Social Research Methods

Social Research Methods/ un noniceable ResearchIntroduction Unobtrusive measures be ways of studying social behavior whithout affecting it in the bear upon. Unobtrusive search is simply the methods of studying social behaviorwithout affecting it. there atomic number 18 three types of unobtrusive investigate core abstract Analysis of real statistics comparative and historical summary Content Analysis With subject field outline you focus on the details of recorded human communications.For exercise you would analyze a painting a written document, photos, films, and things like exhibit book. Appropriate topics include who says what, to whom, why, how, and with what effect. For example, if our unit of depth psychology is writers, then we tin usage units of reflection like novels written by them, chapters and paragraphs of the novels, etc. Variable designation and measurement in suffice psycho abstract dep eat up on limpidity of the unit of analytic thinking. Content Analysis involves cryptology which may attend to twain limpid and latent field.The determination of latent content requires judgements by the researcher. some(prenominal) quantitative and qualitative techniques argon appropriate for interpreting content analysis info. There are four characteristics that are usually coded in content analysis 1) Frequency a count of the number of occurrences of a word, phrase, image, etc 2) trouble the direction in meaning of the text content (e. g. positive vs minus or active vs passive) 3) Intensity degree or strength of a text reference 4) Space the size of the passage, image, or other content Strengths of content analysisResearch poses little to no harm on subjectsTime efficient, cheapAllows researcher to correct mistakesCan look at processes occurring over timeGood reliabilityWeaknesses of content analysis-Limited to what the researcher is able to record -Validity can be limited In content analysis we could employ any con ventional sampling technique like random, systematic, stratified, or clustered sampling. When concerning sub-sampling, sampling needs not to end with our unit of analysis.For example, if our unit of analysis is writers, then we can uptake units of observation like novels written by them, chapters and paragraphs of the novels, etc. Analyzing animate Statistics With analysis of active statistics, your focus would be mainly statistics of different studies without conf utilize this with secondary analysis which is just obtaining a copy of somebodys data and carrying out unrivaleds own analysis. When analyzing lively statistics, it may be the main source of data or a supplemental source of data. Most quick statistics come from governments and large intergovernmental organizations.When describing the units of analysis, existing statistics describe groups. You mustiness be aware of the ecological systemal fallacy. This means making assumptions regarding individuals based on charac teristics of entire population. Whenever we base research on an analysis of data that already exists were limited to what exists. The existing data do not cover exactly what we are interested in, and our measurement may not be altogether valid re perplexations of the variables and concepts we want to make conclusions about. deuce characteristics of science are used to handle the problem of alidity in analysis of existing statistics logical reasoning and replication. Problems of validity in the analysis of existing statistics can often be handled through logical reasoning and replication. Existing statistics often have problems of reliability, so they must be used with caution. Comparative and Historical Research And lastly comparative and historical research which is the run of societies (or other social units) over time and in comparison with one another. An example of comparative and historical research is the U. S. nthropologist, Lewis Morgan, who saw a progression in socie ties from savagery to barbarism to civilization. Also Robert Redfield noticed the progression from clan society to urban society. Pitirim Sorokin however respresnts a different form of this research. He theorizes that societal trends follow a cycle pattern between cardinal points of view. One he called ideational and the other sensate. Later he essential third point of view, which he called idealistic. Historical research and sociology often use the same tools and datasets as history, but they have different goals. istoriography methodology of doing historical research The comparative historical method was the backbone of 19th coulomb sociology. Sociologists much(prenominal) as Durkheim and Weber focused in on societies and study and categorized them during different stages of outgrowth. In the mid-twentieth century, as the United States became the center of sociological research, the comparative historical method virtually disappeared.It has been revived in the U. S. in the past 35 years by researchers inspired by the European sociological classics. There are two types of sources a researcher can use when conducting historical research. )primary sources physical artifacts of human societies (ex. documents, letters, official records, personal recollections) 2)secondary sources books and papers published by governments and historians (ex. statistical running records) Examples of famous studies include Durkheims Study of Suicide and KentorConsequences of Globalization. The unit of analysis of existing statistics describe groups.Means you must be aware of the ecological fallacy which involves making assumptions regarding individuals based on characteristics of entire population. Although often regarded as a qualitative method, comparative and historical research can make use of quantitative techniques. Archives are the most important type of comparative and historical reserach because they are hale maintained by safe organizations. However, th ey can by biased or partially incomplete. Ethics and Unobtrusive Research While the use of unobtrusive research does avoid many ethical issues that are frequently present in other techniques of data collection and analysis, potential ethical risks ease exist.For example, the use of diaries or private communications in content analysis give rise to questions of confidentiality. Sometimes even unobtrusive measures can posit the possibility of violating subjects privacy. The general principles of honest observation, analysis, and reporting apply to all research techniques. Traditional Approaches To conduct field research of the past, primarily using materials such as letters, diaries, documents, oral histories, etc. (often these are case studies and are not necessarily comparative)To study different societies, using the differences and similarities to highlight macro-social theories, primarily using history books and newspapers (the facts of history themselves). Often these are studies of current history and are not necessarily truly historical. The actual comparative study of societies and their development over long stretches of history using a variety of resources. This produces research that is both comparative and historical. Coding Procedure of turning raw data into a standardized form that can be interpreted by a machine and processed/analyzed.E. g. A processed scantron for an exam. Coding is the process whereby raw data are transformed into standardized form fitted for machine processing and analysis. Content analysis is essentially a coding operation. In content analysis, communications- oral, written, or other- are coded or classified agree to some conceptual framework. Coding in content analysis involves the logic of conceptualization and operation, as in other research methods, you must fine-tune your conceptual frameworks and develop specific methods for observing in relation to that framework.Latent Content In connection with content an alysis, the underlying means of communication. E. g. In a war movie, how effective the movie depicted actual combat via the period of time of the movie scenes or the general reality of how well the war was captured on a subjective interpretation. Latent content is as used in connection with content analysis, the underlying meaning of communications, as distinguished from their manifest content. Manifest Content In connection with content analysis, the actual cover terms within human communication.E. g. In a war movie, how many times fire, shoot, or bomb is said (concrete, bearing terms). Coding the manifest content, the visible surface content, of a communication is equal to using a standardize questionnaire. Manifest coding is more reliable than latent coding, but is generally less valid Archives are the most important source for this type of research. They are maintained by governments, private foundations, and some corporations and