4. Theory & Social Research
Jin-Wan Seo, Professor
Dept. of Public Administration,
University of Incheon
4. Theory & Social Research
Elements of Theory
 Theory
 A systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a
particular aspect of life.
 Interrelationship between ___________ (variables)
Fact A
Fact B
Abstraction of ____________________applicable to the reality
in general
S
O
R
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4. Theory & Social Research
 Fact vs. Value
Fact
Value
 Things and phenomena justified empirically
 Things before justification
 Things and phenomena which should be
justified empirically
 Belief/Faith & Ideology
 Things and phenomena existed
 Logical belief – good/bad,
right/wrong
Through empirically, verifiable observation
For “Scope & methods”
For “Philosophical Methods”
 Value-free; Fact-oriented
 Value-laden/metaphysics
 Concerned with ___________________
 Concerned with eternal or essential
nature of reality.
 All knowledges are from experience,
observation, and verification.
 Reality is ___________________!
 We can not know anything simply
from the fact and experiences.
 Reality is certain!
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4. Theory & Social Research
 Variable
 Logical groupings of attributes. The variable gender is made
up of the attributes male and female.
 Definitions
 _________________: A variable with values that are not
problematical in an analysis but are taken as simply given. An
independent variable is presumed to cause or determine a dependent
variable. => variable by which to explain phenomena
 ________________: A variable assumed to depend on or be caused
by another (called the independent variable). => variable to be
explained
 Attributes: Characteristics of persons or things
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4. Theory & Social Research
Variables & Attributes
 Both variables and
attributes represent social
concepts.
 __________ are sets of
related values or attributes
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4. Theory & Social Research
Research




Defining facts
Setting Causality  relationship between facts (_________)  Model
Abstraction of Theory (__________________)
Objectification of theory
Fact A
S(fact A)
Fact B
O (fact C)
R (fact B)
Feedback
(fact D)
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4. Theory & Social Research
Three Main Elements of Research

Theory
 Scientists begin with a theory, from which they derive testable
hypothesis

Operationalization
 To test any hypothesis, the meanings of all the variables
involved in it in observational turns should be specified.
 How to measure the variables – ___________________
 Specifying the exact operations involved in measuring a
variable

Observation
 The final step in the traditional model of science
 Looking at the way things are, in order to confirm the
hypothesis.
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4. Theory & Social Research
Traditional Model of Science
Traditional Model of Science
= __________________________
1.
From a general theoretical
understanding,
2.
the researcher derives (deduces)
an expectation
3.
and finally a testable hypothesis.
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4. Theory & Social Research
Deductive & Inductive Methods
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4. Theory & Social Research
1. Deductive Theory Construction
 Getting Started
 1st step: to pick a topic that interests you.
 2nd step: to undertake an inventory of what is already known or
thought about it.
 Constructing your theory
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Specify ____________.
Specify the range of phenomena your theory addresses. Will
your theory apply to all of human social life, will it apply only
to Korean citizens, only to young people, or what?
Identify and specify your major concepts and variables.
Find out what is known (___________) about the relationships
among those variables.
Reason logically from those propositions to the specific topic
you are examining.
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4. Theory & Social Research
2. Inductive Theory Construction
 Getting Started
 1st step: to observe aspects of social life
 2nd step: to seek to discover __________ that may point to
relatively universal principles.
 Field research
1.
Field research is frequently used to develop theories through
observation.
2.
In a long and rich tradition, anthropologists have used his
method to good advantage.
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4. Theory & Social Research
Links between Theory & Research
 In the __________ model, research is used to test
theories.
 In the ________ model, theories are developed from
the analysis of research data.
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