quantitative research methods Flashcards
1
Q
macro theorist info
A
- individuals are shaped by society
- functionalists, marxists
- positivist methods: objective, believe sociology is a science
- statistics, close-ended questionaries, structured interviews, experiments
- reliable and representative data
2
Q
what do positivists believe?
A
- there is an objective social reality ‘out there’ that shapes our behaviour
- social forces create patterns in peoples behaviour
- should follow the model of the natural sciences to produce objective knowledge
- the structured nature means the data produced is reliable and representative
3
Q
laboratory experiments (what they are, faults)
A
- set in artificial environment
- control group - conditions kept constant
- experimental group - exposed to independent variable
- rarely used in sociology to study human behaviour, as individuals are unique
- discovers cause and effect relationships
- impossible to control all variables that affect the result
- cant study past events
- small samples - can’t make generalisations
- hawthorne effect - acting differently when being studied
- e.g. milgram study
4
Q
lab experiments - theoretical considerations
A
- positivism
- aim to identify cause and effect relationships
- high levels of reliability - experiments can be repeated
- produce quantitative data so results can be compared
- detached and objective - researcher manipulates the variables and records the results
5
Q
lab experiments - representativeness
A
- lack external validity - not relevant to the wider population
- lack internal validity - artificial environment - results not even relevant for the subjects in the group
6
Q
lab experiments - ethics
A
- informed consent
- harm to subjects
- treating subjects fairly
- e.g. milgram study
7
Q
field experiments (what they are, faults)
A
- sociologists prefer this methos - study human behaviour in its natural environment
- more natural and valid than laboratory experiments
- lack of control over variables - can’t be sure the true cause has been identified
- e.g. ROSENTHAL AND JACOBSON - self fulfilling prophecy IQ tests
- problems with ethics and informed consent
8
Q
the comparative method (what it is, pros and cons)
A
- thought experiment
- analysing secondary data to discover cause and effect relationships
- identify two groups that are alike in all major respects except for one variable
- make comparisons to see if this difference has any effect
- e.g. DURKHEIM’s study of science
- avoid artificiality
- study past events
- no ethical problems
- hard to control all possible variables
9
Q
positivists methods of study
A
- favour scientific research
- reliable - can repeat the study
- detached and objective - no personal involvement that may influence answers
- quantitative (numerical) data
- representative - large scale
- test hypothesis - test correlations
- cause and effect relationships
10
Q
what are questionaries and surveys
A
- pre-set questions / coded answers
- distributed in various ways (online, post)
11
Q
advantages of questionaries / surveys
A
- quick / easy / cheap
- no need to train interviewers
- easy to quantify data
- make comparisons - correlations
- computer processed
- can be large samples
- filled out anonymously
12
Q
disadvantages of questionnaires / surveys
A
- limited information (tick boxes)
- postal - cant be sure who filled out
- low response rate
- inflexible - set in stone
- respondents could lie
13
Q
ethics and questionnaires / surveys
A
- few ethical problems
- respondents are not obliged to answer the questions
- parental consent for children
- confidentiality is assured if completed anonymously
14
Q
why do interpretivists reject questionnaires?
A
- reject closed ended questionaries
- no valid data / meanings
- imposition question - imposing the researchers meaning as the researcher decides what is important - selects topic, questions and answers
- lying, forgetting and trying to impress creates validity problems
- e.g. census
15
Q
what are structured interviews?
A
- similar to a questionnaire
- fixed set questions - close ended questions
- easy to quantify
- cheap to train interviewers
- response rate better than self-completion questionnaires
- inflexible - set questions
16
Q
structured interviews - ethical considerations
A
- very few ethical considerations
- gain informed consent
- confidentiality more difficult
- respondents have right to withdraw
- some respondents may feel pressurised into answering
- e.g. british crime survey for england and wales
17
Q
structured interviews - theoretical considerations
A
- positivist method
- similar approach to natural sciences
- answer identical questions in same order
- looking for cause and effect
- used to test hypothesis
- highly reliable
- representative if sample is large enough
18
Q
feminist criticisms on structured interviews
A
- interviewer / interviewee relationship reflects oppressive nature of patriarchal gender relationships
- distorts women’s experiences by the researcher imposing categories on women
- feminists prefer the use of unstructured interviews
19
Q
what are official statistics?
A
- secondary quantitative data
- produced by government or other official bodies
- births, marriages, deaths, exam results, crime, census
- various other non-official bodies also produce statistics - churches, charities
20
Q
official statistics advantages
A
- readily available
- cheap to use
- collected at regular intervals can show trends
- gov can collect data on the population (census)
21
Q
official statistics disadvantages
A
- could be none available in the topic being studied
- definitions can differ (i.e. gov saying children in poverty is shown by FSM)
- definitions are often changed by government which makes comparisons difficult (i.e. unemployment figures change a lot, crime changes)
22
Q
official statistics - theoretical considerations
A
- positivists see them as objective social facts
- measure behaviour patters/trends
- can be used to develop and test hypothesis
- can be used to identify correlations
- representative if from large sample
- care is taken with sampling
