methods Flashcards
1
Q
Primary research method - observation. What is covert observation?
A
The researcher is undercover and participants are unaware they are being researched
2
Q
what type of research method is covert observation?
A
Interpretivist, qualitative
3
Q
what studies are linked to covert observation?
A
Lord Humphrey - Tea Room Trade
4
Q
what are the levels of reliability and validity for covert observation?
A
low reliability, high validity
5
Q
what are the strengths and weaknesses of covert observation?
A
\:) = no Hawthorne effect \:( = hard to replicate research, ethical issues, time consuming
6
Q
what is overt observation?
A
the researcher makes their true identity and purpose known to group. Sociologist is open about what they’re doing
7
Q
what type of research is overt observation?
A
Interpretivist, qualitative
8
Q
what studies are linked to overt observation?
A
Eliene Barker - Moonies,
9
Q
what levels or reliability + validity does overt observation have?
A
low reliability, high validity
10
Q
what are the strengths and weaknesses of overt observation?
A
\:) = builds rapport, creates verstehen (picturing yourself in someone else's shoes) \:( = unrepresentative, lacks objectivity
11
Q
what is covert non-participant observation?
A
the researcher simply observes a group without taking part in it
12
Q
what type of research is covert non PO?
A
Positivist, quantitative
13
Q
what studies are linked to covert non-PO?
A
Ronald King - Wendy House
14
Q
what are the levels of reliability and validity for covert non-PO?
A
high reliability, low validity
15
Q
what are the strengths and weaknesses of Covert non-PO?
A
:) =no Hawthorne effect
:( = ethical issues, not able to build rapport
16
Q
what is overt non participant observation?
A
the researcher makes their identity known. Participants know they’re present but researcher does not take part
17
Q
what type of research is overt non-PO?
A
Quantitative, Positivist
18
Q
what studies are linked to Overt non-PO?
A
OFSTED inspections
19
Q
what are the levels of reliability and validity linked to Overt non-PO?
A
high reliability, low validity
20
Q
what are the strengths and weaknesses of overt non-PO?
A
\:) = conducted systematically \:( = Hawthorne effect, artificial - results may not be realistic/true
21
Q
Primary research method - Interviews. What are structured interviews?
A
The research has pre-prepared a list of usually close-ended questions. Only questions on the list will be asked
22
Q
what type of research are struc interviews?
A
positivist, quantiative
23
Q
what studies are linked to struct invterviews?
A
Crime Survey of England and Wales
24
Q
what are the levels or reliability and validity for struct interviews?
A
high reliability, low validity
25
what are the strengths and weaknesses of struct interviews?
```
:) = easy to train, focus on topic, quick to complete, representative
:( = interviewer bias/interrogation, artificial, lack of detail/depth, inflexible
```
26
what are unstructured interviews?
the researcher has no set questions. Headings may be used to guide a free-flowing discussion, interviewee is free to talk about what they want
27
what type of research is unstruct interviews?
Interpretivist, qualitative
28
what studies are linked to unstruc interviews?
Dobash + Dobash, Sue Sharpe (girls' changing attitudes)
29
what are the levels of reliability and validity linked to unstruct interviews?
Low reliability, high validity
30
what are strengths and weaknesses for unstruct interviews?
```
:) = lots of detail, less artificial, build rapport, flexible
;( = time consuming, need to be skilled, ethical issues, difficult to analyse results
```
31
what type of research are group interviews?
Interpretivist, qualitative
32
what studies are linked to group int.?
Paul Willis - Learning to Labour
33
what are the levels of reliability and validity for group int.?
low reliability, high validity
34
what are the strengths and weaknesses for group int?
```
:) = easier for participant to respond, stimulate discussions, gives greater power to participants
:( = one participant dominates, difficult to record results, intimidation towards researcher, social desirability (lie to be accepted by group)
```
35
Primary research method - what are questionnaires?
the researcher will prepare a set list of mostly closed questions (although there are sometimes a few open). Usually in the form of multiple choice or yes/no
36
what are the types of questionnaires and what research are they?
postal and written, Positivist and quantitative
37
what studies are linked to questionnaires?
Shere Hites "love, passion, and emotional violence", Connor + Dewson (2001)
38
what are the levels of reliability and validity for questionnaires?
high reliability, low validity
39
what are the strengths and weaknesses for questionnaires?
```
:) = quick to complete, easy to analyse, representative, few ethical issues, objective, no additional training
:( = lack detail/depth, people could lie, low response rate
```
40
Experiments - primary. What are lab experiments?
Researcher manipulates an independent variable and measures a dependent variable in a controlled environment
41
what type of research are lab?
Positivist, quantiative
42
what studies are linked to lab?
Milgram - obedience
43
what are the levels of reliability and validity for lab?
high reliability, low validity
44
what are the strengths and weaknesses for lab?
```
:) = can be recreated in an artificial environment, hypothesis is tested + cause + effect relationships established
:( = Hawthorne effect, ethical issues, small samples, can't control variables of the past
```
45
what are field experiments?
researcher manipulates independent variable and measure dependent variable in natural environment
46
what type of research are field?
Pos/Interp (for validity), quantiative
47
what studies are linked to field?
Sissons, Rosenthal + Jacobson - Pygmalion in classroom
48
what are the levels of reliability and validity for field?
low reliability, high validity
49
what are strengths and weaknesses for field?
```
:) = behaviour should be more natural, can research natural life in "field" setting.
:( = researcher has less control over variables, ethical - no consent
```
50
what is comparative method?
Making comparisons between diff societies, between groups within 1 society and making comparisons across time
51
what type of research is comparative?
quantitative, Positivist
52
what studies are linked to comparative?
Max Weber - Protestant ethic + spirit of capitalism
53
what are the levels of reliability and validity for comparative?
low reliability, high validity
54
what are the strengths and weaknesses for comparative?
```
:) = used to isolate variables, representative, reduces ethical problems
:( = no guarantee that available data can isolate variables, less convenient than carrying out experiment
```
55
Secondary research method - official statistics. What are the types of official stats?
Hard (numbers/graphs) and soft (opinion, suggestions, human intelligence) statistics
56
what type of research are statistics?
Quantitative, Positivists
57
what studies are linked to official stats?
Hard - Marriage/death certificates, Census (2011, 2001)
58
what are the levels of reliability and validity for official stats?
High reliability, Hard - high validity, soft - low validity
59
what are strengths and weaknesses of official stats?
```
:) = representative - large scale, used to make comparisons between groups, free source
:( = always out of date, definitions used by govs change over time, mismatches between sets of data
```
60
what are personal documents?
Letters and diaries
61
what type of research are personal docs?
Interpretivist, qualitative
62
what studies are linked to personal docs?
William Thomas and Florain Znanieck - Polish peasant in Europe + America
Scott (1990) 4 criteria for accessing documents: authenticity, credibility, representativeness, meaning
63
what are levels of reliability and validity for personal docs?
low reliability, high validity
64
what are strengths and weaknesses for personal docs?
```
:) = less ethical problems, time effective, cheap source, gain insight into people's lives
:( = hard to access, consent may not be given, some groups aren't represented, difficult to check for bias
```
65
what is content analysis?
studying documents by having different categories and tallying how much that category appears
66
what type of research is content analysis?
Favoured by Positivists, deals systematically with contents of documents to produce quantitative data
67
how does Ros Gill (1988) describe content analysis?
How it works: Decide on area of study (e.g. gender + subject choice), decided on categories you're going to search for (STEM), study source material e.g., newspapers + tally the amount of times you see each instance, count up nos. in each category + draw out conclusions, can compare findings with official stats to get wider data
68
what studies are linked to content analysis?
Tuchman (1978) - used content analysis to study portrayal of women in television - women stereotyped in media.
69
what are strengths and weaknesses of content analysis?
:) quick easy method that requires no training (very simple to do), Positivists see it as useful source of objective data (contains facts), produces quantitative data favoured by Pos, reliable instead of valid
:( = has been criticised for lack of depth, (can't find meanings/actions behind quantitative data), data is difficult to find and may limit research - depends what you're researching
70
smaller research methods - what are life histories?
Ethnographic method in which researcher attempts to draw out an autobiography of a single subject (learn about person's life) usually through interviews - person recounts life history
71
what type of research are life histories?
Qualitative, Interpretivist
72
what studies relate to life histories?
general studies - Chamberlain + Goulbarne - 60 families, Linda Hart - "phone at 9 just to say you're alive"
Education studies - Mann - educational life histories of 60 female 6th formers
73
what are levels of reliability and validity for life histories?
Low reliability, high validity
74
what are strengths and weaknesses of life histories?
```
:) = 1st hand account of people's experiences, used to check other sources of info, shows how people's lives changed over time
:( = biased - person recounting may not be objective, unrepresentative - hard to generalise, heavily dependent on people's memory, researchers lead into areas they like
```
75
What are longitudinal studies?
Involves repeated observations of the same variable over short or long periods of time
76
what time of research are longitudinal studies?
Interpretivist, qualitative
77
what studies are linked to longitudinal?
General studies - 7 up (TV programme)
| Education studies - Douglas - Educational careers of children
78
what are the levels of reliability and validity for longitudinal?
Low reliability, high validity
79
what are the strengths and weaknesses for longitudinal studies?
```
:) = examine developments over time, provide in depth info, researcher can be sure no changes in makeup of sample if same people
:( = "sample attrition" - less representative sample as people drop out, cost money + time, keeping same sample is difficult
```
80
what type of research are case studies?
Interpretivist, qualitative
81
what studies are linked to case studies?
General studies - Ken Roberts + Tony Lane - single strikes at Pilkington glass factory
Education studies - Elizabeth Burn, Jenny - primary school teacher
82
what are levels of reliability and validity for case studies?
low reliability, high validity
83
what are strengths and weaknesses for case studies?
```
:) = used to study exceptional cases, used in early stages of research to generate hypothesis, provide detailed insight into particular group
:( = researcher bias, small scale - unrepresentative, based on subjective interpretation of researcher - hard to replicate
```
84
what is sampling?
the process by which a researcher chooses participants
85
how is the population linked to sampling?
these are the group of people from whom the sample is drawn from
86
what is a sampling frame?
a list of the population where you draw your sample from, such as the electoral register
87
what is random sampling?
every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
88
what are the strengths and weaknesses of random?
```
:) = no bias, fairest way to choose people
:( = could get an unrepresentative sample if not done on large scale, need a sampling frame
```
89
what is systematic (Quasi-Random) sampling?
select every 10/20th number on a list - selecting at regular intervals
90
what are strengths and weaknesses of systematic?
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:) = less time consuming, no bias
:( = not always random so could be unrepresentative
```
91
what is quota sampling?
Interviewers are told how many respondents with particular characteristics to question, selected as you have certain characteristics
92
what are strengths and weaknesses of quota?
```
:) = control variables without sampling frame, reflects characteristics of population, could be representative
:( = requires researcher to ask personal Qs, researcher bias
```
93
what is stratified sampling?
classifying population into categories + choosing sample with people from each category
94
what are strengths and weaknesses of stratified?
```
:) = most representative form of sampling
:( = time consuming, may not have characteristics of population to create sampling, limited to info from sampling frame
```
95
what is volunteer (self-selected) sampling?
participants becoming part of a study because they volunteer in response to an advert
96
what are strengths and weaknesses of volunteer?
```
:) = don't always need sampling frame, sample that's willing to do research
:( = unrepresentative, only selecting people interested in research
```
97
what is a snowball sample?
using personal contacts to build up a sample of a group to be studied
98
what are strengths and weaknesses of snowball?
```
:) = no sampling frame needed, help researcher find more contacts as they know each other, good to research certain groups where it's difficult to find out what's part of it
:( = unrepresentative (study part of contacts), requires an initial contact, small sample
```
99
what is opportunistic sampling?
mostly used by sociology students. Consists of taking a sample from people who are available at time of study
100
what are strengths and weaknesses of opportunistic?
```
:) = easy to do (quick), no special training needed, don't need sampling frame
:( = may be unrepresentative, may be researcher bias in way sample is chosen
```
101
what is multi-stage cluster sampling?
selecting a sample from another sample
102
what are strengths and weaknesses of multi-stage cluster?
```
:) = saves time and money, representative
:( = sampling error increases
```
103
factors influencing choice of method: Practical.
| how do personal skills + characteristics influence choice of method?
choose unstructured interviews if have good personal skills. Sociologists who are good at using numbers might use statistical analysis as part of research
104
Practical - how does subject matter influence choice of research method?
researching hidden things - use covert observation. If researching something in the past, might have to use historical documents
105
practical - how does research opportunity influence choice of method?
if there is a riot and you're interested in researching it, you would use non-participant observation rather than a questionnaire
106
practical - how does requirement of funding bodies influence choice of research method?
government tend to want sociologists to use quantitative methods as they are a large sample of society
107
practical - how does time and money influence choice of research method?
Longitudinal studies may not be chosen due to time and cost, official stats may be chosen as they're easy to access
108
why might researchers take ethical factors into account?
Breech ethical factors to "better" society, show they are a good researcher
109
ethical - how does deception influence choice of method?
don't choose covert participant observation as lying about your role, choose covert non participant observation instead
110
ethical - how does confidentiality and privacy influence choice of method?
choose not to use personal documents/diaries as invasion of privacy + breeches ethical guidelines
111
ethical - how does vulnerable groups influence choice of method?
unstructured interviews may be chosen to study children
112
ethical - how does harm to participants influence choice of method?
lab experiments may not be used because of manipulation
113
ethical - how does informed consent influence choice of method?
covert observation non-participant may not be chosen, questionnaire used instead as informed consent is part of it
114
theoretical - how does reliability influence choice of method?
reject unstructured interviews, structured interviews chosen for reliability - easy to replicate. Big factor for Positivists
115
theoretical - why are Interpretivists influenced by choice of method?
favour unstructured interviews as able to obtain truthful data due to rapport being built up
116
theoretical - why are Positivists influenced by choice of methods?
use official statistics as they're social facts, quantitative data
117
theoretical - how does representativeness influence choice of method?
reject personal documents, hard official statistics/questionnaires may be used
118
theoretical - how does validity influence choice of method?
participant observation may be used if you're interested in validity - esp. important for Interpretivists
