Читать книгу Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 77

A third stage involves working out a clear formulation of the problem. If relevant literature already exists, the researcher might return from the library with a good idea of how the problem should be approached. Hunches about the nature of the problem can sometimes be turned into research questions, which, though rooted in an educated guess about what is going on, clearly state this in precise language. If the study is to be effective, research questions must be formulated in such a way that the empirical material gathered will provide evidence that either supports or challenges them. Studies involving the collection and analysis of numerical data, such as social surveys, tend to favour statistical testing as a method of verifying or falsifying clearly stated hypotheses, while qualitative research will often be exploratory in character and allow research questions to emerge during the research process.