Social Research : A complete guide

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Table of Contents

What is social research ?

Social research is the study of people that circles around
understanding, describing , evaluating and predicting human
behaviour to identify and fulfill the needs for specific products and
services required by targeted individuals. Social research allows
organizations to update their current knowledge according to
changing market circumstances and conditions.

The underlined idea behind studying human behaviour is that people

having differences in terms of geographic , demographics and socio –
economic backgrounds are bound to have variations in needs ,
preferences , interests , behaviour and psychographics. It is this
understanding that facilitates segmentation, customization and other
aspects of business functioning that allows organizations to deliver
better results.

Social research methodologies are sub-divided into two categories :

 Qualitative research: Qualitative research offers a

subjective approach of understanding human behaviour
using communication , observation and or analysis of
descriptive texts. It tries to look at similar traits through
different perspective to encompass all possible viewpoints.

 Quantitative research: Quantitative research relies on

statistical data analysis to study the data collected . This
provides substantive results based on hard figures which
 makes the behavioural study more accurate and reliable
for end users.

The choice of method depends upon the nature and scale of the
study along with the feasibility with which each of these can be
carried out by employing minimal resource usage . For example :
Large scale research which necessitates the participation of a large
number of people is difficult to analyse in a qualitative manner and
so , quantitative analysis is a more viable option for making the data
presentable and understandable by all stakeholders.

The assessment of stress levels of individuals and identification of

causa proxima is a simple example of studying social phenomenons
that can be done using quantitative or qualitative methods.

Importance of social research

Update brand knowledge: Social research helps in shedding light
upon current customer behaviour with respect to trends ,
preferences, interests and mindset. This is done through a scientific
approach that prevents brand knowledge from going obsolete ,
allows brand to design offerings by understanding current market
conditions and offers high reliability. 

Societal developments: Social research identifies similarities and

differences between groups of people . This helps in unifying diverse
social groups by formulating appropriate solutions based on a
cohesive and unbiased understanding of the situation. By removing
disparities , social research brings together people belonging to
different backgrounds to generate what’s truly considered as unity in
diversity.

Resolving social issues : Social research points out the existence of

social issues and their causative factors. By narrowing the field of
study , social research reveals the reasons behind the existence of
such issues, people’s attitude , past conflicts, pressure points and by
providing such data , provides scope for progress by fuelling
appropriate follow up actions.

Growth and welfare: Planning for investment in social development

and growth is only possible when such planning is in line with
people’s needs and they are acceptive of it. Social research gathers
information on the requisite changes that people feel should be
brought about. Further , it assesses people’s approach towards
policies and plans that are implemented

Directional investment: On an organizational scale , social research

seeks to get a hold on the psychographic and behavioural customer
aspects to invest resources in areas which generate good return on
such investment. This reduces the risk associated and nudges the
company in the right direction.

Improving techniques and practices: Social research uncovers new

practices as well as upgrades existing ones by deriving a relatively
more efficient methodology. These practices act as benchmarks that
are required for improved functioning and generating competitive
advantage.

Objective of Social Research

Social research aims at discovering new concepts and ideas while
working on improving existing ones. Social research studies human
behaviour and its interactions as part of a bigger society consisting of
a mixture of people from different socio-economic backgrounds. This
study of behaviour is also carried out over a period of time to study
changes. Investigating the reasons behind such changes is central to
accurate planning. 

 
Beyond this, social research is also a continuously developing
mechanism in itself. Using past experience and new ways of
collecting and processing social data, social research seeks to
develop, imbibe and implement new facets to understanding social
behaviour.

Types of social research

Qualitative research : Qualitative research uses open ended textual
questions to gather social data . This is done using research
mechanisms such as one on one interviews , focus groups , direct
interactions and analysis of published case studies and other
content. Respondents get a chance to elaborate on their experiences
in an elaborate manner allowing room for a large number of insights
sufficient to make reliable conclusions. Such data is highly subjective
and so projects the variations in the sample of respondents.
Quantitative Research :  This type of research makes use of close
ended or structured questions to gather numerical data . It is usually
carried out for proving or disproving a hypothesis or a theory. The
results are used to derive market information and verify if it backs up
claims. Predictions made using such data are particularly important
for developing future strategies. The data collected is subjected to
statistical analysis and the results get presented in the form of
tables , charts , graphs etc to facilitate easy understanding by the end
user. Surveys and polls are the commonly used tools for gathering
numerical data. 

Primary Research : The process of collecting first-hand data directly

from the targeted respondents is referred to as primary research.
Primary research is a reliable way of making sure that the
information so collected reflects the current social characteristics.
Researchers design a questionnaire that covers all relevant aspects
of interest which are then sent out to the respondents via multiple
distribution channels. This way , responses get efficiently collected
and converted to presentation models based on end usage. Surveys ,
polls and questionnaires are the dominant tools in this category of
research.

Secondary Research: Secondary research relies on previously

published data to answer research questions. Data gathered on
similar topics by other researchers are used to understand social
behaviour. This saves the additional cost that incurs when going for
primary research. Published reports , books , articles , audio and
visual data offer convenience in using a ready made assortment of
information. However , care must be taken in identifying the correct
sources , failing which , the quality of research can be severely
affected.

Scope of social research

Social research unlike other forms of data collection deals with
complex human behaviour which is highly subjective and difficult to
grasp. To facilitate an all round understanding, social research covers
multiple areas of study such as : 

 Anthropology 

 History 

 Economics 
  Education 

 Economics

 Demography 

 Business Management 

 Linguistics

 Psychology 

 Technology 

 Geography 

 Environmental conservation and management 

 Politics and foreign relations

Methods of Social Research

Surveys : Surveys are the most commonly used research method.
They are easy to design , distribute and collect. The emergence of
advanced survey software have made survey research a highly
appealing research mechanism whereby focused data collection
takes place in a timely manner. These surveys get distributed to a
targeted set of individuals with specific qualities that make them
eligible to answer certain topics relevant to their knowledge base.
The presence of a plethora of analytical tools for qualitative and
quantitative summarization of information makes surveys a highly
attractive option for conducting social research of any scale.
Social research surveys can be subdivided into:
Longitudinal surveys : an observation research method that
involves evaluating the same set of variables over a time frame

Cross sectional surveys : an observational research method that

looks at data from population at different points of time and as such
is not spread over a time frame.

Correlational surveys : a non- experimental research method that

gauges social behaviour in a natural scenario without having any
control on independent influencing variables , thus , delivering highly
authentic results.

For example : A survey study of satisfaction levels among people

belonging to different age groups at the start of a year is a simple
application of cross sectional survey research . Respondents can be
asked to rate their satisfaction levels , their perceived reasons and
what they think they can do in the coming year to improve those
levels. Causes identified may include high academic or work stress,
poor financial situation , lack of opportunities , absence of
companionship etc .

Experiments : Experiments are a way of testing hypotheses to

extract accurate conclusions based on substantial evidence. These
experiments can be conducted in an artificial or a natural
environment . 

Artificial environment research allows the researcher to manipulate

extraneous variables to create varying  conditions to suit research
requirements. Natural environment or on-field experiments are
carried out in an actual setting without any kind of researcher
influence. The choice of experimental study is based on the choice of
the researcher and the nature of the study.
For example : Concept studies that focus on finding out the
effectiveness of certain cosmetic products like sunscreens. Test
subjects are carefully selected and are asked to apply the sunscreen
and carry on with their everyday schedule while the researcher
observes and measures the improvement in their skin over the
course of the research.

Interviews : Interviews are a conversational based data collection

method . Here , the researcher interacts with the respondent or the
respondent to uncover participant views on the topic under
consideration. The question designed by the researcher influences
the quality of data that gets collected. The questions asked from
different respondents have to be kept uniform to allow comparison
and contrast. Such a format also provides the respondent with the
freedom to elaborate on their views with any restriction. This helps in
reflecting light upon various insights that can be used by the end
user.

Interviews can be conducted online or offline. The added advantage

of such a format is that there is little room for errors and confusion.
As this format is interpersonal , it provides researchers with the
opportunity to explain and elaborate on any instruction and clear
any ambiguity that the respondent might have with respect to the
research.

For e.g.: Brands can interview a targeted segment of customer to

understand their sentiment towards a product launched by the
brand . Their attitude towards the product can be examined with
reference to their geographic and demographic information to reveal
insights into how these details affect customer behaviour.

Observations: Observation is participation based research . In this ,

researchers take part in the regular activities of a targeted group of
people by merging as one of their own. Researchers get to observe
the individual behaviours without disturbing the natural setting. This
type of social research takes place over a period to address trends ,
institutions as well as behaviours. 

Identifying the correct position that a researcher needs to take in

order to monitor the relevant changes is key. The researcher tries to
blend in without disclosing their true identity to avoid compromising
the research.

For example : In order to study the lifestyle lead by people living in

rural areas , researchers can spend a considerable amount of time
living in a village whereby they take part in panchayat activities ,
socialize with other villagers to understand how people indulged in
different types of occupations sustain themselves as well as evaluate
the level of healthcare , education , transport and other kinds of
facilities available for the rural people.

Steps for conducting a Social Research?

1) Identification of the research objective :
Social research can be carried out to find causes behind an existing
problem , reveal hindrances to current social development , test the
validity of a hypothesis , describe social phenomenons that already
exist or update knowledge regarding a social phenomenon.

Research can only begin when there is a study topic that needs
addressal . Social research tries to transform the underlying research
question into effective answers based on current information by 
focusing and narrowing down on peculiar aspects of the issue in
consideration.
2) Study of existing literature:
There is a possibility that someone else had also raised the same
questions as the researcher and the research carried out by them
helps in finding research answers or at least supplementing the
research with existing data. Reviewing existing data can help to avoid
repetition , discover the proper methodology and unveil previously
unexplored areas. 

Moreover , if a similar study has been previously carried out ,

studying previously published data can save a lot of time and
resources by eliminating the need for primary research or by
eliminating unnecessary fields.

3) Formulating an action plan :

Action plan is the guide to the research procedures to be carried out
with respect to the distribution , collection and analysis of data. It is a
start to end journey planning for the research. It is imperative that
the right method of observational or experimental research be
adopted, data gets collected in a timely fashion and the right tools
are chosen for analysing and summarizing the data in a manner that
is comprehensible by all end users.

The process of selecting the sample is also included in this part of the
procedure. The eligibility criteria for selecting the targeted sample is
used to ensure that only those who have the capacity to create a
value addition get included. This gets done by way of defining the
entire population to which the results of the social research will apply
. Beyond this , the researcher selects a sample of a limited number of
individuals who are capable of representing the ideas and
perspective of the entire population thus , preventing sampling bias.

4) Monitoring distribution and collection

Once the processes have been finalized , the researcher should
formulate short term objectives within the span of the research.
These objectives serve as a progress bar for tracking the efficiency of
the research procedure. Primary data collection requires additional
effort as against secondary data collection and so the need for short
term objectives to be set increases. The monitoring process should
be tailor made to factor in the nature of study , mode of collection
and distribution, sample size , scope of the study and the degree of
accuracy that the researchers seek to achieve.

5) Conducting data analysis:

This is the most integral stage of the entire research . If this stage
goes wrong , the entire research can go null and void .

Once the data gets collected in a raw format , the task of the
researcher is to translate this raw data into meaningful categories
according to the research objective or issue that needs redressal .
This is a simple filtering process that eliminates any unnecessary
information that might not contribute to the research goal and
makes the data complex for any follow up handling. 

Following this organization , the data is subjected to statistical and

data analysis tools that have been hand picked to derive meaningful
insights. With the upcoming data analysis , this task has become
easier than ever whereby the computers perform any complex
calculations and hand them to the user on a silver platter.

6) Assessment of results :
Once the data becomes presentable, it is used by multiple
stakeholders and users to deliberate whether the data so collected
helps in answering the research questions.
This can be the substantial backing that proves or disproves a
formulated theory , the accuracy of the description of a social
phenomenon , the identification of a social evil , issue or problem
and the data’s ability to identify the proximate causes that can feed
formulation of appropriate results.

Research is only fruitful as long as it yields relevant information

about current situations . It is this assessment stage that fits the data
into the gap between implementation of strategies and identification
of a problem.

7) Publishing results:
Lastly, the researcher needs to report the findings of their research
and conclusions made by them in a meticulous manner that is easy
to understand for any interested third party. Points of coverage
include:

 Research topic 

 Reason for investigation

 Problem

 Methodology

 Sampling technique 

 objectives

 Knowledge gathered 

 Findings and derivations

 Final conclusions
  Inspiration and requirement of further research

Must have features for a social research

software
Omnichannel
Social researchers need to ensure they cover every demographic
appropriately. Every demographic has their preferred means for
contact. It can be different for millennials, for older people, for
working professionals. Voxco’s omni channel social research tools
empower researchers to collect feedback via all channels. These
channels can be online, through phone and through face to face
interviews.

Analytics
With Voxco, researchers can visualize their data on dashboards and
uncover insights. Analytics tools come in handy for researchers when
they wish to make sense of the data they have gathered. Data
collection is critical for social research, but to get insights,
researchers can leverage analytics tools to understand relationships
between laws, policies, products and the audience or demographic
they are intended for.

Flexible hosting
People would only partake in surveys if they were sure their
identities and their responses were private and secure. For
researchers, the security of their demographics’ responses is
extremely important. With that as a key consideration, Voxco’s
omnichannel social research software allows research organizations
to conveniently store data on their own premises, in a manner which
is fully compliant with their security protocols. Research agencies
also have the option to store their respondent data securely on cloud
based servers.

Incentivization
It is a tough task convincing respondents to take time out for
surveys. This is especially true for lengthy research surveys,
interviews or observational social research. For such respondents
and scenarios, Voxco’s omnichannel research tools can conveniently
and seamlessly integrate rewards into surveys via which one wants
to conduct research. These rewards are presented once respondents
have completed surveys. 

Incentives are an excellent way to ensure high survey completion

rates, and generally gets people to sign up more easily for future
surveys as well