 Dear students, in this module we are going to talk about doing sociology or in other words what are the practical steps through which we can gain reliable sociological knowledge which is through the research process. So research in the field of sociology is a step by step process. Let us see that how we begin this as a process and how we yield the results and findings. First step in this process is defining the research problem and research question. When we talk about research problem or research question, then necessarily this does not mean that any social problem will be a research question or a research problem. Social problem and research problem have a very clear difference because social problem can be called any problem in the society due to which a certain number of people are being affected. Whereas the research problem which the sociologist constructs, logically constructs, its justification provides how this research cap is present in existing literature and to fill this cap we need new research. Next step is that we need to develop a research hypothesis which we can see from a theoretical lens. The theoretical lens is important because any research process has a hypothesis and its results do not reflect any kind of meaning in itself. Social scientists when they see a specific lens, whether it is a critical lens, whether it is a positive lens or an interpretive lens, we can interpret those findings by looking through it. So in the research process, when you construct any research problem, after that you convert it to a hypothesis and then you tell that which theoretical lens we are going to test. Then selecting an appropriate research design and research method. When we talk about research design or research method, then this is dependent on your research hypothesis or research question. You are going to survey, you are going to participate in the observation, you are doing case study or you are using secondary data, all these research methods are related to the logic of research. So your primary steps guide you to what your research method should be. Then collecting the data through primary or secondary sources depends on the scope of your research. You are going to do research on a national level or you are going to do a desk work, desk study in which you have to look at secondary data, you have to look at archival records or you are going to do participant observation or you are experimenting. So your research scope depends on whether you are using primary data or you are using existing record of data. For example, if there is a census, then the census can be a secondary source of data or any household research based survey, then you can use it as secondary data. Then analyzing and interpreting the data using statistical or qualitative methods. Two types of methods are used in the field of research. We will discuss them in detail in the future. For example, qualitative data or quantitative data. So it will depend again on the logic of your research on how you are analyzing your data and how you are interpreting it later on. If there are statistical findings, then they will be quantitative. If the nature of your data is that in which you are using the verbatim of respondents or you are analyzing the text or its content qualitatively, then it will be qualitative data. Then next step is very crucial in drawing conclusions and making generalizations based on the data. Whatever data you have, the interpretation is necessary. Independently, it cannot make any sense at all. Facts are subject to interpretation. And the interpretation that is always guided by your theoretical framework. You are analyzing it from a conflict perspective or a critical approach. You are using a positivistic or structural finalist approach. Or you are using an interpretivist approach, a symbolic interactionist approach. And you are taking it in the sense of meaning and symbols. Then disseminating the research findings through publication or presentations. The next step is what is the value or utility of your research. And what is your purpose of producing this research. You are doing this research for an article. You are doing research to produce a formal academic dissertation. You are doing research to write your thesis. Whatever your purpose will be at the end of the day, that's going to be the end product of your research. Example, if we look at it, we can conduct a study on the impact of social media. Social media's impact on the mental health among the Pakistani youth. If we consider it as a research or a hypothesis. What is the impact of social media on the mental health among the Pakistani youth? So through all these research processes, we can construct a complete study design with this research hypothesis. And we can see whether the impact of social media is on the Pakistani youth's mental health or not. For this, we have to look at the independent variable. And what is the nature of the research question that will guide us. Whether we will use qualitative methods or quantitative methods. And after that, where will the data be collected? It depends on your feasibility. How much will be the scope of your research? Can you draw a representative sample of the youth at the level of the whole Pakistan? Can you collect the data practically through sampling? Can you interpret it after analyzing it? Can you draw conclusions about the impact of social media on the mental health of the Pakistani youth?