ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE

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ONLINE ASSIGNMENT
SUBMITTED TO
MISS. SALLY PAUL
SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHER
SUBMITTED BY
VARSHA P G
SOCIAL SCIENCE OPTIONAL

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ACTION RESEARCH IN
SOCIAL SCIENCE

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INDEX
SL NO CONTENT PAGE NO
1 INTRODUCTION 4-7
2 ACTION RESEARCH 7
3 IMPORTANCE OF ACTION RESEARCH 7-8
4 STEPS OF ACTION RESEARCH 8
5 ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCAL SCIENCE 9-10
6 IMPORTANCE OF ACTION RESEARCH IN
SOCIAL SCIENCE
10
7 GOALS OF ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCIAL
SCIENCE
11
8 CONCLUSION 11
9 REFERENCES 12

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INTRODUCTION
Social science is a major category of academic disciplines,
concerned with society and the relationships among individuals within a
society. It in turn has many branches, each of which is considered a
"social science". The main social sciences include Economics, Political
science, Human Geography, Demography and Sociology. In a wider
sense, Social Science also includes among its branches some fields in
the Humanities suchas Anthropology, Archaeology, History, Law and
Linguistics. The term is also sometimes used to refer specifically to the
field of Sociology, the original 'science of society', established in the
19th century. Positivist social scientists use methods resembling those of
the natural sciences as tools for understanding society, and so define
science in its stricter modern sense. Interpretive social scientists, by
contrast, may use social critique or symbolic interpretation rather than
constructing empirically falsifiable theories, and thus treat science in its
broader sense. In modern academic practice, researchers are
often eclectic, using multiple methodologies (for instance, by combining
the quantitative and qualitative techniques). The term social research has
also acquired a degree of autonomy as practitioners from various
disciplines share in its aims and methods.
According to Charles Beard’s perception regarding it is: ‘Social
Science are a body of knowledge and thought pertaining to human
affairs.’

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Community resources are a group of services and/or assisted
programme that are provided to the members of a community for free or
at an affordable price. Each resources is made available to community
members to help them become self reliant and maintain their human
rights and well being. A community can be many things; it is people
who live in the same neighborhood or city, people with the same interest
or background, or even organizations or communities that have
something in common. Resources tangible and intangible, meet the need
of the community by providing assistance, ideas and solutions.
Depending on the community, whether it is a geographic area or a group
with common goals or characteristics. Resources can cover a wide range
of services or provided limited specialized assistance.
Community experiences can enrich social studies in instructions in
ways more than one. To achieve the purposes of social studies, the child
must, become a real part of the community in which he lives, interact
with it and contribute to it. To become an effective citizen, the child
must become a responsible member of community with civic attitudes
and ideals compatible with the spirit of democracy. There is no more
effective way of becoming this kind of person than through practicing
what such a person will do. A variety of community experiences offer
the child the laboratory in which he may experiment with life in the
community and begin to find his place in it.

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Again, venturing into the community, gives children an
opportunity to observe and sometime to participate in the basic human
activities that characterize living in the social group. Children can go
almost everywhere under the careful guidance of the school and of
cooperating community groups – asking questions, gathering data and
pooling information. They can investigate many phases of human
activity in the community. Visits to radio and television stations,
telephone, newspaper and telegraph offices clarify ideas about
communication, study trips to airports and other transportation centre as
well as rides in a variety of vehicles, show how people and goods are
moved about. Production and consumption can be understood better
when pupils see the stores, the markets and factories of the community.
Education, government, religious activities, protection and conservation
are all there for children as they venture forth, hearing, seeing and
sometimes taking part in the life of the community. Traffic problems,
protection of public property, community beautification, conservation
and law of observation are but a few to which children can actually
make a contribution appropriate to their level of development. A
problem shared builds interest, concern and a feeling of kinship, the
principle works well when pupils and community are thrown together in
the consideration of vital problems. Pupils develop a sense of belonging
and the community is benefited because of the sense of responsibility
develop in the pupils. Thus, the social studies classroom is as big as the

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community if teachers and pupils take advantages of all that the world
outside the school has to offer. The wise use of community resources is
a boon for vitalizing the teaching of social studies.
Here we are going to discuss about Action Research in Social
Science.
Action is the state or process of acting or doing. Research is a
scientific discovery which practitioner’s attempt to study their problems
scientifically in order to guide correct and evaluate their decisions and
actions in a number of people have called Action Research.
ACTION RESEARCH
Kurt Lewin is generally considered the ‘father’ of Action Research. Kurt
Lewin describes Action Research as:
 Planning
 Action
 Searching
IMPORTANCE OF ACTION RESEARCH
 Action Research has developed from fundamental research. Hence,
in the field of research, it is a new concept.
 Action Research can be conducted by a teacher, manager and
education officer without any special training.

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 Action Research is conducted by the teachers, managers and
administrators.
 It is delimited to school only.
 Its objective is to improve the school working by finding a
practical solution to the educational problems and to enhance the
knowledge of administrators and to develop curriculum and
progress of teachers.
 This improves the activities and working system of the school.
STEPS OF ACTION RESEARCH
 Identification of the problem.
 Defining and delimiting the problem.
 Analyzing probable causes of the problem.
 Formulation of Action Hypothesis.
 Base Line data collection.
 Tools for collecting data.
 Formulating of Action Design.
 Evaluation of the results of Action Research using questionnaire,
interview, test, rating scale, checklist, observations, collection of
opinion, statistical method.

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ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
Social research is research conducted by social scientists following
a systematic plan. Social research methods can be classified along
a quantitative/qualitative dimension.
 Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable
evidence, and often rely on statistical analysis of many cases (or
across intentionally designed treatments in an experiment) to
create valid and reliable general claims. Related to quantity.
 Qualitative designs emphasize understanding of social phenomena
through direct observation, communication with participants, or
analysis of texts, and may stress contextual subjective accuracy over
generality. Related to quality.
While methods may be classified as quantitative or qualitative, most
methods contain elements of both. For example, qualitative data analysis
often involves a fairly structured approach to coding the raw data into
systematic information, and quantifying intercoder reliability.Thus, there
is often a more complex relationship between "qualitative" and
"quantitative" approaches than would be suggested by drawing a simple
distinction between them.
Social scientists employ a range of methods in order to analyse a vast
breadth of social phenomena: from census survey data derived from
millions of individuals, to the in-depth analysis of a single agent's social

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experiences; from monitoring what is happening on contemporary
streets, to the investigation of ancient historical documents. Methods
rooted in classical Sociology and Statistics have formed the basis for
research in other disciplines, such as Political Science, Media
Studies, Program Evaluation and Market Research.
IMPORTANCE OF ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
Scientific research tells us how things work, helps to understand why
things are the way they are, and sometimes just informs society about
problems that exist. According to the late Columbia University
Sociologist Dr. Robert Merton, “The function of social science research,
then is not simply to supply information useful in remedying problems
already known, it serves to make the problems known.”
Social science research provides many different kinds of information
that influence the economic welfare of individuals and aggregates of
individuals. Social science research in many disciplines (including
Economics, Sociology, Anthropology, and Psychology) has led to
innovations that enable household members to function more effectively
in both the workplace and the home. To the extent that the “general
education” role of social science research allows individuals to function
more effectively within existing institutional arrangements, it can be
viewed as having its initial incidence on household productivity.

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THE GOALS OF ACTION RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCE
 Identifying general patterns and relationships
 Testing and refining theories
 Making Predictions
 Interpreting culturally or historically significant phenomena
 Exploring Diversity
 Giving Voice
 Advancing New Theories
CONCLUSION
Action Research is either research initiated to solve an immediate
problem or a reflective process of progressive problem solving led by
individuals working with others in teams or as part of a “community of
practice” to improve the way they address issues and solve problems.

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REFERENCES
1. Technology of teaching – N.R Swarup Saxena, Dr. S.C Oberoi –
page : 309-317
2. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), India Online
ISSN: 2319-7064
3. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5415604_define-community-
resources.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=DEFINITION+OF+S
OCIAL+SCIENCE&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go
5. http://www.ask.com/world-view/meaning-community-resources-
2b45b4e375ace737
6. http://www.esrc.ac.uk/about-esrc/what-is-social-science/
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_science

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