Sunday, April 30, 2023

Social Research and Making Research Sociological

Social Research and Making Research Sociological


Definition of Social Research

According to C.A. Moser : “Social research is a systematized investigation to gain new

knowledge about social phenomenon  and problems.”

According to P.V. Young: “Social research is a scientific task which by means of logical

methods, aim to discover new facts or old facts and to analyze their sequences,

interrelationships, casual explanations and natural laws

which govern them.”



Social Research: 

Social Research is a method used by social scientists and researchers to learn

about people and societies so that they can design products/services that

accommodate to various needs of the people.


Different socio-economic groups belonging to different parts of a county think

differently. Various aspects of human behavior need to be addressed to

understand their thoughts and feedback about the social world, which can be

done using Social Research. Any topic can activate social research – new

feature, new market trend or an upgrade in old technology.


What is social Research ?

Society is an organized group of persons associated together with shared objective, norms and

values pertain to the society.


People have social life and social process. Research is systematic and organized effort to

investigate a specific problem that needs a solution. It contributes to the

general body of knowledge. It also corrects human knowledge.

Social research now can be defined as the systematic and objective analysis and recording of

controlled  observations that may lead to the development of generalization,

principles or theories resulting in prediction and possibly ultimate control of events in society. It

attempts to answer or solve social problems.

(eg. covid, cyber addict)


Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic

plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative or qualitative.

 Quantitative designs 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 is related to quality and emphasize understanding of social

phenomena through direct observation, communication with participants, or analysis

of texts, and may stress contextual subjective accuracy over generality.


Making Research Sociological

Sociologists conduct research on almost every area of human behavior. The research conducted

may be at the macro level, covering broad matters such as social structure, or at the micro

level, which addresses individualistic and small group interaction. Sociological research is

necessary for a variety of reasons. Research will confirm or deny the validity and extent of what

is considered to be true simply because it “makes sense.” Whereas culture has a significant

impact on what one believes to be true, there needs to be a more objective manner in which to

discover truth. Research provides the method through which truth can be discovered. To

discover this truth, scientific research is used.

There are a number of factors researchers must take into consideration beyond the research

method chosen. Some of these are beyond the control of the researcher. It involves a change in

the person’s behavior because he or she knows they are being studied. Gender and race are

also considerations that must be controlled by the researcher, especially when the sample

being studied or the subject of the research is gender or race related. Gender and race can be a

confuse making factors in sociological research, and sociologists need to take careful steps to

prevent gender or race differences from biasing their findings.


What is a Valid Sociological Topic?

Sociologists research just about every area of human behavior at both the macro and micro

levels.

No human behavior is ineligible=-disallowed) for research, whether it is routine or unusual,

respectable or reprehensible (inacceptable)


Common Sense and the Need for Sociological Research

Common sense cannot be trusted on as a source of knowledge because it is often limited and

based on limited information.

To move beyond common sense and understand what is really going on, it is necessary to do

sociological research. (eg. no disable person win the football game )


Controversy in Sociological Research

Social research can be very controversial be it private, political, etc. Often the findings of social

research threaten those who have a stake in the matters being studied. (the study of the crime

or criminal people is an example of such controversy.)


Gender in Sociological Research

Because gender can be a significant factor in social research, researchers take steps to prevent

it from biasing their findings.


Gender can also be an obstacle to doing research, particularly when the gender of the

researcher is different from that of the research subjects and the topic under investigation is a

sensitive one.


There are also questions regarding the degree to which findings from a sample made up

exclusively of one gender can be generalized to the other.


Ethics in Sociological Research

Ethics are of fundamental concern to sociologists when it comes to doing research.

Ethical considerations include being open, honest, and truthful; not harming the subject in the

course of conducting the research; protecting the anonymity of the research subjects; and not

misrepresenting themselves to the research subjects.


How Research and Theory Work Together

Sociologists combine research and theory in different ways. Theory is used to interpret data

(i.e. functionalism, symbolic interaction and conflict theory provide frameworks for interpreting

research findings) and to generate research. Research helps to generate theory.

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