Key research concepts

Question 1

Qualitative

Answer 1

Textual information including great deal of data and can explore motivations and emotions, rather than just factual descriptions and correlations

Question 2

Quantitative

Answer 2

Numerical form of data = easy displayed in a graph table can reveal patterns and trans, but cannot reveal the reasons for them

Question 3

Primary data

Answer 3

Data as sociologist collect themselves for the purpose of the specific piece of research

Question 4

Secondary data

Answer 4

Data already collected and available to sociologists

Question 5

Validity

Answer 5

Refers to research, giving a true and accurate picture of what is being studied

Question 6

Reliability

Answer 6

Refers to your extent to which we were to repeat the method it would produce the same/similar result, the result should be easy to replicate with a different but similar group of people

Question 7

Representativeness

Answer 7

Refers to extent to which the sample selected is a fair reflection of the target population

Question 8

Generalisability

Answer 8

Refers to ability to make claims about the target population from the research findings

Question 9

Pilot studies

Answer 9

Small scale studies that are practice run for the main research