Choosing a research method Flashcards
1
Q
What is primary data?
A
- Collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes
- For example social surveys= asking people questions in a written questionnaire, participant observation= sociologists join in with the group they are studying, experiments= laboratory or field, sociologists can get what they need but it is costly and a time consuming process
2
Q
What is secondary data?
A
- Data gathered by someone else for their own purposes but which can be used by sociologists
- For example
- official statistics= Produced by the government, charities, businesses,e.c.t
- Documents= letters, emails, diaries
- Secondary data is quicker and cheaper but it may not provide exactly what sociologists need
3
Q
What is quantitative data?
A
- information in numerical form for example number of girls who passed 5+ GCSE’s
4
Q
What is qualitative data?
A
- rich description of peoples feelings and experiences for example what does it feel like to get good GCSE results
5
Q
What are the practical issues influencing choice of methods?
A
- time and money- large scale surveys involving lots of interviewers are expensive but a small scale survey involving one researcher might take years to complete
- Requirements of funding bodies- those funding the research may require the results to be in a particular form e.g. GCSE results quantitative data
- Personal skills and characteristics- sociologists personal skills may affect their ability to use a different method, e.g. interviews require a rapport to be established
- Subject matter= no point using a questionnaire with individuals who cannot read or write
- Research opportunity= sometimes things present themselves unexpectedly it is not possible to use structured methods like questionnaires which take time to prepare
6
Q
What are the ethical issues in choosing a choice of method?
A
- informed consent- research participants must be given the right to refuse to be involved, they must be told about all aspects of the study, if research is lengthy then informed consent should be established at intervals throughout
- Confidentiality + privacy= researchers must not identify participants and data on participants must be kept confidential
- Harm to research participants= researchers must be aware and prevent the possible effects of their study on participants thus preventing harm
- Vulnerable groups= When researching children consent from both child and parent is needed and child friendly language must be used
- Covert research= when researchers identity and research purposes are hidden from participants, involves deception as informed consent is impossible here, e.g. gaining access to dangerous groups
7
Q
What are the theoretical issues in influencing a choice of method?
A
- Validity= a method which produces a true/genuine picture of what something is like. Is qualitative data more valid because participant observation gives a deeper first hand experience
- Reliability= enables replicability as a reliable method, if repeated by another researcher gives the same results is quantitative data more reliable?
- Representativeness= whether or not the people we study are typical cross section of the group we are interested in, if our samples are representative or typical of the wider population, we can make generalisation about wider society
8
Q
What is a methodological perspective?
A
- Their view of what society is like and how we should study it
9
Q
What are the two methodological perspective on choice of methods?
A
- Positivists= quantitative data, pattern of behaviour and sociology as a science
- interpretivists = Qualitative data, meanings, sociology cannot model itself on the natural sciences
10
Q
Who takes a interpretivist and positivists approach?
A
- Functionalists and Marxists take a positivist approach as they view society as large scale (macro-level.)
- Interactionists= interpretivists approach, micro-level, small scale, face to face interview
11
Q
What are the factors influencing the choice of topic?
A
- Sociologists perspective= a major influence on choice of research topic, e.g. feminists in opposition to gender oppression
- Society’s values= Sociologists are part of the society they study and are influenced by its values
- Practical values= some areas are simply inaccessible despite their interest
- Funding bodies= the funding body paying for the research will determine the topic to be investigated
12
Q
What s triangulation?
A
- involves a combination of methods, e.g. unstructured interviews to gain insight and then questionnaires to develop further questions for a larger sample
- using more than 2 methods obtain a more rounded picture, studying something from more than one viewpoint
- Combining methods compliment each other, strengthen one countering the weakness of the other
13
Q
Explain formulating an aim or hypothesis in the process of research
A
- Positivists favour hypothesis which seek to discover the cause and effect relationships via quantitative methods
- An aim is opened ended, it involves gathering data on anything that appears interesting about a situation
- interpretivists favour an aim over a hypothesis, interested in finding actors’ meanings rather than imposing the research’s own possible explanation in the form of a hypothesis
14
Q
What is a hypothesis?
A
- A hypothesis is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove it true or false or a causes and effect statement e.g. difference in family size cause difference in achievement
- If the hypothesis is false, it is discarded and a new hypothesis is formulated and tested. A hypothesis gives direction to research
15
Q
What is operationalising concepts?
A
- converting a sociological concept e.g. class into something that can be measured
- this is a problem as different sociologists may operationalise the same concept differently
- positivists operationalisation is important creating/testing hypotheses
- interpretivists have a less emphasis on operationalising concepts, more interested in actors own definitions and understanding
