The Process of Social Research

One model of the social research process looks like this: CHOOSE A GENERAL TOPIC ➔ FOCUS PROJECT ON AREA OF INTEREST WITHIN A THEORY ➔ DESIGN A STUDY ➔ COLLECT DATA ➔ ANALYZE THE DATA ➔ INTERPRET FINDINGS AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS ➔ WRITE A REPORT.

Some Dimensions of Social Research The GOAL: Descriptive vs. Explanatory The UNIT OF ANALYSIS The USE: Basic vs. Applied The TIME DIMENSION The ANALYTIC TECHNIQUE The Degree of OBTRUSIVENESS The Approach to VERIFICATION: Classical/Deductive or Grounded/Inductive

So… why can’t we just rely on “common sense”? “Common Sense” is almost never defined, but might refer to – Authority – Tradition – Personal Experience – Media Representations – Myths and “Urban Legends”

…but all of these sources of “knowledge” are biased. Among other issues, sources of error include the following: Premature Closure Subjectivity Inappropriate Sampling

“Science” allows for: Findings that are Objective A Neutral Pursuit Findings that can be Generalized