Research methods Flashcards
What is a primary research method
The researcher collects the data themselves
What is a secondary research method
The data is already available (collected by someone else)
2 examples of primary research method
Field experiments
Questionnaires
2 examples of secondary research methods
Official statistics
Mass media e.g. newspapers
What are the 2 types of data that can be collected
Quantitative
Qualitative
What is quantitative data?
Data which is represented in number form or something that can be measured
What is qualitative data?
Descriptions of people’s feelings about a particular subject
Example of quantitative data
Statistics on qualifications
Statistics on social class
Two positives of using primary data
More likely to be up to date
Have full control
Two negatives of using primary data
Takes more time
Can be expensive
Positives of using secondary data
Easy/quick to find
Less expensive
Negatives of using secondary data
Could be outdated
Could be biased
Positives of using quantitative data
Easy to correct large amounts
Easily analysed
Negatives of using quantitative data
May lack detail
Lacks validity
Positives of using qualitative data
Rich and detailed
Subjective
Negatives of using qualitative data
Can’t be generalised if it’s a small sample
Low reliability
What are the 5 strategies for research
Social survey
Ethnography
Longitudinal study
Case study
Triangulation
What is a social survey
A large scale research, using questionnaires or structured interviews
What data do social surgery’s collect
Quantitative data
An example of a social survey
The census
What is an ethnography
An approach that involves getting inside the heads of those being studied
What does ethnography use
Participant observation
What type of data does ethnography produce
Qualitative data
What is longitudinal study
A study that revisits the group at intervals to see how things have changed
An example of a longitudinal study
The BBC programme ‘child of our Time’
What is a case study
A one-off study of a social group
An example of a case study
Paul Willis study of the working class lads
What is a triangulation
Where the researcher combines methods that creat both quantitative and qualitative data
An example of a researcher who used the triangulation
Paul Willis
Combined participant observation and individual interviews in his study of the lads
What are the ethical issues researchers should consider
Informed consent
Protection from harm
What are the two approaches to studying society
Positivism
Interpretivism
What type of data do positivists favour?
Quantitative data
What type of data do Interpretivists prefer
Qualitative data
Two examples of methods that positivists prefer
structured interviews
Questionnaires
two examples of methods that interpretivists prefer
Unstructured interviews
Observations
What are the issues that we should could consider when it comes to evaluating a method
Representativeness
Validity
Reliability
Practical issues
Ethical issues
Theoretical issues
Other issues that a researcher may face
Hawthorne effect
Going native
What is the Hawthorne effect
Where people act differently because they know they are being watched/asked questions
What does going native mean?
Where a researcher gets too involved in the group they are researching
An example of sociological research
The census
What is the census
A very representative questionnaire that gets sent to every household in the UK every 10 years
Practical problems with interviews with children
Time available
Skills you’d need to interview children
Practical problem with studying someone for a four year time period
Time - a long period of time
Cost - may be expensive
Ethical problems with questionnaires about sensitive topics
May need protection from harm
Stay confidential
What is sampling?
Where a smaller group of people is drawn from the relevant population
How can sampling be done?
By finding lists or databases with names of situable people on
What type of lists could be used to find names for Sampling
Registers
School rolls
What is the aim of choosing people when it comes to sampling
To have a sample that is representative of the survey population
Things a researcher should consider when it comes to choosing a sample of people
The proportions of people
E.g. males, females, different age groups
What are the seven types of sampling methods
Random sampling
Systematic sampling
Stratified sampling
Quota sample
Snowball sample
Volunteer sample
Opportunity sample
What is random sampling
Using a computerised system or drawing names out of a hat to get the required number of people
What can be an advantage of random sampling
It can be relatively easy
What is an issue when using random sampling
It may not result in a representative sample
What is systematic sampling
Involves a more patterned approach, by choosing every tenth or hundredth name on a list
What is an issue with systematic sampling
It may not be representative
What is stratified sampling
Involves creating a number of sampling frames which represent different types of people such as males, females, age groups
What are the issues of using stratified sampling
Time consuming
What is an advantage of using an stratified sample
More likely to get a representative sample
What is quota sampling
A straight forward method, where the researcher has been instructed to get people of certain ages in the street
What is a problem with using Quota sampling
Particular groups such as people who work will be less likely to be on the street
What is volunteering sampling
Where the researcher advertises for people willing to take part in the study
An advantage of using volunteering sample
It’s likely to result in full answers by co-operative respondents
An issue with using volunteering sampling
People who are more interested
In the topic will make the results untypical
What is opportunity sampling
Sociologists who are lectures or teachers may persuade their audience of students to answer questionnaires on the spot
What is the positive of using opportunity sampling
It has a 100% response rate
What is an issue with using opportunity sampling
The sample of sociology students will be unrepresentative of the population as a whole
What are questionnaires
A set of fixed response questions that
respondents either tick or circle
Can questionnaires have open questions
Yes, they may give the respondent a chance to write their answer in full
What is an open question
A space provided for a respondent to write what they want
What is a closed question
Requires a short answer, usually listed for the respondent to tick
What is an advantage of using open questions
Gives greater detail
What type of data do open questions give
Qualitative data
What is an advantage of using closed questions
Easier to quantify and analyse
What type of data does closed questions give
Quantitative data
What are the 3 types of questions that can be seen as problematic
Leading questions
Ambiguous questions
Recall questions
What is a leading question
A question that influences the respondents to answer in a way that the researcher wants
What is an ambiguous question
A question that is unclear of difficult to understand
What is an recall question
A question that requires the respondent to remember something from the past
Problems with using questionnaires to investigating education
Children may struggle to understand the questions
The pupils may influence each other’s answers
Some pupils may refuse to co-operate
Advantages of using questionnaires to investigate education
Useful for investigating sensitive issues such as bullying - anonymous
What is an interview
An social interaction which results in a transfer of information from the interviewee to the interviewer
How can interviews be conducted
Face to face
By phone
Email
What are the 4 types of interviews
Structured
Unstructured
Group
Semi-structured
What is a structure interview
Where the interview read the set questions and then writes down the replies
Advantages of using structured interviews
More straightforward factual information
Easy to use in large scale surveys
Disadvantages of using structured interviews
Limited range of possible answers
Limited guiding for respondents who do not understand the questions
