20 markers

Question 1

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the claim that what questionnaires gain in reliability and representativeness, they lose in validity. 20 marker.

Answer 1

para 1 Positivist researchers in particular see mailed questionnaires as a very effective research tool because they are a reliable method that generates representative.. This means that

However - the item also suggests that using the data would be unreliable because the data would lose validity

Question 2

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of different types of interviews in sociological research.

Answer 2

para 1 - structured interviews

• however unstructured interviews may be more useful ..

para 2 - structured interviews - favored by postivits because they have a standardises style of delivery

para 3 - Group interviews- are usefull because ..
- On the other hand they are not useful because they lack reliability this is because they cant be repeated

however unstructured interviews may be more useful because there is increased flexibility which means that respondents are less constrained and which means that

• para 4 - On the other hand unstructured interviews lack reliability this is because each interview is unique and may have interview bias which undermines the reliability of the interviews

Question 3

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of different kinds of secondary data in sociological research

Answer 3

• secondary data is data that has been collected by someone else
• Para 1 - secondary data is useful because .. it is collected in large scales for example the census or data in the form of official stats that have been collected by governments this enables researchers to access large scale data using the resources that go beyond the normal sociologists. Also suggests it is useful because comparisons can be made over time

on the other hand it is not useful because ..stats and government data reflects the bias of those in power which means that there are limits on what can be truly reflected suggesting that this lacks validity .. furthermore stats ca be diffficult to measure over time example crime stats because they are continuously changing

para 2 secondary data is useful because .. it is qualitative data such as diaries , newspapers papers which means that verstehen can be achieved thi s is the idea of emphatic understanding furthermore positivist would favour secondary data such as oficial stats and the census because it take the scientific approach which is representative and reliable
- On the other hand

para 3 . secondary data is useful because

Question 4

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the claim that whether sociology can be a science depends upon what we mean by a science in the first place.

Question 5

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the view that conflict approaches are more useful than consensus approaches to our understanding of society.

Answer 5

intro - society is divided between conflict and consensus approaches , according to funct society is harmonious because of the value consensus but according to fem and marx society si divided

• sociologists argue .. marx view society as a conflict betwen the rulling class and the bougisee ..

Question 6

Applying material from the item and your knowledge, evaluate the contribution of different Marxist theorists to our understanding society (20 marks)

Answer 6

para 1 - Traditional marx argues that there are two social classes the bourgeoisie and the proletariat which are in conflict because of exploitation .. False class consciousness and so are unaware of there oppression . marx predicted that there would be a revolution where proletariat see there exploitation but this hasn’t been proven useful ,…

Counter - marx fem argues that this is at the expense of gender inequality which is ignored , ansley suggests that women are the most exploited group due to being the takers of shit

• Para 2 - contribute to our understanding of how social institutions ( superstructure ) keep the status quo and maintain capitalism one example of thiss according to bowles and gintis argues that education system mirrors the workplace with a hierachy and rulkes to follow .. corresponding principle . However, neo-Marxists such as Althusser criticise the traditional Marxist view for focusing too much on the determinism of the economic base of capitalism.

Question 7

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the claim that we are now living in the postmodern age.

Question 8

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the claim that whether sociology can be a science depends upon what we mean by a science in the first place.

Question 9

Applying material from the Item and your knowledge, evaluate the usefulness of different kinds of secondary data in sociological research