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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Designing Social Research is a uniquely comprehensive and student-friendly guide to the core knowledge and types of skills required for planning social research.
The authors organize the book around four major steps in social research – focusing, framing, selecting and distilling – placing particular emphasis on the formulation of research questions and the choice of appropriate 'logics of inquiry' to answer them. The requirements for research designs and proposals are laid out at the beginning of the book, followed by a discussion of key design issues and research ethics. Four sample research designs on environmental issues illustrate the role of research questions and the application of the four logics of inquiry, and this third edition includes new material dedicated to social research in a digital, networked age.
Fully revised and updated, Designing Social Research continues to be an invaluable resource to demystify the research process for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Together with the authors' Social Research: Paradigms in Action and Blaikie's Approaches to Social Enquiry, it offers social scientists an informative guide to designing social research.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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Contents
Cover
Copyright
Introduction
1 About the Book
1.1 Purpose of the Book
1.2 The Audiences
1.3 Writing the Book
1.4 Structure of the Book
1.5 The Nature of Science in the Social Sciences
1.6 Key Concepts
1.7 A Manifesto for Social Research
1.8 Locating this Edition in the Series
Notes
2 Preparing Research Designs
2.1 Chapter Summary
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Research Designs
2.4 Research Proposals
2.5 Conclusion
2.6 Further Reading
3 Four Research Design Tasks
3.1 Chapter Summary
3.2 Introduction
3.3 Common Views of Research Design
3.4 Common Classifications of Research Designs
3.5 An Alternative View
3.6 Getting Started
3.7 Researcher’s Stance
3.8 Conclusion
3.9 Further Reading
Notes
4 Research Ethics
4.1 Chapter Summary
4.2 Introduction
4.3 Origins of Research Ethics
4.4 Ethical Theories
4.5 Core Ethical Principles
4.6 Examples of Ethically Questionable Research
4.7 Examples of Codes of Ethics
4.8 Problems in Meeting Ethical Requirements
4.9 Conclusion
4.10 Further Reading
Notes
Part 1: Focusing Research Design
5 Research Questions and Purposes
5.1 Chapter Summary
5.2 Introduction
5.3 Research Questions
5.4 Research Purposes
5.5 Conclusion
5.6 Further Reading
Notes
Part 2: Framing Research Design
6 Logics for Answering Research Questions
6.1 Chapter Summary
6.2 Introduction
6.3 Four Logics of Inquiry
6.4 Ontological and Epistemological Assumptions
6.5 Paradigms
6.6 Logics of Inquiry, Research Questions and Research Purposes
6.7 Logics of Inquiry and the Researcher’s Stance
6.8 Choosing a Logic of Inquiry
6.9 Conclusion
6.10 Further Reading
Notes
Part 3: Selecting Research Design
7 Concepts, Theories, Hypotheses and Models
7.1 Chapter Summary
7.2 Introduction
7.3 The Role of Concepts
7.4 Concepts and Logics of Inquiry
7.5 The Role of Theory
7.6 Relationship Between Theory and Research
7.7 The Role of Hypotheses
7.8 The Role of Models
7.9 Conclusion
7.10 Further Reading
Notes
8 Types, Forms, Sources and Selection of Data
8.1 Chapter Summary
8.2 Introduction
8.3 Types of Data
8.4 Forms of Data
8.5 Sources of Data
8.6 Selection of Data
8.7 Case Studies
8.8 Conclusion
8.9 Further Reading
Notes
Part 4: Distilling Research Design
9 Methods for Answering Research Questions: Data Gathering, Generation, Reduction and Analysis
9.1 Chapter Summary
9.2 Introduction
9.3 Timing Data Collection
9.4 Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
9.5 Differences Between Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
9.6 Generalizing with Qualitative Methods and Data
9.7 Mixed Methods
9.8 Logics of Inquiry and Research Methods
9.9 Conclusion
9.10 Further Reading
Notes
Part 5: Researching Networked Worlds
10 Design Considerations
10.1 Chapter Summary
10.2 Introduction
10.3 Networked Worlds and Social Research
10.4 Framing Research Problems and Questions
10.5 Data Sourcing, Assembly and Analysis
10.6 Conclusion
10.7 Further Reading
Notes
11 Ethics Considerations
11.1 Chapter Summary
11.2 Introduction
11.3 Ethics of Internet/Web(IW)-mediated Social Research
11.4 Conclusion
11.5 Further Reading
Notes
Part 6: Illustrations
12 Sample Research Designs
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Research Design 1: Environmental Worldviews and Behaviour Among Students and Residents
12.3 Research Design 2: Age and Environmentalism: A Test of Competing Hypotheses
12.4 Research Design 3: Gender Differences in Environmentalism: Towards an Explanation
12.5 Research Design 4: Motivation for Environmentally Responsible Behaviour: The Case of Environmental Activists
12.6 Postscript
Notes
Appendix I: Three Research Paradigms
Appendix II: Examples of Research Topics, Problems and Questions Notes
References
Index
End User License Agreement
Figures
3.1 Designing research
5.1 Focusing a research design determines its scope
6.1 Framing a research design clarifies its architecture
6.2 Realist explanations of regularities
7.1 Selecting a design’s content clarifies what is to be collected and analysed
7.2 Key concepts in Structuration Theory
7.3 The cycle of theory construction and testing
9.1 Distilling a design’s content clarifies how research questions are to be answered
10.1 Framing a problem and question in a physical or virtual networked world
Tables
6.1 Four logics of inquiry
6.2 Logics of inquiry, research purposes and research questions
10.1 Common research challenges and opportunities when a study involves public or private e-networks
10.2 Advantages and disadvantages of the Visible Web versus the Deep Web
10.3 Typical differences between traditional (non-networked) environments and Web environments
10.4 Indicative types of online data and associated ownership in a fixed private e-network
10.5 Comparative features of typical ‘theory-driven’ and ‘data-driven’ approaches to social research involving large high-variety datasets
11.1 Differences in the ethical characteristics of research settings
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
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Also from Polity
Approaches to Social Enquiry, 2nd edition, Norman Blaikie (2007)
Social Research: Paradigms in Action, Norman Blaikie and Jan Priest (2017)
Designing Social Research
The Logic of Anticipation
Third Edition
Norman Blaikie and Jan Priest
polity
Copyright © Norman Blaikie and Jan Priest 2019
The right of Norman Blaikie and Jan Priest to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First edition published in 2000 by Polity PressSecond edition published in 2009 by Polity PressThis third edition first published in 2019 by Polity Press
Polity Press65 Bridge StreetCambridge CB2 1UR, UK
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-1744-2
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Blaikie, Norman W. H., 1933- author. | Priest, Jan, 1949- author.Title: Designing social research : the logic of anticipation / Norman Blaikie, Jan Priest.Description: Medford, MA : Polity Press, [2019] | Includes bibliographical references and index.Identifiers: LCCN 2018019605 (print) | LCCN 2018020875 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509517442 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509517404 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509517411 (pbk.)Subjects: LCSH: Social sciences--Methodology.Classification: LCC H61 (ebook) | LCC H61 .B47763 2018 (print) | DDC 300.72--dc23LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018019605
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Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.
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INTRODUCTION
1About the Book
1.1 Purpose of the Book
Social research has three main phases: planning, execution and reporting. In some research, these three phases are discrete and follow this sequence. In other research, they may be intertwined. This book is about the first phase, the designing of social research, not about the details of how to do it. Of course, the planning has to anticipate how it will be done, and detailed knowledge of research methods is necessary at this stage in order to make good decisions.
Planning is vital in any kind of social research. Failure to plan is to run the risk of losing control of the project and failing to complete it successfully. The fact that certain kinds of research require some decisions to be made as the research proceeds is no excuse for avoiding careful planning at the outset. In some studies, preliminary or exploratory research may be needed to inform research design decisions.
A discussion of the core elements of a research design, and the connections between them, may look very much like the steps involved in doing social research. However, it is important to recognize the differences between the planning process, the execution of the research and the reconstruction of this process at the reporting phase. Kaplan (1964) distinguished between how research is done and how it is made to appear to have been done; between ‘logic in use’ and ‘reconstructed logic’. The latter frequently converts a somewhat messy process into an apparently ordered and controlled one. This is particularly true of field research or ethnography.
In the research worker’s mind little did happen the way it is put down on paper, in terms of substance and sequence. What was ultimately assembled and ascertained, got caught in the familiar bouts of rationalizations that straighten out a zig-zag approach and turn the entire study into a well-organized logical design with a beginning and a rounded-off ending. (Hutheesing 1990: 10)
The ‘logic of anticipation’ can be added to Kaplan’s two categories, i.e. the process of planning how the research will be conducted. Of course, it is always possible that the logic of anticipation cannot be followed in its entirety; changes may be required as unanticipated obstacles are encountered and the researcher’s understanding of the phenomenon increases. It is possible for research to be written up to make it look as if it began with an anticipated logic when there was none, or it was poorly conceived at the outset.
A common approach to social research is to just muddle through. Novice researchers may be unaware of the dangers in not planning thoroughly and, without appropriate guidance, may end up with very precarious, sometimes disastrous, outcomes. It is hard enough to do good social research without building in limitations due to poor planning. Hakim argued that while individual researchers may be able to muddle through, ‘large-scale studies, contract research for central government and other organizations, studies involving multi-disciplinary teams, and research programmes that involve a range of studies concerned with a central topic or set of issues’ (2000: 2) require highly visible designs at the beginning. We certainly agree with the latter but not with the former. Individual researchers also need to design their research carefully.
This book reviews the major elements of a research design and discusses the choices that need to be made with regard to each element. All or some of these elements may be discussed in textbooks on social research methods, but their treatment is usually rather superficial. These books are primarily concerned with introducing undergraduate students to the techniques of collecting and analysing data. While knowledge of these techniques is necessary, choices from among them have to relate to more fundamental aspects of research, the research questions that are to be answered and the logics of inquiry that will be used to answer them.
The process of formulating a research design is probably the most difficult part of social research. Experience from many years of teaching courses in research design to postgraduate students, courses in research methods, statistics and the philosophy of social research to undergraduates, extensive supervision of student research, and in conducting our own research, has led to the development of strategies and techniques to help students through this process. This book explicates these strategies and techniques.
We are fully aware that readers will come from a diverse range of disciplines and will have individual views about social research and preferences for particular types of research. It is impossible to provide in-depth illustrations that will relate directly to diverse discipline fields and also individual preferences. However, we consider that the structure and processes for designing social research that we present are sufficiently generic that readers will be able to relate them to their fields of interest. In situations where lecturers/instructors use the book as a text, it should not be difficult to find suitable, relevant illustrations. In fact, this is a task that students can be given as an exercise. From our experience, the best way to learn how to start to design a research project is to choose a topic of interest, select and formulate a research problem related to it, and then to translate this into one or more research questions to investigate the problem – the more this is done the better! The illustrations in chapter 12, and in Appendix II, provide models for this.
The first two editions of this book have been used extensively in courses and workshops with students from a wide variety of disciplines and from many countries. Comments from lecturers and students who have used the earlier editions indicate that two new topics should be added – research ethics and using the Internet. In addition, we have made some relatively minor changes and updated references.
1.2 The Audiences
We need to make it very clear that this book is not a standard, undergraduate textbook for introductory courses on research methods. The target audiences are:
postgraduates
1
in the social sciences who are setting out on an empirical research project for a major or minor thesis or dissertation;
similar postgraduate students in other fields whose research is social in character;
senior undergraduates or honours students (in universities that have them) who are required to complete an individual or group research project;
early career academics who may have had limited previous research experience, or who wish to broaden their approaches to social research; and
academics who are new to the role of postgraduate research supervision and who would like a guide to assist their students in preparing a research design and/or a research proposal.
By ‘an empirical research project’ we mean research that attempts to produce answers to research questions by collecting and/or analysing data related to some aspects of social life. While they may find it useful, the book is not intended for students who are undertaking purely theoretical theses or projects that rely entirely on existing literature as a resource.
The emphasis of the entire book is on the process of designing research projects, not on how to do research. Nevertheless, common methods for collecting, generating and analysing data are discussed, but with the purpose of exposing the reader to methods that are available and facilitating appropriate choices of methods for answering research questions. While we stress the differences between this book and standard research methods texts, it can provide a useful complement to such texts, particularly in courses that may aim to introduce students to the fundamental foundations and principles of social research rather than just techniques.
1.3 Writing the Book
The stimulus for writing the first two editions of this book, and Approaches to Social Enquiry (Blaikie 2007), came from the task of offering postgraduate students a (usually compulsory) course that would prepare them to conduct their own research. Many students were approaching research for the first time, and/or came from disciplines that provided no undergraduate foundation in social research. The course was based on a strong belief that social research is more than just collecting and analysing data, that before data collection begins a great deal of thought, planning and decision making has to occur, and that this needs to be based on a grasp of the philosophical issues and dilemmas of which social researchers should be aware and be able to address. In addition, the apparent lack of an adequate understanding of the role of social theory in research was a primary concern.
In the brief span of a semester, the challenge was to provide these students with:
an introduction to the philosophy of social research, particularly logics of inquiry and the range of ontological and epistemological assumptions associated with them and the major research paradigms;
some acquaintance with the role of social theory in research;
a critical understanding of the range of major research methods; and
the knowledge and skills to prepare a research design.
As there seemed to be no suitable textbook that met these requirements, Approaches to Social Enquiry was written to deal with the first requirement and Designing Social Research reviewed the first and dealt with the other three. As numerous books deal with the techniques of data collection and/or generation and analysis, neither of these books attempted to do this. The third book in the series, Social Research: Paradigms in Action (2017), draws the first two books in the series together, outlines three fundamental research paradigms and illustrates in detail how they can be used.
The structure and content of this book is based on a set of firm convictions, including:
the need to design social research in context and in detail;
the fundamental importance of contextualized research questions to provide focus and direction;
the need to be clear about the differences in the logics of inquiry available in the social sciences, and to know how and when to use them;
being aware of different ontological and epistemological assumptions behind these logics of inquiry and how these impinge on research practice and outcomes;
being very clear on what is involved in sampling;
avoiding the misuse of tests of significance;
knowing how case studies can be used;
understanding the relationship between quantitative and qualitative methods; and
being aware of the legitimate ways in which logics of inquiry and research methods can be combined.
Two underlying principles have been used in writing the book. The first is to introduce the reader to new ideas and activities in stages, with each successive encounter taking an idea further. The second is to revisit an idea or activity from different points of view, or from the points of view of different themes. Therefore, if you experience a degree of repetition as you work your way through the book, you will know that it is intentional.
1.4 Structure of the Book
The book reviews and elaborates the main elements that need to be addressed in preparing a research design. It focuses on the critical decisions about each element and the choices that are available. The path covers both conventional and unconventional ground.
In this edition, we have identified four broad components of a research design, each representing a particular task or stage in the research process. The chapters are grouped under these components: Part 1: Focusing (chapter 5); Part 2: Framing (chapter 6); Part 3: Selecting (chapters 7 and 8); and Part 4: Distilling (chapter 9). These four components are preceded by three foundational chapters – the first on the requirements of research designs and research proposals (chapter 2), the second on these four research design tasks (chapter 3) and the third on research ethics (chapter 4). They are followed by two other sections: one dealing with the design and ethics implications when researching networked worlds (chapters 10 and 11); and the other providing four illustrations of different types of design (chapter 12).
Chapter 2 sets out the requirements for a research design and anticipates the major elements to be discussed in detail in the following chapters. It also distinguishes between research designs and research proposals in terms of their purposes and the audiences or stakeholders to whom they are directed. In brief, a research design is a working document used by a researcher and close associates, while a research proposal is used mainly to obtain academic and other necessary approval for a research project, to satisfy the requirements of research ethics committees or to apply for research funds.
Chapter 3 begins with a review of conventional views on designing research in the social sciences, and the types of designs that are commonly discussed. An alternative view is then proposed in which the fundamental requirements and core elements are elaborated. The implication is that, instead of the usual limited set of designs discussed in most textbooks, there is a wide variety of possible designs that are produced by the range of possible combinations of choices that can be made on each core element. This is followed by a discussion of how to get started on a research design by stating the research problem to be investigated and formulating the topic. Some consideration is given to the possible influences on this process. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the differences between basic and applied research, and the various stances a researcher can take towards research and the researched.
In most countries strict ethical requirements have to be met in the design and execution of social research. Chapter 4 reviews these ethical principles and codes, their origins, the theories on which they are based and some of the problems in putting them into practice.
The major design elements are dealt with in Parts 1 to 4, in chapters 5 to 9. Chapter 5, in Part 1, commences with a discussion of the nature, role and development of research questions. This is followed by an elaboration of research purposes, and of the links between research questions, research purposes, hypotheses and the literature review. The rest of the book stands on the foundations laid in this chapter.
Chapter 6, in Part 2, outlines the four logics of inquiry that are available to advance social scientific knowledge. These logics provide alternative procedures for answering research questions by setting out a series of steps for producing knowledge about some part of the social world. The logics embody particular combinations of ontological and epistemological assumptions, which provide a view of social reality and ideas on how knowledge can be generated. It is necessary to choose one or more logics of inquiry to provide answers to research questions. This choice will have a major influence on the decisions to be taken on the remaining design elements, and will largely determine the way the research proceeds. Chapter 6 also includes a brief review of a range of ontological and epistemological positions and the paradigms with which these and the logics of inquiry are associated.
In Part 3, chapter 7 covers four of the more complex and perplexing aspects of designing and undertaking research: the role of concepts, theories, hypotheses and models. Different views of the role of concepts are discussed, followed by an examination of what constitutes ‘theory’ and a review of some classical and contemporary views on the relationship between theory and research. This leads to a brief examination of the major views on the use of models in social research. To conclude, the role of concepts, theories and models in the four logics of inquiry is reviewed to expose a core set of choices that need to be made.
Chapter 8, the second in Part 3, deals with a more practical set of choices concerning the sources of and methods for selecting data: it examines the types and forms in which data are produced in the social sciences; discusses the variety of contexts from which data can be obtained; compares the techniques used to select data, particularly sampling methods; and concludes with a critical review of the role of case studies.
Chapter 9, in Part 4, is concerned with the methods for collecting, reducing and analysing data. This begins with a discussion of the important role that the timing of data collection has in determining the nature of a research design. Many discussions of research design focus almost exclusively on this element and its relationship to experimental procedures. In this book, timing is related particularly to data collection; decisions about it will follow from the form of the research questions. The bulk of the chapter centres on the qualitative/quantitative distinction and the use of mixed methods. It does not include a detailed discussion of the actual techniques or methods used in social science research. Instead, attention is given to the links between logics of inquiry and methods. The main argument is that while logics of inquiry entail ontological assumptions, methods do not. In other words, at least some methods can be used in the service of different logics and, hence, different ontological assumptions.
This century’s Internet age differs markedly from all previous centuries in the scale and way in which personal, social, economic, political and legal (re)arrangements have evolved with rapidly expanding and intelligently responsive networks of computing, communications and storage technologies and services. It is prudent to ask which design considerations and types of decisions that apply to comparatively ‘low tech’ and ‘low networked’ worlds can be carried forward and applied to the design and conduct of studies of today’s socio-technical environments and lifeworlds. In order that the reader is better prepared to consider the portability to today’s networked worlds of the many design considerations and decision types already outlined, this next Part – titled Researching Networked Worlds – introduces design considerations (chapter 10) and ethics considerations (chapter 11) that are associated with today’s electronically networked public and private lifeworlds. These two chapters set the scene for: a logic of inquiry other than the four discussed earlier; non-human centred knowledge and intelligence; social activity that involves not only humans; and alternatives to pre-defined and bounded ethical arrangements. The challenge for the reader involved in researching today’s fast-evolving technology-intensive networked worlds is to establish sufficient awareness of these types of developments so that design options and choices, which account for the character of Internet-mediated lifeworlds, can be identified and clearly justified.
The book concludes with illustrations of four research designs using all four logics of inquiry. The designs come from one research programme, with some modifications for illustrative purposes. The intention of the designs is to show how individual choices about each of the core design elements can be brought together into a cohesive package.
1.5 The Nature of Science in the Social Sciences
It is a common practice in introductory books on sociology and social research methods to include a brief discussion of ‘the scientific method’ (see e.g. Chadwick et al. 1984; Kidder and Judd 1986; Sedlack and Stanley 1992; Ellis 1994; Neuman 2006, 2014; Kumar 2014; Babbie 2016). This usually includes an outline of a set of criteria that must be satisfied if social research is to be regarded as scientific. Unfortunately, many of these discussions perpetuate outdated notions of both science and social research. What is missing is a discussion of the different logics of inquiry that are available in the natural and social sciences.
It is not possible here to engage in a discussion of the nature of science. There is now an extensive literature on this topic, as well as on whether and, if so, how social science can be a science. (See e.g. Chalmers 1982, O’Hear 1989 and Riggs 1992 on the natural sciences, and Giddens 1976, Williams and May 1996, Hughes and Sharrock 1997, Smith 1998 and Blaikie 2007 on science in the social sciences.) However, the elaboration of the logics of inquiry in chapter 4 will deal with some aspects of these issues.
This latter discussion is intended, among other things, to show that there are four possible views of science in the social sciences, differing in how new knowledge is generated by using each logic of inquiry. Three logics of inquiry that have been used in the natural and physical sciences have been advocated, by different scientific communities, as also being appropriate for the social sciences. However, there is another logic, with many versions, that has been presented as being exclusive to and, according to some writers, the only one appropriate for the social sciences.
For well over one hundred years, advocates of these four views of social science have engaged in heated debates about their relative merits. For those readers unfamiliar with these views and debates, all that is necessary for the moment is to recognize that there is no such thing as the scientific method, that there is a variety of logics of inquiry available in the social sciences and that, in order to conduct social research, it is necessary to choose from among them. These logics, and the considerations relevant to choosing between them, form an integral part of what follows.
1.6 Key Concepts
This discussion of research design uses five key concepts: research questions, research purposes, logics of inquiry, paradigms and methods. The first concept, research questions, should be uncontroversial. It refers to the questions researchers pose and which they try to answer by undertaking social research. While this is a straightforward idea, it is surprising how much research is conducted without them. A core argument running through this book is that well-formulated research questions are the peg on which all research activities hang. For the most part, hypotheses play a limited and very specific role in social research.
The second concept, research purposes, identifies the types of knowledge a researcher wishes to produce, such as descriptions and/or explanations. Research purposes are closely related to research questions as each of the three types of questions, ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’, produces a particular type of knowledge.
While ‘aims’ and ‘objectives’ are in common usage in texts on research design and methods, for the most part we have avoided using them. If attention is given to research questions and purposes, ‘aims’ and ‘objectives’ are superfluous in the process of designing social research. However, it may be necessary to discuss them in a research proposal (see chapter 2) to satisfy local requirements.
‘Research objectives’ was used in the first edition for what is now called research purposes. The reason for the change is to, hopefully, avoid confusion with the various uses of ‘objectives’ in the literature, and to focus on the type of knowledge that is desired rather than the activities to be undertaken or the goals to be achieved. Research questions identify what the research wishes to achieve, and a research design states what activities are to be undertaken to do this.
The fifth concept, research methods, is also not controversial. It is used here to include the procedures and activities for selecting, collecting, generating, organizing and analysing data. Another core argument here is that the choice of methods occurs late in the process of designing social research. A number of fundamental decisions have to be made before methods of investigation can be considered.
The third and fourth of these concepts, logics of inquiry and paradigms, require some clarification. In the first and second editions ‘research strategy’ was coined to identify a feature of social research that is usually overlooked, i.e. the logic used to generate new knowledge. As ‘strategy’ has come to have a variety of meanings in social research, this edition uses the more philosophical concept of ‘logic of inquiry’, as is the case in Social Research: Paradigms in Action (Blaikie and Priest 2017).
The use of a logic of inquiry occurs in the context of assumptions about the nature of social reality and the ways in which we can come to know that reality, i.e. ontological and epistemological assumptions, respectively. Following the discussion of the four logics of inquiry in chapter 6, six types of both ontological and epistemological assumptions are reviewed, based on the discussion in Blaikie (2007). When you encounter this discussion, it is important to recognize that the range of types and the labels used for them, while following the literature in this field, include some types and concepts that have been devised to help elaborate the logics of inquiry.
The use of the concept paradigm may cause some controversy and confusion. Following Thomas Kuhn’s (1970) introduction of the concept into the literature of the history and philosophy of science, and its application to sociology by Robert Friedrichs (1970), this concept has attracted a variety of usages and has since entered the popular vernacular. Our use of paradigm is consistent with Kuhn’s primary usage. It refers to major traditions in the natural and social sciences that incorporate particular ontological and epistemological assumptions and one or more of the logics of inquiry. Some also incorporate general theoretical ideas. The four classical and seven contemporary paradigms that are reviewed here (see also Blaikie 2007) provide theoretical and methodological contexts within which research is frequently conducted. This set of paradigms reflects progressions and fashions in ways of thinking about ontology and epistemology, as well as debates among protagonists from diverse points of view. Some paradigms have been subjected to such severe criticism that they are unlikely to be considered to be useful, while others have been adhered to dogmatically. It is our view that paradigms should be selected to suit the research questions being investigated.
In the first edition of Approaches to Social Enquiry (Blaikie 1993a), ‘approaches’ rather than paradigms was used. This was changed in the second edition (2007) as the former concept was found to be rather too broad and it did not identify the features that the concept ‘paradigm’ incorporates. Again, it is important to note that this concept has a specific meaning here and should not be confused with other usages.
In Social Research: Paradigms in Action (2017) we reduced the eleven paradigms discussed here to three research paradigms – Neo-Positivism, Interpretivism and Critical Realism. There is an important distinction to be made between paradigm and research paradigm. The eleven paradigms reviewed in this book are not all directly related to the conduct of social research; some simply provide an intellectual context of theoretical and philosophical ideas. However, the three research paradigms in Blaikie and Priest (2017) have been devised specifically for use in research. (See Appendix I for a summary of these research paradigms.)
We recognize that by changing key concepts in this way we could be confusing readers who have worked with more than one book or edition. We apologize in advance, but believe the changes are necessary.
1.7 A Manifesto for Social Research
The approach to social research taken in this book deviates in a number of ways from conventional wisdom and the views of social research expounded in many standard texts on the subject. Rather than leave the reader to discover these differences along the way, they are set out here as assertions.
Social research is about answering research questions.
Three types of research questions can be asked: ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’.
All research questions can be reduced to these three types.
Social research can also address one or more of the following purposes: exploration, description, understanding, explanation, prediction, intervention (change), evaluation and impact assessment.
‘Why’ questions are concerned with understanding or explanation. ‘How’ questions are concerned with intervention. All other purposes involve the use of ‘what’ questions.
Research questions are answered by the use of one or more logics of inquiry: Inductive, Deductive, Retroductive and Abductive (see Blaikie 2007).
Inductive logic produces generalizations from data; Deductive logic tests theories by testing hypotheses derived from them; Retroductive logic proposes causal mechanisms or structures and tries to establish their existence; and Abductive logic generates social scientific accounts from everyday accounts.
Hypotheses are possible answers to ‘why’ questions but only when Deductive logic is used. They are normally expressed as statements of relationships between two concepts, and are formally tested by the collection of particular data.
‘What’ questions do not require hypotheses. Nothing is gained from hazarding an answer to a question that simply requires a description.
When a research project includes a variety of research questions, more than one logic of inquiry may be required to answer them.
Because logics of inquiry entail different ontological and epistemological assumptions, they may only be combined in sequence.
While the testing of hypotheses commonly involves the use of quantitative methods, Deductive logic can also use qualitative methods, in which case hypothesis testing is more in terms of a discursive argument from evidence.
Abductive logic may entail the use hypotheses in the course of generating theory, but in a different way to Deductive logic. These working hypotheses are possible answers to questions that emerge as the research proceeds, and are used to direct subsequent stages of the research.
The hypothetical models of possible causal structures or mechanisms that are part of the use of Retroductive logic are not hypotheses. The researcher’s task is to establish whether a postulated structure or mechanism exists and operates in the manner suggested.
Social science data normally start out in qualitative form, in words rather than numbers. They may continue in this form throughout a research project or be transformed into numbers, at the outset, or during the course of the analysis. Ultimately, research reports have to be presented in words.
The use of tests of significance is only appropriate when data have been generated from a probability sample. These tests establish whether the characteristics or relationships in a sample could be expected in the population from which it was drawn. Tests of significance are inappropriate when non-probability samples are used, and are irrelevant when data come from populations.
Case studies are neither research designs nor methods of data collection. They constitute a method of
data selection
and, as such, require particular procedures for generalizing from the results produced.
As methods of data collection and analysis can be used in the service of different ontological assumptions, there is no necessary connection between logics of inquiry and research methods. Hence, classifying research as either qualitative or quantitative, on the assumption that these are different paradigms, is not appropriate.
Data generated in the service of different ontological assumptions cannot be combined, only compared.
The results of all social research are limited in time and space. Hence, making generalizations beyond a particular time and place is a matter of judgement. While quantitative data from a probability sample can be statistically generalized to the population from which the sample was drawn, this type of research is in the same position as any other when it comes to moving beyond that population.
1.8 Locating this Edition in the Series
This book is located in the middle of a series that started with Approaches to Social Enquiry (Blaikie 1993a, 2007) and ends with Social Research: Paradigms in Action (Blaikie and Priest 2017). The former deals with the philosophy of social research, while the latter puts design decisions into practice in the context of three research paradigms. Unlike the earlier editions of Designing Social Research, this edition was written in full awareness of its successor and, therefore, makes connections to it.
The three research paradigms elaborated and illustrated in Social Research: Paradigms in Action are identified by their characteristic ontological and epistemological assumptions, and the particular logic of inquiry that is used; the Neo-Positive paradigm incorporates Deductive logic, the Interpretive paradigm Abductive logic and the Critical Realist paradigm Retroductive logic (See Appendix I). Hence, we have what might appear to be an inconsistency between Designing Social Research and Social Research: Paradigms in Action, the former with four logics of inquiry and the latter with three research paradigms; there is one logic of inquiry left over – Inductive logic. The reason is that Inductive logic is not associated with any research paradigm. Inductive logic’s only role in social research is to produce generalized descriptions, i.e. to produce answers to ‘what’ research questions. This can be done in the context of a variety of ontological assumptions.
No attempt is made in this edition to incorporate these three research paradigms. We believe that just concentrating here on the four logics of inquiry, and recognizing differences in ontological and epistemological assumptions, is sufficient in the context of designing social research.
Notes
1
. North American readers will need to substitute ‘graduate’ for ‘postgraduate’ whenever it occurs.
2Preparing Research Designs
2.1 Chapter Summary
A
research design
is a private working document that is prepared by a researcher, or a research team, before a research project is undertaken. It should incorporate all the decisions that need to be made before the research commences, and provide justifications for these decisions. This should ensure that the decisions are consistent and that they can be critically evaluated. These decisions include:
the selection of the research problem and a statement of the researcher’s motives and goals for investigating it;
the research question(s) that will address the problem and the purposes associated with it/them;
the choice of logic of inquiry to investigate each research question and justifications for these choices;
elaboration of the ontological and epistemological assumptions on which each logic of inquiry depends;
an outline of the research paradigm or paradigms within which the research will be conducted;
an elaboration of relevant concepts and theory and how they relate to the research process;
if relevant, a statement of the hypothesis or hypotheses to be tested, or an elaboration of the causal mechanisms to be investigated;
a discussion of data sources, types and forms;
a discussion of methods for selecting data from these sources;
an outline of the methods of data collection and/or generation, reduction and analysis to be used; and
a discussion of the problems that might be encountered and the limitations of the design in its ability to answer the research questions.
In contrast, a
research proposal
is a public document that is used to obtain necessary approvals for the research to proceed, including from an appropriate ethics committee, or for research funding applications. It addresses different audiences from a research design. While it includes many of the components in the associated research design, some of these may be presented in a different form.
2.2 Introduction
The ultimate purpose in exploring the issues and processes covered in the following chapters is to facilitate the planning of research and the preparation of applications for approvals needed before it proceeds. Both of these requirements involve the preparation of documents, such as a research design or a research proposal. The former is a record of all the planning decisions that need to be made before the research begins, and the latter is presented to bodies whose task it is to allow the research to be undertaken. While research designs and research proposals overlap considerably in their structure and content, they have different purposes and are intended for different audiences. There is also likely to be a sequence to their development, with the former informing the latter.
A research design is a technical document that is developed by one or more researchers and is used by them as a guide or plan for carrying out a research project. Decisions that need to be made at the beginning, or soon after some exploratory work has been completed, are stated, justified, related and evaluated. The aim is to:
make these decisions explicit;
spell out why they have been made;
ensure that they are consistent with each other; and
allow for critical evaluation.
In postgraduate research, a research design is a working document that may be the outcome of courses in research methodology and methods, and of the dialogue between student and supervisor(s)/adviser(s). It should be the constant point of reference and guide throughout the research. If it is necessary to make changes as the research proceeds, or if it is necessary to allow some elements of the research design to evolve in the course of the research, this will happen in the context of the initial set of research design decisions. Amendments will need to achieve the same consistency between research design elements.
Research proposals have different purposes and audiences. They can be used for:
making public presentations and receiving feedback;
obtaining official approval from appropriate university or other authorities, including endorsement of a research ethics committee; or
applying for research grants.
While research designs involve making and reporting a range of choices about what is to be studied and how it will be studied, research proposals require much more emphasis on why the research is to be conducted, including what it will contribute to knowledge and/or practical outcomes, and why it has been designed in a particular way. In applications for research funding, a proposal needs to state what funding is required for each aspect of the research and why it needs that level of funding.
Because research proposals have a number of purposes they may need to be prepared in different versions. In addition, some information may be in a different form to that of research designs, and additional details may be required. A research proposal may be less technical than a research design, in that it may not include all the details of the decisions and justifications related to each design element. When a research proposal is intended for public presentation, it is likely to be a longer and more discursive document than a research design. On the other hand, an application to a committee for approval of the project may be much briefer, and may emphasize the justification for the research and the more technical aspects of data sources, collection and analysis. An application for research funds may be similar to an approval version, but will usually require a detailed budget, and justification for the various categories of expenditure, as well as reporting and accountability arrangements.
Before proceeding to outline the requirements for research designs and, to a lesser extent, research proposals, we must point out that the intention is not to be prescriptive. Rather, we offer two frameworks that will no doubt need to be adapted to local requirements and practices. In some situations, maybe only one document is required; in other situations, the distinctions between them may be drawn differently. The purpose here is to identify the many elements that should be considered, and about which decisions may need to be made, in planning social research.
Two other important points are relevant at this stage. The first concerns the common view that social research consists of a set of linear stages. These stages commonly include the formulation of the problem, the statement of hypotheses, the development of measuring instruments (e.g. an attitude scale or a questionnaire), the selection of a sample, the collection of the data, the analysis of the data, and the preparation of the report (see e.g. Bailey 1994; Bouma and Ling 2004; Neuman 2006, 2014; Kumar 2014; Babbie 2016). Such conceptions are not only simplistic but are also inappropriate for certain kinds of research.
In much the same way, the process of designing social research may also be represented as a linear sequence of decisions. In practice, however, the preparation of a research design is likely to involve many iterations and, like many types of research, is a cyclical rather than a linear process. Because the elements of a design must be intimately related, the process of making any decision will have an impact on other decisions. For example, early decisions may need to be reviewed and changed in the light of problems encountered in making later decisions, and decisions may need to be changed when the design is reviewed for consistency. In short, a complex process is required to make the various decisions consistent and compatible. We have tried to represent this iterative process in the relevant figures in the book.
The second point is concerned with the view that, ideally, all research design decisions need to be made before the research begins in earnest. Every effort should be made to do this as the discipline involved will be beneficial in the long run. To avoid it could mean losing control of the research and, ultimately, failure to complete it satisfactorily. However, this ideal needs to be tempered with some practicalities. It is necessary to recognize that research designs differ in the extent to which it is possible to finalize all the design decisions before the major stages of a study commence. In some research, what is learnt at one stage will help to determine what will be done at the next and later stages. Exploratory research, and studies concerned with theory generation rather than testing, may have this character. Some research may require exploratory and developmental work in order to be able to make important research design decisions. Exploratory work will usually occur at the beginning, but may have to be undertaken later, particularly if unanticipated problems are encountered. Therefore, while it is important to strive for the ideal of a fully worked out research design before serious research begins, the realities of a particular project must be taken into consideration.
It is inevitable that the time needed to prepare a research design will vary; some research topics are just more complex than others, or may involve venturing into relatively uncharted territory. Hence, the time and effort is usually much greater when a researcher starts a study from scratch, rather than joining an existing research team or continuing research conducted by others.
2.3 Research Designs
A research design is an integrated statement of, and justification for, the technical decisions involved in planning a research project. As already indicated, ideally, designing social research is the process of making and recording all decisions related to the research project before they are carried out. This involves anticipating all aspects of the research, then planning for them to occur in an integrated manner. Designing research in this way means that control of the process can be achieved.
To design is to plan; that is, design is the process of making decisions before the situation arises in which the decision has to be carried out. It is a process of deliberate anticipation directed toward bringing an expected situation under control … If, before we conduct an inquiry, we anticipate each research problem and decide what to do before-hand, then we increase our chances for controlling the research procedure. (Ackoff 1953: 5)
This process is analogous to the activities of an architect in designing a building: it involves recording, relating and then evaluating the decisions that need to be made. Careful attention to detail and a concern with the overall workability of the design are required. Designing social research involves the same processes. This book is about how to achieve this.
A research design can be organized in many ways. The following framework is presented as an example of what the structure of a research design might look like. (Examples of four different research designs are presented in chapter 12.)
Title
The title or topic needs to be both concise and informative. It should capture the essence of what the study will be about and where and with whom it will be conducted. It is sometimes useful to divide the statement of the topic into two parts: the first part can refer to the issue under investigation; and the second can locate the study. (See chapter 12 and Appendix II for examples of the wording of research topics.)
While it is useful to have a clear statement of the topic at the beginning of the research design process, this is not always possible. Not only is the nature of the research likely to be clarified during the course of preparing a research design, but also the best title may not emerge until after the research is completed. Therefore, it is unwise to waste time at the beginning trying to get the wording perfect. As we shall see, it is better to concentrate on stating the research problem clearly, and preparing the research questions and other elements of the design, and then return to the title later.
Research Design Elements
Title
Research problem
Motives and goals
Research questions and purposes
Review of the literature
Logics of inquiry
Paradigms
Concepts, theories, hypotheses and models
Data sources, types and forms
Selection from data sources
Data collection/generation
Data reduction and analysis
Problems and limitations
Research problem
A research problem is an intellectual puzzle that the researcher wants to investigate. The statement of the problem will normally consist of a few concise paragraphs. It may include reference to some literature, such as reports of previous research in the field and related areas, both academic and non-academic, theoretical discussions, official statistics and, perhaps, newspaper articles. It might be informed by the findings of prior exploratory research.
A research design may set out with more than one problem or a related set of puzzles. As the work on the design proceeds, a choice of the one to be investigated will need to be made. To recapitulate, a research design is the product of a developmental process that is likely to involve a number of iterations. There are many benefits from having a clear statement of the research problem at the outset, but, as with the title, this may not be possible. It may evolve as the design develops and may only become clear towards the end of the process. In addition, it may be necessary to make changes to the statement of the problem as the research proceeds. (See chapter 3, ‘Getting Started’.)
Motives and goals
The research design is the place where a researcher’s personal motives and goals for undertaking the research can be stated. Academic researchers, including postgraduate students, will have personal reasons for choosing a particular topic. These might include satisfying curiosity, solving a personal problem, achieving a credential or pursuing career goals. In addition, a researcher may have other more public or altruistic reasons, such as making a contribution to knowledge in a discipline, solving some social problem, or contributing to the welfare of some organization or a sector of society. While not a vital requirement, making these motives and goals explicit is a useful exercise and is often quite revealing.
Research questions and purposes
Research questions constitute the most important element of any research design. It is to answering them that the research activities are directed. Decisions about all other aspects of a research design follow from the research questions. In many ways, the formulation of research questions is the real starting-point in the preparation of a research design.
Research questions need to be stated clearly and concisely. They should be reduced to three main types: ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions. It is important to distinguish between these types of questions as they are related to different research purposes. In general, ‘what’ questions seek descriptions, ‘why’ questions seek explanations or understanding, and ‘how’ questions are concerned with interventions to bring about change.
While stating aims or objectives may be helpful, research questions provide a better way of expressing what a research project is trying to achieve. However, aims and objectives have been included in the guidelines for research proposals as stating them is a useful way of communicating to various audiences what the research is about. In a research design, consideration might be given to listing research purposes as well. These are defined in a more technical way and specify what the research is intended to achieve: it may be to ‘explore’, ‘describe’, ‘explain’, ‘understand’, ‘predict’, ‘change’, ‘evaluate’ or ‘assess the social impact’ of some aspect(s) of the phenomenon under investigation. Such purposes help to define the scope of a study and, together with the research questions, provide clear directions.
Review of the literature
A research design should include a brief literature review. This has two primary functions: to link the proposed research to the current state of relevant knowledge; and to serve as a possible source of explanatory ideas or theories. This section should indicate clearly what is known from previous research about each of the research questions, or what could be anticipated in the light of existing social theory. In the case of research for a thesis, a longer version will need to be produced and will probably become a chapter. Work on this will usually continue throughout the duration of the research. However, only a summary is normally included here.
