Fundamentals of Social Research conceptualizes the main current of ideas put forward by scholars from the sixteenth century up to the present to comprehend social phenomena and to engage in discovering new ways of seeing the social world. It provides methodological guidelines to researchers engaged in the study of human activity and society and the role of observation and logic in understanding social reality. It deals with the rules of collection of data without any subjective understanding, preconceived notions or prejudices; concerned with theory building in social research; how to keep away the entry of researcher's value in sociological research, how to test hypthesis and how to cope with diversities in social research. This volume will prove useful for researchers pursuing degrees like M.Phil. and Ph.D. in the various disciplines of social science. It will also be valuable for academicians who are supervising research work. It is also beneficial for professionals engaged in the arena of market research, public opinion poll, communication studies, advertisement, book publishing, media studies, political part propaganda, public adminsitration, development projects administration and implementation, personnel management, labour studies and civil society organizations. Contents: Preface | Introduction Part I : Nature and Growth of Social Research 1. Nature of Social Research 2. Growth of Social Research Part II : Philosophical Foundations of Social Research 3. Rationalism 4. Empiricism 5. Idealism 6. Positivism Part III : Contemporary Social Theory 7. Functional Theory 8. Structuralism 9. Critical Theory 10. Post Modernism 11. Phenomenology 12. Hermeneutics 13. Symbolic Interactionism 14. Feminism Part IV : Methodological Guidelines for Social Research 15. Observation and Logic in Social Research 16. Rules of Data Collection 17. Concern with Theory in Social Research 18. How to Test Hypothesis 19. Managing Diversities in Social Research Conclusion | Bibliography | Index