Short-answer questions
Answer each question carefully. Consult your Social Research text when
your memory fails you or when you are in doubt about the accuracy of your
responses.
1
What are the main assumptions of quantitative methodology?
2
What are the main assumptions of qualitative methodology?
3
What is meant by 'nomological thinking'?
4
List five major 'problems' of quantitative methodology.
5
What do critics mean when they say that positivistic research
fails to distinguish between appearance and reality?
6
Quantitative methodology is criticised for being
technocratic. What does this mean and why is it considered a problem?
7
What are the general criteria of qualitative methodology?
8
From which theories does qualitative methodology draw its
major theoretical guidelines and principles?
9
What is a 'naturalistic method' and what is its
significance for social research?
10
What are the central principles of qualitative research?
11
What is meant by 'openness' in qualitative research?
12
What are the research foundations of qualitative research?
13
Describe five important differences between quantitative and
qualitative research.
14
Discuss critically the three criticisms of quantitative methodology that you
consider most important.
15
What is the meaning of the statement 'objectivity can only lead to a
technocratic and bureaucratic dehumanisation'?
16
Why is qualitative inquiry often called 'naturalistic' inquiry?
17
How can you explain in simple words the meaning of a 're-constructed'
reality?
18
Explain in simple words the meaning of the concepts 'intentionality' and
'bracketing', as employed in phenomenology.
19
Why is it important to know about ontologies and epistemologies
when studying social research?
20
Which ontology and epistemology provide the framework of
quantitative research?
21
Which ontology and epistemology provide the framework of
qualitative research?
22
What are the main principles of constructionism?
23
What are the main characteristics of objectivism?
24
What are the main criteria of realism?
25
In what ways does the perception of reality differ in qualitative and
quantitative research?