Advantages and Disadvantages

Question 1

field experiments

Answer 1

+natural
+hidden meanings
+no Hawthorne effect
-ethical issues
-no control of variables

Question 2

Lab experiments

Answer 2

+unbiased
+scientific
+generalised
+reliable
-harm
-too many variables to control

Question 3

Comparative method

Answer 3

+avoids artificiality
+study past events
-less valid

Question 4

Questionnaires

Answer 4

+practical and objective
+reliable and representative
+ethical
+hypothesis testing
-inflexible
-low response rate and lying

Question 5

Structured interviews

Answer 5

+response rate
+reliable
-inflexible
-feminists state patriarchal

Question 6

Unstructured Interviews

Answer 6

+explore unfamiliar topics
+flexible
-interviewees view
-sensitivity

Question 7

Participant observation

Answer 7

+valid and in depth
+flexible
-time consuming
-stressful and native
-not representative and cant be generalised

Question 8

Covert Participant

Answer 8

+no Hawthorne effect
+easy to gain access
-ethical
-illegal

Question 9

Overt Participant

Answer 9

+ethical, consent and no fear
+make notes openly
-rejection
-Hawthorne effect

Question 10

Documents

Answer 10

+cheap
+no ethical issues
-creditability
-authenticity

Question 11

Official statistics

Answer 11

+cheap long term
+no ethical issues
+large scale
-politically biased
-not face value

Question 12

Qualitative

Answer 12

+insight into different perceptions
+meaning and motives
+give us access to resources that other methods would not allow us to do e.g. historical documents
+people under represented
+useful in informing other research
Social action prefers this , late modern and post modern

Question 13

Quantitive

Answer 13

+used by government when looking at social trends
+structural theorist prefer this as allows them to see big picture