Research Methods and Techniques in Social Sciences

Underlying Principles of Scientific Inquiry

Key Considerations:

• Truths lacking universal validity should be subject to trial and error, enriching the information available for the object of study. The predictive capacity and error margins in social sciences may differ from other disciplines, but this doesn't negate their scientific nature.
• Science, as a human and social product, must be analyzed within its historical context. Scientific objectivity arises from mutual criticism and rigorous scrutiny within the scientific community, characterized by public and intersubjective discourse.
• Scientific theories are human constructs that facilitate understanding relationships between phenomena, enabling intervention and utilization.

Therefore, research methods and techniques employed in social sciences, when aligned with universally accepted scientific principles, empirical observation, intersubjective analysis, and value-neutral critique of social reality, allow groups to be considered scientific in their approach.

3.5 Research Methods and Techniques in Group Dynamics

Defining Methodology:

In general terms, a method encompasses the assumptions, observations, and techniques that facilitate understanding, explaining, and controlling specific phenomena. Methodology involves the description and analysis of these components.

The Scientific Method:

Science distinguishes itself from other forms of inquiry through the scientific method. According to Bunge, the scientific method is an approach to intellectual problem-solving, not merely a set of tools or individuals. It's applicable across various fields of knowledge. Methods and techniques evolve based on the object of study. As Bunge notes, "the nature of the object of study dictates the possible special methods for the research topic: the object (system problems) and art go hand in hand."

The scientific method is a hallmark of science; without it, there is no science. However, it's not infallible or self-sufficient. It's fallible because it's subject to improvement based on its outcomes and direct analysis. It's not self-sufficient because it relies on prior knowledge, which it then refines and expands.

Characteristics of the Scientific Method:

In summary, the scientific method can be characterized as:

• Factual, grounded in a theoretical framework
• Critically examines facts and analyzes them using clear, formalized, and public methodological rules
• Fosters creativity and aims for more effective explanations
• Intersubjective and verifiable
• Doesn't claim to exhaust the ultimate reality of the object
• Provisional knowledge, open to trial and error
• Operates within a system of interpretation, necessitating epistemological vigilance

Types of Scientific Explanation (Hempel):

• Nomological-deductive explanation: Deductive explanation based on general laws. Establishes causality between facts if general laws connect them, allowing the effect to be deduced from the cause using these laws.
• Statistical explanation: Utilizes at least one theoretical principle or law in statistical form.
• Genetic-historical explanation: Explains a phenomenon by tracing its historical development through successive stages.
• Functional and teleological explanation: Suitable for understanding goal-oriented behavior and institutions by analyzing their role in maintaining a system's functionality or viability.

Research Techniques in Group Dynamics:

Investigative techniques in social sciences (observation, interviews, focus groups, etc.) are applied based on the object of study and the appropriate methodological approach. Specific techniques are employed to empirically test research hypotheses.

The Research Process in Social Sciences:

Social science research involves a dual process: theoretical and empirical. The sequence can be outlined as follows:

• Hypothesis formulation: Clear, specific, and empirically verifiable.
• Hypothesis verification: Testing the hypothesis or a set of interconnected hypotheses within an explanatory theory (defining components for verification and applying research techniques).
• Principle or law formulation: If the hypothesis is verified and confirmed, it can lead to the formulation of a principle or law.

Analysis and Hypothesis Testing in Group Dynamics:

In group dynamics, analysis and hypothesis testing go beyond describing regularities or laws. They aim for accurate situational diagnosis, effective planning of group interventions, and evaluation of outcomes. This fulfills the practical purpose that has characterized scientific knowledge since the emergence of modern science.

Tools in Social Work (TS):

Along with other social science research techniques, social work has developed specific tools:

• Social history: Comprehensive documentation of a user's personal, health, housing, economic, employment, education, and social/family situation, including demand, diagnosis, intervention, and evolution.
• Social tab: Documentary support for social work, systematically recording information from the social history.
• Social report: Technical report serving as a documentary tool, exclusively signed by the social worker. It synthesizes the assessed situation based on observation and interviews, providing a technical analysis and intervention proposal.
• Professional intervention project: Design of the social intervention, including assessment of individuals involved, operational objectives, tasks, resource utilization, timelines, and evaluation criteria.