From the course: Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative

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Objectivity and subjectivity in your study

Objectivity and subjectivity in your study - SPSS Statistics Tutorial

From the course: Academic Research Foundations: Quantitative

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Objectivity and subjectivity in your study

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- One place where research definitions differ from their common understanding are objectivity and subjectivity. Often, when we hear about subjectivity in the mainstream media, it's used to describe beliefs and opinions, while objectivity is used to talk about something being neutral or without bias. In research, the words are more complex and your research will better serve you and your target audience with a firm understanding of the concepts. Let's discuss what they mean. Subjectivity refers to something relating to a human subject such as a perspective, worldview, or ideology. Social science differs from natural sciences in this way. We treat natural or animal phenomena as objects to observe, while we understand humans to be thinking and feeling creatures who take part in social situations. The fields of social science are designed to understand how humans engage with their cultures and worlds. We cannot get away from subjectivity in social science research. Thinking about a data…

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