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Sociology - Research Methods > Key Words > Flashcards

Key Words Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is primary data

A

Data collected first hand by sociologists

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2
Q

What is secondary data?

A

Data already exists and was collected by someone else

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3
Q

What is Quantitative data?

A

Numerical data

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4
Q

What is Qualitative data?

A

Written data in words

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5
Q

What is validity?

A

How true or accurate it is

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6
Q

What is reliability?

A

Whether it can be repeated and still gain the same results

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7
Q

What are the key studies for questionnaires?

A

1.Census-set list of Qs sent by Gov to find out info about the population every 10 years.
2.Connor and Dewson-posted 4,000 questionnaires to students at 14 different unis. Looking for factors that influence the decisions of wc students who go to uni.

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8
Q

What are the practical strengths of questionnaires?

A

1.No need to train interviewers
2.Quick and easy to take part In
3.Easy to quantify and process data by computers due to close ended Qs so easy to identify patterns and trends.

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9
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of questionnaires?

A

1.Limited and superficial data due to cose-eneded and brief nature of the questions
2.Lacks flexibility as once the questionnaire is completed the researcher cannot ask follow up questions

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10
Q

What are the ethical strengths of questionnaires?

A

1.If anonymous they are more ethical as participants can be protected with confidentiality
2.Respondents have no obligation to answer
3.Informed consent can be gained

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11
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of questionnaires?

A

1.Difficult to explore sensitive topics with such structured questions
2.Deception may happen if the data is shared for statistics and participants are unaware

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12
Q

What are the Theoretical Strengths of questionnaires?

A

1.Positivists favour this method as they are structured and gain quantitative data so high in reliability
2.Findings from a large number of people mean results are likely to be more representative
3.As anonymous they allow respondents to give honest answers increasing the validity
4.As anonymous the data is objective

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13
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of questionnaires?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike this method due to the detached and standardised nature as it lacks verstehen
2.Only provide a snapshot and respondents may lie or give socially desirable answers impacting the validity

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14
Q

What is verstehen?

A

Deeper empathetic understanding

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15
Q

What are the key studies for lab experiments?

A

1.Milgram-Particiapants were told they were teachers in an experiment on memory (actually obedience). They had to give the learners increasing electric shocks every time they got and answer wrong. The learners would shout in pain but the scientists in a white coat said you must continue. At 350 volts the learner went silent and over 65% went over 450.
2.Mayo-He altered different variables like lighting, heating, and rest breaks for 5 female workers to see what effect it had on output. Output went up when he improved conditions but it continued to rise even when the conditions worsened.

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16
Q

What are the Practical strengths of lab experiments?

A

1.Quick as few participants required
2.Cheap as only the lab is needed

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17
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of lab experiments?

A

1.Society is too complex to fit into a lab
2.Impossible to control all the possible variables so limited on what can be measured
3.Cannot study the past
4.Can only use small sample so cant investigate large social behaviours like religion

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18
Q

What are the ethical strengths of lab experiments?

A

1.Consent is given by simply attending
2.Participants can be given a debrief after (Milgram)
3.Milgram’s study can be justified as it alerted us to the dangers of blind obedience. 74% said that they had learnt something

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19
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of lab experiments?

A

1.Lack of informed consent
2.Deception - lying to the participants about elements of the study
3.Harm and distress may come to participants. In Milgram’s study some had seizures after and 2 had strokes

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20
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of lab experiments?

A

1.Positivists favour as reliable.
2.Representative as can easily be re-done
3.Objective as standardised structure

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21
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of lab experiments?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike due to quantitative which lacks verstehen
2.Hawthorn effect which reduces validity
3.Lacks ecological validity as fake setting

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22
Q

What are the practical strengths of field experiments?

A

1.Natural environment so higher validity
2.Real life setting to easier to gain access

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23
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of field experiments?

A

1.Less control
2.Hard to identify all the variables

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24
Q

What are the ethical strengths of field experiments?

A

1.Debrief can be done
2.Less disruption and harm

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25
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of field experiments?

A

1.Not always informed consent
2.Deception may be involved
3.Wrong to tamper with a child’s education

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26
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of field experiments?

A

1.Positivists favour as natural environment increases validity
2.Reliable
3.Not always aware so no hawthorn effect

27
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of field experiments?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike as no verstehen due to external factors

28
Q

What are the practical strengths of structured interviews?

A

1.Easy ad cheap to train interviewers
2.Easy and quick to analyse

29
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of structured interviews?

A

Takes more time and not as many can be done than questionnaires

30
Q

What are the ethical strengths of structured interviews?

A

1.No obligations to answer personal questions
2.Can be anonymous
3.Informed consent can be gained

31
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of structured interviews?

A

1.No rapport built so not suitable for discussing sensitive issues

32
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A

1.Positivists favour it due to quantitative data
2.Reliability
3.Limited interviewer bias

33
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of structured interviews?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike as lack verstehen due to closed questions
2.No room to expanded limiting validity

34
Q

What are the practical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A

1.Informal nature allows for a rapport to be built and encourages the interviewer to open up
2.Highly flexible so can expand on questions and ask follow up questions

35
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

A

1.Time-consuming to explore ideas in-depth and build a bond
2.Interviewers need to be trained to ask the right questions sometimes on the spot

36
Q

What are the ethical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A

1.When discussing sensitive issues a rapport and bond of trust can be built
Informed consent can be gained
3.Interviewees do not have to answer any questions they don’t want to

37
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

A

Psychological harm may come to the interviewees when recalling traumatic experiences

38
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A

1.Interpretavists favour as there is freedom with the questions and a rapport can be built gaining verstehen and validity

39
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

A

1.Positivists dislike as the unstandardized questions makes it hard to replicate decreasing reliability
2.Hawthorn effect or interviewer bias may occur
3.Smaller numbers mean less representative

40
Q

What are the practical advantages of participant observations?

A

1.Sociologists can gain first-hand knowledge
2.If overt researcher can openly take notes and ask questions
3.If covert can overcome issues of access

41
Q

What are the practical disadvantages of participant observations?

A

1.Difficulty to get in and get out as trust is needed to gain entry and leaving can involve issues
2.If overt groups may deny access to researchers
3.If covert can be very time consuming to rely on memory and secretly take notes

42
Q

What are the ethical strengths of participant observations?

A

1.If overt can avoid obtaining info through deception and participating in illegal activity
2.Debrief can be done
3.Can remain anonymous

43
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of participant observations?

A

1.If covert involves deception and lack of informed consent
2.If covert researchers may have to take part in illegal or immoral activities

44
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of participant observations?

A

1.Interpretivists favour as less likely to be a hawthorn effect increasing validity
2.Qualitative data gains verstehen

45
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of participant observations?

A

1.Positivists dislike as they lack structure so low in reliability
2.Very time-consuming so often small samples and not representative
3.Can be objective in the way the researcher interprets it
If overt hawthorn effect could occur which limits the validity

46
Q

What are the practical strengths of non-participant observations?

A

1.Observation can be scheduled and pre-determined questions can be asked
2.Natural setting so easier to gain access

47
Q

What are the weaknesses of non-participant observations?

A

1.Can be difficult to gain access to certain groups without building a rapport
2.Time-consuming to see their true behaviour as a researcher

48
Q

What are the ethical strengths of non-participant observations?

A

1.If overt informed consent can be gained
2.Safer for the researcher as they don’t have to prove themselves or worry about their cover being blown

49
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of non-participant observations?

A

1.If covert there is no informed consent and researcher may not reveal the true meaning of the study if they were unwilling to cooperate

50
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of non-participant observations?

A

1.Positivists favour this method as if structured it gains reliability
2.No going native as not actually involved

51
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of non-participant observations?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike as with no involvement there is a lack of verstehen and low validity
2.Hawthorn effect could happen if overt reducing validity

52
Q

What are the practical strengths of statistics?

A

1.Allows comparisons to be made easily between groups or over a period of time
2.Official statistics are collected regularly so data is up to date
3.Quick and easy to access as available online

53
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of statistics?

A

1.Gov collect statistics for own purposes not for research so sociologists may not find what they want
2.The government often change the definition of unemployed to make it look like it has decreased which is inaccurate

54
Q

What are the ethical strengths of statistics?

A

1.No harm due to detached nature - no participants

55
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of statistics?

A

1.It is inappropriate to study sensitive issues like suicide or domestic violence with numbers as it is dehumanising

56
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of statistics?

A

1.Positivists favour this method as due to standardised quantitative data it is highly reliable
2.Able to collect large numbers of data so more representative
3.No interaction with participants so more objective

57
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of statistics?

A

1.Interpretivists dislike due to the brief quantitative data as it lacks verstehen
2.Secondary data so may be less valid

58
Q

What are the practical strengths of documents?

A

1.Some historical documents are the only source of information
2.Cheap, quick, and easy access as it is secondary data and can usually be found online

59
Q

What are the practical weaknesses of documents?

A

1.Issues of authenticity may be raised as some documents may be fakes
2.There may not always be documents for every area of research
3.May be problems with access if it contains sensitive information. Gov can hold them back if classified as official secrets

60
Q

What are the ethical strengths of documents?

A

1.No informed consent required and no harm as there are no participants

61
Q

What are the ethical weaknesses of documents?

A

1.Impacts on family and friends on the figures of the historical documents if used for research

62
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of documents?

A

1.Interpretivists favour this due to the detailed qualitative data which we gains validity and verstehen

63
Q

What are the theoretical weaknesses of documents?

A

1.Positivists dislike as unreliable due to the unstandardized data
2.Possibility of hoax documents
3.Not representative as small samples and not every group has documents

Sociology - Research Methods (1 decks)

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