Lesson 3

• Social Science Research involves discovering and learning new things by following a systematic plan of action and applying principles of research
• Approaches in Social Science Research:

  • Anthropology: ethnography, field note-taking, and participant observation
  • Sociology: case studies, surveys, or naturalistic observations
  • Psychology: laboratory observation
• Quantitative Approach:

  • Gives importance to the systematic and empirical investigation of an occurrence through statistical analysis, computational methods, and other observable variables
  • Generated data from quantitative research may be numerical in form such as statistics or percentages
• Methods in Quantitative Research:

  • Survey: same set of questions given to pre-determined respondents/participants
  • Structured Interview: interview undertaken using a prepared set of questions
  • Experiments in Psychology: follows guidelines employed in the natural sciences with empirical responses and strictly controlled conditions
  • Forensic Anthropology: analysis and identification of human remains
• Qualitative Approach:

  • Important aim is to capture the context of the data generated from social research
  • Employs asking a set of questions while collecting data from respondents themselves
  • Attempts to discover themes and explain the context or pattern
• • Informal interview (semi-structured or unstructured): interviewing people without following a strict set of questions
  • Document analysis: obtaining information from written records such as letters, diaries, and journals
• Methods in Qualitative Research:

  • Ethnography: a detailed and general description of a certain locality obtained from researcher's observation of a community
  • Participant-observation: data obtained through active participation and observation to gain familiarity with a community or group of people
  • Key informant: interview with individuals who have direct knowledge on the topic at hand
  • Focus Group Discussion: data gathered through interviews with a particular group of people to gather insights on a certain topic
• • Quantitative research involves many cases and subjects, while qualitative research involves few cases and subjects
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research:

  • Quantitative Style focuses on measuring objective facts, variables, and statistical analysis
  • Qualitative Style focuses on constructing social reality, cultural meaning, interactive processes, and thematic analysis
  • Reliability is key in quantitative research, while authenticity is key in qualitative research
  • Quantitative research is value-free, while qualitative research has explicit values
  • Quantitative research is independent of context, while qualitative research is situationally constrained
• The Need To Conduct Social Research:

  • To make sound decisions
  • Create additional knowledge about the society we live in
• Exploratory Research:

  • Undertaken if not much has been written on the problem
  • Serves as a springboard for a more systematic study in the future
  • Employs a qualitative approach in obtaining data
  • Focuses on the "what" question
• Descriptive Research:

  • Presents a clearer and detailed picture of a phenomenon
  • Focuses on the who, what, when, where, and how questions
• Explanatory Research:

  • Knowledge builds on data originating from exploratory and descriptive research
  • Looks for causality and answers the question of why things happen as they are