overview of sociological research Flashcards
correlations
where one social event occurs, another one tends to occur as well
cause and effect
one social event will bring about another event or behaviour
primary data
information that a researcher collects themselves
secondary data
data that already exists
what factors should be considered when choosing a research method
practical
theoretical
ethical
what are ways to evaluate the usefulness of data
reliability
representativeness
validity
practical factors
impinge on a researcher’s ability to complete their research
e.g. cost, access to the group, time
e.g. choice of topic - will be influenced by what interests the researcher
what are ethical factors usually summaries into
harm
consent
deception
privacy and confidentiality of data
ethical factors
the impact the research is likely to have on the participants
informed consent
information must be made available on which to base a decision to participate or not
deception
information may be withheld from ppts or they may be given false information
confidentiality
identity of the research ppts must be kept a secret
privacy
most research intrudes on peoples lives so consent should be gathered before they take part
protection from harm
ppts must be protected from physical and psychological harm
positivism
using ‘natural scientific’ methods to study society
gathering social facts- objective
what methods are preferred by positivists
surveys, questionnaires, structured interviews, official statistics
interpretivism
attempts to establish meanings and motives for the behaviour of people in society - subjective
what methods are preferred by interpretivists
unstructured interviews
focus groups
participant observations
personal doccuments
what is the aim of interpretivists
to gain an understanding of social life, from the perspective of the individuals involved in the situations or activities being studied
what do social action theories focus on
the individual, and the meanings and motives they have for their actions.
what did Max Weber believe needed to be achieved by sociologists
Verstehen
verstehen
rejection of the ‘scientific method’
emphasis on validity
qualitative data to gather detail and depth
which theorists focus their research on gaining verstehen
interpretivists
