The aims of this paper are evaluate the research approaches adopted and methodology used in assigned research reports. Moreover, reflect and point out the strengths and weaknesses of reports.
Social research is a scientific study of society and it purposes are exploring, describing or explaining the social phenomena. Thus, there are major methodological approaches which are quantitative approach and qualitative approach.
Firstly, according to Alan Bryman (2008), the quantitative research can be construed as a research strategy which emphasis the quantification in collection and analysis data and involves a deductive approach to the relationship between theory and research which the accent is placed on the theories testing. Moreover, it has incorporated the practices and norms of the natural scientific model and of positivism in particular and there is an external, objective, social reality (or entity). Objective reality exists beyond the human mind (researcher).
Secondly, qualitative research can be construed as a research strategy which emphasis in the words in collection and analysis data and involves an inductive approach to the relationship between the theory and the research which emphasis is placed the generation of theories. Thus, it has rejected the practice and norms of the natural scientific model and emphasis on individuals interpret the social world. There is no absolute external, objective, social reality (or entity) which is constituted by how the human mind (researcher) perceives, thinks, interprets or experiences about it.
Furthermore, the most common methodologies within the social research include experiments, survey, in-depth Interview, participant observation
Part 1
- Youth-this research aims to investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion. It also identifies a range of indicators and necessary conditions for the positive development of them. Thus, evaluate the way which the functions of service participation, friendship networks and various family factors support them in different areas.
- Youth-the research focus on the effects of service participation, friendship networks, and family support on developmental outcomes in a study of young people from low-income families in Hong Kong. In this research, there are three research hypotheses as follow, firstly, a young person who has received vocational training, services provided by social workers or other helping professionals will have greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family background. Secondly, a young person who has better friendship networks will have a greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family. Lastly, a young person with better family support will have a greater opportunity for positive development despite his/her deprived family background.
- Youth-In this research report, it used the survey research. According to Earl Babbie (2008), the survey research is the popular social research method which is the administration of questionnaires to a sample of respondents selected from some population and it is appropriate for making descriptive studies of larger population. Thus, the questionnaires can be administered through the self-administered questionnaires, face-to-face interviews or telephone surveys. For this report, the research used the quantitative survey of 405 young people recruited from the schools and integrated youth service centres in Hong Kong. Furthermore, as the researcher investigates the factors based on the youth development indicators which are according to the scholars, therefore, this research study used the deductive analysis which is a form of reasoning in conclusions are formulated about particulars from general or universal premises.
- Youth-In this report, researcher used the survey as the tool in social research. According to Babbie (2008), the survey includes a question which is either open-ended or close-ended and employs an oral or written method for asking these questions. The goal of a survey is to gain information from the selected group and the result is used to investigate the social phenomena. Thus, in this report, a quantitative survey of 405 young people from the low-income families was conducted to explore the factors relevant to their development and success. Also, the respondents were between 17 to 21 years old -the critical age range from teenage transit to young adulthood. Therefore, the result can investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion
- Youth-In the findings of research report, over a half of the respondents were female, their average age is 18. 33 years and around 55% are completed senior secondary education and 36% has matriculation qualification. Also, most of the respondents are students at the time of the data collection. For the family background of respondents, most of their parents are low educated and employed, living in public housing and low-income. Thus, the result showed that receipt of social work service has positive effects on academic achievement, work performance and mental health. In Addition, the data demonstrated that the size of friendship networks had a significant positive impact on work performance and showed that having more friends with better educational achievement, high employee status and positive social experience contributed to pro-social behaviour. Finally, it evaluated the prediction of youth development resulting from various factor that parents’ material status had significant positive effect on respond
- ents’ financial adequacy and their social behaviour.
Part 2
Youth-In this report, it is used the quantitative approach as the research methodology and used the survey as the tool in the research. As the researcher set the quantitative survey and hypothesis for given topic, the answer of respondents should be present in numerical. Therefore, in quantitative approach, the data collection is easier to summaries, analysis and measurable because the answer for respondent converting to numerical format. However, there is some weakness of quantitative approach. Firstly, since the respondents recruited from the school and integrated youth centers, some of the youth may not be counter as the respondents (e. g. Hikikomori). it implies that the survey research represents the least minimally appropriate to all respondent and it is often appear superficial in coverage of complex topic. Secondly, the validity of quantitative research is heavily rely on the sampling because most of the quantitative research used survey as the tool, in this report, researcher only recruited 405 youth people as the respondents for investigate the factors conductive to the success of young people growing up in low-income families and exam the factors that help them to their lives from failure, poverty and social exclusion, compare to the large population of the youth group, the result cannot be representing for the group. Moreover, the quantitative research is inflexibility caused the study design is standardized, it would be unaware the new variable’s importance. As the researcher focus the study on testing the hypothesis and indicate the several factor, the research should be neglect the other factors which related to the positive development of the youth.
Part 3
Youth-The study just mentioned the respondents are recruited from 13 secondary school and 18 integrated school located in different districts, however, It has blurred to explain the method for sampling the agency for data collection. Moreover, the definition of the factors of service participation and social capital are undefined. For example, there is no illustration of the positive social experiences in the friendship network, the term seems to be obscure . Also, since the research has targeted the respondents between 17-21 years old which is the critical age range in the transitioj to young adulthood, and the time that is chart
Reference
- Babbie, Earl R. (2007), The practice of social research, 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth
- Crotty Michael (1998), The foundations of social research: meaning and perspective in research process, London: Sage Publications
- Bryman Alan (2008), Social research methods, New York: Oxford University Inc
