Intro into research methods Flashcards
Primary data
Data collected by the researcher first hand
Secondary data
Data that already exists
Qualitative date
Data in the form of words
Quantitive data
Data in the form of numbers
Advantages of primary data
Up to date, exactly what the researcher wants
Disadvantages of primary data
Time consuming, expensive
Advantage of secondary data
Quick, cheap
Disadvantage of secondary data
May not be exactly what the researcher wants
Advantage of qualitative data
Detailed and in depth
Disadvantage of qualitative data
Time consuming and hard to analyse
Advantage of quantitative data
Easy to analyse, quick, large scale
Disadvantage of quantitative data
Lacks detail, depth
What will sociologists have to consider when carrying out research?
- Practical issues
- Ethical issues
- Theoretical issues
What is a theory?
Set of ideas, way of thinking
Macro
Belief that society shapes the individual, little freewill
Micro
Through our interactions with each other, the indivisible shapes society
Positivism
Sociology should be a science
Interpretivisim
Impossible to study humans scientifically
Reliability
If someone repeats the same research, with the same research population, they should get the same results
Validity
If research is valid, it provides a true picture
