The Research Methods
This is a short presentation of the main research methods, as they apply to social science. Methods are presented in the following groups.
First, the direct methods, which implicate humans directly, are the Survey, the Experiment, and Field Work.
Second, the indirect methods, which do not implicate humans directly, are Unobtrusive Measurement, and Content Analysis.
Third, we include other methods which do not necessarily require new data collection, which are Available Data, and Case Study.
1- Survey
Why Should I Care? Surveys are very common. However, many are not done well. There are many trap...
2- Survey Questionnaire
Why Should I Care? Your Questionnaire can sink the scientific validity of your project. There is...
3 – Survey Interview
Why Should I Care? You would rather spend more time with respondents to dig into a topic. You pr...
4 – Experiment
Why Should I Care? Controlling the social environment to conduct science is prone to ethical iss...
5 – Field Work
Why Should I Care? Some of the best social science comes from field work, but many people are no...
6 – Unobtrusive Measurement
Why Should I Care? There are hidden messages and meanings in landmarks, and objects that cannot ...
7 – Content Analysis
Why Should I Care? Humans produce a lot of content. Are you a content creator? This is even a fu...
8 – Available Data
Why Should I Care? Many – if not most – researchers are producing reports based on data that was...
9 – Case Study
Why Should I Care? If you wish to study business, or any other applied field of study such as la...