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Summary: Social Research Methods (Chapter 1 2 3)
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Summary of the first three chapters of the book Social Research Methods by Alan Bryman.
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Chapter 1 – The nature and process of social researchSocial research is academic research on topics relating to questions relevant to
the social scientific fields, such as sociology, human geography, and social policy.
The following factors form part of the context within social research and its
methods operate:
Social research is informed and influenced by the pre-existing theory of
other researchers.
Before doing research, you have to be familiar with the already existing
literature, to prevent doing the same research.
Researcher’s view about the nature of the relationship between theory and
research also have implications for research. Some do first the research,
and other do first the theory.’
Assumptions about how research should be conducted, has also influences.
It is often assumed that a ‘scientific’ approach should be followed.
Considerations of this, are epistemological. They raise questions about
how the social world should be studied.
Assumptions about the nature of social phenomena influence the research
process too. Some people think the social world is external to social actors,
but considerations against this, are ontological ones. They consider the
nature of social phenomena.
Values of the research community have significant implications for
researchers (ethical)
The training and personal values of the researcher, also influences the
research process.
Concepts are the way that we make sense of the social world.
Research question is a question that provides an explicit statement of what it
is the researcher wants to know about. Important, because it guides your
literature search, your analysis of data, your writing-up of your data, stops you
from going off in wrong directions and provide the readers a clearer sense of the
research.
Time+cost issues will always constrain the number of cases we can include in our
research sample.
Structured interview: questions designed for exactly the same purpose
(survey investigations).
A research question is a question designed to indicate what the purpose of an
investigation is, and a questionnaire question is one of many questions that are
posed in a questionnaire that will help to shed light on and answer one or more
research questions.
Inductive approach is for example participant observation and semi-
structured interviewing.
Thematic analysis: examining the data to extract core themes that could be
distinguished both between and within transcripts.
Coding is the process whereby the data are broken down into their components
part and those parts are then given labels. Then the researcher searches for
recurrences of these series of coded text.
Data reduction is concerned with reducing the large corpus of information that
the researcher has gathered, so that he/she can make sense of it.
, After all, you have to writing up your research. This must include: introduction,
literature review, research methods, results, discussion and conclusion.
Social research practice comprises elements that are common to all or at least
most forms of social research. These include: conducting a literature review,
concepts and theories, research questions, sampling of cases, data collection,
data analysis and a writing-up of the research findings.
attention to these steps is what distinguishes academic social research from
other researches.
Chapter 2 – Social Research Strategies
Empiricism is that ideas should be subjective before they can be considered
knowledge and can only be gained through experience.
Deduction = hypothesis derived from theory
1. Theory
2. Hypothesis
3. Data collection
4. Findings
5. Hypothesis confirmed or rejected
6. Revision of theory
Inductive theory is the outcome of research
Interactive the weaving back and forth between theory and data to establish a
theory
Positivism is the epistemological approach that says methods of natural sciences
can be used to study social reality and beyond.
Positivism is the opposite of interpretivism
Interpretivism is an epistemological approach which says the study of the social
world does not require methods used in natural sciences.
Positivism is about the explanation of human behavior.
Interpretivism is about the understanding of human behavior.
Phenomology is a philosophy concerned with the question how individuals make
sense of the world. This philosophy led to an anti-positive position.
Ontology has to do with the nature of social entities.
Objectivism is an ontological approach which says social phenomena are
independent of social actors and are beyond our reach or influence.
Objectivism is the opposite of constructionism
Constructionism is an ontological approach which says social phenomena are
being accomplished by social actors.
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