SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Dependent And Independent Variables

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 1101
• Professor: Sam Alvaro

Document Summary

Although there are a number of methods and perspectives employed study people, several important concepts are used in several important concepts are used in almost all research projects including things like: o. Social theories refer to organized sets of propositions about how various elements or social life are related to one another. Theories have three components: general statements about social relationships o. Statements about the causes of those relationships: general predictions, base on these reasons, about how people will react to certain events or experiences or conditions. Research projects generally do not test theories but hypothesis, specific statements about how variables will relate to one another in a research study. Positive findings regarding a hypothesis simply provides support for a theory; it does not prove a theory to be correct. Sociological knowledge is based on science, a logical organized method of obtaining information through direct, systematic observation. A research method is a strategy for systematically conducting research.