Historical Research Method №4

Historical Research Method History is the record of the changing processes. History consists of changes which social structures undergo. Social scientists studies the past to gain a better understanding of the present state of affairs. History is the meaningful record of man’s achievement. It is not merely a list of characteristics of chronological events, but an integrated account of the relationship between persons, events, times and places.

Purpose of Historical Research: (i) Historical researches provide important information concerning the effects of certain past practices and may suggest plans for future actions. (ii) It also offers explanation of the how and why of many of the theories and practices that has developed and now prevails in the school/college. (iii) It contributes to an understanding of the significance of the phenomenon studied. (iv) It helps to gain an accurate account of the past. (v) It helps to gain a clear perspective of the present.

Famous Examples Karl Marx and Capital (1867) Emile Durkheim and Suicide (1897) Max Weber and The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) C. Wright Mills on history in the Sociological Imagination (1959) “Let us not forget what it is we are studying and how little we know of man, of history, of biography, and of the societies of which we are at once creatures and creators”

Descriptive or Survey Method The term survey is used for the techniques of investigation by a direct observation of a phenomenon or a systematic gathering of data from population by applying personal contact and interviews when adequate information about certain problem is not available in records, files and other sources. The survey is an important tool to gather evidences relating to certain social problems. The term social survey indicates the study of social phenomena through a survey of a small sampled population and also to broad segments of population. It is concerned with the present and attempts to determine the status of the phenomenon under investigation.

Objects of Social Survey: (i) Direct and close contact of researcher to the phenomenon under study. (ii) To collect general information. (iii) A basis for hypothesis. (iv) To explain cause and effect relationship. (v) To know opinion and attitudes of the people.

Purposes: (i) It provides necessary information which helps the administrator for making decisions. (ii) It provides necessary information and plan for improvement so it is forward-looking. (iii) It interprets, synthesizes and integrates data and points out their implications. (iv) It is more realistic because investigation is done in this method in natural setting. (v) It is the only method through which the researcher can obtain the opinions, attitudes and suggestions for improvement. (vi) It is useful in the development of research tools such as checklists, questionnaires etc.

Types of Descriptive Method Descriptive method is divided into four parts. They are Survey Studies Inter-relationship Developmental Studies Content Analysis

Experimental Method It may be defined as the study of the relationships among variables-those manipulated and those measured. It simply enables the researcher to improve the conditions under which the researcher observes and thus to arrive at a more precise results. It enables him to relate a given consequent to a specific antecedent rather than to a vague conglomeration of antecedents.