Describing

Background
of the
.

Study
THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• is basically an overview of the
research study and explains WHY
you, as researcher, are doing the
study.
THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1. Historical developments
2. Cultural developments
3. Academic developments
4. Scientific findings
5. Debates or arguments and a host of
others
Layder (2013) says that social research is literally a search for
the best explanation of the problem around which evidence or
data is focused. It is good to emphasize at this point that social
research problems are not the same thing as “topics” or “areas
of interests”. They are not the equivalent of so-called social
problems like poverty, unemployment, social inequality, and so
on. Research problems address issues about social
organizations, social processes and social behavior.
1. Problem Questions – are general and
explanatory and have a crucial influence on
the form and content of topic questions
2. Topic Questions – are specific and descriptive
1. How are a person’s self-identity, ideas and
attitudes related to his/her social environment?
2. How do people influence each other’s behavior
in social interaction-either ‘face-to-face’ or
‘mediated’ through texts, emails, mobiles and
so on.
3. How do social settings (such as schools,
universities, families, factories, companies,
hospitals, and so on) influence the behavior
of those operating within them?
4. How is social behavior influenced by: (a)
social class, ethnicity, gender, age,
neighborhood, region, or politics; (b)
cultural values, expectations and institutions
(including the media)?
5. How does power influence human
behavior and social activity?
6. How does the passage of time influence
social behavior?