experiments

Question 1

important studies

Answer 1

milgram, bandura

Question 2

laboratory experiments

Answer 2

controlled environment to test hypotheses

experimental group - where the independent variable is changed

control group - no change to independent variable

Question 3

practical strengths of lab experiments

Answer 3

cost / time - can be done quite quickly if facilities are readily available and at little cost

Question 4

practical limitations of lab experiments

Answer 4

control of variables - society is complex - cant control all variables

snapshot - no historical dimension

small sample

Question 5

ethical strength of lab studies

Answer 5

beneficial for society - provide outcomes useful to society

debriefing - negate some issues of lack of informed consent

Question 6

ethical limitation of lab experiments

Answer 6

informed consent - some people may not understand the nature of the experiment

harm - can cause distress

Question 7

theoretical strengths of lab experiments

Answer 7

reliability - can be repeated and statistical analysis checked

detachment

objectivity

cause and effect

positivism

Question 8

theoretical limitations of lab experiments

Answer 8

validity - part of experiment - hawthorne effect

ecological validity

representativeness - small scale

interpretivism

Question 9

positivist perspective on lab experiments

Answer 9

favour lab experiments - causal laws to be established
- manipulation of independent variable and measuring effect on dependent variable

objective - valid

Question 10

interpretivist perspective on lab experiments

Answer 10

do not produce valid, accurate data - artificial environment and do not encourage natural behaviour

cannot reveal how interactions occur between people and only produce a snap shot

Question 11

feminist perspective on lab experiments

Answer 11

create an unequal power relationship between dominant research and compliant participant

often male scientist - ignore female experience

Question 12

field experiments

Answer 12

take place in subject’s natural environment

Rosenthal and Jacobson - pygmalion in classroom

Question 13

practical strengths of field experiments

Answer 13

access - study groups who would not grant access in controlled setting- Rosenhan - students admitted to psychiatric hospitals

Question 14

practical limitations of field experiments

Answer 14

access - small number of participants due to opportunistic sampling

Question 15

ethical strengths of field experiments

Answer 15

useful for society - field experiments tell sociologists about how individuals behave

Question 16

ethical limitations of field experiments

Answer 16

informed consent - often deceived about the true nature of the research or unaware part of experiment - covert study

Question 17

theoretical strengths of field experiments

Answer 17

validity - research takes place in wider society so people should behave more natural manner

validity - true nature of research is often kept covert - less impact of expectancy effect and hawthorne effect

Question 18

theoretical limitation of field experiments

Answer 18

validity - if know part of experiment - hawthorne effect

control of variables - harder to control variables in the field

reliability - difficult to accurately replicate

Question 19

positivist perspectives of field experiments

Answer 19

lack in validity - harder to control extraneous variables that may affect participant behaviour separately from independent variable

reduces objectivity of field experiments and minimises accuracy of patterns of causation

Question 20

interpretivists perspectives on field experiments

Answer 20

favour over lab experiments

involve observations and analysis of more natural behaviour

argue the structured nature of field experiments and resulting quantitative data limits validity

does say why for behaviour - triangulation

Question 21

the comparative method

Answer 21

cause and effect relationships

groups identified by sociologist for being similar is all aspects bar one variable we are interested in then compare groups

Question 22

practical strengths of comparative method

Answer 22

fewer responses needed - reducing need for expenses and training

Question 23

practical limitation of comparative method

Answer 23

control over variables - harder to accurately control all relevant variables so limited validity and research may not be relevant

Question 24

ethical strength of comparative method

Answer 24

ethical issues - should avoid issues of causing harm and gaining informed consent

Question 25

ethical limitations of comparative method

Answer 25

sensitive issues - involves analysing data and establishing causal laws through the inductive meethod

• cold and clinical way of researching sensitive topics eg suicide - Durkheim

Question 26

theoretical strengths of comparative method

Answer 26

artificiality - less artificial than studying groups in laboratory so should have higher ecological validity

historical - can be used to study past events and groups

Question 27

theoretical limitations of comparative method

Answer 27

a thought experiment - groups selected may differ by more than one variable

validity - data you collect may not be accurate

Question 28

positivist perspective on comparative method

Answer 28

if conducted using quantitative data - good way of establishing causal laws

involves induction - sociologists analyses evidence in objective way and creates hypothesis

Question 29

interpretivist perspective on comparative method

Answer 29

does not favour comparative method due to the reliance on quantitative data that can easily be distorted to lack validity