factors influencing choices

Question 1

ethical - sensitive topics

Answer 1

qualitative methods should be used to build rapport and trust - eg unstructured interviews, participant observations, anonymised secondary data
why:
work closely with participants
bypass ethical challenges by limiting interactions with participants

Question 2

practical: time/money - access to participants

Answer 2

quantitative methods - structured interviews, questionnaires, secondary data analysis, snowball sampling, postal questionnaires
why:
standardised responses from large groups
access to harder to reach groups
avoid cost of original data collection

Question 3

practical: funding and resources

Answer 3

should use methods which align with amount of funds
eg well funded - longitudinal studies - gathering data over years
limited - secondary data analysis or cross sectional study
should consider topics funding bodies are interested in and prefer

Question 4

practical: researcher - social characteristics/personal interests/experiences

Answer 4

may use: qualitative methods for an indepth understanding
eg unstructured interviews, ethnography, case studies
social characteristics can influence studies or present challenges
e.g in participant observations researcher may change the way they act to suit other participants (like in a school) - reduces validity

Question 5

gaps in existing research

Answer 5

exploratory methods - unstructured interviews or open-ended surveys