Definitions for both

Question 1

What are mixed methods?

Answer 1

It recognises people’s social actions are a combination of free will and structural constraints as a combinations of both positivists and interpretivists

Question 2

What is validity?

Answer 2

Whether your research is actually measures what it sets out to measure and if it isn’t valid , conclusions won’t be accurate as it creates misleading information, wasted resources and harmful decisions

Question 3

What is validity for interpretivists?

Answer 3

• It is about getting and accurate and authentic understanding of people’s experiences gaining nuances of social reality
• Peer review
• Allow them to be transparent about methods and biases
• use methods like in - depth interviews and participant observation

Question 4

What is validity for positivists?

Answer 4

They prioritise interval validity, objective and quantifiable data meaning their measurements accurately reflect the concepts they intent to study to truly capture the social phenomena through standardised methods, large - scale surveys and statistical analysis

Question 5

What is reliability?

Answer 5

The consistency of findings if it can be repeated as it suggests the results are not by chance. If it has a high reliability, it suggests and methods are consistent and produce stable results over time. This is ensured through standarised questions, clear response options and trained interviewers. If it is not reliable, it is due to chance or researcher bias

Question 6

What is reliability for interpretivists?

Answer 6

They use interviews to ensure that interpretations are consistent and that different researchers would draw similar conclusions such as multiple researchers to code the same data or using established framework for analysis. However, they don’t seek for their findings to be replicated as social reality is fluid

Question 7

What is validity for positivists?

Answer 7

In a survey or experiment, the results are checked if the the same questions, asked in the same way produce consistent answers from different people over time to allow comparisons and generalisations by standardised procedures and objective methods

Question 8

What is representativeness?

Answer 8

Hw the research can be used to make generalisations about society through participants reflecting a large range of characterisations

Question 9

What is representativeness for interpretivists?

Answer 9

• understand why people think the way they do due to reasons, beliefs, values and contexts
• meanings and motivations
• more focused on selecting participants with understanding of the social phenomena which may not be large scale or statistically representative

Question 10

What is representativeness for positivists?

Answer 10

• use proportionate sampling which is large scale and random to ensure it
• consider aspects of identity, socioeconomic status as well as context

Question 11

What is generalisability?

Answer 11

The extent that research findings can be applied to wider society and groups beyond the context of the research to achieve understanding of a phenomena in society

Question 12

What is generalisability for interpretivists?

Answer 12

• use smaller samples to gain an in - depth understanding of specific contexts and meanings decreasing value of generalisability
• can identify common themes, patterns or processes that might be relevant to similar contexts
• can challenge assumptions about the workings of society due to looking t an individual level
• can lead to further research in different contexts allowing comparisons and a more nuanced understanding of social phenomena

Question 13

What is generalisability for positivists?

Answer 13

They identify patterns because of the large representative samples which can be applied to wider society through identifying universal social laws and patterns across contexts