Principles of Social Research Methodology

506 Pages·2022·8.969 MB·English

by  M. Rezaul Islam, Niaz Ahmed Khan, Rajendra Baikady

M. Rezaul Islam
Niaz Ahmed Khan
Rajendra Baikady   Editors
Principles
of Social
Research
Methodology
Principles of Social Research Methodology
· ·
M. Rezaul Islam Niaz Ahmed Khan
Rajendra Baikady
Editors
Principles of Social Research
Methodology
Editors
M. Rezaul Islam Niaz Ahmed Khan
Centre for Family and Child Studies Department of Development Studies
Research Institute of Humanities and Social University of Dhaka
Sciences Dhaka, Bangladesh
University of Sharjah
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Rajendra Baikady
Department of Social Work
School of Humanities
University of Johannesburg
Johannesburg, South Africa
ISBN 978-981-19-5219-7 ISBN 978-981-19-5441-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5441-2
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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Dedicated to
(Late) M. A. Momen and (late) Bashira
Mannan
Former Professors, Institute of Social Welfare
and Research, University of Dhaka
Foreword
I welcome the publication of this edited book: Principles of Social Research Method-
ology which is a very useful tool for the academics, teachers, and students for
whom it has been compiled. They are all engaged in the study and practice of social
scientific inquiry to provide evidence-based accounts and analysis of the problems
facing societies throughout the developing world. This is a fundamentally important
task, especially in the contexts of globalization and aggravated climate change and
given the persistence of massive economic and social inequalities. It is a continuing
endeavour, given the reality that circumstances do not remain static. If it is to be
accomplished, those who undertake it must equip themselves with an understanding
of the basic tenets of the philosophy and methods of social science and with the skills
and competencies necessary for their use in practice.
The book provides such a comprehensive grounding in theory and its applica-
tion. In thirty-five chapters organized in seven parts, it guides the reader through
the essential topics of social research inquiry and in a clear and readable style. I
personally congratulate one of the editors Prof. M. Rezaul Islam, himself a diligent
and successful social researcher, on accomplishing this very important task. As his
doctoral research supervisor, I am also very proud of his achievement. I wish this
book the considerable readership it deserves.
Professor W. J. Morgan
D.Sc. (h.c.), FRSA, FRAI, FLSW,
FRHS
Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow
Cardiff University
Wales, UK
vii
Preface
This book covers almost all the areas of social science research methodologies.
The research methodology is one of the most significant courses in all disciplines
including social sciences at undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels. In addition,
writing a research proposal is a requirement of every research student, particularly
for master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. students. In many cases, the undergraduate and
master’s (taught) students have to take some courses, or in some cases, they have to
do a group/individual practice research, where research methodology is a compul-
sory part of their syllabus. This edited book will fulfil all of these requirements.
Currently, the importance of research is getting more priority, particularly to the
programmers, policymakers, and development practitioners. They cannot think to
initiate any event without scientific investigation. On the other hand, the importance
of research methodology course has been signified tremendously over the years in
most academic institutions.
The book includes seven parts and 35 chapters. Part I: ‘Introduction to Social
Research’ includes four chapters (Chaps. 1–4) that discuss the theoretical aspects
with the examples of social research methodologies. In Chap. 1 entitled ‘Inquiry:
A Fundamental Concept for Scientific Investigation’, M. Rezaul Islam discusses
different aspects of ‘inquiry’. He shows the ways of the process of inquiry. Islam
notes that this is important to know the term inquiry before learning social research
methodology as it is the starting point to consider social research as a scientific
inquiry. In Chap. 2: ‘Research: Meaning and Purpose’, Kazi Abusaleh and Akib Bin
Anwar write the conceptual framework of research and research process drawing
the importance of research in social sciences. The chapter defines ‘research’ as
a deliberate and systematic scientific investigation into a phenomenon to explore,
analyse, and predict about the issues or circumstances and characterized ‘research’
as a systematic and scientific mode of enquiry, a way to testify the existing knowl-
edge and theories, and a well-designed process to answer questions in a reliable and
unbiased way. In Chap. 3 entitled ‘Social Research: Definitions, Types, Nature, and
Characteristics’, Kanamik Kani Khan and Md. Mohsin Reza highlight some basic
aspects such as definition, types, nature, and characteristics of social research. They
say that social research is a set of activities that allows a social scientist to investigate
ix
x Preface
human and social behaviour or a social problem. It is often defined as a study of
mankind that helps to identify the relations between social life and social systems. In
the last chapter of this part entitled ‘Theory in Social Research’, Mumtaz Ali, Maya
Khemlani David, and Kuang Ching Hei show the importance and link between social
research and theory. Here, social research is taken as the sociological understanding
of connections—connections among action, experience, and change—and it is the
major vehicle for realizing these connections. The authors mention that debate on
using theory in any scope of social research is being deliberated by various scholars
with many emphasizing the merits of using theory in social research. They argue that
an appropriate theory clarifies the findings a researcher has uncovered in the study.
This chapter elaborates on the various aspects of using theory in social research.
Part II: ‘Philosophy of Social Science and Research Paradigms’ includes five
chapters (5–9). In Chap. 5 entitled ‘Inductive and/or Deductive Research Designs’,
Md. Shahidul Haque attempts to introduce the readers of the undergraduate and
master’s students in Bangladesh to some fundamental considerations of inductive and
deductive research designs. The deductive approach is known as testing a theory, in
which the researcher develops a theory or hypotheses and designs a research strategy
to test the formulated theory. On the other hand, the inductive approach is known as
building a theory, in which the researcher starts with collecting data in an attempt
to develop a theory. In the beginning, a researcher should explain clearly which
approach is being followed in his or her research work. This paper discusses basic
concepts, characteristics, steps, and examples of inductive and deductive research
designs. Here, also a comparison between inductive and deductive research designs
is shown. It concludes with a look at how both inductive and deductive designs can
be used collaboratively to form a more complete picture of a research study.
In Chap. 6, author Premalatha Karupiah writes the ‘Positivism’, a paradigm that
dominates both the natural and social sciences. The ontology of positivism is called
realism where reality is seen as consisting of discrete events that can be experienced
only by the human senses. Positivism uses dualist and objectivist epistemology. This
means that the researcher and the observed reality are independent of each other, and
the quest for knowledge must be value-free and objective. Positivism mostly uses an
experimental methodology as a way to gather information regarding the event which
is being studied. Ashek Mahmud and Farhana Zaman have written Chap. 7: ‘Crit-
ical Theory in Social Research: A Theoretical and Methodological Outlook’. The
authors argued that critical theory, a multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach,
puts forward to reconstruct dominant ideology by the critical task of explaining and
criticizing. This chapter aims at revealing the contribution of critical theory to the
development of social thought and its application in social research. Thereby, critical
theory provides insight to form ‘critical paradigm’ and ‘critical realist paradigm’ that
generate ‘ideology critique’, ‘critical action research’, and ‘critical discourse anal-
ysis’ (CDA) as the dynamic research methods by which researchers can explain
the relationship among language, ideology, and practical social actions. Finally, the
chapter attempts to ascertain the emancipatory function of this new approach by
providing some examples of research output in connection to perpetual social prob-
lems in modern social settings. Rabiul Islam and Md. Sayeed Akhter have written
Preface xi
Chap. 8: ‘Narrative Inquiry, Phenomenology, and Grounded Theory in Qualitative
Research’. This chapter discusses the three major types of qualitative research—
narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory. Firstly, this chapter briefly
discusses the issue of qualitative research and types. Secondly, it offers a conceptual
understanding of narrative inquiry, phenomenology, and grounded theory including
their basic characteristics. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of how these three
types of qualitative research are applied in the field. Md. Rafiqul Islam has written
Chap. 9: ‘Pragmatism’. The author argues that social scientists have been able to
abandon the dilemma of choosing methodology selection of either qualitative or
quantitative with the development of pragmatism in social research. Pragmatism as
a worldview has helped the researchers to combine both the qualitative and quan-
titative methodologies for conducting social research. Therefore, pragmatism is a
nascent topic of scholarly attention in social science research. This chapter is, thus,
an attempt to highlight the definition, development, and major characteristics of prag-
matism. This chapter also explains how pragmatism supports mixed-method research
in social science research.
Part III: ‘Quantitative Research Approach’ includes eight chapters (10–17).
Md. Rezaul Karim in Chap. 10 designs a quantitative research proposal. It starts
with the definition and purpose of the research proposal followed by a description
of essential parts of a research proposal and matters included in each part, organi-
zation of a research proposal and guidelines for writing the different parts of the
proposal including practical considerations and aims of a proposal that facilitate the
acceptance of the proposal. Finally, an example of a quantitative research proposal
has been presented. It is expected that the researchers will be able to write their
research proposal(s) by using the guidelines presented in the article. In Chap. 11:
‘Experimental Method’, the authors Syed Tanveer Rahman and Md. Rabiul Islam
mention that the experimental design is considered to be the most scientific one as
it can establish a “causal relation” between independent and dependent variables
using control mechanisms upon empirical observation. For social research, however,
true experimentation with rigorous control over the situation might seem to be very
intriguing and challenging due to the conditions and participants. That is why, the
quasi-experimental design is often very popular with social researchers. Both of the
designs have their types with advantages and disadvantages and prominent charac-
teristics. The researcher has to decide to resort to the appropriate design depending
on the purpose and objective of his or her research. The sampling technique, instru-
ments for measurement, statistical analyses, and finally the interpretation of data are
depending upon the design of the research, too.
In Chap. 12, Isahaque Ali, Azlinda Azman, Shahid Mallick, Tahmina Sultana,
and Zulkarnain A. Hatta offered a ‘Social Survey Method’ that is one of the most
commonly used methods in all branches of social sciences research. This research
is best used to gain information about large populations. There are two main types
of survey research, cross-sectional and longitudinal. The motivation of the respon-
dent and openness of the researchers is of utmost importance for survey research.
The chapter will guide young researchers in a manner so that they can make a clear
distinction of the survey method with other methods used in social science researches.
xii Preface
Shofiqur Rahman Chowdhury, Mohammad Ali Oakkas, and Faisal Ahmmed have
written Chap. 13 entitled ‘Survey Questionnaire’. This chapter is designed to provide
a guideline for a researcher who wants to conduct a survey taking the questionnaire
as an instrument of data collection. Based on the authors’ experience of using the
survey questionnaire, it discusses the meaning, characteristics, and types of question-
naire, its applicability, advantages and disadvantages, and the quality of a researcher
while using the questionnaire. It is expected that the reading of this chapter will
provide a better understanding of the appropriate use of the survey questionnaire,
their construction, and the way to increase the respondents’ spontaneous participation
in survey research.
In Chap. 14, ‘Interview Method’, Hazreena Hussein writes that the rationale of
research interviews is to gain people’s knowledge, views, and experiences, which
are meaningful in understanding social realities. Although some research interviews
are time-consuming, researchers can interact and communicate while developing a
rapport with people to find out these facts—something observations or surveys can
never do. How a response from an interview is made (tone of voice, facial expres-
sion, hesitation) can feed information that a written response would conceal. Having
a good audio-quality recorder would be of great assistance. However, if the respon-
dent refuses to be recorded, researchers should practise note-taking. What researchers
need to be careful of is what and how to ask, as some information may be contro-
versial and confidential information. Interviews are a highly subjective method, and
the danger of bias always exists. Moniruzzaman Sarker and Mohammed Abdul-
malek AL-Muaalemi write the ‘Sampling Techniques for Quantitative Research’ in
Chap. 15. The authors mention that this sampling squanders resources like time and
money which can be minimized by choosing suitable sampling techniques between
probability and non-probability methods. The chapter outlines a brief idea about the
different categories of sampling techniques with examples. Sensibly selecting among
the sampling techniques allows the researcher to generalize the findings to a specific
study context. Although probability sampling is more appealing to draw a repre-
sentative sample, non-probability sampling techniques also enable the researcher
to generalize the findings upon implementing the sampling strategy wisely. More-
over, adopting probability sampling techniques is not feasible in many situations.
The chapter suggests selecting sampling techniques should be guided by research
objectives, study scope, and availability of sampling frame rather than looking at the
nature of sampling techniques.
The last two chapters (Chaps. 16 and 17) of this part ‘Data Analysis Techniques
for Quantitative Study’ and ‘Techniques for Reporting Quantitative Data’ are written
by Md. Mahsin. The author provides some interesting and useful data analysis tools
and techniques for quantitative data. We hope the readers will be benefitted to use
these techniques in their practical research practices. Both authors mention these as
non-technical simple guidelines especially for a social scientist, ignoring traditional
statistical formulas. The guideline is developed for the initial level of the researcher,
and the authors have assumed that the researcher has limited prior knowledge with
either statistics or computing. Both chapters did not explore how to apply the tech-
nique/statistics for data analysis but also guide step by step that will be the specific