Social Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social Research - Essay Example Another problem is how to be objective and, at the same time, practical, because the researcher wants to understand society as well as to change it or transform it with the findings of the research. (Myrdal, 1969). 2.- There is an irrational taboo about discussing the influences of tradition, environment, and personality of the researcher. So the aim of the sociology of social sciences should be to destroy that irrational taboo, and the philosophy of social sciences should be aimed at finding logical means for achieving objectivity in social research. The latter is the topic of Myrdal's essay. Sociology and philosophy of social science research are important since they try to avoid systematic biases in research and faulty knowledge. The theoretical knowledge is related to cause and effects issues, and the practical or political knowledge is related to the means and ends issues. (Myrdal, 1969). 3.- The solution of the logical means is to dsicover the valuations that are actually determining the theoretical and the practical research, to find the relevance, significance, and feasibility of them in order to transform them into specific value premises for research, and to determine the approach and define the concepts in terms of value premises that have been explicitly stated. (Myrdal, 1969). 5.- Beliefs are the ideas about how reali... Through comparison it can be detected if the beliefs are true or false. But valuations are very complex since they are shifting and contradictory. It can be argued that behavior happens through selective focusing and it is really opportunistic. Besides that it can be stated that there are higher and lower valuations. Most of the time lower valuations are selfish in the process of rationalization when the individual tries to find good reasons that are not true reasons behind his/her behavior. So Myrdal argues that "All ignorance, like all knowledge, is opportunist." Private or personal opinions and public or political opinions are different most of the time. (Myrdal, 1969). 6.- Social research questionnaires should include quantitative questions in which the respondents could not give their valuations about reality. 7.- In order to measure the valuations of the respondents a different set of questions should be conducted for measuring them indirectly. Myrdal's ideas are very important for the researcher to be taken into account when conducting social research due to the fact that biases and faulty knowledge can be avoided in a systematic way. The issues related to the irrational taboo about the influences of tradition, environment, and personality should also be addressed appropriately by the researcher. A good research should differentiate among the concepts of opinions, beliefs, and valuations. By doing so the researcher can infer facts and policies of real value for the research community. The aim is to come up with valid and reliable data from the social science research that can be useful for understanding and transforming the social

Super Format and Rapid Development of TV Formats Essay

Super Format and Rapid Development of TV Formats - Essay Example Additionally, with the increase in demand, a lot of investors came up with new ideas that saw the production of programs to match the demands of the customers in the markets. On the other hand, exploiters came up with the idea of exploiting the novel entrepreneurs with the idea of coming up with interesting and catchy programs that would sell and attract the attention of many individuals in the market. Moran & Malbon (2006) indicate that, with the advent of the digital technology, the global TV market indicated developments in coming up with a digital TV channel, that was directed to the consumers; thus, massive profits were indicated by the investors in the industry. TV super formats According to the research conducted by Ward (2003), TV super formats can be referred to as the elements that are in various ways completely invariable, and in which other programs are derived from. This basically refers to the derivation of many programs from a singular element, as a result of manipulat ion of systems to come up with a new program. TV super formats are, therefore, concepts derived from an original program that are reproduced in another for a different audience. With the right documentation these TV formats can be sold internationally for the original concepts to be replicated in other countries. Right documentation, here, refers to trading licenses between the seller and the buyer of the formats (Ward, 2003). With a lot of competition being experienced in the TV and broadcasting industry, there was a dire need by the broadcasting markets to diversify the rules of governing the broadcasting markets. In the long run, trade in the TV broadcasting saw the inclusion of many more traders; thus many players in the industry (Chalaby, 2011). Rapid development of TV formats Private channels Many parts of the world have experienced an upward trend in the number of channels airing programs. Research by Holmes and Jermyn (2004) shows that in prior years, national channels domin ated the television sets in various countries, whereby viewers had no choice but to view whatever programs were aired. However, this trend took a dramatic change with the privatization of channels in many countries. In their quest to win over the viewers, these channels went looking for interesting and catchy programs to draw the interest of the viewers. The most viable way to do this was to concentrate on format programs. With time, privately owned television networks increased in number and completion for audiences was rife, with each trying its best to attract as many audiences as possible. In most cases, national broadcasters lagged behind in the completion for viewership, as they did not want to air programs that supported other nation’s talents and capabilities. The battle, therefore, was among the privately owned television channels. This completion fuelled the rise and spread of format TV. The investors and entrepreneurs in of these privately owned channels are, there fore, the catalysts for the rise in TV formats. Audience Audiences all over the globe have shown a particular liking to TV format programs over original ones. According to Holmes (2004) the concept of TV formats cannot be alienated from a discussion of the communication industry as far as television is concerned. Television formats are vital in the case of journalists and viewers of