Choosing a research method

Question 1

What two types of data collection

Answer 1

• Primary & secondary sources of data
• Quantitative data & Qualitative data

Question 2

What is Primary data

Answer 2

Info collected by sociologists themselves for their own purpose
methods for gathering primary data:
* Social surveys - questionnaire or interview
* Participant observation-Sociologists join in with activities of group
* Experimenets-usually use field/comparative method

Question 3

Advantages & disadvanatges of primary data

Answer 3

Advantages:
can gather precise data & test hypothesis
Disadvanages:
costly & time consuming

Question 4

What is secondary data

Answer 4

Information collected by someone else
sources of secondary data
* Official statistics -produced by government -census
* Documents-letters,emails,diairies,offical reports

Question 5

What are the advantages & disadvantages of secondary data

Answer 5

Advantages:
* Quick & cheap ways of doing research
Disadvanatges:
secondary sources may not prrovide exact info sociologists need

Question 6

Quantitative data

Answer 6

Refers to info in numerical form
e.g of quantitative data
official statistics/percentages

Question 7

Qualitative data

Answer 7

gathers insight info
e.g evidence gathered using particpanat observation aims to give us a sense of what i feels like to be member of particular group
In depth interviews-give us insight
thus provides rich descriptions of ppl feelings & experiences

Question 8

Factors influencing chioce of methods
(PET)

Practical issues

Answer 8

Practical issues:
Different methods present different practical problems
* Time & money
* Requirements of funding bodies
* Personal skills & characteristics
* Subject matter
* Research opportunity

Question 9

Explain how time & money is practical issue

Answer 9

Differenet methods require different amounts of time & money
e.g large scale surveys employ many interviews & data imputting staff -great deal of money

Question 10

Requirements of funding bodies-Practical

Answer 10

Research institutes,businesses & organisations provide funding for research require results to be in particular form e.g gov funding research into educational achievement may have targets for pass rates & so require quantitative data

Question 11

How are personal skills & characteristics a practical issue

Answer 11

sociologists possess diff personal skills this affects ability to use diff methods
e.g participant observation requires ability to mix easily with ppl , in depth interviews need to establish a rapport with interviewee -not all sociologists have these qualities

Question 12

subject matter-practical issue

Answer 12

harder to study a group by one method
e.g difficult for male sociologist to study all female group

Question 13

How is research opportunity a practical issue

Answer 13

some research topics are more difficult to gain access to.
e.g Idifficult to gain access to research pupils in schools compared to teachers
some people may be less willing to engage with research than others – those engaged in deviant or illegal activity might not want to be researched because what they are doing is not socially acceptable.

Question 14

Factors influencing choice of methods
(PET)

Ethical issues

Answer 14

Ethical issues refer to moral issues
methods that sociologists use may raise ethical issues
Ethical guidlines for conduct of research
* Informed consent
* Confidentiality & privacy
* Harm to research participants
* Vunerable groups

Question 15

Factors influencing choice of method
PET

Theoretical issues

Answer 15

Theoretical Qs refer to Qs about what we think society is like & whether we can obtain an accurate truthful picture of it.
* Validity- valid method produces true
* reliability
* representatieveness

Question 16

Explain validity as theoretical issue

Answer 16

A valid method produces a true picture of what something is like
Qualitative methods-participant observation give us a truthful account of whatit is like to be member of a group
gives us deeper insight

Question 17

Reliability

Theoretical issue

Answer 17

If research is reliable, it means if someone else repeats the same research with the same population then they should achieve the same results. In order to be reliable, research needs to be easily repeatable. Self-Completion questionnaires have high reliability because it is easy for another researcher to administer the questionnaire again.

Question 18

Representatieveness

Theoretical issue

Answer 18

Research is representative if sample reflects the characteristics of the wider population being studied.
large scale quantitative surveys use sophisticated sampling techniques- sample likely produce representative data

Question 19

Methodological perspectives on choice of method

Answer 19

Sociologists choice of method is influenced by methodological perspectives -their view of what society is like & how to study it
* Positivists prefer quantitative data-seek to dsicover patterns if behaviour & see sociology as a science
.
* Interpretivists prefer qualitative data-seek to understand social actors

Question 20

Positivists view on choice of method

Answer 20

• Positivists asssume society has an objective factual realitty
• society exerts influence over its members -systematically shaping their behaviour
• research uses quantitative data to uncover measurable patterns of behaviour
• analysing quantitative data means they can seek to discover objective scientific laws of cause & effect relationships that determine behaviour
• prefer questionnaires,structured interviews,experiments & official statitsics
• data produced is relaiable & representative

Positivists would argue quantitative research collects ‘objective’ & generalisable data about causes of social problems such as crime, unemployment, educational underachievement
best suited to improving society because governments can use this data to enact large scale social changes.

Question 21

Interpretivists view on choice of method

Answer 21

• Reject the idea of objective social reality-argue we construct reality through meanings we create in our interactions
• our actions are based on meanings we give to situations -not product of external forces
• interpretivists research uses qualitative data to uncover meaning
  By interpreting qualitative data -seek to gain subjective understanding of meanings
  prefer participant observation,unstructured interviews & personal documents

Question 22

Factors influencing choice of topic

Answer 22

• The sociologists perspective-is major influence on choice of research topic
  e.g New right may study effects of welfare benefits on lone parent families -whereas feminists would choose to study DV
• societies values- sociologists are part of society they study-influenced by its valuies
• Practical factors-inaccessibilit of certain situations to researcher-may restrict topic wanted to study
• Funding bodies-most research requires funding from external body e.g government agencies,economic & social research counsil,charities & businesses-as funding body paying for research will afffect the choice of topic

Question 23

The process of reserach

Hypothesis & aim

Answer 23

Once chosen topic of research and a method for investigating it then we have to formulate aim or hypothesis for research
A hypothesis is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting eveidence to prove it true or false