Introduction to

Social Science Research Methods

HaDSoc Session 2a

Professor
Qayser Sahib Habeeb

Specialist in
Internal and Community Medicine
Department of Family and Community Medicine
College of Medicine / University of Duhok
 Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this session, participants

:should be able to

1) Describe a range of social science methods for investigating

health and illness.
2) Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative methods, and
identify appropriate study designs for different types of research
questions.
3) Offer a critical perspective on the rise of the evidence-based
medicine movement.
?? Research

LO 1
 Research can be defined as
the systematic
collection, description, analysis & interpretation of data
to answer
a specific question / solve a defined problem
i e.,
making use of available information
to obtain
a required new knowledge

LO 1
?The Broad Types of Research

LO 1
 The Broad Types of Research

Applied Research: Basic Research:

Research done with the Research done with
intention of the intention of
solving specific problems development/ refinement
in practice of theory

Both types
follow the same systematic steps to arrive at solutions to problems.
 Research

.Qualitative R Quantitative R
)interpretive(

Primary R. Secondary R.
( First Hand R.) ( Integrative R.)

LO 1
 Qualitative Research:

Researchers aim
to study things in their natural setting,
attempting to make sense of or interpret phenomena in
terms of the meanings people bring to them

In other words,
researchers seek a deeper truth.

LO 2
 Interpretive or qualitative research
was for year's territory of the social scientists.

It is now
increasingly recognized as being
not just complementary to,
but in many cases, a prerequisite
for the quantitative research
with which most of us, who are trained in the biomedical
sciences, are more familiar.

LO 2
It is perhaps most usefully understood as
the non‐numerical analysis of data
gathered by distinctive methods such
in‐depth interviews,
focus groups
& participant observation.

Qualitative data take the form of

“narrative” ‫حكاية‬ ,‫ق>>صة‬ ,‫س>>رد‬
with
themes‫موضوعات‬++‫ لا‬and concepts +‫مفاهيم‬++‫لا‬
as the analytical device.

LO 2
 The following story illustrates the
quantitative – qualitative dichotomy:
A small child runs in from the garden and says,
excitedly, “Mummy, the leaves are falling
off the trees”

Mother: "tell me more"

Child : "well, five leaves fell in the first hour,

then ten leaves fell in the second hour…."

Considering the child's method of reasoning,

that child will become:
a quantitative researcher.
LO 2
 When a second child
is asked “tell me more” replies with:
"Well the leaves are big and flat, and mostly yellow
or red, and they seem to be falling off some trees but

not others and, Mummy, why did no leaves fall last

month?"

that child will become

a qualitative researcher

LO 2
 Questions such as:

--- How many parents would consult their general

practitioner when their child suffers a mild fever?

or
--- What proportion of smokers have tried to give up?

clearly
need answering through quantitative methods.

LO 2
 Questions like:

--- Why do parents worry so much about their children

temperature?

or
--- What prevents people from giving up smoking?

clearly
need answering through qualitative methods

LO 2
 Qualitative data collection

Like quantitative research there are several diverse

research methods:
– Documents
– Observation and ethnography
– Interviews
– Focus groups
 Examples of Qualitative Data Collection Methods

Documents Study of documentary accounts of events, such as

  meetings.
Systematic watching of behavior and talk in
naturally occurring settings(= Passive).
Observations Observation in which the researcher also
assumes a role, or a part in the setting in addition
to observing (= Participant).
► Face to face conversation with the purpose
of exploring issues or topics in detail.
In-depth Interviews
► Does not use preset questions but is
shaped by a defined set of topics.
Method of group interview that explicitly includes
Focus Groups and uses group interaction to generate data.
LO 2
 Interpretation of the Results of Qualitative Research:

► Confounding and possible sources of bias should be checked.

► The researcher should carefully look into their

credibility‫قية‬+‫مصدا‬, dependability, confirmability & transferability.

Dependability = other investigators should be able to replicate the

study.
Confirmability = others can review the analysis decisions of the
collected data and can verify the interpretation.
Transferability(generalizability)= may not be possible because
qualitative research is often context specific, i.e.

qualitative research emphasizes depth more than

breadth, and insight more than generalization.
 
 Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

 e.g. -- Observation, e.g. -- Experiment,

Methods
-- Interview  -- Survey

Question  What is X ? How Many Xs ?

Reasoning  Inductive  Deductive

Sampling  Theoretical Statistical

Strength Validity Reliability

Important Differences between

Qualitative and Quantitative Research
LO 3
Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning
 During the 1990s
qualitative methods of research
were increasingly adopted
in health research as evidenced by publications
appearing in international health journals

LO 3
 The qualitative systematic review
remains relatively new 
but is a growing area of research and is developing as
a dependable resource in evidence based practice.

In order to be trustworthy, such reviews should be

based on a sound review protocol.

Resources
to guide researchers in this context are
less than those for quantitative reviews.
LO 3
Choice of study impacted by
purpose of the study
resources
population available
time
frequency of outcome