Social research

Definitions

 An activity involving inquiry into or investigation of a subject in order to discover facts

or principles.
 A scientific undertaking which by means of logical methods , aim to discover new facts
or old facts and to analyze their sequences , interrelationships , casual explanations and
natural laws which govern them
 Research is a systematic investigative process employed to increase or revise current
knowledge by discovering new facts.
 Research is an organized and systematic way of finding answers to questions.

Question; are central to research. If there is no question, then the answer is of no use.
Research is focused on relevant, useful and important questions. Without a question
research has no focus, derive or purpose.

Systematic; there is a definite set of procedures and steps which must be followed. There
are certain things in the research process which are always done in order to get the most
accurate results.

Organized; there is a structure or method is going about doing research. It is a planned

procedure, not a spontaneous one. It is focused and limited to a specific scope.

Finding answers; It is the end of research, whether it is the answer to a hypothesis or

even a simple question, research is successful when we find answers. Some time answer is
no, but it is still an answer.

Characteristics of research

Reliability; (The extent to which a measure produces consistent results) yields similar
results each time e.g. separation between parents and class grades of children.

Validity; (The degree to which a measure or scale truly reflects the phenomenon under
study) is one measuring what one intend to measure?

Accuracy; Degree to which each research process, instrument and tool is related to each
other.
 Credibility; Use best source of information and best procedure in research. If you are
using second-hand information in your research due to any reason, you might complete
research in lesser time but its credibility will be at stake. Accurate references increase the
credibility of research.

Generalizability; (The extent to which research findings can be applied to larger

population.)

Empirical; (research should be conducted following rigorous (exact) scientific method

and procedure.) Quantitative research is easier to prove scientifically than qualitative
research. In qualitative research biases and prejudice are easy to occur.

Systematic; Research cannot be conducted randomly. Each step must follow other.

Dimensions of Social Research

The Purpose of the Study

i. Exploration: Exploratory research is often the first step in a sequence of studies
analyzing a social phenomenon that is largely unknown. Exploratory research most often
addresses the “what” question. Exploratory researchers frequently use qualitative
techniques to keenly observe and collect data for analysis.

ii. Descriptive: Descriptive research requires a more developed idea about a social
phenomenon. Here, researchers engage in clearly describing or detailing a social setting
or relationship. Descriptive research focuses on “how” and “who” questions.

iii. Explanation: Explanatory research engages in explanation, they are actively

attempting to explain and answer the “why” question. Thus, explanation builds on
already existing knowledge collected about a social phenomenon as a result of more basic
exploratory and descriptive studies.

The Time Dimension in Research

Nothing is constant. It would be really nice to freeze everything following a
major event and then deal with each change one at a time. Unfortunately,
you can't really hold everything at a standstill while you focus on one thing.

Real life and real experiments are to happen in real. It means that time is
not standing still, all the distractions and issues that happen in the real world
are happening to your participants.
 For instance, if you need to look at how some participants change over
time, you need to be aware that some of your participants may die.
It's not pretty, but it's possible. Other times huge events can occur,
like terrorist attacks or national tragedies that can distract people so
much your results may be changed.

i. Cross-Sectional Research
A cross-sectional study is a type of observational research that analyzes data of
variables collected at one given point in time across a sample population or a pre-
defined subset.  Cross-sectional studies are simpler and less costly than
longitudinal studies.

ii. Longitudinal Research

Longitudinal researchers examine features of people or other units at more than
one point in time. Longitudinal studies can be very costly and complex.
Longitudinal design is a research study where a sample of the
population is studied at intervals to examine the effects of
development. This means you have a sample of the population
and you study them periodically throughout their lives. After your
tests, you release them back into their natural habitat and then a
few weeks, months or years later, you call them up and test them
again to see if there are any differences. Sometimes you can call
them back two, three or more times.

As time passes, people develop and change, and your entire

study is based on those changes. Without the time aspect in this
study, you wouldn't really have a longitudinal design; you would
just have a regular experiment. In a longitudinal design, you are
focusing on the development as time passes.

Types of Longitudinal Studies

i. Time Series: A longitudinal study in which the same type of information is

collected on a group of people or other units across multiple time periods.
 ii. Panel Study: The researcher observes exactly the same people, group, or
organization across several time periods. This type of research is very costly and many
times may be impossible due to its potential price tag.

iii. Cohort Analysis: A longitudinal study that studies a category of people who
share a similar life experience within a specified time period.

Content Analysis
Definitions

 Bernard Berelson:"Content analysis is a research technique for the objective, systematic,

and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication. “

 Content analysis is a research method used to identify patterns in recorded

communication. To conduct content analysis, you systematically collect data
from a set of texts, which can be written, oral, or visual:

Texts can be defined broadly as books, book chapters, essays, interviews,

discussions, newspaper headlines and articles, historical documents, speeches,
conversations, advertising, theater, informal conversation, or really any
occurrence of communicative language.

Content analysis can be both quantitative (focused on counting and measuring)

and qualitative (focused on interpreting and understanding). In both types, you
categorize or “code” words, themes, and concepts within the texts and then analyze the
results.
Quantitative content analysis example
To research the importance of employment issues in political campaigns, you could
analyze campaign speeches for the frequency of terms such as unemployment, jobs,
and work and use statistical analysis to find differences over time or between
candidates.
Qualitative content analysis example
To gain a more qualitative understanding of employment issues in political campaigns,
you could locate the word unemployment in speeches, identify what other words or
phrases appear next to it (such as economy, inequality or laziness), and analyze the
meanings of these relationships to better understand the intentions and targets of
different campaigns.

To conduct a content analysis on any such text, the text is coded, or broken down, into
manageable categories on a variety of levels--word, word sense, phrase, sentence, or
theme--and then examined using one of content analysis' basic methods: conceptual
analysis or relational analysis.

Conceptual analysis
Conceptual analysis can be thought of as establishing the existence and
frequency of concepts – most often represented by words of phrases – in a text.
For instance, say you have a hunch that your favorite poet often writes about
hunger. With conceptual analysis you can determine how many times words
such as “hunger,” “hungry,” “famished,” or “starving” appear in a volume of
poems.

Relational analysis
In contrast, relational analysis goes one step further by examining the
relationships among concepts in a text. Returning to the “hunger” example, with
relational analysis, you could identify what other words or phrases “hunger” or
“famished” appear next to and then determine what different meanings emerge
as a result of these groupings.

Advantages of content analysis

 Unobtrusive data collection: You can analyze communication and social interaction
without the direct involvement of participants, so your presence as a researcher doesn’t
influence the results.

 Transparent and replicable: When done well, content analysis follows a systematic
procedure that can easily be replicated by other researchers, yielding results with
high reliability.

 Highly flexible: You can conduct content analysis at any time, in any location, and at low
cost – all you need is access to the appropriate sources.

Disadvantages of content analysis

 Reductive: Focusing on words or phrases in isolation can sometimes be overly reductive,
disregarding context, nuance, and ambiguous meanings.
  Subjective: Content analysis almost always involves some level of subjective interpretation,
which can affect the reliability and validity of the results and conclusions.

 Time intensive: Manually coding large volumes of text is extremely time-consuming, and it
can be difficult to automate effectively.

How to conduct content analysis

If you want to use content analysis in your research, you need to start with a clear,
direct research question.

Example research question for content analysis

Is there a difference in how the US media represents male and female politicians in
terms of trustworthiness?
Next, you follow these five steps.

1. Select the content you will analyze

Based on your research question, choose the texts that you will analyze. You need to decide:

 The medium (e.g. newspapers, speeches or websites) and genre (e.g. opinion pieces,
political campaign speeches, or marketing copy)
 The criteria for inclusion (e.g. newspaper articles that mention a particular event, speeches
by a certain politician, or websites selling a specific type of product)
 The parameters in terms of date range, location, etc.

If there are only a small amount of texts that meet your criteria, you might analyze all of them. If
there is a large volume of texts, you can select a sample.

To research media representations of male and female politicians, you decide to analyze news
articles and opinion pieces in print newspapers between 2017–2019. Because this is a very large
volume of content, you choose three major national newspapers and sample only Monday and
Friday editions.

2. Define the units and categories of analysis

Next, you need to determine the level at which you will analyze your chosen texts. This means
defining:

 The unit(s) of meaning that will be coded. For example, are you going to record the
frequency of individual words and phrases, the characteristics of people who produced or
appear in the texts, the presence and positioning of images, or the treatment of themes and
concepts?
 The set of categories that you will use for coding. Categories can be objective
characteristics (e.g. female, aged 40-50, lawyer, and mother) or more conceptual
(e.g. trustworthy, corrupt, conservative, family oriented).

Your units of analysis are the politicians who appear in each article and the words and phrases that
are used to describe them. Based on your research question, you have to categorize based on
gender and the concept of trustworthiness. To get more detailed data, you also code for other
categories such as the age, political party, and marital status of each politician mentioned.

3. Develop a set of rules for coding

Coding involves organizing the units of meaning into the previously defined categories. Especially
with more conceptual categories, it’s important to clearly define the rules for what will and won’t be
included to ensure that all texts are coded consistently.

Coding rules are especially important if multiple researchers are involved, but even if you’re coding
all of the text by yourself, recording the rules makes your method more transparent and reliable.

In considering the category “female politician,” you decide which titles will be coded with this
category (senator, governor, counselor, mayor). With “trustworthy”, you decide which specific words
or phrases related to trustworthiness (e.g. honest and reliable) will be coded in this category.

4. Code the text according to the rules

You go through each text and record all relevant data in the appropriate categories. This can be
done manually or aided with computer programs, such as QSR NVivo, Atlas.ti and Diction, which
can help speed up the process of counting and categorizing words and phrases.

Following your coding rules, you examine each newspaper article in your sample. You record the
characteristics of each politician mentioned, along with all words and phrases related to
trustworthiness that are used to describe them.

5. Analyze the results and draw conclusions

Once coding is complete, the collected data is examined to find patterns and draw conclusions in
response to your research question. You might use statistical analysis to find correlations or
trends, discuss your interpretations of what the results mean, and make inferences about the
creators, context and audience of the texts.

The results tells that words and phrases related to trustworthiness appeared in the same sentence
as a male politician more frequently than they did in the same sentence as a female politician. From
these results, you conclude that national newspapers present male politicians as more trustworthy
than female politicians, and infer that this might have an effect on readers’ perceptions of women in
politics.

Case study
Meaning: The case study method is a very popular form of qualitative analysis and
involves a careful and complete observation of a social unit, be that unit a person, a
family, an institution, a cultural group or even the entire community. It is a method of
study in depth rather than breadth. The case study places more emphasis on the full
analysis of a limited number of events or conditions and their interrelations. The case
study deals with the processes that take place and their interrelationship. Thus, case
study is essentially an intensive investigation of the particular unit under consideration.
The object of the case study method is to locate the factors that account for the
 behaviour-patterns of the given unit as an integrated totality. Case study is a research
methodology, typically seen in social sciences.

Definitions

A detailed and in-depth study of a single case, involving an

event, group, individual, or organization.

A case study can be defined as an intensive study about a person, a group of people or a unit,
which is aimed to generalize over several units.

.A case study has also been described as an intensive, systematic investigation of a single
individual, group, community or some other unit in which the researcher examines in-depth data
relating to several variables.

H. Odum: “The case study method of data collection is a technique by which individual
factor whether it be an institution or just an episode in the life of an individual or a group
is analysed in its relationship to any other in the group.” Thus, a fairly exhaustive study
of a person (as to what he does and has done, what he thinks he does and had done
and what he expects to do and says he ought to do) or group is called a life or case
history.

Burgess: He has used the words “the social microscope” for the case study method.”

P. V. Young: describes case study as “a comprehensive study of a social unit be that

unit a person, a group, a social institution, a district or a community.”

In brief, we can say that case study method is a form of qualitative analysis where in
careful and complete observation of an individual or a situation or an institution is done;
efforts are made to study each and every aspect of the concerning unit in minute details
and then from case data generalizations and inferences are drawn.

Characteristics of Case Study method

The important characteristics of the case study method are as under:
1. Under this method the researcher can take one single social unit or more
of such units for his study purpose; he may even take a situation to study
the same comprehensively.
2. The selected unit is studied intensively i.e., it is studied in minute details.
Generally, the study extends over a long period of time to learn the
 natural history of the unit to obtain enough information for drawing
correct inferences.
3. In the context of this method we make complete study of the social unit
covering all aspects.
4. Under this method the approach is qualitative and not quantitative. For
instance, under this method we not only study how many crimes a man
has done but also the factors that forced him to commit crimes when we
are making a case study of a man as a criminal. In respect of the case
study method an effort is made to know the mutual inter-relationship of
causal factors.
5. Under case study method the behaviour pattern of the concerning unit is
studied directly and not by an indirect approach.

Strengths of Case Studies:

Case studies can be beneficial because they can provide

detailed information and insight into the feelings, thoughts,
and behaviors of a person who may be unique in some ways.

Limitations of Case Studies:

Case studies have significant limitations.  First, we cannot

make causal conclusions from case studies.  We cannot rule
out alternative explanations for behaviors.  Second, the
findings from case studies may not generalize to other
people.

Case Study Examples:

Case studies can provide us with detailed information about

people with rare and exceptional characteristics.  Thus,
below are two hypothetical examples of possible psychology
case studies:

1.  A researcher could conduct a study to investigate the

memory processes of an individual with an exceptional
ability to remember things.

2.  A research could conduct a study to investigate the

musical abilities of an individual with an exceptional ability
to write songs.
PARTICIPANT & NON-PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION: The participant observer using non-

controlled observation generally lives or otherwise shares in the life of the
group which he is studying. (P.V. Young)

For the success of participant observation it is essential that the respondents

being studied should not have any doubt about the intention of the research
worker. A fruitful result of participant observation is very much dependent
upon the resourcefulness, tactfulness, personality manners and wit of the
research worker.

Advantages of Participant Observation

The following are the merits of participant observation:

(a) Observation of natural behavior

The natural behavior of the respondent can be studied by participant

observation. When a group knows that they are going to be observed by a
stranger, they feel conscious, uncomfortable and therefore neutrality in their
behavior and activity is lost. But in case of the participant observation, the
respondents do not know that they are being observed. So their behavior is
not constrained by the conscious feeling of being observed by a stranger.

(b) Closeness with the group

In participant observation, the observer has a very good rapport with the
respondents. He has a very close primary relationship with the group
members. Because of this he can participate in all activities from a close
angle and thus can better interpret the situation than a non-participant
observer.

(c) Studying the real character

Often in order to study the actual behavior, the group research requires
close participation and contact with the group members. Through participant
observation the observer can make an intensive and inclusive study of the
group and can gain into the real character of such group.
(d) Better Understanding

In participant observation the observer can better understood the feeling of

the respondents than an outsider. For example, a person who is actually
living in a slum area can realize the feeling and hardship of the slum
dwellers in a better way than an outsider.

(e) Participation provides opportunity to learn more about an event

The chief advantage of participant observation is that in it the observer gets

an opportunity to interact with the group regarding various activities of
them. He can thus learn the significance of these activities that are actually
not open for observation.

For example, if an observer participates in a religious ceremony of a tribe,

he can not only observe different aspects of the ceremony but also clear his
doubt by asking various questions to the group members or learn more
about that ceremony by discussing with the group in this regard.

Non-Participant Observation: When the observer observes the

group passively from a distance without participating in the group activities,
it is known as non-participant observation. Here he does not try to influence
them or take part in the group activities.

However, purely non-participant observation is extremely difficult. One

cannot penetrate into the heart of a matter without proper participation in it.
One really cannot imagine a kind of relationship, when the researcher is
always present but never participates. This situation is hardly conducive for
both the observer and the group. A combination of both participant and non-
participant method is sometimes selected.

The observer actively participates in some of the ordinary activities and

observes passively from distance in others. Many sociologists therefore treat
a non-participant observation in practice as only a quasi-participant
observation. It is easier for the observer to perform both the roles than to
disguise himself completely.

Advantages of Non-Participant Observation

However, non-participant observation also has some advantages.

Following are the merits of participant observation:

(a) Objectivity and neutrality

If an observer participates in the event actively and emotionally he may try
to justify the evil things of the group as just things. In this frame of mind he
cannot analyze the phenomena with neutrality. But in non-participant
observation, the objectivity or neutrality can be maintained. The observer in
this type of observation gives a detached and unbiased view about the
group.

(b) Command respect and co-operation

In case of non-participant observation the researcher plays an impartial role.

Therefore every member of the group gives him a special status and co-
operate with his study.

(c) More willingness of the respondent

Often people do not feel shy to disclose their secrets, weaknesses or

informal things to a stranger. But they always become reluctant to disclose
these things to a known person.

(d) Careful Analysis

In participant observation because of the much familiarity with the events,

sometimes the observer does not realize the significance of same events and
neglects them. But in non- participant observation the researcher does not
even miss a minute thing. He carefully judges the merits and demerits of
each and every phenomenon under study.

(e) Freedom from Groupism

In non-participant observation the researcher always maintains his impartial

status. His aloofness from petty conflicts helps him to carry his research
work more smoothly.

INTERVIEWS
A method of gathering information, by asking questions orally, either face to
face or by telephone etc.

Structured Interviews are basically social surveys which are read out by

the researcher they use pre-set, standardized, typically closed questions.
The aim of structured interviews is to produce quantitative data.

Unstructured Interviews, also known as informal interviews, are more

like a guided conversation, and typically involve the researcher asking open-
questions which generate qualitative data. The researcher will start with a
general research topic in and ask questions in response to the various and
differentiated responses the respondents give. Unstructured Interviews are
thus a flexible, respondent-led research method.

Semi-Structured Interviews consist of an interview schedule which

typically consists of a number of open-ended questions which allow the
respondent to give in-depth answers. For example, the researcher might
have 10 questions (hence structured) they will ask all respondents, but ask
further differentiated (unstructured) questions based on the responses
given.

FOCUS GROUPS
A focus group discussion involves gathering people from similar. Backgrounds or
experiences together to discuss a specific topic of interest. It is a form of qualitative
research where questions are asked about their perceptions attitudes, beliefs, opinion
or ideas.

The use of focus groups is a research method that is intended to collect

data, through interactive and directed discussions by a researcher.

Focus group is a technique used by sociologists in different fields of study

which include: Communication studies, Education, Political science, Public
health etc

Sociologists can use the information collected through focus groups to

receive insights on a specific issue, or topic. It is a form of qualitative
research consisting of interviews in which a group of people are asked about
their:

 Perceptions
 Opinions
 Beliefs
 Attitudes

Towards a specific social problem or a burning issue. Questions are asked in

an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other
group members. During this process, the researcher either takes notes or
records the vital points he/she is getting from the group. Researchers should
select members of the focus group carefully for effective and authoritative
responses.

Types of Focus Groups

  Two-way focus group - one focus group watches another focus group
and discusses the observed interactions and conclusion

 Dual moderator focus group - one moderator ensures the session

progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the topics are
covered

 Dueling moderator focus group (fencing-moderator) - two moderators

deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion

 Respondent moderator focus group - one and only one of the

respondents is asked to act as the moderator temporarily

 Client participant focus groups - one or more client representatives

participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly

 Mini focus groups - groups are composed of four or five members

rather than 6 to 12

 Tele-conference focus groups - telephone network is used

 Creativity groups

 Band obsessive group

 Online focus groups - computers connected via the internet are used

 Phone/ web focus groups - live group conducted over the phone and
online with 6 to 8 participants

Focus Group Format

During the focus group, the moderator takes participants through three
different types of questions designed to gather as much information from
them as possible. They include:

 Engagement questions. These are easy questions posed early on to

introduce the participants to each other, to make them more at ease, and
to familiarize them with the topic to be discussed, whether it’s reacting to
a new ad campaign for coffee or thinking about self-driving cars.

 Exploration questions. Once participants have begun to relax and open

up in the group, the moderator begins to ask deeper, probing questions
about the topic and how the participants feel about it. These might include,
“What makes you say that?” “and “What would be a better solution?”
 Exit questions. After the moderator is confident the group has shared all
that it can, wrap-up questions are posed to confirm that everything has
been said. These might include, “Is there anything I haven’t asked that I
should have?”

Advantages
Focus groups are one type of market research method that are popular
because they:
 Are generally lower cost than other methods
 Can generate results very quickly
 Are easy to conduct
 Can supplement verbal responses with body language and other non-
verbal cues
 Information gathered is in respondents’ own words, which is more accurate
 Technique is flexible and can be adjusted based on group behavior

Disadvantages
Because a focus group involves multiple participants, the downsides of using
this technique are generally related to the interactions between participants:
 Participants can be influenced by others in the group
 Domineering participants can skew the results
 Results from a small group can’t always be generalized to a larger
population.

TYPES OF DATA

In social research, it is usual to distinguish between primary and secondary

data and qualitative and quantitative data

Quantitative data

Quantitative data is any data that can be represented and measured numerically. For a
variable to be quantitative it must have numerical values.

Qualitative data

Qualitative data is defined as the data that approximates and characterizes.

This data type is non-numerical in nature. This type of data is collected through
methods of observations, one-to-one interview, conducting focus groups and similar
methods. Qualitative data in statistics is also known as categorical data.

Primary data
Primary data is data that is collected by a researcher from first-hand sources,
using methods like surveys, interviews, or experiments. It is collected with the research
project in mind, directly from primary sources.
Secondary data

Secondary data refers to data that is collected by someone other than the

user. Common sources of secondary data for social science include
censuses, information collected by government departments,
organizational records and data that was originally collected for other
research purposes.
SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS

Definition: Secondary data analysis is analysis of data that was collected by

someone else for another primary purpose. The utilization of this existing data provides
a viable option for researchers who may have limited time and resources.

Sociologists often engage in original research studies, they also contribute

knowledge to the discipline through secondary data analysis. Secondary data
do not result from firsthand research collected from primary sources, but are
drawn from the already completed work of other researchers.
Using Secondary Data
There are some important things that must be done before using secondary data in an
analysis. Since the researcher did not collect the data, it's important for them to become
familiar with the data set: how the data was collected, what the response categories are
for each question, whether or not weights need to be applied during the analysis,
whether or not clusters or stratification need to be accounted for, who the population of
study was, and more.

Advantages of Secondary Data Analysis

1- The most noticeable advantages of using secondary data analysis is its cost
effectiveness. Because someone else has already collected the data, the researcher does
not need to invest any money, time, or effort into the data collection stages of his or her
study. 

2-A second major advantage of using secondary data is the breadth of data available.
The federal government conducts numerous studies on a large, national scale that
individual researchers would have a difficult time collecting. Many of these data sets are
also longitudinal, meaning that the same data has been collected from the same
population over several different time periods. This allows researchers to look at trends
and changes of phenomena over time.

3-A third important advantage of using secondary data is that the data collection
process often maintains a level of expertise and professionalism that may not be present
with individual researchers or small research projects. Many smaller research projects
do not have that level of expertise, as a lot of data is collected by students working part-
time.

4- Secondary data set is typically already cleaned and stored in an electronic format, so the
researcher can spend his or her time rolling up their sleeves and analyzing the data instead
of spending time having to prepare the data for analysis.

Disadvantages of Secondary Data Analysis

1-A major disadvantage of using secondary data is that it may not answer the researcher’s
specific research questions or contain specific information that the researcher would like to
have.

2- It also may not have been collected in the geographic region or during the years desired, or
with the specific population that the researcher is interested in studying

3- Since the researcher did not collect the data, they have no control over what is contained in
the data set.
4- The variables may have been defined or categorized differently than the researcher would
have chosen.

5-Another significant disadvantage of using secondary data is that the researcher doesn't know
exactly how the data collection process was done or how well it was carried out.