Chapter 1: Introduction to Research                                                         13

        Research: Meaning and Characteristics                                                 14

        Approaches to Knowledge                                                                     17

        Philosophy of Sciences and Knowledge                                                18

              Rationalism                                                                                      18

              Empiricism                                                                                       19

              Positivism and Constructionism                                                      19              Research, Theory and Knowledge                                                   22

        Interrelation of Theory and Research                                                    23

        Basic Concepts of Social Research                                                        26

              Concept                                                                                            26

              Inductive and Deductive Reasoning                                                26

              Validity                                                                                            29

              Variable                                                                                            32

              Operational Definition                                                                     34

              Indicators                                                                                         34

              Model                                                                                               34

Chapter 2: Social Research: Meaning and Approaches                           39

        Meaning of Social Research                                                                  39

        Utility of Social Research                                                                      40

        Limitations of Social Research                                                              42

        Objectivity in Social Research                                                              43

        Qualities of a Researcher                                                                       45

        Ethics of Social Research                                                                      47

        Dissemination of Research Findings                                                     49

        Typology of Social Research                                                                 50

        Purposes of Social Research                                                                  57

        Time Dimension in Research                                                                 57

        Approaches of Research                                                                         58

Chapter 3: Research Methods                                                                    63

        Method versus Methodology                                                                  63

        Selection of Research Method                                                               64

        Selected Methods in Social Research                                                    65

              Content Analysis                                                                              65

              Descriptive Method                                                                         69

              Survey Method                                                                                 70

              Historical Method                                                                            72

              The Case Study                                                                                74

              Discourse Analysis                                                                           77

              Focused Synthesis                                                                            78

              Focus Group Discussion                                                                  79

              Scenario Building                                                                            81

        Use of Library in Social Research                                                         82

        Steps in Library Research                                                                      85

        Research Review of Literature                                                              86

              Purposes of Review of Literature                                                    86

              Steps in Review of Literature                                                          87

Chapter 4: Research Design                                                                        90

        Meaning of Research Design                                                                 90

        Research Question                                                                                  94

        Hypothesis                                                                                              95

        Operational Definition of Variable                                                        97

        Model Building                                                                                      98

        Theoretical Framework                                                                        101

        Typical Format of a Research Proposal                                               101

Chapter 5: Steps in Social Research                                                        105

        Identification and Formulation of the Research problem                   105

        Formulation of Research Problem                                                       106

        Formulation of Hypotheses and Statement of Assumptions                108

        Choice of the Empirical Variables                                                      109

        Choice of Research Method                                                                 109

        Collection of Data                                                                                109

        Analysis and Interpretation                                                                  109

        Drawing Conclusions and Recommendations                                     110

        Reporting the Research Findings                                                         110

Chapter 6: Sample Design                                                                         115

        Assumptions of Sampling                                                                    116

        Utility of Sampling                                                                              116

        Sample Size                                                                                          117

        Types of Sampling                                                                               119

              Random Sampling                                                                         119

              Stratified Sampling                                                                        120

              Systematic Sampling                                                                     122

              Cluster Sampling                                                                           123

              Purposive Sampling                                                                       123

              Quota Sampling                                                                             124

              Multi-stage Sampling                                                                    124

              Snowball Sampling                                                                        124

              Convenience Sampling                                                                  125

              Sell-selected Sampling                                                                  125

              Extreme Case Sampling                                                                125

        Choice of Sampling Techniques                                                          125

Chapter 7: Mode of Data Collection                                                        129

        Survey of Documents                                                                          `129

        Interview                                                                                              131

        Observation                                                                                          133

        Questionnaire                                                                                       135

          Schedule