1. Approaches to research methods Flashcards
what are the key concepts of research
Validity Reliability Representativeness Generalisability Objectivity Ethics
What is validity
validity is data that is valid and an accurate reflection of what is being studied EG: Census’ are more valid than crime statistics
What is reliability
If a study is being repeated with similar recordings the data is seen as reliable EG: Questionnaires are more consistent than interviews
What is representativeness
With research being carried out on a sample we have to ask how representative those studied are of the rest of society
What is Generalisability
This is where data obtained from a sample can be applied to the whole population: if data isn’t representative then it cant be generalised.
What is Objectivity
Research must be conducted in an impartial or unbiased way. To remain objective means to remove personal values and beliefs from research so they dont affect results.
What is ethics
Ethics deal with right and wrong: it is wrong to hurt anyone so steps must be taken to protect people.
What are the three approaches to research
Positivist approach (quantitative data) Interpertivist approach (Qualitative data) Realism
What is positivism
Developed by Emile Durkheim
Positivism involves collecting info about social facts (aspects of behaviour that can be counted) EG: Age.
As data can be counted, patterns can be identified and its possible to detect correlations and can see if theres a casual relationship between social facts or coincidence
Positivists mimic scientific approach and seek to find laws that explains behaviours in the natural world
Examples of casual and non-casual relationships
A casual relationship is where one specific thing can make another thing happen EG: smoking causes lung cancer.
A non casual relationship is where something coincidentally result of something EG: Lung cancer isnt always caused by smoking behaviour
What is interpretivism
This approach prefers to collect detailed accounts into words, this allows researchers to find out people feelings, attitudes and experiences.
Rather than wanting to know how many people go to University, interpertists want to know why people go to university.
They dont look for casual relationships as they see human behaviour as different from the behaviour of things in the nature world: Humans consider what things mean and then decide to act
What is realism
Positivists are criticised because social research cant mimic the approach of natural sciences EG: Social experiments arent the same as Lab experiments.
Realists argue that the best way to do research is to recognise that both interpretivism are useful.
Realists select methods that are most suitable for the issue thats being studied.
What are the Factors affecting selection of methods
- What they wish to find out
- The topic or issue being studied
- What information is already available
- Their preference for quantitative or qualitative date
- How much time and money they have
What is primary data (source)
Primary data (source) is data that is collected by those who are using it EG: Jan Pahl used interviews to investigate how families made decisions
What is secondary data (source)
Secondary data (source) is data that is collected by others Eg: Census
