Key Studies Flashcards
(34 cards)
What was Laud Humphreys’ (ethnographic) study?
Ethnographic study.
Studies casual sex between gay men in public toilets in the USA, referred to as ‘Tea Room Trade’ within the gay community.
Gay sex was illegal in the USA at this time.
His main method of research was observation, without gaining consent.
He pretended to be a ‘voyeur-lookout’.
A voyeur doesn’t join in but gets pleasure from watching the activities of others, a lookout warns of approaching police.
He furthered his research by tracking down men through their car number plates, saying the interview was a part of the healthy study.
what was Don Kulick (overt observation) study?
Used observation to study transsexual prostitutes in Brazil.
He rented a small room in a house with 13 transsexual prostitutes, referred to as ‘travesties’.
‘I associated with travesties pretty much continually during those 8 months…chatting with them…crowding onto a mattress with them as they lay watching late night action movies on television…I walked the streets with them at their various points of prostitution’.
What was Durkheim (official statistics) study?
Study entitles suicide examined the suicide rates of different groups in society.
He compared the following groups and using official statistics and finding that in each case the group on the left had a higher suicide rate then the group on the right.
For example; city dwellers, older adults, unmarried, married without children.
Members of each group on the left are more socially isolated than those on the right, having fewer ties to bind them together.
Relationship between social isolation and suicide.
What is J. Maxwell’s response to Durkheim?
Coroners have a picture of a typical suicide and a suicide victim.
For example; drowning, hanging, gassing and drug overdose are more likely to be seen as suicides.
The typical suicide victim is often seen a a lonely, friendless, isolated individual with few family ties.
What did Nigel Fielding (covert observation) study?
Conducted a study on the National front, which Fielding considered a racist organisation concerned with white supremacy.
Involved attending local meetings of the Front, during which he concealed his real reason being there.
He contributed discussions, appearing sympathetic to the Fronts beliefs.
What did Howard Parker and his colleagues (questionnaires and ethical issues) study?
Studied illegal drug use.
Responses to questionnaires revealed that individuals we not coping with their drug use.
The researchers had to decide whether to offer help to the individuals or maintain the confidentiality they had promised.
What did Albert Bandura (ethical issues) study?
A group of nursery children watched an adult mistreatreating a Bobo doll.
They were then taken , one by one, to a room containing unattractive toys which included the Bobo doll and a mallet.
Which Bandura had predicted, those who had earlier watched the mistreatment of the Bobo doll were more likely to imitate this behaviour and show aggression towards the doll.
What did Elton Mayo (overt observation) study?
First observed at Hawthorne works of the Western Electricity Company in Chicago in the late 1920s.
The researchers aimed to discover variables affecting work productivity such as light, temperature and rest periods.
Productivity increased whether these variables where increased or decreased.
The only factor explaining their increase in productivity was the worker’s awareness that they were part of the experiment.
What did Shere Hite (questionnaires) study?
Report on family life in three western societies received a great deal of publicity.
More than one in four women ‘have no memory of affection from their father’.
Four out of ten fathers frighten their sons with violent tempers.
31% of women and girls report sexual harassment or abuse by a male family member.
Based on 3028 completed questionnaires.
Self selected volunteer sample.
Distributed 100,000 questionnaires mainly in magazines such as ‘Women against Fundamentalism in Britain’, typical feminist magazines.
What did James Patrick (covert observation) study?
‘A Glasgow Gang Observed’
He wanted to know the lives and lifestyles of the young men who were sent to an approved school.
He was introduced to to a Glasgow Gang by ‘Tim’ who acted as a gatekeeper and was able to smoothe over any problems with James’ unfamiliarity.
What did Declercq (covert observation) study?
Conducted observation in a nursing home, investigating the care of elderly people.
She highlighted the problem of remaining objective, ‘obviously I liked some of the staff better than others, and some of them liked me better than others’.
Her observations, she states, are bound to be influenced by what she felt.
What did William Labov (unstructured interview and interview bias) study?
Found that young black American children responded differently when interviewed in different contexts. Interviewed by a white interviewer in a formal setting, the children said little when asked to describe a toy jet plane. Labov produced evidence to show that the apparent linguistic deprivation was the result of interviewing techniques and not a genuine reflection of the children’s linguistic ability. When a Black interviewer rather than a white interviewer questioned children in a formal setting, they were more forthcoming. They demonstrated the best linguistic skills. Labov identified interviewer bias
What did Howard Becker (unstructured interviews) study?
Study of becoming a marijuana smoker.
Used in-depth interviews with 50 users of drugs. Gained qualitative data, high in validity. But relatively small sample. Ethical problems with confidentiality.
Famously said “deviant behaviour is behaviour people so label”.
What did McCallister and Clark (unstructured interviews) study?
Conducted in-depth interviews with 45 voluntarily childless women and with some of their partners. The study found that relatively few interviewees of either sex had made an early, irrevocable decision not to have children. Their choice of childlessness had come about slowly in the context of their work, personal health, relationships and other life events.
What did Ann Oakley (unstructured interviews) study?
Oakley conducted 40 in-depth interviews with London housewives. The interviews took two hours and she tape recorded the conversations. The sample came from two different areas of London, one predominantly working class and the other predominantly middle class, further determined by the husband’s occupation. The participants were selected from medical records from two general practices. The housewives were aged between 20 and 30 and all were mothers with at least one child under five.
What did Venkatesh (overt observation) study?
Asked poor people and street gang questions, and openly declared his identity ie Sociologist. The community did not believe him and held Venkatesh hostage for 24 hours- believing he was from a rival gang. After realising Venkatesh was not a threat, he was sent to the Gang Leader who invited Venkatesh to study the gang.
What did Eileen Barker’s (ethnographic and mixed methods) study?
Used overt observations to study the Moonies over 7 years. Sociologists must find the time to make notes and write up their study. This is often completed late at night after a day of observations. Under these circumstances, the sociologist is reliant on their memory.
After two years of observing the group first hand, Barker felt that she knew enough about them to design a questionnaire and be confident that she was asking the right questions.
What did Sarah Thornton (covert observation) study?
Studied club cultures.
Observation
Thornton’s age meant she was slightly older than the group she was studying, making it more difficult to be accepted by the youth, or built trust and rapport.
What did Stephen Frosh (focus groups) study?
Stephen Frosh et al (2002) Young masculinities: Focus group
Understanding boys in contemporary society wanted to find out how boys in the early years of secondary school arrived at an idea of what masculinity means to them and how this impacted upon their behaviour and their learning. Due to the group dynamic, the boys openly discussed fears and anxieties in the group interviews, and Frosh was able to collate a considerable amount of enriched data
It’s likely the boys talked to their peers about the content discussed in the focus group
What did Tonkiss (focus groups) study?
Online Focus Groups.
Found that FG discussions are problematic because they are often asynchronous with contributions being made at different times. Online focus groups undermine the natural flow of communication and interaction. This can make interviews awkward, and any disengage.
What did Mac-and-Ghail (methodological pluralism) study?
Mixed methods approach.
Studied African-Caribbean boys in schools and youth organisations. He used interviews and observations to collect qualitative data and he backed this up with statistical data he collected from the organisations. He could check that the boys’ stories matched the data from the institutions. The two methods supported each other.
What did Jane Elliot (focus groups) study?
Educator and Social Scientist, Jane Elliot used experiments and focus group discussions in her ‘How Racist Are You?’ research, which was broadcast on channel 4 in 2014, attempted to recreate her Blue Eye, Brown Eye Experiment with adults. The group became hostile, due to conflicting views regarding racism where many white participants argued racism is no longer an issue, and Black participants accused the White of ‘colour-blindness’.
What did Joseph (focus groups) study?
In early HIV/AIDS research (Joseph et al 1984 Coping with the threat of aids), epidemiologists used focus groups to gain a better understanding of at-risk groups with whom they had little prior experience, such as gay and bisexual men.
What did Morgan (focus groups) study?
Why things go wrong in focus groups (1996)
Claims that social scientists often facilitate focus groups to allow groups who face discrimination or social exclusion to unite and voice their experiences. This increases validity.
