Social science focuses on the study of society. The research centers on the importance of the scientific method in generating more convincing social science perspectives. The research focuses on the natural sciences and physical sciences to support the social science research activities. The scientific method as well and the other related sciences contribute to a more effective and convincing social science research course of actions.
In terms of psychology of group behavior, the social scientific question is: What is the effect of taste on the prospective clients’ product preference. The question is significant for analysis. The question will help identify the prospective and current client’s product preferences.
The results of the research will help company’s identity which product should be prioritized. The cost of the research is minimal compared to producing lots of goods that are unsalable. The company’s huge advertising budget would go to naught when the current and prospective clients refuse to buy products that are not in line with their taste preferences. Each person has a unique taste preference. Some prefer coffee, others prefer beverages.
Some prefer chocolates, others prefer mint candies. Some prefer pork food products, others prefer chicken food products. Some prefer McDonald’s hamburgers, others prefer Kentucky Fried Chicken. Some prefer office clothes, others prefer work clothes. The list can go on and on. The research will lessen the guesswork and frustration of producing products will does not fill the discriminating prospective target market’s needs, wants, and caprices (Black, 2002).
How should the survey be conducted? The first sub-question shows that he survey can be conducted by letting the respondents answer questions in a survey form or oral form. Some respondents prefer the survey form because it is grounded on privacy. On the other hand, people in the vicinity can hear the respondents’ answer to orally made questions. The survey can be conducted by letting the respondents take a taste test of two competing products.
The survey will indicate which product will be chosen by the respondent, according to taste. The survey can be conducted in universities, kindergarten or middle school locations. The different school groups will generate a different set of survey results. The results of the middle school respondents may differ or mimic the survey results of the university students. The survey can be conducted in grocery stores.
The researcher can set up a taste test table for the grocery visitors to freely partake in the research. The action avoids getting the survey results of person who do not frequent the grocery stores. The taste test can be conducted by setting up a taste test table along a busy street corner. The people of all ages, gender, religion, race, or other walks of life can contribute their share in determining the most sought after taste.
The survey will exclude other possible taste test respondents who do not pass along the busy street corner. The taste test can be conducted in the morning or in the afternoon. The taste test will indicate the taste preferences of busy morning people. On the other hand, the afternoon taste test will exclude the busy morning people as possible respondents. The taste test can be conducted during the prospective clients’ peak hours or during their non-peak hours.
The researcher will gather more research data if the research was conducted during peak hours. However, the deluge of the long queue of respondents will reduce the quantity and quality of the taste test process. The researcher must reduce the taste test time allotment in order to accommodate more taste test respondents. The researcher can generate the taste test result from 50 respondents. On the other hand, the research can have more convincing taste test results if the respondents reach 500 or more respondents (Yates, 2004).
How should the survey questions’ results be formulated and tabulated? The second sub- question focuses on how the survey questions will formulated and tabulated. The second sub-question focuses on the content of the survey questions. The survey question may indicate the respondents’ names, contact numbers, and addresses.
Some respondents freely give their personal data to the researchers. However, other groups of persons prefer to hide their identity. The United States constitution gives everyone the right to privacy. Thus, the respondent can tell the researcher that he or she elects to hide one’s identity by not stating any personal information on the survey form.
The survey form may indicate the person’s age, gender, occupation, education attainment, or marital status. The respondents can fill the blanks asking for the respondent’s average monthly salary. The respondents can fill the survey questions asking one’s religion (Yates, 2004).
How should the gathered data be interpreted? The third problem focuses on how gathered taste test results will be interpreted. The research may use different tools to interpret the above gathered research data. The research may use the mean statistical tool in the interpretation process.
The same researcher may implement the standard deviation to answer the taste test question. The research can use analysis of variance to determine if the there is a significant difference between different groups when taking the taste test results. The groups may be segregated according the respondents’ age. The group may be segregated according one’s gender.
The research may determine if there is significant difference between the taste test results of the respondents according to educational attainment. The researcher may use the mode statistical tool to interpret the gathered taste test results. The researcher can use the frequency statistical tool to determine the frequency results of the different respondent groups.
The researcher can use the ranking statistical tool as basis for coming up with an answer to the research question. The researcher can use the chi- square statistical tool to determine if there is a relationship between the respondent groups in terms of answering the taste test survey questions (Yates, 2004).
The social scientific method provides a complete framework for investigating the three research problems that were identified. The first three steps of the standard scientific method are defining the question, gathering relevant information and references, and forming an explanatory hypothesis.
The next three steps of the standard scientific process are testing the hypothesis by performing an experiment, analyzing the gathered information, and interpreting the gathered information and generating conclusions. The last steps of the standard scientific process are publishing the results of the scientific experiment, and retesting the scientific process to determine if the same results will be repeated (Aronson, 2011).
In terms of the first sub-question, the researcher can introduce all the eight steps of the scientific process to determine if the survey can be conducted by letting the respondents answer questions in a survey form or oral form. The researcher can gather relevant information and references on the different data gathering processes, especially the survey aspect and the oral interview aspect. The researcher can form an explanatory hypothesis that oral interview and the use of surveys are valid methods of gathering relevant data.
Next the researcher can test the hypothesis by conducting a survey and oral interview. The researcher can gather the results of the survey experiment and the oral interview experiment as basis for interpreting whether the survey method and the oral method are valid data gathering methods. The research can publish the results of the scientific method.
The results may include affirmation or negation of the suggested survey questions as appropriate data gathering procedures. Lastly, another group of social and scientific researchers can retest the same scientific experiment on the creation of survey questions. The repetition will affirm or dispute the findings of the first scientific experiment on the question generating hypothesis as valid data gathering processes (Aronson, 2011).
The researcher can implement all the eight steps of the social scientific process to determine if the second sub- question focuses on how the survey questions will formulated and tabulated. Similarly, the same researcher can implement all the eight steps of the scientific process to establish the most effective set of survey questions.
The researcher can gather related information and resources on the most practical method of generating data gathering questions. The researcher can form an explanatory hypothesis that the inclusion of age, gender, occupation, and religion, and other data are valid methods of gathering relevant data.
Next the researcher can test the hypothesis by making one’s own set of data gathering questions. The researcher can research on the most optimum set of questions asked in standard social research and scientific research activities. The researcher can use the sets of questions as basis for interpreting whether the selected questions are valid data gathering methods. The research can publish the results of the scientific method done on the question generating process.
The results will incorporate affirmation or negation of the survey method and oral interview methods as appropriate data gathering procedures. Lastly, another set of researchers may repeat the same scientific experiment. The repetition will confirm the findings of the first scientific experiment on the viability of surveys and oral interviews as valid data gathering processes (Aronson, 2011).
The researcher can apply all the eight steps of the social scientific process to determine how to resolve the third problem. The third sub- problem focuses on how gathered taste test results will be interpreted. The researcher can gather related data and resources on the best way to analyze and interpret the gathered results. The researcher can form an explanatory hypothesis that the analysis and interpretation process is correct.
Next the researcher can test the hypothesis by analyzing and interpreting the data gathered. The researcher can use the results of the analysis and interpretation process as basis for interpreting whether the current data analysis and interpretation processes are correct. The researcher can publish the results of the scientific method on the data analysis and interpretation experiment.
The results may confirm or negate the hypothesis presented in terms of data analysis and interpretation. Lastly, another set of researchers may reset the same scientific experiment on data analysis and interpretation. The repetition will affirm or contradict the findings of the first scientific experiment on the correctness in terms of data analysis and interpretation (Aronson, 2011).
The social scientific responses extensively rely on methods drawn from the physical and natural sciences. The social science spectrum focuses on how society acts. Man lives in a planet that filled with physical and natural objects. The physical objects fall under the concepts and theories of physical science.
Likewise, the natural objects fall under the theories and concepts of the natural sciences. The physical sciences include physics, chemistry, and astronomy. Chemistry is used in the study of determine the best tasting product. Thus, the social scientific research must delve into chemistry to discover the most salable product. Without the inputs for physical science, the social scientific responses would be incomplete (Shipman, 2009).
In addition, natural science includes the study of sociology and economics. The other natural sciences are chemistry, earth science, biology, and statistics. The social scientific responses are needed to successful generate realistic social scientific responses. The research must include the biology studies to determine the feasibility of not selling products that are expired.
The research must includes statistics in coming up with a convincing report that affirms or negates an established hypothesis on the taste test data gathered. In addition, the lack of inputs from natural science precipitates to inconclusive social scientific responses (Kant, 2004).
The research methods required for the formulated question (from part A2a) complements the scientific method as understood in the natural or physical sciences.
The scientific method incorporates the concepts of the natural sciences and physical sciences to explain the effectiveness of the social science research methods required for the formulated question, what is the effect of taste on the prospective clients’ product preference. Specifically, the scientific method will prove that the survey gathering process, analysis, interpretation, and conclusion are correct.
The social science perspective must rely on the scientific method in the same way that natural or physical science would. The scientific method is based on experiments. The experiments will prove or disprove the hypothesis. The social science perspective should use the scientific method to determine if the social science research (generating the question, etc.) is realistic. Experiments will prove that the survey and oral interview taste test gathering process is scientifically correct.
Based on the above discussion, social science focuses centers on the study of society. The scientific method generates more convincing social science perspectives. The natural sciences and physical sciences to support the social science research activities. Indeed, the scientific method, and the other sciences contribute to a more effective and convincing social science research processes.
References
Aronson, D. (2011). Evidence -Based Technical Analysis: Applying the Scientific Method and Statistical Inference. New York: J. Wiley & Sons Press.
Black, T. (2002). Understanding Social Science Research. New York: Sage Press.
Kant, I. (2004). Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science. New York: University Press.
Shipman, J. (2009). Introduction to Physical Science. New York: Cengage Press.
Yates, S. (2004). Dong Social Science Research. New York: Sage Press.