Chapter 1: Introduction

Do you like to know things? Do you ever wonder what other people know or how they know what they do? Have you ever made a decision, and do you plan to make decisions in the future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you will probably find the information in this book—particularly the information on research methods—very useful. If you answered no to all of them, I suspect that you will have reconsidered by the time you finish reading this text. Let’s begin by focusing on the information in this chapter. Here we’ll consider the variety of ways that we know things and what makes social scientific knowledge unique. We’ll also consider why any of this might matter to you and preview what’s to come in later chapters.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define research methods.
• Identify and describe the various ways of knowing presented in this section.
• Understand the weaknesses of non-systematic ways of knowing.
• Define ontology and epistemology and explain the difference between the two.
• Define science.
• Describe the specific considerations of which social scientists should be aware.
• Be able to describe and discuss some of the reasons why students should care about social scientific research methods.
• Define the term human subjects.
• Define informed consent, and describe how it works.
• Identify the unique concerns related to the study of vulnerable populations.
• Understand the definitions of and the differences between anonymity and confidentiality.
• Describe what it means to use science in an ethical way.