Research Methods & Analysis

Answer : A variable is defined as anything that has a quantity or quality that varies. The research variables, of any scientific experiment or research process, are factors that can be manipulated and measured. The key to designing any experiment is to look at what research variables could influence the outcome of experimental research. Gender, color and country are variables. There are many types of variable but the most important, for the vast majority of research methods ....

Answer : Random sampling is one of the most popular types of random or probability sampling. In this technique, each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected as subject. An unbiased random selection and a representative sample is important in drawing conclusions from the results of a study. Due to the representativeness of a sample obtained by simple random sampling, it is reasonable to make generalizations from the results of the sample back ....

Answer : Post modern research have started questioning the traditional qualitative research practices in obtaining social knowledge. As a part of criticism new research methodologies have been recently developed like auto/biographical sociology, which include personalized account of author’s experiences got greater attention by sociologist to have new research practice in the study of social life.

Biographical sociology encourages rethinking of terms such as validity, reliability and objectivity, offering a critique of representation and legitimation within social science disciplines. ....

Answer : Scholars from various disciplines ranging from psychology, economist, anthropology to sociologist seek to understand the most complex consumer behavior through various research techniques to explain the complicated human behavior. Hence, it requires interdisciplinary approach to explore the dynamic social reality and its correlates in the study of consumer behavior. The importance of study of consumer behavior is for future research efforts in understanding the complex nature of consumer. Various research scholars have proposed the use ....

Answer : Sociologists make a clear distinction between the terms sex and gender. Sex refers to one’s biological identity of being male or female while gender refers to the socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with being male or female. Sex is biologically assigned while gender is culturally learned.

Sociologists are particularly interested in gender identity and how it determines gender roles. Gender identity appears to form very early in life and is most likely irreversible by age ....

Answer : Quantitative methods are those methods who advocate the use of scientific and quantitative methods for sociological analysis. Various examples of data collection in quantitative research are surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and comparative methods. Durkheim used this method in his study of suicide. The strength of quantitative research is that, it produces quantifiable, reliable data that can be generalized to some larger population.

Quantitative analysis also allows researchers to test specific hypotheses, in contrast to qualitative research, which ....

Answer : In sociology, for the study of concrete facts or incident, quantitative method is used. In social sciences, comparative method is used to compare different societies or to compare different groups, institutions etc of same society. Its main idea is to discover a general theory by clarifying similarity and differentiality found in different societies or in social structure, culture of groups.

Traditions of comparative method have been mostly found in evolutionist sociologists and this method has been ....

Answer : For the study of incidents in social research there are two study methods used on the basis of nature of content-first is qualitative method and second is quantitative method. Somewhere both these methods are used together for the study of a subject. That method used to study of abstract fact is known as qualitative methods. In sociology for study of abstract facts e.g. social relation, values, conception, beliefs, customs and instincts, mainly qualitative method is ....

Answer : The purpose of the scientific social research is to establish “truths” that are evident to everybody. The method of subjective provides a basis for working with events that are outside the domain of the scientific method.

The subjective method is not able to reveal the universal truths but is able to solve problems and provide perspectives for individual according to his or her abilities. The rules of logic of logic, thought and perceptions are part of ....

Answer : The test of reliability is an important test of sound measurement. A measuring instrument is reliable if it provides consistent results. It is also fact that a reliable measuring instrument does contribute to validity but a reliable instrument need not to be a valid instrument. Reliability is not valuable as validity but it is easier to assess reliability in comparison to validity. If the quality of reliability is satisfied by an instrument then it is ....

Answer : In his Systems Approach, Parsons sees society as a system. There are four general needs that must be met for proper functioning of the system: adaptation, goal attainment, integration, and latent pattern maintenance. In complex, differentiated societies, these functions are met by separate institutional spheres. These different institutions are integrated through the system pressures of mutual dependency and generalized medium of exchange.

Social System itself is only one of four systems that surround human behaviour. There ....

Answer : Content Analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Earl Babbie defines it as “the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, paintings and laws.” It is most commonly used by researchers in the social sciences to analyze recorded transcripts of interviews with participants.

This technique basically involves summarizing and quantitative analysis of messages that rely on the scientific methods (including objectivity, intersubjectivity, a priori design, reliability, validity, ....

Answer : Serendipity refers to chance discovery of theoretically important facts in the course of research, leading the scientist to new discoveries he did not anticipate. Serendipity is used as a sociological method in Anselm Leonard Strauss’ and B.G. Glaser’s Grounded Theory. It builds on ideas by sociologist Robert K. Merton, who in Social Theory and Social Structure referred to the “Serendipity pattern” as a fairly common experience of observing an unanticipated, anomalous and strategic datum which ....

Answer : Nomothetic method is one of the research methods in which analysis is directed towards the formulation of general principles. From sociological perspective, application of this method entails that individual events are studied not for their own sake but for their significance in so far as they contribute to the formulation of generalization. Sociology and physical science are regarded as nomothetic sciences because their primary goal is to abstract generalization from specific events and individual facts.

Idiographic ....

Answer : Sampling is a method of selecting a portion of research item or study units from a large universe for the purpose of study and survey. The method of samplings have been devised for various usefulness such as- to save the time, money, to bring high accuracy, to get valid and comparable results within a very short period of time, to draw inferences about the universe which is unknown etc.

Basically there are two types of sampling.

1. Probability ....

Answer : The word objectivity means unbiased, neutral or based on facts alone. It can be defined in two ways. In first case it considers an absence of bias or interpreting observations.

In second case, it is a situation in which data gathered represents true picture of reality.

To achieve this kind of objectivity, we need to describe the reality from the interference from the ways in which one think about it. But such things is not possible in ....

Answer : Once the problem to be answered in the course of research is finally instituted, the researcher may, if feasible, proceed to formulate tentative solutions or answers to it. These proposed solutions or explanations are called hypothesis, which the researcher is obliged to test on the basis of facts already known or which can be made known. If such hypothesis are not formulated even implicitly, the researcher cannot effectively go ahead with the investigation of his ....

Answer : Sampling is an important method used in the formulation of social research. As the rate of social change has increased, the importance of sampling as a technique of social research is also increased.

For practical and cost effective reasons, it is often impossible to collect information about entire population of people of things in which social researchers are interested.

In these cases, a sample of the total is selected for study. The main criteria are to ensure ....

Answer : Objectivity and value neutrality in social research can be understood from the viewpoint of methods and procedures of positivistic and interpretative discipline in social science. August Comte argued that the application of natural science methodology to the study of man would produce a “positive science of society” that represents objectivity in social research. It would show that behaviour in the social world is governed by laws in the same way as bahaviour in the natural ....

Answer : In social research we aim at opening new vistas of knowledge and wisdom. Social research helps in finding out social reality, simplifying the mysterious within the common place in social life. It is with the help of social research that social planning can become possible.

It helps in finding similarities and differences of various cultures the methods in which different organizations control different cultures and influence social behaviour and also the extent of different problems which ....

Answer : Problem of objectivity in social research: As compared with natural science, there is much of a problem of obtaining objectivity in social research. The problem is primarily because in social research we deal with human beings who live in society and have certain social interests. They participate in social movements and accept certain values and ways of life. They have certain social and emotional attachments which can’t be detached from real life. As such their ....

Answer : To many sociologists, an objective science of society remains the goal of Sociology. Their view of objectivity is summarized: “objectivity means that the conclusion arrived at as the result of inquiry and investigation are independent of the race, colour, creed, occupation, nationality, religion, moral preference and political predisposition of the investigators.” If his research is truly objective , it is independent of any subjective element, the personal desires, that he may have. An increasing number ....

Answer : Questionnire is one of the important way of data collection. It asks open-ended and closed ended question from the repondent to know about the issues. But sometimes respondent gives such a answer to the question that it would be hard to say it is objective or true. For example, in a Gallup Poll Survey in 1939, 88% of the US population described themselves as middle class. The survey was repeated again and the ' lower ....

Answer : The reliability of sample taken from a population can be assessed by the spread of sampling distribution, measured by standared deviation of this distribution, called the standared errors. Suppose we have a population of N items, of which a certain proportion posses a given car. Out of this population a number of different sample of size can be drawn, this number is very large, when it is small in relation to N. In each of ....