The nature and process of social research
Which comes first, theory or research?
Theory, because otherwise you are working in the dark
Research, because that’s the only way you can develop a theory
An emergency source of finance
The question is meaningless, because you can’t have one without the other
An emergency source of finance
It depends on your point of view. Focusing on theory or research represent the two main points of view in social research. Both viewpoints are felt deeply, even passionately, by their holders and it is virtually impossible to declare a winner, as it were. For some researchers, formulating and testing hypotheses is at the heart of science, whereas for others, what may be true for the physical sciences is almost certainly not appropriate to the social sciences. The question is meaningful, since the strategies and methods followed in research stem directly from it. Even the research results can be regarded as more, or less, reliable depending on the point of view. As with many other aspects of human endeavour, outside the world of research the question can be seen as yet another “chicken and egg” situation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 6,7
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 6,7
An emergency source of finance It depends on your point of view. Focusing on theory or research represent the two main points of view in social research. Both viewpoints are felt deeply, even passionately, by their holders and it is virtually impossible to declare a winner, as it were. For some researchers, formulating and testing hypotheses is at the heart of science, whereas for others, what may be true for the physical sciences is almost certainly not appropriate to the social sciences. The question is meaningful, since the strategies and methods followed in research stem directly from it. Even the research results can be regarded as more, or less, reliable depending on the point of view. As with many other aspects of human endeavour, outside the world of research the question can be seen as yet another “chicken and egg” situation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 6,7
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 6,7
Related posts
The core ingredients of a dissertation are:A. Introduction; Data collection; Data analysis; Conclusions and recommendations.
B. Executive summary; Literature review; Data gathered; Conclusions; Bibliography.
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Introduction; Literature review; Research methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion.
What does ‘sampling cases’ mean?
A. Sampling using a sampling frame
B. Identifying people who are suitable for research
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Sampling people, newspapers, television programmes etc.
Because of the number of things that can go wrong in research there is a need for:
A. Flexibility and perseverance
B. Sympathetic supervisors
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Wisdom to know the right time to quit
Which of the following is not a type of research question?
A. Predicting an outcome
B. Evaluating a phenomenon
C. An emergency source of finance
D. A hypothesis
When planning to do social research, it is better to:
A. Approach the topic with an open mind
B. Do a pilot study before getting stuck into it
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Forget about theory because this is a very practical undertaking
Why is data analysis concerned with data reduction?
A. Because far too much data is collected than is required
B. Because we need to make sense of the data
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Because the sample size has been exceeded
Which of the following is not a data-collection method?
A. Research questions
B. Unstructured interviewing
C. An emergency source of finance
D. Participant observation
Leave a Reply