Research Practices in Social Work

There are no laws in social science that parallel the laws in the natural science. A law in social science is a universal generalization about a class of facts. A fact is an observed phenomenon, and observation means it has been seen, heard or otherwise experienced by researcher. A theory is a systematic explanation for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of social life. Concepts are the basic building blocks of theory and are abstract elements representing classes of phenomena. Axioms or postulates are basic assertions assumed to be true. Propositions are conclusions drawn about the relationships among concepts, based on analysis of axioms. The present text of basics for the social researcher provides a sound and well-structured framework for the pursuit of serious and result-oriented research. The book is intended for the research scholar and academician in social sciences and will prove to be of great assistance in the methodology of research.