Exam 2: Theory and Social Research

A theory that seeks to explain why white employees of a law firm are promoted more frequently and at a faster rate than non-white employees is operating at which level?

How do inductive and deductive approaches to social theory and research differ?

Positivists hold that researchers must be able to repeat scientific findings in multiple studies to have a high level of confidence that the findings are true.If a researcher replicates a study and does not get similar findings,one or more of five possibilities must be occurring.Identify at least four of these five reasons why replication might yield different results.

How do prediction and theoretical explanation differ?

Verstehen is a term associated with which major paradigm of social science?

Define the following: -epistemology

Which of the following propositions has the greatest theoretical range/level?

Which of the following is the branch of philosophy which informs social theory's discussions about the relationship of the researcher to the social world and the techniques by which researchers study the social world?

What are nomothetic and idiographic models of social science,and which of the three major approaches use each of them?

Define the following: -interpretivism

Which of the following best defines "social theory"?

Define the terms "structure" and "agency." What are the two central questions of the agency-structure debate?

You pick up an article in the Montreal Gazette and read the following: Canadian divorce rates have increased by 7% over the past 5 years.The author of the article goes on to explain the increase in the divorce rate by arguing increased female participation in the labour market has made women less economically dependent upon men,making it easier for women to leave unhappy marriages.Which theoretical framework is the author using?

Define the following: -idiographic

Which of the following research questions fits best within the microsocial level?

Define the following: -mesosocial theory

Define the following: -structure

Define the following: -prediction

Define the following: -agency

Define the following: -empirical generalization