Understanding Social Research Methods: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on Aug 17, 2024 in Psychology and Sociology

Week 2: Key Concepts in Social Research

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research

Quantitative Research uses numerical data and deductive reasoning.

Qualitative Research focuses on contextual data and inductive reasoning.

Importantly, the interpretation of data can vary depending on the analyst.

Social Research Fundamentals

What is Social Research?

Focuses on people and the social world, often at the group level.
Examines patterns of similarities and differences among cases.
Encompasses a wide range of topics.

The Process of Social Research

Literature Review: Understanding existing knowledge.
Concepts and Theories: Defining the framework.
Research Questions (Aims): Guiding the investigation.
Sampling (Method): Selecting participants.
Data Collection (Method): Gathering information.
Data Analysis (Results): Interpreting findings.
Writing Up the Research (Discussion & Conclusions): Sharing insights.

Literature Review

Purpose of a Literature Review

Identify existing knowledge on the topic.
Understand applied concepts and theories.
Review previous research methods.
Explore controversies and conflicting evidence.
Recognize key contributors.

Example: Gender or Agenda Setting Theory

Key Concepts:

Relevance: Considering all relevant topics.
Uncertainty: Addressing information gaps and unknowns.

Note: Contradictory findings are common in literature reviews.

Research Questions

Importance of Research Questions

Guide literature search, research design, data collection, analysis, and write-up.
Prevent unnecessary deviations.
Provide clarity to readers.

Questions and Theories

Research: Investigating the social world.
Research Questions: Defining research parameters.
Theories: Tested propositions explaining or predicting phenomena.
Causation: Highlighted by theories for prediction.
Middle Range Theories: More adaptable and readily applicable.

Theories and Concepts

Key Considerations

Existing theoretical approaches to the topic.
Previous ideas used to understand the topic.
Key concepts employed.
Phenomena not explained by current theories and concepts.

Grand and Middle Range Theories

Grand Theories: Generalized and sometimes abstract (Merton, 1967).
Middle Range Theories: More measurable and testable.
Operationalization: Converting theoretical concepts to constructs and then variables.

Components of Theories

Concepts: Ideas (e.g., age, education level, attitude, opinion, emotion).
Constructs: Elements of a concept (e.g., age – young/old/DOB; education level – up to Yr 10/College/Tertiary/Post Graduate).
Measurement: Defining how to measure each construct.

Sampling

Recruitment of Participants: How participants are selected.
Probability (Random) Sampling: Allows for generalizability of results.
Non-Probability Sampling: Limits generalizability beyond the sample.
Recruitment Methods: Random and non-random (e.g., snowballing).

Data Collection Methods

In-Person: Face-to-face interviews (structured or semi-structured), participant observation.
By Instrument: Surveys (online, telephone, paper-based), diaries, television ratings recorders.
Document Analysis: Content or discourse analysis, transcripts, records, website content (qualitative).
Structured Interviews: Fixed list of questions.
Semi-Structured Interviews: Fixed list with flexibility for exploration.

Data Analysis and Discussion

Quantitative Methods: Numerical analysis.
Qualitative Methods: Contextual analysis and interpretation.
Data Presentation: Identifying and highlighting salient findings using coding.
Discussion: Implications of findings, strengths and limitations, unexpected findings, future research directions.

Quantitative Methodology

Positivist Epistemology, Objectivist Ontology: Philosophical foundations.
Empirical Research: Based on observation and measurement.
Natural Science Methods: Applied to social science research.
Numerical Data: Used for analysis.
Average/Mean Value: Often used for comparison between groups.

From Theory to Measures

Theory: States relationships between concepts (e.g., gender differences in media use).
Concepts: Elements of a theory (e.g., gender, media).
Constructs: Elements of a concept (e.g., male/female/other, internet/TV/radio/books/films).
Variables: Varying elements within a construct (e.g., men/women, TV on mobile device vs. traditional television).

Variables and Measurement

Operational Definition: Defining a concept in measurable terms.
Independent Variable: Does not change.
Dependent Variable: Changes as a result of the independent variable.

Operationalization

Turning Concepts into Measurements: Defining how to measure a concept (e.g., media use).
Specificity: Defining the type of media, device, and content.

Measuring Media Use

Examples

Minutes per day spent on different devices (smartphone, tablet, TV, radio, cinema, books, magazines, newspapers).
Content accessed on each device (social media, news, blogs, TV shows, etc.).

Levels of Measurement

Nominal: Named categories (e.g., yes/no/unsure/don’t know).
Ordinal: Ranked categories (e.g., very interested/somewhat interested/not at all interested).
Interval: Ranked categories with equal intervals (e.g., strongly approve/approve/neither approve nor disapprove/disapprove/strongly disapprove).
Ratio: Ranked categories with equal intervals and a true zero (e.g., number of days per week accessing a website).

Likert Scales

Commonly used in surveys to measure attitudes.
Technically ordinal but often treated as interval.
Response categories assigned numerical values for averaging.

Nominal Level Example

Did you vote in the last federal election for the House of Representatives?

Yes
No
Unsure
Don’t Know

Exhaustiveness: All possible responses are included.

Mutually Exclusive: Only one response can be selected.

Ordinal Level Example

How would you describe your interest in politics?

Very interested
Somewhat interested
Not at all interested