P1 Research Methods - Process of Research

Question 1

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 1

A possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove it true or false.
This gives direction to research and gives a focus to questions.

Question 2

What do Interpretivists / Positivists believe about hypothesis?

Answer 2

1. Positivists favour a hypothesis, because they seek to discover the cause and effect relationship.
2. Interpretivists often prefer a broad aim.

Question 3

How to form a hypothesis in quantitative sociological research?

Answer 3

1. Identify an area of interest from an idea or thought you might see anecdotally or in action in society.
2. Deduce which theory or sociological perspectives you are trying to research in society
3. Form this into an aim or direction you want your research to draw out overall.
4. Make this a measurable and structured theory that you can test and keep reviewing as part of the research cycle

Question 4

What is an aim?

Answer 4

It is more general, it identifies what a sociologists intends to study and hopes to achieve.
The advantage of this is that it is more open-ended, data can be gathered on anything that appears interesting about the situation.

Question 5

What do Interpretivists believe about aims?

Answer 5

Interpretivists favour a broad aim, as they are interested in the broad range of meanings behind things, they require actors’ to explain what they think is important rather than impose their own explanations on them in the form of a hypothesis.

Question 6

What is operationalisation?

Answer 6

In order to accurately measure our hypothesis we need to have a ‘working’ or ‘operational’ definition of the key terms involved. E.G. Social Class, Educational success
This process is called operationalisation!

Question 7

What do Positivists / Interpretivists believe about operationalising?

Answer 7

1. Positivists are concerned to operationalise concepts because of the importance they place on creating and testing hypotheses.
2. Interpretivists are less concerned as they are more focused on the individual actors’ own definitions and understanding of these ideas.

Question 8

What is a pilot study?

Answer 8

Sociologists who use surveys often carry out a pilot study before conducting their main survey.

This involves carrying out a draft version of the questionnaire on a small sample.
The aims:
- Iron out any problems
- Refine or clarify the questions
- Give interviewers practise

Question 9

What did Young and Willmot do in 1962?

Answer 9

Carried out 100 pilot interviews to help them decide on the design of their study, the questions to ask and how to word them.

Question 10

What is sampling?

Answer 10

It is usually (almost always) impossible for sociologists to study the entire population due to the costs and practicalities involved.

So, it is important to try and select a smaller sample which reflects or mirrors the views of the whole population (or the specific group being studied).

The aim is to find a representative sample of the whole target population.

Question 11

What is random sampling?

Answer 11

Picking names out of a hat so everyone in the population has the same chance of getting chosen

Question 12

What is stratified sampling?

Answer 12

Where the sample reflects the proportions of different groups in the research population.

Question 13

What is systematic sampling?

Answer 13

Picking every Nth person from all possible participants. For example every 5th person.

Question 14

What is quota sampling?

Answer 14

In this method, researchers will be told to ensure the sample fits with certain quotas

Question 15

What is snowball sampling?

Answer 15

With this method, researchers might find a few participants and then ask them to find participants themselves and so on

Question 16

What is opportunity sampling?

Answer 16

Uses people from target population available at the time and willing to take part, it is based on convenience.

Question 17

What can the representatives be affected by?

Answer 17

1. Sample size – larger the sample the more representative
2. The sampling frame – Electoral register, Postcode address file, needs to be complete.
3. The sampling method – various sampling methods are employed

Question 18

What is a sampling frame?

Answer 18

To choose a sample you would first need a sampling frame.
Young and Wilmott made the electoral register.

Question 19

Why do some people not use representative samples?

Answer 19

1. Practical reasons
   - Social Characteristic of the population are not known
   - May be impossible to create a sampling frame
   - Potential respondents may refuse to participate
2. Theoretical reasons
   - Interpretivists want valid data, less concerned about generalisations so less need for a representative sample