Research in the Social Sciences Methods Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 686 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 4

Page 1 of 2

Methods

Preferring to use a quantitative approach to provide the business community with numerical data it can use to transform organizational practices and increase employee retention, I will be using a survey as the primary instrument of data collection. Pennsylvania State University (2006) defines a survey as “a research method for collecting information from a selected group of people using standardized questionnaires or interviews,” (p. 1). While the central component of the survey method is a questionnaire, the survey methodology also includes the selection of the population sample, designing reliable and valid survey instruments that accurately measure the target variables, and using the most robust methods of data analysis. Performing surveys is a critical component of social science research, and it is important to ensure survey method validity and reliability.

Surveys are not necessarily easy or simple. The most common methods of collecting survey data is by using in-person questionnaires, telephone interviews, paper questionnaires, or online surveys (Pew Research Center, 2017). As Kelley, Clark, Brown & Sitzia (2013) also point out, there are three main functions of survey research including descriptive, analytic, and evaluative. Descriptive research gathers data to “examine a situation by describing important factors,” (Kelley, Clark, Brown & Sitzia, 2013, p. 261). When conducting a survey on employee retention, for example, I could be looking at the causes of employee turnover by surveying former employees of the same organization, or I could look at the perceptions of a workplace environment and organizational culture among employees who have remained loyal to the same firm for more than five years.

Stuck Writing Your "Research in the Social Sciences Methods" Essay?

View All Our Example Research in the Social Sciences Methods Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Using a mixed methods approach, the researcher would be able to describe the most important factors relevant to why some employees leave, and why others choose to stay with an organization. It would be important to measure both internal/personal variables such as health status, family situations, or other issues not related to the workplace environment, as well as external/organizational level variables such as the quality of the workplace environment, leadership, organizational culture, and job satisfaction.

In addition to describing demographic data, the researcher would also be measuring attitudes, perceptions, or beliefs in a quantitative way via a survey that uses numerical rating systems like a Likert scale or multiple choice (Ponto, 2015). Survey questions would therefore include a wide range of topics including how long the person remained with the current organization, and also their perceptions of….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Research In The Social Sciences Methods" (2017, September 14) Retrieved May 20, 2025, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/research-social-sciences-methods-2165909

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Research In The Social Sciences Methods" 14 September 2017. Web.20 May. 2025. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/research-social-sciences-methods-2165909>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Research In The Social Sciences Methods", 14 September 2017, Accessed.20 May. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/research-social-sciences-methods-2165909
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example

A PHP Error was encountered

Severity: Core Warning

Message: PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library '/usr/lib/php/20160303/mysql.so' - /usr/lib/php/20160303/mysql.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Filename: Unknown

Line Number: 0