Social Research
Social research is so important because it helps to understand the social world around us. Without some systematic research, our knowledge of the social world is limited to our life-experiences. However, most research has the aim of going beyond mere description. Sociologists typically restrict themselves to a specific research topic and conduct research to achieve a research aim or sometimes to answer a specific question. To ensure sociological knowledge is objective, research is usually carefully planned and conducted using well-established procedures. The research methods used are generally systematic and rigorous (Banks & Zeitlyn, 2015). To deliver sound research, sociologists use empirical evidence that is, evidence from direct experience or observation combined with the scientific method or an interpretive framework. The three widely used methods of social research are surveys, experiments and ethnography. Zimbardo experiments, as well as Milgram experiment, are widely used as learning case studies in the field of sociology (Bellotti, 2014).
Surveys in Social Research
A survey as a research method collects data from subjects who respond to a series of questions about behaviors and opinions, often in the form of a questionnaire. The survey is one of the most widely used scientific research methods because individuals are given anonymity in which they can express personal ideas. A survey targets a specific population, that is, people who are the focus of a study, such as college athletes, international students, or teenagers. Random sampling is often used to select a sample that represents the entire population. In a random sample, every person in a population has equal chances of being chosen for the study. According to the laws of probability, random samples represent the population as a whole. Different types of questionnaires can be used in a survey, for example, a structured questionnaire is that one which has pre-determined questions with answers (Bulmer, 2017). The respondents only tick the correct answer in short-term "yes" or "No". It is also called pre-coded, closed restricted and categorical questionnaire. The unstructured or open-ended questionnaire allows someone to give a free-form answer because respondents provide detailed information.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Surveys
Surveys are preferred in sociological research for a couple of reasons.to start with, questionnaires can be sent to the respondent through email, can be read on phone, can be posted online or better still can be answered face to face. This flexibility allows for a large number of people to be studied at low costs. Secondly, questionnaires are easy to administer and are not hindered by geographical barriers. On the other hand, some sociologists criticize this method because respondents may not feel encouraged to provide accurate, honest answers or they may feel uncomfortable providing answers that unfavorably present themselves. Surveys with closed-ended questions may have a lower validity rate than other question types. Data errors due to question non-responses may exist. The number of respondents who choose to respond to a survey question may be different from those who decided not to respond, thus creating bias (Denzin, 2017).
Experiments in Social Research
Experiments are also used to conduct sociological research. The main aim of experiments is to establish the cause and effect relationships between variables. That is, the effect one variable has over another. Classically, the sociologist selects a set of people with similar characteristics, such as age, class, race, or education. Those people are divided into two groups. One is the experimental group, and the other is the control group. The experimental group is exposed to the independent variable(s), and the control group is not. There are two types of experiment. That is laboratory and field experiments. A laboratory experiment takes place in a controlled environment, such as a laboratory, whereas a field experiment takes place in a real-life setting such as a classroom, the workplace or even the high street.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Experiments
Experimental research has both benefits and limitations. The method is a basic, straightforward, efficient type of research that can be applied across a variety of disciplines. Experimental research designs are repeatable, and therefore, results can be checked and verified. Due to the controlled environment of experimental research, better results are often achieved. In the case of laboratory research, conditions not found in a natural setting can be created in an experimental setup that allows for greater control of extraneous variables. Conditions that may take longer to occur in a natural environment may occur more quickly in an experimental setting. However, Experimental research can create artificial situations that do not always represent real-life situations. This is primarily because all other variables are tightly controlled which may not create an entirely realistic situation. The fact that the circumstances are very controlled and do not often represent real life, the behavior of the subjects may not be accurate indicators of their character in a non-experimental environment. Human error also plays a vital role in the validity of the project as discussed in previous modules. It may not be possible to control all extraneous variables. The health, mood, and life experiences of the test subjects may influence their reactions, and those variables may not even be known to the researcher.
Ethnography in Social Research
The third method is Ethnography which is the study of social interactions, behaviors, and perceptions that occur within groups, teams, organizations, and communities. Ethnography aims to provide rich, holistic insights into people's views and actions, as well as the nature of the location they inhabit, through the collection of detailed observations and interviews. The task of ethnographers is to document the culture, the perspectives and practices, of the people in a particular setting. The aim is to establish how each views the world. The critical features of ethnographic research are that it lays strong emphasis on exploring the nature of a particular social phenomenon, rather than setting out to test hypotheses about it. Secondly, it tends to work primarily with unstructured data, that is, data that have not been coded at the point of data collection as a closed set of analytical categories. Thirdly, this method can only research a small number of cases at a time.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethnography
Just like any other research method, ethnography has its advantages and disadvantages. When carefully executed, it is capable of producing reliable information which will help the researcher to make accurate conclusion, and recommendation. However, this method can only study a small group of communities, and the researcher must be highly skilled to win the confidence of the individuals involved in the study.
Zimbardo Experiments
Zimbardo experiments also known as the Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological study of the human response to captivity, in particular, to the real world circumstances of prison life. It was conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University. People were randomly assigned to play the role of "prisoner" or "guard". Those assigned to play the part of the guard were given sticks and sunglasses; the Palo Alto police department arrested those assigned to perform the prisoner role, forced to wear chains and prison garments, and transported to the basement of the Stanford psychology department, which had been converted into a makeshift jail. Several of the guards became progressively more sadistic - particularly at night when they thought the cameras were off (Smith et al., 2014). The experiment got out of hand, and a riot broke out on day two. The experiment was planned to go for two weeks, but after only six days it was shut down, for fear that one of the prisoners would be seriously hurt. Although the experiment intended to examine captivity, its result has been used to demonstrate the impressionability and obedience of people when provided with a legitimizing ideology and social and institutional support. It is also used to illustrate cognitive dissonance theory and the power of authority.
Milgram Experiment
Milgram experiment was carried out by Stanley Milgram, a psychologist at Yale University. In 1963, he experimented by focusing on the conflict between obedience to authority and personal conscience. Participants were 40 males, they were paired into a learner and a teacher. The learner was strapped to a chair with electrodes. After learning a list of word pairs given to him to learn, the teacher tests him by naming a word and asking the learner to recall its partner from a list of four possible choices. The teacher was told to administer an electric shock every time the learner made a mistake, increasing the level of shock each time. The results were that two-thirds of participants, that is, teachers continued to the highest level of four hundred and fifty volts. All the participants advanced to three hundred volts. The lesson drawn from the experiment was that Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by a figure in authority, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being (Taylor et al., 2015). Obedience to authority is ingrained in us all from the way we are brought up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the degree of accuracy of the results of social research depends on adopting the most appropriate method. Every research method has its advantages and disadvantages; however, some of the problems can be avoided if the researcher is made aware of the risk of encountering them.
References
Banks, M., " Zeitlyn, D. (2015). Visual methods in social research. Sage.
Bellotti, E. (2014). Qualitative networks: mixed methods in sociological research. Routledge.
Bulmer, M. (2017). Sociological research methods. Routledge.
Denzin, N. K. (2017). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Routledge.
Smith, J. A., McPherson, M., " Smith-Lovin, L. (2014). Social distance in the United States: Sex, race, religion, age, and education homophily among confidants, 1985 to 2004. American Sociological Review, 79(3), 432-456.
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., " DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley " Sons.
