INTRO TO ACADEMIC RESEARCH C
Activities\tasks associated with academic research
Reading articles
Searching literature online or in a library
Look at data
Gather
Make assumption \theses about what he finds
Doublecheck the sources
Data analysis
Surveys, interviews: primary research → collect data
Build on already existing research and literature, so don’t repeat, only improve
Control group to test, expose them to different things : it’s called an experiment
Empirical research cycle:
It starts with the research questions – theory – research design = plan the survey, hat question to pose,
circumstances, plan the data collection, think about who our respondents are, variables, how to measure –
data collection –data analysis – findings (interpretations) –research dissemination- …
Look forward, then look for another research questions, that’s why it’s a circle
The hypothesis goes around the research design phase: we don’t always need an analysis, because we can
also do qualitative research projects, which have expectations but don’t have an hypothesis to prove or
falsify.
A. How can you identify whether an empirical research paper or project has a qualitative
approach or a quantitative approach?
Quantitative: data, numbers
Qualitative: non-numerical, characteristics, qualities of people, gathered through interviews and in person
observation, the answers would be quotes of the participants,
B. How would the empirical research cycle change when conducting either a qualitative or
quantitative research project?
Qualitative: research design is much harder, interpretations are harder to make on what people say rather
than on numbers
A qualitative data collection method is interviews, surveys…
C. Come up with an hypothetical research example to explain the difference between induction
and deduction. Is quantitative research generally associated with induction or deduction?
Explain why.
Induction: from the particular to the general
Deduction: from general to particular
,Example: crime rate
First look at observations and then make a theory
Induction: first look into the data and then make a theory
Deduction: seeing the theory of gravitation and then trying to see if an object falls like it is predicted.
Qualitative: talk to people, field work, they can say anything = induction
Quantitative: I already have to give them options, know what is important for people, so I have to look at
theories first = deduction = we already predefine what is important for the subjects
D. Are both qualitative and quantitative approaches equally valuable? Why/why not?
Both have their values, strengths and limitation, based on the questions we want to ask.
SYLLABUS
Exam on statistic and probability
Calculations
CHAPTER 2:
paradigm—one of the fundamental models or frames of reference we use to organize our observations and
reasoning.
No matter what our beliefs, it’s useful to recognize that our views and feelings in this matter are the result of
the paradigm into which we have been socialized. The sanctity of the individual is not an objective fact of
nature; it is a point of view, a paradigm. All of us operate within many such paradigms. When we recognize
that we are operating within a paradigm, two benefits accrue. First, we are better able to understand the
seemingly bizarre views and actions of others who are operating from within a different paradigm. Second,
at times we can profit from stepping outside our paradigm.
Social science paradigms represent a variety of views, each of which offers insights the others lack while
ignoring aspects of social life that the others reveal.
Ultimately, paradigms cannot be true or false; as ways of looking, they can only be more or less useful, each
can open up new understandings, suggest different kinds of theories, and inspire different kinds of research.
we are seeing the impact those paradigms have on what is observed and how it is interpreted. The power of
paradigms, however, extends well beyond the scientific realm. You can look almost anywhere in the world
and see conflicts among religious, ethnic, political, and other cultural paradigms.
Consider the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Widely varied
interpretations, reflecting radically different paradigms, blamed the attacks on Osama bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein, Israel, the Bush administration, God, homosexuals, and feminists. Some of these explanations may
strike you as bizarre, but they made perfectly good sense within the worldviews of those espousing them.
That’s the power that paradigms have in all areas of life.
Lesson 2, 17\11
We’re all socialized in different paradigms, stepping out of it improves cultural awareness.
What is a paradigm? What is the difference between a paradigm and a theory?
,Paradigm is a kind of umbrella (overarching norms and values) under which all theories fall, it’s the sum of
some general assumptions that are broadly accepted and believed by those who live under that paradigm.
Theories are embedded in a paradigm. A theory is a formulation, a testable statement supported by evidence.
It explains a determined phenomenon.
The paradigm is a way of looking at reality.
Paradigm can be either false or true, it’s how we see thing; while theories can be proven false or true,
supported by the evidence, and they are particularistic
the relationship, a nested and circular structure:
paradigm: general, often implicit (students are often not aware of it), worldviews
theory: logical explanations about certain phenomenon in society
theories lead to practices: hypothesis, methods…
ex. what kind of methods fall under certain paradigms
certain observations lead to certain theories
circular because it can be confirmative (methods and practices falsify certain theories, leads to consider
maybe to change the paradigm; or it can also mean that you discover you cannot measure certain practices
through methods, you can only know by interviewing people for example, so then we need to switch or
refine our theories hich can cause a paradigm shift.)
theories can hange, they develop or falsify, but we can also change paradigm
Why is it especially important to recognize when we are operating within a particular paradigm when
conducting research within an interdisciplinary research team?
It’s important because the members are from different cultural background, meaning that they have different
paradigms, so different views about the same situation or facts.
Therefore, recognizing the different paradigms helps in avoiding misunderstanding.
Different culture and different disciplines (politics, ethics, social sciences science…) are linked in the
tackling of issues such as the climate change.
There may be friction or judgment between different schools of thought and paradigm, but is essential to
recognize the value of both.
A number of paradigms are outlined in Chapter 2.
Which of these paradigms do you think you most operate within in your approach to understanding and
making sense of the world?
● The positivistic paradigm assumes that we can scientifically discover the rules governing social life.
● The conflict paradigm focuses on the attempt of one person or group to dominate others and to avoid
being dominated. (macro theories)
Competition between groups of society
● The symbolic interactionist paradigm examines how shared meanings and social patterns are
developed in the course of social interactions. = the interaction with other people shape our reality
perception (focuses on micro theories between people)
● Ethnomethodology focuses on the ways people make sense out of life in the process of living it, as
though each were a researcher engaged in an inquiry.
● The structural functionalist (or social systems) paradigm seeks to discover what functions the many
elements of society perform for the whole system—for example, the functions of mothers, labor
unions, and radio talk shows…
ex. social media (macro: looks at the influence of media to the whole society and not at the
individual or family level)
, ● Feminist paradigms, in addition to drawing attention to the oppression of women in most societies,
highlight how previous images of social reality have often come from and reinforced the experiences
of men.
● Critical race paradigm: feminism tries to find equality for everybody, critical race over lines with
their ideas
Describe in your own words how this paradigm shapes how you operate by giving an example.
If your inner circle treats you as beautiful or ambitious, you are shaped to believe that and act that way,
Ex. the impact of family and upbringing on character, insecurities and confidence…
Operationalization: how to measure some value like poverty, there are many ways to operationalize a
concept: measure poverty with social isolation, or income, debt…
In research we need to be specific about our operationalization.
Imagine you want to study ‘happiness’. Now imagine you are working within a ‘positivist’ paradigm when
examining ‘happiness’. How can you measure happiness? Through a positivist paradigm.
I would measure happiness through this survey:
How would you rate your possession of the following from 1 to 10?
-Income
-Health
-Social relations
In this way we let people indicate how happy they are, it is reduced to numbers so it’s still positivistic
Another would be:
Happiness defined through life expectancy, financial resources, opportunities in education…
It’s positivists because the index is based on scientific observation and data.
Or we could measure serotonin, or hormones linked with happiness
Or question: how many days a week do you wake up excited for the day to come?
So it is positivistic if it can be reconduced to numbers and scientific data, yet indexes do not conclusively
show how happy a person truly is.
Life Ladder
Life expectancy at birth
Freedom to make life choices
Perception of corruption
Generosity
… Indicatory for this happiness index: the world happiness index 2021
If we were to measure happiness from a feminist view, the result would be different. Different individuals
have different concepts of happiness.
In the project, we are going to operationalize the concept.
Activities\tasks associated with academic research
Reading articles
Searching literature online or in a library
Look at data
Gather
Make assumption \theses about what he finds
Doublecheck the sources
Data analysis
Surveys, interviews: primary research → collect data
Build on already existing research and literature, so don’t repeat, only improve
Control group to test, expose them to different things : it’s called an experiment
Empirical research cycle:
It starts with the research questions – theory – research design = plan the survey, hat question to pose,
circumstances, plan the data collection, think about who our respondents are, variables, how to measure –
data collection –data analysis – findings (interpretations) –research dissemination- …
Look forward, then look for another research questions, that’s why it’s a circle
The hypothesis goes around the research design phase: we don’t always need an analysis, because we can
also do qualitative research projects, which have expectations but don’t have an hypothesis to prove or
falsify.
A. How can you identify whether an empirical research paper or project has a qualitative
approach or a quantitative approach?
Quantitative: data, numbers
Qualitative: non-numerical, characteristics, qualities of people, gathered through interviews and in person
observation, the answers would be quotes of the participants,
B. How would the empirical research cycle change when conducting either a qualitative or
quantitative research project?
Qualitative: research design is much harder, interpretations are harder to make on what people say rather
than on numbers
A qualitative data collection method is interviews, surveys…
C. Come up with an hypothetical research example to explain the difference between induction
and deduction. Is quantitative research generally associated with induction or deduction?
Explain why.
Induction: from the particular to the general
Deduction: from general to particular
,Example: crime rate
First look at observations and then make a theory
Induction: first look into the data and then make a theory
Deduction: seeing the theory of gravitation and then trying to see if an object falls like it is predicted.
Qualitative: talk to people, field work, they can say anything = induction
Quantitative: I already have to give them options, know what is important for people, so I have to look at
theories first = deduction = we already predefine what is important for the subjects
D. Are both qualitative and quantitative approaches equally valuable? Why/why not?
Both have their values, strengths and limitation, based on the questions we want to ask.
SYLLABUS
Exam on statistic and probability
Calculations
CHAPTER 2:
paradigm—one of the fundamental models or frames of reference we use to organize our observations and
reasoning.
No matter what our beliefs, it’s useful to recognize that our views and feelings in this matter are the result of
the paradigm into which we have been socialized. The sanctity of the individual is not an objective fact of
nature; it is a point of view, a paradigm. All of us operate within many such paradigms. When we recognize
that we are operating within a paradigm, two benefits accrue. First, we are better able to understand the
seemingly bizarre views and actions of others who are operating from within a different paradigm. Second,
at times we can profit from stepping outside our paradigm.
Social science paradigms represent a variety of views, each of which offers insights the others lack while
ignoring aspects of social life that the others reveal.
Ultimately, paradigms cannot be true or false; as ways of looking, they can only be more or less useful, each
can open up new understandings, suggest different kinds of theories, and inspire different kinds of research.
we are seeing the impact those paradigms have on what is observed and how it is interpreted. The power of
paradigms, however, extends well beyond the scientific realm. You can look almost anywhere in the world
and see conflicts among religious, ethnic, political, and other cultural paradigms.
Consider the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Widely varied
interpretations, reflecting radically different paradigms, blamed the attacks on Osama bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein, Israel, the Bush administration, God, homosexuals, and feminists. Some of these explanations may
strike you as bizarre, but they made perfectly good sense within the worldviews of those espousing them.
That’s the power that paradigms have in all areas of life.
Lesson 2, 17\11
We’re all socialized in different paradigms, stepping out of it improves cultural awareness.
What is a paradigm? What is the difference between a paradigm and a theory?
,Paradigm is a kind of umbrella (overarching norms and values) under which all theories fall, it’s the sum of
some general assumptions that are broadly accepted and believed by those who live under that paradigm.
Theories are embedded in a paradigm. A theory is a formulation, a testable statement supported by evidence.
It explains a determined phenomenon.
The paradigm is a way of looking at reality.
Paradigm can be either false or true, it’s how we see thing; while theories can be proven false or true,
supported by the evidence, and they are particularistic
the relationship, a nested and circular structure:
paradigm: general, often implicit (students are often not aware of it), worldviews
theory: logical explanations about certain phenomenon in society
theories lead to practices: hypothesis, methods…
ex. what kind of methods fall under certain paradigms
certain observations lead to certain theories
circular because it can be confirmative (methods and practices falsify certain theories, leads to consider
maybe to change the paradigm; or it can also mean that you discover you cannot measure certain practices
through methods, you can only know by interviewing people for example, so then we need to switch or
refine our theories hich can cause a paradigm shift.)
theories can hange, they develop or falsify, but we can also change paradigm
Why is it especially important to recognize when we are operating within a particular paradigm when
conducting research within an interdisciplinary research team?
It’s important because the members are from different cultural background, meaning that they have different
paradigms, so different views about the same situation or facts.
Therefore, recognizing the different paradigms helps in avoiding misunderstanding.
Different culture and different disciplines (politics, ethics, social sciences science…) are linked in the
tackling of issues such as the climate change.
There may be friction or judgment between different schools of thought and paradigm, but is essential to
recognize the value of both.
A number of paradigms are outlined in Chapter 2.
Which of these paradigms do you think you most operate within in your approach to understanding and
making sense of the world?
● The positivistic paradigm assumes that we can scientifically discover the rules governing social life.
● The conflict paradigm focuses on the attempt of one person or group to dominate others and to avoid
being dominated. (macro theories)
Competition between groups of society
● The symbolic interactionist paradigm examines how shared meanings and social patterns are
developed in the course of social interactions. = the interaction with other people shape our reality
perception (focuses on micro theories between people)
● Ethnomethodology focuses on the ways people make sense out of life in the process of living it, as
though each were a researcher engaged in an inquiry.
● The structural functionalist (or social systems) paradigm seeks to discover what functions the many
elements of society perform for the whole system—for example, the functions of mothers, labor
unions, and radio talk shows…
ex. social media (macro: looks at the influence of media to the whole society and not at the
individual or family level)
, ● Feminist paradigms, in addition to drawing attention to the oppression of women in most societies,
highlight how previous images of social reality have often come from and reinforced the experiences
of men.
● Critical race paradigm: feminism tries to find equality for everybody, critical race over lines with
their ideas
Describe in your own words how this paradigm shapes how you operate by giving an example.
If your inner circle treats you as beautiful or ambitious, you are shaped to believe that and act that way,
Ex. the impact of family and upbringing on character, insecurities and confidence…
Operationalization: how to measure some value like poverty, there are many ways to operationalize a
concept: measure poverty with social isolation, or income, debt…
In research we need to be specific about our operationalization.
Imagine you want to study ‘happiness’. Now imagine you are working within a ‘positivist’ paradigm when
examining ‘happiness’. How can you measure happiness? Through a positivist paradigm.
I would measure happiness through this survey:
How would you rate your possession of the following from 1 to 10?
-Income
-Health
-Social relations
In this way we let people indicate how happy they are, it is reduced to numbers so it’s still positivistic
Another would be:
Happiness defined through life expectancy, financial resources, opportunities in education…
It’s positivists because the index is based on scientific observation and data.
Or we could measure serotonin, or hormones linked with happiness
Or question: how many days a week do you wake up excited for the day to come?
So it is positivistic if it can be reconduced to numbers and scientific data, yet indexes do not conclusively
show how happy a person truly is.
Life Ladder
Life expectancy at birth
Freedom to make life choices
Perception of corruption
Generosity
… Indicatory for this happiness index: the world happiness index 2021
If we were to measure happiness from a feminist view, the result would be different. Different individuals
have different concepts of happiness.
In the project, we are going to operationalize the concept.
