The operations involved in the process of social research are highly interrelated and continuously overlapping that it is difficult to make them correspond to a prescribed definite pattern procedure. such an attempt may result in failure to serve the purpose of introducing one to the broad range of intricacies of the research process. however, this does not imply a random choice of steps in social research. the following major steps, arranged in order, are common to almost all published researches:
- Formulation of Research Problem
- Overview of Relevant Literature
- Operationalization of Variables
- Population and Sample
- Methods of Data Collection
- Processing and analysis of Data
- Interpretation of Results and Conclusions
It is to be noted that each of the above
major steps is, in fact, a group of many operations each of which has its own
role to play in the research process. This section provides a brief
introduction to each of the above major steps of the research process.
A.
Formulation
of Research Problem
In conducting a research, the
researcher first chooses the general area of his interest from among the wide
array of general areas that exist in his parent discipline. However, with only
the general area in hand he does not know what specific information he needs to
collect since he does not have any specific question to answer. This is why he
needs to formulate a specific problem from within the chosen general area to
make the whole exercise a worthwhile scientific inquiry. The specific questions
with act as guidepost to keep him headed in the right direction.
B.
Overview
of Relevant Literature
Usually, the researcher’s own
intellectual orientation, inclination, training, and experiencing suggest the
general area of this interest. But the formulation of specific research problem
from within the general area almost inevitable requires a review of the
relevant literature. Such a review, as an act of meaningfully synthesizing
existing knowledge in the area, helps him to detect the gap in the existing
knowledge, an eventually to define his problem in terms of this gap. Broadly,
the review of literature enables him to formulate his problem in terms of the
specific aspects of the general area of his interest that have not so far been
researched.
A critical study of the works already
done in the general area not only provides him an exposure necessary to
determine the priority of what ought to be studied but also helps him to locate
his problem in some theoretical perspective and to link it up with whatever
knowledge exists in the area of inquiry. Such a review is needed to demonstrate
the relevance of his research to the larger body of knowledge. Ignoring this
aspect to research amounts to seeking answers to countless behavioral riddles
encountered in a haphazard manner everyday rather than to attempting to
discover the unity and uniformity that underline the human conduct. Through a
proper review of the relevant material he may develop the coherence between the
findings of this own study and those of other studies.
Having identified a specific problem
for his research, he attempts, if feasible, to develop hypothesis the
formulation of which depends partly on his awareness of the state of existing
knowledge in the area. A hypothesis is a tentative statement about something whose
validity is yet to be known. Usually, hypotheses are framed so as to contain
suggested explanation or solution of the problem in the form of propositions.
The purpose of research is then to support or refute the hypotheses. Generally,
in explanatory researches – those that seek to explain phenomena by involving
the examination of may different aspects of phenomena simultaneously –
hypotheses are formulated proposing the expected relationships among variables
used to explain the particular phenomenon of interest. In exploratory
researches – those undertaken to explore new interests, or in descriptive
researches that simply describe events, on the other hand, the findings
themselves may lead to formulation of hypotheses.
Once hypotheses have been formulated,
or objectives clearly defined, the researcher has set his task in a definite
direction. In other words, he now knows ‘what to do’. The question that follows
then is ‘how to do’. This entails a number of decisions. Probably the first
step involved in ‘how to do’ is operationalization and measurements of the
concerned variables and concepts. At the second and subsequent steps of ‘how to
do’, the research will be involved in defining the relevant population, drawing
a sample, and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data. A review of the
relevant literature enables him to identify the concepts and their meanings
used in various studies, and also to pick up the merits and avoid the pitfalls,
if any, of these studies. Such an experience is of great use in all steps of
his own research. Clearly, without a comprehensive exposure to the relevant
literature he would remain in darkness about these essential of a research. Put
differently, an effective review of the relevant literature is an essential
component of a research process.
C.
Operationalization
of Variables
It is very important that the variables used in a proposed research be clearly and concisely defined. Since concepts represent abstractions, the researcher has to devise some means of translating them into their empirical referents. In other words, the concepts and hence, the underlying variables have to be operationalized that methods to obtain empirical observations representing those concepts in the real world, can be developed.
D. Population and Sample
The researcher then decides his study population comprising all possible case of a particular phenomenon. It is rarely possible to study the entire population of interest, given the time and resource constraints. Sampling, then, becomes an essential part of the research. The researcher has to choose a certain segment of the population in such a way that it represents the population. When the elements of the population are far from homogeneity, as is often the case, it is very important that an appropriate method of drawing the sample is employed to ensure that a representative sample has been chosen. How large the sample should be, depends on a number of factors such as time, cost, precision required, etc.
E. Methods of Data Collection
Having chosen the sample, the
researcher proceeds to collect information from the sample elements on the
relevant variables and concepts. There are many different methods of collecting
data, depending on the nature and objectives of the study, availability of resources,
etc.
The most commonly used method of
collecting data is the interview method conducted by interviews in a face to face situation with the
respondents. Respondents are asked question, closed or open ended or of the
mixed types, and the responses are recorded by the interviewer on the spaces
provided on the interview schedule that contains the questions. Data can also
be collected by using self-administered questionnaires, in which case, the
respondents, in complete absence of any interviewer, answer the questions and
record the responses themselves. Other means of collecting information include
the use of secondary sources such as census, vital registration records, official
records, etc, which have already been gathered earlier, usually by some other
people for some other purpose. Amon other methods for gathering information are
experiment, observation, focus group discussion, and content analysis of
written materials. In experiment, the researcher usually manipulates a variable
and then observes and records the changes in people’s behavior due to such a
manipulation. In the observation method, he observes the social phenomena in
natural settings, and in focus group discussion the respondents are brought
together in groups, and the interviewer, while using a general discussion
guide, elicits detailed information through problems. In content analysis, data
are collected through specifying and counting social artifacts such as
newspapers, books, speeches, etc. for example, a question such as “Does the
newspaper X seem to have titled from the rightist to the leftist approach over
the recent years?” may probably be best answered by the method of content
analysis. None of the data collection methods is appropriate in all research situations.
One or more given methods may be more appropriate in one research situation in
another.
At the stage of deciding the method of data collection, the researcher usually gets involved in the construction of measuring instruments such as interview schedule, questionnaire, etc. The task of constructing the instrument requires a thorough understanding of the research problem as well as discussions with experienced and knowledgeable persons.
F. Processing and Analysis of Data
When the requisite data have been
gathered, the task of analyzing them is in order. The steps of collected data
in themselves do not mean anything unless answer to the research questions posed
at the beginning of the study are extracted out of them. The analysis phrase is
meant to serve this purpose.
The data are first processed, that is, edited to improve their quality, and then coded to convert them to the form of numerical codes representing attributes of varibles. Once coding is done, the data are ready to be fed into the computer for analysis. The analysis can also be carried out manually. The first step in the analysis is the determination of the numerical strength of different categories of response. Then the variables need to be described and summarized with the use of different measures of location, dispersion, correlation, etc. Most researches require that several variables be examined simultaneously, in which case, the approach is known as multivariate analysis. There are a number of techniques for conducting a multivariate analysis. The appropriateness of a technique in a specific situation depends on the nature of the research question asked, and the types of variables used in the analysis. As in the case of methods of collecting data, an analytical technique appropriate in one situation may not be appropriate or even application in another.
G. Interpretation of Results and Conclusions
The final task of the researcher is to interpret the results of the analysis and to draw conclusions. If the results of the analysis do not differ significantly from what can be explained on the basis of his hypotheses, the theory that gave rise to those hypotheses stands tenable. Otherwise, some modification of the theory may be suggested. In case he started without hypotheses, the generality of the findings may give rise to hypotheses to be tested in future research. The research while reporting his research should keep in mind who the audience is. The research report is expected to add to the existing knowledge, and to stimulate further research.
Source: Methods and Techniques of Social Research by Abu Jafar Mohammad Sufian