Major Steps in social Research
- Randhir Gautam
Sadly, 82 per cent of articles published in humanities are not even cited once. 50 per cent of
academic papers are only read by authors, peer, reviewers, and journal editors.
you have to put hard work and effort in order to make your research unique for that you
need to have proper knowledge of research procedures or art of doing research. It seems
me that people don’t practice thinking out of the box. Writing thesis and dissertation has
become merely art to play with words and sentences in such a way that it looks like new
research. Research has become creative plagiarism.
Fundamental notion of research is to search for knowledge. Max Weber said, "Every scientific
fulfilment raises new questions; it asks to be surpassed and outdated."
Social research is a method (means) which brings ends in terms of new facts, new theory, new discovery. It puts a variety of information into an order and ends with a generalization.
scientific research is essentially made of two things, observation and reasoning.
Basically there are three purposes in social research
1. Generate new knowledge
2.obtain research degree and
3.Reinterpret knowledge.
we should try to do research on at least things
that matter, some important questions of our societies. The rational and background for
research should be very well described and justified .
Social research deals with the social phenomena. It tries to establish causal human activities. It is
carried both for discovering new facts and verification of the old ones. Each study rests on earlier ones and provides a basis for future ones.
Following are the major steps of social research . A researcher must carefully check each step of the reasoning process underlining his scientific procedures in order to minimize error in research process .
1. Broad area of interest identified -
A researcher should engage with his or her research with a clarity about the purpose. A researcher discovers answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures. choice determines everything. It is said that the best problem for research is one which arises from the researcher’s own curiosity. Desire to understand wide spread social problem, desire to test old scientific procedure led good research.
The researcher who is prompted by scientific curiosity may be interested in exploring some general subject matter about which relatively little is known. For example, when Marx began his studies on class thinking, this was a relatively unexplored area.
Before selecting your research topic. you have to think of your interest of doing research,
significance of your studies, time, money and resources.
The reasons for asking research questions
are of two general kinds: academic / inteIIectual, based on the desire to know or understand for the
satisfaction of knowing; and utilitarian, based on the desire to know for the sake of being able to do
something better. Any individual’s decisions will be determined not only by the facts as discovered
by research but also by his values, which determine the import of the facts for him.
2. Defining the research problem and to develop hypothesis
The first step in the formulation of research is to make the problem concrete and explicit.
‘The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution’.
- A. EINSTEIN AND L. INFELD
The success of a scientist is largely determined by his or her ability to meet the objectives of his
scientific research project. Being a researcher you have to aware about that the reader of your
research is not left in doubt about the intentions of your research. After selecting topic for research,
a researcher has to develop hypothesis.
Cohen and Nagel (1934), who state:
We cannot take a single step forward in any inquiry unless we, begin with a suggested explanation or solution of the difficulty which originated it. Such tentative explanations are suggested to us by something in the subject matter and by our previous knowledge. When they are formulated as propositions, they are called hypotheses. Hypothesis is educated guess.
A single event (cause) always leads to another single event (“effect"). Hypothesis is a potential
relationship between the cause’ and the ‘effect’. A hypothesis is "a proposition, condition, or
principle which is assumed, perhaps without belief, in order to draw out its logical consequences and by this method to test its accord with facts which are known or may be determined"
Social theory building is a process of logical deduction. It leads towards predictability of
phenomena. That is to say if certain conditions are present, certain results will follow.
Formulation of hypothesis serves two purpose (1) the kind of data that must be collected in order to
answer the research question and (2) the way in which they can be organized most efficiently in the analysis.
Defining Concepts -
A researcher has to his effort to clarify concepts that he or she is using in research. concepts should be defined objectively and operationally.
After the identification of problem, you have to define your universe. Researcher should read the
previous work. He has to point out the extent to which satisfactory solutions exist, shortcomings in methodology, etc.
.
3 Reviewing the literature
Patrick Meneill quotes in his book ‘Research method “every researcher of whatever status, should spend time of reading what other people have written about the area in which other people have written about the area in which they are interested. As every action has a purpose behind it. Reviewing the literature gives the researcher that idea of how to go with his research”
This is one of the important phase of data collection in an exacting scrutiny of published researches.
The degree of originality should be reflected in your study, so that you can save yourself from the
repetition of previous research. Duplication of research is a waste of time. The second reason for examining the literature is to seek the best roadway of approach. For the greatest possibility of success of research. A researcher has to decide which strategy (approach) and techniques, tools,
apparatus are important in terms of the data to be sought. The literature, therefore, indicate the
relative fruitfulness of the approaches and therefore suggest alternative tactics to researcher. In all scientific research, knowledge of the literature is crucial thing in suggesting the solution to problem .
Having review of literature, researcher determines his/her approach which is oftentimes
suggested by a relevant model found in the review of literature. Researcher use models to help us to
understand the arrangements of key components and how they function. whiling doing review of
research a researcher must be aware about the impracticality of pervious research. Asking the right question can come with it. Review of literature provides you data. Those are found in reference sources.
Without the ability or the interest to search for data already existing in the literature, a researcher is bound to fail in even the most modest research design.
4 Determining a research design
– Describe the manner in which data will be analysed.
Usually there are two main sources of information 1. Field investigation 2. Library research
Design means drawing an outline. E A Suchman calls ‘it is a series of guide lines or steps to keep on the right path.
Since overcome of research depends heavily on what method is used, therefore study is conducted on the basis of research design. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy
in procedure.Therefore, a design is needed that will minimize bias and maximize the reliability of the, evidence collected. Objectivity, reliability, validity and generalizations are four important characteristics of research design.
5 Defining the sample and collecting data
This stage involves carrying out the research process and record the information. The importance of various data-collection techniques is to produce trustworthy evidence that is relevant to your research design .you have to determines whether you are going to use the primary (field study, focus group , observation archival materials like newspapers ) or secondary data .
when you do qualitative study, among the many approached you have to justify why did u choose
this approach?. you have to justify the reason for your approach. some information about what you
will be looking for in the data and why?
when you meet with your respondent for interview or in focus group discussion or participatory
observation provide details of them. How do you engage with your respondent for the time being+ is one of the important skill of the researcher? What things attract your respondent to be the part of study is one of the crucial thing.
To be a good listener is an art of research, sometimes when your respondents are telling distressful experience to you, you have to give some kind of comfortability in order to express them what they want to express. you have good in communication for that matter.
Techniques for collecting the information must be devised if, as is likely, no suitable ones already
exist. Each of the various methods-observation, interviewing, questionnaires, projective techniques, the examination of records, and so forth-has its advantages and limitations. you have to be clear
about the tools and techniques that you are using in theory building.
6 Analysis and interpreting the result
To analysis the data and relate it back to the research is one of the most important task of the
researcher. The process of analysis includes: coding the interview replies, observations, etc. Placing each item in the appropriate category, tabulating the data (counting the number of items in each category); and performing statistical computations are used in analysis of data.
7 Preparing the research report and generalization
In this stage a research has to tell what conclusions were drowning from the research process and what is their significance? How do research outcomes relate to the previous finding? the research report is usually published as a book, articles and journals.
A researcher should follow the scientific procedure for gathering meaningful and verified data.
without a proper scientific methodology, no branch of science can develop. We need in sociology,
first of all, a scientifically constructed, logically criticized set of intellectual tools that enable us to
peruse good research.
☎
+918527029931
- Randhir Gautam
Sadly, 82 per cent of articles published in humanities are not even cited once. 50 per cent of
academic papers are only read by authors, peer, reviewers, and journal editors.
you have to put hard work and effort in order to make your research unique for that you
need to have proper knowledge of research procedures or art of doing research. It seems
me that people don’t practice thinking out of the box. Writing thesis and dissertation has
become merely art to play with words and sentences in such a way that it looks like new
research. Research has become creative plagiarism.
Fundamental notion of research is to search for knowledge. Max Weber said, "Every scientific
fulfilment raises new questions; it asks to be surpassed and outdated."
Social research is a method (means) which brings ends in terms of new facts, new theory, new discovery. It puts a variety of information into an order and ends with a generalization.
scientific research is essentially made of two things, observation and reasoning.
Basically there are three purposes in social research
1. Generate new knowledge
2.obtain research degree and
3.Reinterpret knowledge.
we should try to do research on at least things
that matter, some important questions of our societies. The rational and background for
research should be very well described and justified .
Social research deals with the social phenomena. It tries to establish causal human activities. It is
carried both for discovering new facts and verification of the old ones. Each study rests on earlier ones and provides a basis for future ones.
Following are the major steps of social research . A researcher must carefully check each step of the reasoning process underlining his scientific procedures in order to minimize error in research process .
1. Broad area of interest identified -
A researcher should engage with his or her research with a clarity about the purpose. A researcher discovers answers to questions through the application of scientific procedures. choice determines everything. It is said that the best problem for research is one which arises from the researcher’s own curiosity. Desire to understand wide spread social problem, desire to test old scientific procedure led good research.
The researcher who is prompted by scientific curiosity may be interested in exploring some general subject matter about which relatively little is known. For example, when Marx began his studies on class thinking, this was a relatively unexplored area.
Before selecting your research topic. you have to think of your interest of doing research,
significance of your studies, time, money and resources.
The reasons for asking research questions
are of two general kinds: academic / inteIIectual, based on the desire to know or understand for the
satisfaction of knowing; and utilitarian, based on the desire to know for the sake of being able to do
something better. Any individual’s decisions will be determined not only by the facts as discovered
by research but also by his values, which determine the import of the facts for him.
2. Defining the research problem and to develop hypothesis
The first step in the formulation of research is to make the problem concrete and explicit.
‘The formulation of a problem is often more essential than its solution’.
- A. EINSTEIN AND L. INFELD
The success of a scientist is largely determined by his or her ability to meet the objectives of his
scientific research project. Being a researcher you have to aware about that the reader of your
research is not left in doubt about the intentions of your research. After selecting topic for research,
a researcher has to develop hypothesis.
Cohen and Nagel (1934), who state:
We cannot take a single step forward in any inquiry unless we, begin with a suggested explanation or solution of the difficulty which originated it. Such tentative explanations are suggested to us by something in the subject matter and by our previous knowledge. When they are formulated as propositions, they are called hypotheses. Hypothesis is educated guess.
A single event (cause) always leads to another single event (“effect"). Hypothesis is a potential
relationship between the cause’ and the ‘effect’. A hypothesis is "a proposition, condition, or
principle which is assumed, perhaps without belief, in order to draw out its logical consequences and by this method to test its accord with facts which are known or may be determined"
Social theory building is a process of logical deduction. It leads towards predictability of
phenomena. That is to say if certain conditions are present, certain results will follow.
Formulation of hypothesis serves two purpose (1) the kind of data that must be collected in order to
answer the research question and (2) the way in which they can be organized most efficiently in the analysis.
Defining Concepts -
A researcher has to his effort to clarify concepts that he or she is using in research. concepts should be defined objectively and operationally.
After the identification of problem, you have to define your universe. Researcher should read the
previous work. He has to point out the extent to which satisfactory solutions exist, shortcomings in methodology, etc.
.
3 Reviewing the literature
Patrick Meneill quotes in his book ‘Research method “every researcher of whatever status, should spend time of reading what other people have written about the area in which other people have written about the area in which they are interested. As every action has a purpose behind it. Reviewing the literature gives the researcher that idea of how to go with his research”
This is one of the important phase of data collection in an exacting scrutiny of published researches.
The degree of originality should be reflected in your study, so that you can save yourself from the
repetition of previous research. Duplication of research is a waste of time. The second reason for examining the literature is to seek the best roadway of approach. For the greatest possibility of success of research. A researcher has to decide which strategy (approach) and techniques, tools,
apparatus are important in terms of the data to be sought. The literature, therefore, indicate the
relative fruitfulness of the approaches and therefore suggest alternative tactics to researcher. In all scientific research, knowledge of the literature is crucial thing in suggesting the solution to problem .
Having review of literature, researcher determines his/her approach which is oftentimes
suggested by a relevant model found in the review of literature. Researcher use models to help us to
understand the arrangements of key components and how they function. whiling doing review of
research a researcher must be aware about the impracticality of pervious research. Asking the right question can come with it. Review of literature provides you data. Those are found in reference sources.
Without the ability or the interest to search for data already existing in the literature, a researcher is bound to fail in even the most modest research design.
4 Determining a research design
– Describe the manner in which data will be analysed.
Usually there are two main sources of information 1. Field investigation 2. Library research
Design means drawing an outline. E A Suchman calls ‘it is a series of guide lines or steps to keep on the right path.
Since overcome of research depends heavily on what method is used, therefore study is conducted on the basis of research design. A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy
in procedure.Therefore, a design is needed that will minimize bias and maximize the reliability of the, evidence collected. Objectivity, reliability, validity and generalizations are four important characteristics of research design.
5 Defining the sample and collecting data
This stage involves carrying out the research process and record the information. The importance of various data-collection techniques is to produce trustworthy evidence that is relevant to your research design .you have to determines whether you are going to use the primary (field study, focus group , observation archival materials like newspapers ) or secondary data .
when you do qualitative study, among the many approached you have to justify why did u choose
this approach?. you have to justify the reason for your approach. some information about what you
will be looking for in the data and why?
when you meet with your respondent for interview or in focus group discussion or participatory
observation provide details of them. How do you engage with your respondent for the time being+ is one of the important skill of the researcher? What things attract your respondent to be the part of study is one of the crucial thing.
To be a good listener is an art of research, sometimes when your respondents are telling distressful experience to you, you have to give some kind of comfortability in order to express them what they want to express. you have good in communication for that matter.
Techniques for collecting the information must be devised if, as is likely, no suitable ones already
exist. Each of the various methods-observation, interviewing, questionnaires, projective techniques, the examination of records, and so forth-has its advantages and limitations. you have to be clear
about the tools and techniques that you are using in theory building.
6 Analysis and interpreting the result
To analysis the data and relate it back to the research is one of the most important task of the
researcher. The process of analysis includes: coding the interview replies, observations, etc. Placing each item in the appropriate category, tabulating the data (counting the number of items in each category); and performing statistical computations are used in analysis of data.
7 Preparing the research report and generalization
In this stage a research has to tell what conclusions were drowning from the research process and what is their significance? How do research outcomes relate to the previous finding? the research report is usually published as a book, articles and journals.
A researcher should follow the scientific procedure for gathering meaningful and verified data.
without a proper scientific methodology, no branch of science can develop. We need in sociology,
first of all, a scientifically constructed, logically criticized set of intellectual tools that enable us to
peruse good research.
☎
+918527029931
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