SOCL 2001 Chapter : Chapter 2
Document Summary
If we successfully answer one question, it only spawns others. There is no moment when a social scientist"s work is done. A deductive approach to research: 1. Analyzes the data collected through observation to confirm, reject, or modify the original theory. An inductive approach to research: 1. Then works to form a theory: 3. Determines if a correlation exists by noticing if a change is observed in two things simultaneously. Causation: when a change in one factor causes a change in another factor. Non-spurious (reasonable) explanation: spurious explanations are false assumptions about correlation. A dependent variable is the outcome that a researcher is trying to explain. An independent variable is a measured factor that the researcher believes has a causal impact on the dependent variable. A hypothesis is a proposed relationship between two variables, represented by either the null hypothesis or an alternative hypothesis.
