Component 2: Research Methods key terms Flashcards
Access
How the researcher can reach/communicate with their target population
Anonymity/privacy
The identity of participants should be kept secret by the researcher in Order to protect them from negative effects
Confidentiality
Information that can be linked to individuals should be avoided
Covert observation
When a participant/s are not aware that they are being observed
Deception
This occurs when participants are misled about some/all aspects of the study
Ethical issues
Moral concerns about the benefits are potential harm of research to the people being researched, to researchers themselves and to society I.e. deceiving people, harming people
Ethnography
The study of the way of life of a group of people
Focus groups
A group of people will be encouraged to discuss and issue, whilst the researcher acts as a facilitator/moderator
Gatekeeper
A person/group who can control access to the target populations. They can help a researcher to access ‘hard to reach’ groups
Generalisability
The extent to which the results from a study can be applied to the whole
Population from which the sample were
Going native
A researcher spends so long with a group that they become sympathetic to their way of life and omit (leave out) any negative analysis
Informed consents
Participants should be given all the information about the study and have the right to choose to be a part of it before it begins
Longitudinal studies
An observational research
Ethos in which data is gathered for the same subjects repeatedly over a period of time
Methodological pluralism
Term that is used when theoretical approaches are combined. An approach based on the principle of choosing the most suitable methods for the nature of the problem being researched
Non-participant observation
The researcher studies the life of the person (or group) by observing but not sharing in its activities
Objectivity
Research is carried out in such a way that it is not impacted on by the researchers own attitudes/opinions
Overt observation
When a participant/s knows they are being observed, and the purpose of the observation
Participant observation
The observes studies the life of the person (or group) by sharing in its activities
Practical issues
Influences that have an actual or physical impact on the ability to carry out a piece of research I.e. how much time they take
Primary research
Information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purpose
Protection from harm
Researchers need to be aware of the physical, mental and emotional effects of their research on participants and themselves
Qualitative data
Information in the form of words rather than numbers
Quantitative data
Information in numerical form
Questionnaires
A questionnaire is a list of questions that participants read and answer themselves and is therefore known as self-respondent. It can be on paper or online
Rapport
People understand each other’s thoughts and feelings and are able to communicate well
Realism
The most appropriate methods are used to research the topic/issue, rather than following a strict positivist or interpretivist approach
Reliability
If the research was repeated in the exact same way on another occasion or by a different researcher, the findings would be consistent
Representativeness
The extent to which the participants in a study are a true reflection of the population they are taken from, for example, in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, etc
Sampling frame
A list of everyone in the target population
Secondary research
Information that has been collected or created by someone else but used by sociologists
Self respondent
Participants answer the questions themselves rather than the researcher recording them
Semi-structured interview
The interviewer has a list of questions or key point to be covered and works through them in a methodological manner. Similar questions are asked of each interviewee, although supplements questions can be asked as appropriate
What does sensitivity mean?
Researchers need to be aware of topics that may be personal and emotionally distressing for their participants and ensure they do not put them under pressure
Social desirability
When a participant gives a response or behaves in a way that they think will be more acceptable to the researcher
Social profile of researcher
Any aspects of the researcher that would impact on the study I.e. sex, age, ethnicity
Operationalisation
Clearly defining a term to make it measurable
Standardisation
The process in which procedures used in research are kept the same for example asking all participants the same question
Structured interview
The interviewer asks the interviewee a series of specific questions, to which a fixed range of answers are possible. This is the typical form of interview used in social survey research, and can provide quantitative data, as in questionnaire
Target population
The group of people that the researcher is interested in studying e.g. students, criminal gangs
Theoretical issues
Concerns relating to the theoretical perspective the sociologist has, i.e. whether they want to collect qualitative or quantitative data, whether it is important to collect a lot of data or detail data
Triangulation
The use of multiple or mixed methods to cross check and verify the reliability of a particular research method and the validity of the data
Unstructured interview
The interviewer uses at most an ‘aide memoir’ - notes to jog the memory - rather than a list of questions. The interview may be like a conversation, with the interviewer responding to the interviewee and letting them speak freely
Validity
How true to life the data is
Value freedom
Not making judgements about what you see, remaining objective
Verstehen
To see the social world through the eyes of those being studied
Researcher bias
If a researcher allows their attitudes to impact on the research, they are less likely to collect data that is true to life
Mixed methods
Contemporary researchers will often use a combination of the two approaches if it will be appropriate for their study.
