What is research? Describe the various types of social tesearch?
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Answer:
Social Research is a method used by social scientists and researchers to learn about people and societies so that they can design products/services that cater to various needs of the people. Different socio-economic groups belonging to different parts of a county think differently. Various aspects of human behavior need to be addressed to understand their thoughts and feedback about the social world, which can be done using Social Research. Any topic can trigger social research – new feature, new market trend or an upgrade in old technology.
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Social Research is conducted by following a systematic plan of action which includes qualitative and quantitative observation methods.
Qualitative methods rely on direct communication with members of a market, observation, text analysis. The results of this method are focused more on being accurate rather than generalizing to the entire population.
Quantitative methods use statistical analysis techniques to evaluate data collected via surveys, polls or questionnaires.
Social Research contains elements of both these methods to analyze a range of social occurrences such as an investigation of historical sites, census of the country, detailed analysis of research conducted to understand reasons for increased reports of molestation in the country etc.
A survey to monitor happiness in a respondent population is one of the most widely used applications of social research. The happiness survey template can be used by researchers an organizations to gauge how happy a respondent is and the things that can be done to increase happiness in that respondent.
Learn more: Public Library Survey Questions + Sample Questionnaire Template
Types of Social Research
There are four main types of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Research, Primary and Secondary Research.
Qualitative Research: Qualitative Research is defined as a method to collect data via open-ended and conversational discussions, There are five main qualitative research methods- ethnographic research, focus groups, one-on-one online interview, content analysis and case study research. Usually, participants are not taken out of their ecosystem for qualitative data collection to gather information in real-time which helps in building trust. Researchers depend on multiple methods to gather qualitative data for complex issues.
Quantitative Research: Quantitative Research is an extremely informative source of data collection conducted via mediums such as surveys, polls, and questionnaires. The gathered data can be analyzed to conclude numerical or statistical results. There are four distinct quantitative research methods: survey research, correlational research, causal-comparative research and experimental research. This research is carried out on a sample that is representative of the target market usually using close-ended questions and data is presented in tables, charts, graphs etc.
For example, A survey can be conducted to understand Climate change awareness among the general population. Such a survey will give in-depth information about people’s perception about climate change and also the behaviors that impact positive behavior. Such a questionnaire will enable the researcher to understand what needs to be done to create more awareness among the public.
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