Intro to Social
Research
Click to add text
Components of
Research
Theory
Method
Epistemology
Ontological
Considerations

Objectivism



Phenomena independent of social actors.
Organisations and culture are said to exist
as a tangible object, external to the social
actor.
Constructionism


Social phenomena and their meanings are
continually being accomplished by social
actors.
Not only produced through social
interaction but they are in a constant state
of revision.
Research Design
This involves:

Defining the problem/research
question
Review of related literature
Planning the research



•
•
•

What methodology will you use?
What data do you want to
use/produce?
How feasible is your research
approach?
Ethical considerations.
What do you need to
think about when
Designing Research?





What is the purpose of the
research?
What are your units of analysis?
What are your points of focus?
What is the time dimension?
Designing a research project:



conceptualisation
operationalisation.
Reliability, replication and
validity.
Different Purposes of
Research (1)
Exploratory







Goal is to generate many ideas.
Develop tentative theories and
conjectures.
Become familiar with the basic
facts, people and concerns
involved.
Formulate questions and refine
issues for future research.
It is the initial research.
Usually qualitative research.
Different Purposes of
Research (2)

Descriptive research






Presents a profile of a group or describes a
process, mechanism or relationship or
presents basic background information or a
context.
Used very often in applied research.
E.g.: General Household survey –
describes demographic characteristics,
economic factors and social trends.
Can be used to monitor changes in family
structure and household composition.
Can also be used to gain an insight into the
changing social and economic
circumstances of population groups.
Often survey research.
Different Purposes of
Research (3)

Analytical (or explanatory)



goes beyond simple description to
model empirically the social
phenomena under investigation.
It involves theory testing or
elaboration of a theory.
Used mostly in basic research.
Units of Analysis
Can be
•
individuals,
•
groups,
•
organizations,
•
social artifacts
•
(ie. products of social beings, for
example, books, poems, paintings,
automobiles, buildings, songs, pottery, jokes
and scientific discoveries).
•
behaviours
(eg: social interactions, such as friendship
choices, court cases, traffic accidents.
Weddings (as a unit of analysis) –
might be characterised as being religious or
secular or ethnically or religiously mixed
resulting in divorce or not or they could
characterised by descriptions of one or both of
the marriage partners.
Points of Focus
1.
2.
3.
4.
Characteristics
Orientations
(attitudes, beliefs, prejudices,
personality traits)
Organizations
(would be in terms of policy,
procedures etc
Social interactions, actions.
Considerations

Time dimension – cross-sectional or
longitudinal

Conceptualisation – i.e. you must specify
the meanings of the concepts and variables
to be studied.

Operationalisation – how will we actually
measure the variables under study?

Reliability – are the results repeatable? –
relevant to quantitative social research.

Replication - can others replicate the
results?

Validity – will examine later but are the
results a true reflection of the world?
Steps in
Research Design
1.
Choose a Topic.
1.
Focus research question.
1.
Design the study.
1.
Collect the data.
1.
Analyse the data.
1.
Interpret the data.
1.
Present the results.
Research Proposal


Title
Statement of research question








Remember to stress why the problem is
important!
Background/information
Aims and objectives of the study
Methods
Timetable
Data analysis
Ethical issues
In Funding applications, add


Resources/Budget
Dissemination
Qualitative Research
Methods
I. Survey Questionnaires
A. When to use?
When goal is to get a broad perspective over a
larger number of people

Typically you ask more closed ended
questions.

Have a sample size of over 20-30 at least.
B. Method of analysis

Statistical. You present basic summaries
of the types of responses you got.

You interpret the meaning of these
responses and your rational based on the
data and previous research.
Qualitative: Narrative
methods
II. Case Study Interviews
A. When to use?
 When the goal is to go into depth
about the meaning which individuals
give to particular subjects and extract
patterns of responses.
 Typically more open ended questions.
 Sample size is smaller (1-5?)
 Focus on individual(s) as means to
speak about broader social relations.
B. Method of analysis
 Case report
 Descriptive Analysis. You look at
specific responses and extrapolate.
Qualitative methods
III. Discourse Interviews
A. When to use?

When the goal is to go into depth about
the way in which social realities are
produced and constructed.

Open ended questions. Less structured,
you follow a line of interest.

Sample size is smaller (5-15?)

Focus on how discourses and social
context informs us about broader social
relations.
B. Method of analysis

Contextual/historical overview

Discursive analysis: you analyze
transcripts of interviews and extrapolate
patterns and their meaning in context.
Examples of
Discursive Analysis

Margaret Weatherall. Interviewed New
Zealanders and analyzed how their 'normal'
discourses were reproducing racist social
relations.

Michael Billig. Banal Nationalism. Analyzed
representative media and interviews in the
USA to look at how those who don't identify
as being nationalistic can often be the most
nationalistic.

Erica Burman. Child Development
Discourses. She analyzed typical
representations of children in developmental
texts and looked at the patterns of how
children are represented.
Ethical Issues







Informed Consent.
Respect for privacy.
Confidentiality and anonymity of data.
What is permissible to ask?
No harm to researchers or subjects.
No deceit or lying in the course of
research.
Consequences of publication.


www.the-sra.org.uk
www.britsoc.org.uk/about/
ethics.htm
Research Design
Exercise
Draft an outline proposal on one
of the following:



Single motherhood
Teenage sexuality
Discuss the outline proposal
with the following in mind:

•
•
•
•
How would you clarify the reasons
for planning the study?
What does the study aim to
achieve?
How will it be done?
Will the findings be useful?