2. research methods

Question 1

What is primary data?

Answer 1

data generated by the researcher during the actual process of research
e.g. questionnaires, interviews and observations

Question 2

What is secondary data?

Answer 2

data that already exists
e.g. historical records, official statistics, government reports, diaries, autobiographies, novels, newspapers, films and recorded music

Question 3

What is quantitative data?

Answer 3

data in the form of numbers
e.g. statistics

Question 4

Why is quantitative data useful?

Answer 4

useful for measuring the strength of possible relationships between various factors, e.g. age and internet use, and ethnicity and educational attainment

Question 5

What is qualitative data?

Answer 5

all types of data that are not in the form of numbers
e.g. observations, interviews, written sources, pictures

Question 6

How is qualitative data useful?

Answer 6

it can often provide a richer and more in depth picture of social life than numbers provided by quantitative data

Question 7

What is meant by reliability?

Answer 7

whether another researcher, if repeating research using the same method for the same research on the same or similar group would achieve the same results

Question 8

What is meant by validity?

Answer 8

validity is concerned with notions of truth: how far the findings of research actually provide a true or genuine picture of what is being studied

Question 9

What is positivism?

Answer 9

the view that society and human behaviour can be studied scientifically
- positivists look to provide solutions to social issues through using scientific research methods to find patterns in behaviour

Question 10

What methods do positivists prefer?

Answer 10

quantitative methods and statistical tests in order to find a causal relationship between 2 factors

Question 11

How did positivists conduct research?

Answer 11

using large-scale research methods, such as: questionnaires, official and non-official statistics, lab and field experiments, structured interviews and observations, content analysis

Question 12

What do interpretivists believe?

Answer 12

they want to gain an understanding of the interpretations and meanings that influence an individual’s behaviour and how people see and understand the world around them

Question 13

What is verstehen?

Answer 13

the understanding of human behaviour by putting yourself in the position of those being studied and trying to see things from their point of view

Question 14

What type of data do interpretivists prefer?

Answer 14

qualitative including: participant and sometimes non-participant observation, informal and unstructured interviews and personal accounts

Question 15

Give an example of an interpretivist study?

Answer 15

Atkinson (1978) study of suicide:
- argues that suicide statistics are simply social constructions reflecting the behaviour of coroners, doctors, relatives and their definitions of suicide

Question 16

What is P.E.T?

Answer 16

Practical issues
Ethical issues
Theoretical issues

Question 17

What is meant by practical issues?

Answer 17

the logistics of an experiment:
- funding, ease of access, time available, researcher’s skills

Question 18

What is meant by ethical issues?

Answer 18

the conduct of the research:
- any harmful consequences, informed consent, accuracy and honesty

Question 19

What is meant by theoretical issues?

Answer 19

whether a Marxist, Functionalist, Feminist, positivist or an interpretivist approach should be applied.

Question 20

What are lab experiments?

Answer 20

they take place in a controlled environment and the researcher is able to control all of the variables that might influence a participant’s behaviour
- they manipulate the IV and measure changes in the participant’s behaviour

Question 21

Strengths and weaknesses of lab experiments?

Answer 21

+ increased reliability
- decreased validity

Question 22

What are field experiments?

Answer 22

take place in the participant’s natural environment, often without their knowledge
- researcher still manipulates the IV and measures the DV but cannot control any extraneous variables
- can only make assumptions based on correlations between one behaviour and another

Question 23

Strengths and weaknesses of field experiments

Answer 23

+ increased validity
- decreased reliability

Question 24

What is meant by operationalise?

Answer 24

making variables measurable and changeable

Question 25

What are natural experiments?

Answer 25

in natural real life environments and the IV is naturally occurring

Question 26

What is the comparative method?

Answer 26

used by positivists
e.g. Durkheim’s study on suicide where he collected statistics from a number of countries
+ compared suicide levels

Question 27

What are questionnaires?

Answer 27

usually designed to produce data that can be easily quantified

Question 28

What 2 main types of questions may be asked in a questionnaire?

Answer 28

open and closed
- open = ask respondents to answer questions in their own words; the respondents have more freedom
- closed = the range of responses is fixed by the researcher; the answers are easily quantifiable

Question 29

What is random sampling?

Answer 29

every member of the sampling frame has an equal chance of being selected; every name is given a number + then a list of random numbers is used to select a sample

Question 30

Strengths and weaknesses of random sampling

Answer 30

+ avoids bias
- not necessarily representative

Question 31

What is stratified random sampling?

Answer 31

the sample frame is divided into groups or strata which reflect the general population e.g. age, gender, ethnicity and class

Question 32

Strength of stratified random sampling

Answer 32

+ more representative than random sampling

Question 33

What is quota sampling?

Answer 33

the sample selection isn’t random; the researcher fills their quota from the first available bodies

Question 34

Strengths and weaknesses of quota sampling

Answer 34

+ simpler, quicker and cheaper
- less likely to produce a representative sample

Question 35

What is snowball sampling?

Answer 35

the researcher finds someone who fits the bill and they are asked to find another person who fits and so on

Question 36

Strengths and weaknesses of snowball sampling

Answer 36

+ successful in creating a sample frame
- unlikely to be representative as its isn’t random

Question 37

What is systematic sampling?

Answer 37

a researcher selects every nth person on the sampling frame to be part of the sample
- the nth person is selected by dividing the target population size by the desired sample size

Question 38

Strengths and weaknesses of systematic sampling

Answer 38

+ simpler and more straightforward
+ lack of bias
- difficulty gaining access to a list of a larger population

Question 39

What is cluster sampling?

Answer 39

divide a population into clusters, such as schools or districts, and then randomly select some of these clusters as your sample

Question 40

Strengths and weaknesses of cluster sampling

Answer 40

+ simple
- participants may not be representative