Bryman’s Social Research Methods 6e

Chapter 1: The nature and process of social research

 What is social research?
Academic research which uses the social sciences for
conceptual and theoretical inspiration:

• to formulate research topics

• to interpret the findings

This book and social research methods modules are

about the methods used to do social research.
Section 1.2 Social research: What is it and why do it?

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 Why conduct social research?

To search for answers

To address a gap in the academic

literature

To understand why aspects of social

life are the way they are

To study a development in society like

social media
Section 1.2 Social research: What is it and why do it?

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 The role of theory in research

• Should we examine a problem and try to work out

what caused it and how it might be solved (inductive
reasoning)?

• …or should we take a generally accepted theory of

how things work and find evidence for it in the
problem we examine (deductive reasoning)?

Section 1.3: The context of social research methods

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 Epistemological considerations

Views about how knowledge should be produced are

known as epistemological positions
• Can the social world be studied ‘scientifically’?
• Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural
sciences to social science research?

Section 1.3: The context of social research methods

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 The role of ethics and politics
• Certain kinds of research (e.g. that involving
children or vulnerable adults) require special
provision with regard to ethics, limiting what
can and cannot be researched.

• Research participants might need to be

involved in the formulation of the research
design.

• Certain research topics are more likely to be

funded than others, leading to a strong
influence by sponsors on the issues actually
researched.
Section 1.3: The context of social research methods

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Elements of the social research process
Literature Concepts Research
review and theories questions

Data Data
Sampling
analysis collection

Writing up
research

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 The literature review
Read the existing literature to find
out:
• what is already known about the topic
• what concepts and theories have been
applied to it
• which research methods have been applied
to it
• what controversies exist about the topic
and/or how it has been studied
• what clashes of evidence exist, if any
• who the key contributors are
• what the implications are for your own
research Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Concepts and theories
• Concepts are a key ingredient of theories.

• Almost all theories have at least one embedded

concept, like bureaucracy, power, status, charisma,
cultural capital, McDonaldization, and so on.

• They help us organize our research and make our

intentions clear to others.

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Research questions are crucial
Because they guide:
• your literature search

• your decisions about research design

• the type of data you will collect and

from whom

• your data analysis

• your final write-up

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Sampling
• The amount of time and money available
constrains the number of cases we can study.
We can rarely study all cases, so we have to
sample.

• Samples can be selected for:

– their ability to represent the entire population.
– their appropriateness to research questions.

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Data collection
• Structured methods of data
collection include questionnaires
and interviews for use in survey
studies: the researcher designs
research tools relative to what
needs to be known.

• Less structured methods include

participation observation and semi-
structured interviewing: the
researcher can keep an open mind
about what needs to be known. Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Stages of data analysis
Data needs to be managed

Data needs to be coded

Relationships can be discovered

Links can be made with the research questions and existing

literature
Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Writing up research

• An outline of the research area and its significance;

Introduction the research questions

• A critical examination of what is currently known

Literature about the topic
review

• A presentation of how the sampling was done and

Research how the data was collected and analysed
methods

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Writing up research

• A presentation of the findings

Results

• Findings are discussed in relation to their implications

Discussion for the literature and the research questions

• The significance of the research

Conclusion

Section 1.4: The main elements of social research

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 Social research is messy
Research is full of false starts, blind
alleys, mistakes, and enforced
changes to plans. But these are rarely
written about in final research
publications.

There are plenty of things that can go

wrong with a research plan, so being
flexible and willing to persevere in
adverse circumstances are desirable
traits in a social researcher.
Section 1.5 The messiness of social research

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