EL STUDY HUB
UNISA SOC3701
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY STUDY & REVISION GUIDE
Student-created educational resource
For revision and educational purposes only.
DISCLAIMER
This is an independent student-created resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official publication of the
University of South Africa (UNISA). It is based on the creator's own academic work and is intended for study and
revision. Students should consult their current UNISA tutorial letters, prescribed materials and official assessment
instructions.
EL Study Hub • Page 1
, CONTENTS
1. Research traditions and designs
2. Research questions
3. Sampling
4. Data collection
5. Research ethics
6. Quantitative and qualitative approaches
7. Hypotheses and variables
8. Revision prompts
SOURCE-BASED STUDY MATERIAL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA) Department of Sociology
SOC3701: Social Theory in Practice
Module Code: SOC3701
Assignment 2 Due
Academic Year: 2025
Assignment Title: Lived Realities and Local Resilience: Exploring Community
Responses to Water Scarcity in the Eastern Cape.
Question 1: Research Tradition and Design
1.1 Research tradition
For this assignment, I chose the interpretivist research tradition because it helps me
understand how people in my community experience water scarcity in their daily lives.
As someone who lives in the Eastern Cape, I’ve seen firsthand how this issue affects
families, schools, and health. I’m not just writing about it—I’ve lived it.
My research design is qualitative, using interviews and oral stories to hear directly from
people in rural areas. This method allows them to speak in their own words, sharing
how they cope, what they believe, and how they feel about government support. I
believe their voices matter, and this design gives space for those voices to be heard.
I also use world-systems theory and dependency theory to show how global and
historical systems have shaped inequality in places like the Eastern Cape. These
theories help me connect personal stories to bigger patterns of power and poverty.
EL Study Hub • Page 2
UNISA SOC3701
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY STUDY & REVISION GUIDE
Student-created educational resource
For revision and educational purposes only.
DISCLAIMER
This is an independent student-created resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official publication of the
University of South Africa (UNISA). It is based on the creator's own academic work and is intended for study and
revision. Students should consult their current UNISA tutorial letters, prescribed materials and official assessment
instructions.
EL Study Hub • Page 1
, CONTENTS
1. Research traditions and designs
2. Research questions
3. Sampling
4. Data collection
5. Research ethics
6. Quantitative and qualitative approaches
7. Hypotheses and variables
8. Revision prompts
SOURCE-BASED STUDY MATERIAL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA) Department of Sociology
SOC3701: Social Theory in Practice
Module Code: SOC3701
Assignment 2 Due
Academic Year: 2025
Assignment Title: Lived Realities and Local Resilience: Exploring Community
Responses to Water Scarcity in the Eastern Cape.
Question 1: Research Tradition and Design
1.1 Research tradition
For this assignment, I chose the interpretivist research tradition because it helps me
understand how people in my community experience water scarcity in their daily lives.
As someone who lives in the Eastern Cape, I’ve seen firsthand how this issue affects
families, schools, and health. I’m not just writing about it—I’ve lived it.
My research design is qualitative, using interviews and oral stories to hear directly from
people in rural areas. This method allows them to speak in their own words, sharing
how they cope, what they believe, and how they feel about government support. I
believe their voices matter, and this design gives space for those voices to be heard.
I also use world-systems theory and dependency theory to show how global and
historical systems have shaped inequality in places like the Eastern Cape. These
theories help me connect personal stories to bigger patterns of power and poverty.
EL Study Hub • Page 2
