Verified Document

Positivism In Social Science Research Creative Writing

How can I expand or advance the conversation by new insight or perspective?

I agree with the idea that the ability to replicate a study is critical in being able to trust its conclusions. This is much more difficult in qualitative research, given that such a small, highly specific population is being observed by the researcher. But even quantitative studies face a so-called replication crisis. When research papers are published, they describe their methodologyWhen another research team tries to conduct a study based on the original to see if they find the same result, thats an attempted replication (Piper, 2014, par.4). But one attempt to replicate studies from the popular scientific journals Nature and Science led to the conclusion that only 13 of the 21 results looked at could actually be replicated by outsiders, casting the findings in doubt as generalizable to outside of the specific study population (Piper, 2014). For larger-scale scientific studies that are used to set public policy or, for example to validate drug studies or specific treatments, this is particularly troubling, versus small, exploratory qualitative studies.

This highlights how it is not only that the subjectivity of the researchers perspective that can taint results, as in qualitative research (Lakshman et al., 2000). In quantitative results, the size of the sampling, a research design which does not filter out adequate numbers of variables, and other concerns can ultimately impact the ability of other authors to replicate a study. Regardless, as you note, it is...

…in terms of how the inductive evidence being collected, in terms of allowing subjects to speak for themselves, and in terms of the researchers being self-critical about biases they may have.

Most qualitative studies in particular also attempt to accumulate additional evidence from a variety of sources. They may even use multiple researchers, to add multiple subjective perspectives, to ensure a fuller range of observations are offered, from which to draw conclusions (add a quantitative dimension like a survey in mixed methods research). However, even though qualitative research strives to be scientific in nature, it is not necessarily positivist in perspective like quantitative research, although qualitative findings may in future may be used to design quantitative research studies to test conclusions in a more objective…

Sources used in this document:

References

Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Houghton, T. (2016, September, 26). Does positivism really ‘work’ in the social sciences?E-IR. https://www.e-ir.info/2011/09/26/does-positivism-really-%E2%80%98work%E2%80%99-in-the-social-sciences/

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Social Sciences Research Is the
Words: 335 Length: 1 Document Type: Term Paper

Theories offer basic frameworks for research investigations. For example, a criminologist might work within a conflict theory framework; or a psychologist might work within the cognitive developmental theory framework. The theory guides the research design, the selection of subject and the selection of the population too. As a body of research grows, new theories may be devised that summarize or encapsulate the essence of an area of research. When studies

Social Science Research Growing Up
Words: 1841 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

The data sample will also be characterized and the structure of the sample will be put into consideration .at the final stage of the initial data analysis the findings are documented and any corrections that are deemed important are made at this stage. The main data analysis phase follows that is aimed at answering the actual research question as well as any analysis that will be important when it

Social Science Research Evans, A. And S.
Words: 798 Length: 2 Document Type: Dissertation or Thesis complete

Social Science Research Evans, A. And S. Frank. (2004). Adolescent Depression and Externalizing Problems: Testing Two Models of Comorbidity in an Inpatient Sample. Adolescence. 39 (153) [HIDDEN] Retrieved from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2248/is_153_39/ai_n6145265/ The Scientific Method, though requires data and data analysis to be effective. In its most basic outline, quantitative data is information that can be measured by numbers or numerical values. Quantitative inquiry is a method that is used in scientific methodology to

Social Science Research What Is
Words: 612 Length: 2 Document Type: Article Review

Inductive reasoning occurs when one makes inferences from particular situations or scenarios to predict future situations. In this study, the authors seek to use information from particular youth's experiences of the transition to adulthood and apply it to the development of a general understanding of whether or not youth can overcome existing social class, gender and ethnic divisions (MacDonald et al., 2005). 5. Identify at least 4 major findings from

Social Science Research if Building
Words: 580 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

video games in the life of the student. The problem with the Likert Scale is that Thurstone Scale 1) I like video games. Agree Disagree 2) I play video games everyday. Agree Disagree 3) I play video games online Agree Disagree 4) I play video games with friends online. Agree Disagree 5) I play video games after school. Agree Disagree 6) I play video games before doing homework. Agree Disagree 7) I play video games while doing homework. Agree Disagree Guttman Scale (Based on 7 Criteria Above) Respondent Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5 Item 6 Item 7 1 2 3 4 The key to

Social Science Research Silver, Roxane
Words: 429 Length: 2 Document Type: Article Review

For this kind of research to be effective, researchers must gain the trust and confidence of these individuals. Careful planning, focus group research, and investigation may help to build this kind of trust, but all of those steps add time (and expenses) to the research process. c) Use of untested assumptions. Researchers may have their own assumptions about how people react to trauma, and these assumptions may negatively affect their

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now