Ever since its first
edition in 1987 Tripathi’s book on
research methodology in
social sciences has been compulsory reading to students and teachers alike from under-graduate to doctoral levels. Considering the difficulty in marketing academic works and that publishers seldom sell all copies of even the first edition of most books, it is to the credit of Tripathi (and his publisher for marketing strategies!) that in less than two decades since its first publication Tripathi has succeeded in bringing out the fifth edition of his book.
That this new edition is a systematic improvement over the earlier editions is a testimony to Tripathi’s unending quest for knowledge, untiring efforts in its pursuit, and uncompromising commitment to the cause of keeping both students and teachers up-to-date on major aspects in the production of knowledge systems.
The book is organised into 14
sections. Each
section concludes with a set of related questions. Setting the tone of the book, is section 1, which deals with important areas such as definition of scientific research, types of research, and problems of research in social sciences.
Sections 2 and 3 deal with identifying “problems” for designing social
science research, and formulating hypotheses. These sections are, however, too brief. The author could have discussed the widely varying interpretations of social sciences, and then settled for a workable definition, especially in the present context of myriad social problems cropping up and confronting social science research. The author could have also discussed the stages of scientific explanation, and their importance for social science research.
Sections 4 and 5 on methods of
data collection are exhaustive in their treatment of both experimental and non-experimental methods.
Sections 6 to 8 on techniques of data collection, sampling, and measurement and scales are also exhaustive. As these sections are too long, the author could have split them into additional sections. In contrast, section 9 on data processing is brief and could have been elaborate.
Section 10 on statistical measures for data analysis is rich. However, the author could have highlighted that statistical measures are for “statistical reasoning” in social sciences, which has serious limitations, and could have given some examples.
Sections 11 to 13 are on statistical inferences, and deal with, respectively, parameter estimation and parametric and non-parametric measures in hypothesis testing. Though dense, these sections will be very useful.
Section 14 is expectedly on interpretation and report writing. This is followed by a long appendix of illustrative Tables and graphs. The author concludes his work with a brief bibliography.
Considering the ongoing knowledge revolution and the role of computers and internet in processing and accessing data, some of the issues discussed in the book may need modification. In fact, the emergence of cyber-research is likely to have cascading effects class-room teaching, and on the hitherto conventional social science research. If these effects are not brought out clearly the beginners in social science studies are likely to fall between the stools. Hopefully Tripathi’s next edition of the book will take care of this problem.
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