Idiographic Research 

An approach to explanation in which we seek to exhaust the idiosyncratic causes of a particular condition or event. Imagine trying to list all the reasons why you choose to attend your particular college. Given all those reasons it's difficult to imagine your making any other choice. 

unique, separate, peculiar or distinct as in the word idiosyncrasy. reasons apply to one specific case.

An approach explanation in which we seek to identify a few casual factors that generally impact a class of conditions or events. Imagine two or three key factors that determine which colleges students choose-proximity, reputation, and so forth. 

seeks to explain more than one event, seeks to explain "economically", using only one or just a few explanatory factors, it settles for partial rather than full explanation

The logical model in which general principles are developed from specific observations. Having noted that Jews and Catholics are more likely to vote Democratic than Protestants are, you might conclude that religious minorities in the United States are more affiliated with the Democratic party and then your task is to explain why. This is an example of induction!

particular -> general,

specific observations ->discovery of a pattern that represents some degree of order among all given events

The logical model in which specific expectations of hypotheses are developed on the basis of general principles. Starting from the general principle that all deans are meanies, you might anticipate that this one won't let you change courses. This anticipation would be the result of deduction

general->specific 

begins with "why" and moves to "whether"

induction moves in opposite direction

non-numerical data, when you say someone is intelligent, you are making a qualitative assertion. socially constructed, context, intimate, understand objects

How?? interpret, explain, decide, specific context

Quantification often makes our observations more explicit, easier to aggregate, compare, and summarize data. It opens up the possibility of statistical analyses, ranging from simple averages to complex formulas and mathematical models. 

Quantitative data offers advantages that numbers have over words as measures of some quality, they also include disadvantages like a potential loss in richness of meaning

material, governed by rules and laws like natural sciences, limited research, positivism, truth, knowledge is collective, scientific method. causality, What is? Why do? Why Does?

a model or frame of reference through which to observe and understand. Paradigms play a fundamental role in science just as they do in daily life. 

Thomas Kuhn (1970) draws attention to the role of paradigms in the history of the natural sciences. Major scientific paradigms have included such fundamental viewpoints as:

Copernicus's conception of the earth moving around the sun(instead of reverse)

Darwin's theory of evolution

Newtonian mechanics and Einstein's relativity

Which scientific theories "make sense" depends on which paradigm scientists are maintaining 

introduced by August Comte, this philosophical system is grounded on the rational proof/disproof of scientific assertions;assumes a knowable, objective reality

as is, actually out there, real, factual, natural sciences

social sciences are governed by some laws as natural sciences. ?'s like What is? Why does? 

1. Develop a hypothesis

2. Is it inductive/deductive

3. operationalize (measure your variables)

4. variables- independent/dependent 

5.Test the hypothesis

6. Analyze the data

7. conclude either confirmed or disproved, disconfirmed

typically done for 3 purposes: satisfy researchers curiosity and desire for better understanding, to test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study, to develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent study

exploring a topic, to start to familiarize a researcher with that topic. usually occurs when a researcher examines a new interest or when the subject of study itself is relatively new

exploratory studies are also appropriate for more persistent phenomena. sometimes exploratory research is pursued through the use of focus groups, or guided small group discussions. 

A major purpose of description is to describe situations and events. The researcher observes and then describes what was observed. Because scientific observation is careful and deliberate, however scientific descriptions are typically more accurate and precise than casual ones are

The U.S. census is an excellent example of descriptive social research. The goal of the census is to describe accurately and precisely a wide variety of characteristics of the U.S. population, as well as states, and counties. 

the general purpose of this type of research is to explain things. answer ?'s of why. 

ex: reporting why some people plan to vote for candidate A and others vote for candidate B is explanatory. ex: identifying why some cities have higher crime rates than others involves explanation

a coincidental statistical correlation between two variables, shown to be caused by some third variable , not genuine relationships

ex: there is a negative relationship b/w the number of mules and the number of Ph.D's in towns and cities: the more mules, the fewer Ph.D's and vice versa. perhaps you can think of another variable that would explain this apparent relationship. the Answer is rural versus urban settings. There are more mules in rural areas whereas the opposite is true in cities. 

necessary for a casual relationship to take effect. 

ex: there is a correlation between ice cream sales and deaths due to drowning: the more ice cream sold, the drownings and vice versa. There is however NO direct link between ice cream and drowning. the third variable at work here is season or temperature. most drowning deaths occur during summer-the peak period for ice cream sales

represents a condition that Must be present for the effect to follow

ex: it is necessary for you to take college courses in order to get a degree. take away the courses and the degree never follows. however simply taking the courses is not a sufficient cause of getting a degree. you need to take the right ones and pass them. 

represents a condition that, if it is present, guarantees the effect in question. this is not to say that a sufficient cause is the only possible cause of a particular effect. 

ex: skipping an exam in this course would be a sufficient cause for failing it, though students could fail it other ways as well. thus a cause can be sufficient but not necessary

erroneously drawing conclusions about individuals solely from the observation of groups. assumption that something learned about an ecological unit says something about the individuals making up that unit

a fault of some researchers: a strict limitation (reduction) of the kinds of concepts to be considered relevant to the phenomenon under study

ex: you might attempt to predict this years winners and losers in the national basketball association by focusing on the abilities of the individual players on each team. this is certainly not stupid or irrelevant, but the sucess or failure of teams involves more than just the individuals in them; it involves coaching, team work, strategies, finances, facilities, fan loyalty and so forth. 

a study based on observations representing a single point in time. involves observations of a sample, or cross section, of a population or phenomenon that are made at one point in time. exploratory and descriptive studies are often cross sectional. 

ex: a single U.S. census for instance is a study aimed at describing the U.S. population at a given time

a study design involving the collection of data at different points in time. designed to permit observations of the same phenomenon over an extended period of time. changes over time

ex: a researcher can participate in and observe the activities of a UFO cult from its inception to its demise. 

once you have a well defined purpose and a cclear description of the kinds of outcomes you want to achieve you can proceed to conceptualization:

when devising a concept or research question, it is important to specify exact meanings for all the other concepts you plan to study. specify in advance. 

once you've specified the concepts to be studied and chosen a research method, it is time for operationalization or deciding on your measuring techniques: 

the meaning of variables in a study is determined in part by how they are measured. part of the task here is deciding how the desired data will be collected: direct observation, review of official documents, a questionnaire, or some other technique

1.Do Not Harm!

2. voluntary, informed consent

3. disclose identity

4. review boards

5. confidentiality;anonymity 

6. Do Not Falsify 

be familiar with ex: Tuskegee, Stanford, Milgram, Tea Room