approaches to sociological research Flashcards
what are social surveys
a research technique that allows the researcher to have a snapshot of a particular behaviour through methods like questionnaires etc
what is ethnography
a study that seeks to establish how cultural meanings influence human behaviour
what is a case study
an in-depth qualitative study of a particular group or case
what is a longitudinal study
a form of comparative analysis that involves tracking changes among a sample overtime
what is triangulation
when two or more research methods are used , where the weaknesses on one method can be balanced by the strengths of the other.
strengths of case studies
-Focusing on one specific case can provide an insider’s view and a richer and more detailed picture than research based on large samples.
-Uncovers meanings & reasons behind the behaviour
weaknesses of case studies
-Consumes a lot of time, effort, and money.
-Data is difficult to generalize results, so it is not representative
strengths of longitudinal studies
-The vast amount of data collected allows comparison to be made over time.
-Data is high in validity.
-It avoids asking people to recall events from much earlier in their lives when memory might fail them. Therefore the data is more likely to be valid.
weaknesses of longitudinal studies
-Sample attrition due to death, emigration , refusal to participate etc. This leads to a smaller unrepresentative sample size
strengths of triangulation
Triangulation enhances the validity of research findings by providing multiple lines of evidence to support theoretical claims or hypotheses
-Data collected using
higher reliability methods e.g questionnaires can cancel out the weakness in observation methods.
Weaknesses of triangulation
-Time consuming
-Collecting and comparing different types of data can be complicated.
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