approaches to sociological research and research issues

Question 1

mixed-methods approaches

Answer 1

using more than one method in a research project, often combining both qualitative data and quantitative techniques

Question 2

case study

Answer 2

a study of a particular instance of something

Question 3

ethnography

Answer 3

the study of the way of life of a group of people in order to understand their world from their perspective

Question 4

life history

Answer 4

a case study of an individual’s life

Question 5

longitudinal study

Answer 5

a study of the same group of people over time

Question 6

sample attrition

Answer 6

the reduction in the size of the original sample over time

Question 7

methodology

Answer 7

a theory about how research should proceed

Question 8

value free

Answer 8

objective, impartial and unbiased

Question 9

social facts

Answer 9

the institutions, norms and values of society

Question 10

vestehen

Answer 10

as used by Weber, an approach or interpreting the meanings and motives that direct individual action, It involves understanding research participants’ situations as they themselves understood them

Question 11

methodological pluralism

Answer 11

the use of a plurality of range of research methods, including both quantitative and qualitative methods

Question 12

triangulation

Answer 12

a way of cross-checking the validity of research findings by, for example, using mixed methods

Question 13

deductive approach

Answer 13

starting with a theory and using evidence to test that theory

Question 14

falsification

Answer 14

looking for evidence to disprove a theory

Question 15

grounded theory

Answer 15

starting from ‘concrete data’ and building upwards to theory

Question 16

inductive approach

Answer 16

starting with evidence and developing a theory from that evidence

Question 17

normal science

Answer 17

science which operates within an established paradigm

Question 18

paradigm

Answer 18

a framework of concepts and theories which states how the natural world operates

Question 19

scientific revolution

Answer 19

the overthrow of an established paradigm by a new paradigm

Question 20

‘malestream’ sociology

Answer 20

the male bias built into the assumptions of mainstream sociological approaches such as functionalism

Question 21

realist view

Answer 21

an approach which assumes that events in both the natural and social worlds are produced by underlying structures and mechanisms

Question 22

closed system

Answer 22

a system in which all the variables can be controlled

Question 23

open system

Answer 23

a system in which it’s impossible to control all of the variables

Question 24

subjectivity

Answer 24

a personal view based on an individual’s values and beliefs

Question 25

relativism

Answer 25

the idea that all knowledge is relative to time, place, culture and the individual

Question 26

meta-narratives

Answer 26

grand theories designed to reflect feminist ideals and values

Question 27

feminist methodology

Answer 27

a methodology designed to reflect feminist ideals and values

Question 28

reflexivity

Answer 28

in the context of research, reflecting on yourself, looking back at your research, and examining how your values and background might have influenced your findings

Question 29

gatekeep

Answer 29

the person or group in a particular setting such as school with responsibility for allowing (or otherwise) a researcher to undertake research in that site.

Question 30

bias

Answer 30

error or distortion in the data arising from the way evidence is collected or interpreted