A brief illustration on how to analyze the three layers of reality of critical realism using the research theme of "the confidence to purchase a residential apartment by social class": for Housing Studies students (information from perplexity.ai)
My question 1: "Provide a brief analysis of research theme of "the confidence to purchase a residential property by Hong Kong residents (by social class) in 2025) in terms of the three layers of critical realism in order to illustrate how an analysis based on critical realism can be conducted."
The reply: "The three layers of critical realism—real, actual, and empirical—can be applied to analyze the research theme of Hong Kong residents' confidence to purchase residential property by social class in 2025 as follows:
The real domain encompasses the underlying social structures and generative mechanisms that influence property purchase confidence. These include economic factors (e.g., income distribution, wealth disparities), housing market regulations, social class-based access to financial resources, and cultural beliefs about homeownership and investment security. These deep structures enable or constrain individuals' capability and confidence to buy property.
The actual domain refers to the events and actions generated by these structures. For instance, differences in purchasing behaviors, decisions, and market participation by various social classes in Hong Kong reflect how real mechanisms manifest. This includes observed patterns like which social classes are more active or confident in purchasing residential properties in 2025 and how their actions reproduce or challenge existing housing market conditions.
The empirical domain involves experiences and observations—how confidence to purchase property is perceived and reported by residents across different social classes. This could be derived from surveys, interviews, and media reports reflecting subjective confidence levels, perceptions of affordability, risk, and expectations regarding property investment.
A critical realist analysis thus moves beyond surface observations to explore the causal mechanisms in the real domain underlying social class disparities in purchase confidence, examines how these mechanisms play out in actual market behaviors, and incorporates empirical evidence of residents' experiences and perceptions. This layered approach offers a comprehensive framework to understand the complex interplay of social structures, agent actions, and experienced realities in Hong Kong's housing market confidence by social class in 2025."
My question 2: "Could you suggest a few inter-related factors as illustrative examples of the causal mechanism with regard to the topic of our discussion."
The reply: "A few inter-related causal mechanism factors influencing Hong Kong residents' confidence to purchase residential property by social class in 2025 include:
Economic Recovery and Income Expectations: The ongoing economic recovery in Hong Kong, especially driven by the financial sector, improves income prospects predominantly for higher social classes. This boosts their confidence and purchasing power in the housing market.
Interest Rate Environment: Temporarily low mortgage rates (around 2%) and favorable lending policies, including high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios and tax incentives for first-time buyers, reduce financial barriers and increase confidence across middle and lower-middle classes.
Property Affordability and Unit Size: Smaller, lower-priced units with higher rental yields are increasingly attractive to residents with limited budgets, often from lower social classes, enhancing their market participation confidence. Larger and luxury units show less price growth, impacting upper classes differently.
Government Policies and Market Supply: Moderate easing of stamp duties and cooling measures, combined with high inventory levels and developer discounts, create a nuanced market perception where confidence varies by social class based on access to capital and risk tolerance.
These interwoven factors operate as generative mechanisms in the real domain, manifesting in observable purchasing behaviors (actual domain) and subjective confidence perceptions (empirical domain) across social classes in Hong Kong's 2025 residential market."
My question 3: "Suggest 1 research method (including literature review study effort) each to study the empirical layer, the actual layer and the real layer for the topic of our discussion here and briefly indicate whey the research research is suitable in this case."
The reply: "Research Methods for Each Critical Realism Layer
Empirical Layer:
Method: Qualitative interviews or surveys focusing on Hong Kong residents' self-reported confidence to purchase property by social class.
Why: This method captures lived experiences, perceptions, and attitudes—empirical data crucial for understanding subjective confidence levels in different social strata.
Actual Layer:
Method: Quantitative analysis of market transaction data and purchasing behaviors segmented by social class.
Why: Observing real events and behaviors reveals how mechanisms manifest in tangible actions such as property purchases, illustrating the actual layer.
Real Layer:
Method: In-depth literature review combined with critical analysis of economic, social, and policy structures influencing the housing market.
Why: This unpacks the underlying generative mechanisms and social structures (e.g., economic inequality, credit accessibility, government policies) that causally produce observed behaviors and perceptions, fitting the real domain.
These methods are appropriate as they align with the stratified ontology of critical realism by treating experience (empirical), observable events (actual), and deep causes (real) as distinct but connected layers of inquiry. Combining these approaches can offer a comprehensive understanding of confidence to purchase property by social class in Hong Kong in 2025."
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