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Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.zagrips with abstract philosophical arguments on the nature of the socialsciences, and (2) relating these arguments to their everyday research indisciplines such as sociology, psychology, and so on. On the other hand,regular discussions with social researchers have convinced him that what isneeded in the field of research methodology, is not another recipe book ofresearch techniques. Rather, social scientists are in need of a book thatprovides them with a frame of reference, with a meta-methodologicalperspective, from which a systematic overview of the available researchmethods and techniques as well as the underlying principles may be obtained.It is, therefore, hoped that the researcher will use this work together with themany excellent manuals of a more research-technical nature.LayoutThis book consists of three major sections. In the first, which includes chapters1 to 7, the basic concepts of the methodology of the social sciences arediscussed. In the second, chapters 8 and 9, the most important concepts of partone are integrated in discussions on the writing of research proposals andresearch reports. The third section (appendices) consists of three “case studies”in which the most important methodological principles which were discussedin the preceding sections are illustrated.The approach that has been followed in the book emphasizes the logical andconceptual relationships between the fundamental concepts of researchmethodology. It is for this reason that the first part starts out with a chapter inwhich a model of the research process is developed and which serves as aframe of reference for the rest of the book. This model is used to illustrate howconcepts are related, and it also indicates the order in which they will be dealtwith in subsequent sections. In Chapters 2 to 5 the most important decisions inthe research process are discussed, i.e. formulating the research problem,conceptualization, operationalization, data collection, analysis, andinterpretation. The emphasis throughout is on research design considerations:not the decisions and techniques, but rather the underlying considerations ofvalidity. Chapter 6 is devoted to a discussion of the central constructs whichnot only guide research, but which are also inevitably a product of research, forexample, concepts, statements (hypotheses and definitions), conceptualframeworks (typologies, models, and theories), and paradigms. In Chapter 7the most important similarities and differences between the quantitative andqualitative approaches are explicated by means of the distinctions and basicconcepts which were developed and discussed in the preceding chapters. At amore concrete level, information is provided in Chapters 8 and 9 (part two) onhow the methodological principles of the social sciences are utilized in thepreparation of a research proposal and in writing a research report.xi