BOEK SAMENVATTING
H1 The nature and process of social research
It’s important to understand social research methods, because:
1. Understanding should help you avoid errors and difficulties that can arise when conducting
social research
2. It can help you understand the research methods used in the published work of others
Social research is academic research conducted by social scientists from a broad range of
disciplines. It can be motivated by developments and changes in society, generating new
knowledge and expanding understanding of contemporary social life.
Research methods are tools (survey, interview, focus group) that researchers use to explore an area
of interest by gathering info (data) that they then analyse. A methodology is a broader term that
refers to the overall approach taken in the research project and the reasoning behind the choices
of this approach and the methods involved.
Stimulus for research: observations, circumstances, development in society, etc.
Methods are based on:
- Theories (= groups of ideas that aim to explain the social world)
- Quantitative research → formulating hypothesises
- Qualitative research → exploring a research question rather than testing a hypothesis
- Existing research literature
- Epistemological and ontological questions
- Epistemology → views about how knowledge should be generated in the social world
→ for example with the interpretive approach, where researchers should be more
sensitive to particular qualities of people and their social institutions
- Ontology → views about the nature of the social world and social phenomena →
some people believe we have no control over the social world, it’s just there, existing,
but others believe the social world is in a process of reformulation and reassessment
- Values, ethics and politics of a research community, certain kinds of research require
careful planning and consideration of ethical implications (such as research involving
children or vulnerable adults)
,Stages in the research process
Literature A critical examination of existing research that relates to the phenomena of
review interest, and of relevant theoretical ideas. It can be convenient to know what
methods other researchers used, as well as whether there is controversy about the
topic and implications of other studies → it is rather critical than descriptive (this
doesn’t mean you have to be negative)
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Concepts and The ideas that drive the research process and that help researchers interpret their
theories findings. Concepts are the way we make sense of the social world (labels we give
to aspects that seem significant)
- Concepts help us organize research questions and signal them to intended
audiences
- Concepts help us reflect and be disciplined about what we want to
investigate
Two views: concepts are outcomes of research OR the starting points that help
researchers orientate a subject
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Research A question providing an explicit statement of what the researcher wants to know
questions about, they guide you through literature search, decisions about research design,
data, analysis, writing up and questions give a clear sense. The best way to start a
research is to come up with a question, but be open to adapting and shaping it
as reviewing other literature. Questions usually come when you discover gaps in
already existing literature or an inconsistency between findings. The nature of the
question will determine the proceedings with the investigation
- Interested in social change? → longitudinal design
- Interested at the impact of something? → experiment
- Concerned with particular communities? → case study
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Sampling The selection of cases (often people, but not always) that are relevant to the
cases research questions, but it’s hard to for example interview every single person who
is involved with a phenomenon. Sampling is usually associated with quantitative
research (surveys that try to include a wide population by effectively replicating it
in miniature).
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Data Gathering data from the sample with the aim to provide answers to the research
collection questions. Two examples of data-collection with beforehand created questions: a
self-completion questionnaire and a structured interview. Other, less structured,
forms of collecting are: participant observation and semi-structured interview.
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Data analysis At the most basic level, analysis involves applying statistical techniques to data.
However, many types of data are not suitable for statistical analysis.
- Managing data → checking data flaws, such as with transcribing an audio
recording
- Making sense of data → identifying themes within the data (coding)
- Interpreting data → by trying to link the analysis of it with the research
questions, as well as background literature
Primary analysis → the researcher who conducted the data, also analyses it
Secondary analysis → the data is already collected and available
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Writing up Dissemination of the research and its findings to make the information able to be
shared. The rules vary, but this is most common:
1. Introduction (outline of research area and introduction question)
2. Literature review (sets out what is already known and examines it critically)
3. Research methods (sampling strategy, data collection and analysis)
4. Results (presentation of the findings)
5. Discussion (examination of implications)
6. Conclusion (emphasize on the significance of research)
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, H2 Social research strategies (HC1)
There are two types of theories
1. Theories of the middle range → attempt to understand and explain a particular aspect of
the social world → can be done by labelling certain behaviour, but the thing is that when
giving someone a label, they usually start to act towards that label
2. Grand theories → operate at a more abstract level, which is why it’s difficult to make the
necessary links with the real world to test an aspect of a theory → therefore, grand theories
are of limited use in connection with social research
Naïve empiricism – research that has no obvious connection with theory, but is generated through
experience and use of senses
Deductive approach – testing theories
- A researchers draws on what is known in order to deduct (come up with) a hypothesis
(within the hypotheses will be concepts, referred to as variables)
- Usually used more in quantitative research
- The process of deduction: theory, hypothesis, data collection (in this step a researcher’s
view might change or some new theories might come apparent), findings, hypotheses
confirmed or rejected and revision of theory (this step involves induction)
Inductive approach – building theories
- Theory is the outcome of research, drawn from semi-structured interviews, field notes or
generalizations, instead of the starting point
- Iterative strategy is used when researchers move back and forth between data and theory
- Usually based on qualitative data
Abductive reasoning – criticism to both deduction and induction
- Criticism deduction: it doesn’t address how researchers should select theory in the first place
- Criticism induction: empirical data don’t allow researchers to build theory
- Abduction starts with observations and then switches back and forth between the puzzle
and the literature → it acknowledges that conclusions arising from observations are
plausible, but not completely certain
Intersectionality is the idea that we all occupy positions within different social categories (gender,
social class, sexuality, race). These things can influence a person’s experience. When we want to
fully understand any social category, we must recognize how one social characteristic is
experienced differently depending on how it intersects with other characteristics.
Er zijn drie theorieën over of waarden invloed kunnen/moeten hebben op onderzoek:
1. Value-free approach (zie HC1) → absolutely no influences of own values
2. Reflexive approach (HC1) → potential influences of own values
3. Conscious partiality approach → a lot of influence of own values → als de onderzoeker zich
kan identificeren met het onderzoekssubject → invloeden worden beschouwd als
onvermijdelijk en zelfs zeer welkom → bij een feministische benadering, zal een onderzoeker
eerder ingaan op nadelen voor vrouwen en andere minderheden
