Methods of research (Week 10) Stages of research design

Question 1

4 Stages of research design

Suggested by Oberg (1999)

Answer 1

1. Planning: Researcher decides on the strategy - what to research and how. Plans research question/hypothesis.
2. Information gathering: identifying a sample to study. Conducting a pilot study and applying research method to it.
   3. Information processing: data needs to be analysed and meanings must be interpreted
3. **Evaluation: ** internal analysis (how was the research conducted - was the research method appropriate). External analysis, conclusions are reported to the wider audience for their analysis/criticism.

Question 2

Research problem

Answer 2

• Initial stage
• Sociologists decide which general topic the study.
• Then go on to develop more specific ideas about what aspect to study.
  **This decision is based on factors such as: **
• Personal intrests of researcher
• Current interest in the topic, amoungst sociologists or society in general.
• If money (funding) can be obtained
• Practical factors eg. if it’s possible to contact respondents easily.

Question 3

Research hypothesis or Question

Answer 3

Eg. Hypothesis: Ginn & Arber’s (2002) “the effect of motherhood on full time employment is minimal for graduate women”. >** this is a prediction of what they think will be shown in the data. **

Eg. Question: Conway’s (1997) examination of parental choice in secondary education was based on the question “does parental choice help to strengthen the advantage of the middle classes over the working class?”

Question 4

Sampling Frame

Answer 4

• Used to collect a representative sample
• It’s a list of everyone in a target population.
• Used so the researcher can contact people. They must know who they are.
• It may not be used if everyone in the target population can be identified Researcher may not gain access to the sampling fame due to:
• Legality – name cannot be revealed by law.
• Confidentiality – eg. a business may deny access it its payment records
• Privacy – some groups don’t want to be studied.

Question 5

Random sampling

Answer 5

• Based on the probability that the random selection of names from a sampling frame will produce a representative sample.
• Everyone in the target population must have a equal chance of being chosen.

Question 6

Systematic sampling

Answer 6

• Often used when the target population is very large
• Variation of random sampling
• Takes a sample directly from a sampling frame.
  eg. Every 4th name would be chosen.
• Not truly random because every not everyone has an equal chance of being included.

Question 7

Stratified random sampling

Answer 7

• It stratifies the target population into groups whose characteristics are known to the researcher eg. different age groups.
• Each group is treated as a separate random sample.

Question 8

Stratified quota sampling

Answer 8

• The selection is done on a opportunity basis.
• eg. A researcher needs 20 males for the sample; they then ask men to be part of the sample and once 20 males have agreed, the quota is complete and no further males are selected.

Question 9

Non-representative sampling

Answer 9

• Sometimes it is okay for the sample to be non-representative.
• If generalisations don’t need to be made and the researcher is just interested in the behaviour of the group itself, then non-representative sampling can be used.
• In Venkatesh’s gang study, representativeness was unnecessary as he didn’t want to generalise from his findings. He simply wanted to understand the gang in depth.

Question 10

Best opportunity sampling

Answer 10

• The researcher may be forced to settle for opportunity sampling.
  Best opportunity sampling: involves choosing a sample that gives the best possible opportunity to test a hypothesis. eg. If the hypothesis is false for this group, it will probably be false for other similar groups.
  Example: Goldthorpe (1968) wanted to test the claim that the working class in the UK was becoming difficult to differentiate from the middle class. Their best opportunity sample consisted of highly paid car-assembly workers in Luton. This group was chosen because if any working class group was likely to show lifestyles similar to their middle class peers, it would be these ‘affluent workers’.

Question 11

Opportunity sampling

Snowball sampling

Answer 11

• Works on the principle of ‘rolling up’ more and more people to include in the sample over time, like a snowball.
• Researcher would identify someone in the target population who was willing to participate in their research, the person will suggest more people and so on until the researcher has a usable sample.
• Although this technique is unrepresentative, it may be the only option in some situations.
• Opportunity sampling can be useful when no sampling frame is available and the researcher knows little about the characteristics of their target population.

Question 12

Pilot studies

Answer 12

• Used before starting full scale research
• Used ot test various elements of their research design
• Mini version to test the feasibility of carrying out a study and to identify any problems.
• eg. Used to test a large scale questionnair to test whether respondents understand your questions in the same way. If they are understood differently, you need to change them. > Ensures it’s valid

Question 13

Operationalisation

Answer 13

• Sociological research often involves ideas and concepts that non-sociologists may find difficult or unclear.
• Sociologists need to make decisions abut how to put these ideas and concepts into practice (How to operationalise them).
  eg. the term social class.
  Most people are familiar with the terms ‘working class’ and ‘middle class’ but won’t agree on exactly what they mean or how to measure them. Operationalise by being more specific - asking about occupations or income.

Question 14

Interpreting results

Answer 14

• Researcher needs to analyse findings to work out what they mean.
• The researcher will look for common themes and trends in the data
• Will reflect on the data > whether the data supports the hypothesis or not.
• Once analysed and interpreted, data can be presented in terms of:
• Findings
• Conclusions
• Limitations
• Suggestions for further research
• Improvements to the research design.

Question 15

Case studies

Answer 15

• The study of one particular case or instance of something. eg. a particular school, factory, hospital or single individual.
• The life history is an example of a case study.
• Life histories are accounts of people’s lives which they tell to researchers.

Question 16

Life Histories - Cheyenne Memories

Answer 16

• The Cheyenne were a non-literate society
• Stand in Timber’s account of his life and the history and culture of his people is given from the Cheyenne point of view.
• He was a member of the last generation who experience the traditional way of life of the Cheyenne Indians during the 19th century.
• His accounts were told to the anthropologist Margot Liberty (1884 - 1967)

Question 17

Case studies - Advantages

Answer 17

• Due to their focus on one particular case they can provide a richer more detailed picture than research on large samples.
• May result in new fresh ideas and insights.
• Can provide useful info for a larger research project.
• Better chance of a questionnaire or interview being relevant and meaningful if it’s based on a case study.
• Theories can be tested to see whether or not they apply in particular situations.
  eg. Sociologists at Lancaster Uni tested the theory of secularisation (the idea that religion is becoming less important in modern societies) by conducting a case study of religion in a single town – Kendal in the Lake District.
• Are a valuable warning to rash and sweeping generalisations.

Question 18

Case study Example

Macbeth & Mortimore’s study of school effectiveness (2001)

Answer 18

• They used cases studies of a small number of schools and a large-scale social survey.
• The case studies helped them identify key themes to explore in their survey.
• Allowing them to check that their survery findings held true in particular schools.
• Added to their depth of quantitative data

Question 19

Case studies - limitations

Answer 19

• Sometimes criticised as limited and unrepresentative because they are one-off instances, they cannot be used as a basis for generalisations.

Question 20

Ethnography

Answer 20

• Sometimes called fieldwork
• Tries to achieve a detailed, in-depth understanding of a group of people or of a social situation.
• It began in anthropology(the study of different cultures) when researchers took part in the daily lives of people, in an attempt to understand their view of the world.
• Strongly associated with participant observation.
• Ethnographers may also use other methods (unstructured interviews, qualitative documents).
• It can also involve some collection of quantitative data.
  eg. Elliot Liebow’s (1967) study of black ‘streetcorner men’ in Washington.
  eg. William F Whyte’s (1955) account of italian-American gang in Boston.

Question 21

Longitudinal studies

Answer 21

• An observation study which involves repeated observations over long-periods of time. (even decades)
• Used in sociology to observe changes in life times or through generations.
• Can be used to study change in; organisations, institutions, individual people.
• They track the same people so differences can be observed
• People are less likely to be the result of cultural differences across generations
• A large number of variables is examined because researchers don’t know what data will be important or required in later research.
  *Researcher has to decide what variables to study

Question 22

Longitudinal studies - 7UP

Answer 22

• The ‘Up’ series consists of 7 documentary films that followed the lives of 14 British children since 1964.
• At 7 years old - children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the assumption that each child’s “class” predetermines their future.
• Every 7 years, the director, films new material from as many of the 14 he can get to participate.

Question 23

Methodological Pluralism

Answer 23

• Researchers use a range of methods and various sources im the same piece of research.
• Allows for triangulation
• Qualitative and quantitative data can be produced to maximise validity and reliability.
• Often done in case studies
  eg. Paul Willis’ “Learning to Labour” used a range of methods, such asparticipant observationandgroup interviews
• Recognises that each method and type of data has it’s strengths and weaknesses
• But when combined seen to produce a more comprehensive and rounder picture of social reality.
• Combination provides new insights and directions for research.

Question 24

Triangulation

Answer 24

• The use of two or more research methods in a single piece of research to check the reliability and validity of research evidence.
  Useful it can also offer new insights, especially if using very different types such as official statistics and observations.
  eg. Study of the Moonies, Barker used participant observation, interviews and questionnaires.

Question 25

Making of a Moonie

Answer 25

• Eileen Barker’s (1984) study of the Moonies was based on looking at members of the Unification Church.
• She conducted in depth interviews, each lasting 6-8 hours with a number of Moonies.
• The interviews dealt with their background, why they became a Moonie and their life in the church and the meaning of religion as they saw it.
• Barker also lived as a participant observer in several centres with the Moonies.
• This enabled her to gain the trust of many members of the church, resulting in information which would not have been given to an outsider.
• After the start of her research, she constructed a large questionnaire based on her findings from interviews and observation.
• This provided information from a larger sample and was intended to reveal ‘social patterns/trends and gain a more reliable understanding of regularities between variables.
• Barker claims that combining different methods of investigation gave her a much fuller picture than any one method or data source could have provided.