factors influencing choice of method Flashcards
5 practical issues
time/money requirements of funding body personal skills and characteristics subject matter research opportunity
when may subject matter be an issue
if its a male studying an all female group
5 ethical issues
informed consent confidentiality/privacy harm to research participants vulnerable groups covert research
4 theoretical issues
validity
reliability/replicability
representative sample
theoretical perspective
postivists like
quantitative data
to discover cause and effect
to find social facts
to be objective
which 4 research methods do positivists like
official statistics
questionnaires
structured interviews
experiments
why do positivists like the methods that they do
it is representative
reliable - easy to replicate
they follow standardised procedures
interpretivists like
qualitative data
the truth behind social situations
sociology is not a science
which 2 research methods do interpretivists like
unstructured interviews
participant observation
why do interpretivists like the methods that they do
they are valid
can develop a deeper understanding of individuals studied
hawthorne effect
when participants change their behaviour as they become aware of what is being studied
