bryman: social research methods, 4 th edition what is a concept? concepts are: building blocks of...
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
What is a concept?
• Concepts are:
• Building blocks of theory • Labels that we give to elements of the social world• Categories for the organization of ideas and observations
(Bulmer, 1984)
• Concepts are useful for:
• Providing an explanation of a certain aspect of the social world• Standing for things we want to explain • Giving a basis for measuring variation
Page 163
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Why measure?
• To delineate fine differences between people, organizations, or any other unit of analysis
• To provide a consistent device for gauging distinctions
• To produce precise estimates of the degree of the relationship between concepts
Page 164
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
• Produced by the operational definition of a concept
• Less directly quantifiable than measures• Common sense understandings of the form a concept might take
• Multiple-indicator measures• concept may have different dimensions
Indicators of concepts
Pages 164, 165
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Why use more than one indicator?
• Single indicators may incorrectly classify many individuals
• Single indicators may capture only a portion of the underlying concept or be too general
• Multiple indicators can make finer distinctions between individuals
• Multiple indicators can capture different dimensions of a concept
Pages 166, 167
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
What does reliability mean?
• Stability• is the measure stable over time?
• e.g. test–retest method
• Internal reliability• are the indicators consistent?
• e.g. split-half method
• Inter-observer consistency• is the measure consistent between observers?
Key concept 7.3Page 169
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Does the indicator measure the concept?
It does if it has:• Face validity (right for the concept?)• Concurrent validity (supported by a relevant criterion
today?)• Predictive validity (likely to be supported by a relevant
criterion tomorrow?)• Construct validity (are useful hypotheses produced?)• Convergent validity (supported by results from other
methods?
What does validity mean?
Page 171, 172
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Causality
• Explanation • why things are the way they are
• Direction of causal influence• relationship between dependent & independent variables
• Confidence • in the researcher's causal inferences
Pages 175, 176
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Generalization
• Can findings be generalized beyond the confines of the particular context?
• Can findings be generalized from sample to population?
• How representative are samples?
Page 176
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
Replication
• Minimizing contamination from researcher biases or values
• Explicit description of procedures
• Control of conditions of study
• Ability to replicate in differing contexts
Page 177
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
The process of quantitative research
Figure 7.1, page 161
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
• Failure to distinguish between objects in the natural world and social phenomena
• Artificial and spurious sense of precision and accuracy
• Lack of ecological validity• reliance on instruments and measurements
• Static view of social life
Criticisms of quantitative research
Pages 178, 179
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Bryman: Social Research Methods, 4th edition
• Published accounts of quantitative research rarely report evidence of reliability and validity (Podsakoff & Dalton, 1987)
• Researchers are primarily interested in the substantive content and findings of their research
• Running tests of reliability and validity may seem an unappealing alternative!
• But researchers remain committed to the principles of good practice
Pages 180, 181