Samenvatting particial exam 1
Module Content Reading
1. The research process - Introduction: what is scientific research? - Ch1: The nature and process of social
- Steps in the research process: the research.
empirical cycle. - Ch4: Planning a research project
- Formulating good research questions. and formulating research questions.
- Role of theory in research: deduction and From this chapter, only the
induction. section “Formulating suitable re-
search questions” (pp.74-78).
2. Research strategies: - Epistemology and ontology. - Ch2: Social research strategies.
understanding and ex- - Distinguishing qualitative and
plaining quantitative research strategies
3. Research design - Criteria for assessing the quality - Ch3: Research designs.
(part 1): quality criteria of a study: reliability, replicability,
validity.
4. Research design - Criteria and research designs (follow-up). - Ch3: Research designs (continued).
(part 2): designs - Research designs: experimental, - Ch12: Structured observation. From
cross-sectional, longitudinal de- this chapter, only section 12.4
sign, case study, comparative de- “Field Stimulation” (pp. 263-264).
sign.
5. Ethical and political - The researcher's dealings with - Ch6: Ethics and politics in social re-
issues in research participants/participants search.
6. . - Dealing with clients. Discussions - Ch5: Reviewing the literature. From
7. . about bias and "value-free science". this chapter, only section “5.6
- Violation of game rules for scientists: Avoiding plagiarism” (pp. 103-104)
fabrication, falsification, plagiarism
8. Non-reactive data - Research method: content analysis. - Ch13: Content analysis.
collection: content analysis - Documents and "texts" as sources - Ch14: Using existing data. From this
for data collection. chapter, only section 14.5 “Big
- Codebooks as tools of measurement. Data” (pp. 310-313).
,Chapter 1 The nature and process of social research
1.1 Introduction
Two reasons for social scientists need to understand social research methods:
1. this understanding should help you avoid some of the errors and difficulties that can arise when conducting social
research.
2. Help to understand the research methods used in the published work of others.
1.2 Social research: what is it and why do it?
What is ‘social research’?
Academic research conducted by social scientists from a broad range of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology,
education, human geography, social policy, politics, and criminology.
Social research can be motivated by:
- Developments and changes in society
Why do social research?
Because social life is fascinating!
It is a way of searching for answers.
1.3 The context of social research methods
The variety of contextual factors:
Theory and its role in research:
- A theory is a group of ideas that aims to explain something, in this case the social world.
- Theories have a significant influence on the research topic being investigated, both in terms of what is studied and how
finding are interpreted.
Existing knowledge: the literature:
- When conducting research, you must be familiar with the literature on the topic you are investigating so that you can
build on it and avoid repeating work that has already been done.
Epistemological and ontological questions:
- Epistemological: Are views about how knowledge should be produced. Raising questions about how the social world
should be studied and whether the scientific approach is the right one for social research
- Ontological: Are views about the nature of the social world, and social phenomena.
Values, ethics, and politics:
, - The values of the research community have significant implications for research.
- Ethical issues have always been central in social research
- Social research operates within a wider political context
1.4 The main elements of social research
Stage Descriptions of stage
Literature revies A critical examination of existing research that relates to the phenomena of interest, and of
relevant theoretical ideas.
Concepts and theories The ideas that drive the research process and that helps researchers interpret their findings. In
the course of the study, the findings also contribute to the ideas that the researchers are
examining.
Research question(s) A questions or questions providing an explicit statement of what the researcher wants to know
about.
Sampling cases The selection of cases (often people, but not always) that are relevant to the research question
Data collection Gathering data from the sample with the aim of providing answers to the research questions
Data analysis The management, analysis, and the interpretation of the data
Writing up Dissemination of the research and its findings
Results:
- The researcher presents their finding
Discussion:
- This examines the implications of the findings in relation to the literature and the research questions
Conclusions:
- This emphasizes the significance of the research
1.5 The messiness of social research
In practice, research involves many false starts, mistakes, and enforced changes to research plans.
Social researchers are usually reflexive about the limitations of their studies.