Marketing research essay on: Comparative research essay on research
Comparative Research
In any subject and field of expertise, research plays an important role. This is due to the fact that research is required to inquire facts, formulate hypothesis and arrive at a theory. This process is not only limited to the natural sciences, but social sciences as well. In the case of social science and theory, the whole world is the laboratory and henceforth, in order to arrive at facts, it is an important process to carry research activities through various research methodologies. In fact, research is such an important aspect of several subjects that different papers have been formulated to study these. Some of the research techniques include the Historical research, comparative research, surveys, questionnaire, interviews, field study and etc (Sage publication n.d.). These types of research methodologies can be classified under the qualitative and quantitative analysis. Different forms of research methods are used in social science to arrive at a conclusion and form a theory. In this context, many researchers and social scientists have used one or the other method to form their analysis and provide evidence for the proposed conclusions. The field study method is used when a researcher goes to the field, investigate the observant and acquire the required data. This data is then used to create documents; however this method has its disadvantages, such as the level of objectivity. Another method is the library method where in, the scholars study the already existing data. In this method usually the result is the acceptance or rejection of the provided theory. This technique is usually used in historical study, in order to study the manuscripts and the available historical data. Another widely used method is the experimental method, as the name suggests this method is used to perform experiments under controlled situations. However this method is basically used in the natural sciences as the scholar has to ensure controlled situation, whereas in social sciences this context is difficult to achieve. Further, survey method is a social science method wherein the researcher carries out surveys to arrive at conclusions. This method is however lengthy and takes ample amount of time, moreover the researcher here formulates his own hypothesis out of the arrived generalizations. The comparative method is a method whereby the scholars compare different objects of study and arrive at conclusions based on that. The comparative research method is widely used both in natural science and social science. Another method is the interview method, which is one of the most important methods in research methodologies. But a disadvantage in this method is the failure in establishing a rapport with the interviewee. Moreover, various other methods are used by the researchers while conducting a research. Henceforth, these methodologies are different in their approaches from one another (Research Methodologies in Social Science n.d.).
Some of these methods are used more often than the others, and one such method is the comparative research technique. The Comparative method is an old method, which has been used extensively by the researchers. This method is an old technique that is relevant till contemporary times. Many scholars such as Radcliffe Brown have supported the use of comparison while studying the societies and different cultures. In several important studies the comparative method was used by the scholars, such as the Max Weber’s study of ‘Protestant Ethic and the rise of Capitalism’, whereby he compared the western societies with the rest of the world and provided with the conclusion of emergence of capitalism in the western societies (Weber, M. 1920). Furthermore, according to Emile Durkheim, the comparative method is the best suited method in sociology. In his work of ‘Rules of Sociological Method’, Durkheim demonstrated the rules to study society through a comparative analysis. Even in his classical study of suicide, Emile Durkheim compared different societies to arrive at the conclusion that suicide is not only a psychological phenomena, but sociological phenomena as well. Thus, through this study of suicide he challenged psychologists two help sociology to establish a new academic discipline. Furthermore, many recent studies tend to focus on the concept of globalization, its patterns and scope in the world. These facts are only arrived by the comparative analysis, because the researchers compare different economies of the world to calculate the impact of globalization, moreover they also compare the situations before and after the advent of globalization (Ganzeboom, H. B. G., De Graaf, P. M. and Treiman, D. J. 1992). Therefore, it is not wrong to say that comparative analysis is a useful technique to understand society and its different concepts. It is also noted that the comparative method is not only used in social science, but natural as well. For human beings, comparison is a central tendency and thus, thinking without comparison is practically difficult. Thus, comparative research is a scientific methodology that forms conclusions on the basis of comparing two or more entities, by evaluating at their differences and similarities (Mills, M., Bunt, G. & Bruijn, J. 2006). Moreover, the comparative research is not an end in itself, since it leads to various other approaches. By comparing different objects, the researchers then apply other research methods to study the concepts more precisely. Further, in the case of social sciences, the comparative method is more useful than many other research methods. This is due to the fact that for social sciences, the whole world is a laboratory, thus it would not be practically possible for the researcher to control the situations to form their experiments. Thus by the application of comparative methods, it becomes easy and practical to arrive at various conclusions. The comparative method is also useful because in the subject matter of social science the facts are not as clear as natural sciences, thus the researchers often finds it difficult to arrive at conclusions due to ambiguity in the subject matter. The comparative research in this case makes things clear by analyzing similarities and differences in different concepts (Azarian, R. 2011).
The comparative research method is different from the non comparative methods because it is a distinctive style of technique. In other methods the comparison does not take place. As mentioned above, the other methods are different such as reading from the already existing data, searching through historical facts, carrying out with experiments, social surveys, interviews and etc. Thus, not only the comparative analysis, but the other methods also are different in their practice. However, it is important to note down here that these methods and especially the comparative method is associated with other methods. The comparative research has its own uniqueness, but it often crosses the other forms and vice versa. In this context, according to Smelser, there is continuity between comparative methods and non- comparative methods. This continuity between these methods exists because the goals are same for each of them, that is to arrive at conclusions. While considering the subject matters of social science, one should understand that these subjects are similar and united in their philosophies and basic assumptions. Thus, in spite of the different research tools, different methods combine with one another, and hence leave confusion in identifying the uniqueness of the comparative method. Many comparativists accept this idea and opine that comparative and non – comparative methods are simultaneously used with each other. One of the major differences in the .concepts of comparative and non – comparative social research is the basic ideologies of qualitative and quantitative techniques (Coleman, J. S. 1990). The qualitative data is collected by analyzing different facts and thus conclusions are drawn upon it. In the case of quantitative data, the facts or the data are measured, and thus it is devoid of any subjectivity. The comparative research is the qualitative method because in this technique, the facts are analyzed and compared, which are subject to objectivity and do not include any numerals or statistical data. Furthermore, the researchers in a comparative analysis focus on the whole study and then use this method, which is further argumentative because the researchers may also make comparative analysis for statistical or quantitative facts, thus arriving at the ambiguity at the notions of comparative research methodologies. The comparative analysis helps the researcher to get familiar with the case he or she is dealing with. In order to arrive at effective conclusions, the researcher needs to study the whole case or the object and evaluate it by make important comparison in the study (The Distinctiveness of Comparative Social Science, n.d.).
It is important to note here that the social science research method is mostly comparative in nature, which is due to the fact that different types of research methodologies are applied in combination to each other. For instance, while considering Emile Durkheim’s study of suicide, one can notice that in order to arrive at the conclusion that suicide is a social phenomena, he compared different societies. With this research, Durkheim also used historical research and library research; moreover, he also sought to include statistical data in his study. Therefore, the whole subject matter of social science uses similar ideas to demonstrate different conclusions and arrive at generalizations of their facts. Furthermore, In this context, it is also important to understand that the comparative research is both a method and a technique. It is a technique because the researchers use this method extensively in their studies, and it is a technique because comparison forms an important part in the field of social science (Lor, P. 2011). The comparative research is as much as a scientific technique, as statistics are. It involves a scientific temper wherein the researcher applies the information, evaluates them and arrives at objective conclusions. It is also a method of study and helps the researchers and scholars to understand the objects in a precise and better way. In fact, comparative research is such an important method of several subjects that different papers have been formulated to study these. Different forms of research methods are used in social science to arrive at a conclusion and form a theory. In this context, many researchers and social scientists have used one or the other method to form their analysis and provide evidence for the proposed conclusions. The comparative research is a method whereby the scholars compare different objects of study and arrive at conclusions based on that. This method is widely used both in natural science and social science. The comparative research method is different from the non comparative methods because it is a distinctive style of technique. In other methods the comparison does not take place. The other methods are different such as reading from the already existing data, searching through historical facts, carrying out with experiments, social surveys, interviews and etc. Thus, not only the comparative analysis, but the other methods also are different in their practice. However, it is important to note down here that these methods and especially the comparative method is associated with other methods. The comparative research has its own uniqueness, but it often crosses the other forms and vice versa. The Comparative method is an old method, which has been used extensively by the researchers. This method is an old technique that is relevant till contemporary times. Many scholars such as Radcliffe Brown have supported the use of comparison while studying the societies and different cultures.
Henceforth, to argue that comparative research is a unique method is not an erroneous notion. But due to the fact that it is often used in combination of techniques and moreover implied in all the subject matters of science, confuses the distinctiveness of this method. The earlier studies such as protestant ethics and the rise of capitalism, suicide, and the rules of sociological methods are some classical examples that have used the comparative methods in their analysis. The contemporary research designs to understand the polity, social and economic aspects also use the comparative research design. Furthermore, while considering the subject matters of social science, one should understand that these subjects are similar and united in their philosophies and basic assumptions. Thus, in spite of the different research tools, different methods combine with one another, and hence leave confusion in identifying the uniqueness of the comparative method. Many comparativists accept this idea and opine that comparative and non – comparative methods are simultaneously used with each other.
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