Lesson 4- Validity, reliability, generalisability and representativeness Flashcards
What does this lesson contain?
- Case studies
- Structure to a 10 mark essay
Laud Humphreys- Tearoom Trades (1960)
- Laud Humphreys aimed to research homosexual mens’ behaviour of casual sex in public toilets.
- The research was conducted as covert participant observation since he was worried he wouldn’t get access to this group otherwise.
- Humphreys disguised himself as a homosexual man and would observe the homosexual men propositioning others for sex in the public toilet.
- After this, he would go to his car and speak into a dictaphone of what he had seen and then fill in a tick chart after each observed behaviour.
- To make his research more valid he gained a co-operating participant who encouraged the behaviours Humphreys observed. At first he attained 12 homosexual males who agreed and gave permission to be interviews, which then shot up to 50 after Humphreys tracked their number plate or followed them home and persuaded them to take part in his research and be interviewed.
Blackman - New Wave Girls (1995)
Blackman is a male sociologist who carried out an ethnographic study, (ethnography is a qualitative method for collecting data) of different youth subcultural groups in school.
- This group he studied was the New Wave Girls, a popular and academic (intelligent) group of 10 girls who shared an interest in punk, new wave music, and the same fashion.
- They wore black trousers, boots and T-shirts of various styles and oversized jumpers.
- They were from lower middle and working class backgrounds and did NOT CONFORM to traditional expectations of FEMININITY.
- They were able to resist parental, school and masculine control.
- Blackman studied these girls for a while and aimed to understand their behaviour and style.
- He gained access to the girls from a group of Mod Boys who were at the same school.
- Gradually Blackman made closer relations with the New Wave Girls by joining them at lunch and walking them home and even social activities like going to pubs and shopping and discoing with them.
James Patrick: Glasgow Gangs (1966)
- Was a teacher at a school in Scotland. Took up and invitation by Tim at 16 year old juvenile offender to see “The Young Team”, of a Glasgow Gang whom he was the leader of.
- Patrick posed at Tim’s friend and took up this ‘challenge’, having briefed by Tim ( Gang Leader) on the appropriate style of dress and considering himself aware of the local dialect and slang, Patrick met and joined the gang.
Patrick met with the gang on 12 occasions between October 1966 and January 1967. He writes:
“I spent 120 hours in the field and my involvement with the gang deepened, so the hours lengthened. I was in the company of the gang during one weekend from 7pm Friday evening to 6am Sunday morning.”
He let years pass between the completion of fieldwork and publication due to self-preservation and the desire to protect the gang members, and a pseudonym too.
- Patrick prepared his entry into the gang by concentrating on his physical appearance (making sure it was acceptable to the group). He was prepared to give his age as 17, yet was never questioned. He was able to pass himself off as a mate to a 15-year-old boy, even though his age was never asked.
- Clothes were another issue, after school when Patrick went with Tim he noticed the importance of clothing and brought a suit. Instead of paying it up, Patrick bought the suit with cash, attracting attention to himself and the way he wore it was wrong he fastened the middle button of the jacket rather than top like the rest (so they can stand with their hands in their trouser pockets and their jackets buttoned).
Analysis of Patrick’s Glasgow Gangs Research-
- To find out and gain a deeper understanding of the Glasgow gang and what they do, specifically the Young Gang.
Advantages: covert participant observation, so went inside and was able to retain and gain information without a problem, immersed himself in the study, and got qualitative data.
Disadvantages: Inappropriate and sightly predatory behaviour, crossing the boundary with children, just for validity, invasion of privacy and, doesn’t represent the whole gang just the young gang.
IMPROVEMENT TO BE MADE:
- Do not merge with participants fully, as he became too biased with minors crossing a sociological boundary of the invasion of privacy and even laws.
10 marker structure
- ’ The first problem for sociologists using the data in Source A is …
- Referring to this problem to Source A, we can see that…
Repeat with ‘ The second problem for sociologists…”
AO2- application of knowledge 4 marks
AO3- evaluation and analysis 6 marks
