Principles of Scientific Research
These principles apply to all disciplines, and methods, used in social science.
They are universal in their use and prescription.
1 – What is Social Science?
Why Should I Care? Without science, your beliefs are based on your elders experience, on superst...
2 – How to Build Knowledge Scientifically?
Why Should I Care? How research is conducted can affect the results of a scientific project. The...
3 – Citing Sources
Why Should I Care? It’s so easy now to buy a paper online. Teachers and all sorts of readers kno...
4 – Grey, News, Opiniated and User-Generated Media
Why Should I Care? The sources you chose will determine the quality of your work. Bias in your s...
5 – Reviewing the Literature
Why Should I Care? Listing and summarizing previous research results allows you to set a foundat...
6 – Due Diligence – Business Research
Research is about attitude. If you wish to find, you will find. If you give up, you will end up e...
7 – Measuring Variables
Why should I care? The accuracy of your project depends on whether or not you are measuring the ...
8 – Building a Hypothesis
Why Should I Care? How the data is gathered can affect the results, and the amount of time and r...
9 – Types of Logic
Why Should I Care? Your understanding of the problem depends on the type of logic you are using....
10 – Operationalization
Why Should I Care? How the data is gathered can affect the results, and the amount of time and r...
11 – Models and Simulations
Why Should I Care? Sometimes, you cannot operationalize. It would be too risky, not feasible, or...
12 – Sampling
Why Should I Care? A bad sample will kill your scientific power. That’s all there is to it. Def...
13 – Research Power
Why Should I Care? The scientific strength, or power, of your research depends on several key tr...
14 – Establishing Cause
Why Should I Care? Something is a problem. We can reduce the negative impacts, but that is calle...
15 – The Ethics of Social Research
Why Should I Care? Research projects may incur harm. This issue has to be dealt with by universi...
16 – Communicating Results
Why Should I Care? The type of data, and your disciplinary focus, will determine the medium you ...
17 – Averages
Why Should I Care? You can make numbers tell the story you wish to tell. This is unethical and e...