Social Science Research

Abstract

Social science research aims to learn about existing conditions of social and behavioral phenomena and to organize these complex, multi-faceted fields of reality into a thesis understandable by broader audiences. This methodology has become highly sophisticated in theory and practice during the latter part of the 20th century and is widely used in social and behavioral science disciplines such as economics, business, political science, history, sociology, psychology, and others. This chapter opens with the question, “what is real?” in this complex world and is followed by how we establish aggregated views. We accomplish this by showing various sampling techniques deciphering probability and non-probability sampling models and establishing rigor with a robust theoretical framework, research protocols as randomization, power of large numbers, matching pairs, analysis of covariance, and regression models. The chapter describes the measurement instruments, i.e., principles of psychometry and sociometry and the step-by-step procedure of developing the questionnaire. In addition, validating the measurement section describes assuring reliability and validity in social science. Finally, we address problems with response rates and ethical issues in social research.