Methodology

Question 1

What were Eileen Barker’s aims when investigating the Unification church in “The Making of a Moonie- Brainwashing or Choice.”?

Answer 1

1) To investigate the validity of allegations of forced membership, kidnapping and brainwashing.
2) To find out why and how people joined the unification church.

Question 2

In “The Making of a Moonie- Brainwashing or Choice.”, what methodology did Eileen Barker use?

Answer 2

1) Questionnaires, both preliminary and closing.
2) Overt observation, lasting over 6 years.
3) Interviews, in depth open ended questions lasting between 2-12 hours.

Question 3

What were Elieen Barker’s findings?

Answer 3

1) No evidence of coercion.
2) Converts were normal people and not hypnotized.
3) Moonie residential courses were highly controlled.

Question 4

How did Barker avoid the Hawthorne effect?

Answer 4

The length of time she spent with the moonies allowed them to acclimatize and eventually behave more naturally around her.

Question 5

What were Laud Humphreys’ aims when investigating the homosexual voyeurism in “Tearoom Trade.”?

Answer 5

To understand what type of men seek impersonal, homosexual gratification, and their motivations.

Question 6

In “Tearoom Trade.”, what methodology did Laud Humphreys use?

Answer 6

1) Covert observation, acting as a “watch queen” (voyeur/lookout)
2) Unstructured interviews with a few men that new hist real, methodological, intentions.
3) Structured interviews, a year later after secretly contacting tracking them down.

Question 7

What were Laud Humphreys findings?

Answer 7

1) Only 14% of subjects actually conformed to the stereotypes of homosexuality.
2) As many as 38% of them were neither homosexual or bisexual.
3) The men came from a variety of marital, status and family backgrounds.
4) 54% of the men were outwardly heterosexually, many with wives.

Question 8

In what regards was Laud Humphreys’ study highly unethical?

Answer 8

1) No observational con sent was given
2) The way the data was recorded, had it been found, left the subjects at risk of prosecution.
3) He tracked down the participants and interviewed them under false pretenses.

Question 9

What was unique about James Patrick’s observations in “Glasgow Gang Observed.”?

Answer 9

They were never meant to give details of a generalised but rather give insight to the one particular gang.

Question 10

Highlight the legal issues faced by James Patrick in “Glasgow Gang Observed.”

Answer 10

While he claims that he never actively took part in in illegal activities, he can be seen to be complicit in many. E.g vandalism and drug taking.

Question 11

Name one weakness found both Laud Humphreys and James Patrick faced in their methodology, in regards to reliability.

Answer 11

Both relied on accurately remembering what he had occurred, before they could later went and recorded his observations.

Question 12

Both Sudhir Venkatesh and James Patrick’s methodology involved covert observation. In what regards, however, did they blur this line?

Answer 12

Both of them had members of their respective gangs that new their true identity, though more people were aware Venkatesh’s real identity.

Question 13

Name one major drawback to Sudhir Venkatesh’s methodology?

Answer 13

It was an incredibly long and expensive piece of research.

Question 14

How does Malinowski’s method demonstrate his views on sociology?

Answer 14

His observational focus highlights his older approach to the the scientific method, that the scientist should observe and then generate hypothesis from induction.

Question 15

In “Learning to Labour”, what methodology did Paul Willis use?

Answer 15

Willis sampled 12 of working class boys from a local school, observing their behavior in class and speaking to their progress managers. He then later observed them when they were older and in work.

Throughout the investigation, he also conducted unstructured interviews.

Question 16

Why did Durkheim in “Le Suicide.” use official statistics?

Answer 16

He was a positivist and believed through the understanding of statistics, social facts can be learned.

Question 17

What 4 types of suicide did Durkheim argue?

Answer 17

1) Egoistic- Not sufficiently integrated in society
2) Altruistic- Individuals are too socially integrated
3) Anomic-Not sufficiently regulated in society
4) Fatalistic- Individuals are over regulated

Question 18

How can Anne Oakley be in Becoming a mother-From here to maternity.” be said to have used both quantitative and qualitative methodology?

Answer 18

While her data collection was qualitative, she used her data to generate statistics that could be empirically compared.

Question 19

In what regards can Becoming a mother-From here to maternity.” (Ann Oakley) be criticized for a lack of validity?

Answer 19

1) Small sample size, only 66 women.
2) Clear feminist bias.
3) Ignored ethic minorities within her experiment.

Question 20

Why may it have been deliberate that Ann did not interview women from other ethnic groups?

Answer 20

Differing cultures have differing attitudes on pregnancy and differing hospitals will offer a different quality of service, acting as extraneous variable.

Question 21

How do experiments differ from case studies

Answer 21

Case studies study the participant in depth, while experiments look at 2 differing variables.

Question 22

What were Jacobson & Rosenthal’s aims when investigating a Californian elementary school in “Pygmalion in the classroom.”?

Answer 22

To observe how teach expectation influences performance of first and second grade students.

Question 23

How Jacobson & Rosenthal’s methodology be criticized in “Pygmalion in the classroom.”?

Answer 23

1) Highly anglo-centric experiment, little validity due to taking place in one american school.
2) The use of IQ tests.
3) Unethical, manipulating both teachers and pupils.

Question 24

What were Harold Garfinkel’s aims in his “Studies in ethnomethodology” experiments?

Answer 24

To highlight “background expectancies” within social situations and the “indexicality” of everyday life.

Question 25

What did Harold Garfinkle find?

Answer 25

People have certain preascribed expectancies in social situations, response are logical and reflexive. When those expectancies are disrupted, it leads to confusing.

Question 26

How do field experiemnts differ from lab based ones?

Answer 26

Field experiments are far more valid but lack the controls that lab based experiments have, and as such are less accurate, reliable and replicable.

Question 27

Upon evaluating Harold Garfinkel, how can his findings be criticised?

Answer 27

1) The experiments ignores how societal structural influences on responses.
2) the experiment was a field experiment and therefore was subject to extraneous variables.

Question 28

Advantages of closed questionnaires.

Answer 28

1) Quick to complete
2) The use of quantitative data makes it both easy to analyse and compare with other sets of data
3) The research is easy to repeat

Question 29

Disadvantages of closed questionnaires.

Answer 29

1) You cannot explain a questionnaire to a participant so it could be confusing
2) You cannot follow up with extra questions to gain richer data
3) None of the answers may accurately fit for the participant.

Question 30

How are open ended questionnaires advantageous compared to closed ones?

Answer 30

They of richer, more elaborate explanations in what they are answering.

Question 31

How are open ended questionnaires disadvantageous compared to closed ones?

Answer 31

They deal in qualitative data, this means that they are subject to interpretation in analyses and are harder to compare to other sets of data.

Question 32

Advantages self-completion questionnaires.

Answer 32

1) They are cheap, especially if done over the internet
2) Results are obtained quickly
3) People can respond whenever they want, not just when an interviewer is present
4) Participants are more likely to be honest or open with personal information, due to a sense of anonymity/ privacy.
5) There is less risk of interviewer bias.

Question 33

Disadvantages self-completion questionnaires.

Answer 33

1) Low response rate as minimal pressure to complete.
2) Lacks validity as more often than not only a certain type of person response. Usually the old or unemployed.
3) There is no way of knowing whether the right person actually completed the survey or if someone else did it for them
4) No chance to provide clarification or enrich the data via further questions.

Question 34

How are interviews and questionnaires similar?

Answer 34

Both ask a series of questions to the participant, however one is written while one is verbal.

Question 35

How are Interviews advantageous compared to questionnaires?

Answer 35

Interviews are not dependent on the participants literacy.

Question 36

Name and explain one weakness all forms of participant question asking faces.

Answer 36

Interview bias, the experimenter is subject to their own biases, whether it be what questions they ask, what they deem important or how they interpret results.

Question 37

How are unstructured interviews advantageous compared to structured ones?

Answer 37

A rapport can be built between the subject and the experimenter, allowing for more honesty in answers, therefore more valid.

Question 38

How are structured interviews advantageous compared to unstructured ones?

Answer 38

1) There is little interaction with the participant so interviewer bias is reduced.
2) They provide more comparative, quantifiable data.

Question 39

What are advantages of secondary sources?

Answer 39

1) Little to no time used as information is available

2) Cheap and easy access

Question 40

Advantages of the use of official statistics as secondary sources.

Answer 40

1) Provide important information
2) They are often the only available data prior to research
3) They are readily available and easy to analyse
4) Wide sample
5) Covers large time span and cultural groups.

Question 41

Disadvantages of the use of official statistics as secondary sources.

Answer 41

1) The way data is interpreted into official stats is subject to bias, e.g decrease in unemployment due to no longer counting unemployed under 18’s
2) Crime statistics only highlight incidents known to the police.

Question 42

When using qualitative secondary sources, what should we consider when determining if they are useful?

Answer 42

Authenticity- Are there ways of checking if the information has not been forged?
Credibility- Does the data give a well rounded account, based in fact and without bias.
Representatives- Is the information representative of society or just the views of a few individuals
Meaning- Are the authors original meanings apparent? Do they still have the same meaning now as they did at the time they were first produced?

Question 43

What key issues should be taken into account when designing/assessing an experiment/case study?

Answer 43

1) Reliability: the idea that, if the experiment was repeated, you would get the same results.
2) Validity: the degree in which the research reveals an true picture of the nature of the research subject.
3) Ethics: the morality of the of study.

Question 44

When assessing the ethics of an experiment/case study, what needs to be addressed?

Answer 44

1) In reporting findings, they should be done so accurately and honestly
2) The physical, social and mental well-being of people who help shouldn’t be harmed
3) The privacy of participants shouldn’t be invaded
4) The participants must consent in what is being done, whether this is a result of prior briefing or a debrief.

Question 45

What sort of methodology will positivists use?

Answer 45

Quantitative methodology.

Question 46

What sort of methodology will interprevists use?

Answer 46

Qualitative methodology?

Question 47

Give an advantage of qualitative methodology.

Answer 47

The data it provides are often more valid.

Question 48

Give an advantage of quantitative methodology.

Answer 48

The data it provides are often more reliable.