research methods

Question 1

questionnaires

Answer 1

A questionnaire is a list of questions written down in in advance that are handed or posted to the respondent
They are the main way of gathering data in social surveys. Some questionnaires become interview schedules - read out and filled in on behalf of the respondent by the trained interviewers

Question 2

closed questions

Answer 2

These questions allow the respondents to pick a box that they agree with the most in relation to a statement

Question 3

open questions

Answer 3

These questions allow the respondent to explain themselves

Question 4

different types of questionnaires

Answer 4

Closed questionnaires - contain a series of questions accompanied by a choice of answers , the respondent has to tick the box next to the most appropriate answer.Such questionnaires produce quantitative data and the data used is often made into statistics and patterns/trends
Open questionnaires - ask open ended questions.The respondent is asked to explain their feelings and emotions or what they have experienced.Such questionnaires produce qualitative data
Self report questionnaires - lists of number of items or activities and asks respondents to tick those that they have experienced
Attitudinal questionnaires - usually ask respondents on a scale 1-5 whether they subscribe to particular point of view

Question 5

strengths of questionnaires

Answer 5

Can be used for reaching larger amount of people - this gives more representative samples of people
Postal questionnaires can be used if the research population is geographically dispersed across the country or if information is required from different locations for comparison purposes
Questionnaires are less time consuming and cheaper than other methods
Questionnaires guarantee anonymity - useful for research that explores embarrassing or sensitive questions
Ensures that the sociologist has minimum contact with the respondent - there is no direct influence on the results
Involve less effort from the respondent compared with other methods

Question 6

weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 6

Low response rates - Many people can not be bothered to reply to questionnaires - response rates of less than 50% undermine the validity of research findings
Postal questionnaires suffer from the worse response rates - difficult to motivate people to complete them
People may not answer correctly or what they truly believe / what actually applies to them because they may want to give a good impression

Question 7

interviews

Answer 7

Interviews are generally recorded by sociologists they can be used to support/contradict a particular hypothesis
They are useful when studying areas that are not accessible to sociological study using other methods
Interviewing can be expensive especially if a large interviewing team needs to be recruited and trained - it is also expensive for training for interview techniques

Question 8

What are structured interviews?

Answer 8

A structured interview involves the researcher reading out a list of questions from an interview schedule (questionnaire) and ticking boxes or writing down answers according to pre set fixed categories on behalf of the respondent
Has little flexibility
Responses to these type of interviews are usually converted into a quantitative form

Question 9

Strengths of structured interviews

Answer 9

Use of closed and fix choice questions generates large amounts of quantitative factual data that can be converted into tables, charts and graphs for comparison and correlation
Can be conducted quickly because they follow a pre set range of questions this means that a lot of people can be interviewed in a relatively short period of time - increases possibility of getting a representative sample from which generalisations can be made
Interviewers can explain the aims and objectives of the research and clarify instructions - may reduce potential non response as well as addressing people’s ethical concerns
Have better response rates than questionnaires because interviewers can return if the respondent in not at home

Question 10

Weaknesses of structured interviews

Answer 10

Structured interviews like questionnaires are artificial devices are not part of everyday reality - they may suffer from interviewer bias it can severely undermine the validity of data collected
Interviews can create the potential for demand characteristics by unconsciously leading respondents into particular responses
Some respondent may react negatively in an interview because of the social characteristics of the interviewer - undermines the possibility of the interviewer building a relationship of trust and rapport with the interviewee
They are inflexible because the questionnaire or interview schedule is drawn up in advance and the interviewer must stick to it
They are only snapshots taken at one moment in time - fail to capture the dynamic and changing nature of social life - peoples experiences may change over time
Success of interviews depend on what people know about their own behaviour

Question 11

ethnography

Answer 11

Ethnography is writing about the way of life, or culture of social groups.It involves the researcher taking part in the natural setting of the social group being studied and participating in the and observing their daily activities

Question 12

What are the strengths of ethnography?

Answer 12

HIGH VALIDITY - the evidence is collected from the natural setting
VERSTEHEN ACHIEVED - the researcher is able to empathise with or think like the people who are being studied
RAPPORT BUILT - a relationship and connection of understanding is created

Question 13

What are the weaknesses of ethnography?

Answer 13

NOT RELIABLE - the researcher may get to involved with the group they are studying
NOT REPRESENTATIVE - studying one group may not reflect the behaviour of similar groups
UNABLE TO IDENTIFY PATTERNS AND TRENDS - the patterns found in the research may not necessarily reflect trends
SUBJECTIVE - the research is presented from the view of the researcher

Question 14

What is an unstructured interview?

Answer 14

Does not have prepared questions or schedule to follow
Interviewer may have a broad aim to follow – generally have a conversation with the respondent
The interviewer directs questions based on the respondent’s answers
It is suitable when in-depth information needs to be gathered from a small group of respondents

Question 15

What are the strengths of unstructured interviews?

Answer 15

RAPPORT ACHIEVED - Allow the researcher to establish a qualitative interaction/relationship with the respondent - puts interviewee at ease - problem of interviewee bias is therefore more likely to be avoided and more valid data is likely to be collected
Unstructured interviews put the interviewee at the centre - more likely to discuss sensitive and painful experiences
Are very flexible the interviewer is not restricted to a fixed set of questions can explore and follow up interesting responses
Are suitable in researching sensitive groups - allow interviewer to explain the purpose of the research there is also anonymity and confidentiality
Provide richer data the data collected often speaks for itself - can be seen as highly valid

Question 16

What are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews?

Answer 16

Gather a lot of data the researcher has to be especially selective in what they publish in support of their hypothesis - researcher may consciously or unconsciously select information that is biased
Qualitative data from unstructured interviews is difficult to analyse and categorise - positivists do not like this type of data because it is difficult to quantify and turn into graphs/tables
Sociological research that uses unstructured interviews tends to use fewer participants - positivists claim that unstructured interview participants tend to be less representative of the research population as a result - difficult to generalise from them to similar populations in the wider community
Are expensive because training needs to be more thorough and specialised interviewers need to be trained in interpersonal skills
Unstructured interviews are highly dependent on what people know about their behaviour

Question 17

group interviews

Answer 17

Some unstructured interviews are carried out with groups rather than individuals
May involve interviewer talking to a group or panel of respondents
Often used to interview children - reassured by friends present
May be used to investigate how groups operate

Question 18

What are focus group interviews?

Answer 18

Participants encouraged to talk to each other
Method was first used by market researchers to see how consumers responded to particular products
Normally involve the sociologist introduce a group of people to an issue
Minimal interference from sociologist

Question 19

strengths and weaknesses of focus group interviews

Answer 19

What are the strengths of focus group interviews?
Focus group interviews are good because there is a lack of interference from sociologist - validity
What are the weaknesses of focus group interviews?
One or two strong personalities can dominate and influence other participants opinions

Question 20

What are semi structured interviews?

Answer 20

Has preset questions that are prepared beforehand and a framework to follow
Some open-ended questions or points of discussion that the researcher can follow up with the respondent
It allows some free-flowing conversation to occur – allowing the interviewer to explore respondents’ thoughts and views

Question 21

What are the strengths of semi structured interviews?

Answer 21

Semi structured interviews have the benefit of asking pre-set questions and giving respondents the freedom to answer in their own way
Interviewers can deviate from the interview schedule if they find an interesting topic to talk about

Question 22

What are the weaknesses of semi structured interviews?

Answer 22

They can be more time consuming than structured interviews and the interviewers require more training to conduct an interview

Question 23

What is observation?

Answer 23

Observation is a qualitative research technique where researchers observe participants’ ongoing behavior in a natural situation

Question 24

What is a non-participant observation or direct observation?

Answer 24

Involves the researcher sitting and observing an activity as a detached onlooker without taking part in the activity
It is usually structured in that it normally uses a coded observation schedule that directs what is to be observed
It is focused on particular types of behaviour or activity , activity that does not fit the schedule is ignored

Question 25

What are the strengths of non-participant observation?

Answer 25

Produces ‘facts’ in the form of quantifiable data
Objective - the researcher of the is detached so is less likely to take sides and be raised in the way they interpret the groups behaviour

Question 26

What are the weaknesses of non-participant observation?

Answer 26

The presence of the researcher may mean that they are observing artificial behaviour
This type of observation gives little insight into the reasons why people behave the way they do
Objectivity can be difficult to achieve because observers have to make value judgements about weather the behavior or activities fit particular activities categories on their objective schedule
Researchers may disagree on what counts as a significant event - raises the issue of reliability recording it

Question 27

What is Participant observation?

Answer 27

Most common type of observation - involves sociologist taking part in the lifestyle of group they wish to study
Main method used by ethnographers because it is research taken from the ‘inside’
The sociologist joins in with the activities of those being studied and shares their experiences of social reality
Participant observation can be either
Overt - the researcher joins the activities of the group but some or all of the group know that the researcher is a sociologist and is observing them
Covert - the researcher takes part in the group but does not reveal that they are researching the group - pretends to be a authentic member of the group
The aim of participant observation is to understand what is happening from the point of view of those involved and to understand their situation
The research is ethnographic - naturalisti
Participant observation especially overt observation is dependent on a gate keeper - a person who can make the process of entering a social group easier
The choice to use covert observation is often shaped by the characteristics of the research team
Social class, gender and ethnicity of the researcher can be significant when entering a social group
Inside a group the researcher needs to:
Focus on looking and listening - they should follow the flow of the social group activity then shouldn’t force the group to do a activity or disrupt ‘normality’
Need to maintain a balance between being a insider and an outsider - shouldnt become too close to the group so that their research does not suffer from bias

Question 28

What are the strengths of participant observation?

Answer 28

Results are naturalistic and can be seen as having high validity as the researcher sees and understands things through the group - Verstehen achieved
The researcher can record the truth in observations because in interviews and questionnaires the truth can be exaggerated
observation means researchers can ask informal questions if this is in covert research it might be suspicious.Observers can develop special relationships with the key people within the groups -acts as a type of respondent validation
The observer researchers the group first hand not what they think is important which is common with questionnaires and interviews
Participant observation takes place after a long period of time - allows an understanding of how changes in attitudes and behaviour take place over a period of time
Observation may be the only practical method available to research hard to reach groups such as criminal gangs or religious sects - observation is likely to be covert unless you are sponsored by a trusted member of a group or you can offer the group some sort of service or role
Observation produces qualitative rather than quantitative data about how people interpret the world around them

Question 29

What are the weaknesses of participant observation?

Answer 29

Observation can suffer from observer or researcher effect - the presence of the observer may result in the group acting less ‘naturally’ because they are aware that there are being studied - sociologists should only begin their research when they are sure their presence is taken for granted - the overt observer can never be sure if their presence has an effect on validity - covert observation is unlikely to lead to this effect
Some observers or researchers can get to attached to the group they are observing so their observations become biased.The observer loses detachment and objectivity and identifies to closely with the group
Observational studies provide a narrow view to the group or the institution studied because the researcher cannot study the wider social context
Covert observation can be dangerous to the sociologist - the african carribean sociologist Ken Pryce was actually murdered attempting to carry out participant observation study of organised drug crime
There are also practical difficulties with observation
They generally take a long time to carry out and require a lot of dedication.In covert observation acting ability is needed.So they are very expensive projects
It can be difficult to record and plan conversations in both overt and covert observations