Snapshot View of Social Research

SNAPSHOT

VIEW OF

SOCIAL RESEARCH

MUTEA RUKWARU

ISBN 978-9966-1895-1-6

OTHER BOOKS BY MUTEA RUKWARU

(In order of years of publication)

Happy though married (2003)

The Tie that Binds (2005)

Successful Time Management, the Challenge for the Modern Manager (2006)

What Happy Couples Know (2006 a)

Fundamentals of Social Research (2007)

Milestones of Life (2007 a)

How to be a Better Counsellor (2007 b)

Anatomy of Crime (2008)

Winning Family (2008 a)

Financial Success Every Family’s Dream (2008 b)

Education at Cross roads (2009)

Training at its Best (2010)

Social Research Methods: A Complete Guide (2015)

Powerful Proposal Powerful Presentation (2015a)

Statistics can be Fan (2016)

Strong in the Storm (2017a)

COPYRIGHT

Published by EUREKA PUBLISHERS

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Copyright Mutea Rukwaru 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher and author except for the inclusion of quotations in a review.

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ISBN 978-9966-1895-1-6

Preface

When you are at the end of your studies for your degree it will be necessary for you to write your thesis. Writing a thesis is a very important part of your schooling. A well written thesis and a poor written thesis can mean the difference between a degree and no degree.

Just knowing that your thesis will go in front of the great minds of the thesis committee for review is enough to stress out even the most level-headed person, but with a little bit of planning and a lot of hand work your thesis can come out perfect and impress even the most staunch person in the committee.

Thesis writing is crucial in determining the academic standing of the student, an intricate project that would allow them the chance to finally graduate. It is the last designated work for them and their thesis would be one of the bases for their final grade.

The thesis is supposed to show the student’s critical analysis, presentation skills, writing ability and discipline in doing all the necessary research and background. Ideally the thesis is also supposed to demonstrate how the students will fair in the real world in terms of ability to prepare their research materials, establish contacts and make sense of each and every problem or issue they encounter.

Making a thesis paper can be truly a stressful experience. Most students see thesis making as the "main event in their academic life. What often puzzles students is the ability of their thesis advisor to see every minute detail that needs to be corrected every single time.

Eventually the initial excitement of doing the thesis eventually wears off. This excitement is replaced by stress, fatigue, and anxiety, emotional and physical stresses that naturally come with such an arduous academic task. Feelings of worry and fear are often felt during the thesis writing process since they always have to follow strict format rules and guidelines and they have to get the approval of their supervisor at every step of the writing process.

The last part of the thesis writing process causes more anxiety among the thesis writers. Facing a panel interview is not exactly something that a thesis writer looks forward to. Defending every word in every page to a panel can make student experience performance anxiety. Anxiety cannot be avoided in these situation, and the best way to deal with it, is for students to be ready and confident with their thesis approach, findings and possible defense or responses to possible questions about their work. Those who overcome perform anxiety usually do well in the panel review and get good grades much sought-after degree and the opportunity to try out solving real problems in the real world beyond the university or college.

Purpose of this book

This book aims to achieve the following objectives:

Equip students with knowledge on the role of effective research.

Introduce students to a range of methods applicable to research.

Enable students to select appropriate and ethical-based methods research question.

Enable students to understand the concept of a research proposal.

Enable students to understand the rationale for writing a research proposal.

To enable students understand the major components of a research proposal and final research report.

To help students understand characteristics of a good research topic, a good title, and a good problem statement.

To address common challenges experienced by students with regard to:

Unclear statement of the problem and failure to show research gaps.

Poor explanation of theoretical framework through academic arguments.

Lack of precision in presenting a logical conceptual framework by focusing on the interacting variables and moderating variables in some cases.

Inconsistency in literature review not in tandem with the research objectives.

Unclear study design, methodology and methods of data analysis.

Unsystematic and unconventional referencing style.

To enhance ones knowledge of ethics in research.

To understand basic concepts in research.

To enhance one’s understanding of the differences between qualitative and quantitative type of research.

To enhance one’s understanding of measurements.

To prepare students for writing their proposal and final defense.

To help students appreciate the importance of research methods in empirical world.

Table of Contents

OTHER BOOKS BY MUTEA RUKWARU

COPYRIGHT

Preface

Purpose of this book

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS

Characteristics of Social Research

Importance of Social Research

Common Mistakes in Research

CHAPTER TWO

A Walk Down the Research World

Types of Scientific Research.

Differences between basic and applied research.

Topic selection

Qualities of an effective research problem

Sources of a research problem.

Sources of research questions

Steps in Research Problems

Problem Statement

Research Questions

Qualities of a good thesis, project or dissertation.

Qualities a good Researcher.

Gantt chart

Checklist for a Research Project

Research Proposal

Elements of the research proposal (an overview)

Details of a research proposal

How to present a proposal title page

Sample acknowledgement of project report.

Details of Chapters

Chapter One

Background to the Study

Chapter Three

Methodology

Conclusion on research proposal

Chapter Four

Results, Interpretation and Discussion

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendation

Qualitative Research

Interpretative School

Characteristics of qualitative research

Researcher and the participants

Weaknesses of quantitative research

APA Citation System (APA 2001)

Harvard citation system

Qualities of a good research Report

REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION TO RESEARCH METHODS

What is Research?

Research is a systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Investigate systematically.

Enquire into.

Synonyms of research are probes, explore, analyze, examine, scrutinize, review, assess, delve into.

Search for knowledge.

Gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge (See Martyn 2011).

Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our understanding of a topic or issue. It consists of three steps:

Pose a question.

Collect data to answer the question.

Present the answer to the question (See (Cresswell 2008).

Research is a studious inquiry or examination especially investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision of accepted theories or laws in the light of new facts or practical application of such new or revised theories or laws(See Merriam – Webster online dictionary).

Systematic investigative process employed to increase or revise current knowledge by discovering new facts.

Research is a systematic inquiry that investigates hypotheses, suggests and poses new questions, suggests new interpretations of data or text for future research to explore. Research consists of:

Asking a question that nobody has asked before.

Doing the necessary work to find the answer.

Communicating the knowledge you have acquired to a larger audience.

Research may be very broadly defined as systematic gathering of data and information and its analysis for advancement of knowledge in any subject. Research attempts to answer intellectual and practical questions through application of systematic methods.

Research is a careful and detailed study into a specific problem, concern or issue using the scientific method.

Research is a process to discover new knowledge.

Research is systematic investigation, that is the gathering and analysis of information designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. The aspect of extending human knowledge of the physical, biological or social world beyond what is already known is critical. Research is different from other forms of discovering knowledge like reading a book because it uses a systematic process called the scientific method.

Research is a systematic investigation into the study of materials, sources etc. in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Research is an endeavor to discover new or collate old facts by the scientific study of a subject or by a course of critical investigation (See Oxford Concise Dictionary).

Research is what we do when we have a question or a problem we want to resolve.

Research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain and control the observed phenomenon.

Research is studious inquiry or examination especially: Investigation or experimentation aimed at the discovery and interpretation of facts, revision, or revised theories or laws.

Research is collections of information about a particular subject.

Research is a process of investigation.

Research is an examination of a subject from different points of view.

Research is a systematic and logical pursuit made by human beings to find out knowledge from any phenomenon or relationship.

NB- These definitions are not exhaustive.

What is Social Research?

Social research is a systematized investigation to gain new knowledge about a social phenomenon or problems.

According to P.V. young "social research is a scientific undertaking which by means of logical methods, aim to discover new facts or old facts and to analyse their sequences, interrelationship, casual explanations and law which govern them.

Characteristics of Social Research

It is directed towards the solutions of problems. The ultimate goal is to discover cause and effect relationship between social problems.

It emphasizes the development of generalizations, principles or theorizing that will be helpful in predicting future occurrence.

It is based upon observable experience or empirical evidence.

It demands accurate observations and descriptions.

It involves getting new data from primary sources or using existing data for new purposes.

It is often characterized by carefully designed procedure that applies vigorous analysis.

It involves guess for answer to unsolved problems.

It is characterized by patient and unhurried activity. Researcher must expect disappointment and discouragement as they pursue to answer difficult question

It sometimes requires courage

It is carefully recorded and reported-each important term is defined, limiting factors are recognized, procedures are described in detail, references are objectively recorded and conclusions are presented with scholarly caution and restraint.

Research requires expertise – familiarity with the field, competence in methodology, technical skills in collecting and analyzing data.

Purposes of Social Research

Purpose of research is to understand and explain, that is the researcher is interested in formulating and testing theoretical constructs and propositions that ideally generalize across time and space.

Help people understand the nature of human problems so that human beings can effectively control the environment.

Research extends knowledge of human beings social life and environment.

Research reveals the mysteries of nature.

Research establishes generalizations and general laws and contributes to theory building in various fields of knowledge.

Research verifies and test existing facts and theory.

General laws developed through research may enable us to make reliable predictions of events.

Research aims to analyze interrelationships between variables and to derive causal explanation, which help us to better our understanding of the world in which we live.

Research aims to finding solutions to the problem e.g. socio-economic problems, health problems, organization and human relational problems and so on.

Research aims at developing new tools, concepts and theories for better understanding of unknown phenomenon

Research helps national planning to focus our national development. It enables the planners to evaluate alternative strategies, on-going programmes and evaluation.

Research provides functional data for rational decision making and formulation of strategies and policies.

Offers basis for a critique of social reality.

It emancipates people and empowers them.

Explores social reality for its own sake in order to further understanding.

Importance of Social Research

Social research is very importance because of the following:

Source of knowledge – Social research is an important source of knowledge. It opens new ways of knowledge and wisdom. Something unknown brings to a researcher, a sort of inner pleasure and happiness. It gives knowledge to the researcher about the unknown facts. It paves out the way of ignorance and gives new direction in a social life.

Research is informative- It provides updates, proved, authentic and very useful information to the end users. Researchers and common people can take advantages from research. It is not only informative but its findings are scientific based and therefore the results and information are reliable.

Social Cohesion and Unity – Social research manifests the causes of events and gives a remedial solution to it. Social research is the main factor for bringing social coherence and unity in society.

Social planning – If someone wants to develop and bring social development and growth in a society, social planning will be developed which is the outcome of social research. Social growth can only be possible only when problems are solved.

Solutions to social problems – Social research also helps in the solutions of social problems. It is through research that we can find the causative factors of an existing social problem and guide us about its solution

Structural changes – Social research is responsible for bringing structural changes in a social life. We bring social and cultural change in social situation which is the outcome of social research.

Objectives of Social Research

To facilitate the understanding of human behaviour

To acquire knowledge about social phenomenon, events, issue, problems.

To identify functional relationship existing in the social phenomenon.

To find out laws that regulates or directs social phenomenon.

To formulate solutions to