What type of research allows us to answer questions and improve our understanding of society?

• October 1, 2021

Social research helps to acquire knowledge of human society. The dynamic nature of society makes it challenging to understand to move towards progress and welfare. Social research enables us to analyze social behavior, understand the causes, and accelerate its evolution. Social research expands our knowledge to drive discovery and innovation. It contributes to the growth and development of a nation or the entire human society. 

We have explored the importance of social research in this blog. Dive into it to read more.

What is Social Research?

Social research refers to the study of individuals and societies and is often used to identify regularly occurring social patterns in social life. It can be defined as the systematic understanding of social facts or phenomena. It is used to gather information on the social world, in order to come up with a course of action or simply to develop new knowledge. 

The objective of social research is to identify the cause-and-effect relationship between social problems so that these problems can be solved to enhance societal welfare. This method of research is employed by researchers and social scientists for many different reasons, some of which we will explore in this article. 

There are various types of conducting Social Research. You can read a detailed article on Types of Social Research. 

The Importance of Social Research

To understand the importance of social research, let’s take a look at some of the ways in which it benefits us as a society:

• Increases the Welfare of Humanity: Most social science studies are conducted with the objective of enhancing the welfare of humanity. 
• Can Predict Behavior: Social research helps us understand different people and societies. Information gathered from social research can help us predict the behaviour of certain individuals or groups. When we have a good understanding of a social phenomenon, we may have a better idea of how to govern or guide it. 
• Helps Expand or Rectify Current Knowledge: Social research adds to the knowledge we currently have, and can also be used to test or very old social fact or beliefs. 
• Provides an Understanding of Social Life: Social research is used to gather information on social phenomena. It provides us with an understanding of the social life of different groups of individuals. 

• Structural Changes: Social research can be used to bring planned structural changes to social life. 
• Precipitates Social Progress: Social research helps us obtain appropriate and reliable knowledge on social structures and social groups. This information can be used to disintegrate prejudices, misconceptions, and superstitions, precipitating social progress and creating a more inclusive society. 
• Formulates New Theories: Social research allows us to formulate new theories in different fields of study. There are many existing theories on leadership, motivation, and human behaviour that wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for social research. 
• Helps Develop Methodologies: Social research has been used over time to create methodologies to deal with social problems such as drug addiction, worker ethic, leadership style, child labour, and is continually used to revise old methodologies or to create new ones.
  

  [Read: How to conduct Social Research?]

Wondering what will be the cost of conducting survey using Voxco?

FAQs on Social Research

Social research refers to the systematic study of individuals and societies.

Social research is important for a number of reasons, including: 

• It allows us to predict human behaviour, facilitating social control.
• It helps us increase the welfare of humanity.
• It facilitates the development of knowledge, specifically in the field of social studies. 
• It helps expand on current knowledge or test/verify old social facts.

Social research can be categorized using many different typologies. When categorized by nature of the data, there is qualitative and quantitative data. When categorized by the focus of the research, there is theoretical and empirical.

How research can help improve our society?

What types of research are used in studying social problems?

What type of research has a purpose of understanding real world problems?

What are the 4 types of research methods?