This document discusses the differences between social inquiry and everyday assumptions, emphasizing that scientific inquiry provides a structured approach to observation and analysis. It highlights gender differences in responses to undesirable life events, noting that men and women process stress differently, with men exhibiting hostility and women showing anxiety. The document also contrasts qualitative and quantitative research methods, underscoring the varying approaches to gathering and interpreting data.

1. Complete a scientific inquiry research using three credible sources. Start by summarizing the
similarities and differences between social inquiry and the everyday assumptions that people
make. In addition, analyze the way claims are made, based on these two different approaches.
Provide at least one example for each.
Solution
Scientific inquiry
Source :Husband and Wife Differences in Response to Undesirable Life Events
In our society today we have so many dynamics to a “family.” Many things factor into these rolls
and they are not things that were seen 10 or even 5 years ago! We have woman’s rights, equality,
Stay at home fathers, gay rights, and single parent homes. The divorce rate is higher than ever
and what was normal for a family last year is not the same today by any means. After reading the
study you realize that the author is testing about how certain stressors in a person’s life can affect
them in different ways depending on what sex they are. The author states that men and woman
deal with things on a different level and each process things in a different manor. Whereas,
something that may affect a man, will not have as much bearing on a woman and vies versa.
Woman tested were more prone to psychological problems like depression and anxiety. Men
tested were more likely to demonstrate other symptoms of distress such as alcohol or drug use.
They believed that men would become more hostile about situations and woman would be
anxious about the same situation
In the present study of 451 married couples living in the rural midwest, gender differences were
examined in reports of exposure and vulnerability to specific types of undesirable life events.
Consistent with expectations derived from either a social structural or identity perspective, the
results demonstrated that men are more likely than women to report exposure to and to be
distressed by work and financial events. Women, on the other hand, are more strongly influenced
by exposure to negative events within the family but not within their network of friends.
Outcomes vary according to the type of emotional distress. Financial stress, for example,
increases hostility among men more than among women, but wives are more likely than
husbands to report somatic complaints in response to the same stressor. The findings demonstrate
the need for future research that more directly investigates the intraindividual and social
mechanisms which account for gender differences in a broad range of emotional and behavioral
responses to varying types of significant life changes.
Inquiry is a natural human activity; that is, people seek a general understanding about the world
around them. We recognize that present circumstances affect future circumstances. We learn that

2. getting an education will determine the amount of money we earn later in life. The key to inquiry
is observation. We can never understand the way things work without first having something to
understand. Understanding through experience means making observations and seeking patterns
or regularities in what we observe. For the most part, we move through life at an intuitive level,
unconscious of particularities.
model
an overall framework for looking at reality, e.g., behaviorism, feminism
usefulness
concept
an idea deriving from a given model, e.g., stimulus-response
usefulness
theory
a set of concepts used to define and/or explain some phenomenon
usefulness
hypothesis
a testable hypothesis
validity
methodology
a general approach to studying research topics
usefulness
THE CONDUCT OF INQUIRY
. During the first stage, scholars ask significant questions and then suggest answers, i.e., they
suggest hypotheses.
During the second stage, scholars observe the object. Methods of observation vary from tradition
to tradition. Some scholars observe by examining records, including audio and visual tapes;
others get involved in their topic, as participants; still others use instruments and set up
controlled experiments.
During the third stage, the scholar formulates answers. This stage can be defined as theory
building.
In the following sections, we develop the distinctions between "quantitative" research and
"qualitative" research,
FEATURES OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE METHODS
hard / soft
fixed / flexible

3. objective / subjective
value-free / political
survey / case study
hypothesis testing / speculative
1. QUANTITATIVE
1.Social survey / random samples; measured variables / representative; tests hypothesis
2.Experiment / experimental stimulus; control group not exposed to stimulus / precise
measurement
3.Official Statistics / analysis of previously collected data / large datasets
4.Structured Observation / observations recorded on predetermined schedule / reliability of
observation
6. Content Analysis / predetermined categories used to count the content of media products /
reliability of measures
2. QUALITATIVE
if you want to determine how people intend to vote in an election, you should choose a
quantitative method like a social survey, and
if like Janice Radway (1984) you are interested in how a particular audience responds to a
particular cultural artifact, you would probably choose a qualitative method like ethnography,
perhaps in conjunction with a qualitative method like a questionnaire.
A preference for qualitative data--understood simply as the analysis of words and images rather
than numbers.
A preference for naturally occurring data--observation rather than experiment, unstructured as
opposed to structured interviews.
A preference for meaning as opposed to behavior--attempting to document the world from the
point of view of the people studied.
A rejection of natural science as a model.
A preference for inductive, hypothesis-generating research as opposed to hypothesis-testing,
research.