders/policy-makers to make the best choice out of available alternatives.
How to reduce crime rate How to jump-start your economy Why democracies is the best form of governance relative to the communism?...private vs. collective property ownership Why more investment/foreign-aid does not always work in low-qualities governance countries? Why open trade regime make everyone better off?.. Exportoriented economic approach to national development.
BUT What is research? What do you understand about research? What constitute research?
What is research? Research is a way of going out finding answers to questions. Research is a process through which new knowledge is discovered.
Social Research is a collection of methods and methodologies that researchers apply systematically to produce scientifically based knowledge about the social world.
Methodology is the a subfield of epistemology (i.e. the science of knowing). Methodology encompass Methods Methodology: understanding the social organizational context, philosophical (theoretical) assumptions, ethical principles, and political issues of the enterprise of social researchers who use methods.
It is the science of finding out.
Method: sets of specific techniques for selecting cases, measuring and observing aspects of social life, gathering and refining data, analyzing the data, and reporting on results.
It is the technical/scientific tool/instruments that allow researcher to find out or answer his research
Alternative to Social Science Knowledge comes not always from research but also the alternatives sources: authority, tradition, personal experiences, media, or even common sense. However Social research is a more structured, organized, and systematic processes than the alternatives. Its more likely to be true with fewer errors.
INTRODUCTION: SCIENCE
Natural science (physics, mathematics) Social science (political science, psychology, sociology) Science refers to both a system for producing knowledge and the knowledge produced from that system. The system:
evolves and slowly changing over time. combines assumptions about the nature of the world and knowledge is sets of procedures, techniques, and instruments for gaining knowledge.
A scientific understanding of the world must make sense and corresponding to what we observe. Three major of social scientific enterprise:
Social theory: a system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge about the social world. Simply means a set of statements that predict things that will occur in the future and explain things that happen in the past. Data collection: empirical evidences or information that one gathers/collects carefully according to rule or procedures. It can be qualitative or quantitative data. Data/Empirical analysis: what can be observed and experience directly through human sense or indirectly using techniques that extend the senses.
Analyze the pattern exist in the data and make inference (i.e. compare, predict, accept, or refute) about the social world being observed.
Scientific community: a collection of people who share a system of attitudes, beliefs, and rules that sustains the production and advance of scientific knowledge.
Norm of scientific community: a set of informal rules, principles, and values that governs how scientist conduct their research.
Universalism: research is to be judged based on the scientific merit (regardless of who/from where that conduct the research) Organized skepticism: new idea/evidence are intensely scrutinized Disinterestedness: scientists must be neutral, impartial, and open to unexpected observation/new ideas/particular point of view. Communalism: scientific knowledge must be shared with
Scientific method refers to the ideas, rules, techniques, and approach that the scientific community use.
It is a loose consensus within scientific community. Scientific attitude is a way of thinking about and looking at the world that reflects a commitment to the norms and values of the scientific community.
Scholarly journal article is an article in a specialized publication that has members of the scientific community as its primary audience.
Its a means to disseminate new ideas and findings within the scientific community. Blind review: a process of judging the merits of a research.
Two way withheld of identity: It is unknown to each sides (the researcher who conduct research and the one who review it).
Formulating Hypothesis
Question come out of your curiosity/idea/hunchIs increase in soft-skill training really lead to increase in IIUM employability?
Reconsidering the Theory Formulating Hypothesis
After question is asked (e.g. Can democratic institutions lead to better economic performance?) Identify the Factors: Reconsidering What are the factors defining democratic Formulating the Theory Hypothesis institutions: free & fair election, education, constraint on chief-executive What do we mean by better economic performance?...is it increase in gross domestic Collecting with productWorking (GDP) overtime?... Relevant Hypothesis Information Refer to theories and past studies/research (i.e. Testing the literature) Hypothesis
STEPS IN (SOCIAL) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHOD Hypothesis posit a clear relationship between different factors (e.g. economic performance and democratic institutions)
Asking New Question Identify Important Factors Asking Question
You need to collect information/empirical data that will confirm or refute your hypothesis you set out in the earlier stage Measures/indicators of democratic institutions, economic performance
Reconsidering the Theory Formulating Hypothesis Working with Hypothesis Collecting Relevant Information
STEPS IN (SOCIAL) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHOD Say hello to Inferential statistics a set of tools that allow the researchers to
Asking Question
separate the effects of an isolated factor(s) (i.e. the effects of the controlled factors under study, e.g. democratic institutions) from effects that owing to something else or luck/chance.
Reconsidering the Theory Formulating Hypothesis
After collecting empirical data, you need to test your hypothesis so you can make inference (based on the outcome of your hypothesis testing).
Measures/indicators of democratic institutions, Testing the economic performance Hypothesis
Working with Hypothesis Collecting Relevant Information
STEPS IN (SOCIAL) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH METHOD A simple last step in this simple
Asking New Question
Asking Question
Important Can education help democratic Factors governance to deliver better economic performance?
Take a stock on what guide your research in the first place. . Formulating Hypothesis
Its Theory ! Your finding (i.e. well-research) may confirm/refute hence modify the theory
Quantitative Social Research Measure the objective facts Focus on variable Reliability is the key Value free Theory & data are separate Independent of context Many cases, subject Statistical analysis Researcher is detached
Authenticity is key Values are present & explicit Theory & data are fused Situationally constrained Few cases, subjects Thematic analysis Researcher is involved
Experimental Research Methods: the research methods that seek to establish a causal relation among variable.
True Experimental Research: assign the participants into groups: treatment groups (treatment variable/condition) and the non-treatment base on some criteria.
What is Theory?
Social Theory: a system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge about the social world.
Simply means a set of statements that predict things that will occur in the future and explain things that happen in the past. A good theory is a parsimonious theory.
Parsimony means simpler/simple. Less complex theories is likely to be good theory. It explain things with minimal complexity, with no redundant and excess elements.
An awareness of how theory fits into research process would lead to better research design, easier to understand, and better conducted study.
Social Theory, Not Philosophy or Belief Social theory has to do with what is not with
what should be.
Social philosophers liberally
Mixed their observations of what happened around them, Their speculation about why, And their ideas about how things ought to be.
Ideology a nonscientific quasi-theory, often based on political values or faith, with assumptions, concepts, relationships among concepts, and explanations.
It is a closed system that resists change Cannot be falsified with empirical data. Makes normative claims
Relationship
Forms of relationship Proposition & Hypothesis
Unit of analysis
Assumption
Theories contain built-in assumptions. Assumptions is an untested starting point or belief in a theory that is necessary to build a theoretical explanation. It is also can be called postulates (or axioms): fundamental assertions (on which a theories is grounded).
It is basically statement about the natures of things that are not observable or testable. We accept them as true for our starting point.
E.g. nature of human being, social reality, or a particular phenomenon.
E.g. voters are rational; everyone desires for material comfort; everyone care for their own self-interest or maximization of self-interest.
Example:
Median voter theory (MVT) states a majority rule voting system will select the outcome most preferred by the median voter.
Assumptions:
(1) Voters can place all election alternatives along a one-dimensional political spectrum. (2) Voters preferences are single-peaked. (means that voters choose alternatives closest to their most preferred outcome). (3) Voters always vote for their true preferences (4) Median voter theory applies best to majoritarian election system.
How these assumptions work to allow MVT to predict. Let apply to three friends who choose restaurant to eat: Ahmad (RM. 5), Baharum (RM.10), Chow (RM.20)Which one to win?
Options Pattern of votes B: 5 Result 5 $20 vs. $5 A: 5 C: 20
A: 10
B: 10
C: 20
10
$10 vs. $5
A: 5
B: 10
C: 10
10
Concept
ConceptCont.
They then group three concept together (aggregate) and define type of regime: Totalitarian (low on all three) vs. Democracy (high on all three).
ConceptCont.
Relationship
In addition to making assumptions and providing concepts, social theory specify relationship among concepts (or variables).
It will inform us whether concepts relate to one another (weakly/strongly, negatively or positively), how and why it is related or not related, and what kind of those relationship (correlation, structural, or causal relation, or other).
E.g. Production Theory: Y = f (L(+), K(+), T(+))
Output (Y) is produced using labor (L) and capital (K) input plus technology (T).
Theories often contain propositions or statements about the connection among concepts.
Proposition is a theoretical statement that specifies the relationship between two/more concepts and says something about the kind of relationship it is.
E.g. poverty is a cause of bad economic management/low economic growth. E.g. Theory: fair and better quality of democratic institutions lead to better economic performance. Why? Because better democratic institutions ensure people freedom to selfdetermination (they can choose what best for themselves: profit maximize, better protection on their property rights, no expropriation from authority, i.e. the powerful elites) [rule of law] which lead to increase the incentive to do what best for themselves.
Unit of Analysis
Concept like democracy can be applied across nations, sub-national or even organization, firms
Direction of theorizing
Researchers approach the building and testing of theory from two direction: Deductive & Inductive Reasoning.
Deductive Reasoning: you begin with abstract concepts or a theoretical proposition that outlines the logical connection among concepts and then move toward concrete empirical evidence. E.g. Relationship between study habit and performance in the examDeductive approach:
[Part b] Then, we need to make/collect relevant observations (data) to test our hypothesis. .
The shaded area represent hundred/thousands of data on students hours of study & grade they receive.
[Part c] compare the hypothesis and the observationswe may need statistical methods [hypothesis testing]
Direction of theorizing
Inductive Reasoning: An approach to developing or confirming a theory that begins with concrete empirical evidence and works toward more abstract concepts and theoretical relationships.
You begin with observing the empirical world and then reflect on what is taking place, and move in a more abstract ways towards theoretical concepts and propositions Theory generate through Inductive approach can be called Grounded theory. (see figure below)
E.g. Relationship between study habit and performance in the examInductive approach:
[Part a] Curious about the relationship between study habit and grade earned, you collect the data on student hours spend and their grade. Look for the pattern exist in the data.
[Part b] We notice the pattern that: Student spend time studying between 1-15 hours, each successively hours would yield higher grade. But between 15-25 hours, each hour increase would produce slightly lower grade. However, when he go for more than 25 hours, grade start to increase [Part c] from pattern identify from the data, we can draw some tentative conclusion. We do so because we do not test it but just observe out of our collected data.
Level of Analysis
Micro-level theory: focus on the micro-level of social life that occur over short duration. [individual levels]
E.g. face-to-face interaction and encounter among small groups/individuals.
Macro-level theory: focus on macro-level of social life and process that occur over long duration. [larger aggregate level]
E.g. social institutions, major sector of society, world region. E.g. study on black-white race relation, colonial experience,
Meso-level theory: focus on the relations, processes, and structures at a midlevel of social life and events operating over moderate duration. [Link micro & macro level]
E.g. organization, movements and communities. E.g. study on the relationship between economic inequality and schooling.
Theory can be on specific (on substantive issue/topic) or general (on the process and structure that span across area). Theoretical explanation come in many forms:
Simple explanation that logical argument that tell you why something take a specific form or occur. Causal Explanation (Cause & Effects relationship): explain about causal relationship between two or more things. Structural Explanation: explain social process/factors/ events that take place within a larger structure. Interpretative Explanation: attempt to explain or discover the meaning of an event or practice by placing it within a special social context.
In the deductive model of reasoning, research is used to test the theory In the inductive model of reasoning, theories are developed from the analysis of research data. How in practice theory is linked with research in the actual scientific enquiry?
Sometime theoretical issues are introduced merely as a background for empirical analysis. In other cases, empirical data/finding are cited to make case for theoretical argument. Sometime theory are modified in a way that serve the tool for researcher to suit his/her study on a specific issue understudy.
Form your group compose of 5 persons Discuss among yourself a specific issue related to Political Economy (or International Political Economy) that your group intend to research on. E.g.:
Political rights and Inequality Economic freedom and economic performance. Government stability and rule of law
After deciding on what issue your group intend to do, follow the following:
Read Chapter 13 of Salkind, N. J., (2006). Exploring research. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Answer this question: Is this research issue can be measured with the data?
If Yes, thats doable If no, and not clear, discuss it with me. [will have a session for this]
Due date: 13 December 2013 Submit both hard copy [in class] and through email: sleman88@yahoo.com
Introduction
Problem Statement Rational for the research [why is it important that you think (i.e. based on your reading on the issues from journal articles, books,) therere no/unsatisfactory answers to the research issue at hand]
Statement of your research objectives [what is your object in researching the issue]
I.
III. IV.
Research Hypothesis Definition of the relevant terms [How you define it and operationalize/measure it with relevant indicators/measurement]
Brief Review of the Literature Data and Methodology Finding, Interpretations and Implication Conclusion Reference