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sociology > research methods > Flashcards

research methods Flashcards

1
Q

what are the steps in the research process?

A
  1. observation
  2. question
  3. literature search
  4. hypothesis
  5. research method + sampling
  6. analyse data
  7. conclusion
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2
Q

what are examples of research methods?

A

interviews, observation, and government statistics.

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3
Q

what are the positives and negatives of interviews?

A

positives
- you’re talking to someone directly

negatives
- social desirability bias
- ^ leads to questioning the validity

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4
Q

what are the positives and negatives of observation?

A

positives
- you can see the bigger picture
- ^ that means you can observe patterns

negatives
- observer bias
- we sometimes observe through media, which can be bias

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5
Q

what are the positives and negatives of government statistics?

A

positives
- they are likely accurate
- they use large samples

negatives
- political bias
- ^ the government can adjust definitions etc. to make their time in office appear more positive

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6
Q

why do we carry out research in sociology?

A
  • to prove our theories
  • to find patterns
  • to predict human behaviour
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7
Q

what are sociologist’s 3 aims in research?

A
  • to make their research valid and reliable
  • to use a representative sample and to make their results generalisable
  • to be objective and avoid bias
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8
Q

what is the overarching aim of sociological research?

A

to explain social phenomena

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9
Q

what are the two theoretical perspectives that research methods broadly stem from?

A

positivism and interpretivism

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10
Q

what do positivist’s believe mould people’s ideas and actions?

A

causes, also known as external forces. things such as law, morals and religion

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11
Q

what did durkheim call external forces?

A

social facts

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12
Q

how do positivists approach research?

A
  • they are objective in their approach
  • they favour quantitative research methods
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13
Q

what are some key ideas of positivism?

A
  • structural forces shape the behaviour of individuals
  • looks at the bigger picture (macro perspective)
  • looks to obtain objective and quantitative data
  • society can be studied scientifically in the same way as natural sciences
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14
Q

what are positivist research methods?

A
  • experiments (lab/controlled/field)
  • comparative method (comparison of official statistics across time, location and social groups)
  • surveys (closed questionnaires and structured interviews)
  • non-participant observation
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15
Q

what are the strengths of the positivist research methods?

A
  • they can demonstrate cause and effect relationships or correlation between events (experiments)
  • they produce quantitative data which is seen as more objective and scientific (comparative method)
  • they are preferred by governments as they advise on social policy (macro scale allows for generalisations of different groups) (surveys)
  • they are reliable - they can be replicated and the results can be checked (falsification principle) (non-participant observation)
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16
Q

what are the limitations of the positivist research methods?

A
  • they can lack validity, they may demonstrate trends but not explain why (experiments)
  • they neglect the action of individuals and focuses on structural forces instead (comparative method)
  • they can be too fixed - they may not reflect the fluidity and diversity in contemporary society (surveys)
  • they don’t gain an insight into the lives of individuals and focuses on what they do, not why they do it (non-participant observation)
17
Q

what do interpretivists believe influences behaviour?

A

the interpretations and meanings individuals give to social situations

18
Q

what did mead suggest researchers need to develop?

A

empathy with their subjects

19
Q

how do interpretivists approach research?

A
  • they are subjective in their approach
  • they favour qualitative research methods
20
Q

what are some key ideas of interpretivism?

A
  • society is constructed of individuals who have free will
  • looks at individual meanings (micro sociology)
  • looks to obtain qualitative data and is more subjective
  • individuals are unique in their interpretations of events and cannot be studied scientifically
21
Q

what are interpretivist research methods?

A
  • observations (participant and non-participant)
  • secondary sources (personal documents, historical documents, media reports etc.)
  • surveys (open questionnaires and unstructured interviews)
22
Q

what are the strengths of the interpretivism research methods?

A
  • they are higher in validity than positivist methods as they uncover meanings and motivations of people’s actions
  • they produce qualitative data which reveals hidden meanings
  • they champion the “underdog” in society, giving a voice to those unheard
  • they gain an insight into hard-to-reach groups
23
Q

what are the limitations of the interpretivist research methods?

A
  • they are difficult to replicate methods (loses reliability)
  • they can be overly influenced by researcher’s interpretations of actions (lacks objectivity)
  • the small scale nature of the methods means it’s unable to generalise to the wider population
  • they are seen as unscientific (difficult to falsify the conclusions of research)
24
Q

what are the key features of primary data?

A
  • collected first hand
  • recent
  • you choose your method and can make it as valid and reliable as possible
  • can be expensive
  • time consuming
  • can have researcher bias
25
Q

what are the key features of secondary data?

A
  • information that already exists
  • quick and easy to collect
  • studies the past, not the present
  • may not be valid or reliable
  • don’t have to worry about consent
  • no researcher bias
26
Q

what are the key features of qualitative data?

A
  • valid but not very reliable
  • detailed description of behaviour
  • meanings and motives
  • difficult to repeat (unreliable)
  • small scale so not representative
  • open to interpretation
27
Q

what are the key features of quantitative data?

A
  • reliable but not very valid
  • establishes cause and effect relationships
  • easy to analyse
  • can repeat (reliable)
  • large sample means it’s generalisable
  • no meanings
  • can be politically biased

sociology (4 decks)

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