6.3 Which methods are used in sociological research?

Question 1

What are longitudinal surverys?

Answer 1

Study the same group of people over a long period of time

Question 2

How an surverys be problematic?

Answer 2

• Respondents may drop out or researchers may lose track of them.
• The danger that research team may get too friendly with members of the group
• They are expensive

Question 3

Strengths of questionnaires (4)

Answer 3

• Can be used for reaching larger and consequently more representative samples
• Questionnaires are less time consuming and cheaper
• Researcher does not influence due to minimal contact
• Wider range of people (postable)
• Positivist are keen to use this = high reliability

Question 4

Weaknesses of questionnaires (3)

Answer 4

• Many people cannot be bothered to reply to questionnaires - low response rate.
• Questionnaires have been critiqued by interpretative sociologists for producing data that is low in validity because they argue that real life is too complex to categorize in closed questions
• Evidence people like to manage the impression other people have of them and can shape responses

Question 5

Strengths of Semi Structured Interviews (4)

Answer 5

• Encourages two-way communication.
• Provides an opportunity so that interviewers can learn answers to questions and the reasons behind the answers
  .- Allows respondents time to open up about sensitive issues.
• Provides qualitative data to compare to previous and future data.

Question 6

Weaknesses of Semi Structured Interviews (3)

Answer 6

- time-consuming to sit down with 
  respondents and conduct an open- 
  ended interview.
- It requires extensive resources.
- It can be challenging to find an -
  interviewer with the right amount of 
  training to conduct the interview 
  properly.

Question 7

Strengths of unstructured interviews (4)

Answer 7

• Favored by Interpretivists
• Suited towards researching sensitive groups
• Flexible. Interview is not restricted to a fixed set f questions
• Richer, more vivid data, data speaks for itself and highly valid.

Question 8

Weaknesses of Unstructured Interviews (2)

Answer 8

• A lot of Data so researcher has to be selective in what he or she actually selects
• Sociological research that has this has less representative of population/ difficult to generalise

Question 9

Why may a sociologist use mixed methods

Answer 9

Check validity of data and checking views of different people to cross check validity

Using a mixed method approach, unexpected data which you can come to later (whole picture, verstehen)

Question 10

Strengths of observation

Answer 10

• checks validity e.g. in interviews are what they saying
  backed up by actual actions
• Primary data

Question 11

What do you need to do for a 20-25 mark source question

Answer 11

2 weaknesses of enquiry

2 strengths of enquiry

Question 12

Strengths of ethnography (2)

Answer 12

• establishes verstehen

- may get into unexpected data

Question 13

Weaknesses of ethnographic research (3)

Answer 13

time intensive
cannot be representative and therefore generalised (unique sample)
Researcher goes native (comes to attached and biases data)

Question 14

Weaknesses of observation (3)

Answer 14

• Attachment toward subjects (researcher effect) going native
• Observational studies can often involve to narrow a view of the group or institution studied because the researcher cannot study the wider social context in which the research population finds itself