Methodological Pluralism Flashcards
Methodological Pluralism is when a researcher uses more than ? source or method to study the s__ phenomena.
1
same
Methodological Pluralism is also referred to as ?
data triangulation
If Methodological Pluralism uses numerous methods, which sociologists is it favoured by?
BOTH positivists and interpretivists, who can use multiple quantitative (p) or qualitative (i) methods.
The first case study for Methodological Pluralism comes from which liberal feminist?
Sharpe
What was Sharpe’s study called?
‘Just Like a Girl’
Sharpe studied what social class of girls from London?
working class
What methods did Sharpe use?
questionnaires/unstructured interviews &
content analysis
Sharpe did her initial study in 1976 & then repeated it in which year?
1994
The second case study for Methodological Pluralism came from Barker and was called?
‘Making of a Moonie’
Barker spent how many years studying ‘Unification Church members’ ?
7 years
Which method did Barker use to help her find out the type of person that’s likely to join the group?
questionnaire
After carrying out questionnaires, she did UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS to find out what?
reasons for joining the moonies
Barker also used which type of observation to study the group’s practices?
non-participant observation
The third case study for Methodological Pluralism is ‘Townsend & the ___ Index’
poverty
What two quantitative methods did Townsend use to find out about poverty?
{S.I & N.S}
structured interviews national survey
In Townsend’s research, what did the national survey highlight?
examples of poverty
In Townsend’s research, what did the structured interviews highlight?
individual feelings, thoughts & experiences of living in poverty
The {PRACTICAL} advantage of Methodological Pluralism is that methods can c___ each other.
compliment
{PRACTICAL ADVANTAGE} : The w___ of one method can be counteracted by the strengths of another
EG observations lets us see behaviour in action but not get a in-depth understanding,
so which method can be done alongside?
weaknesses
unstructured interviews
The [ETHICAL} strength of Methodological Pluralism is that what is obtained?
Informed Consent
Why is Informed Consent an {ETHICAL} strength of Methodological Pluralism?
the research will take place over a long period of time because of the range of methods, so the researcher has to get consent.
If the researcher has used qualitative & quantitative methods, what could the {THEORETICAL} strength of Methodological Pluralism be?
different types of data produced
{THEORETICAL STRENGTH} how can this be applied to Barker?
produced quantitative data –> questionnaire produced qualitative data –> interviews, NPO
A possible {PRACTICAL} limitation , which is one of the initial 6 from chapter one is ?
researcher skills & characteristics
Why can ‘Researcher Skills & Characteristics’ be a drawback of Methodological Pluralism?
because multiple methods are used and the researcher must be trained to carry out these properly
What {ETHICAL} drawback does Methodological Pluralism face? {S}
Sensitivity
Sensitivity becomes an {ETHICAL} limitation when using which type of methods within Methodological Pluralism?
quantitative methods
Despite the fact that methods can compliment each other, they can also produce ? this would be a {THEORETICAL} limitation
contradictory data
{THEORETICAL} limitation : if the methods highlight a different issue, it might lead to a theoretical ? where the researcher can’t establish a v__ conclusion
stalemate
valid
