Why Social Research Is Important - Term Paper Example

Importance of Social Research – Different Types, Methods and Approaches Why Social Research is Important Social research studies possess great importance and significance for the people because there are lots of benefits associated with the social research studies. Social research is the study of society and hence it could be regarded as the scientific examination of the attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, trends, problems and rules of a society The social research helps studying human aspects of the wordy through in depth studies, observations and evaluation of human behaviours by employing wide range of methods (Flyvbjerg, 2001, p54). The social researcher allows measuring the social development of the society and the factors leading towards certain changes and trends among the people of the society. The outcomes of the social research allow locating the direction of the society and identification of the ways through which improvement could be bring in the current situation. There are wide variety of issues usually covered in the social research studies like poverty, racism, sexuality, gender and class issues, workplace related problems, criminal behaviours, education trends and many others (Norman et al, 2002, p121). The social research studies play very important role in the present world because with the help of the social researches it become possible to understanding different problems, the caused behind the problems and possible ways through which those problems could be resolved. The social researchers provide detailed and clear understanding of the operating patterns of human social affairs and present the technical procedure through which these affairs could be examines and studies deeply (Babbie, 2001, p183). Social research is very important for the societies because it helps solving various problems and issues that exist within the societies. It helps learning about different things, people and events and the factors that contribute towards the occurrence of different events and certain type of behaviour of people. In the light of this information it would become possible to make smart decisions to derive better outcomes. It implies that social research is a helpful tool for the policy makers, authorities and governments as well. There are lot of social problems covered in the social researches to find the leading cause of those problems and the outcomes of such social researched allow the identification of the factors that can help in combating with these social problem. The difficult inquiry of the issues becomes systematically possible with the help of different social research methods that end up in logical conclusions and observational rigor. The observations made during the social researches allow finding the ways to solve the social problems because they provide the opportunity to apply different solutions and forecast the potential results of all the possible solutions (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004, p87). The social researches work to determine the relationship between one or more variable due to which it became possible to understand the interconnectivity of different variables. For example, the social research allows understanding the relationship between age group, sexuality and race and identifies the differences in the social behaviours resulting from change in these variables. The cause and effects relationships of different social issues could also be revealed with the help of the social research studies and different solutions could also be list out for the resolution of those issues (Flyvbjerg, 2001, p54). The social researches are usually conducted by collected data, statistics and information that is organized and analysed for creating reports of the findings of the study. The data is collected for the study through different methods from which it become possible to closely view and observe the social behaviours, attitudes and responses of people towards certain issues and problems. In sum, a well-organized and properly conducted research with defined objectives and assumptions could significantly help in solving different problems being faced by the society (Norman et al, 2002, p121). The importance of social research could also been seen from the political standpoint. Over the last few decades social researches have evolved as tool to enhance the political decision making process and policies. With the help of social research the political imperatives move beyond the ideological assertion on the base of the evidences collected from the research studies. It helps making the policy environment better and beneficial for all the stakeholders. It also helps the government to identify the problems within their regime and the factors liable for the identified problems. Moreover, the research studies usually offer some recommendations and suggestions to the government to make the situation better by taking decisions in the light of the social researches (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000, p28). Part B – Different Types and Methods of Social Research and their significance Research Types Social research offers a wide variety of benefits and the researchers can employ the social research for a wide array of purposes ranging from the identification of a problem to the determination of its possible solutions. It helps sorting out the factors behind the occurrence of a problem and assist eliminating the issues that lead towards creating problem in the society. There are different types of research studies to meet the objective of research studies and it is important to decide that the current study would lie under the umbrella of which of the research type. There are basically four types of research types including “exploratory, descriptive, analytical and predictive”. The “Exploratory research” is one of the important methods of conducting the research study. The social scientists always give proper attention to this research type in order to find out the answer of their research question. It is explained by the social scientists that the exploratory type of research is a significant research type that stands for the investigator just to look around regarding the needed phenomenon, for developing suggestive ideas. This research type is beneficial for conducting research study because the main objective of this research type is to collect maximum information related to a specific problem that could be a political issue, human behavior, education trend, economic performance analysis or examination of effects of certain policies of government . This type of research type is selected for uncommon problems or when the av information is not much reliable and absolute. This technique is most suitable for conducting interviews of the people closely associated with the problem so that they can inform about their experiences and concerns and could provide detailed and inside understanding of the issue under study (Aaker and Days, 1990, p173). The second type of research is the “Descriptive Research”. It is another important type of conducting the research studies that is frequently employed by the social scientists for conducting research studies on variety of topics like examination of public behavior, response of people towards certain policies and trends of performance in different sectors like education, sports and technology etc. The purpose of this type of research is to provide a description of different phenomenon related to different individuals, events and situations. The main objective is to build up empirical generalizations. It is commonly used for searching secondary data for the solution of different problem statements. Thus it can be noticed here that this research type mostly deal with the qualitative issues and there is involvement of data and literature in conducting this type of research study. The research methods like secondary analysis of data, case studies and focus group are generally used in this type of research. The descriptive research also involved the data collection through the quantitative methods like statistical techniques that are employed for summarizing the gathered information. Here the research methods like statistical surveys and polls etc. help the researchers because they allow gathering specific type of information from many people with the help of sampling techniques and questionnaires. The third type of research is the “Explanatory Research” that possesses great importance in the context of the social scientific researchers because the main purpose of the explanatory researches is to build up precise theory that is utilized to describe the empirical generalizations. Mostly this type of research is based on the empirical studies and tested hypotheses that are formulated by the researchers in order to find out the solution to their problem statement. This type of study is effective to focus causes and effects relationship. The cause and effects relations are commonly studied to examine the effects of different developments like technology advancements on the field of education, communication, transportation and sporting activities. The explanatory research is also called the analytical research in which the researcher generally goes for the description of the characteristic and the analysis and explanation of the entire situation to find out the reasons behind the happening of any incident. For instance, they study the factors that support the evolution of a technology and the response of people towards it and its effects upon the lives and life styles of people in general. The fourth type of research is the “predictive research” in which the social scientists generally go further for making certain statements and comments by forecasting the likelihood of a similar situation occurring elsewhere. For instance, it helps figuring out the ways through which the activities and behaviors of the people could be changed over time due to change in any policy and due to induction of any technology or technique. It helps government, authorities and policy makers to illustrate the potential effects of their policies and assist them making necessary changes to bring more favorable results. In this type of research, the social scientist mostly give the answers of the questions like how why and where and these questions are related with the future of the subject matter of the research and the research will provide the possibilities in the light of the findings that what will happen in case of any occurrence in future (Aaker and Day, 1990, p173). Research Approaches and Methodologies Social research could be conducted by employing different approached and methodology. The researchers have lot of option in front of them and keeping in view the research objectives the researcher can select the most suitable and appropriate method of conducting research. There are two major approaches towards social research including qualitative and quantitative research method. These approaches are explained below along with the description of some popular research methods. Qualitative Research Approach Qualitative research “is a field of inquiry that crosscuts disciplines and subject matters” (Ragin, 1994, p83). The qualitative researchers are most of the times aimed at having deep understanding of different issues, human behaviors and the reasons and factors governing the human behaviors. In other words the qualitative research strived to fund the answers of why and how rather than just where when and what (Aaker and Day, 1990, p173). It is among the older research forms of researches that lost popularity for some times after the evaluation of quantitative research methods during the time periods of 1950s and 1960s, however by the end of 1970s the social scientists again recognize its importance and started conducting researches in different disciplines using this research method (Ragin, 1994, p83). The qualitative research is also meant to be explanatory most of the time rather just conclusive. While conducting a qualitative research it is common to use different theories, models and hypothesis (Berg, 1989, p91). Qualitative research is also regarded by the experts as an instrument that can be used for the development of in depth understanding of any phenomenon that can become the base for the quantitative research later on. As identified by Berg (1989), there are many ways of conducting a qualitative research including “case study, literature review, natural experiment, participant observation, interviews based, and secondary analysis of data or combination of these.” Each of these strategies has its own advantages and disadvantages. The researcher can selected from these methods according to the suitability with the research objectives. An important and popular method of conducing qualitative research is secondary analysis of data. The social scientists use to conduct the studies on wide range of topics by employing secondary analysis of data as the research method because this method has proved its significance as one of the most useful qualitative research method. The secondary analysis of data basically helps to “reanalyze the data that is already compiled by other researchers and organizations to meet the requirements of their own study or data base” (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000, p28) The researchers commonly agree that the secondary analysis of data is a significant research method that is used for the description of various analytical practices using the preexisting data. This could be done either for the investigation of the new research question or for the reexamination of any of the primary study for the purpose of collaboration (Becker and Howard, 1996, p154). Case Study is another popular and significant qualitative research method. It is a tool that helps in gaining understanding of a complex issue or object. This method is commonly used by the social scientist for many years to analyze “contemporary real-life situations”. Case study is an empirical study that aims at investigating any contemporary phenomenon in its real life style context. There are some major objectives that can be achieved by the case studies. It is an important method of conducting social research because it helps to explain the complex causal links in real-life interventions and to describe the real-life context in which the intervention has occurred (Ragin, 1994, p83). It also allows describing the intervention itself and to explore those situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear set of outcomes. Case studies could be used to examine the performance of different sectors of economy like manufacturing sector or agriculture over defined time period. For instance, a researcher could conduct a case study of agriculture sector of a country over the last two decades by examining its performance and development in connection with the introduction of different technologies and policies. Another important method of conducting qualitative research is secondary analysis of data. The social scientists use to conduct the studies on wide range of topics by employing secondary analysis of data as the research method because this method has proved its significance as one of the most useful qualitative research method. That’s why it has been employed in conducting different researches for many years and different social scientist have agreed upon the importance and significance of this research method. This method is found relevant with the research study because the review of the researches focused on the Nigerian manufacturing sector allows the analysis and examination of the sector by going through the historical perspective of the sector’s performance (Becker and Howard, 1996, p154). Quantitative research approach Quantitative research approach is the “systematic and scientific investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships, Quantitative research is all about quantifying relationships between variables” (Ragin, 1994, p83). The quantitative research methods are most of the times aimed at developing and employing different mathematical models, theories and hypothesis that pertain to the natural phenomenon. In the quantitative research methods, the measurement and calculation of the result possesses the central importance because through the measurement or calculation the fundamental relationship between different empirical and mathematical expressions is established. The quantitative research methods are very commonly used by the social scientists for many years and through the gathering of the quantitative data, the researchers seek for information that is measurable in numbers. Usually the graphs, tables and statistics are used for the presentation of the results of these types of research methods and some computer software like Excel and SPSS are commonly used for the calculation of the survey results. These surveys could be conducted among citizens of the selected town, city or country or people associated with selected organization. The sampling techniques are used to select the study participants and their demographics(Firebaugh, 2008, p176). The social scientists supporting the employment of the quantitative research methods in the social studies believe that through the use of different quantitative methods social researches become scientific in real terms however the some of the social scientists disagreed with the significance of the quantitative methods usage for the social studies (Becker and Howard, 1996, p154). The most common and popular method of quantitative research is survey. Survey is among the most popular and commonly used method of quantitative research approach. Social scientists have also confirmed the importance and significance of this research method for conducting quantitative research studies. Tanur (1982, p83) explains that a statistical survey is an efficient way of collecting information from a large number of respondents, the gathered information can be used to study attitudes, concepts, values, beliefs, and behaviors. Survey is effective and efficient method of collecting data from large number of respondents that allows the data collection from very large samples. For instance, the effects of specific policy or development upon the people could be studies be conducting a survey among the citizens of the country and their responses could be recorded with the help of a survey (Firebaugh, 2008, p176). The data can be used to determine validity, reliability, and statistical significance. Surveys are also considered as flexible research methods because they are standardized and easy to administer. The statistical surveys are very efficient method of research that allows the researcher to collect information from a large number of respondents because the study over a very large sample is possible with the help of the statistical surveys (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000, p28). Hence, it is found that the most common method of quantitative researtch approach is survey. The statistical survey appeared to be the most appropriate and suitable research method for the study and the social scientists has also confirmed the importance and significance of this research method for conducting quantitative research studies. Tanur (1982, p54) explains that a statistical survey is an efficient way of collecting information from a large number of respondents, the gathered information can be used to study attitudes, concepts, values, beliefs, and behaviors. A survey is effective and efficient method of collecting data from large number of respondents that allows the data collection from very large samples. The data can be use to determine validity, reliability, and statistical significance. Surveys are also considered as flexible research methods because they are standardized and easy to administer. Abramson and Abramson (1999) clarified that the statistical survey possesses some advantages as well as disadvantages that can be experienced by the social scientist while conducting the research studies using the statistical survey as the research method (Grooves, 1989, p542). According to the researchers, the statistical surveys are very efficient method of research that allows the researcher to collect information from a large number of respondents because the study over a very large sample is possible with the help of the statistical surveys. The information gathered from large sample can easily use for the determination of validity, reliability, and statistical significance with the help of the statistical techniques that are commonly used for the calculation of the survey results. The surveys are considered significant because of being standardized and there are usually free from certain errors and easy to administer at different levels. The following discussion unveiled that social scientific is very important tool of examining the social behaviors and on the basis of this analysis it becomes possible to drive solutions for different problems. It is also found that the social research offer wide range of benefits and options and it is possible to study various types of trends and problems be selecting the appropriate method from different research approach and methodologies. References Aaker, D.A. & Day, G.S. (1990). Marketing Research, 4th Ed. New York. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Babbie, E. (2001). The Practice of Social Research, 10th edition, NY: Wadsworth, Thomson Learning Inc. Berg, B. (1989). Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, third edition Allyn and Bacon, Boston Becker, Howard S. (1996). The epistemology of qualitative research. University of Chicago Press, 1996 Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2000). Handbook of qualitative research (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Firebaugh, G.(2008). Seven Rules for Social Research, UK: Princeton University Press Flyvbjerg, B. (2001). Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again, London: Cambridge University Press Grovees, R.M. (1989), Survey Errors and Survey Costs, New York: Wiley Haralambos and Holborn. (2004). Sociology: Themes and perspectives. NY: Collins Educational Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (2002). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 4th Edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Ragin, C. (1994). Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method', NY: Pine Forge Press Tanur, J.M. (1982). Advances in methods for large-scale surveys and experiments, in R. Mcadams, N.J. Smelser, & D.J. Treiman (eds.), Behavioural and Social Science Research: A National Resource, Part II. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Read More