Creative Tensions in Social Research: Questions of Method

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Mason ◽  
Angela Dale
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Research Questions

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Gatrell ◽  
Esther Dermott
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Research Relationships ◽  
The Impact

This introductory chapter explains how different research questions and methods can contribute to better understanding of contemporary fathers, fatherhood, and fathering. Given the enhanced methodological diversity and increased sophistication of methods across the social sciences, embracing qualitative and quantitative approaches, traditional (such as interviewing) and contemporary approaches (such as netnography and visual methods), and general ‘handbooks’ offering basic introductions to social research have limited use for advanced researchers and students. The book aims to link detailed concerns about conducting individual projects to wider methodological debates concerning the value of different forms and sources of data, the negotiation of research relationships, and the impact of research findings on participants, policy makers, employers, and a wider public.

Imperatives for Theories in Social Science: The North-South Divide Notwithstanding

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 195-217
Author(s):  
Aaron Ola Ogundiwin, ◽  
Joel N. Nwachukwu
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Conceptual Analysis ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The North ◽  
Common Mistake ◽  
History Of ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Social Science Data

Abstract The paper underscores the place of theories in organizing social science data and experience. It holds that theories are indispensable to social research (The North-South divide notwithstanding), in view of the fact that the framework of knowledge and experience within which theories are established make a meaningful explanation of the world phenomenon reasonably possible. It delineates political philosophy and history of ideas from theory and thus, takes care of common mistake social scientists make differentiating between them. Furthermore, the paper on one hand, takes on the scientific requisites of theory such as assumption, concepts (and their functions), hypothesis (and its characteristics typology), law, models, paradigm and provides lucid conceptual analysis of each with a view to showing their relatedness to theory but not as synonyms to it. On the other hand, we singled out dependency theory in its emanation from knowledge and experience of underdevelopment of Third World countries, as the first and perhaps most relevant theoretic explanation of Africa’s underdevelopment. The paper posits that a good theory that will serve as a rudder for formulation of research questions, problem statement, as well as sustain the data analysis, and findings must parade some, if not all of the following qualities: precision and testability, empirical validity, parsimony, stimulation, and practicability.

Search engines: From social science objects to academic inquiry tools

First Monday ◽  
2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Trevisan
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Field Of Inquiry

This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities involved in incorporating publicly available search engine data in scholarly research. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have started to include tools such as Google Trends (http://google.com/trends) in their work. However, a central ‘search engine’ field of inquiry has yet to emerge. Rather, the use of search engine data to address social research questions is spread across many disciplines, which makes search valuable across fields but not critical to any one particular area. In an effort to stimulate a comprehensive debate on these issues, this paper reviews the work of pioneering scholars who devised inventive — if experimental — ways of interpreting data generated through search engine accessory applications and makes the point that search engines should be regarded not only as central objects of research, but also as fundamental tools for broader social inquiry. Specific concerns linked to this methodological shift are identified and discussed, including: the relationship with other, more established social research methods; doubts over the representativeness of search engine data; the need to contextualize publicly available search engine data with other types of evidence; and the limited granularity afforded to researchers by tools such as Google Trends. The paper concludes by reflecting on the combination of search engine data with other forms of inquiry as an example of arguably inelegant yet innovative and effective ‘kludgy’ design (Karpf, 2012).

scholarly journals Feminism and the Decade of Behavior

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacquelyn W. White ◽  
Nancy Felipe Russo ◽  
Cheryl Brown Travis
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Feminist Scholarship ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Psychology Of Women ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Democratic Nation

This Psychology of Women Quarterly special issue argues that the goals of the Decade of Behavior to foster a healthier, safer, better educated, more prosperous, and more democratic nation cannot be achieved without contributions from feminist psychology. Its individual articles reflect feminist perspectives and provide examples of how feminist perspectives can inform behavioral and social research within Decade domains. In this overview, we outline the challenges that gender poses to achieving Decade goals, and discuss four cross-cutting feminist principles for research to address those challenges: Inclusiveness and Diversity, Context, Power and Privilege, and Activism. We discuss specific limitations of traditional research, and emphasize the need for new models that view the world in more complex, context-based ways. We underscore the importance of generating new, diversity-mindful research questions and of developing and accepting new methods to answer them. We discuss policy implications, stressing the need for activism. We hope this work will encourage the expansion of feminist scholarship in the new millennium and be helpful to researchers, educators, and policymakers in working to achieve the goals of the Decade of Behavior.

Are the “Randomistas” Evaluators?

2020 ◽  
pp. 256-279
Author(s):  
Robert Picciotto
Keyword(s):  
Social Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Research Questions

In an article published in 2012 the author concluded that the surge of enthusiasm in randomization was bound to be short lived. But he had underestimated the public appeal of RCTs and their alignment with the evolving demands of a contemporary evaluation market dominated by vested interests. By now, it has become clear that the randomization bubble will not burst any time soon. Grounded in deep historical roots, favored by power-holders and considered uniquely rigorous by an ill-informed public, RCTs will continue to be commissioned even though they are severely constrained by statistical imperatives and ethical concerns, can only tackle narrow social research questions and are ineffective as tools of organization accountability and learning.

Designing social living labs in urban research

Info ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Franz
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Urban Living ◽  
Urban Research ◽  
Living Labs ◽  
Research Questions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a more socially centred understanding of living labs for urban research questions by reflecting on current technologically centred and innovation-driven approaches. Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes the form of literature review complemented by conceptual knowledge from practical experiences. Findings – Urban living labs, as they were introduced from a technological and economic point of view, have to be translated into the context of social sciences. By doing so, they may be a promising tool to stimulate co-creation and collaboration also in urban research projects that focus on social research questions and include diverse target groups. Socially centred living labs take into account the local context by developing a space of encounter for the participants in the urban living lab and by implementing a set of living methods that suit both the research design and the local requirements. Originality/value – This paper argues that urban living labs can be a valuable tool in urban research to include researchers, politicians, local stakeholders and residents in an open concept of co-creation. It argues that a locally contextualised design in terms of space and methods is necessary to create an environment of trust and collaboration.

scholarly journals Constraints, Compromises and Choice: Comparing Three Qualitative Research Studies

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Connell ◽  
Colin Lynch ◽  
Peter Waring
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Social ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Research Studies

Although a number of texts explore social research strategies and methods, most are limited to a basic discussion of such methods and their associated advantages and disadvantages. Few if any, evaluate and compare methods in the context of actual research experiences. This paper endeavours to bridge that gap by reporting the experiences of three researchers working on three separate qualitative studies. All three studies were concerned with investigating the social milieu within organizations. While the research questions were different in each case, all the researchers shared a common goal - to develop explanations for complex social phenomena manifest both internally and externally to each organization. The research strategies, methods and data analyses employed are assessed through the personal evaluations of the researchers. Thus, a singular opportunity is offered for other researchers to benefit from the practical insights and lessons learned. The collective experiences of all three researchers suggest that the contextual conditions and constraints of each study force certain compromises, but which importantly, do not compromise qualitative research studies.

From Archives to the Internet

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Gori ◽  
Rodrigo Perez-Vega
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Oral History ◽  
Social Research ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Business And Management

In this chapter we discuss several qualitative methods commonly used in social research. We begin by looking at the use or archives and oral history resources in business and management research, and we identify some of the strengths and limitations of using these resources to answer research questions. We also examine the use of the Internet as a tool to conduct qualitative research, as well as some of the benefits and challenges of using this medium for data collection. We conclude by looking at the use of social media in qualitative research and by highlighting key ethical considerations when conducting research using these methods.

Disasters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarethe Kusenbach ◽  
Gabriela Christmann
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Disaster Studies ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Interactionist Perspective ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Research Questions

The chapter’s objective is to summarize various theoretical and substantive contributions that researchers working in the tradition of Symbolic Interactionism have brought to disaster studies. We begin by discussing the advantages of conceptualizing disasters from a social constructionist perspective in public and political discourse. Next, we continue our review by turning to constructionist and interactionist thinking (or lack thereof) with regard to disaster perception at the micro level. In a third step, we consider the importance of examining culture, a traditional stronghold of interpretive social research, when studying disasters. Lastly, we conclude our review by assessing constructionist framings of vulnerability and resilience, two current key concepts in the field of disaster studies. Overall, we strive to show that the symbolic-interactionist perspective can help disaster scholars formulate and answer important research questions, as well as solve problems in the real world.

scholarly journals Researching Personal Information on the Public Web

2010 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wilkinson ◽  
Mike Thelwall
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Social Network Sites ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Research Questions

There are many personal and social issues that are rarely discussed in public and hence are difficult to study. Recently, however, the huge uptake of blogs, forums, and social network sites has created spaces in which previously private topics are publicly discussed, giving a new opportunity for researchers investigating such topics. This article describes a range of simple techniques to access personal information relevant to social research questions and illustrates them with small case studies. It also discusses ethical considerations, concluding that the default position is almost the reverse of that for traditional social science research: the text authors should not be asked for consent nor informed of the participation of their texts. Normally, however, steps should be taken to ensure that text authors are anonymous in academic publications even when their texts and identities are already public.

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