Basic Concepts pdf

BASIC CONCEPTS in the methodology of the social sciences Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za HSRC SERIES IN METHODOLOGY Series Editor: Johann Mouton [Incorporating the HSRC Investigation into Research Methodology’s Research Reports Series (REPORTS) and the HSRC Studies in Research Methodology (STUDIES)] Published titles 1. Norval, AJ. 1984. ‘n Teoretiese studie van die metodologie van kruiskulturele houdinsmeting [Reports No. 1] 2. Joubert, Dian. 1986. Waardes: Navorsing, metodologie en teorie. [Reports No. 2] 3. Mouton, Johann (ed) Social science, society and power [Reports No. 3] 4. Mauer, KF & Relief, AI (eds). 1987. Psychology in context: Cross-cultural research trends in South Africa [Reports No. 4] 5. Van Straaten, Z (ed). 1987. Ideological beliefs in the social sciences [Reports No. 5] 6. Retief, Alexis 1988. Method and theory in cross-cultural psychological assessment [Reports No. 6] 7. Kruger, Dryer. 1988. The problem of interpretation in psychotherapy [Reports No. 7] 8. Strauss, DFM 1988. Die grondbegrippe van die sosiologie as wetenskap [Reports No. 8] 9. Mouton, J. et al. 1988. Essays in social theorizing [Reports No. 9] 10. Mouton, J. 1988. The methodology and philosophy of the social sciences: A selective bibliography of anthologies [Reports No. 10] 11. Mouton, J & Marais, HC. 1985. Metodologie van die geesteswetenskappe: Basiese begrippe [Studies No. 1] 12. Van Huyssteen, JWV. 1986. Teologie as kritiese geloofsverantwoording [Studies No. 2] 13. Snyman, JJ & Du Plessis, PGW (reds). 1989- Wetenskapbeelde in die geesteswetenskappe [Studies No. 3] 14. Mouton, J & Marais, HC 1988. Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences [Studies No. 4] 15. Mouton, J; Van Aarde, AG & Vorster, WS (eds). 1988. Paradigms and progress in theology [Studies No. 5] 16. Frost, M; Vale, P & Weiner, D (eds). 1989. International relations: A debate on methodology 17. Nel, P. 1989. Approaches to Soviet politics 18. Mouton, J & Joubert, D (eds). 1990. Knowledge and method in the human sciences Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za BASIC CONCEPTS in the methodology of the social sciences Johann Mouton HC Marais Assisted by: KP Prinsloo NJ Rhoodie Human Sciences Research Council Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. First impression 1988 Revised edition, First impression 1990 Second impression 1991 Third impression 1993 Fourth impression 1994 Fifth impression 1996 ISBN 0-7969-0648-3 Translation from Metodologie van die Geesteswetenskappe: Basiese begrippe by K F Mauer Published by: HSRC Publishers 134 Pretorius Street 0001 Pretoria South Africa GEDRUK DEUR: PRINTED BY: RGN DRUKKERS HSRC PRINTERS SOUTTERSTRAAT 230 SOUTTERSTREET 230 PTA-WES PTA-WEST TEL. (012) 327 4804/FAKS/FAX: (012) 327 5396 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za CONTENTS PART 1 Preface ix 1 What is social sciences research? 3 Introduction: The scientific language game 3 2. Research design: Towards problem formulation 29 Introduction: Social sciences research as a rational activity 29 3. Research design: Conceptualization and operationalization 57 4. Research design: Data collection 75 5. Research design: Analysis and interpretation 99 6. Central constructs in the research process: 125 Concepts 126 Statements 131 Conceptual frameworks 136 Paradigms 144 7. Perspectives on qualitative and quantitative research 153 The spectrum of the social sciences 154 Terminology 155 Science and research 156 PART 2 8. Guidelines for writing a research proposal 175 How to write a research proposal 175 Types of research proposals 177 Form and content of research proposals 178 9. Guidelines for writing research reports 189 Theoretical guidelines 191 Metatheoretical guidelines 192 Methodological guidelines 192 Technical guidelines 195 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za PART 3 Appendix 1 M Ferreira — A sociological analysis of medical encounters of aged persons at an outpatient centre: A qualitative approach 199 Appendix 2 D Joubert — A typology of value orientations 223 Appendix 3 KF Mauer and AC Lawrence — Human factors in stope productivity — A field experiment 237 Bibliography 253 Subject index 261 Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za vii SERIES FOREWORD One of the major characteristics of science is that a high premium is placed on the validity and credibility of findings. The most important rationale for methodological analysis is therefore to be found in the emphasis which is placed on the scientific nature of research. Stated differently, the aim of research methodology is to develop and articulate strategies and methods by means of which the validity and credibility or research results in the social sciences may be maximized. Broadly speaking, “these are also the aims which led to the inception of the HSRC Investigation into Research Methodology. One of the more specific aims of the research programme on the methodology of the social sciences is to publish a series of reports, monographs, and collections of papers which contribute to the literature in the area. Research reports are published in the Research report series of the investigation, while monographs and collections of papers are to be published in the series in which this monograph appears, i.e. the HSRC Studies in Research Methodology. It is intended that the material published in both series should be representative of the many themes encountered in the field of methodology, and the eventual content will therefore range from philosophical to practical-technical material, and from quantitative-statistical to the other pole of qualitative-interpretative approaches. As indicated by the authors, the motivation for this particular volume is to be found in the clear need for a greater degree of conscious and systematic thinking about general methodological principles. The aim was to write a book in which considerations of validity that are central to all disciplines in the social sciences would be discussed in an introductory fashion. The manner in which highly complex issues have been simplified and systematized in this volume makes it an excellent introductory text for those who need a clearer understanding of the methodology of the social sciences. KF MAUER Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za ix Preface Background Studies on the structure and process of research in the social sciences may be divided into two broad categories. On the one hand, there are those in which the primary emphasis, as far as both style and content are concerned, is on matters of a philosophical nature. On the other hand, there are those works in which the emphasis is on conducting research, and where the bulk of the text is devoted to providing guidelines for the most effective ways of doing research. Philosophical studies of the social sciences generally focus on the more abstract dimensions of scientific praxis and would typically include studies of the nature of social science, the underlying assumptions and presuppositions, and also the overall aims of social sciences research. The approach is more often than not holistic: social science is analyzed in its relationship to other fields of human endeavour, and in such a manner that issues relating to ethics, human nature and society are also addressed. The primary aim in studies of this nature is to construct consistent conceptions of science or, more specifically, coherent conceptions of the nature and structure of social science, the problems of rationality, objectivity, and truth, different interpretations of social theorizing, and questions relating to the theoretical and practical aims of the social sciences. Studies belonging to the second group tend to approach the problems of research in the social sciences from a more instrumentalistic or research- technical perspective. These studies typically deal with the following question: “Which specific techniques or methods ought to be used in order to produce valid research findings?” The aim of studies of this nature is to provide the researcher with manuals or practical guides in which the most Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za x important methods of operationalizing a research problem, collecting data, and the analysis of the data are explained in detail. Typically, as far as the collection of data is concerned, guidelines are presented on interviewing, the construction of questionnaires, the use of projective techniques, scale construction, and participant and systematically controlled observation. In the case of the analysis of the data, clear and systematic guidelines on quantitative techniques such as descriptive and inferential statistics are discussed. Similarly, relating to qualitative studies, the reader will be presented with material on analytical induction, the grounded theory approach, and the construction of typologies. Aims This book, however, does not fall neatly into either of these categories, but is aimed at bridging the gap between them. The problems of research in the social sciences are neither discussed from a philosophical point of view nor, for that matter, from a point of view which represents an emphasis on research methods or techniques. Our primary aim has been to present a systematic analysis of those concepts which are an essential part of the researcher’s “intellectual equipment”. Emphasis is placed on fundamental methodological concepts which underlie decisions made in the research process, rather than on the methods and techniques themselves. In this way, we hope to encourage a more critical attitude on the part of the researcher. However, no work on the methodology of the social sciences can be divorced entirely from philosophical considerations. The analysis of concepts such as theory, model, validity, objectivity, and so on, depends to a large extent upon more recent analyses and insights in the philosophy of the social sciences. A related, and important, secondary aim of the book has been to “translate” philosophical terminology and to make it more readily accessible to the reader. At the same time, there are, of course, inevitably direct ties between this work and manuals in which explicit guidelines for conducting research are provided. By means of an analysis of basic concepts, we have attempted to provide the researcher with a general frame of reference which may be employed to systematize and organize the variety of methods and concepts which are used in research. In order to link the more philosophical and the more technical issues extensive references to both philosophical and technical literature are provided at the end of each chapter. The senior author has been working in the field of the philosophy of the social sciences for the past ten years: first as a lecturer in the philosophy of social science and subsequently as head of the centre for research methodology at the Human Sciences Research Council. His experience has been that both students and inexperienced researchers, as a rule, have great difficulty in (1) coming to Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za [...]... Layout Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za This book consists of three major sections In the first, which includes chapters 1 to 7, the basic concepts of the methodology of the social sciences are discussed In the second, chapters 8 and 9, the most important concepts of part one are integrated in discussions on the writing of research proposals and research reports The third section (appendices)... are also inevitably a product of research, for example, concepts, statements (hypotheses and definitions), conceptual frameworks (typologies, models, and theories), and paradigms In Chapter 7 the most important similarities and differences between the quantitative and qualitative approaches are explicated by means of the distinctions and basic concepts which were developed and discussed in the preceding... introduction to the fundamental concepts of social sciences research It is not a substitute, as it was never intended to be, to books on specific research methods and techniques Rather, by using it in a complementary role to such books, one provides the student with the “best of both worlds” On the one hand, the student is provided with a general frame of reference in which the basic concepts of research in... the three case studies in Part III has a threefold aim: First, these studies were selected because we are of the opinion that they provide useful illustrations of “research in action” A number of the basic concepts and methodological principles discussed in Part I are employed in these studies and reference is therefore made throughout Part I to relevant parts in the case studies The case studies were,... Section for Technical Services for their care with the publication xiii Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za Preface to Revised Edition Since its appearance in 1985 in Afrikaans and in English 1988, Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences, has been used as prescribed textbook at most South African universities and in a wide variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities... emphasizes the logical and conceptual relationships between the fundamental concepts of research methodology It is for this reason that the first part starts out with a chapter in which a model of the research process is developed and which serves as a frame of reference for the rest of the book This model is used to illustrate how concepts are related, and it also indicates the order in which they will... approximations of truth in Putnam’s terminology The term validity is probably the most useful to convey the meaning of verisimilitude In this we follow Cook and Campbell (1979: 37) who say: We shall use the concepts of validity and invalidity to refer to the best possible approximation to the truth or falsity of propositions In chapters 2 and 5 a detailed analysis is presented of the factors which present... analysis is to develop a more critical orientation on the part of researchers by eliminating obviously incorrect decisions and, in so doing, to maximize the validity of research findings Consequently, the basic approach adopted in this book is embodied in the question: How can scientific research be planned and executed to ensure that the findings would be most valid? A tentative answer to this question... impossible to conceive of objectivity in a decontextualized manner In other words, objectivity is dependent upon the type of research design employed In the preceding pages we have attempted-to explain the key concepts of our working definition of social sciences research The five dimensions of social sciences research which we have distinguished are the following: social sciences research is a collaborative . 1 to 7, the basic concepts of the methodology of the social sciences are discussed. In the second, chapters 8 and 9, the most important concepts of part. geesteswetenskappe [Studies No. 3] 14. Mouton, J & Marais, HC 1988. Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences [Studies No. 4] 15.