Methods In Context Flashcards
7 Research methods
•Observations
•Questionaries
•Interviews
•Field experiments
•Laboratory experiments
•Official statistics
•Surveys
Questionnaires
Close ended- limited answers to choose from that’s already been decided by researcher (Quantitative)
Open ended- respondents free to give whatever answer they want (Qualitative)
Advantages of Questionnaires
•Quick and cheap way of collecting large amounts of data
•Don’t need to recruit or train interviews as respondents complete and return themselves
•Data is usually easy to quantify and can be processed quickly to see relationships between different answers
Reliability Of Questionnaires
Seen as reliable if they are repeated by another researcher and should give similar results
•When research repeated, with same questions, same order, same chose of answers
•With postal or online questionnaires, no researcher present to influence the respondents answers - Allow comparisons over time
Hypothesis testing with Questionnaires
•Useful for testing hypotheses about cause and effect relationships between variables.
•So can make statements about possible causes
•Because they allow to identify causes positivists like them as they take the scientific approach and look to discover laws if cause and effect
Ethical issues with Questionnaires
•Have fewer ethical problems than other RM, respondents are under no obligation to answer questions they don’t want to
Representativeness of Questionnaires
•Can collect info from large number of ppl, results stand better chance of being truly representative of wider population than other RM
Disadvantages of Questionnaires
Practice problems
•Data is limited and superficial cos they need to be brief cos respondents won’t complete time consuming ones. This limits amount of info gathered.
•May have to offer incentives (entry prize draw) to persuade ppl to complete them, this’ll add to cost.
Disadv if Questionnaires
Low response rate
•Very low response rates can be problems especially with postal Q. This cos few of those received it bother to complete and return it.
•May be cos of faulty with Q design, using complex lang only be completed by well educated
•Danger is could produce distorted and unrepresentative results as those who have strong views n knowledge may complete rather then those with no interest so no accurate generalisations made
Inflexibility with Questionnaires
•Once Q finalised, Researcher stuck with q they asked and can’t explore new interests so can’t find out reasons and explanations for answers and limited to info as not in detail
Sociologists who like Questionnaires
Sociologists who don’t like questionnaires
Interviews
•Structured/ formal interviews
•Unstructured/Informal interviews
•Semi structured interviews
•Group interviews
Structured/formal interviews
Interviewer given strict instructions on how to ask Q, conducted same way each time, ask same q, word for word, same order
Unstructured/ informal interviews
Interviewer has complete freedom to ask any questions, asking follow up questions, going into more detail
Semi structured interviews
Each interview same questions but interviewer can go into more detail to get more info.
•Aaron Cicourel and John Kitsuse always followed up with how do you mean.
Group interviews
Up to dozen or so ppl interviewed together
•Paul Willis used it as part of research into “lads” n schooling
•Focus group and form of GI where researcher asks group to discuss topics and record their views
Group interviews advantages
•Participants feel more comfortable being with others, more likely to open up n give true answers
•In discussion throw ideas around group, get each other thinking produces more reflective data
•Useful way of getting initial ideas they can follow up in later
Group interview disadvantages
•Someone may dominate the discussion so others can’t get involved
•Have to try keep group focused on the discussion topic
•Peer pressure to conform to group norms may lead to not saying what rlly think
•May be difficult to analyse
Structured interviews advantages
Practical issues
•Training interviewers easy and not expensive since all have to do is ask set questions, cost more than questionnaires tho
•Cover large numbers ppl with limited resources cos quick and cheap
•Suitable for gathering straight forward factual info
•Results easily qualified cos close ended n coded answers, suitable for hypothesis testing
Response rate adv of structured Interviews
•Large numbers can b interviewed which increases chance of getting representative samples, generally have high response rate, may b cos find it harder to turn down face to face request
Reliability adv of structured interviews
Reliable cos easy for researcher to standardise and control them, can ensure each interview conducted same way
•This means other interviewers doing it will get similar results so can compare answers easily to identify similarities and differences
Validity Disadv of structured interviews
•Often produce false picture of subjects they trying to study
•Usually use close ended Q that restrict interviewees to choosing from limited pre set answers. If none fit what rlly wish to say data is invalid
•Very little freedom for interviewees to explain Q or misunderstandings
•Ppl might lie or exaggerate so will produce fake data
•Social interaction may influence answers given
Inflexibility Disadv of structured interviews
•cos have to draw up questions in advance researcher already decided what’s important but may not be what interviewee think is important
•so findings may lack validity cos don’t reflect interviewees concerns and prosperities, have to stick to q so impossible to peruse any interesting leads, losing valuable insights
Feminists criticism- what does Hilary graham argue
Argues survey methods are (questionnaires, structured interviews) are patriarchal and give distorted, invalid picture of women’s experiences
Feminists criticisms of SI- Hilary Graham also argues that:
•The researcher is in control of interview and decides line on questioning to be followed. This mirrors women’s subordination in wider society
•Survey methods treat women as isolated indiv rather than seeing them in context of power relationships that oppress them
•Surveys impose researchers categories on women making difficult to express their experiences of oppression, not showing unequal power between sexes
Interpretivists argue that structured interviews:
•Fail to reveal how the interviewee sees their situation.
•Graham argues sociologists need to use methods allow researchers to understand womens behaviour attitudes n meanings. Direct observation instead of SI
Other feminists favour unstructured interviews
This is cos it enables researcher to build more equal n collaborative relationship based on trust empathy n support
