URBP 204A QUANTITATIVE METHODS I Social Research Lecture I Gregory Newmark San Jose State University...
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Transcript of URBP 204A QUANTITATIVE METHODS I Social Research Lecture I Gregory Newmark San Jose State University...
![Page 1: URBP 204A QUANTITATIVE METHODS I Social Research Lecture I Gregory Newmark San Jose State University (This lecture accords with Chapters 1,2,3,5 of Earl.](https://reader036.fdocuments.in/reader036/viewer/2022070413/5697bff41a28abf838cbd415/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
URBP 204A QUANTITATIVE METHODS I
Social Research Lecture I
Gregory NewmarkSan Jose State University
(This lecture accords with Chapters 1,2,3,5 of Earl Babbie’s The Practice of Social Research)
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How do we know anything?
• Observation – our experienced knowledge– “Ouch, this fire is hot!”– “Pigeons can fly.”
• Agreement – our accepted knowledge– “Wait 15 minutes after eating before swimming.”– “Red is a primary color.”
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Errors of Casual Observation
• Inaccurate observations– “What color are my pants?”
• Overgeneralization– “All women are left-handed”
• Selective Observation– “This driver is slow, probably an old person”
• Illogical Reasoning– “The exception that proves the rule . . .”
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Guarding against those Errors• Inaccurate observations– Deliberate, structured measurement
• Overgeneralization– Committing to a sufficient sample of observations– Replicating the experiment
• Selective Observation– Research design structures observations
• Illogical Reasoning– Conscious use of logic – Peer review
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Views on Reality• Pre-Modern– “We see things as they actually are.”
• Modern– “We see things subjectively, but there is an
objective truth out there.”
• Post-Modern– “We see things subjectively and that is truth.”
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Scientific Knowledge• Logic– Theory
• Observation– Data Collection– Data Analysis
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What is Research?• “a process through which we attempt to
achieve systematically and with the support of data the answers to a question, the resolution of a problem, or a greater understanding of a phenomenon” (Leedy 1997)
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A Dialectic of Explanation• Idiographic Explanation– Explains a single case with excruciating detail– “Here are the 23 reasons I personally chose SJSU” – Specific explanation
• Nomothetic Explanation– Explains a class of cases with economical detail– “Here are the 4 top reasons students choose SJSU”– General explanation
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A Dialectic of Theory• Inductive Theory– Theorizes from specific cases to general pattern– “San Jose is sunny. Oakland is sunny. LA is sunny.
Therefore, cities in California are sunny.”
• Deductive Theory– Theorizes from general pattern to specific cases– “Cities in California are sunny. San Jose is in
California. Therefore San Jose must be sunny.”
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A Dialectic of Data• Qualitative Data– Non-numeric information– “The adult Martian is tall!”
• Quantitative Data– Numeric information– “The adult Martian is 5’8”.”
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A Dialectic of Focus• Macrotheory– Deals with large aggregate entities of society– “How do economic classes interact?”
• Microtheory– Deals with intimate level of individuals– “How do panhandlers and pedestrians interact?”
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Theories are logical explanations• Theories prevent our being deceived by flukes– “In theory, everyone rides the bus, so if the first four
passengers are women, I won’t assume that all passengers will be.”
• Theories make sense of observed patterns in a way that can suggest other possibilities– “In theory, if we understand why people take the bus, we can
design a policy to support that use.”
• Theories shape and direct research efforts– “In theory, faster travel times encourage transit. Let’s look
into that!”
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Rational Objectivity Reconsidered• Experience is inescapably unique– Individual experience of ‘subjectivity’
• Humans seek agreement on what’s real– Social pursuit of ‘objectivity’
• Ideas that hold up to inter-subjective scrutiny are considered real– Problem: Scrutiny can be skewed by culture• E.g. Ignoring experiences of subaltern groups
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Hypothesis• A testable expectation about empirical reality
derived from theory– “If the theory is correct, then x will be observed”– Must be disconfirmable
• Examples:– Theory: Crime is inversely related to income– Hypothesis: A lower income school district will
report more crimes per capita than a higher income one
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Ethical Issues in Social Research• Voluntary participation– Deception – at times research purpose concealed
• No harm to participants– Anonymity versus confidentiality– Institutional review boards (IRB)
• Honest analysis and reporting– Use appropriate analytical procedures– Disclose problems and negative results
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Moving from Theory to Research• Conceptualization– Specification of abstract terms in research
• Operationalization– Development of working (operational) definitions – Specification of procedure (operations) for
measuring a variable• Measurement– Deliberate empirical observations to describe
phenomena in terms of variable attributes
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Measurement• Attributes– Characteristic or quality of something– “ This animal is female.”
• Variables– Logical sets of attributes• Exhaustive – every observation can be classified• Mutually exclusive – every observation classified once
– “Female is an attribute that composes gender.”
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Levels of Measurement• Nominal Measures– Exhaustive and mutually exclusive only– E.g. birthplace, gender, religious affiliation
• Ordinal Measures– Exhaustive and mutually exclusive– Capable of being ranked in order– E.g. social class, conservatism, level of satisfaction
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Levels of Measurement• Interval Measures– Exhaustive and mutually exclusive– Capable of being ranked in order– Distance separating attributes has fixed meaning– E.g. Temperature (C or F), credit score, GRE
• Ratio Measures– Exhaustive and mutually exclusive– Capable of being ranked in order– Distance separating attributes has fixed meaning– Based on a true zero point– E.g. Temperature (K), height (ft), income ($)
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Levels of Measurement• Certain analytical techniques require certain
levels of measurement– “Calculate the class’s average height (ft).”– “Calculate the class’s average birthplace.”
• Measures taken at one level can be recoded into lower levels of measurement– “Recode heights (ft) into three ordinal categories.”– “Recode birthplaces into three ordinal categories.”
• Level of measurement determined by analytical uses you have planned– If you are not sure how you might use the data, aim
for the highest level of measurement
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Criteria of Measurement Quality• Precision (versus Accuracy)
A B
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Criteria of Measurement Quality• Precision (versus Accuracy)• Reliability– Definition: same technique yields same result– Methods: Test-retest, Split-half, pre-established– Research workers are not always reliable
• Validity– Definition: accurately measures the concept it is
intended to measure
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Types of Validity• Face Validity– Indicator seems reasonable “on its face”– Grievances as a measure of worker morale
• Criterion-related Validity– Indicator relates to some external criterion– SAT scores as a predictor of college GPA
• Construct Validity– Indicator relates to other variables as expected within a
system of theoretical relationships– Comparing marriage satisfaction to marriage fidelity
• Content Validity– Indicator covers the range of meanings associated within a
concept– Planning licensing exam covers all the planning skills
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Reliability vs. Validity• More reliable: Quantitative, nomothetic• More valid: Qualitative, idiographic