Qual & Quant- Documents Flashcards
What are the 4 types of documents?
1- Official
2- Personal
3- Historical
4- Media documents
1- Official documents
produced by gov departments, charities, schools, ofsted reports etc
- matter of public record, available for anyone
> Government reports ‘public docs’
> Company Reports n accounts ‘private docs’
2- Personal documents
first hand accounts of social events and personal experiences
- life documents, Aries used expressive documents to study childhood
> letters, dairies, drawing, autobiographies
3- Historical
any that give a picture of the past
- picture of social change or important events
4- Media
range of media sources
> TV, the news, newspapers, radios, websites
How can documents be used in primary research?
WILLIS- asked boys to keep dairies in his study
BARKER- kept a diary throughout her research to check her own bias
OR
If sociologists asks some one to draw a picture and label
How did Valerie Hey use documents?
Studies girls friendship patterns
- 15 notes exchanged between 3 girls
- 80% concerned relationships with each other
X ethics, private, personal
What documents are available to sociologists studying education?
- schools prospectuses
- entry tests, exam papers
- pupils reports, letters home
- ofsted reports, behaviour reports/ systems
- schools polices, students work
What are some issues with using the methods above?
X some notes are personal and confidential
X meaning can be misinterpreted
X some can be bias/outdates
X not always representative
What are the strengths of using documents in social research?
1- Personal, gives verstehen
2- Only way of researching the past
3- I’s favour, insight to views
4- Practical, freely available, depth
5- Ethics, accessing public docs
What are the weaknesses of using documents in social research
1- Authenticity, verify author
2- Credibility, distorted, political
3- Meaning, interpretations cannot be clarified
4- Representativeness, old, withheld, not stored, deteriorate
Analysis of media sources in sociology
Mass media sources are widely used in social research
- sources produced for entertainment purposes- stereotyping
- News sources, accurate info, selection biases, political prejudice
1) Formal (quant) content analysis preferred by positivists
- count how many times a certain feature occurs
- word or phrase count, simplest form
e.g. counting types of crime reported in news media
Strengths of formal content analysis
- less researcher bias
- good reliability
- practical because it is quicker to conduct
Weaknesses of formal content analysis
X broad categories
X different interpretations
X cannot tell you the message behind it
2) Qual content analysis: Thematic analysis
(preferred by interpretivists)
Thematic- understand intentions, subjecting area of reportage to detailed investigation
SOOTHILL N WALBY
- study of newspaper reporting sex crime
- ignored rape of partners n focused on rape in public places
SUE SHARPE
- women’s magazines
2) Qual content analysis: Textual analysis/semiology
(preferred by interpretivists)
examining how different words are linked together in order to encourage readers to adopt a particular view of what is being reported
GLASGOW UNIs media groups
- reporting miner’s strikes
- miners ‘demanded’ better working conditions
- managers ‘offered’ changed to working conditions
Strengths of qualitative content analysis
- allows researcher to look at full context in which media reportage takes place
- fuller description of what media is portraying
- higher validity
Weaknesses of qualitative content analysis
X lack objectivity
X are reliant on researchers own interpretations of the meaning of media texts
