About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about some key terms, concepts and philosophies in research methods, focusing in particular on: (i) defining data as any information which can be directly or indirectly observed, capture or analysed; (ii) defining a concept as an abstraction formed by generalisations from similar phenomena; (iii) defining a construct as a concept that has been refined for use in scientific study; (iv) defining a variable as a term or symbol to which values are assigned based on empirical observations; (v) defining internal reliability as the consistency of results across a study’s measurements; (vi) defining external reliability as the consistency of results across repeated usage; (vii) defining internal validity as the extent to which a study’s measurements can support its cause and effect relationship; (viii) defining external validity as the extent to which a study’s results are generalisable; (ix) defining trustworthiness as the degree to which qualitative data is an authentic representation of experiences; (x) defining credibility as the extent to which data accurately represent the features and outcomes of their chosen phenomenon; (xi) defining a research question as that which posits the study’s central issue of address; (xii) defining a hypothesis as a testable assertion which predicts the causes of a phenomenon between other phenomena; (xiii) defining a theory as an interrelated set of constructs and concepts which explain links between variables, with the purpose of explaining and predicting a phenomenon; (xiv) defining a paradigm as a cluster of beliefs which influence scientific actions in that discipline; (xv) defining epistemology as a justification for what should be considered legitimate knowledge; (xvi) Durkheim and Comte as key figures in the establishment of positivism; (xvii) positivism’s assertion being that genuine knowledge of social phenomena can only be generate by objective, bias free and directly observable data; (xviii) Weber and Simmel as key figures in the establishment of interpretivism; (xix) interpretivism’s assertion being that valid knowledge of the social world can be derived by systematically collecting subjective interpretations; (xx) understanding the postpositivist assertion that genuine knowledge of the social world can be gained through scientific analysis of objectively real concepts; (xxi) the evidence in modern sociological practices, that most sociologists take a postpositivist stance, rather than being strictly in the camp of positivism or interpretivism; (xxii) two exercises to help distinguish between theory and epistemology.

About the lecturer

Dr Rodolfo Leyva is a lecturer in quantitative methods in the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Leyva’s research interests are in experimental social science, direct democracy and civil disobedience. Some of Dr Leyva’s recent publications include ‘Media Ethics, Regulations, And Effects: How The British Right-Wing Press Disregards All Three & Undermines Democratic Deliberations’ (2020) and ‘Testing & Unpacking The Effects Of Digital Fake News On Presidential Candidate Evaluations & Voter Support.’ (2020).