SSC111 Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences
Lecture 1. Introduction
1. Sciences and Social Sciences
Science is a social institution and a way to produce knowledge. Scientists gather data
using specialized techniques and use the data to support or reject theories. Data can be
quantitative (i.e., expressed in numbers) or qualitative (i.e., expressed in words,
pictures, objects).
Social sciences, includes anthropology, economics, political science, psychology and
sociology, involve the use of scientific methods to study people --- their beliefs,
behavior, interaction, institutions.
2. The Steps of Conducting Scientific Research
Choose topic → focus research question → design study → collect data → analyze
data → interpret data → inform others (observation and measurement → model
building → testing models)
3. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Styles
Qualitative Style
Construct Social reality, cultural meaning
Focus on interactive processes, events
Authenticity is key
Values are present and explicit
Situationally constraint
Few cases, subjects
Quantitative Style
Measure objective facts
Focus on variables
Reliability is key
Value free
Independent of context
Many cases, subjects
Thematic analysis
Researcher is involved
Statistical analysis
Researcher is detached
Increasingly, people use both styles to do research.
4. Quantitative Style and Quantitative Methods
As the quantitative style involves the measurement of facts and statistical analysis of
variables, it is essential to learn some quantitative methods, especially statistics, in
order to adopt the quantitative style in research.
Examples:
Three papers on economic conditions and election
Tibbitts, Clark, 1931. “Majority Votes and the Business Cycle,” The American
Journal of Sociology, 36(4): pp.596-606.
Stigler, George J., 1973. “General economic conditions and national elections,”
American Economic Review, 63(2): pp.160-167
Markus, Gregory B., 1992. “The Impact of Personal and National Economic
conditions on Presidential Voting, 1956-1988,” American Journal of Political Science,
36(3): pp.829-834.
3 steps:
starts with a theory/observation
collect data
test the theory using statistical analysis