Social Research

1. Social Research
Course Instructor
Dr. Rupasi Tiwari
Pr. Scientist and Incharge ATIC
ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute
Izatnagar, UP-243122, India

2. What is social Research
• Social research is defined as the systematic method of
discovering new facts of verifying old facts, their sequences,
interrelationship, causal explanation and natural laws
which govern them. (P.V. Young)
• Prof C. A Mosr defines social research as “systematized
investigation to give new knowledge about social
phenomena and surveys”.
• Mary Stevenson defined social research as “a systematic
method 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.”

3. Characteristics of Social
Research
The major characteristics of social research is that:
• It deals with the social phenomena.
• It is carried out both for discovering new facts and
verification of the old ones.
• It is done to establish causal connection between
various human activities.

4. Objectives 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.

5. • The main object of social research as of any other
research is the acquisition of knowledge.
• The thirst for knowledge has been responsible for vast
variety of research work even when material incentive
was present.
• Thus the primary object of social research is to get true
and intimate knowledge of human society and its
functioning to know and understand the laws that are
operating behind various social activities of man.
1. Academic object / Development of
knowledge

6. 2. Scientific study of social
phenomena
• Social research is an attempt to acquire knowledge about
the social phenomena.
• Man being the part of a society, social research studies
human behavior and collects data about various aspects of
the social life of man and formulates law in this regard.
• 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.

7. 3. Utilitarian purpose /
Welfare of humanity
• One important objective of social research is its
utilitarian purpose. According to Young, “The primary
goal of research immediate or distant- is to understand
social life and thereby gain a greater measure of control
over social behaviour”.
• The welfare of humanity is the most common objective in
social science research.

8. 4. Clarification of facts
• According to P. V. Young, social research aims to clarify
facts.
• The clarification of facts plays important role in any
scientific research.

9. 5. 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 the social
phenomena, event and factors that govern and guide
them.

10. Motivating Factor for
Social Research

11. 1. Curiosity about
unknown
• Curiosity is an intrinsic trait of human mind and a
compelling drive in the exploration of man’s
surroundings.
• The same curiosity drives a scientist to explore unknown
factors working behind the social phenomena.

12. 2. Desire to understand the cause
and effect of wide spread social
problems
According to P.V. Young, the search for cause and effect
relationship has been more relentless than almost any other
scientific effort upon which human energies have been
spent.

13. 3. Appearance of novel
and unanticipated
situation
• Man is often faced with many acute and difficult social
problem.
• In quite a large number of cases such problems have
inspired the social scientist to go into their detail and
study the basic factors causing these problems.

14. 4. Desire to discover new and test old
scientific procedures as an efficient way to
gain useful and fundamental knowledge
• Such research is not in fact a research in social
phenomena, but a research in techniques or methods used
in social research.
• A number of such researches have been made to evolve
better and most refined techniques for dealing with social
problems.
• Of late there has been growing emphasis upon the use of
quantitative or statistical methods in the social research in
order to make it more definite and mathematically
precise.

15. Utility of Social Research

16. 1. Social Control
• A control over society is possible only when we have a
complete knowledge of the organization and working of
society and its various institutions, their inter-relationship
and the motivations that guide human behavior.
• All this can be achieved only through a scientific society

17. 2. Social Cohesion
The study of society creates better understanding between
different social groups, it reveals the underlying unity in the
midst of apparent disparity, and thus helps to create the
feelings of oneness, sympathy and understanding in place of
racial prejudices.

18. 3 Social Welfare
• Social welfare or removal of social evils can be achieved
through social research.
• A large number of legislation and reformative measures
owe their origin to the reports of social surveys.
• Social research helps us to find out not only the
magnitude but also the real cause of evils and thus helps
us to devise ways to hit at the root of these evils.

19. 4. Social Prediction
• Social research helps us to formulate social laws which
shows relationship between social facts and their causes.
• Although accurate prediction in majority of cases is not
possible due to complexity of social phenomena, variety
of causative factors and their unstability, yet certain broad
trends can definitely be located.

20. 5. Social Growth
• Social research helps in the growth of society on right lines.
Every society is subject to growth, the direction of which is
influenced by its own structure, institutions, social values and
motivations etc.
• But it is equally affected by our knowledge of our own society
as well as other societies. Man is a rational being and gains by
experience.
• The future path of social progress is therefore, conditioned by
our knowledge of ourselves and other people.
• Social research thus helps in guiding the trend of social
growth on more proper lines and towards more cherished goals

21. 6. Perfection of tool of
research
• As a social research progress the tools of analysis and
methods of research become more perfect with use.
• New tools are devised to give more accurate and precise
results.
• As the tools of research become more perfect, the science
of Sociology itself moves towards greater perfection.

22. No research can be perform without establishing certain
assumption .
7. Assumption of Social
Research

23. 1. Existence of cause and
effect relationship
• It has to be accepted as a basis of social research that there
exists cause and effect relationship between various social
activities. For example, social crime may be caused by
poverty and frustration.
• In other words where ever there is poverty and frustration it
will result in social crime.
• Therefore, poverty and frustration have to be eliminated first
in order to eliminate crimes.

24. 2. Existence of sequence
or laws in social
activities
• Another assumption is that various social activities do
not occur in a haphazard random way.
• There is some system some trend behind them.
• If this trend or system is located it is possible to predict
the future course of social phenomena.

25. 3. Probability of detached
study
• Although man is a part the society which he is
investigating, yet it is possible for him to study it apart
from him.
• Although it is very difficult task it is not impossible.

26. 4. Existence of ideal type
• In society every one is not entirely different from each
other. People may be grouped into fairly homogeneous
classes known as ‘ideal type’.
• The deduction drawn from the study of the group may be
made applicable to the whole type, wherever it may exist

27. 5. Possibility of a
representative sample
• The assumption is similar to the previous one.
• It is generally assumed that a sample, representative of
the group may be drawn and the deduction from the
study of the sample may be made applicable to the whole
group.

28. Types of Research
The social research can be classified into various categories
according to its nature, objectives, methodology, techniques
etc. According to Kothari, C.R.(1990), the basic types of
research are :

29. 1. Descriptive Vs Analytical
Research
• Descriptive research includes survey and fact findings enquires of different
kinds.
• The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs
as it exists at present.
• We quite often use the term ex- post facto research for descriptive research
studies.
• The main characteristics of this method is that the researcher has no control
over the variables.
• He can only report what has happened or what is happening.
• The method of research utilized in descriptive research are survey method of
all kinds including comparative and correlation method. In Analytical
Research on the other hand, the researcher has to use facts or information
already available and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the
material.

30. 2. Applied Vs Fundamental
Research
• Applied means Action while Fundamental means Basic/Pure.
• Applied Research aims at findings a solution for an immediate
problem facing a society or an industrial/business organization.
• The central aim of applied research is to discover a solution for some
pressing problem, where as basic research is directed towards
findings information that has a broad base of application.
• Fundamental research is mainly concerned with generalization and
with the formulating of a theory. Gathering knowledge for knowledge
sake is termed pure or basic research.
• Research concerning some natural phenomenon or relating to pure
mathematics are example of fundamental research. For example,
Research studies concerning social dynamics carried on with a view
to make generalization about society, but research aimed at finding
solution for some pressing problem of society is example of applied
research

31. 3. Quantitative Vs Qualitative Research-
• Quantitative research is based on the measurement of quantity or
amount. It is applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms
of quantity.
• Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomena i.e.,
phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind. For instance- when
we are interested in investigating the reason for human behaviour (i.e.,
why people think or do certain things), we quite often talk of
‘Motivation Research’ which is an important type of qualitative
research.
• This type of research aims at discovering the underlying motives and
desires, using in-depth interviews for the purpose. Other techniques of
such research are word association test, sentence completion tests and
story completion tests or projective techniques. Attitude or opinion test
research is also a quantitative research.

32. 4. Conceptual Vs
Empirical Research-
• Conceptual research is that related to some abstract idea(s) or
theory. It is generally used by philosopher and thinkers to
develop new concepts or reinterpret existing ones.
• Empirical Research relies on experience or observation alone,
often without due regard for system and theory. It is data based
research coming up with conclusion which are capable of
being verified by observation or experiment we can also call it
experimental type of research. Empirical research is
appropriate when proof is sought that certain variables affect
other variables in some way

33. Action research
• It is a form of research that is basically learning by doing.
A group of people get together, decide what the problem
is and then try and fix it. They end by analyzing how
successful their efforts were

34. Some other types of Research
• One time research Vs longitudinal research: From the point of view of
time we can think of research either as one time research or longitudinal
research.
• Formalized Vs exploratory research: Formalized research is testing of
hypothesis while exploratory is development of hypothesis rather than their
testing. Eg. Case study
• Field setting research or laboratory research depending upon the
environment in which it is to be carried out.
• Historical research – it deals with study of historical sources like
documents remains etc.
• Conclusion oriented research:- researcher is free to pick up problem
,redesign the enquiry as he proceeds & is prepared to conceptualize as he
wishes.
• Decision oriented research is always for the need of a decision maker &
the researcher in this case is not free to embark upon research according to
his own inclination.

35. Salient differences between Basic
vs Applied research
Basic Fundamental Applied
Its main purpose is to generate
knowledge
It is empirical based on Primary data
from the respondents
To provide logical explanation to social
process
It is to solve practical solve problems
To satisfy desire of scientist It is utilitarian in nature
To develop new theories and verified old
theories
It is used to explain what exist in society
and what should be.
It is passive in nature that is explain the
situation in society as they are.
It is active in nature as it tries to solve the
immediate practical problem.