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Summary Social Research Methods - Alan Bryman
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Chapter 1: The nature and process of social research
The context of social research methods
- employed theories
- familiarity of researcher with literature
- researcher’s views of relationship between theory and research
- assumptions about how research should be conducted
- assumptions about nature of social phenomena: static or constantly changing?
- values of the research community
- use of research: theoretical or also practical purpose?
- political context
- training and personal values
Elements of the process of social research
Literature review
Critical examination of existing research relating to the phenomena of interest and of relevant
theoretical ideas. Finding out about topic:
- already known information
- applied concepts and theories
- applied research methods
- existing controversies
- existing clashes of evidence
- key contributors
Concepts and theories
Ideas that drive the research process and help interpret findings.
Types of research questions (key concept 1.1)
1. Predicting an outcome
does y happen under circumstances a and b?
2. Explaining causes and consequences of a phenomenon
is y affected by x or is y a consequence of x?
3. Evaluating a phenomenon
does y exhibit the benefits that it is claimed to have?
4. Describing a phenomenon
what is y like or what forms does y assume?
5. Developing good practice
how can be improve y?
6. Empowerment
how can we enhance the lives of those we research?
7. Comparison
Research questions:
,- guide literature search
- guide decisions about research design and about what data to collect and from whom
- guide analysis and writing-up of your data
- stop researcher from going in unnecessary directions
- provide readers with a clear sense of what the research is about.
Sampling cases
Selection of relevant cases. Representative samples can represent a wider population.
Content analysis: collecting data from newspapers/television programs rather than people.
Case study: only one unit of analysis. In-depth understanding is the goal.
Data collection
Gathering data from sample. Key concern: quality. Variety of data collection methods, differing in
structure and open-endedness.
Data analysis
Management, analysis and interpretation of the data. Key concern: data reduction. Raw data has to
be managed: checking for obvious flaws. Thematic analysis: examining data to extract core themes.
Coding: breaking down data into parts and labeling them, used to identify themes.
Primary data analysis: those who collected the data conduct the analysis.
Secondary data analysis: someone else analyses the data.
Writing up
Dissemination of the research and its findings. Includes:
- Introduction
outlining research area + significance & introducing research questions
- Literature review
describing what is already known
- Research methods
describing and justifying employed research methods
- Results
presenting findings
- Discussion
discussing relation of findings to the implication for literature & research questions
- Conclusion
reinforcing significance of the research
The messiness of social research
Research can go wrong, things change and mistakes are made.
Key points:
- social research is embedded in wider contextual factors.
- social research practice comprises common elements: literature review; concepts and theories;
research questions; sampling of cases; data collection; data analysis; writing-up.
- Attention to these steps distinguishes academic social research from other kinds of social research.
- Things don’t always go to plan.
,Chapter 2: Social research strategies
Theory and research
What type of theory?
Theory is an explanation of observed regularities. Two types:
- middle range theories: intermediate to general theories, less abstract.
- grand theories: abstract and general.
Empiricism (key concept 2.1)
Suggests that only knowledge gained through experience and the senses
is acceptable.
‘naive empiricism’: belief that the accumulation of ‘facts’ is a goal on its
own.
Deductive and inductive theory
Deductive theory: theory leads to findings.
Inductive theory: findings lead to theory.
Epistemological considerations
What is regarded as acceptable knowledge? Should the social world be studied in the same way as
natural science?
A natural science epistemology: positivism (key concept 2.2)
Advocates application of natural science methods to social science. Principles:
1. Phenomenalism: knowledge can only be confirmed by the senses. Radical form of empiricism.
2. Deductivism: purpose of theory is to generate hypotheses allow explanations.
3. Inductivism: knowledge is arrived at through facts that provide a basis for laws.
4. Science must be conducted objectively.
5. Scientific and normative statements are clearly separated; normative statements cannot
be confirmed by the senses.
Realism (key concept 2.3)
Shares two features with positivism: natural/social sciences should apply same kinds of approaches,
and there is an external reality that scientists can study. It is different from positivism: positivism says
that the conceptualization of reality directly reflects that reality, while realism says that that
conceptualization is a way of knowing that reality.
Two forms:
- empirical realism reality can be understood through using appropriate methods
naïve realism: reality and the terms to describe it are the same.
- critical realism identifies structures that generate events and discourses.
acknowledges that employed terms are likely provisional.
identifies context
Interpretivism (key concept 2.4)
People and objects of natural science are fundamentally different social scientist is required to
interpret / understand social action. Anti-positivist, concerned with how individuals make sense of
their world and how philosophers should eliminate their preconceptions.
Ontological considerations
Concerned with nature of social entities. Should social entities be considered objective entities?
, Objectivism (key concept 2.5)
Social phenomena are external facts. They exist independently from social actors.
Constructionism (key concept 2.6)
Social phenomena are continually being accomplished by social actors. Constant state of revision.
Researchers’ accounts of the social world are constructions.
Relationship to social research
Social ontology is linked to conducting social research. Research questions often determine view of
the researcher.
Research strategy: quantitative and qualitative research
Quantitative research: deductive, testing theory. Views social reality as external, objective reality.
E.g.: 1. Humans are mortal 2. Socrates is human 3. Socrates is mortal.
Qualitative research: inductive, creating theory. Views social reality as constantly shifting emergent
property. E.g.: 1. I see a white swan 2. I see another white swan 3… 4. All swans are white.
Abductive research: combination of deduction and induction.
Influences on the conduct of social
research
Values
Reflect personal beliefs/feelings of a researcher.
Bias/intrusion of values can occur.
Research cannot be value free.
Practical considerations
Social research method should fit the research question.
Key points:
- Quantitative & qualitative research constitute different approaches to social investigation.
- Theory can precede research (quantitative research) or emerge out of it (qualitative research).
- Values may impinge on the research process.
- Practical considerations in decisions about research methods are also important.
Chapter 3: Research designs
Research design (key concept 3.1) provides framework for collection/analysis of data. Choice of
research design reflects decisions about the priority given to a range of dimensions.
Research method (key concept 3.1): technique for collecting data.
Criteria in social research
Reliability
Repeatability of results, used to decide whether devised measures for concepts are consistent.
Replication
Could another researcher do the study the same way? Depends on detail of procedure description.
Validity
Concerned with integrity of conclusions. Variable (key concept 3.3): attribute on which cases vary.
Mainly applies to quantitative research. Types:
- Measurement validity Does the devised measure really measure what it is supposed to?
- Internal validity Does x really cause y, or is something else involved?
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