Lecture 3

Sociological
research
Content

• Research. Sociological research

• Types of sociological research
• Stages of sociological research
• Glossary
• Research is …
• the application of the scientific
method in the study of problems
• an intensive and purposeful
search for knowledge and
understanding of social and
physical phenomena.
• a careful, patient, systematic,
diligent inquiry or examination in
some field of knowledge
undertaken to establish facts or
principles.
Sociological research may be defined as
a scientific undertaking by means of
logical and systematized techniques.
Statistical data on the birth rate of children in Kazakhstan, per 1
woman
 Types of sociological research
• Theoretical
By Goal • Applied

• International
By scale •
•
Nationwide
Regional
• Local
• pilot study,
By tasks • descriptive,
• analytical

By frequency • one-time
• repeated
 Steps in
sociological
research
Program of sociological research - a
theoretical document containing
methodological, information about
methods and organizational principles,
techniques, means of studying a
particular social object
1. How to select the research problem?
Basically research problem originates from the
following three sources
1. Theoretical interest
2. Social policy interest
3. Personal experience
2. Study of research literature

to conduct background research through a literature review, which is a review of

any existing similar or related studies

This step helps researchers:

gain a broad understanding of work previously conducted,

identify gaps in understanding of the topic, and

position their own research to build on prior knowledge.

3. Formulating the hypothesis

A hypothesis is an explanation for a

phenomenon based on a conjecture about
the relationship between the phenomenon
and one or more causal factors.
 the the
indepen depend
dent ent
variable variable
4. Working out a research design

4. Working out a research design

žFurther, the research program defines the goal and objectives of
the study, the object and subject of the study and research methods
The goal of the study is the intended result of the study, the
resolution of existing problems and contradictions.

The tasks of the study are the stages of achieving the goal -
sequential actions leading to the achievement of the goal.

The object is that which contains a social problem, those to whom

the study is directed.

The subject - properties and aspects of an object that reflect a

social problem and are subject to study.
Sociologists mainly use the following methods:
• Surveys
• Experiments
• Participant observation
• Secondary analysis
 5. Selecting a Sample
• Sampling is the process of selection a section of the
population to take part in social research

• The General Population – All people who could potentially be

studied as part of the research

• The research sample – The actual population selected for the

research – also known as the respondents.

• A sample is said to be representative if the characteristics of

the sample reflect the characteristics of the general
population.
ž6. Conducting the research/ gathering
data
This is the time of collecting primary
sociological information, i.e.
conducting mass surveys, interviews,
testing, observations - in short, the
practical application of improved tools
of selected methods and obtaining
material for subsequent conclusions
and recommendations. This stage is
called field because it is carried out in
natural conditions, different from
laboratory ones
 7. Data processing and analyzing the Data

Processing of sociological research data is carried

out in specialized programs such as SPSS, Excel,
Stata, R, MAXQDA etc.

In the process of data analysis, we check how

correct the initial hypotheses were, get answers to
the questions asked and identify new problems.
 7. Reporting the findings
This is a final stage of sociological research.

The results of research are summarized in order to

turn them into a source of information.

The form of summarizing the results of the study

can be an oral presentation or a printed work. Oral
presentation is a message or speech to an
audience. A printed work can be an abstract, an
article, a scientific report, a dissertation, a
monograph.
 žPractice session topics:
1. Types of sociological research
2.Research design: definition and functions
3.Research design structure (research question, object, purpose, tasks, hypothesis of
the study, interpretation and operationalization basic concepts)
 Glossary terms: ž

Research, sociological research, program of sociological

research, literature review, sample, representativeness,
reliability, validity, field research, pilot study, hypothesis,
independent variables, dependent variables, surveys,
interview, secondary data analysis, Hawthorne effect.