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Topic-2

I welcome all of you to today’s session on social research.

Out line of the session

❖Recapitulation of Topic-1

❖ Social research (definition, purposes, utilities, limitations)

❖Social research types

✓from approach/data analysis/methodological point of view
✓based on nature of research
✓from the point of comparison
✓based on purpose and objectives of research

❖Reference for this session

❖Sample questions from this session

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Recapitulation of Topic-1
❖ Presented research concepts, aims, and features

❖Explained interrelationship between knowledge sources and

research

Definition of social research

•Social research has its own characteristics, it focuses primarily on
human behavior and social issues and problems.

•The main emphasis is to develop and generate new knowledge, facts,

and to discover and establish interrelationship between processes and
phenomena in a social setting.

•It also aims to establish causal and natural relationship between various
human behaviors and the natural laws.

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Continued
• According to Aminuzzaman “Social research is a process in which
people combine a set of principles, outlooks, and ideas (i.e.,
methodology) with a collection of specific practices, techniques, and
strategies (i.e., a method of inquiry) to produce knowledge.”

• P. V. Young defines social research as “The systematic method of

discovering new facts or verifying old facts, their sequences,
interrelationships, causal explanations and the natural laws which
govern them.”

Continued

Thus, research in social sciences, is a rigorous scientific activity

aimed at developing new bodies of knowledge applicable to the
broad field of social studies.

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Purposes of Social Research

•According to Ghose (1982) a social has the following main purposes

Continued
• According to Young (1975) a social research has the following main purposes

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Utilities of Social Research

• According to Aminuzzaman (2011) major usage of a social research are as follows

❖Analysis and understanding of social issues

✓It seeks to unfold the shortcomings and evils of social institutions;

✓It generates the first-hand information regarding social institutions, pattern of social
interactions and network of power relationships and the overall social dynamics.

❖Works as base for planning on social issues

✓Social research findings generate a comprehensive data and information base for planning
exercises either in macro or micro level.

✓It provides the detailed and comprehensive picture of the socio-economic conditions,
levels of aspiration of the people at large.

Continued
❖Predict future trend and relationship
✓It establishes causal relationships between and among the cause variables.

✓ Explore and examine causal relationships in order to examine present dynamics and also predict
the future trend or movement of such relationships under changed and or manipulated conditions.

❖Advancement of methods and techniques

✓It involves in designing and developing different models, tools and techniques,
approaches and procedures geared to the need of the socio-economic management.

✓Helps to suggests alternative action packages and methodological treatments.

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Limitations of Social Research

• According to Chaplin (1955) a social research the following limitations

Continued

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From approach/data analysis/methodological point of view

•1) Qualitative Research

•2) Quantitative Research

•3) Mixed or Combined or Tailor Made or Most Used Research

Qualitative Research
•Based primarily on constructivist perspectives
✓ Multiple meanings of individua experiences
✓ Meanings socially and historically constructed

•Advocacy or participatory perspectives

✓ Political
✓ Issue-oriented
✓ Collaborative or change oriented

•Studying things in their natural settings

•Attempting or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them

•With an intent of developing a theory or pattern

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Quantitative Research
▪Focuses on cause and effect thinking/generally positivist
▪Reduction to specific variables, hypotheses, and questions
▪Test of theories
▪Uses numbers to try to understand the process and phenomena
▪Use of measurement
▪Data are collected through surveys
▪Asked selected/predefined set of questions
▪Required to respond by making use of numbers

Mixed or Combined Research

• Other names are Integrated or Triangulated Approach

• It allows methodological pluralism

✓ (i.e. researcher in one single research can use qualitative and quantitative methods)

• There is 3 models of combination

✓ Two-phase design
✓ A dominant/less dominant design
✓ A mixed methodology design

• Increases the validity of research

• One method serves as a check on another

• Helps gaining a fuller picture of the reality

• Prime logic is that social experience and livelihood related issues are multi-dimensional and can
exist simultaneously in macro and micro levels

• Use of single dimension can be inadequate

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Based on nature of research

1) Fundamental or Pure or Basic Research

2) Applied or Action Research

Fundamental or Pure or Basic Research

▪ Other name Intellectual Exercise

▪ Primarily attempts to develop theoretical base and logical foundation

▪ Raise core or fundamental issues of the subject matter

▪ It pursues knowledge for knowledge sake

▪ It has less concern on immediate utility of the research

▪ Motivation is understanding, and discovering universal laws, principles

▪ Basically it develops a discipline

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Applied or Action Research

• Carried out for practical purposes to produce findings

• Identify interventions applicable for functional and immediate use

• Concerned with generating new information to help

• current needs, solving problems, or generate alternative decisions and packages

• Basic objective is to produce applications packages to control natural

phenomena

• Includes policy research, evaluation resaerch

From the point of comparison

•Comparative Research

•Longitudinal Research

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Comparative Research
• Similarities and differences between/among various units or cultural or
social groups are studied

• Can cover information on same issue from various contexts

• Helps to compare issues perfectly

• Helps policy-makers to exchange the findings to improve the

conditions of livelihood

• E.g. study on marriage system of Muslims in Bangladesh, Malaysia,

Saudi Arabia, ….

Longitudinal Research
• Involves the study of the problem or the same body of phenomenon
over a period of time

• E.g. Study prevalence of AIDS in 1960, 70, 80, 90, 2000….

• More powerful and informative

• Can be cross-sectional, covers a broad range of phenomena at a single-

point in time

• E.g. covers lets say 10 information of all the households of X

Municipality

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Based on the purpose and objectives of research

1)Exploratory Research
2)Explanatory Research
3)Experimental Research
4)Relational Research
5)Evaluation Research
6)Descriptive Research
7)Policy Research

Exploratory Research
Attempts to develop general understanding and common familiarity with a
phenomenon

Form new ideas and tries to achieve new insight

Its generally for unique issues where past evidences are not enough

To test the feasibility of undertaking a more careful study

Discovering new dimensions and uncovering additional aspects

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Explanatory Research
Known as causal studies

Main purpose is to examine the existing relationship of the variables

Distinguish major variables interlocked in a process

Identify the significant variables with their degree of influence and impact that
characterize the process

Experimental Research
Specially required to test a hypothesis or to document expected result of
introduction of a new intervention

Records changes in dependent variables and its corresponding specific independent

variables

Usually holds all variables constant except one to monitor changes in output

Can be laboratory experiment or field experiment, the first is insulated from real life
on the other second one focuses real setting to minimize influence

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Relational Research
Look at the relationships between two or more variables

Proportion of males and females say they would vote for a party X or Y candidate in
the next general election is essentially studying the relationship between gender and
voting preference

Evaluation Research
Special form of applied research designed to evaluate program or project or activity
packages

Main objective is to assess the dedicated intervention to see the change

Also to identify the conditions and process of success or failure

Organizations generally use to evaluate their performance

It is used as a feedback loop for future betterment of the intervention

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Descriptive Research
Is carried out to portray accurately characteristics of groups, individuals or situations

To determine incidence or frequency of something happens

Examine uniformity or regularity or rarity or universality

Provides background information

Provide initial ideas about interrelationships among phenomena

Policy Research
Initiate to provide policy input for the policy-makers to solve problems

Provides pragmatic and action-oriented recommendations

Efforts generally begins with a social problem e.g.. Malnutrition

Multidimensional in focus

Responsive to study areas

Explicitly incorporates values

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Reference for this session

1) Aminuzzaman, M. Salahuddin, Essentials of Social Research, Osder
Publications, Dhaka, 2011, PP 39-49.

2) Ahuja, Ram, Research Methods, Rawat Publications, Jaipur and New

Delhi, Second Reprint, 2005, PP 130-131.

3) Marsh, David & Stoker, Gerry, Theory and Methods in Political

Science, 2nd Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2002, PP 231-248.

Sample questions from this session

1) Define social research. Explain the major purposes of conducting a social
research.

2) How do you define social research? Discuss the major utilities of a social
research. Mention the common limitations of a social research in this regard.

3) What are the major basis of social research typology? Which basis you think is
most rational and why? Discuss social research types based on any two of the
following basis:
a) methodology;
b) nature;
c) comparison; and
d) purpose and objective.

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Thanks 

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