Research techniques in social sciences will make any work shine. Don't forget to include them.
A million works
Doing academic work is mandatory to obtain the
eTitle degree, but if we want our record to stand out, delivering voluntary work is the best option. The problem is that, generally, it can be boring, it requires extra effort and we don't always manage to make them stand out or raise our average much. If that happens it's because we're not doing it right.
Inflexible rules
The university has strict rules regarding the format of academic papers and articles that, at first, can be very annoying. Having to fit into a predetermined scheme can make us feel that the process is difficult, kills creativity and forces us to fit into a mold that we may not identify with. This vision, although it may be true, is individualistic. We are not seeing what is important, but only what is convenient for us. It turns out that standardizing a series of rules for papers and academic articles ensures the minimum required quality. In addition, this system ensures that proper citation of sources is given both to avoid plagiarism and to disseminate knowledge correctly, and it facilitates the work of professors who have to correct not only our work, but hundreds of others.
Research techniques: the trick to making our work stand out
There are two things that will prevent academic work from becoming a mere boring procedure. The first is to always choose a topic that we like. It can be done, even if we are imposed on what it has to be about. The trick is to find the part of that imposed topic that is most interesting to us and never do broad work on the subject, but on very specific things that arouse our curiosity. The more specialized a work is, the better. The second is to use all the research techniques we can, or at least one of them. This will not only give our work a much more attractive methodology than the mere bibliographic review of everyone else, but it will also liven up the process and make it much more interesting for us.
The most well-known research techniques:
Surveys
Surveys are structured questionnaires administered to a sample of individuals in order to collect data on attitudes, opinions, behaviors, or other variables of interest for our work. They can be conducted in person, by phone, by email, on social networks, or through a website. The way to design these surveys should follow a method that helps us avoid biases and collect data easily.
Interviews
Interviews are structured or semi-structured conversations between the researcher and the participant, with the aim of obtaining detailed and in-depth information on a specific topic. They can be individual or group, and can be conducted in person or remotely.
Participant observation
In
this method, the researcher participates in the situation or context being studied, observing and systematically recording the interactions and behaviors of the participants. This approach is mainly used in qualitative and ethnographic studies.
Experimental research
In
experimental research, one or more independent variables are deliberately manipulated to observe their effect on a dependent variable. This method is used to establish causal relationships between variables and is carried out in a controlled environment, which may make access difficult for us, but if we talk to our teachers, they will surely be happy to help us find an appropriate space and equipment.
Case studies
Case studies are research techniques that involve the detailed analysis of a situation, event, group, individual, or particular, with the aim of understanding its characteristics, contexts, and underlying processes. They are mainly used in qualitative research.
Statistical analysis
This method involves the use of statistical techniques to analyze numerical data collected through the rest of the research techniques, and will allow us to explain the results clearly and scientifically. It can include descriptive analysis, statistical inference, tables, diagrams, predictive and multivariate models, among others. These are the main research techniques in social sciences, although there are more. The choice of the appropriate technique depends on the nature of the research problem, the study objectives, and the characteristics of the population or phenomenon studied, but if we never forget to include at least one of them in our work, we will see how everything changes.
