SCS2150- Final Exam Guide - Comprehensive Notes for the exam ( 38 pages long!)
30 Nov 2017
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Information comes from the library is known as secondary sources: research in the real world is known as primary data. Reasons why we do research: to understand pressing social problems, get more accurate answers, explore personal experience, gather information to create theory, assess adequacy of particular social theory. What is theory: exploration of observed regularities or patterns, an effort to make sense of it all. Components of a theory: statements or propositions eg. more men then women are alcoholics, definitions specify key terms, variables: that which varies or has more than one condition eg. gender, being an alcoholic. These are the pieces of data that we are interested in that have more then one condition. The opposite would be a constant: relational statements can be deterministic or probabilistic, probabilistic means the chances are probable, deterministic, Should research be theory driven or not: some deplore absence of theory, possible if done for particular purpose, not just lack of knowledge.
