Research Methodology

Explain social research, with its main features as objectives and different stages?
Answer: Research is a careful investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge. According to Redman and Mary research is a systematized effort to gain new knowledge.
According to D.Sleshinger and M.Stemson has defined research as the manipulation of things, concepts or
symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, heather that knowledge aids in
construction of theory or in the practice of an art. Social research is a scientific undertaking which by means of
logical and systematized techniques, aims to discover new factory verify a test old facts, analyze their sequence
interrelationship and casual explanation which were derived within an appropriate theoretical frame of
reference, develop new scientific tools, concepts and theories which would facilities reliable and valid study of
human behavior. According to PV young social research the systematic method of discovering news facts or
verifying old facts, their sequences, inter-relationships, casual explanation and the natural laws which governs
them. Prof C.A Mosr defines social research as “systematized investigation to give new knowledge about social
phenomena and surveys”. Rummel defined social research as it is devoted to a “study of mankind in his social
environment and is concerned with improving his understanding of social orders, groups, institutes and ethics”.
Mary Stevenson defined social research as “social research is a systematic methods of exploring, analyzing and
conceptualizing social life in order to extend ,correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aid in the
construction of a theory or in the practice of an art.

The characteristic features of social research:

Social research is scientific approach of adding to the knowledge about society and social phenomenon.
Knowledge to be meaningful should have a definite purpose and direction. The growth of knowledge is closely
linked to the methods and approaches used in research investigation. Hence the social science research must be
guided by certain laid down objectives enumerated below

Development knowledge:
The main object of any research is to add to the knowledge. As we have seen earlier, research is a process to
obtain knowledge. Similarly social research is an organized and scientific effort to acquire further knowledge
about the problem in question. Thus social science helps us to obtain and add to the knowledge of social
phenomena. This one of the important objective of social research.

Scientific study of social research:

Social research is an attempt to acquire knowledge about the social phenomena. Man being the part of a society,
social research studies human being as an individual, human behavior and collects data about various aspects of
the social life of man and formulates law in this regards. Once the law is formulated then the scientific study
tries to establish the interrelationship between these facts. Thus, the scientific study of social life is the base of
the sociological development which is considered as second best objective of social research. Welfare of
humanity: The ultimate objective of the social science study if often and always to enhance the welfare of
humanity. No scientific research makes only for the sake of study. The welfare of humanity is the most common
objective in social science research.

Classification of facts:
According to Prov P.V.Young, social research aims to clarify facts. The classification of facts plays important
role in any scientific research. Social control and prediction: The ultimate object of many research undertaking
is to make it possible, to redirect the behavior of particular type of individual under the specified conditions. In
social research we generally study of the social phenomena, event and factors that govern and guide them. a)
Social research deals with phenomena. It studies the human behavior. b) It discovers new facts and verifies old
facts. With the improvement in the technique and changes in the phenomena the researcher has to study the. c)
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Casual relationship between various human activities can also be studies in social research. For the sake of
systematic presentation, the process of research may be classifies under three stages

Primary stage
Secondary stage
Tertiary stage

The primary stage includes

Observation
Interest
Crystallization, identification and statement of a research problem
Formulation of hypothesis

Primary synopsis
Conceptual clarity
Documentation
Preparation of bibliography and
Research design

The secondary stage includes

Project planning
Project formulation
Questionnaire preparation
Investigation and data collection
Preparation of final synopsis
Compilation of data
Classification
Tabulation and presentation of data
Experimentation
Analysis
Testing of hypothesis and
Interpretation

The tertiary stage includes

Report writing
Observation, suggestions and conclusions.

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