Social science research methods and ethics - Essay Example

Social research methods are important to give a valid reason for any particular condition or issue. It helps in understanding the cause and consequences of particular situation which further is utilized to develop policies, guidelines and improvement of human life and living conditions. Researches are done for vast reasons and various ways. Social research of any kind is obviously a complex activity. It is carried out within a variety of cultural, legal, economic, and political environments which are bound to influence the research, its scope and its focus.

1 This is a person who conducts research. The research can be a group activity or an individual activity depending upon the requirement and resources allocated for the research. In both the cases there are ethical issues involved at various levels. This group is the respondent group who is an important part of the research. The interest and protection of this group is one of the prime concerns area if there are any suspect of being harmed due to the result. The research process starts with selection of an appropriate topic for the research.

The research topic should be such that it contributes to the area of work. The problem is defined. The literature on the similar work or related work is reviewed and the findings of literature reviews are considered to formulate hypothesis. Once the hypothesis is formulated the appropriate research method is chosen. The research method chosen should be good enough to cover the hypothesis and topic of research. Data collection is the next step. This is a tedious process and very much depended on the responded and ability of researcher or interviewer.

The collected data is compiled and analyzed for the logical results. The results are compiled in the report format and shared with others. There are six types of research methods i.e surveys, participant observations, secondary analysis, documents, unobtrusive measures and experiments. Each of these