Factors Affecting Choice of Research Method Flashcards
Considerations taken when designing research
data needed - primary/secondary
Ways to Collect Primary Data
Experiments
Interviews/ questionaires (self reports)
Observations
Ways to Collect Secondary Data
Historical Documents
Personal Documents (letters, diaries etc)
Gov Stats
Media Content
Research by other socios
Factors Affecting Sociological Studies
practical
ethical
theoretical
Practical Considerations
factors which makes some methods more/less easy to adopt
Time
Practical
how long does the researcher have to spend & how many researchers are avaliable to carry out the work
Money
Practical
how much funding is avaliable & who is providing it - if takes longer will probs cost more - salaries
Skills & Characteristics of Researcher
Practical
some will be confident w/ stats, others skilled in interviews - may wish to use methods = fam with - gender, age, ethn/ social class may = NB for building rapport in interviews/ ptp obsv/ fitting in
Subject Matter
Practical
some topics lend to certain methods - class dif in health through giv stats
Ethical Considerations
refers to if morally right/wrong & if risks are out weighed by benefit to soc
should avoid illegal activity
Fully Informed Consent
Ethical
ptps should be told what will happen to them & how their data will be used so can decide to ptp
Deception
Ethical
shouldn’t lie to ptps if nec should use safeguards to protect ptps & should = debriefed
Protection from Harm
Ethical
ptps & researchers should = safe psychologically/ physically
Confidentiality & Privacy
Ethical
ptps should not be identifiable & privacy should not be invaded - no unnec priv questions
Theoretical Considerations
whether research = theoretically reliable & valid & researcher’s attitudes to what type of data & methods yield the best results
