1. Why do Research?
Chapter 1

2. On What Basis Do You Make Decisions?
Social Research can help you to:
Make better decisions about daily life
Understand events in the larger world around you
Decide professional issues
Research is
a process using specific principles and techniques to create knowledge
a body of knowledge

3. Looking at the Word Research
Answer each of the following statements with A = yes, B = no
It is fun and exciting.
It is difficult and mysterious.
It is practical and relevant.
It is valuable and rewarding.
It is a waste of time and effort.
It is always correct.

4. How Do We Know What We Know?
Ways of Knowing Without Research
Prone to misjudgment, bias and distortion
Media can distort research or social issues and make them confusing
Understanding Research
Research is an on-going process of search and working towards truth
Research is a (slow) process that results in a product
Research is not 100% foolproof.

5. How Do We Know What We Know?
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking = a highly aware perspective that tries to
avoid fallacies
reveal assumptions
adopt multiple viewpoints
keep an open mind while questioning simple solutions

6. How Do We Know What We Know?
Developing Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking uses a special type of argument called empirical evidence
Argument = set of logically connected statements that start simple and end in a clear conclusion.
Empirical evidence = evidence of actual events occurring in the world, that come from direct or indirect observations.

7. What is Empirical Social Research?
“Research” versus Empirical Social Research
Research:
Closely reading and studying specific documents
Gathering preexisting information from academic journals or official government sources and making sense of it
A process of applying accepted techniques and principles
Applying critical thinking and adopting an orientation

8. What is Empirical Social Research?
“Research” versus Empirical Social Research
Empirical Social Research:
All of the above, plus
Results stated in terms of probabilities or likelihoods
Evidence based
Constantly changing

9. What is Empirical Social Research?
What is Evidence?
Quantitative Data = evidence in the form of numbers.
Qualitative Data = evidence in the form of visual images, words or sounds.

10. What is Empirical Social Research?
Research is a Process that Results in a Product
The product is knowledge or information.
Research results are answers to questions.
Good research raises new questions.

11. What is Empirical Social Research?
Varieties of Social Research
Quantitative data collection techniques: Evidence in the form of numbers
Experiments
Surveys
Content analysis
Existing statistical sources

12. What is Empirical Social Research?
Varieties of Social Research
Qualitative data collection techniques: Evidence in the form of visual images, words or sounds
Ethnographic Field Research
Historical-Comparative Research

13. Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Social Research
Exploratory Research = research into a new topic to develop a general understanding and refining ideas for future research
Descriptive Research = research that presents a quantitative or qualitative picture of an event, activity or group

14. Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Social Research
Explanatory Research = research that attempts to test theory or develop a new accounting of why activities, events or relations occur as they do
Evaluation Research = applied research that is designed to learn whether a program, product or policy does what it claims to do

15. Fit the Question You Want to Answer With a Type of Social Research

16. How to Use Research
Basic Research = research to extend basic understanding and fundamental knowledge about the world by creating and testing theories
Applied Research = research to answer a specific practical question and give usable answers in the short term

17. Steps in the Research Process