What is your true objective when undertaking any empirical research project? What have you observed that peaked your interest and or motivated you to pursue a given course of study?
The answer to these questions lay both in logic and in a deliberate observation from a scientific perspective. "The two pillars of science are logic and observation. A scientific understanding of the world must (1) make sense and (2) correspond with what we observe. Both elements are essential to science and related to three major aspects of the overall scientific enterprise: theory, data collection, and data analysis" (Babbie, 2014, p. 7). Is your theory sound and based in empirical evidence or is your theory in reality a disguised personal opinion without any empirical support? Logic dictates clarity of thought, while the observation should be detailed and focused; not a general glance.
As such, whenever the discourse focuses on the scientific methods, the core elements are logic, observation, patterns, and comparisons in relation to specific phenomenon (Babbie, 2014).
In addition, what is your unit of analysis of the study: individuals, groups, organizations, and or social artifacts? The answer to this questions should shed light on the core study in-order to make an informed generalization. Aggregates, not individuals is a phase that is foundational for any level of empirical research. Therefore, "social scientists study primarily social patterns rather than individual ones" (Babbie, p. 11). Observations are about groups or the collective behavior of a phenomenon rather one observance that maybe an anomaly at first glance.
References
Babbie, E. (2014). The basics of social research. Wadsworth: United States.
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