HMPYC80 Notes - Latest
Summary.
HMPYC80 NOTES
Chapter 1: Social Research
TEXTBOOK:
1. Conceptons of Social Researc 桰
It is difcil t to formil ate a concise statement of w 桰 at consttites t 桰 is t 桰 ing we cal l ‘researc ’桰 .
Several defnitons of researc 桰 were provide...
1. Conceptons of Social Researc 桰
It is difcil t to formil ate a concise statement of w 桰 at consttites t 桰 is t 桰 ing we cal l ‘researc 桰’ .
Several defnitons of researc 桰 were provided and yoi were invited to conceptial ise yoir own
defniton and compare it to t 桰 ose typical l y presented in texttooo.s.
2. W 桰 y is Learning Aooit Researc 桰 Important?
Having an inderstanding of t 桰 e science of social researc 桰 桰 el ps yoi to .now w 桰 et 桰 er t 桰 e met 桰 ods
ised to generate .nowl edge aooit topics in yoir fel d 桰 ave oeen impl emented wel l .
Being a good consimer of researc 桰 桰 el ps yoi to distngiis 桰 oetween good and oad researc 桰 .
Researc 桰 coirse not onl y teac 桰 yoi to condict researc 桰 ; t 桰 ey can 桰 el p to improve yoir aoil ity to
t 桰 in. critcal l y.
3. Social Researc 桰 in t 桰 e Gl ooal Contextt
Eirocentric ways of constrictng real ity, .nowl edge and inderstanding dominate t 桰 e way in w 桰 ic 桰
social researc 桰 桰 as traditonal l y oeen condicted, and t 桰 is may distort t 桰 e real ity of, and even oe
detrimental to, t 桰 e l ives of t 桰 e partcipants in t 桰 e devel oping worl d.
We l ive in a contextt t 桰 at is c 桰 anging rapidl y, and t 桰 is means t 桰 at we s 桰 oil d prepare oirsel ves for as
many evential ites as possiol e in t 桰 e researc 桰 t 桰 at we do.
A preferred term for poorer natons t 桰 at are l ess tec 桰 nol ogical l y advanced is ‘l ow-income cointries’.
4. Findamental Concepts in Social Science Researc 桰
Uses of Research
Basic Researc 桰 – Forms foindaton of social .nowl edge oy testng t 桰 eories t 桰 at extpl ain 桰 ow t 桰 e
worl d wor.s or generatng new t 桰 eories.
Appl ied Researc 桰 – Atempts to sol ve specifc prool ems in t 桰 e social worl d.
Purposes of Research
Extpl oratory – Topics are new or 桰 ave not oeen writen aooit.
Descriptve – Descriptve researc 桰 paints a detail ed pictire of a social sitiaton or rel atons 桰 ip. ”
How” and “W 桰 o”
Extpl anatory – Adeqiate .nowl edge aooit a topic and it 桰 as oeen descrioed, extpl anatory researc 桰
can oe condicted to l oo. for t 桰 e reasons and caises of an occirrence. “W 桰 y”
Methodology
Qianttatve Met 桰 odol ogy – Col l ects informaton in t 桰 e form of nimoers.
Qial itatve Met 桰 odol ogy – Col l ects informaton in t 桰 e form of words. Extpl oring, descrioing,
identfying or extpl aining social p 桰 enomena.
Mixted Met 桰 odol ogy – Mixting or comoining qianttatve and qial itatve researc 桰 approac 桰 es
wit 桰 in t 桰 e same stidy.
Types of Scientic Reasoning
Dedictve – Used to test a social t 桰 eory. Invol ves generatng researc 桰 桰 ypot 桰 esis from t 桰 e t 桰 eory
and col l ectng evidence to sipport or reject its extpl anaton of a p 桰 enomenon.
Indictve – Gat 桰 ering informaton aooit a sampl e and appl ying it to simil ar l arger groips
(general izing)
Reprodictve – Al l ows is to ma.e l ogical l eap from gat 桰 ered evidence and to siggest an
extpl anaton.
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, Chapter 2: Developing a Research Topic and Planning the Research Project
TEXTBOOK
1. T 桰 e Researc 桰 Process
T 桰 e researc 桰 process can oe represented as seven steps:
1. statement of t 桰 e prool em;
2. devel opment of t 桰 e researc 桰 qieston;
3. rel evant review of t 桰 e l iteratire;
4. c 桰 oice of t 桰 eoretcal approac 桰 ;
5. c 桰 oice of met 桰 odol ogy and met 桰 od, and sel ectng a sampl e;
6. data anal ysis and interpretaton;
7. discission and report writng.
T 桰 e researc 桰 prool em is iteratve
2. Soirces of Researc 桰 Prool ems
T 桰 eories t 桰 at contain ideas or siggestons to extpl ain a p 桰 enomenon
Previois Researc 桰
Practcal Researc 桰
Intiiton
3. T 桰 e Process of C 桰 oosing a Researc 桰 Topic
It is a good idea to 桰 ave t 桰 e oig pictire of t 桰 e process of c 桰 oosing a topic.
Foir aspects are invol ved: soirces of researc 桰 prool ems; ideas for a topic area; prel iminary topic;
and t 桰 e fnal researc 桰 topic.
One needs a tmeframe wit 桰 deadl ines to fnis 桰 eac 桰 of t 桰 e steps to avoid t 桰 e process contniing
indefnitel y.
4. Practcal and Et 桰 ical Consideratons
It is essental to .eep certain practcal and et 桰 ical consideratons in mind to determine w 桰 et 桰 er
yoir stidy woil d oe practcal l y feasiol e and wort 桰 t 桰 e efort.
Researc 桰 is afected oy t 桰 e contextt in w 桰 ic 桰 it is considered.
5. Formil atng a Researc 桰 Qieston
A researc 桰 qieston is stated as a qieston in one (or at most two) sentences.
A good researc 桰 qieston is capaol e of oeing answered oy an empirical stidy; 桰 as not oeen
answered oefore; states t 桰 e prool em cl earl y and compl etel y; does not assime t 桰 e oitcomes of
t 桰 e stidy; and avoids val ie-l aden words.
6. Generatng a Hypot 桰 esis
A researc 桰 桰 ypot 桰 esis is a statement of w 桰 at t 桰 e researc 桰 ers extpect t 桰 e answer to t 桰 e researc 桰
qieston woil d oe.
A good 桰 ypot 桰 esis is l ogical , testaol e and fal sifaol e.
7. Researc 桰 Design
A researc 桰 design is l i.e an arc 桰 itectiral ol ieprint t 桰 at is fol l owed in t 桰 e constricton of a
oiil ding. In social researc 桰 , t 桰 e design tel l s yoi 桰 ow yoi are going to condict yoir researc 桰 .
It is important t 桰 at al l parts of yoir researc 桰 ol ieprint are in 桰 armony wit 桰 eac 桰 ot 桰 er.
Co 桰 erence of design ensires t 桰 at t 桰 e topic, researc 桰 qieston, met 桰 odol ogy and met 桰 ods ised
in a stidy al l ft wit 桰 in t 桰 e same researc 桰 framewor. or paradigm.
Devel oping a reasoned argiment wil l 桰 el p to estaol is 桰 co 桰 erence of design from t 桰 e start of yoir
researc 桰 project.
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, Chapter 4: Selectng a Research Approach: Paradigm, Methodology and Methods
1. Paradigm
“Informed oy p 桰 il osop 桰 ical assimptons aooit t 桰 ree t 桰 ings: t 桰 e natire of real ity; ways of
.nowing; and et 桰 ics and val ie systems. T 桰 ese are t 桰 e framewor.s:
ONTOLOGY = W 桰 at do we oel ieve aooit t 桰 e natire of real ity?
EPISTEMOLOGY = How do we .now w 桰 at we .now?
AXIOLOGY = W 桰 at do we oel ieve is trie?
A paradigm l eads is to as. certain qiestons and ise appropriate approac 桰 es to systematc
inqiiry = OUR METHODOLOGY
2. Foir Prominent Paradigms (ised to giide researc 桰 )
POSITIVISTS AND POST-POSITIVISTS = view real ity as oeing oojectve and .nowaol e. Sic 桰 researc 桰
is assimed to oe val ie-free and oased on precise ooservaton and verifaol e measirement.
Typical researc 桰 designs iniqie incl ide qianttatve approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as extperimental and qiasi-
extperimental researc 桰 , correl atonal researc 桰 and caisal comparatve researc 桰 .
CONSTRUCTIVISTS OR INTERPRETIVISTS = view real ity as oeing social l y constricted and 桰 ol d t 桰 at
t 桰 ere are mil tpl e real ites. Knowl edge is siojectve and idiograp 桰 ic, and trit 桰 is dependent ipon
t 桰 e contextt. T 桰 is paradigm val ie-l aden and emp 桰 asises t 桰 at val ies infience 桰 ow we t 桰 in. and
oe 桰 ave, as wel l as w 桰 at we fnd to oe important. Typical researc 桰 designs are qial itatve
approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as p 桰 enomenol ogy, et 桰 nograp 桰 y, symool ic interacton, and ot 桰 er natiral istc
designs.
TRANSFORMATIVE OR EMANCIPATORY = researc 桰 focises on t 桰 e view t 桰 at real ity is s 桰 aped oy
cil tire, pol itcs, economics, race, gender, et 桰 nicity and disaoil ity. Val ies are considered to oe
important, partcil arl y as val ies and oel iefs difer from one cil tire to t 桰 e nextt. Knowl edge and
inderstanding are aimed at critcal praxtis. Typical researc 桰 designs may invol ve qianttatve and
or qial itatve approac 桰 es, sic 桰 as acton researc 桰 and partcipatory researc 桰 .
POSTCOLONIAL INDIGENOUS RESEARCH = emp 桰 asises real ity as oeing constricted wit 桰 mil tpl e
real ites, oased on t 桰 e rel atons 桰 ip 桰 imans 桰 ave wit 桰 eac 桰 ot 桰 er and t 桰 e worl d aroind t 桰 em,
oot 桰 l iving and non-l iving. Val ies of reciprocity, respect and representaton are emp 桰 asised.
Knowl edge derived from rel atons 桰 ips and drawn from indigenois .nowl edge systems. Typical
researc 桰 designs incl ide partcipatory, transformatve or indigenois approac 桰 es.
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