Page 61 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Information and Literature Survey in Social Sciences

Notes for collecting accurate information, precise measurement of variables, statistical analysis and test
of significance. As the aim is to obtain complete and accurate information about a given situation/
phenomenon, the research design must make much more provision for protection against bias than
is required in an exploratory study. Moreover, the amount of work involved is considerable and so
concern with economy of research effort is extremely important.
8.5 Evaluation Studies

Evaluation study is one type of applied research. It is made for assessing the effectiveness of social
or economic programmes implemented (e.g., family planning scheme) or for assessing the impact of
developmental projects (e.g., irrigation project) on the development of the project area.

Purpose

Evaluative research is, thus, directed to assess or appraise the quality and quantity of an activity and
its performance, and to specify its attributes and conditions required for its success. It is also concerned
with change over time. As Such man puts it, “evaluative research asks about the kind of change the
program views as desirable, the means by which the change is to be brought about, and the signs
according to which such change can be recognized.”

Did u Know? Why evaluation studies are held?
These studies are made for assessing the effectiveness of social or economic
programmes implemented (e.g., family planning scheme) or for assessing the
impact of developmental projects (e.g., irrigation project) on the development
of the project area.

8.6 Action Research

Action research is a type of evaluation study. It is a concurrent evaluation study of an action programme
launched for solving a problem/ for improving an existing situation. Action research can also be
undertaken by larger organizations or institutions assisted or guided by professional researchers, with
the aim of improving their strategies, practices, and knowledge of the environments within which they
work. Kurt Lewin, then a professor at MIT, first coined the term ‘action research’ in about 1944, and
it appears in his paper in 1946, Action Research and Minority Probleins. In that paper, he described
action research as “a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social
action and research leading to social action that uses “a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a
circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action”. According to Nunan (1990),
a classroom action research does not require the standard formalization of a research project with a
literature search, hypothesis testing, treatment conditions, etc. Instead, it consists of seven basic steps
to investigate a problem. They are as follows:
1. After determining that there is a potential problem, survey what is happening through
observation - via video, audio, hash marks, or whatever relevant means are available.
2. Code the observation based on the problem and what was seen (i.e., the code is created solely
for that problem/session).
3. Based on the coded information, determine one change that could impact the problem in a
positive manner.

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