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Cards In This Set
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What is this course about?
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Theory is a story about the way the world works, and explanation
1.) It is an imperfect explanation
2.) They focus our attention on some things, taking focus away from others
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What is meta-theory?
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“meta-theory” aka theories about theories
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Define theory.
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Theories are not perfect; they are an abstraction of describing the world. They are empirical aka “observable
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Explain how the phrase, "The map is not the territory" is relevant for this class.
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. Theories are maps of the empirical world, in communication… maps of the social world
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In what sense is a theory an abstraction?
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Abstractions by their nature are imperfect
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Are theories perfect representations of the empirical world?
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They focus your attention on some things, while taking your attention away from others*Map example: “This is not the world” (the world maps aren’t necessarily accurate)*Meta-theory is trying to distinguish how wrong these “maps” are
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How are the abstract and empirical worlds linked in theory building?
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Deduction and Induction
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induction
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Induction is going from the specific (real world) to the general. “Going into the world”
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Deduction
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Deduction is starting out with a theory, then testing and observing it in the real world.
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What components should a theory have?
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description, relationships, and links to the empirical world
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Define description, relationships, and links to the empirical world
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Description= must contain all elements you see (variables)
relationships= how the elements relate
Links= examples of how they theory works
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What should a theory do for us?
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solves problems. Empirical, Conceptual, and Practical Problems
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Empirical Problems
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Figuring out how it happens
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Conceptual Problems
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Specifying what sorts of feedback exists, positive vs. negative
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Practical Problems
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Make recommendations from result, intervening
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