Theory & Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

laboratory experiments

A
  • favored by positivists, lab experiments test hypotheses in a controlled environment where the researcher changes the independent variable and measures the effect on the dependent variable.
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2
Q

advantages of lab experiments

A
  • highly reliable
    can be replicated and the original experiment can specify what steps were followed in the original experiment.
  • can easily identify cause and effect relationships.
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3
Q

disadvantages of laboratory experimens

A
  • artificiality
    lab experiments are carried out in a highly artificial environment and may not reveal how people act in the real world.
  • the Hawthorne effect
    a lab is not a formal or natural environment if people know they are being studied they may act differently.
  • the researcher needs informed consent of the participant
    E.G. SPE (participants were not fully informed of the experiment)
  • the research may show elements of deception in order to find out the cause effects
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4
Q

Questionnaire

A
  • favored by positivists, written or self-completed questionnaires are a form of social survey and can be distributed in a range of ways - notably, via post, emailed, or handed out in person.
  • questionnaires are typically a list of pre-set questions that are close-end questions with pre-coded answers.
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5
Q

advantages of questionnaires

A

practical - questionnaires are cheap and quick

representative - can reach a geographically widespread research sample

reliable - can be easily replicated due to how the questions are pre-set

limited ethical issues - the respondent is under no obligation to answer the question

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6
Q

disadvantages of questionnaires

A

response rate - postal questionnaires in particular obtain a low response rate, which may hinder the representativity

low validity - people may be more willing to lie

unrepresentative - you are likely to get a certain group of people who would be more willing to answer the questionnaire.

structures questionnaires arent qualitative

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7
Q

structured interviews

A
  • involve face-to-face or over-the-phone delivery of questionnaire
  • use a list of pre-set questions designed by the researcher and asked of all interviewees in the same way
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8
Q

advantages of structured interviews

A

practical - training interviews and administrations is easy and cheap

representative - can reach a geographically wide research sample

results are easily quantifiable because they use close-ended questions with coded answers.

reliable -

researchers don’t require a set amount of interpersonal skills

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9
Q

disadvantages of structured interviews

A

lack validity - people may lie f exaggerate

may be time consuming to organize

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10
Q

official statistics

A
  • quantitive data collected by government bodies
  • data is quick cheap and easy to access and is easy to access and covers a wide range of social issues
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11
Q

advantages of official statistics

A

practical - cheap and easy to obtain
easy to access
can easily identify and cross-examine cause-and-effect relationships

representative - often large groups of people

reliable - have to be filled out by law

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12
Q

disadvantages of official statistics

A
  • the government collects these for its own benefit, misinterpreted by sociologists.
  • could have a hidden agenda or miss key info
  • definitions may be different

unreliable - census coders may make errors or people may fill them out incorrectly

  • doesn’t reveal the reasons why the statistics are the way they are.
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13
Q

unstructured interviews

A

the interpretivists - favored method of unstructured interviews

  • mainly ask open-ended questions that produce qualitative data, rich in meaning
  • there is a strong relationship built between the interviewer and interviewee = means the data is more likely to be valid
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14
Q

advantages of unstructured interviews

A

rapport - the informality allows the interviewer to develop a relationship with the interviewee

flexibility - the interviewer is not restricted to a fixed set of questions

valid - they are flexible due to how the conversation is not constrained by fixed questions, people can therefore be more truthful.

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15
Q

disadvantages of unstructured interviews

A

impractical - due to how unstructured interviews are typically longer, they consume ire time and have a smaller research sample

impractical - interviewers need specific interpersonal skills which may be more costly and time-consuming to get

unrepresentative - due to how there is a small research sample, the data obtained is not representative of the wider population

unreliable - due to how the questions are open they cannot easily be repeated by another researcher.
additionally the respondents ability to respond in a way they wish makes it impossible to clarify their responses

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16
Q

participant observation

A

the researcher joins in the activities of the group they are researching

17
Q

advantages of participant observations

A

valid - groups are observed in a natural and authentic setting, therefore the data is more likely to be a true account of the groups behaviour

18
Q

disaadvantages of participant obersvation

A

unreliable - being open-ended and subjective research there is no fixed procedure it standardized system of measurement and cannot be replicated

unrepresentative - most participant observations investigate small-scale groups that are not representative of the wider population

invalid - the researcher is at risk of ‘going native’ meaning the researcher over-identifies with the group

unethical - it is difficult to ensure the anonymity of the participants

practical issues - there are issues with getting into the groups staying in the group and leaving the group.