Paper 2: Section A - 3. Which methods are used in sociological research? Flashcards
WOULD A POSTIVITIST AND AND INTERPREITIVIAT USE ESCH METHID
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What is a questionnaire? Which theorists favour it?
Questionnaires are a list of questions that sociologists hand to people taking part in research.
They can either use qualatative or quantative data, so therefore POSITIVISTS OR INTERPETIVISTS can use them.
What is a structured interview
A structured interview is
What is official statistical data?
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What is unofficial statistical data
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What is content analysis
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What are participant observations
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What are non participant observation
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What are ouvert observation
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What are ouvert observation
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What are unstructed interviews
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What are semi structured interviews
This is a combination of structured and unstructed interviews. There are a list of questions that have been written in advance but interviewers are also free to ask follow-up questions when it’s this is appropriate
What is ethnography?
Research that seeks to walk a mile in another’s shoes.
What are documents? Who favours them?
Secondary data created by individuals, groups and organisations. They’re either personal or public and can be contemporary or historical. Analysed via content analysis.
They contain qualitative data that express beliefs or meaning (interpretivists).
However, positivists may also use them as they can be statistical and provide quantitative data.
What’s content analysis?
FAVOURED BY INTERPRETIVISTS.
Content analysis looks at the meanings attached to words and images.
What are examples of documents?
- Letters
- Diaries
- Memoirs
- Autobiographies
- Notes
- Photographs
What are some strengths of documents?
- Written for personal purposes so high in validity and perfect for interpretivists.
- Usually cheap and quick to access.
What are some weaknesses of documents?
- Not all groups produce personal documents.
- If an audience is in mind, the data’s meaning may change and be bias.
- At the time, the author may feel embarrassed as to why they’ve written this document.
What are public documents?
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What are some strengths of public documents?
- Cheap and quock to access. Reports on all access of policy.
- Rich in detail.
What are some weaknessess of public documents?
Bias in data selection and presentation as the author knows it’s being publisheed for the public
What is triangulation? Why is it used?
Triangulation is the use of more than one research method. This is so the different kinds of data will compliment each other.
It’s used to help increase the reliability or validity of their data. This gives a more in-depth picture of social life.
What is theory triangulation? Why is it used?
Theory triangulation is the use of multiple theories or hypotheses when examining a situation.
The idea is to look at a situation from different perspectives.
What are the 4 types of triangulation?
- Theory triangulation - The use of multiple theories or hypothesis.
- Data triangulation - The ethnographer uses a variety of data sources for the study.
- Method triangulation - The use of multiple methods in the same project (ie interviews then questionnaires)
- Investigator triangulation - The use of more than one investigator, interviewer, observer, researcher or data analyst in a study.
What are some advantages of versthen?
- High in validity
- Subjective (INTERPETIVISTS)
- Builds rapport with subjects
What are some disadvantages of verhsten?
- Not always generalisable
- Low reliability
- Doesn’t eliminate extraneous variables.
- The research is bias
What is relexity? Who favours it AND what do they consider?
In an attempt to counter subjectivity, researchers keep a diary at each stage of research. It’s a form of self-evaluation. Researchers critically reflect how organised the research process and how they may have positively or negatively affect the validity.
Interpretivists favour this method. They consider power inequalities, the researcher’s background or their personality and the social context of research.
What is official statistics? Who favours it?
FAVOURED BY POSITIVISTS
Official statistics is quantitative data collected by government bodies such as the police, NHS, Public Health Service or the Department for Education.
What are advantages of official statistics?
- Free, secondary data source from anonymous people
- Easy to access
- Carried out over periods of times so you observe trends (positivists!)
- Often generalises the entire country
What are disadvantages of official statistics?
The government collects statistics for their own benefit, so they may not cover what you’re looking to study.
- Definitions of key concepts may be different. For example, how a sociologists define poverty may not what the government defines poverty.
What is research imposition?
How far the researcher interferes with the study and make the results invalid
