Methods Flashcards
What are three key considerations that need to be made before researching something?
How will you conduct the research?
Who are you researching?
What are you going to research?
What factors may be researched within a school?
Teacher expectations
Teacher and pupil interactions
Subcultures
Setting and streaming
Institutional racism
Teacher racism
Pupil achievement and identity formation
What are some practical issues that may arise within schools?
Acess
Time
Sample size
Variables (how can you measure it?)
What are some ethical issues that may arise within schools?
Social sensitivity, such as bullying or racism
May have to report things they have seen
Consent
What are some theoretical issues that may arise within schools?
Difficult to measure objectively
Validity of responses
Reliability of responses
Theoretical position bias
What methods are most appropriate for researching in schools?
Observations
Unstructures interviews
Group interviews
Pros/cons of obersvations in schools
Participant and non-participant observation in schools allow researchers to see what is going on inside schools. But, if they are aware they are being observed, they may change their behaviour (hawthorne effect).
Pros/cons of unstructured interviews in schools
They may lack validity if they are used to question teachers on their proceduces as they would not admit to foul practice.
Pros/cons of group interviews in schools
Can be used to gain acess to alot of data in a short space of time. But, pupils may act different infront of their peers.
Match these:
Positivists and Interpretivists
to
Quantative and Qualitiative
Positivists prefer quantatative methods to see sociology as a sceince, wheras interpretivists use qualitative methods to understand social meanings.
