The search for knowledge is closely linked to the object of study; that is, to the reconstruction of the facts that will provide an explanation to an observed event and that at first sight can be considered as a problem. It is very humane to seek answers and satisfy our curiosity.
Definition of Research
The word
research has two parts re (again) and search (find) which denote that we are
taking up an activity to look into an aspect once again or we want to look for
some new information about something.
According to
the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie, “research is a systematic inquiry
to describe, explain, predict, and control the observed phenomenon.”
Cohen, N. & Arieli, T., explain
that research means "gathering and analyzing a body of information or data
and extracting new meaning from it or developing unique solutions to problems
or cases.
Clifford Woody
states that research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulation of
hypothesis; collection, organizing and evaluation of data; and reaching
conclusions.
Research is defined as the creation of
new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so
as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings.
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Social
research
Social
research is the study of social trends, dynamics and principles that exist
between individuals and within societies. Professionals perform social research
in order to better understand the social factors that motivate and influence
human beings and to analyze how and why humans interact with each other.
Prof.
C.A. Moser defined it as “systematized investigation to give new knowledge
about social phenomena and surveys, we call social research”.
Rummel
defined it 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”.
The
example of research is to examine the relationship between social media usage
patterns and mental health among young adults aged 18 to 30 years.
Steps in the social research process
Social research proceeds in a sequence
of steps, although different approaches to research vary the steps somewhat.
Most studies follow the seven steps discussed here.
Step-2:
Focus Questions: The crucial next step is to narrow down the topic or focus the
topic into a specific research question for a study (e.g., “Are people who
marry younger more likely to engage in physical abuse of a spouse under
conditions of high stress than those who marry older?”).
After learning about a topic and
narrowing the focus, review past research, or the literature, on a topic or
question. It is at this stage that a possible answer to the research question,
or hypothesis, and theory can be important.
Step
3: The Research Design/ design study: Research
design is the plan for achieving objectives and answering research questions.
It outlines how to get the relevant information. Its goal is to design research
to test hypotheses, address the research questions, and provide decision-making
insights.
The research design
aims to minimize the time, money, and effort required to acquire meaningful
evidence. This plan fits into four categories:
- Exploration and Surveys
- Experiment
- Data
Analysis
- Observation
Step 4: Data Collection/ collect data: Data collection is important in
obtaining the knowledge or information required to answer the research issue.
Every research collected data, either from the literature or the people being
studied. Data must be collected from the two categories of researchers. These
sources may provide primary data.
- Experiment
- Questionnaire
- Observation
- Interview
Secondary data categories are:
- Literature
survey
- Official,
unofficial reports
- An
approach based on library resources.
Step
5: Data Analysis: During research design, the researcher plans data analysis. After
collecting data, the researcher analyzes it. The data is examined based on the
approach in this step. The research findings are reviewed and reported.
Data analysis
involves a number of closely related stages, such as setting up categories,
applying these categories to raw data through coding and tabulation, and then
drawing statistical conclusions. The researcher can examine the acquired data
using a variety of statistical methods.
Step
6: Interpret Data: The next step is to examine or analyze the data looking for patterns
and giving meaning to or interpreting the data (e.g., “People who marry young
and grew up in families with abuse have higher rates of physical domestic abuse
than those with different family histories”).
Step
7: Inform others: The last step is to inform others in a report that describes the
study’s background, how it was conducted, and what was discovered.
Conclusion
The seven-step process shown is
oversimplified. In practice, we will rarely complete one step totally then
leave it behind to move to the next step. Rather, the process is interactive
and the steps blend into each other. The process is not strictly one-way and
may flow back and forth before reaching an end. The seven steps are for one
research project; it is one cycle of going through the steps in a single study
on a specific topic.
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