Introduction to Social Science Research Process

I. Four types of social research

a. Descriptive research: research that defines and describes social phenomena

(e.g., National Geographic "Survey 2000" that described Internet users
around the world and identified differences between countries)
b. Exploratory research: the investigation of social phenomena without
expectations (e.g., electronic diabetes newsgroups were found to also be
support and information networks, a place where information could be
assimilated to inform choices)
c. Explanatory research: research that identifies causes and effects of social
phenomena (e.g., research that suggests that Internet use hurts or helps
other forms of social interaction.)
d. Evaluation Research: research that determines the effects of a social
program or other types of intervention (e.g., in the Toronto, Ont. suburb that
was wired with the Internet, universal Internet access increased relations
between residents)

II. Qualitative and Quantitative Orientations to Research

a. Quantitative methods: data collection methods such as surveys and

experiments that record variation in social life in terms of categories that vary in
amount
i. Data are numbers OR attributes that can be ordered in terms of
magnitude
ii. Most often used for explanation, description, and evaluation

b. Qualitative methods: data collection methods such as participant observation,

intensive interviewing, and focus groups that are designed to capture social life
as participants experience it rather than in categories predetermined by the
researcher
i. Data are primarily written or spoken words or observations
ii. Data do not have a direct numerical interpretation
iii. Exploration is the most often motive for using qualitative methods

c. Triangulation: The use of multiple methods to study one research question

III. Positivist or Constructivist Philosophies

1
 a. Positivism: The belief that there is a reality that exists quite apart from our own
perception of it, that can be understood through observation, and that it follows
general laws.
b. Post positivism: A philosophical view that modifies the positive premise by
recognizing its complexity, the limitations of the observers, and the impossibility
of developing more than a partial understanding of reality
c. Intersubjective agreement: between scientists, about the nature of reality, often
upheld as a more reasonable goal for science than certainty about an objective
reality
d. Constructivism: a methodology based on the questioning belief in an external
reality with an emphasis on the importance of exploring the way in which
different stakeholders in a social setting construct their beliefs
e. Interpretivism: the belief that the subjective meanings people give to their
experiences are a key focus for social science research without believing that
reality itself is socially constructed.
f. Hermeneutic circle: Represents the dialectical process in which the researcher
obtains information from multiple stakeholders in a setting, refines his or her
understanding of the setting, and then tests that understanding with successive
respondents.
g. Feminist research: Research that focuses on women's lives that often includes
an orientation to person experience, subjective orientations, the researcher's
standpoint, and emotions.

IV. Basic Science vs. Applied Research

a. Basic Science: The effort to figure out what the world is like and why it works as
it does; also known as "academic motivations."
b. Applied Research: Evaluation research and other social research; often
motivated by practical concerns.

V. Strengths and Limitations of Social Research

a. Strengths

i. It helps overcome errors of everyday reasoning

ii. Permits us to see more, observe with fewer distortions, and describe
more clearly what our opinions are based on
iii. One research study often leads to another, and another, and another,
thus accumulating more knowledge of the social world
iv. By designing new studies that focus on the weaker points or
controversial conclusions of past studies, social science expands our
knowledge about the social world

b. Limitations

2
 i. Findings are always subject to differing interpretations.
ii. Other researchers may find different results
iii. Social phenomena are complex; one study will not necessarily capture
everything

VI. The Social Research Question is a question about the social world that you seek to
answer through the collection and analysis of first hand, verifiable, empirical data.
a. Three stages of formulating a research question
i. Identifying social research questions
ii. A researcher's personal experiences
iii. Social research literature
iv. Social theory
v. Request from an agency – for professional researchers

b. Refining social research questions: develop a list of possible questions as you go

along, narrow it to the most interesting and workable candidates, repeat as
necessary

c. Evaluating social research questions

i. Feasibility given resources (can be finished in time and within budget)
ii. Social importance (makes a difference in the social world)
iii. Scientific relevance (resolves contradictions in or advances social theory)

VII. Social Research Strategies: connecting theory and empirical data

a. Theory – a logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality
that helps us make sense of many interrelated phenomena and predict
behavior or attitudes that are likely to occur when certain conditions are
met.
i. Helps us identify what to look for in a study
ii. Connects implications of finding to other research
iii. Examples: deterrence theory, labeling theory, rational choice theory,
symbolic interactionism

b. Examples of social theories:

i. Rational choice theory – a social theory that explains individual action
with the principle that actors choose actions that maximize their gains
from taking action.
ii. Conflict theory – identifies a conflict between social groups as the primary
force in society; understanding the bases and consequences of conflict is
the key to understanding social processes.
iii. Symbolic interaction theory – Focuses on the symbolic nature of social
interaction – how social interaction conveys meaning and promotes
socialization.

3
c. Social Research Foundations

i. It's essential to review the literature at the beginning of a project and

throughout the process.
ii. Search for published reviews of the literature, but also, always perform
your own search
1. Search the scholarly literature
2. Search the Web

iii. Searching the Literature

1. Find relevant reports of prior research investigations.
2. Focus on those reports that have been screened for quality and
critiqued by other social scientists.
 Refereed journals are scholarly journals that are made up
of peer-reviewed articles that are critiqued before
publication.
 Newspapers and magazines provide summaries of social
events or may raise important issues, but they are not
acceptable sources.
 Web sites may offer research reports from the
government, information on social programs, and indexes
of published research literature.
 Searching the literature requires these steps:
1) Specify your research question
2) Identify appropriate bibliographic databases to
search
3) Create a tentative list of search items
4) Narrow your search
5) Use appropriate subject descriptors
6) Check the results and identify the most relevant
articles
7) Locate the articles
This part of the research process is ongoing due to the fact the
literature is continuously growing.

iv. Reviewing Research

1. Assess the credibility of each research article individually
2. Assess the implications of the entire set of articles for the relevant
aspects of your research question and procedures.
 Then, use this information to write an integrated review
that highlights these implications.

4
 v. Examples of an integrated literature review:
1. Summarize prior research
 Ask three questions: 1) Have you been selective? 2) Is the
research up-to-date? 3) Have you used direct quotes
sparingly?

2. Critique prior research

 How were the reports reviewed before their publication or
release? What is the author's reputation? Who funded or
sponsored the literature?

3. Present pertinent conclusions

 Distinguish your opinions from the literature
 Distinguish theory from the literature
 Acknowledge research limits fairly
 Do not include irrelevant articles
 Report unanswered questions that lead you to your
research!

d. Social Research Strategies

i. Social theories suggest areas on which we should focus and the
propositions that we should consider for a test.
ii. Explanatory Research: Theory connects to empirical data in two manners
(see a graphic depiction of the "research circle" that connects theory and
data):
a. Deductive research: a specific expectation is deduced from a
general theoretical premise and then tested with data that has been
collected for this purpose
1. Hypothesis: a tentative statement about empirical reality
involving a relationship between two or more variables
2. Variable: a characteristic or property that can vary (take on
different values or attributes)
 Dependent variable: a variable that is hypothesized to vary
depending on or under the influence of another variable
 Independent variable: a variable that is hypothesized to
cause, or lead to, variation in another variable
3. Direction of association between variables in a hypothesis
 Positive (as independent variable goes up, so does the
dependent variable OR as the independent variable goes
down, so does the dependent variable)
 Negative or Inverse (as independent variable goes up,
dependent variable goes down OR as independent variable
goes down, dependent variable goes up)

5
  If variables are categorical (qualitative), there is NO direction
of association

4. Empirical generalization: patterns in the data

b. Inductive research: begins with specific data that are then used to
develop ("induce") a theory to account for patterns in the data.
1. Can be intentional, as in exploratory research
2. Inductive logic can be used when analyzing empirical
generalizations discovered while hypothesis testing
 Anomalous patterns don't fit the proposed theory
 Serendipitous patterns are fresh, unexpected patterns
3. Example: Starting with an empirical generalization (people who
have a stake in conformity, such as a job or marriage, seem to be
less likely to recidivate) and develop a theory to account for it.
4. The adequacy of an explanation formulated after the fact is
necessarily less certain than an explanation presented prior to the
collection of data
5. Inductive explanations are more trustworthy if subsequently
tested with deductive research

c. Exploratory research is often inductive, qualitative

1. More authentic, less generalizable
2. Identifies themes or patterns in research
3. Example: Bennett, Goodman, and Dutton (1999) identified
reasons why battered women did not press charged through
interviews
4. Example: Morrill et al used narratives written by youths to
identify how young people think about and handle peer conflict

d. Descriptive research does not connect with theory but is an interim

between data collection and the generalizations based on them
1. Starts with data and proceeds only to the state of making
empirical generalizations
2. Much research for governments and organizations in primarily
descriptive
3. Descriptive research can stimulate more ambitious inductive and
deductive research