Methodology of Social Research

Social scientists are divided into camps of support for particular research techniques. These disputes relate to the historical core of social theory (positivism and ant positivism; structure and agency). While very different in many aspects both qualitative and quantitative approaches involve a systematic interaction between theory and data. The choice of method often depends largely on what the researcher intends to investigate. For example a researcher concerned with drawing a statistical generalization across an entire population may administer a survey questionnaire to a representative sample population. There are no laws in social science that parallel the laws in the natural science. A law in social science is a universal generalization about a class of facts. A fact is an observed phenomenon and observation means it has been seen heard or otherwise experienced by researcher. A theory is a systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of social life. Concepts are the basic building blocks of theory and are abstract elements representing classes of phenomena. Axioms or postulates are basic assertions assumed to be true. Propositions are conclusions drawn about the relationships among concepts based on analysis of axioms. This book is designed for students at the beginning of their journey in social research. It aims to provide an accessible practically-oriented introduction to social research methods. The research methods included in this book are selected on the basis of their relevance to contemporary social research practice. Contents: • Survey Methodology • Multi methodology • Observational Field Research • Scientific Methods in Social Work Research • Critical Action Research in Social Work • Evaluation Design and Methods • Ethics and the Ruling Relations of Research Production • Multivariate Statistics • Statistical Power • Descriptive Research