Indian Society Chapter 7 Suggestions For Project Work

In sociological perspectives, research is a careful study of a topic either given or choosen on the basis of priority in advantages to society in order to discover new facts or information through presentation of the past situations, their nexus with the present, a broad analysis upon both aspects and then declaration in the form of suggestion for the positive way of action in the future so as society is more benefited. In brief, it is a systematic practice upon reflexivity or introspection in order to employ physical, mental and emotional power/process/vigour or zeal of mankind to act upon future in a more decent way or manner.

No, it is impossible because each project involves interviews and survey in which questions are framed and answers from the concerned sector of society are expected. Human being are the most caprice variables and owing to rapid change in science and technology as also mess-up in global culture have made the task of obtaining precise result from enquiries for researcher become very difficult. However, trend of research is always helpful for an individual, communities and the nation as a whole.

It is because a number of difficulties are faced in course of interviews and surveys conducted for collection of data, making an access to concerned authorities, libraries, sections of society. Moreover, previous projection of noting, areas, the aspects of concerned topic also consumes considerable time.It also invites debates and discussion in small, large groups of concerned people/ communities etc. Parts of an interview are also published in newspapers in order to see public response on the findings so made.

(i) Historical method has been employed by Karl Marx (the father of modern scientific socialism) in conjunction with dialectical materialism in understanding the human sections.

(ii) Marx believed that the materialistic structure of sections (viz. two classes of the industrial societies-(proletariat and capitalists) accounts for their development and thus, he took the philosopical device and applied to the materalistic view of society.

(i) Initially, this method and social anthropology appeared as a reaction against the methods and claims of the evolutionist

(ii) It was a criticism of nature and superficial uses of the comparative method or generalisation after observation and the methods of conjectural history in which data unverified and disorder were employed on contemporary or primitive societies for reconstructing the early stages of human social life.

(iii) It was also a criticism of the intention and claim of the evolutionists to give a scientific account of the complete social history of mankind.

Answer to a question may be given on conjectural method, historical or archival method, comparative method and even on functional method. The researcher has to imagine first how to specify the questions so that answers are obtained in compliance with an appropriate method of research selected by him. It is he, who after doing a careful study of the research topic, will decide which methods are relevant. Set of questions are to be resorted to/framed for the concerned groups of people.

(i) A large number of people i.e. 30 to 2000 and an area village, town, city, a province or entire nation are incorporated in survey. Such decision is made on the basis of context and kind of topic.

(ii) A fixed set of questions is prepared so that differential calculation is avoided.

(iii) Questions may be asked by an investigator in person where they are read out to the respondent and his/her answers are noted down by the investigator. Alternatively, the questionnaire is made commensurating with the topic of research and it is handed over to the respondents who then fill it up themselves and give it back to researchers.

(iv) Survey can cover a lot of people so that the results are truly representative to the relevant group or population.

(i) only fewer persons are interviewed than survey.

(ii) The interviewees may not be more than 5,20, or 40 in number.

(iii) A pattern of questions is predetermined or is alternatively a set of topics are proposed in notings while interview is taken in conversational form or unstructured way.

(iv) An interview can be taken continuously for two or three hours in one sitting or through weekly visits for some minutes.

(v) It is flexible because topics to be asked are not composed to questionnaire and interviewer, therefore; may ask more questions he deems helpful in his proposed project. If an interviewee is seen able to provide some more details than proposed in set of questions, interviewer can ask him more questions without any reservations.

In this method neither set of questions is made ready in notings nor questionnaire is prepared and distributed among respondents. All work has to be done by the researcher himself. He first gives contemplation and attention in depth to the project assigned or self-proposed. A road map or broad structure is then recorded in diary. In this specified area and section of society including classes, caste, age group, cultural identities, rituals, religions, gender etc.; he visits frequently and observes mutely. Datewise study is recorded in driary for at least six months or as required for the project. Each column is filled daily and when such study is completed, the researcher accumulates information so received columnwise, tallies it with the sociological perspectives studied in concerned books, discussed with learned people and outcome of seminars, workshops and suminits arranged by government agencies time to time and finally, arrives at conclusion which is mentioned in the form of suggestions when entire study is duly generalised. Thus, observation is a scientific method and always proves true in the given circumstances.

Yes, researcher is free to desire and determine methods for his research. He may modify, amend in the proposed road map of structure for research. It is because any particular method may be criticised by others who take different method may be criticised by others viz bye thepeople resorting to different approach towards the socio-cultural phenomenons. Sociologist, like Comte and Durkheim wanted to apply the approach of physical and natural sciences in sociology. Other sociologists under the influence of Diltney were opposed to this view. He claimed that natural world can only be observed and comprehended from the outside, while the world of human activity can be observed and comprehended from the inside.

Yogendra singh tells that there are three methods applied in course of research in sociological perspectives.

According to him, there are Indological approach, culturological approach, structural approach and historical approach.

In Indological approach, specific indian view is adopted. Indian society can be understood only through the concepts, theories and frameworks of Indian civilisation. According to Indologists, this approach gives more importance to culture than the empirical structure. Indian culture consists of languages, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, instruction tools, techniques, works of arts, rituals, ceremonies and other related components. Classical texts, manuscripts, archaeological arte facts and symbolic expressions are its sources of study.

Structural approach gives more importance to the empirical structure in the field of normative framework of culture. Collection of data requires a systematic framework. It refers to any recurring pattern of social behaviour.

Cultural approach comprises the study of ideas, values, social organisations, technology, language, myths , history and religion.

Cultural systems are distinguished from social systems and analysed as internally coherent wholes and cultural meanings are more important than their behavioural manifestation. This approach is followed in France and America.

Study of social groups, their composition, inter-relationship and social conditions supporting or under mining is done in historical approach. It is concerned with the problems of social development, (viz. industrialisation, democratisation and modernisation processes). It gives more emphasis upon social structure and its dynamic aspects. Hence, it is also called dialectical approach. Exponents of this approach are—Marx, Weber, G.S. Ghurye and Radha Kanal Mukherjee.

Karl Marx— Materialistic structure of societies accounts for development of society hence, historical method is applied to the materialistic view of society.

Max Weber—Under historical method, the particular historical changes of social structures and kinds of society are investigated and compared in certain respects with changes in other societies. In this way, both causal explanation and historical interpretations find a place in the social explanation.

It becomes apparent from the above difficulty on historical method that historians try to increase our accurate knowledge of unique phenomena of the past. They use different data collected through different areas, viz. they have started using data generated by sociologists for their own writings.

Importance in sociological research

(i) Historical data can be interpreted in more than one way by the sociologists. These are used by sociologists. It was employed by Karl Marx and Max Weber.

(ii) It has been used for understanding human societies in view of its direct connection with dialectical materialism. It is used because the materialistic structure of societies accounts for development of them.

(iii) It can be used for studies of the origin of capitalism, development of modern bureaucracy and economic influence of capitalism on the world religion. It has been illustrated by Max weber in his-protestant ethics and spirit of capitalism.

(iv) In this method, particular historical changes of social structures and types of society are investigated and compared simultatnuously with changes in other societies. In this manner of study, both causal explanation and historical interpretations find a place in the social explanation.

This method does analysis of data collected from study of different groups and institutions and thus, similarities and differences are culled out while arriving at conclusion or report on overall research project.

Importance:

(i) We know that all sociological research involves comparison of cases or variables. These are similar in some respects while dissimilar or different in some other respects. A major methodological issue is whether or not, the units of comparison (viz. whole societies, major institutions, religions, groups and so on) and the indicators chosen to compare differences of similarities or degree of similarity, are generally comparable and can legitimately, be used outside their specific cultural settings.

(ii) Rates and belonging to same society are mutually compared in this method. Same variables may appear in different societies as we see same rate of social mobility in stratification but these are found different in society.

(iii) It is widely used in anthropological and ethnological research. An information continuously building up, can be stored and applied for study of same feature in other societies. Thus, it saves much labour that is done in case of information not collected. This is the reason for opening of a cross cultural survey at Yale University by George P. Murdock. A human relations area file has been developed now in almost all countries. It's a gigantic data bank for sociologists.

(iv) The same method was adopted by A.R. Radcliffe Brown of Britain. However, in stead of calling it comparative method, he named it as social anthropology.

It is worth noticing that the systematic use of comparison and contrast as methods of enquiry became widely accepted among sociologists and social anthropologists in the first half of the thirteenth century.

This method was used by A.R. Radcliffe-Brown in order to cull out difference in sociological totemism among the Australian aborigines and that of Andaman Islanders. He had also proposed that a relationship between ancestor worship and lineage structure can be substantiated through systematic comparative study carried upon them.

The method is also called functional analysis. It requires from the researcher, an observation in-depth of recurring social phenomena with an analysis of their results. In brief, it is a laboratory method that picks up data of one or other phenomenon taking -place in broader social system, conducts experiments with the same in different circumstances, time and conditions and records results or consequences each time. A generalisation is then drawn and an exact and accurate conclusion is arrived at. It is true that there is no physical laboratory so far made nor it can be made for research in sociological perspectives, the sources like books, newspapers, magazines, government records, demographic data, reports and manuals brought out time to time by NGO's, Association of People, religious groups etc. one side and an apt data collection, self-analysis, survey, interview and observation etc. fulfil on the other side, this purpose in the field of sociology.

Functional method of research refers to functionalism, a doctrine that asserts examination of contribution of social items that make social and cultural life of human collectivities. It may also assert that such examination of social phenomena is done to explain significance of social collectivities in the eve of national festivals like Independence Day, Republic Day, Gandhi Jayanti etc. Such research interprets degree of allegiance of the selected communities, group of people i.e. religious group, cultural group, political parties, bureaucracy etc. From the manner of celebration in past five years and activities of those selected groups for research in view of maintaining law and order situation better/dull, harmony/disharmony, peaceful co-existence/riot, processions, demonstrations etc. A keen observation and analysis under this method will disclose verbal and practical attitude of that selected segments of society towards nation.

Thus, functional method provides a perspective from which an attempt to carry on analysis of society is made. The central concern of such research is with the source of order and stability in society. Whenever we examine a smaller part, we need to look for its functions to see how it is related to the larger unit. This basic approach can be applied to any social group whether an entire society or a college or even a group as small as family.

It is a system approach in social sciences. It examines the importance of a fraction in the whole and identifies all fractions' relevance for good or bad in the overall system.

a) Demographic dividend –
It is a benefit flowing from the changing age structure - caused by a larger proportion of “workers” relative to “ non- workers ( dependants) “ ( 15 yrs to 64 yrs).
b) Yes, India is indeed facing a window of opportunity created by demographic dividend but India's market does not ensure such strategies. India is supposed to be benefitting from 'demographic dividend' as it -
-reduced birth rate,
-reduced the infant mortality rate,
-reduced crude death rate etc.
But, these strategies would be implemented when potential efforts made to achieve goals.