Overview
Reading Assignment #1 Assignment Type
Points Possible: 50 Projecrs
Define the following key terms.
Attributes Induction
Deduction Nomothetic
Dependent variable Replication
Idiographic Theory
Independent variable Variable
Hypothesis Interest Convergence
Macrotheory Microtheory
Null hypothesis Operational definition
Operationalization Paradigm
Answer the following research questions.
Identify a social problem that you feel ought to be addressed and solved. What are the variables represented in your description of the problem? Which of those variables would you monitor in determining whether the problem was solved?
How might social research be useful to such professionals as physicians, attorneys, business executives, police officers, and newspaper reporters?
Select a social problem that concerns you, such as war, pollution, overpopulation, prejudice, or poverty. Then use one of the paradigms in this chapter to address that problem. What would be the main variables involved in the study of that problem, including variables that may cause it or hold the key to its solution?
What in your own words, is the difference between a paradigm and a theory?