What is

RESEARCH?
the systematic
investigation into and
study of materials and
sources in order to
establish facts and reach
new conclusions.
Social research
 is a research conducted
by social scientists following a
systematic plan. Social
research methodologies can
be classified
as quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative designs
 This approach social phenomena through
quantifiable evidence, and often rely on
statistical analysis of many cases (or
across intentionally designed treatments
in an experiment) to
create valid and reliable general claims.
Related to quantity.
Qualitative designs
 emphasize understanding of social
phenomena through direct
observation, communication with
participants, or analysis of texts, and
may stress contextual subjective
accuracy over generality. Related
to quality.
 Nature of Research and Social
Research
 Itis to find answers to questions (gathering data to
answer questions and seek solutions to the problem
about something. Ex: Social World.)
 Ardales (2001) defines research as: “A systematic,
objective, and comprehensive investigation of
certain phenomenon which involves accurate
gathering and recording, and critical analyses and
interpretation of all facts bout the phenomenon for
theoretical or practical ends.
Nature of Research and Social
Research
In the social sciences, a specific type
of research focuses on the
understanding and learning about
the changes and developments
happening in the social world to
produce new knowledge.
Nature of Research and Social
Research
According to Neuman (2007)
social research is “a process in
which a researcher combines a
set of principles, outlooks, and
ideas with a collection of specific
practices, techniques, and
strategies to produce the
knowledge.”
Important Things that a researcher
must consider in conducting a
specific type of research
A. Use of Research
Social Research has two main uses: (1) it
is usually done to develop and produce new
knowledge about the social world. (2) it is
conducted to address a specific issue and
concern and provide an answer or solution to
a problem affecting a person, group,
community, and society in general.
Important Things that a researcher
must consider in conducting a
specific type of research
1. Basic Research
it focuses on the advancement
and production of new knowledge.
This form of research is used by
academicians and scientists, the
primary consumers, of such
research.
Important Things that a researcher
must consider in conducting a
specific type of research

 According to Neuman (2007), basic research has

the following Characteristics:
a) Its goal is to refute or support theories that explain
how the social world works, what causes things to
occur, why society changes, and why social
relations operate in that manner.
b) It lacks practical application.
Important Things that a
researcher must consider in
conducting a specific type of
research
c) It provides a foundation for the advancement
of knowledge in remote extra space various
fields of study and policy areas.
d) It provides explanations and is a source of
methods, theories, frameworks, and concepts
to understand the causes how people act or
think.
e) It is bounded by scientific method requires
the highest degree of academic scholarship.
Important Things that a researcher
must consider in conducting a
specific type of research
f) The research problems and topics are varied and
diverse .
g) The results are usually published in scholarly journals,
books, and other academic publications or
presented in academic conferences.
2) Applied research
it focuses on addressing a specific concern or
usually offers a solution to a social problem. This form
of research is usually done by practitioners in the
business sector , government , health care sector ,
social service organizations , political organizations ,
and educational institutions. The results of applied
research are used in the decision making process of
the company organization. The primary consumers of
applied research are counselors , social workers, and
decision–makers in government or companies like
managers , agency administrators , and government
officials.
Neuman (2007)gives the
following characteristics of
applied research:
a) Research conducted is part of the job.
b) Research problems are very specific
according to the demands of the superiors.
c) Rigors standards of scholarships depend
on the use of the research results .
d) The goal of research is to provide
generalizations to areas of interest of the
sponsors.
Neuman (2007)gives the
following characteristics of
applied research:
e) Success is determined when the sponsors
used the research results decision – making .
f) Applied research results are disseminated
or published in journals and are usually
made available to only a few decision –
makers , practitioners , or research sponsors.
EXAMPLES OF APPLIED
RESEARCH
1. Evaluation Research
 Itis done to assess the effectiveness of a
program, policy or campaign. This type of
applied is commonly conducted by
organizations such as businesses, schools,
and government and nongovernmental
organizations to analyze the effectiveness
of their programs.
2. Action Research Study
 Itis a type of applied research that
“treats knowledge as a form of
power and abolishes the division
between creating knowledge and
using knowledge to engage in
political action” (Neuman, 2007)
The five major characteristics
of an action research study
are:
a) The people being studied are actively
participating in the research process.
b) The study includes ordinary or popular
knowledge.
c) The research focuses on power issue.
d) The study wants to raise consciousness
of people about issues.
e) The research is connected to a plan or
program of action.
Social Impact Assessment
Research Study
A social impact assessment research study
gives the possible effects or outcomes of a
planned intervention or probable changes that
might happen in the future. This form of applied
study can be an environmental assessment
report of a program or project. In this study ,
the possible changes that a project or an
intervention causes in the social environment
are predicted . Also, it provides solution as to
how those changes might affect people can
be prevented.
B. Purposes of Research

 Researchers conduct studies for different

reasons. Social research has different
purposes, the most common of which are
exploration ,description ,and explanation.
. Exploratory Research
is a research conducted for a problem that has
not been studied more clearly, intended to establish
priorities, develop operational definitions and improve
the final research design.[1] Exploratory research helps
determine the best research design, data-
collection method and selection of subjects. It should
draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution.
Given its fundamental nature, exploratory research
often relies on techniques such as:
 secondary research - such as reviewing available
literature and/or data
 informal qualitative approaches, such as discussions
with consumers, employees, management or
competitors
 formal qualitative research through in-depth
interviews, focus groups, projective methods, case
studies or pilot studies
Descriptive research
 is used to describe characteristics
of a population or phenomenon
being studied. It does not answer
questions about how/when/why
the characteristics occurred. Rather
it addresses the "what" question
(what are the characteristics of the
population or situation being
studied?)search
Explanatory Research
is conducted for a problem which
was not well researched before,
demands priorities, generates
operational definitions and provides
a better-researched model. It is
actually a type of research design
which focuses on explaining the
aspects of your study in a detailed
manner.
Steps In The Research Process
 1. Selecting a topic.
 2. Identifying the research question.
 3. Developing a research design.
 4.Gathering or collecting data.
 5. Carrying out a data analysis.
 6. Interpreting data.
 7. Communicating research findings and
results.
Delimiting the Topic
 Once you have decided on a topic ,you
have to limit its scope or coverage . Here are
some important things that you must consider
in developing a suitable topic for research .
 1. Persons or categories of people to be
studied-As researcher, you must clearly answer
the question ,”who are the persons that I want
to study?” In social science research, it is
important to identify the subgroups or
categories of people to be studied. Individual
 Persons and groups like a community or a
social organization can be the focus of a
study. In practice, social scientist do not
study all kinds of people because it is
impossible to study and research about all
sector of the population. Most of the time,
social research focuses on a specific
group of people or sector of society in a
specific geographic location.
 Examples of specific categories of people
are students, parents ,teachers
,homosexuals, single mothers, and senior
citizen geographically located in a
specific area. Other possible groups are
gangs, fraternities, and the like ; larger
groups like formal social organizations,
business corporations, church
organizations colleges or university, and
military organizations.