Research Methods in Sociology and Indian Sociological Thinkers
Domain 9: Research Methods and Indian Sociological Thinkers
This domain tests how sociological knowledge is produced and who shaped Indian sociology. You should know basic method choices, the research process and a few thinkers' central ideas.
Core rules
- Methodology is the logic of inquiry; methods are techniques such as survey, interview, observation, ethnography, case study and historical-comparative analysis.
- Quantitative methods use measurement and statistical generalisation; qualitative methods explore meaning, process and context. Good research states a question, concepts, hypothesis, sampling strategy, data collection, analysis and ethics (consent, confidentiality, no harm).
- Positivism models social science on natural science; interpretivism stresses understanding meanings; critical sociology links knowledge to power.
- Indian thinkers: G.S. Ghurye on caste, race and village; M.N. Srinivas on Sanskritisation, dominant caste and village studies; Irawati Karve on kinship; A.R. Desai on Marxist analysis; Yogendra Singh on modernisation; B.R. Ambedkar on caste annihilation and rights.
Worked example
To study caste discrimination in a classroom, define discrimination, frame a hypothesis, select classrooms, combine observation with interviews, obtain consent, and protect identities. If only high-caste students are interviewed, the sample is biased and the conclusion is unsafe.
Traps
Do not confuse method with methodology. Do not call any convenient sample random. Do not claim value neutrality means having no values. Do not reduce Srinivas to Sanskritisation alone or Ambedkar to constitutional law alone.