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SUSS SSC 211 STUDY UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH (Five…
SUSS SSC 211 STUDY UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL
SCIENCE RESEARCH
Basic characteristics
Goal
The goal of social science research is to
study and understand the social world,
i.e., human behaviour and society, through the scientific method
Science
Science refers to both a
method/system for producing knowledge
and the knowledge that results from that system.
The knowledge that science yields is organised into
theories and grounded in empirical data.
following are the features of social science research:
Sceptical
• Does not accept new and/or counter-intuitive evidence uncritically.
• Every aspect of the social science research process is carefully examined
challenged, and questioned by both the researcher himself and other
researchers as part of the peer review process.
• Ensures that the method used and data collected can stand up to close
scrutiny
Empirical
Description of what we can observe and experience directly through human senses (e.g., touch, sight, hearing, smell, taste) or indirectly using techniques that extend the senses.
Systematic
• The method and findings of a study should be systematic such that they are
easily replicated
by other researchers.
• This provides greater confidence in the reliability of the method and
findings of the study
Social theory
A
system of interconnected ideas
that condenses and organizes the knowledge about the social world and explains how it works.
Four Parts of Social Theory
2. Concepts
• Level of abstraction (Vague idea of something)
• Ranges from empirical and concrete, often easily observable in daily experience, to very abstract, unseen mental creations;
• Single versus concept clusters
• Inter-related concepts that share common assumptions, refer to one another, and operate together in a social theory;
• Simple vs complex (e.g. classifications, typologies);
and • Scope (narrow vs broad)
What is a concept
a concept is a
broad general idea/categorisation
It captures or isolates some significant and definable notions in reality
• Example: a theory of voting behaviour usually involves abstract concepts like political ideology, party identification and policy preferences, etc.
From Concepts to Measurable Variables
In scientific research, we operationalise an abstract concept by defining it more specifically with a
working definition
and make it into
measurable variables.
Variables
: a concept that can be observed and contains within it a notion of degree, variation, or difference.
Construct
hypothetical attributes or mechanisms that help to explain and predict behaviour in a theory.
Things that cannot be observe directly.
3. Relationships
•
Proposition
: A theoretical statement about the relationship between two or more concepts.
•
Hypothesis
: An empirically testable version of a theoretical proposition that has not yet been tested or verified with empirical evidence. It is most used in deductive theorizing and can be restated as a prediction.
Causal Hypothesis
A causal hypothesis is a proposition to be tested or a tentative statement of a relationship between two variables
Hypotheses are guesses about how the social world works; they are stated in a value-neutral form.
5 Characteristics of Casual Hypotheses
Can be expressed as a prediction or an expected future outcome.
Are
logically
linked to a research question and a theory.
Express a causal or cause-effect
relationship
between the variables.
Are
falsifiable
; that is, they are capable of being tested against empirical evidence and shown to be true or false.
Have at least two variables.
5 Potential Errors in Causal Explanation
Ecological fallacy
The empirical observations are at too high a level for the causal relationship that is stated.
i.e. New York has a high crime rate. Joan lives in New York. Therefore, she probably stole my watch.
Spuriousness
An unseen third variable is the actual cause of both the independent and dependent variable.
Hair length is associated with TV programs. People with short hair prefer watching football; people with long hair prefer romance stories. (Unseen: Gender)
Teleology
The cause is an intention that is inappropriate, or it has misplaced temporal order.
i.e. People get married in religious ceremonies because society wants them to.
Reductionism
The empirical observations are at too low a level for the causal relationship that is stated.
Because Steven lost his job and did not buy a new car, the country entered a long economic recession.
Tautology
The relationship is true by definition and involves circular reasoning.
i.e. Poverty is caused by having very little money.
1. Assumptions
• An untested starting point or belief in a theory that is necessary in order to build a theoretical explanation
4. Units of analysis
• The units, cases, or parts of social life that are under consideration.
• Key to developing concepts, empirically measuring or observing concepts, and using data analysis.
Five Aspects of Social Theory
Focus of theory
(substantive or formal theory)
Range of theorising
• Empirical generalisation, middle range theory, or theoretical framework
Level of analysis
(micro, meso, or macro level)
Forms of explanation
• Causal, structural (sequential, network, functional), or interpretative
The direction of theorising:
• Deductive (abstract to concrete); or
• Inductive (ground up or concrete to abstract)
•
Deductive
(Top Down approach)
Theory - Hypothesis - Observation - Confirmation/rejection
•
Inductive
(ground up or concrete to abstract)
Observation - Pattern - Hypothesis/proposition - theory
Theoretical
Social sciences relies on theories to explain social phenomena and guide research questions.
Parsimonious
• Also known as “Occam’s Razor”
• It uses the simplest and most elegant research designs, methods, data analysis and data interpretation.
• Explanations of a research question should be as parsimonious as possible.
5 Norms of the Scientific Community
Disinterestedness
Scientists must be neutral,
impartial
, receptive and
open to unexpected observations
and new ideas.
Communalism
• Scientific knowledge must be
shared with others;
it belongs to everyone. (Findings
are published and open for replication,scrutiny etc).
Organised Scepticism
Scientists should challenge and question all evidence and subject each study too
intense scrutiny
.
Honesty in research
No plagiarism
Researcher's credibility is directly associated with intellectual rigour and honesty.
Universalism
Regardless of who conducts the research, it is
judged only on the basis of scientific merit.
Importance of social science research
Theoretical Importance of Social Science Research
Data collected and findings that were interpreted help to test, confirm or challenge existing theoretical models.
Data collected could also reveal important overlaps between different fields of social sciences.
Practical Importance of Social Science Research
Social science research have far-reaching implications and can impact society directly or indirectly (i.e. government policies, Child development).
Implications maybe positive or negative.
It is important to constantly question and critique the methods and findings
Practical examples include
Political Science
Research in political science helps us to
understand the way our government works
and whether it is good or bad for us, the importance of voting, our rights as citizens, and many others.
Psychology
Research in psychology can have an impact on many aspects of lives, such as
helping us to understand ourselves and our mental health,
study for an exam effectively, learn a foreign language, know whether our children are developing normally, and many others
Economics
Research in economics helps us to
understand fluctuations in the prices
of certain goods and currency exchange, the amount of money we should save towards our retirement, and many others.
Ethical concerns
Social science researchers especially, need to consider the ethics of their research before, during, and after they conduct their research because they deal with human participants.
Importance of ethics
Ethics are important in social science research due to the following reasons:
As researchers, we should always
uphold the integrity and values
of ethical scientific research.
Unethical research can affect not only the reputation of the researcher but
also other researchers and the field as a whole.
We cannot abandon the
human rights
of those being studied, i.e., research participants, or of others in society for the sake of pursuing scientific knowledge.
Ethical Concerns in Social Science Research
Ethical Concerns Relating to the Rights of Research Participants
Current ethical guidelines are based on the principles proposed in the Belmont Report, created in 1979 in response to the violations of basic human rights in scientific research
The ethical principles are:
Respect for Persons (autonomy)
This entails:
A written informed consent which is acknowledged by the participants
Avoiding any coercion
Privacy, anonymity, and
confidentiality
Rights to anonymity
Participants also have the right to anonymity, which means that one should not be able to identify participants in the study.
Rights to confidentiality
Participants have the right to confidentiality, which means keeping any identifying information of participants a secret.
Protecting privacy
Protecting participants’ right to privacy means that we cannot probe into sensitive and intimate details of the lives of participants, unless there is informed consent.
Beneficence
This refers to the need for research to
maximise benefits
and
minimise
any possible
harmful
effects of participation in research
Justice
Participants should experience fairness in receiving the benefits
Participants share the burdens of accepting risks equally
Ethical Concerns Relating to the Professional Conduct of Researchers
Publication credit:
This means that all researchers who have substantially contributed to a piece of research should be given authorship credit in all publications.
•
Whistle-blowing:
This means that researchers should act morally and end unethical behaviour; whether that is done by their supervisors, their sponsors, or their organisation.
Misrepresentation:
This includes misrepresenting one’s findings by fabricating one’s data (i.e. research fraud) and misrepresenting one’s work by using another’s work as one’s own without proper acknowledgement (i.e. plagiarism)
Five (5) dimensions of social science research
Single or Multiple Points in Time
Longitudinal
Research that Collects and analyse data on many cases, at
multiple points in time.
It can be exploratory, descriptive, or explanatory in purpose.
Longitudinal research tends to be more complicated and costly in administration, but it
can portray social organisation and relations across time.
Panel
Longitudinal research in which information is
about identical cases or people in each of
several time periods. (i.e. a
prolonged cross-sectional model of research
).
Researchers conducting a panel study observe or gather data on exactly the same people, group, or organization across time points
Time-series research
Longitudinal research in which information can be about different cases or people in each of several time periods.
It enables researchers to observe stability or change in the features of the units or can track conditions over
time.
For example studying the United States Birth Rate (women ages 15–44) from 1910 to 2000
Cohort
Longitudinal research that traces information about a
category of cases or people who shared a common experience
at one time period across subsequent time periods.
Almost similar to the panel study, but rather than observing the exact same people, it
studies a category of people
who share a similar life experience in a specified period
Cross-Sectional
A research design which Collects & analyses data on many cases
at one point in time
Tends to be correlational, descriptive, straightforward and cost-effective, but
inapt in depicting social processes or changes.
Within or across cases
In any study, researchers should ask both how many cases are involved and whether the emphasis is more on a detailed examination within a few cases or across many cases.
Case Study Research
that is an in-depth examination of an extensive amount of information about very few units or cases for one period or across multiple periods of time
Strengths
Heuristic impact.
Case studies are highly heuristic (i.e., providing further learning, discovery, associations, or problem solving). They help with constructing new theories,
Causal mechanisms identification.
Case studies can illustrate the details of social processes and mechanisms by which one factor affects others.
Holistic elaboration.
Case studies can elaborate on an entire situation or process holistically and permit the incorporation of multiple perspectives or viewpoints.
Ability to capture complexity and trace processes.
Case studies can effectively depict highly complex, multiple-factor events/situations and trace processes over time and space.
Conceptual validity.
Case studies help to “flush out” and identify concepts/variables that are of greatest interest and move toward their core or essential meaning in abstract theory.
Calibration.
Case studies enable researchers to adjust measures of abstract concepts to dependable, lived experiences and concrete standards.
Across Case Research
Across-case research compares select characteristics
across numerous cases.
It tends to be quantitative in nature as it
focuses on the relation among characteristics
, rather than the circumstances of each case
Purpose of Research
Descriptive research
Research in which the primary purpose is to
elaborate on a relationship,
either quantitatively or qualitatively and to present a profile, a classification of types, or an outline of steps to answer questions such as who, when, where, and
how
.
Purpose of Descriptive research
Provide a
detailed, highly accurate picture.
Locate new data that contradict past data.
Create a set of categories or classification.
Clarify a sequence of steps or stages.
Document a causal process or mechanism.
Report on the background or context of a situation.
Explanatory research
Research whose primary purpose is to
explain why events
occur and to build, elaborate, extend, or test theory
Thus, explanatory research builds on already existing knowledge collected about a social phenomenon as a result of more basic exploratory and descriptive studies.
Addresses the
“why”
question.
Purpose of Explanatory research
Test a theory’s predictions or principle.
Elaborate and enrich a theory’s explanation.
Extend a theory to new issues or topics.
Support or refute an explanation or prediction.
Link issues or topics to a general principle.
Determine which of several explanations is best.
Exploratory research
Research whose primary purpose is to
examine a little-understood issue
or phenomenon and to develop preliminary ideas about
it and move toward refined research questions.
Addresses the
“what”
question.
Purpose of Exploratory research
Become familiar with the
basic facts, setting, and concerns.
Create a general mental picture of conditions.
Formulate and focus questions for future research.
Generate new ideas, conjectures, or hypotheses.
Determine the feasibility of conducting research.
Develop techniques for measuring and locating future data.
Data Collection Techniques
Qualitative and Quantitative
Social science research comprises two major approaches: Quantitative and Qualitative.
both have their advantages and disadvantages. They also share fundamental scientific principles.
Choosing a particular approach depends on the research question
of the researcher
and the methodology
he wants to use to examine that research question. It is possible for researchers to combine both approaches in their research.
Quantitative characteristics
Measure objective facts
Focus on variables
Reliability the key factor
Value-free
Separate theory and data
Independent of context
Many cases, subjects
Statistical analysis
Research process
Select a topic.
This may be a general area of study or an issue of professional/personal interest.
Topics are broad, such as the effects of divorce, reasons for delinquency, impact of homelessness, or how elites use the media
Inform others.
At this stage, we write a report about the study in a specific format and present a description of both the study and its results
Formulate the question.
Narrow the topic to focus on a specific research question that a study can address.
Often this requires reviewing the research literature and developing hypotheses that often come from social theory.
For example
a broad topic—reasons for delinquency—becomes the focused research question: Are teenage East Asian immigrant males with strong ties to their home culture and who have not assimilated into the new society more likely to engage in delinquent acts than those with weaker home culture ties and who have assimilated?
Notice how the initial broad topic, reasons for delinquency, becomes focused. We focus on a
specific reason
for delinquency (i.e., degree of assimilation) and look at a
specific group
of people (i.e., teenaged immigrant males from East Asia).
Analyze the data.
This step usually requires the use of computer software to organise numerical data into charts, tables, graphs, and statistical measures.
These computer-generated documents provide a condensed picture of the data.
Design the study.
Designing a study requires making many decisions about:
the type of case or sample to select,
how to measure relevant factors,
and what research technique (e.g., questionnaire, experiment) to employ.
At this stage as well, decision making is informed by theory
Interpret the data.
After we produce charts, tables, and statistics, we must determine what they mean. We examine the analyzed data, use knowledge of the research topic, and draw on theory to answer our research question.
We consider alternative interpretations of the data, compare our results with those of past studies, and draw out wider implications of what we have learned
Collect data.
After we design a study in detail, we must carefully record and verify information typically in the form of numbers.
Next we must transfer numerical data into a computer-readable format if it is not already in that format.
Types
Reactive research
Experiment
Research in which the researcher manipulates conditions (variables) for some research participants but not others and then compares group responses to see whether the alteration of certain variables made a difference.
Survey
Quantitative research in which the researcher systematically asks a large number of people the same questions and then records their answers.
Nonreactive Research
methods in which people are not aware of being studied.
Existing statistics
Research in which one reexamines and statistically analyzes quantitative data that have been gathered by government agencies or other organizations.
Content analysis
Research in which the content of a communication medium is systematically recorded and analysed
Qualitative Characteristics
Construct social reality, cultural meaning
Focus on interactive processes, events
Authenticity the key factor
Values present and explicit
Theory and data fused
Situationally constrained
Few cases, subjects
Thematic analysis
Research Process
Inform others.
This is similar for both approaches, but here again, the style of a report varies according to the approach used
Design a study and collect, analyze, and interpret data.
As with quantitative research, a qualitative researcher will design a study, collect data, analyze data, and interpret data. More so than the quantitative researcher, a qualitative researcher is likely to collect, analyze, and interpret data simultaneously.
This is a fluid process with much going back and forth among the steps multiple times. Often the researcher not only uses or tests a past theory, but also builds new theory.
At the interpret data stage, the qualitative researcher creates new concepts and theoretical interpretations.
Adopt a perspective.
Qualitative researchers may ponder the theoretical-philosophical paradigm or place their inquiry in the context of ongoing discussions with other researchers.
Rather than narrowing down a topic, this means choosing a direction that may contain many potential questions.
Acknowledge self and context.
Social scientists also start with a topic as with quantitative research, but the start is simultaneous with performing a self-assessment and situating the topic in a socio-historical context.
Many qualitative researchers rely on personal beliefs, biography, or specific current issues to identify a topic of interest or importance
Types
Field
Qualitative research in which the researcher directly observes and records notes on people in a natural setting for an extended period of time.
Historical-comparative
Qualitative research in which the researcher examines data on events and conditions in the historical past and/or in different societies.
Literature Review
Goals of Literature Review
To demonstrate a
familiarity
with a body of knowledge and establish
credibility.
To
Synthesise
/integrate and summarise what is known in an area
To show the path of prior research and how a current project is
linked
to it.
To learn from others and stimulate
new ideas
.
6 Types of Literature Review
Context review
: Links a specific study to a larger body of knowledge.
Historical review
: Traces an issue over time.
Integrative review
: Summarises the current state of knowledge on a
topic, highlighting agreements and disagreements within it.
Methodological review
: Compares and evaluates the relative methodological strength of various studies and shows how different methodologies (e.g., research designs, measures, samples) account for different results.
Self-study review
: Demonstrates his or her familiarity with a subject
area.
Theoretical review
: Presents several theories or concepts focused on the same topic and compares them on the basis of assumptions, logical consistency, and scope of explanation.
Use and Audience Research
Applied research
Applied research is designed to
offer practical solutions
to a concrete problem or address immediate or specific needs.
Audience - Practitioners/ Non-Researchers
Evaluators - Practitioner Supervisor
Anatomy of study - Low to moderate
Research rigour - Varies
Priority - Relevance
Purpose - Resolve existing issue
Success indicated by - Resolution to an issue
Types of Applied research
Action research
Applied research in which the
primary goal is to facilitate and motivate social change
or bring about a value-oriented political-social goal.
It combines the acquisition of new knowledge and the utilisation of this knowledge to accomplish a specific purpose, and routinely involves social-political issues like environmental protection, equitable development, and human rights..
Participatory action research
Action research in which the research participants actively help design and conduct the research study.
It emphasizes democratizing knowledge-creation and engaging in collective action, and it assumes that political knowledge emerges from participating in research.
Characteristics
Most action research shares five characteristics:
The people who are studied are
active participant
s in the research process
The study incorporates
popular knowledge and concerns
of ordinary people.
The study
examines power relations
and documents social
inequality
or injustice.
Study findings are shared to
raise awareness
and empower ordinary people.
The research is tied directly to
social-political action
and
achieving social goals.
Evaluation research
Evaluation research determines
how well a policy or programme is effective
in achieving its objective.
Ethical conflicts are commonly developed during evaluation research.
e.g. Decision makers may place restrictions on a study by specifying the scope of research questions and methods and be selective in the presentation of findings.
Corresponding to these limitations, evaluation research is seldom widely circulated for replication or scrutiny
Summative
evaluation reviews final policy or programme outcomes.
Formative
evaluation monitors continuous feedback
Social impact assessment
Applied research
evaluates potential consequences
of a planned change on various aspects of the community
It is usually part of an environmental impact statement required by government agencies.
For example, an environmental impact statement
is required for locating and building infrastructures.
When social impact assessment is part of the environmental impact statement, it reviews the consequences of such action, for instance, the impact on the survival and continuity of indigenous communities that have established historical and cultural roots.
Effectiveness
The tools and effectiveness of social impact assessment researches are widely documented, but underutilised.
Second, social impact assessment requires
financial and human resources
that may, in turn, delay the decision-making process, impose excessive modifications, and/or disrupt plans with the identification of social concerns
First, social impact assessment is not mandatory in environmental impact statements. This is reinforced by the
limited knowledge
of social science research.
Decisions
concerning large-scale projects are made on the
basis of economic and political interests rather than social impact.
Tools of applied research
Many applied researchers use two tools as part of their research studies: needs assessment and cost-benefit analysis.
Needs assessment
An applied research tool that gathers
descriptive information
about a need, issue, or concern, including its magnitude, scope, and severity.
Concerns in needs assessment
A first issue is to prioritize serious needs or problems.
A second issue is to identify information sources for the needs assessment.
A third issue is that explicit, immediate needs may not include the full range of less visible issues or link them to long-term solutions.
A fourth issue is that the needs assessment may generate political controversy. It may suggest solutions beyond local control or without a realistic chance of implementation. Powerful groups may not want some of the social needs documented or publicized
Cost-benefit analysis
An applied research tool economists developed in which a monetary value is assigned to the inputs and outcomes of a process and then the researcher examines the balance between them.
Basic research
Basic research is designed to
advance fundamental knowledge
about the social world and to
build, support, or refute theoretical explanations
about social organisation and relations.
Audience - Scientific Community/ Researchers
Evaluators - Research peer
Anatomy of study - High
Research rigour - High
Priority - verify existing knowledge
Purpose - Building upon existing knwoledge
Success indicated by - publication/impact in the scienctifc community
philosophical assumptions and the principles behind research methods
Methodology
All scientific research rests on two philosophical domain
Philosophical domains
Epistemology
An area of philosophy concerned with the creation of knowledge; focuses on how we know what we know or what are the most valid ways to reach truth
Ontology
An area of philosophy that deals with the nature of being, or what exists; the area of philosophy that asks what really is and what the fundamental categories of reality are.
• Ontology influences Epistemology, which influences Methodology and Methods
Three research approaches
These two areas of philosophy relate directly to the major approaches to social research –
positivist social science
interpretative social science
critical social science.
These approaches represent alternative assumptions and principles of observing, measuring, and understanding social
Two other approaches including feminist and postmodern approach have been reflected in Textbook 119 OR in SG pg 25
Interpretative social science
One of three major approaches to social research that emphasizes
meaningful social action within a context
socially constructed meaning (Constructionist ontology)
value relativism
a voluntaristic view of human volition - Human actions based on subjective choices
Purpose
the goal of social research is to develop an understanding of social life and discover how people construct
meaningful social action
, not just people’s visible, external behavior
Nature of social reality
ISS employs a
Constructionist orientation.
i.e. An orientation toward social reality that assumes the
beliefs and meaning
that people create and use fundamentally
shape what reality is
for them
Nature of human being
Humans are interacting beings who create and reinforce shared meaning.
view on human agency (free will, volition, and rationality)
ISS adopts voluntarism and sees people as having volition (being able to make conscious choices).
Voluntarism
An approach to human agency and causality assuming that human actions are based on the
subjective choices and reasons
of individuals
Relationship between science and common sense
Positivists see common sense as being inferior to science. By contrast, ISS holds that ordinary people use common sense to guide them in daily life
View on explanations or theory of social reality
ISS is idiographic and inductive. Explanations are idiographic and advance via inductive reasoning
The purpose of ISS theory is to provide an interpretative explanation
Idiographic
A type of explanation used in interpretive social science in which the explanation is an in-depth description or picture with specific details but limited abstraction about a social situation or setting.
View on evidence
Social scientific evidence is contingent, context-specific, and often requires bracketing.
Bracketing
A strategy of interpretive social science researchers to
identify the taken-for-granted assumptions
of a social scene and then set them aside or hold them in temporary abeyance.
By recognizing and separating the ordinary, “obvious” meanings people use in daily life, researchers can better understand their role.
Social science should be relativistic regarding value positions.
View on true or false
Explanations are verified using the postulate of adequacy with people being studied
Postulate of adequacy
An interpretive social science principle that explanations should be understandable in commonsense terms by the people being studied.
Practical orientation
A pragmatic orientation toward social knowledge in which people apply knowledge in their daily lives; the value of knowledge is the ability to be integrated with a person’s practical everyday understandings and choices.
Critical social science
One of the three major approaches to social research that emphasizes:
combating surface-level distortions
multiple levels of reality,
and value-based activism for human empowerment.
Purpose
In the CSS view, the primary purpose of research is to
critique and transform
social relations by
revealing the underlying sources of social control
, power relations, and inequality
Nature of social reality
CSS adopts a critical realist ontology that views reality as being composed of multiple layers: the empirical, the real, and the actual
Nature of human being
CSS recognizes that people are rational decision makers who are shaped by social structures and creative beings who construct meaning and social structures
View on human agency (free will, volition, and rationality)
CSS blends determinism and voluntarism to emphasize bounded autonomy
Bounded autonomy
An approach to human agency and causality used in critical social science that assumes human action is based on subjective choices and reasons but only within identifiable limits.
Relationship between science and common sense
CSS is of the position that Scientific knowledge is imperfect but can fight false consciousness.
False consciousness
An idea used by critical social science that people often have false or misleading ideas about empirical conditions and their true interests.
View on explanations or theory of social reality
Abduction is used to create explanatory critiques
Abduction
means making repeated reevaluations of ideas and data based on applying alternative rules or schemes and learning from each
Explanatory critique
A type of explanation used in critical social science in which the explanation simultaneously explains conditions (or tells why) events occur and critiques conditions (or points out discrepancies, reveals myths, or identifies contradictions).
Explanation is verified via praxis
Praxis
A way to evaluate explanations in critical social science by putting theoretical explanations into real-life practice and the subsequent outcome is used to refine explanation.
The relevance or use of social scientific knowledge
CSS researchers uses Reflexive-dialectic orientation and Transformative perspective
Reflexive-dialectic orientation
An orientation toward social knowledge used in critical social science in which subjective and objective sides are blended together to provide insights in combination unavailable from either side alone; the value of knowledge as a process that integrates making observations, reflecting on them, and taking action
Transformative perspective
The view that the researcher probes beyond the surface level of reality in ways that can shift subjective understandings and provide insights into how engaging in social-political action may dramatically improve the conditions of people’s lives.
Positivist
One of the three major approaches to social research that emphasizes:
discovering causal laws
careful empirical observations, and
value-free research.
Through a deterministic, realist ontology
Purpose
Purpose of conducting Social sciences discover and document universal
causal laws
of human behaviour
Causal law
General cause–effect rules used in causal explanations of social theory and whose discovery is a primary objective of positivist social science.
Nature of social reality
Modern positivists adopt a
realist
ontology (i.e. materialism/ empirical observation)
Nature of human beings
assumes that humans are self-interested, pleasure-seeking/pain-avoiding, rational mammals. That learn by observing their external/social behaviour (a.k.a
mechanical model
of a man)
Mechanical model of man
A model of human nature used in positivist social science stating that observing people’s external behaviors and documenting outside forces acting on them are sufficient to provide adequate explanations of human thought and action.
View on human agency (free will, volition, and rationality)
emphasizes the
determinism
of relationships and looks for determining causes or mechanisms that produce effects.
Determinism
An approach to human agency and causality that assumes that human actions are largely caused by forces external to individuals that can be identified.
View on explanations or theory of social reality
explanation is nomothetic.
I.e. A type of explanation used in positivist social science that relies heavily on causal laws and lawlike statements and interrelations.
View on true or false
PSS explanations must meet two conditions: They must
(1) have no logical contradictions and
(2) be consistent with observed facts,
Common Features of
The Three Major
Approaches to Social Science
all of the approaches say that the social sciences strive to create systematically gathered, empirically based theoretical knowledge through public processes that are self-reflective and open ended.
All are theoretical
.
The nature of theory varies, but all emphasize using ideas and seeing patterns. None holds that social life is chaos and disorder; all hold that explanation or understanding is possible.
All are public.
All say a researcher’s work must be expressed to other researchers; it should be made explicit and shared. All oppose keeping the research processes hidden, private, or secret.
All are systematic.
Each emphasizes meticulous and careful work. All reject haphazard, shoddy, or sloppy thinking and observation
All are open-end processes.
All see research as constantly moving, evolving, changing, asking new questions, and pursuing leads. None sees it as static, fixed, or closed/ set in stone/
All are empirical.
Each is rooted in the observable reality of the sights, sounds, behaviours, situations, discussions, and actions of people. Research is never based on fabrication and imagination alone
All are self-reflective.
Each approach says researchers need to think about what they do and be self-conscious. Research is never done in a blind or unthinking manner. It involves serious contemplation and requires self-awareness.
Research report writing
Reasons for Writing a Research Report
To document:
the reasons for initiating the study
a description of the research process
a presentation of data
and an analysis of the data in relation to the research question.
Other reasons for writing a report are:
to fulfil a class or job assignment
to inform the organisation that funded the study
to persuade the government, a corporation, a non-governmental organisation to address a specific problem
or to educate the public
The Writing Process
Audience.
The presentation of your research report is dependent on the primary audience:
instructors
students
social scientists
practitioners
or the general public.
Social scientists
interested in the
detailed procedures
of the research study. The methods should be clearly and precisely outlined, and data should be presented in a concise and systematic way. There should be a
detailed
interpretation and evaluation of the
data.
Practitioners
favour a
brief outline
of the purposes, aims, and methods of the study clearly depicted by graphs and tables. A detailed discussion of the
significance of the data
and its relationship with the
purposes and aims of the study
should be performed.
For students,
the research topic should be clear and
provide direction
for your report. The discussion should be
comprehensive
and logical with
detailed evidences
. There should also be
clear explanations
of technical terms.
For the public
,
the writing should be
clear and functiona
l with convincing evidence or support, and
practical
suggestions
For instructors,
the writing should be well
organised
following specific report
format
with
clear and concise
explanations of technical terms, and specific symbols and units of measurements should be accurately presented.
Style and tone.
Generally, The style for research reports is
formal and concise
; and the tone expresses
objectivity and thoughtfulness.
Organising/Outline of thoughts.
Outlines ensure all components of the research report are included and that the relationship among them is clear. It facilitates
(1) organising ideas
(2) linking ideas
(3) differentiating general information from specific ideas.
However, report writing does not often begin with a complete and comprehensive outline. The initial outline may be broad but tapers with the discovering and linking of different ideas. Hence, report writing requires an open mind to reanalysis when necessary.
Sourcing for details.
When writing the research report, you may realise that your notes are incomplete or your references are lacking some detail. Don’t just limit yourself to written sources; make full use of the library’s electronic resources such as online databases and journals.