Research Methods
It is looking into something. It is looking for something. It is comparing and contrasting things. It is finding out more information...it is counting things ...making enquiries...being curious...finding out what people think...finding out what people do....finding out what works.... finding out what doesn't work...finding out what people want... the list goes on and on, we are going to briefly go over both descriptive and experimental research, I will give the definition of both, talk about the strengths and weaknesses of each and finally give my opinion about both.
Descriptive studies can involve a one-time interaction with groups of people (cross-sectional study) or a study might follow individuals over time (longitudinal study). Descriptive studies, in which the researcher interacts with the participant, may involve surveys or interviews to collect the necessary information. (N.A., N.D.)
Strengths: Data collection, this can include case studies, the in depth study of one person, Freud’s work was based on individual case studies, observation or surveys. It’ main strength is that it will tell you only part of what you may want to know, that part is the “what” part. A good example would be the “point in time count” this tells us how many homeless Veterans that we have a the time of this survey, This doesn’t tell you why these folks are homeless but it tells you that they are homeless. However, if you wanted to; you could further examine each individual case, to find out when where and why.
The biggest challenge that I have notices is that when you are doing a case study maybe on one person or more there is a chance that the person may tell you what they think you may want to hear, or they may not be truthful...
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...search. I don’t find either of the research methods most appealing I would fare to say that they are of equal importance, each having their own strengths and weaknesses.
Bibliography
Hale, J. (2011, September 27). The 3 Basic Types of Descriptive Research Methods. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from Psychcentral: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/09/27/the-3-basic-types-of-descriptive-research-methods/
N.A. (N.D.). Descriptive Studies. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from Research Design: http://ori.hhs.gov/education/products/sdsu/res_des1.htm
N.A. (N.D.). The Experimental Method. Retrieved December 16, 2013, from holah.karoo: http://www.holah.karoo.net/experimental_method.htm
Olde, T., & Mayer, R. (2009, December 23). Experimental Research. Retrieved December 13, 2013, from Education.com: http://www.education.com/reference/article/experimental-research/#A
Rugg, G., & Petre, M. (2007). A gentle guide to research methods. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.
According to Neuman, there are three main research purposes: “Explore a new topic, describe a social phenomenon, or explain why something occurs. Studies may have multiple purposes, but one purpose is usually dominant” (Neuman, 2011, p. 38). These three types of research purposes are also known as; exploratory research, descriptive research and explanatory research (Neuman, 2011, p.
The scientific method is how psychologists gain knowledge about the mind and behavior. It is used by all scientists. The experimental method is the one way to engage the scientific method, and the only way to find a cause and effect in relationships. It is summarized in five steps, observing some phenomenon in the world, forming a hypothesis which is an educated prediction about relationships between two or more variables, examining the gathered information by using empirical research, determining what the results are and drawing them, and evaluating the results whether it will support the hypothesis or not. Researchers, at the end, submit their work for publication for all to see and read (King, 2016). There are three types of psychological research in the scientific method, descriptive research, correlation, and experimental research (King, 2016). The article The Effects of Negative Body Talk in an Ethnically Diverse Sample of College Students (Katrevich, Register, & Aruguete, 2014) is an example of the experimental method.
If it were a person who was being studied, you would have been interviewing the person about their childhood and their family, as a result developing a report of their life and early life. In contrast, longitudinal, investigates the future. They research the consequences of a certain situation that has happened. The key feature of the case study method is subject matter. The subject matter is usually a person or an animal.
...ethods of research, mainly used in sociology and literature. Hypothesis on the other hand can be classified under scientific research, mostly employed in mathematics and science (Hoskins, 1998). We can also identify the third difference based on the structure. Here, hypothesis statements are always displayed in form of statements while research questions are always displayed in form of questions.
A strength of Freud's approach is the fact he acknowledges the importance of childhood experiences in determining adult personality, his ideas also offer causal explanations for underlying atypical psychological conditions, through dream interpretation the unconscious cause of disorder was identified and a cure could be issued by discussing and controlling the desire. Although, Freud's idea of the approach has been accused of having concepts difficult to test and verify scientifically. Another weakness of Sigmund Freud's approach is that it's linked with unsuccessful psychodynamic therapies.
For everything that occurs, there will somehow be something that caused the action to happen. It is more of a cause and effect ideal or simple a reaction to an action. In terms of research academics, independent and dependent variables are concepts or attributes to certain things that occur such as drug use, crime, or domestic abuse. For example, stress or other personal problems may lead to someone to use drugs. Also, poverty may lead someone to commit crime. In addition, a power controlled individual may cause a partnership to suffer physical or verbal abuse.
There are many criticisms and strengths as it relates to Freud and his theoretical perspectives. The major criticism for this theoretical perspective is that it’s not supported by empirical data. Majority of Freud’s case studies were based on studying his patients (Middle aged women) as well as himself. The major strength as it relates to Freud and this theoretical perspective is that it is very extensive. Freud’s explanation of the mind and its functions is very remarkable.
This essay is going to critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using surveys and questionnaires as a method of Socio-Legal research. When conducting socio-legal research, a number of methods can be used to collect useful information.
In this paper, I will define quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide examples in the context of social issues which will hopefully provide insight into how this methods are properly applied.
We seek knowledge to assist us in living quality and productive life. Research helps us to correctly define social issues and human actions. Every day we are faced with matters such as poverty, crime, and unemployment, hence we need continual research to find causes and solutions to aid in changing these social problems. Sociological Researchers use different methods and designs to study the society and social behaviors. Research methods vary according to the source of information, information collection tools (types) and how the information was sampled. Fieldwork or Ethnography is the most used type of sociological research, it helps in analyzing the characteristics of the population. Ethnography was the main form of sociological research
...s over an extended period of time (Smith and Davis, 2010); (4) phenomenological research, involves understanding the lived experiences by studying a small number of subjects through extensive and prolonged engagement to develop pattern and relationships of meaning; (5) narrative research, in which the researcher studies the lives of individuals through stories about their lives (Creswell, 2009); and (6) participatory action research, in which the goal of the researcher is to evaluate and understand the impact of some social program on the community (Smith and Davis, 2010).
Research is an attempt to know new things, facts, information etc. in a scientific manner. L.V Redman and A.V .H Mory have stated “systematised effort to gain knowledge we call re-search.” The main function of research is to collect new facts, information etc and to establish new theories on the basis of these facts.
The first dimension, which is relevant to our study, is that of empirical versus non-empirical studies. Empirical studies involve observing and measuring reality, thereby confirming knowledge through direct experience. Non-empirical (theoretical) studies involve developing and exploring theories that account for given data.
Research which is also known as the search for knowledge is an art of scientific search for specific information. According to Clifford Woody, the research includes defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis and suggested solutions, collecting, organising and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusion and further testing whether the conclusion will fit into formulating hypothesis. Research Methodology is a scientific and systematic way of finding solution to a problem. In this research, researcher has studied various steps for research like problem along with the logic behind them. For this study, researcher must know various research techniques like mean, mode,