Basic Principles Of Research Design In Sociology: A Must-Read For Students

Research design represents the framework researchers use to solve scientific queries logically and sequentially. In sociology, while selecting a suitable research design for a study, the researcher must focus on the basic principles of research design. Thus, this article will discuss the principles of research design in three main parts. Part one will generally discuss principles of research design; part two will specifically explain these principles in the context of sociological research, and the last part will discuss the four research designs in sociology.

1. What are the basic principles of research design?

A principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that acts as the foundation of a system or brief. Likewise, principles of research design are some fundamental assumptions that the researcher must keep in mind while selecting a research design. Below is a brief description of the seven basic principles of research design.

1.1 Principle of flexibility

According to masters dissertation help firm, the foremost important thing that every researcher must keep in mind while selecting a research question is flexibility. This principle suggests that the research design must include being flexible. In simple words, the researcher must select a design that he/she can modify as per field requirements because while conducting research, a researcher has to overcome several challenges. Thus, a flexible research design can help researchers cater to most of these problems if they arise at any research stage.

1.2 Principle of replication

The principle of replication is another basic principle of research design that works to make the research more replicable. The research will be considered replicable if an independent group of individuals can get the same results by following the same set of protocols as you used to conclude.

1.3 Principle of timeliness

Leo Tolstoy says, “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time”. The same is true for research as well. Time and patience are two prominent features of the most renowned researcher in history. Similarly, the principle of timeliness refers to the in-time completion of all research activities. The in-time research completion helps researchers in the in-time publication of the finding.

1.4 Principle of generalizability

Sampling is one of the most important parts of a research design. Sampling can be done in several ways, but the core purpose of sampling is to get generalised results despite using only a few samples. The samples must reflect the properties and responses of a whole population. These principles of research design aim to focus on this point. It explains that the research must not focus on a limited group of people; rather, it must consider the population as a whole to increase its generalizability.

1.5 Principle of objective 

International standards of conducting scientific research emphasise the objective nature of the research. It suggests researchers never distract from the main objectives of a study. The subjectivity and researcher’s sentiments decrease the overall quality of research.

1.6 Principle of Validity

Validity refers to the overall integrity of research. In simple words, validity is how accurately a research design fulfills the intended research requirements. Thus, research with high validity is the one that produces results that correspond to real properties, variations, and characteristics of the real world. These basic principles of research design aim to measure the real-world existence of extracted conclusion.

1.7 Principle of reliability

The success of the research design depends on reliability, dependability, stability, and consistency. Moreover, a reliable research design is a method that, under the same conditions, always produces the same results. The reliability can be measured by estimating the consistency in the results’ findings. In simple words, research reliability is the degree to which a research design produces long-lasting results.

2. What are the basic principles of social research?

Social researches aim to explore the relationship between humans and society. Thus, the principles of research design in sociology include the following things.

• Generality: The social sciences research must have high generalizability in data collection, sampling, and results representation.
• Quantification: All observations in social sciences research must be quantified for accuracy and precision.
• Predictability: The research results will be predictable if science can make them predictable by establishing cause and effect relations between different phenomena and logical reasoning.
• Relativism: Relativism explains that the findings of a research design are never absolute truths. It emphasises the tentative nature of the results of the research.
• Empiricism: It suggests that the scientific investigation dealing with any social aspect of a society must be based on strong evidence so that we can establish truth based on the evidence.
• Ethical Neutrality: It demands that a research design be ethically neutral in pursuing knowledge. In simple, the scientific investigations never consider evidence good or bad; thus, the researcher is not allowed to take a side in scientific investigations.

3. What are the four types of research design in sociology?

The research designs in sociology are the complete strategy that a social researcher uses to integrate all the important components of research logically and sequentially. Some vital components of research include research philosophy, research approach, data collection methods, sampling, and method of analysis or investigation. The following is a brief explanation of the four most sought after research designs in sociology:

3.1 Surveys

  It collects data by asking several questions from the concerned people. Thus, it analyses responses, opinions, experiences, and behaviours.

3.2 Experiments

The experimental research design is popular in social sciences when the researcher’s main objectives are to establish the cause and effect relationships between the variables. Experiments aim to find this relationship by manipulating variables in the controlled environments (laboratories)

3.3 Textual or secondary data analysis

These research designs use the already published data (secondary data) to solve a social sciences query by acknowledging the main source.

3.4 Field research 

Most of the time, sociologists cannot be confined to one place to solve all types of research queries, so they conduct research in an open environment instead of inside laboratories. Thus, the research conducted in a real-world setting is field studies in social sciences.

4. Conclusion

Sociology is a very vast field of study that includes human behaviors, their interaction with society, and the influence of society on humans. No matter what type of research you are conducting, you must follow the basic principles of research design while designing a sociological study. The crux of these principles is to focus on a few important research qualities like empiricism, predictability, relativism, quantification, objectivity, generality, and ethical neutrality. At the same time, the research designs include surveys, experiments, secondary data analysis, or field studies.