SOCL 2211 Chapter : Research Design - Basic Concepts
Document Summary
Ultimately, scientific inquiry comes down to making observations and interpreting what you"ve observed. Before you can observe and analyze, you need a plan. You need to determine what you"re going to observe and analyze: why and how. There are two major tasks in research design: First, you must specify as clearly as possibly what it is you want to find out. Second, you must determine the best way to do it. If you can handle the first one fully, you"ll probably have addressed the second already. Most of social research is conducted to explore a topic, that is, to start to familiarize a researcher with that topic. This approach typically occurs when a researcher examines a new interest or when the subject of study itself is relatively new. Exploratory studies are quite valuable in social science research. They"re essential whenever a researcher is breaking new ground, and they almost always yield new insights into a topic for research.
