Geography 237 Geographic Research: Methods and Issues

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Geography 237Geographic Research Methods and
Issues

• Theory in Social Research
• (Babbie, Chapter 2)

• Views on reality
• Types of explanation revisited
• Paradigms
• From paradigms to observation

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Three Views on Reality

• Pre-modern
• shared beliefs single reality
• no room for diversity of beliefs
• e.g., religion and witches
• Modern
• diversity of beliefs acceptable multiple
  realities
• e.g., religion science
• Post-modern
• nothing is real per se only what you
  experience
• views of reality imposed/negotiated by groups
• no objective reality2
• e.g., geog 237 exists because we are here, it has
  no independent reality

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Formal Explanation

• Theory (repeat from last lecture)
• a set of concepts plus a characterization of
  their interrelationships that, when taken
  collectively explains a given phenomenon or set
  of phenomena
• used to make sense of/simplify the world
• more than a mere description
• Law
• An observed regularity without explanation
• types of theory (see wheel of science previous
  lecture)
• interpretive - formation of new concepts (usually
  through induction)
• formal - testable - i.e., amenable to being
  stated as hypotheses that can be tested
  empirically

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ExerciseExample of Formal Theory
TestingPrejudice

• What predicts prejudice?
• http//webapp.icpsr.umich.edu/GSS/
• identify some limitations of this approach
• how would an interpretive approach to a theory of
  prejudice work?

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Three Functions of Theory

1. Avoid spurious relationships (e.g., stork
   population and baby population)
2. Suggest policy, or courses of action
3. Assist future research

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Paradigms

• Frame of reference
• Model for understanding
• Shapes what we see
• Shapes how we understand
• Resistant to change
• Social sciences unique paradigms rarely
  discarded
• E.g., Copernicus heliocentric universe vs
  Ptolemaic model

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Macrotheory and Microtheory

• Macrotheory
• Unit of analysis large groups society
• E.g., economic class, religion, state, Marx

• Microtheory
• Unit of analysis smaller groups, individuals
• e.g., students, middle class mothers, Mead

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Some Paradigms in Social Science

• (Early) Positivism
• macrotheory and microtheory
• Study society using scientific methods
• Science vs metaphysics and religion
• e.g., Compte
• Social Darwinism
• macrotheory
• Finches gtgtgt society?
• Best adapted survive and procreate
• Let nature take its course?
• Typically macrotheory i.e. social evolution
• Largely "discarded
• e.g., Spencer society is getting better

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Some Paradigms in Social Science

• Conflict Paradigm
• macrotheory (typically)
• conflict between societal groups (class, gender,
  ethnicity)
• oppression and domination
• ideological
• e.g., Marx
• Symbolic Interactionism
• microtheory
• social interactions, identity, shared
  understandings (meanings)
• taking the role of the other" - empathy
• e.g., Mead generalized other
• e.g., Cooley looking glass self

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Some Paradigms in Social Science

• Ethnomethodology
• social structure is created not imposed
• people always "making sense" of their world
• e.g., Garfinkel
• Structural Functionalism
• macrotheory (typically)
• social systems theory
• society as organism
• functions served by phenomena
• legitimates negative "functions" - e.g.,
  oppression?
• e.g., Durkheim criminal punishment affirms
  social values (e.g., private property) 

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Some Paradigms in Social Science

•  
• Feminism
• macrotheory and microtheory
• white male generalized other
• challenge patriarchy/oppression of women
• emancipatory
• focus on gender
• e.g., Lever girls play
• e.g., 13 ? Geog faculty

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Rational Objectivity in When Studying the Social

• Objectivity (traditional view)
• observer has no effect on what observed and
  reported
• observer merely detects reality
• Objectivity (social agreement)
• subjectivity is an individual trait, but
• subjective individuals often want to agree with
  (or at least understand) others
• agreement through negotiation - shared meaning
• Rationality
• those studied will usually make optimizing
  choices
• optimizer vs satisficer

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RationalityAsch Experiment and Social Conformity
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Another Take on Conformity
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Milgram Conformity, Obedience and Authority
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From Paradigms to Observation

• Concepts
• Building blocks of theory
• E.g., environmental equity social class
  exposure to pollution
• Axioms/Postulates
• Fundamental assertions about phenomena that form
  the basis of theory.
• E.g., all will try to avoid exposure to pollution
• E.g., upper class has more resources to avoid
  pollution
• Propositions
• Conclusions about how concepts fit together based
  on the axioms
• E.g., wealthy will use resources to avoid
  pollution

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From Paradigms to Observation

• Hypothesis
• Testable postulate.
• Use in statistical analysis
• E.g., wealthy neighbourhoods will have relatively
  less pollution than poorer ones
• Operationalization
• Specification of the operations for measuring
  (observing) a variable
• E.g, social class dwelling value (200K ),
  income (80K), occupation (managerial),
  education (some post graduate).
• Observation
• Actual measurement

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Exercise

• Write down three hypotheses about different
  social phenomena that interest you.

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Forms of Reasoning

• Deduction
• moves from the general to the particular
• start with theory and apply it to the real world
• e.g., evolution - applies to all species
• e.g., distance decay - applies to rents in all
  cities?
• Induction
• moves from the particular to the general
• start with the real world - then develop
  concepts/theories based on what is observed
• e.g., evolution - from finch morphology to the
  theory of evolution
• e.g., distance decay - from Chicago land values
  in late 1960s to theory of rent distance decay
  (bid-rent curves)