The ultimate goal of social science research is to understand, explain, and make inferences about human behavior.
Empirical research emphasizes direct observation and experimentation as a way to answer questions.
Everyday observations are not always made carefully and systematically, nor do they control for factors that may influence the events being observed. Research requires an hypothesis or question to be tested, a methodology that addresses the hypothesis, and analyses that test how well the data answer the research question. Observational Studies . Scientific observations are made under clearly defined conditions, in a systematic, objective manner, and with careful recording. Narrative records provide faithful descriptions of all ongoing behaviors as they happen, without focusing on any particular behavior.