George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion Eliza Apart from the

賣花女與淑女的差異 • George Bernard Shaw: Pygmalion Eliza: “Apart from the things anyone can pick up (the dressing and the proper way of speaking, and so on), the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated. ” • Pygmalion in the Classroom： ü 告訴小學老師 20%的班上學童顯示出「特殊的智 性潛力」。八個月後這些學童的IQ成績大幅成長。 1998/9/7 研究方法 5

What are the goals of theory? o實證科學的傳統 o. Prediction o. Understanding 4 To predict phenomena, we must have an explanation of why variables behave as they do. Theories provide these explanations. 1998/9/7 研究方法 11

The Meaning of Theory o. A theory is a coherent set of general propositions命題 used to explain the apparent relationships among certain observed phenomena. Theories allow generalizations beyond individual facts or situations. 1998/9/7 研究方法 12

Concepts-the building block of theory o. Concepts (概念）--A generalized idea about a class of objects, attributes, occurrences, or processes; an abstraction of reality that is the basic unit for theory development. o. Concepts are created by classifying and categorizing分門別類 objects or events that have common characteristics共同性 質 beyond the single observation. 1998/9/7 研究方法 13

Concepts-the building block of theory o. Concepts abstract reality and may vary in degree of abstraction 3 The abstract level--in theory development, the level of knowledge expressing a concept that exists only as an idea or a quality apart from an object. 3 Empirical level--level of knowledge reflecting that which is verifiable by experience or observation. 1998/9/7 研究方法 14

Concepts-the building block of theory o Identify two concepts from the following statement: “Older workers prefer different rewards than younger workers. ” o two concepts -- age of worker and reward preference. o Researchers are concerned with the observable world (reality). Theorists translate their conceptualization of reality into abstract ideas. Things are not the essence of theory: ideas are. Concepts in isolation are not theories. Only when we explain how concepts relate to other concepts do we begin to construct theories. 1998/9/7 研究方法 15

Problems in concept use概念在使用上的問題 o people differ in the meanings they include under the particular label. 3 leadership 3 motivation 3 personality 3 social class 3 organizational commitment組織忠誠度 o The success of research hinges on (1) how clearly we conceptualize and (2) how well others understand the concepts we use. 研究方法 1998/9/7 16

Variable o A variable is a special kind of concept. They are at the empirical level and may assume different numerical values. o Social Science involves the study of variables and the attributes that compose them. o Attributes or values are characteristics or qualities that describe an object o Variables are logical groupings of attributes o Male/female are attributes, sex or gender are the variables composed of those two attributes. 1998/9/7 研究方法 17

Operationalization o Operations involved in measuring a variable. An operational definition is one stated in terms of specific testing criteria or operations用可操作的或可測量的標準 來定義. These terms must have empirical referents經驗的 對象 (that is, we must be able to count, measure, or in some other way gather the information through our senses 能用感官去蒐集的資訊). o Operationalize the following concepts: 3 Firm size 3 The degree of competition in the market 3 family's total income 1998/9/7 研究方法 18

Operationalization • A concept and the operational definition are NOT the same thing概念不等同於操 作型定義. Operational definitions provide only limited insight into what a concept really is. 1998/9/7 研究方法 19

Nature of proposition o Propositions (命題) are statements concerned with the relationship among concepts. A proposition explains the logical linkage among concepts by asserting a universal connection between concepts. o Theories are networks of propositions (relationships between propositions). 1998/9/7 研究方法 20

Hypothesis o. A hypothesis is specified expectations about empirical reality, derived from proposition. It is an unproven proposition or supposition that tentatively explains certain facts or phenomenon; it is empirically testable. o. A variable is a special kind of concept. They are at the empirical level and may assume different numerical values. 1998/9/7 研究方法 21

What is a good hypothesis? othe hypothesis must be testable o. The hypothesis must be better than its rivals othe hypothesis must be simple, requiring few conditions or assumptions. 1998/9/7 研究方法 22

Hypothesis are the empirical counterpart of propositions Abstract level Proposition Concept A Degree of demographic heterogeneity Empirical level Concept B Social integration Hypothesis Age, education, gender, seniority variation 1998/9/7 Turnover, communication, conflicts 研究方法 23

A basic theory explaining voluntary job turnover Labor market conditions, number of organizations, personal characteristics…etc. Perceived ease of movement Job performance Intentions to quit Perceived desirability of movement (job satisfaction) Pay, job complexity, participation in decision making…etc. 1998/9/7 研究方法 Job turnover 24

A note on the difference between theories and models • A model is defined as a representation of a system that is constructed to study some aspect of that system or the system as a whole. • A model is not an explanation. Models differ from theories in that a theory‘s role is explanation解釋 whereas a model’s role is representation表達. 1998/9/7 研究方法 25

Verifying theory o There alternative theories to explain certain classes of phenomena. To determine which is the better theory, researchers gather empirical data or observations to verify theories. 1998/9/7 研究方法 26

Verifying vs. Falsifying Theory o It must be possible to demonstrate that a given proposition or theory is false…Why “false” rather than “true”? o Technically, there may be other untested theories which could account for the results we obtained in our study of a proposition. At the very least, there may be a competing explanation which could be the real explanation for a given set of research findings. Thus, we can never be certain that our proposition or theory is the correct one. 1998/9/7 研究方法 27

Verifying theory o. The scientist can only say, “I have a theory which I have objectively tested with data and the data are consistent with my theory. ” if the possibility of proving an idea false or wrong is not inherent in our test of an idea, then we cannot put much faith in the evidence that suggests it to be true. No other evidence was allowed to manifest itself. 1998/9/7 研究方法 28

How are theories generated? o The tradition image of science Idea/interest Theoretical understanding A B C Hypothesis Y = f(X) X Y Operationalization y = f(x) 1998/9/7 Hypothesis testing 研究方法 29

Deductive versus inductive reasoning o The traditional image of science is based on deductive reasoning. o Deductive reasoning moves from the general to the specific. It moves from (1) a pattern that might be logically or theoretically expected to (2) observation that test whether the expected pattern actually occurs o Inductive reasoning moves from the particular to the general, from a set of specific observations to the discovery of a pattern that represents some degree of order among all the given events. o Notice that deduction begins with “why” and moves to “whether” while induction moves in the opposite direction. 1998/9/7 研究方法 30

Deductive Method grades Hypothesis grades Reject hypothesis? Hours studying grades Observation Hours studying 1998/9/7 研究方法 31

Inductive Method grades Observations grades Tentative conclusion Hours studying grades Finding a pattern Hours studying 1998/9/7 研究方法 32

Deductive versus inductive reasoning o Example: How do we explain stock performance? o Fundamental and technical analysis o Question: Can you come up with an inductive and a deductive theory of marriage? o Dependent=是否結婚，從戀愛到結婚的時間， duration of marriage, divorce probability…etc. o Independent = “distance” of age, education, socio-economic status…etc. 1998/9/7 研究方法 33

The Wheel of Science Induction Theories Empirical generalizations Deduction Hypotheses Observations o Both deduction and induction are routes to the construction of social theories. Theory and research interact through a never ending alternation of deduction, induction, deduction, and so forth. It’s a matter of personal choice! 1998/9/7 研究方法 34

Deductive theory construction o Pick a topic that interest you and write down your own observations and ideas about it. o Specify the range of phenomena your theory address. o Identify and specify your major concepts and variables. o Find out what is known (propositions) about the relationships among those variable. o Reason logically from those propositions to the specific topic you are examining. 研究方法 1998/9/7 35

Inductive theory construction o Field research--the direct observation of events in progress--is frequently used to develop theories through observation. o Analysis of secondary data may be another way to the development of inductive theory. o Example : choice of accounting firms. o Example : Job Search 1998/9/7 研究方法 36

Combining deduction and induction • 1) Encounters a curiosity, doubt, barrier, suspicion, or obstacle. • 2) Struggles to state the problem: asks questions, contemplates existing knowledge, gathers facts, and moves from an emotional to an intellectual confrontation with the problem. • 3) Proposes hypotheses to explain the facts that are believed to be logically related to the problem. • 4) Deduces outcomes or consequences of the hypotheses 1998/9/7 研究方法 37

Combining deduction and induction • 5) Formulates several rival hypotheses. • 6) Devises and conducts a crucial empirical test with various possible outcomes, each of which selectively excludes one or more hypotheses. • 7) Draws a conclusion, an inductive inference, based on acceptance or rejection of the hypotheses. • 8) Feeds information back into the original problem, modifying it according to the strength of the evidence. 1998/9/7 研究方法 38

Overview of the scientific method o Assessment of relevant existing knowledge o Formulation of concepts and propositions o Statement of hypotheses o Design the research to test the hypotheses o Acquisition of meaningful empirical data o Analysis and evaluation of data o Provide explanation and state new problems raised by the research 1998/9/7 研究方法 39