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NIOS Class 12 Sociology Chapter 4 Methods And Techniques In Research Of Sociology
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Methods And Techniques In Research Of Sociology
Chapter: 4
MODULE 1: SOCIOLOGY – BASIC CONCEPTS
INTEXT QUESTIONS 4.1
I. Write True or False against each question:
1. A society cannot be fully understood without comparing with other societies. (True/False)
Ans. True.
2. Murdock Cliduat use cross cultural methods to examine the structure and functions of the family. (True/False)
Ans. False.
3. Durkheim set out the significance of comparative method. (True/False)
Ans. True.
4. Experiment is possible in sociology. (True/False)
Ans. True.
Q.5. What are the sources of historical method? (M. Imp.)
Ans. Sources of information used by historians include written records of all types, laws, public records, reports, business documents, newspapers, diaries, letters, genealogies, travellers, accounts and literature in all forms-as well as physical survivals in the form of buildings and certificates.
The historical method involves the study of origins, development and transformation of social institutions.
In historical method, a sociologist uses information pertaining to one or more societies over long periods of time. The main approach is to try to get some insights from the past experiences with regard to social behaviour.
Q.6. How methods of social research are there in sociology?
Ans. Five methods.
Q.7. What is the difference between functionalism and functional analysis?
Ans. The differences between functionalism and functional analysis:
| Functionlism Method | Functional Analysis |
| 1. The functionalist method, in sociology and social anthropology appeared initially (in the beginning) as a reaction against the method and claims of the evolutionist. The term functional analysis and functionalism are often equated functionalist method focuses on systems as a whole, how they operate, how they change and the social consequences they produce. Hence, functionalism provides a perspective from which is attempt an analysis of a society. The central concern is with the source of order and stability in society. | 1. Functional analysis requires from the researchers (research scholars) that he/she explain or analysis his/her observations of recurring phenomena in terms of their consequences for the wider social system within which they exist. In this context, functional analysis is a method of sociological and anthropological enquiry, which consist in examining social and cultural items by locating them in a wider context. |
| 2. In functionalism the focus is on: (a) The way social institution help to maintain order in social life, and (b) The way structural arrangements insociety influence behaviour. | 2. Usually, functions analysis means showing how different items affect and affected by other with which they coexist overtime within the same social system. |
| 3. In functionalism, society is concerned of as a system of interrelated parts on which no part can be understood in isolation from the whole. A change in any part is seen as leading to a certain degree of imbalance, which in turn results in changes in other parts of the system and to some extent to a re-organisation of the system as a whole. | 3. Functional method (of analysis) refers to the functional analysis which is also known as functionalism and structural functionalism. |
| 4. The development functionalism in the nineteenth century was based on the model of the organic system found in the biological sciences. | 4. In sociology, the functionalist method is traced primarily to the pioneering work of the nineteenth century French sociologist Emile Durkheim and in the twentieth century, to the American sociologist Talcott Parsons and his students. |
| 5. Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer used on organic analogy, analyzing society as a kind of living organism. Just as a biological organism has inter-related tissues and organs that function together, they wrote, so does society. Like an organism, if society is to function smoothy, its different parts must work together in harmony. For instance, just as the heart has the function of circulating the blood, so also do social institutions have specific functions for society as a whole. | 5. Functional analysis’s anthropological roots extend to the work of Bronislaw Mainowski and A.R. Radicliff-Brown. |
| 6. Robert K. Marton dismissed the organic analogy but continued with the essence of functionalism. The image of society as a whole as he maintained composed of interrelated parts. Marton used the termfunctions to refer to the beneficial consequences of people’s actions that help to maintain the equilibrium of a so a social system. In contrast, dysfunctions are consequences that undermine a system’s equilibrium. | 6. From the perspective of functional system, the group is a functioning whole, with each part contributes to the welfare of the whole. Whenever we examine a smaller part, we need to look for its functions to see how it is related to the larger unit. This basic approach can be applied to any social group, whether an entire society, a college or even a group as small as the family. Finally, we may view that functional analysis is a method, which refers to factors and forces of integration, equilibrium and also disequilibrium. At a given point of time inter-relation between different components of society can be studied from the functional point of view. |
Q.8. What technique are used in the empirical method?
Ans. The empirical method refers to the collection of data from the field. The facts of social life are studied and described as they exist. The techniques used in this method are observation, survey, experimental, case studies.
INTEXT QUESTIONS 4.2
Q.1. What are the types of data collection?
Ans. There are two types of data collection.
These are:
(i) primary data. and
(ii) secondary data.
(i) Primary data: Are that which sociologists collect themselves by means of interviews, questionnaires observation and so on, directly from respondents.
(ii) Secondary data: Are that which the sociologists collect from other sources and which has already recorded (although not necessarily for public consumption).
The sources of secondary data are:
(a) Biography, autobiography, letters, diaries, novels.
(b) Journals, quality newspapers, radio broadcasts, T.V. programmes etc.
(c) Census data records from business firms, registration data, birth and death departments etc., government records, relating to economy etc. data from charities, personal groups, etc.
Q.2. Name five techniques of data collection. (M. Imp.)
Ans. The most important techniques of data collection are:
1. Observation.
2. Survey.
3. Case study.
4. Questionnaire.
5. Interview.
Q.3. What are two main types of observation?
Ans. The observations is possible in following two types of ways:
(i) Participant observation.
(ii) Non-participant observation.
Q.4. Can survey be used in case study method?
Ans. Yes, survey may be used in case study research. Sociologists use different types of survey in their research depending upon the nature of the study.
Q.5. What are the two types of interview?
Ans. There are two types of interviews:
(a) The structured formal interview follows a set pattern. All the questions are decides before hand and the exact wording remains the same in each one. It is standardized and controlled.
(b) The informal, unstructured interview allows the respondents to expand and develop answers. A tape-recorder may also prove very hands if allowed by the respondent.
TERMINAL EXERCISES
Q.1. Explain the following methods:
(i) Historical.
(ii) Comparative.
(iii) Experimental. and
(iv) Functional methods.
Ans. I. Meaning:
(i) Historical Method:
(a) The historical method engages in the evaluation of sources of information about the past to determine their authenticity and the analysis of authentic sources for detailed data about the period being studied.
(b) Sources of information used by historians include written records of all types, laws, public records, reports, business documents, newspapers, diaries, letters, genealogies, travellers’ accounts and literature in all forms-as well as physical survivals in the form of buildings and artefacts.
(c) The historical method involves the study of origins, development and transformation of social institutions. In this method, a sociologist uses information pertaining to one or more societies over long periods of time. The main approach is to try to get some insights from the past experiences with regard to social behaviour.
II. Two forms of it:
The historical method in sociology has taken two principal forms:
(i) The first is that of the early sociologist, influenced by the philosophy of history and afterwards by the biological theory of evolution. This method involves a certain order of priorities in the problems for research and theory. It concentrates upon problems of the origins, development and transformation of social institutions, societies and civilizations. It is concerned with the whole span of human history, with all the major institutions of society, as in the works of August Comte, Spencer and
Hobhouse.
(ii) Yet another form of historical method is characteristic of the works of Max Weber. This is exemplified especially in his studies of the origins of capitalism, the development of modern bureaucracy, and the economic influence of the world religions. The main methodological features of these studies are that particular historical changes of social structures and types of society are investigated (and these are compared in certain respects with other types of changes in society). In this process, both causal explanation and historical interpretation find a place.
(iii) Comparative Method:
1. The analyses of social change in history are carried out with the help of several methods. One of the most favoured methods is the comparative method used in sociology. This entails the study of different groups and institutions in order to examine similarities and differences.
2. All sociological research involves the comparison of cases or variables, which are similar in some respects and dissimilar in others.
3. A major methodological issue (problem) is whether or not the units of comparison (whole societies, major institutions, religions, groups, and so on) and the indicators selected to compare similarities or differences are genuinely comparable and can legitimately be used outside their particular cultural settings.
4. The characteristics under examination can take place within the same society, for instance rates of mobility between different castes and classes belonging to the same society can be mutually compared, or, the same variables may appear in various societies like the rates of social mobility among the same strata but different societies.
5. The comparative method is greatly used in anthropological and ethnological research.
6. George P. Murdock, feeling the necessity for storing the information, which was continuously building up and the importance of having it at the disposal or social scientists everywhere, opened a Cross cultural Survey at Yale, University.
7. Today, the Human Relations Area File has been developed on the basis of Murdock’s idea and material, and is one of the main ‘databank’ which sociologists possess.
8. Incidentally, in the Victorian age, Herbert Spencer had already started a significant systematic inventory of information about social institution in a large number of countries.
9. Today, all types of data banks are developing different places, making significant factual information, readily and widely. available.
10. The systematic use of comparison and contrast as method of enquiry became widely accepted among sociologists and social anthropologists in the first half of the twentieth century.
11. Radcliffe-Brown sought to extend Emile Durkheim’s sociological theory of totemism by comparing and contrasting the relationship between social structure and religious practices among the Australian Aborigines – who had taterism and the Andaman Islanders who did not have it. He also proposed that a relationship could be established through systematic comparative study between ancestor worship and lineage structure.
(iii) Experimental or Laboratory Method: The experiment is an operation in a controlled situation in which the researcher tries to discover the effects produced by introducing one new variable into an experimental group and not into an otherwise identical control group. It the behaviour of the experimental group changes and that of the control does not, and then the change can be attributed to the introduction of the new variable. This a method favoured in the natural sciences. Laboratory conditions enable the experimenter to control all the variables excepting the one which is being experimented. However, there are examples in sociology of ‘field-experiments’. These take place in the ‘real-world’ and not in a laboratory. Those whose behaviour is studied in response to ‘actors’ engaged by the researcher do not know that a study is being conducted. Some of these types of research studies have certain of the characteristics of the comparative method.
(iv) Functional Method:
The functionalist approach, in sociology and social anthropology, appeared initially as a reaction against the methods and claims of the evolutionists. It was a criticism of the intention and claim of the evolutionists to give a scientific account of the whole social history of mankind.
Functional analysis is a method of sociological and anthropological enquiry, which consists in examining social and cultural items by locating them in a wider context. This generally means showing how these items effect and are affected by others with which they coexist over time, within the same social system.
This method refers to factors and forces of integration, equilibrium and also disequilibrium. At a given point of time, interrelation between different components of society can be studied from the functional point of view.
Q.2. What is an empirical method? Discuss its techniques of data collection.
Ans. I. Meaning of the Empirical Method: The empirical method refers to the collection of data from the field. The facts of social life are studied and described as they exist. The techniques used in this method are observation, survey, experimental, case studies.
II. The Techniques of Data: Sociologists use different types of techniques for data collection keeping in view the nature of the problem under study. We will discuss here the most important techniques of data collection, which are as follows:
1. Observation.
2. Survey.
3. Cast study.
4. Questionnaire.
5. Interview.
A brief description of all the above five points is given below:
1. Observation: Observation is used as a tool of collecting information in situations where methods other than observation cannot prove to be useful, e.g. voters’ behaviour during election time. The purpose of observation is to explore significant events and situation. capturing human conduct as it really happens.
There are four types (or ways) of observation:
1. Participant Observation and Non-Participant Observation.
2. Participant as Observer.
3. Observer as Participant.
4. Observer as Observer.
1. Participant Observation and Non-Participant Observation:
(a) It is one of the techniques of data collection. In small and pre-literate society, this technique can be usefully employed. But its use can become challenging and problematic, when society we are observing is complex. He takes role performance. The method achieves good result when the identity of the observer is not quite apparent.
(b) The main characteristic of participant observation is that analysis is carried out sequentially and each stage is different by logical sequence. That is, each succeeding stage depends on some analysis in the preceding stage. They are further differentiated by different forms of conclusions.
(c) In some cases, participant observation becomes very difficult and fought with risks particularly when the issue being inquired has sensitive and explosive dimensions, e.g. exploring the situation of communal riot.
(d) Participant Observation is a method in which the investigator becomes a part of the situation he is studying. He involves himself in the setting and group life of the research subjects. He shares the activities of the community observing what is going on around him, supplementing this by conversions and interview.
2. Participant as Observer: This is not disguised participant. Observer enters the community as observer not as role performer. Here the identity of observer is known.
3. Observer as Participant: In this case, observer visits a person and establishes relationship and puts certain questions and observes the situation. Observer is here ‘observer’ as well as ‘participant’ with the interviewer.
4. Observe as Observer:
(a) In this case, observer observers the situation but those being observed are not aware of it. The observer has to be perceived in terms of skills and training.
(b) The quality of the observer is more important than investigators in other forms of data collection. Observation especially, participant observation, relies much on the attributes of the researcher for both amount and quality of information.
(c) Exact knowledge of the subject (or issues), previous experience, ability to deal with varied situations, adaptability, flexibility, ability to get along with others, and to remain unbiased and free from ideological constraints, are of great significance. Training must concentrate on the issues that are central to the study.
2. Survey: Social survey is a systematic and comprehensive study of a particular community with a view to analyze social problem with a diagnostic purpose in mind, so that it is also accompanied by certain set of recommendations. The purpose of survey is to provide information. The more accurate and comprehensive the information the better can be the planning. The goals of the community can then be achieved more fully.
The techniques of survey are: mail questionnaire or interview to elicit information directly and interpreting the resulting data by means of statistical analysis. It provides an alternative to the experimental method or participant observation and is widely used in sociology. Surveys may use sampling in order that inferences may be made from the sample about a wider population with a known degree of accuracy, as in government surveys and investigation of public opinion. When the populations are small, sociological surveys may cover whole groups rather than samples. Even when taking a sample from a wider population, sociologists may treat the sample as a self-contained whole and may not attempt to for the wider population from the sample. Surveys may be used in case study research. Sociologists use different types of survey in their research depending upon the nature of the study.
3. Case study:
Various related methods are used in case study namely:
(a) Social surveys.
(b) Questionnaires.
(c) Interviews.
(d) Attitude scales.
(e) Projective techniques.
Besides above referred five techniques, personal documents, diaries, autobiographies, latters, life history, data etc. are also used.
Criticism of the Case Study Methodo logical Implications:
1. The case study method is very time consuming and very demanding of the researcher. The possibility of becoming involved emotionally is much greater than in survey research, thus, making detached and objective observation difficult and sometimes, impossible.
2. Another problem in the use of case study method is that, since, only one example of a social situation or group is being studied the result may not be representative of all groups or situations in the category. In other words, the specific mental hospital ward, slum, or suburb may not be typical of all mental hospital wards, slums, or suburbs.
3. Critics of the case study method believe that the study of a small number of cases can offer no grounds for establishing reliability of generality of findings. Others feel that the intense exposure to the study of some specific cases biases the findings.
4. Some critics dismiss case study research as useful only as an exploratory tool.
4. Questionnaire:
1. Questionnaire poses a structured and standardized set of questions, either to one person or to a small population, or most commonly to respondent in a simple survey.
2. Structure here refers to questions appearing in a consistent, predetermined sequence and form. The sequence may be deliberately scrambled, or else arranged according to a logical flow to topics or question formats.
3. Questionnaire are distributed through the mail or by hand, through arrangements such as the ‘drop-off’ where a field-worker leaves the questionnaire for respondents to complete by themselves, with provision either for mailing the complete from back to the research office, or for a return call by the fieldworker to collect the questionnaire.
4. A questionnaire administered in a face-to-face interview, or over the telephone (growing in popularity among researchers) is usually termed ‘schedule’. In deciding upon one of these methods, researcher balances the cost, probable response rate and the nature of the questions to be posed.
5. The questionnaire is particularly useful when the respondents are scattered in a large geographical area but the schedule is used when the respondents are located in a small area so that they can be personally contacted.
6. The wording of the questions in the questionnaire has to be simple, since the interviewer is not present to explain the meaning and import of the question to the respondent. In the schedule, the investigator gets the opportunity to explain whatever the requires to know.
5. Interview:
1. The set of structured questions in which answers are recorded by the interviewer himself is called interview schedule or simply the schedule.
2. Interview schedule is distinguished from the questionnaire in the sense that in the later (questionnaire) the answers are filled in by the respondents himself or herself. Though the questionnaire is used when the respondents are educated, schedule may be used both for the illiterate and the educated respondents.
Q.3. Define observation and discuss its types.
Ans. I. Definition of observation: Observation is used as a tool of collecting information in situations where methods other than observation cannot prove useful, e.g., voter’s behaviour during election time. The purpose of observation is to explore important events and situations capturing human conduct as it actually happens. The observation is possible in two ways:
(i) Participant Observation.
(ii) Non-Participant Observation.
Participant Observation: It is one of the techniques of data collection. In small and pre-literate society, this technique can be easily used. But its use become quite complicated, when society is complex. It is possible to administer this technique with good results when the identify of the observer can be clocked, that he or she mixes with the inmates of the situation and look at it from inside. At the same time, a successful employment of this method requires a high degree of maturity, because quite often the observer may get lost into the nuances of the situation, so much as to lose objectivity.
Non-participant Observation: In non-participant observation, the observer remains detached and does not participate or intervene in the activities of those who are being observed. He merely observes their behaviour. Sometimes this place the persons being observed in an awkward position and their conduct becomes unnatural.
Non-participant observation is not dependent on a systematic plan of observation. However, it facilitates the standardization of social situations to be observed and admits of a systematic plan of the whole observation process and the recording of results. This is because the observer is not required to participate actively in the social processes at work in the social field he is observing. Since he is not himself immediately affected by the demands of the situation, he can concentrate his whole attention easily on systematic observation of the
situation and what is happening in it.
II. Types of Observation: Sarantakos (1998) has discussed six types of observation.
These are as under:
1. Structured observation: Structured observation is characterized by a careful definition of the units to be observed, information to be recorded, the selection of pertinent data for observation and standardization of conditions of observation.
2. Unstructured observation: The unstructured observation is diametrically opposed to the structured observation in its ideal-typical formulation. Structured observation, in so far as it is used mainly in studies starting with relatively specific formulations, normally allows for much less freedom of choice with respect to the content of observation than is allowed in unstructured observation.
3. Natural and Laboratory observation: Natural observation is one in which observation is made in natural settings while laboratory observation is one in which observation is made in a laboratory.
4. Open and Hidden observation: Open observation is one in which the identity of the researcher as well as the purpose of study are known to the participants. In hidden observation, both these remain hidden from the people under observation.
5. Direct and Indirect observation: Indirect observation, the observation plays a passive role, i.e. there is no attempt to control or manipulate the situation. The observer merely records what occurs. Indirect observation is one in which direct observation of the object is not possible because either the subject is dead or refuses to take part in the study. In most of the cases, it is used by criminologists to observe the situation of murder etc.
6. Convert and Overt observation: In covert observation, subject are unaware that they are being observed. Generally, the researcher in this type of observation is himself a participant in all the activities; otherwise it becomes difficult for him to explain his presence. These observations are mostly unstructured. Sometimes this causes them to act differently than they do normally. For example, if a policeman in a police station knows that his behaviour is being watched by a researcher, he will never think of using third-degree methods in dealing with the accused persons; rather he would show that he is polite and sympathetic.
Q.4. What is a case study? Distinguish between survey and case study.
Ans. Case study: Case study is a method of studying phenomena through the analysis of an individual case. The case may be a person, a group, an institution, a classroom, an episode, a process, a society or any other unit of social life. All data relevant to the case are gathered and all available data are organized in terms of the case. The case study method gives a unitary character to the data being studied by inter-relating a variety of facts to a single case. It also provides an opportunity for the intensive analysis of many specific details that are often overlooked with other methods. This approach rests on the assumption that the case being studied is typical of a cases of a certain type, so that through intensive analysis generalizations may be made which will be applicable to other cases of the same type.
In brief, case study is a closely-focused analysis of a single unit in which all behaviour examined using a range of methods. Some measurement is likely to be required (for example, frequency with which males wash-up in a household). The techniques of case study are: observation; interviews; questionnaire; press reports; letters; diaries; participation.
II. Distinguish between Survey and Case Study:
1. Case Study: A research approach that involves a detailed and thorough analysis of a single case of unit is called case study.
2. Survey: A survey is a form of planned collection of data for the purpose of description or prediction as a to action or analyzing the relationship between certain variables.
3. Surveys are generally, conducted on a fairly large scale as contrasted with case studies which tend to be more intensive but on a smaller scale.
4. Case Study is done in terms of limited space and broader time, whereas survey is done in terms of limited time with broader space.
Q.5. Define and distinguish between questionnaire and interview schedule.
Ans. 1. The questionnaire: The must be carefully prepared and tested to check its value. Words and phrases must be familiar and simple; questions must not be ambiguous; it should demand short and easy-to-analyze answers; it should be value-free and it should provide the data from which the hypothesis can be tested. The researcher must decide whether to use it in a face-to-face interview or to send it through the post. Questionnaires are normally sent by post to the respondents.
2. Interviews: Interview is a conversation between an investigator and an informant for the purpose of gathering information. A number of the social sciences use the interview as one of their techniques of data collection. The interview-schedule is filled by the researcher himself while engaged in the face-to-face interview of the respondent.
There are two types of interviews:
(a) The structured, formal interview follows a set pattern. All the questions are decided beforehand and the exact wording remains the same in each one. It is standardized and controlled.
(b) The informal unstructured interview allows the respondents to expand and develop answers. A recorder may also prove very handy if allowed by the respondent. The interviewer must be skilled and able to direct the respondents in order to obtain information relevant to the study.
The choice of the interview method depends on the aim of the study, the time and funds available and the skill of the researcher. The more standardized answers may help to provide a more specific picture of attitudes and opinions since comparisons can be made between answers. The more open-ended answers help to provide a more detailed picture which is particularly useful in a case study.
These methods are not necessarily exclusive. There can be combination of them. The purpose of all these methods, in a way, is try to answer the question: ‘why do people behave the way they do?’ The sociological theories and concepts have emerged as a result of these studies. These methods are not necessarily alternatives: they can be used in conjunction with each other. It depends on what you wish to discover. One method may be more appropriate than another for different aspects of the same study. A survey, for example, also requires observational detail to supplement it.
SOME OTHER IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION
VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q.1. Why sociology is called a social science?
Ans. More than any other discipline, sociology deals things that are already familiar to most people. All of his live in society, and we already knew a lot about the subject matters of sociology-social groups, institutions, norms, relationship and so on through own experience.
Q.2. What is the nature of methods or of the procedures through which the knowledge is gained in sociology?
Ans. Method or the Procedure: As with all scientific discipline, the crucial elements here in method or the procedures through which knowledge in gathered. For in the final analysis, sociologist can claim to be different from lay persons not because of how much they knew or what they knew, but because of how they acquire their knowledge. This is one reason for the social importance of method in sociology.
Q.3. What is meant of the following terms/words:
(i) Equilibrium.
(ii) Manifest Functions.
(iii) Ethnographic.
Ans. (i) Equilibrium: A state of balance between parts within a social system.
(ii) Manifest Functions: Functions of a social system which are intended and/or overly recognized by the participants in that social system.
(iii) Ethnographic: Written record of small society based on direct observation.
Q.4. Explain the meaning of the term “Functionalism”.
Ans. Functionalism: It is a doctrine, which asserts that the principal task of sociology and social anthropology is to examine the contribution, which social items make to the social and cultural life of human collectivities.
Q.5. What is meant of the following terms/words:
(a) Case Study.
(b) Close-Ended Questions.
(c) Coding.
(d) Rapport.
(e) Reliability.
(f) Community Study.
(g) Concept.
(h) Control Group.
(i) Questionnaire.
Ans. (a) Case Study: A research approach that involves a detailed and through analysis of a single case or unit is called case study.
(b) Close-Ended Questions: Questions followed by a list of possible answers to be selected by the respondents.
(c) Coding: Categorizing data is called coding.
(d) Rapport: A feeling of trust between researcher and subjects is called rapport.
(e) Reliability: It shows the consistency, objectivity and lack of ambiguity of a statistical test or a set of measurements.
(f) Community Study: Research that focuses on the detailed analysis of a single community an application of the case study approach is called community study.
(g) Concept: A word or set of words that expresses a general idea about the nature of events or thing, or the relations between them; it usually provides a category for classification.
(h) Control Group: In an experiment, the group from which the independent variable in withheld, called control group.
(i) Questionnaire: A printed list of questions to be answered by respondents by himself or herself.
Q.6. Write the short the meaning of the following terms/words:
(a) Non-Participant Observation.
(b) Methodology.
(c) Field Study.
(d) Interview Bias.
(e) Generalization.
(f) Interview.
(g) Independent Variable.
(h) Selection.
Ans. (a) Non-Participant Observation: It is a method of observation in which an investigator directly observes a group without becoming a functioning member of the group or taking part in its activities.
(b) Methodology: The conceptual, logical and research procedures by which knowledge is developed.
(c) Field Study: A kind of research in which the subjects of investigations are observed under their usual environmental conditions.
(d) Interview Bias: Effects that interviewers have on respondents that lead to biassed answer.
(e) Generalization: A general statement of preposition based on specific observations.
(f) Interview: Face-to-face method of collecting serial data at the individual level.
(g) Independent Variable: A variable whose occurrence or change results in the occurrences or change of another variable, in a controlled experiment, the variable that is introduced into the experimental group.
(h) Selection: Here the selection means that there is a focus in observation and also editing before, during and after the observations are made.
Q.7. Write in brief the meaning of the followings:
(i) Participant Observation.
(ii) Open-ended Questions.
(iii) Corporative Analysis.
(iv) Dependent Variable.
(v) Observation.
(vi) Documents.
(vii) Experimental Group. (M. Imp.)
Ans. (i) Participant Observation: It is a method of observation in which an investigation participates as a member of the group he is studying.
(ii) Open-ended Questions: Questions that a respondent is able to answer in his or her own words.
(iii) Corporative Analysis: Research involving observation in more than one social system, or in the same social system at more than one point in time.
(iv) Dependent Variable: A variable whose occurrence or change is believed to be affected by one or more independent variables.
(v) Observation: It is the examination of behaviour directly by an investigator or by persons who serve as observes.
(vi) Documents: Written sources such as official and other useful records.
(vii) Experimental Group: In an experiment, the group into which the independent variable is introduced.
Q.8. What should be done to know the nature of society? Why is it difficult to know it?
Ans. 1. Observer and social reality are two distinct entities that need to be bridged in order that some correct and dependable inferences are possible about the nature and structure society and the social phenomena.
2. This is difficult to state the complex and dynamic nature of social reality, which is changing every moment even while it is being studied.
Q.9. Distinguish between a response and a datum. (V. Imp.)
Ans. A response is some manifest kind of action. On the other hand, a datum is the product of the recording of the response.
Q.10. Write those four ways in which the observation is possible.
Ans. The observation is possible in the following four ways:
(i) Participant Observation.
(ii) Participant as Observer.
(iii) Observer as participant. and
(iv) Observer as Observer.
