How to conduct Social Research?

4th: Research Design

Designing the research outlines the methods used and the participants in the research. It explains how the research should be conducted. 

The research method involves determining 

• Which methodology should be used to collect data – Qualitative or Quantitative research method
• Tools of data collection – Survey, Focus group, Interviews, Experimental Research, Case Study, etc

The choice of research method depends on the type of data the researcher wants to gather. If the research wants to gather contextual data that offers in-depth insights, they should opt for the Qualitative research method. In case the researcher wants to draw statistical data, the Quantitative method is the best option. 

Sampling involves selecting a segment of respondents from the target population. The selected respondents are referred to as sample size. 

It is not practically possible to gather data from the entire target population. Sampling fixes the issue. The researcher selects a sample size that represents the target population, i.e., shares similar characteristics. This helps to generalize the collected data to a bigger audience and develop strategies that respond to the target market. 

5th: Data Collection

After deciding the method of data collection you need to start collecting the data. Data collection depends on the nature of research, objective, and resources – finance, time, and effort. 

There are two sources of data collection Primary and Secondary. The primary source of data is experiments, observation, or surveys. The secondary source includes journals, reports, established studies, etc. 

For Surveys data can be collected via Questionnaires or Interviews. You can conduct surveys, using Websites, Social Media, SMS, and Telephone interviews, Personal or Web-based interviews. 

Depending on the nature of social research, Experimental Research can also be used to gather relevant data. Experimental research aims at establishing a cause-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables of the research. This research helps observe whether manipulating the independent variable has any effect on the dependent variable. 

6th: Data Analysis

The next step is to analyze the data collected at the end of the research. Analyzing the data depends on the nature of collected data. 

Qualitative data involves textual insights which are subjective in nature. 

• To analyze the data you must first organize the qualitative data and identify the repeating themes. 
• Then you need to segment the recurring text to analyze them separately.
• Next comes Coding, in which you create a code and assign them to each segment. 
• Finally, you need to analyze the coded data to identify which theme occurs most frequently. 

Quantitative data consists of numerical data which is analyzed using Descriptive and Inferential analysis. 

The descriptive analysis involves Univariate, Bivariate, and Multivariate. Univariate is the analysis of one variable, while Bivariate and Multivariate involve analysis of two and more than two variables respectively. 

The inferential analysis involves Comparison and Regression tests. Comparison tests are used to compare the post-test result and control group subjects using Posttest Only Control Group Design. A regression test helps understand if changing the predictor variable will cause any change in the outcome variable. 

7th: Report

Your report should contain a detailed description of all the aspects of the research. Your report should explain – Purpose of the research, Research Question, Hypothesis, Methods used to gather data and data analysis. 

Make sure that the report illuminates the findings in a way that is easy for the readers or fellow researchers to understand. Make use of charts, tables, or graphs to make the report interesting that it preoccupies the readers.