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Social Science Research: An Introduction

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 Social Science Research: An Introduction
surender mor

INTRODUCTION
Social science refers to the science of people or collections of people, such as groups, firms,
societies, or economies, and their individual as well as collective behaviour. Social sciences
are traditionally classified into disciplines like psychology – the science of human behaviour,
sociology – the science of social groups, economics – the science of firms, markets, and
economics, political science – pertains to the systems of governance, the analysis of political
activities, thoughts, and behavior and History – the study of past events, particularly in human
affairs. The aim of scientific research is to discover laws and postulate theories for scientific
knowledge meant for explaining natural or social phenomena. Scientific knowledge is based on
scientific methods, which refers to a set of techniques for building scientific knowledge in terms
of validity and reliability observations and its generalization. The scientific method facilitates the
independent and impartial testing of theories and findings and further placed them for open
debate, modifications, or enhancements. Social sciences are taught in most of the universities
since the beginning of the 21st century. The social science researchers, professors and policy
makers have increased rapidly besides the huge production of a huge number of books and
articles in different languages across the world. Resultantly, a large number of social scientists
are working not only as scholars and researchers but also as experts in national administrations
and are advising their governments for the development of their economies. At the same time,
advancements in information technology allows them to communicate among themselves as
well as with civil society more quickly (Caillods & Jeanpierre, 2010).
The purpose of social science research is to provide explanation of social behavior by relying
on the assumption that it has causes that are known and measurable. Some researchers now
compare social science research with predictable fixed mechanisms like Newtonian mechanics,
while the other aim to do the same in the wake of missing information. Furthermore, some
researchers prefer the analogy of biology with social behavior evolving over time in response
to learning and adaptation, whereas some other works in historical institutionalism. Putting
it differently, social sciences nowadays is being considered as the choice between agency and
structural explanations and the dilemma corresponds in many ways to the old (Porta & Keating,
2008). The social sciences are required for the sake of a higher potential society which is more
crucial to humankind’s interconnectedness in terms of economic, cultural and resource globally.
The social sciences contributed in this context for making globe more intelligible. At the same
time this context offers numerous possibilities for advancement and conceptual innovation of
not only of the social sciences as well as humanities, but also for the empirical testing on a large
scale. Still, these potentials are unlikely to be realized unless institutional initiatives are taken on
2 Emerging Research Trends in Social Sciences

a multinational scale. Hence, there was an urgent need for development and promotion of vital
research capacities and enabling environments for allowing humankind to understand and realize
the present global transformations in the light of the rise of new economic, cultural and scientific
centers but also of a landscape where deep knowledge divides persist” (Wittrock, 2010).
The demand for social scientists remain on the rise on the part of policy-makers, media and
the public as they possess the knowledge and skills required to identifying, analyzing and translating
structural changes in society, and the seeds of future change. It is expected that the knowledge
and expertise of social sciences will be able to solve challenges like poverty, climate change and
the food crisis as and when required (Caillods & Jeanpierre, 2010). The contemporary issues in
social science research like more emphasis on interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary/collaborated
research, use of technology in empirical research, relatively shorter duration of research in a ‘big
data’ era, as well as quality and integrity of research reports etc. have been able to attract attention
of researchers all over the world. All these dynamics should drive the experienced practitioner
and the budding researcher towards sustained production of more focused, quality research for
shared well-being, prosperity, and progress (Stephen, 2015).
Skinner (2011) extends in his article ‘The Age and Ideas of Adam Smith’ the relevance
among his peers and successors of economic history, philosophy, and the history of ideas in
the eighteenth century, as well as to all those involved in the study of Adam Smith. Stephen
(2015) attempts to revisit some of the evolving areas of concerns in contemporary social science
research and reported that deficient knowledge of data and various typologies and how each
system should be handled differently in data analytics, bias and sampling errors, fixation on
computer outputs - wrong interpretation of analytical results, e.g. hypothesis test results, and
inadequate training of enumerators or pilot studies are among areas of increasing concern in
research practice. During the four decades, the vast majority of researchers in the social scientist
relying heavily on statistical testing, which have been strongly identified with probability or
significance testing. The process of accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis has dictated this
research, leaving the hope of accepting an alternative, explanatory hypothesis to the mercies of
somewhat arbitrary designations of chance probabilities (Parsons, Thomas & Nelson, 2004).
Kline (2004) foresees a paradigm shift in social sciences when the Statistical Testing in social
science research will diminish and social sciences will be treated at par with the natural sciences.
Research designs are characterized by a combination of knowledge, aims and strategies for data
generation which is the key to carrying out a successful research project (Oddbjorn, 2019). In
the 21st century, the social science research has enjoyed an exciting revolutionary period for the
life sciences as the biological parts and systems that make up all living things pertains to society
and how behavior and society affect health and can help fight disease. Combining information
from both biomedical and behavioral and social sciences research will lead to the most effective
interventions (Daniel, 2018). Another area of social science research is the transport and an urban
planning measure that has deepened a community severance between the socially included for
more social cohesion of cities which leads to a collective empowerment of people who wants
 Social Science Research: An Introduction 3

to combat these causes and thereby transform society (Mikael, 2019). After World War II there is
a phenomenon change in the freedom/liberties of individual academics and universities across
the world which compelled the world community to the link between freedoms experienced in
the university sector and those in wider democratic systems transmission of advanced knowledge
and to meet the societal welfare of the world.

PART I: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH:

METHODOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
Part I of the book deals with articles devoted to methodological issues in Social Science Research
for promoting quality social research. The use of statistical testing based on null hypothesis will
diminish in social science research and termed as “paradigm shift,” and the social sciences will
become more like the natural sciences. The agents of change or innovation in economic and
social spheres of the economy are required for the well-being (Ashta & Mor, 2017).
The paper by Dr. V. Rengarajan argues that interview is a prudential way of enquiry for
data collection and asserts that it is more than that in building a conducive rapport with the
respondents. Its robustness in the data collection process would certainly support adequately for
making evidence based policy matters and academic research in social science. In one sense, it is
a foundation upon which all other elements can rest for it in the data gathering phase. As against
the premise, the objectives of the paper are to discuss on the methodological issues encountered
in the process of data collection at household level and also highlight on the complexities with
illustrations that are to be challenged during the interview with the people in different cultural
settings.
The paper by Arti Sharma identifies lack of “vibrancy” in the country’s social science
research arena. In the recent times because of the multidisciplinary nature of humanities and
social science, we have lot of new emerging areas in research. The paper relates ethics with
research, followed by challenges and constraints in Social Science research and at last suggests
solution for its revival. The scale and range of social science research in the country have been
expanding, but the quality of research output, as well as its contribution to a better understanding
of socio- economic processes and shaping of public policy is widely perceived to have fallen
short of expectations and also not commensurate with the resources spent on them
Savita Bhagat argues that research opens up new vistas of learning for teachers and helps
them get insights into newer and fresh areas in their field of study. This paper tries to throw
some light on the issue of making research compulsory for college teachers in higher education,
via UGC Regulations 2010, by introducing for their appointment and promotions Academic
Performance Indicators (API) which are based majorly on research output by teachers. The
element of compulsion has led to all types of shoddy and wrong practices and which has given
the academia a bad name. Imposing research on unwilling and resource strapped teachers with an
absence of research eco-system will not only be an exercise in futility but also morally corrode
the academia.
4 Emerging Research Trends in Social Sciences

Santosh Gautam and Mahesh Ghimire presented in their paper the perceptions and
experiences of parents and students on culturally responsive pedagogy in private schools of
Nepal. The support of parents in educational programs and activities of private schools and their
efforts in maintaining a level of cultural integrity and also in two way border crossing of their
children between home and school have been dug out. The researcher has delved into his own
lived experiences as well.

PART II: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH:

COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE
This section incorporates articles related to ‘Social Science Research: Community Perspective
and highlights the role of education for providing a better life to common masses. Microfinance
sector, unable to realize its full potential due to high technical inefficiency for the overall well-
being of poor (Singh, Goyal & Sharma, 2013) and also its failure to promote equity as millions
of poor are deprived of access to microfinance owing to high transaction costs of operations and
the consequent escalating of the rate of interest (Singh, 2017a).
The paper by Pooja Jangara makes an attempt to study the real socio-economic conditions of
the population of various income groups in a village. From this study, it is found that only a few
percentages of villagers have the benefit of a better life with all facilities but most of the people
live in uncertain conditions. The lower income groups of people mainly engaged in agricultural
fields, cotton mills, bricks kiln or other places as day labour. Most of them are still not getting
many facilities like electricity, safe drinking water, proper sanitation, internet connectivity etc.,
whereas comparatively higher income people are getting most of these facilities. From this study
it was found that only 4 per cent people migrate outside the village, remaining all are engaged in
different activities within the village.
ShikhaYadav discusses that by adopting a holistic approach which acknowledges socio-logical
aspects such as public inclusion, social perception, attitudes, gender roles and public acceptance,
would lead to improvements in wastewater management practice. It also focuses on the social
dimension as a tool, a sustainable path through which wastewater management and reuse can
take on new facets using the case study of Delhi, India. This paper targets to shift the focus from
perceiving wastewater as a hassle that needs disposal, toward a resource not to be wasted, which
can contribute to food security, public and environmental health, access to green energy as well
as water sustainability in the megacity of Delhi.
It will also contribute to the overall development of the society by increasing consumption,
production, income, environmental security, health and overall family welfare. Finally, it is
concluded that there is a need for change in the behaviors of different stakeholders, organizations
and adapt existing rules to bring the desired changes in the overall institutional set up.
Babita Lohan sees cultural relationship between India and Thailand located in each other’s
extended neighbourhood in these countries share unique civilizational links going back several
millennia. There is a long historical linkage between India and the South-East Asian region. The
 Social Science Research: An Introduction 5

diffusion of the Hindu religious practices has been made possible by the trade links, the traders,
priests, and seamen. It is sometimes difficult to know which practices are Hindu practices and
which ones are Thai. This process of Indianization in these lands can be regarded as that of
religious dispersion and spiritual sowing.
Geetu Gupta highlights the issues related to disaster management, weakness in management
efforts and measures to remove these weaknesses in India.The paper examined the recent disaster
in Kerala that occured on 15th August2018, its impact and implications for Indian Economy.
The paper also analyzes the facts about disaster finance management which offers the economy
to increase its resilience and providing protection to the economy. Ultimately, it leads to the
development of a country in a vulnerable situation.

PART III: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH:

GENDER PERSPECTIVE
Part III consists of articles related to ‘Social Science Research: Gender Perspective and highlights
that Gender plays a vital role in entrepreneurship, key mode of production and is instrumental
in improving the wellbeing of society despite gender discrimination. This part has shown that
education is being transformed by small actions in different parts of the world and one gets the
impression that teaching as usual may no longer be the norm (Mor & Ashta, 2018). Gender
plays an important role in economic development as well as in entrepreneurial activities (Singh,
Archer & Madan, 2018). Women have been paid less or their services have been considered as
non-remunerated since time immemorial. Women have been instrumental in improving the
wellbeing of society, nation as well as civilization despite the persistent gender discrimination at
all levels (R. E. Thomas, 2013). Microfinance sector despite the largest network of people fails to
develop gender equity (Singh, 2017b).
The research paper by Anisha Satsangi, Ritika and Mayank Goel highlights the issue of
women hygiene products that are becoming a serious environmental issue due to the non-
biodegradable raw materials. In the manufacturing of most sanitary pads raw materials like wood
pulp, polyethylene etc., are used consisting high carbon footprints poisoning habitat. Some firms
use alternative absorbent fibers like bamboo, jute, banana fiber having lower level of carbon
footprints. The findings of the paper have been based on a secondary comparative study of
firms which produce eco-friendly sanitary napkins with those that use non-biodegradable
raw materials. According to primary data, it has been analysed that, 61 per cent of women’s
population is aware of negative impact of synthetic sanitary napkins on environment. There is
lack of awareness and availability of organic sanitary napkins, only 32 per cent of women are
aware of organic sanitary napkins and 28 per cent of women find it easy to purchase them.
Moreover, sanitary napkins are dumped unhygienically, 99 per cent of women throws sanitary
pads in open by wrapping it and dumping in household garbage.
The paper by Shalini Arya and Bindu Arora talks about role of microfinance in the life of poor
people. Government and banks need to aware people about microfinance related schemes and
6 Emerging Research Trends in Social Sciences

give them training for promoting entrepreneurship and hence it will be helpful for eliminating
poverty problem in the country then it will be more fruitful for the economic growth of the
country.
The paper by Shailja Beniwal on crime against women argues that women are becoming
more self-independent, restrictions on them have reduced, sense of clothing has become liberal,
the tendency of consumption of alcohol and culture of night out parties has increased. Due
to this, it seems that women have become more vulnerable to crimes like rape, sexual assault,
kidnapping & abduction. Accordingly, study has been conducted to assess the impact of these
changes in social values on the crime against women in one of the developed and well-planned
cities i.e. Chandigarh. The cases reported during the period 2010 to 2017 were studied in detail
and the analysis revealed that maximum sexual crimes of rape and kidnapping were reported by
migrated people. Further, the matrimonial cases were registered by native residents. It has been
observed that transformation in social values is boosting crime against women.
Saroj G.C. in her paper on nonverbal communication covers wide area of human behavior
with a lot of elements: gestures, whispering, tone, pitch and volume of sound, body experiences,
distance dynamics. Sometime even when our voice and words are under control, our body
language can tell something different, including the tiniest facial expressions and movements
which show our real thoughts and feelings at the moment. The silent signals of non-verbal
communication tend to reveal underlying motives and emotions like fear, honesty, joy, indecision,
frustration – and much more.

PART IV: SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH:

AGRICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
The final part of the book consists of articles related to ‘Social Science Research: Agricultural
Perspective and reflects the role of research in promoting agribusiness activities. The research in
agriculture sector has enabled agribusiness sector to gain considerably in their operations (Mor
& Sharma, 2012) besides the education level of farming community (Singh, 2007). The research
should focus on supplementing the agrarian sector’s income owing to the climate change (Singh,
2017c) as the production in India and ratification of treaties (Singh, 2006)
Raj Kumar, A. K. Rathee and Nirmal Kumar investigated cost of production, and returns
per hectare of ber fruit. A sample of 30 ber farmers was taken purposively from various villages
in Kharkhoda block of Sonepat district of Haryana. On the basis of the nature of data, various
statistical and economic tools were used for estimation of cost and returns of ber production.
The average first year establishment cost per hectare for ber has been worked out to be Rs.
35316.The total cost varied from Rs.16414 per hectare in the first year to Rs. 66880 per hectare
in seventh year. The average per hectare returns from ber orchards has been worked out to be
Rs. 84338. Although the initial investment in ber orchard establishment is very high yet it is an
economically viable enterprise.
 Social Science Research: An Introduction 7

Neelam Kumari, Nitin Sharma and Kavita found that the wheat and rice production in
Haryana and the entire country has increased which was contributed by marginal increase in area
and productivity during the study period.The production-wise scenario has indicated that, major
cereals like rice and wheat showed consistent improvement. Trend in availability of foodgrains
indicate that India was secure in cereals, but not in case of pulses over the study period. The
availability of food grains is of great concern as Haryana is the largest contributor in central pool
of the country to provide food to a huge population therefore, proper attention is needed to
enhance food grains production to ensure the future food sustainability in India.
Heena, V.P. Luhach, and Sunita Yadav did a zone wise economic analysis of wheat crop in
Haryana. The results of this study suggest that the economic status of the wheat production
depends on the yield and achieved sales price, as well as on the amount of applied production
factors and price level for their purchasing.
Sumit, Neeraj Kuamr, Nirmal Kumar, Ashok Dhillon and Raj Kumar studied the impact
of beekeeping enterprise on income and employment generation in Haryana. The impact
assessment of beekeeping enterprise revealed that beekeeping units were established by the
unemployed rural youth, small and marginal farmers. The benefit-cost analysis of beekeeping
was done to establish the returns from this enterprise. This indicated that beekeepers were
substantial returns, which was a good source of income especially for the rural people. The
efforts should be made to promote beekeeping enterprise on a large scale in Haryana by
KVKs, State Department of Horticulture & other agencies involved in honey bee rearing
jointly.
Manesh Choubey examines the export of major spices and its determinants. The secondary
data was collected from COMTRADE, Spice Board of India, and Agricultural situation of India
etc. Analysis of growth pattern and export was done in post WTO (1995-2015) situation. To
examine the export pattern of export of spices, the first order Markov Chain Approach was
used. The analysis of growth of Indian spices exports during the period has revealed that they
grew much faster than the overall agricultural exports and achieved some stability in the post
Economic Reforms period. The factors like domestic price, exchange rate and world export
prices along with lagged domestic production significantly influences export performance
of spices.
Ankur Jain analyzes the performance of India’s Agricultural exports and imports and
did a review of agriculture trade policy. The results of his study show that there has been
an improvement in agriculture trade in India during the recent period but it has not fully
utilized its potential for agriculture exports. There is a lot of scope for boosting agriculture
exports and thereby increasing farmer’s income. There is a bias in agriculture trade policy
as it has protected consumers at the expense of producers and it is unpredictable for the
farmers.
8 Emerging Research Trends in Social Sciences

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