1. Social Research Methods
Alan Bryman
Social Research Methods
Chapter 2: Social research strategies
Slides authored by Tom Owens

2. Student experience
A valuable feature of the text is the ‘Student experience’ boxes with links to the Online Resource Centre
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3. Theory and research What type of theory? Merton (1967)
- explanation of observed regularities
Merton (1967)
grand theories
highly abstract
Butler and Robinson (2001) – Bourdieu’s concept of social capital – gentrification of areas of London
middle range theories
useful for empirical research - limited domain
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4. Theory and research
Middle range theories - unlike grand ones, operate in a limited domain, whether it is juvenile delinquency, racial prejudice, educational attainment or the labour process
Labour Process Theory (Knights and Willmott 1990). P. Thompson (1989)
- the labour process theory having 4 elements
Cohen(2010)
- postal questionnaire survey of hairstylist’s relationship with their clients
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5. Empiricism Philosophical approach to theorising
Only knowledge gained through sensory experiences is acceptable
Rigorous scientific testing of theories
Positivist epistemology
Accumulation of ‘facts’ as data
Naïve empiricism?
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6. Empiricism
McKeganey and Barnard (1996) - research on prostitutes and their clients
Goffman (1963) - notion of ‘stigma’
Hochschild (1983)
- concept of ‘emotional labour’
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7. Deductive and inductive theory
Deductivism:
theory --> data
explicit hypothesis to be confirmed or rejected
quantitative research
Inductivism:
data --> theory
generalizable inferences from observations
qualitative research /grounded theory
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8. Deductive and inductive theory
Fig.2.1
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9. Deductive and inductive theory
Fig.2.2
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10. Deductive and inductive theory
Deductive: Kelley and De Graaf (1997)
- Factors that impact upon individuals religious beliefs
Inductive: Charmaz (1997)
- Chronic illness study
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11. Epistemological considerations
What is (or should be) considered acceptable knowledge?
Can the social world be studied ‘scientifically’?
Is it appropriate to apply the methods of the natural sciences to social science research?
Positivist and interpretivist epistemologies
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12. Positivist epistemology
Application of natural science methods to social science research
Phenomenalism: knowledge via the senses
Deductivism: theory testing
Inductivism: theory building
Objective, value-free researcher
Distinction between scientific and normative statements
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13. Realist epistemology Similarities to positivism:
- natural science methods appropriate
external reality exists independently of our perceptions
Empirical (naive?) realism
- close correspondence between reality and terms used to describe it
direct knowledge of the social world
Critical realism
- theoretical terms mediate our knowledge of reality
- underlying structures generate observable events
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14. Interpretivist epistemology
Subject matter of the social sciences (people) demands non-positivist methods
Positivism vs hermeneutics (Von Wright 1971)
- concerned with the theory and method of the interpretation of human action
Hermeneutic-phenomenological tradition
Verstehen: interpretative understanding of social action (Weber 1947)
Attempts to see world from the actor’s perspective: subjective reality (Bogdan and Taylor 1975)
Influenced by Symbolic Interactionism
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15. Ontological considerations
Social ontology: the nature of social entities
What kind of objects exist in the social world?
Do social entities exist independently of our perceptions of them?
Is social reality external to social actors or constructed by them?
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16. Objectivist ontology Social phenomena confront us as external facts
Individuals are born into a pre-existing social world
Social forces and rules exert pressure on actors to conform
e.g. culture exists independently of social actors who are socialized into its values
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17. Constructionist ontology
Social phenomena and their meanings are constructed by social actors
Continually accomplished and revised
Researchers’ accounts of events are also constructions - many alternative interpretations
e.g. Strauss et al (1973) negotiated order in a psychiatric hospital
Language and representation shape our perceptions of reality
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18. Research strategy: quantitative and qualitative
Useful way of classifying methods of social research
Two distinctive clusters of research strategies: quantitative and qualitative
These strategies differ in terms of their:
general orientation to social research
epistemological foundations
ontological basis
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19. Quantitative research
Measurement of social variables
Common research designs: surveys and experiments
Numerical and statistical data
Deductive theory testing
Positivist epistemology
Objectivist view of reality as external to social actors
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20. Quantitative research
Table 2.1
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21. Qualitative research
Understanding the subjective meanings held by actors (interpretivist epistemology)
Common methods: interviews, ethnography
Data are words, texts and stories
Inductive approach: theory emerges from data
Social constructionist ontology
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22. Mixed methods research
Both quantitative and qualitative research
Poortinga et al (2004)
- Foot and Mouth Disease – public trust of government and perceived associated risks
Beck (1992) – Notion of the ‘risk society’
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23. Influences on the conduct of social research
Values
personal beliefs or the feelings of researcher
all ‘preconceptions must be eradicated’ (Durkheim 1938)
affect every stage of research process
some advocate value-laden research:
Becker (1967) sympathy with ‘underdog’ groups
feminist research encourages reciprocity (Oakley 1981) and ‘conscious partiality’ (Mies 1993)
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24. Influences on the conduct of social research
Fig.2.3
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25. Influences on the conduct of research
Practical considerations
time
cost/funding available
how much prior literature exists (theory testing or theory building?)
topic (deviant activities/sensitive issues may be more suited to qualitative research)
all social research is a compromise between the ideal and the feasible
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