Research Methodology for Social Sciences: An Overview

INTRODUCTION

Social science is defined as a branch of science devoted to study the societies and the relationships among individuals within the societies. Social science research is a systematic method of exploring, analyzing and conceptualizing human life in order to extend, correct or verify knowledge of human behavior and social life. Social research seeks to find explanations to unexplained phenomena, to clarify the doubtful and correct the misconceived fact of social life. It involves the application of scientific method for understanding and analyzing of social life in order to correct and verify the existing knowledge as a system

However, conducting research is a daunting task that requires in -depth knowledge of the subject-matter, planning, care, and hard work. As part of the requirements for the award of degrees in higher education institutions, students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels normally carry out research, which they report in the form of dissertations or theses. The research journey commences with the selection of a research topic and the preparation of a proposal on the selected topic. Experience has shown that students tend to encounter difficulties in writing research proposals for their supervisors because they do not fully comprehend what constitutes a research proposal. Many students lack an understanding of the subject-matter, interest in research, good knowledge of the methodology, time and research guidance, and scholarly and related references.

The purpose of this book is to provide the students with an overview of how to write an effective and scholarly research proposal and dissertation by discussing the essential ingredients required in scientific research. As a supervisor of both undergraduate and graduate students, I can attest that most students face a huge challenge in selecting their research topic resulting in delays in completing their dissertation journey. From the students’ point of view, this book endeavors to explore the challenges faced by both undergraduate and graduate students when they are writing their research proposal and research project and how to mitigate those challenges in order to accomplish their academic goals. In a nutshell, the book endeavors to provide the students with the tips for writing a quality proposal to enable them graduate without any hassle.

CHAPTER ONE

PRELIMINARIES

The Concept of Research

Research is defined as the systematic approach to obtaining and confirming new and reliable knowledge. Research is defined as a systematic, controlled, empirical and critical investigation of hypothetical propositions about the presumed relations among natural phenomena. Research involves searching for explanation of events, phenomena, relationships and causes.  It is a circular process that leads to asking questions relating to the what, how and why things occur. The purpose of scientific research is to explore credible and reliable new knowledge.

Components of Research:

It is systematic: Research endeavors to solve problems whether social, political, economic, cultural or health-related in a systematic way.

It is objective: Research attempts to find an objective, unbiased solution to the problem through gathering of new data from both primary and secondary sources.

It is based on observable experience or empirical evidence: It entails accurate observation and description.

It employs carefully designed procedures and rigorous analysis.

Types of Research: There are three types of research, that is, qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods:

i). Qualitative Research

A type of educational research in which the researcher relies on the views of participants; asks broad, general questions; collects data consisting largely of words (or text) from participants; describes and analyzes these words for themes; and conducts the inquiry in a subjective, biased manner.

Constructivism – multiple realities; biased; inductive.

Qualitative research approach seeks to describe and analyze the culture and behavior of humans and their groups from the point of view of those being studied. Qualitative research is described as an effective model that occurs in a natural setting and enables the researcher to develop a level of detail from high involvement in the actual experiences.

It uses natural setting and relies on flexible and interactive strategies to collect data from the target population. These strategies include interviewing, group discussions and questionnaires. In qualitative research, feelings and insights are considered important.

Ethnography- It is the study of an intact cultural group in a natural setting over a prolonged period of time by collecting primarily observational data.

Grounded Theory-It seeks to drive a theory of a process, action, behavior, or interaction grounded in the views of the participants in the study.

Case Study-It is an in-depth systematic investigation of a phenomenon by a researcher. A case study has been defined as an empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. The cases are bounded by time and activity. The researcher collects detailed information using a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time.

Phenomenology-It involves studying a small number of subjects or participants via extensive and prolonged engagement to develop patterns and relationships of meaning. The researcher ‘brackets’ his experiences to comprehend those of