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Research Methods Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Primary data

A

Information collected by sociologists for their own purposes.

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2
Q

Methods of gathering primary data

A
  • Social surveys
  • Participant observation
  • Focus Groups.
  • interviews
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3
Q

Advantage of primary data

A
  • Up to date, (1st hand)
  • authentic information -
  • high in validity
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4
Q

Disadvantage of primary data

A
  • It time-consuming
  • Costly
  • Require more labor
  • cant make generalization
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5
Q

Secondary data

A

Second hand data

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6
Q

Examples of secondary data

A
  • Documents
    Advantages
  • Personal documents such as diaries and letters enable the researcher to get close to the social actor’s reality, giving insight through their richly detailed qualitative data.
  • (Interpretivists favour this.)
  • Sometimes documents are the only source of information, for example in studying the past.
    -They are a cheap source of data, because someone else has already gathered the information. For the same reason, using existing documents saves the sociologist time.

Official statistics

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7
Q

Advantage of secondary data

A
  • Quick and cheap to use
  • alllows you to perform longitudinal data
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8
Q

Disadvantage of secondary data

A

Resources may not provide the exact information needed

E.G. it’s geographical features
date e.g. diary

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9
Q

Qualitative data

A

(narrative).
In-depth information usually expressed in words
interpretivist prefer this method.

Unstructured interview are an example of this

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10
Q

Quantitative data

A

Refers to information in numerical form

Official statistics is an example of this

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11
Q

Methodological perspective

A

The view of what society is like and how we should study it.

There are two contrasting perspectives of methods
Positivism & interpretivism

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12
Q

Positivists - ( social facts) Durkheim

A

Believe society shapes the individual

Refers quantitative data e.g. social surveys, structured questionnaires and official statistics because these have good reliability and representativeness.

  • They seek to discover patterns of behaviour and seek scientific methods
  • cause and effect
  • High in reliability
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13
Q

Interpretivist - (Verstehen) - Weber

A
  • Think of Verstehen of staying in someone else’s shoes
  • Prefer qualitative data, using methods such as unstructured interviews or participant observation
  • They seek to understand people motives and feelings =undrstand in an emphathetic way
  • High in validity
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14
Q

How interpretivists and positivist differ

A

Positivists
* believe society shapes an individual = we can discover facts in a completely objective way
* systematic, scientific methods.
While, Interpretivists believe
* that individual shape society
* objectivity is impossible, we must value subjectivity (opinions) = as individuals are intricate / complex

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15
Q

Experiments

A
  • They try to discover cause-and-effect relationships.
  • They aim to measure the effect that an independent variable (the ‘cause’) has a dependent variable (‘the effect’)
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16
Q

Laboratory experiments

A

Takes place in a controlled environment. Used to discover cause & effect’ relationship.

strength:
* Control – lab experiments have a high degree of control over the environment & other extraneous variables which means that the researcher can accurately assess the effects
* Have a narrow focus - only examine one specofic aspects of teacher expectations, such as body language for example.
* Reliablity - Replicable – due to the researcher’s high levels of control, research procedures can be repeated.

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17
Q

Two groups of the laboratory experiments

A

The experimental group
The control group

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18
Q

The experimental group

A

The group under study in the investigation.

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19
Q

The control group

A

The group which is similar to the study group who are held constant

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20
Q

problems of the laboratory experiments

A
  • Practical problems:Very complex and impossible to control all variables that might exert an influence around us e.g. e.g. the seating lay-outs within classes, the length of lessons/ number of lessons in a weeks, Wider school policies on uniform, discipline and punishment
  • lack ecological validty = this is when the study findings of the experiment can be generalised and applied to real-life settings.= creates the Hawthorne effect - as its not done in natural environment (people will behave differenlty because they know thatt hey are being studied)
  • Tends to study a small sample, - difficult to investigate social phenomenon like religion - lacks representativeness, aslo cannot study the past
  • ETHICAL PROBLEMS: informed consent - may be difficult to obtain from groups such as children or people with learning diffiulties who may be unable to understand the nature and purpose of the experiment.
  • Instead we shoould use field experiements and the comparative methods as alternatives (Durkehim study of suicideis an example of this.)
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21
Q

Using experiments to investigate education

Example

A

May use experiments to study issues such as:

Teacher expectations
Labelling
The self fulfilling prophecy

Teacher expectations:
- Some teachers have preconceived ideas about pupil’s
- Teachers based their ratings on the similarities they perceived between the children in the photographs and pupils they had taught. This study indicates that teachers label pupils from different social classes and use these labels to pre-judge pupils’ potential.

Ethical problems

Young people’s vulnerability and their more limited ability to understand what is happening mean that there are greater problems of deception, lack of informed consent and psychological damage. These ethical concerns are a major reason why laboratory experiments play only a limited role in educational research.

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22
Q

Field experiments

A
  • takes place in subjects natural surrounding= The results are more likely to reflect real-life compared to laboratory research = high in ecological validity.
  • not aware that they are subjects of an experiemnt, less likelihood of the hawthorne effect influencing the participant’s behaviour increasing the validity of the findings.
  • It is an appropriate research design when researching on a large scale that can’t be carried out in artificial settings.
  • establish causal relationships because researchers manipulate a variable and measure its effect
  • However issues of inform consent = unethical.
  • the comparative methods as alternatives (Durkehim study of suicideis an example of this.)
  • rosenthal and jacobsen
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23
Q

limitations of feild experiments

A
  • It is difficult to replicate the research, making it hard to determine the results’ reliability.
  • This experimental method has a high chance of collecting a biased sample, making it difficult to generalise the results.
  • It may not be easy to record data accurately with so many variables present. Overall, field experiments have less control.
  • Potential ethical issues of field experiments include: difficulty getting informed consent, and the researcher may need to deceive participants.
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24
Q

MIC

Lab Experiments and teacher expectations

A
  • Teachers may have preconcvied ideas about pupils of different social classes
  • supports the Self Fulfilling Prophecy Theory
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25
Q

case study

milgram - obedience study

lab experiment

A

study: when pressured by an authority figure of people, shock another person with dangerous levels of electricity. = the willingness of individuals to follow the orders of authorities when those orders conflict with the individual’s own moral judgment.

  • links to ehical issues
  • Deception: lied about the purpoe of the experiemnt
  • physical ans psychological harm
  • it demonstrated power of authority and how it can have an influence on people to behave unethically and against their wishes.
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26
Q

comparative

A
  • This method can be used study past events.
  • involves comparing two or more similar societies/groups which are similar in some aspects but varied in others, and looking for correlations.
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27
Q

sampling

A

involves selecting the people you will carry out the research with/on

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28
Q

sample frame

|_|

A

a list of the members of the population (e.g. school register/postcode list)

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29
Q

random sampling

A

the simplest technique, where the sample is selected purely by chance. (e.g. names maybe selected randomly in a hat)

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30
Q

Quota sampling

)-(

A

researchers sample individuals that represent a population according to specific traits or qualities.

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31
Q

stratifies sampling

A

the researcher first stratifies the population in sampling frame by age, class, gender etc.

32
Q

snowball sampling

A
  • used when characteristics to be possessed by samples are rare.
  • every 10th…
  • Researchers may find a participants, and then ask them to find participants themselves and so on.
  • This is useful when a sample is difficult to obtain
33
Q

Focus groups

A

are a type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics

34
Q

also called focused groups

Group interviews

A

in which the interviewer interviews a group at a time.

35
Q

Semi-Structured interviews

A

in which respondents have a list of questions, but they are free to ask further, differentiated questions based on the responses given.

36
Q

Unstructured/Informal interviews

A
  • like a guided conversation.
  • flexible-free flowing discussion, can check understanding and can ask follow up questions to clarify
  • interviewee’s view
  • rapport and emphathy is gained = likely to be truthful and at ease = gained indepth data, explores tsensitive/unfamiliar topics = which the researcher can undertand more about how it makes them feel = requires good personal skills to establishe honsety
  • this links to ethical strengths on how informed consent will be attained and confindentialty will be ensure = this is so it doesnt harm the respondent
37
Q

Limitations of unstructed interviews

A
  • Time-consuming: some info may not be relevant personal characterisitics:
  • counter argument for (free-flowing): promotes interview bias, interviewer may ask
    • leading questions* = diffiuclt to remain detached and neutral
  • counter argument for flexible/truthful: status and power inequalities this may affect the respondents willingless/honesty to answer = validity is undermided = may give social desibarle answers
  • ACCESS: schools are hierachal insitutuions and this can cause problems when seeking to interview pupuils/teachers. = shcools may be reluctant to allow sociologists research during lesson time
  • ^ parental permission also plays apart as well as the location
  • lacks reliablity = each interview is unique - variety of different questions asked = aslo difficult to repeat, because the success of the interview depends on the bond of trust
38
Q

structured interviews

A

like questionnaires

39
Q

keyword

subjectivity

opinions

A
  • associated with interpretivists and feminists.
  • focuses on qualitative data
  • sociologists are part of a society that they are studying.
40
Q

keyword

objectivity

A
  • focuses on quantitative
  • associated with positivists = needs to be scientific
  • based on personal beliefs. = dont allow other opinions/bias’ to influence their study
41
Q

Participant observation

A

The researcher joins in with the group being studied and observed their behaviour - positivists prefer thismethod

42
Q

Non participant observation

A

The researcher take a ‘fly on the wall approach’ & observed without getting involved with the group

43
Q

Covert observation

A

Covert - cover

Undercover: the researcher doesn’t reveal that he/she is the researcher

44
Q

Overt observation

A

The researcherinforms participant in advance and obtains informed consent

45
Q

Advantage of participant observation

A
  • high in ecological validity: obtain rich qualitative data that provides a picture of how they really are
  • insight - understanding ‘verstehen’, allows the researcher to gain empathy through personal experience. We can gain insight into the way of life. also allows the researcher to fully join the group and to see things through the eyes (and actions) of the people in group. = authentic data.
  • Flexibility - allows for an open mind. Researcher can follow up different directions/ideas if something interesting occurs = It allows the researcher to enter the situation with an open mind and as new situations are encountered they can be followed up.
46
Q

Disadvantage of participant observation (practical problems)

T.R.A.M.P

A
  • Time consuming = research is first hand and may be long to observe all the patterns. (Decreasing the representativeness)
  • skilled sociologists
  • personal characteristics such as age, gender may restrict what kinds of group can be studied. = gatekeepers I.e. headteachers, makes it difficult to gain access
47
Q

Disadvantage of participant observation- ethical issues

D.R.I.P

A

Covert participation observation raises difficulties - deceiving people to gain info on them is wrong can as it can cause harm.

Need to be aware of the psychological harm/distress it could have - sensitive topics could lead to negative consequences

48
Q

Theoretical disadvantage of participant observation

V.R.R

A

Representatives -small sample sizes as time consuming so hard to generalize from data
Reliability - it would be almost impossible for another researcher to repeat given that a participant observation study relies on the personal skills and characteristics of the lone researcher.

49
Q

Structured Observation

A

Pre-categorised observational schedules.

Positivist prefer these methods = enable them to identify behaviour patterns

Pros:
Quicker
Cheaper
Requires less training

50
Q

disadvantages of structured observation

A
  • They are only useful for studying small scale interactions. = Its an intensive method to carry out
  • Counting frequency doesn’t tell us about meaning - loss of validity
51
Q

Reliability of structured observation

A

Easily replicated
Standardised
Generates quantitive data = easy to compare study

52
Q

Validity - structured observation

A

Interpretivist critics structured observation as it lack validity.

In the Delamont study, she argues that simply counting classrooms behaviour and classifying it into limited number it notes the meaning that pupils and teachers attach.

53
Q

Unstructured observation (pros)

A
  • More flexible, less structured
  • Allows them to gain access to teachers /pupils
  • observations = enables validity, it gives an authentic ins of the world-views if social actors = this understanding is particularly important when researching issues such as classroom interaction or labelling in schools.
  • Allows them to gain access to the meanings that teachers and pupils give to situations by immersing themselves in those situations
54
Q

Practical issues of unstructured observation

T.R.A.M.P

A
  • Schools are complex = time consuming to observe many settings
  • school settings is limited by the restrictions of the school times table, holiday, control over access.
  • personal characteristics = age,gender, ethnicity affects/restricts the process of observation.
  • interactions in school setting is limited by the restrictions of the schools times table, control over access.
  • schools are busy so may find it harder to find privacy.
  • Ethical: Their greater vulnerability and limited ability to give informed consent means that observation normally has to be overt
  • validity is undermined : teachers may be quite skilled at sighing their feelings and altering their behaviour when being observed e.g. inspectors and school managers.
  • the power difference between young people and adults is a major barrier to uncovering the real attitudes and behaviour of pupils = may present a false image when being observed by an adult researcher
55
Q

Practical issues

A
  • Time
  • Research bias
  • Access
  • Money
  • Personal characteristics
56
Q

ethical issues

A
  • Deception
  • Right to withdraw
  • Informed consent
  • Privacy, protection from harm
57
Q

theorectical issue

A
  • validity - true/genuine
  • reliability- replicable(repeated)
  • representativeness - whether the people studied are a typical cross-section of the group.
58
Q

distinctive characteristics that makes it easier/harder to study

A
  • pupils
  • teachers
  • parents: may be hard to contact withouts schools cooperations.
  • classrooms
  • school
59
Q

when researching pupils factors to consider

A
  • power & status
    (Hierarchal institutions that give pupils less status than adults, so they cant voice their opinions/attitudes as well) = Hierarchical inisitutuions, teachers may sometimes use their power over pupils. teachers may sometimes even be able to use this power to influence which pupil = to promote a good image of the school
    sociologists need to overcome the power and status differences between adult researchers e.g group intereviews
  • ability’s & understanding
    (pupils vocab, self-expression,confidence and thinking skills may be limited = makes it difficult to gain informed consent) = young people use language differently from adults, which makes the construction of appropriately worded questions particularly demanding. A young persons memory is less developed than an adult so are less likely to recall in detail releveant material
  • vulnerability
    (As a result of their limited power/ablity they are more vulnerable to physical and psychological harm) given the vulnerablity of school-age pupils, child procetion issues are very important. For example, personal data should not kept unless it is vital to the research = links to child protection laws such as safeguarding vulnerable group act
60
Q

researching pupils

gatekeepers

Practical issues

A
  • access to classroom is controlled by gatekeepes. e.g. headteachers, teachers.
  • To ensure the school is safe/ to not bring down the reputation
  • this makes it difficult to maintain access
61
Q

Social Survey - Questionnaires

A

There are two main types of questionnaire – opened & closed.

62
Q

Interviews

A
  • Structured interviews are usually closed-ended interviews which produce reliable, quantitative data. They are relatively quick to carry out and require little training.
  • However, these interviews, although preferred by positivists, are limiting because the questions are fixed. The quantitative nature of the interviews means they are ideal for examining cause and effect
63
Q

hawthorne effect

A
  • When a participant’s behavior changes as a result of being observed.
  • could lead to social desirable answers
  • unstructured interviews, observation and group interactions
64
Q

Questionnaires

A
  • CLOSED = fixed numbers of respones, multiple choice.
  • OPEN: produce more qualitative data, explains meanings and motivations
  • USEFULNESS|:cheap and quixk, broad range of responses - increasing representativeness
  • PRACTICAL ISSUES : low response rate, closed may give leading or ambigious questions and open questions can be time-consuming to analyse
  • THEORECTICAL ISSUES: closed questions lack validity due to fixed responses, open questions may lack reliability as responses will be less likely to be repeated.
  • ETHICAL ISSUES: potentially sensitive topics and may cuase distress, may disclose responses that are imoral or require reporting other bodies
65
Q

P.E.T. ISSUES of official statistics

A

PRACTICAL FACTORS
- Time: quick to access, however the levels of statistical data can take time to interpret
- Access: some statistics might be unavailable for periods of time or not match the definitions of researchers
- Operationalising variables - statistical meausrements have finit criteria for what defines ethnicity, social class, gemder etc, which may be less fluid than contemporary society

ETHICAL ISSUES
- can be manipulated by governments to prove ideological points - which means some people may not get the healp they need. e.g. healthcare, education amd bemefits. An example of this is the measurement of poverty and the nationa wage.

Theorectical
- validity - dark figure of crimes, education health. Interpretivist would state statitsics are a social construct - desicion made by those in power

66
Q

researching classrooms

A
  • classroms are in a highly controlled setting. e.g. the teacher and the school control classroom layout and access, as well as pupil’s time, noise level etc while in the classroom
  • As a result, the classroom behaviour that the researcher observes may not accurately reflect what those involved really think and feel.
  • classroom interactions, teachers and pupils are very experienced at concealing their real thoughts and feelings
  • classrooms are also fairly small / confined spaces, in a simple social settiing - which makes tje interaction straightfowrd to observe/analyse (teacher + student)
67
Q

what examiners want to see - put it in context

A
  • in relation to context, think of educational social policies that could improve a child situation.
  • e.g. if the rresearch is about the absence of pupils - policies like busary or FSM can be used to resolve the truancy/unauthorised abscence + HELP THEIR FINIICAL SITUATION
  • think of why this might be happening? could be cultural capital = speech codes, or materially deprievd = dont delve too deep into it but think of reasons why a student may experience these things.
68
Q

researching classrooms

peer groups

A
  • Young people may be insecure about their identity and status. Therefore, when in school-based groups such as classes and freindship groups, they may be more sensitive to peer pressure and the need to conform.
  • this may affcet the way they respond to being researched.
  • it may be necessary for example to supervise pupils when they are filling in questionnaires, especiLLY IF THIS IS DONE IN CLASS, IN ORDER TO PREVENT peers from influencing one another’s answers
69
Q

researching teachers

impression management

GOFFMAN

A
  • many teachers play the ‘put on an act’ for pupils and others, teachers are often highly skilled at what Goffman call ‘impersision management’ - manipulating the impression that other people have of us. The researchers may therefore have to find ways to get behind the publi c face
  • typically we ben=have differenlty when we are acting out a role ;front stage’ as opposed to when we are back stage.
70
Q

Questionnaires

A
  • practical advantages: Time effective For when investigating in school factors questionnaires may be better because it is quick and easy to use students may be busy with their study or may have our responsibility so a quick method of responding is
    Access: they are posted at home and online no gatekeepers were intervened data is also easy to quantify as they are close ended questions especially with scores
71
Q

The interviewer as ‘teacher in disguise’

A
  • Power dynamics between interviewer and interviewee can lead to dishonesty, lack of confidence, and less accurate responses, reducing data validity.
  • In educational research, where adults interview children, the authority dynamic may lead children to give socially desirable answers or defer to the interviewer, affecting data accuracy.
  • Similar dynamics can occur with certain parents, with working-class parents feeling patronized and middle-class teachers experiencing less pronounced power imbalances.
  • These social dynamics impact the interview process and distort the collected data.
72
Q

Limitations of structure interviews

A

Response rate

On the other hand, as with questionnaires, those with the time or willingness to be interviewed may be untypical = this will produce unrepresentative data and undermine the validity of any generalisations made from the findings.
- People may lie or exaggerate. These responses will produce false data.
- the findings may lack validity because they do not reflect the interviewee’s concerns and priorities.
- Feminist criticised this method, similar to interpretivist sociology, who argue that structured interviews fail to reveal how the interviewee sees their situation.
- Other feminists favour unstructured interviews, which enable the researcher to build a more equal and collaborative relationship based on trust, empathy and support.

73
Q

secondary source

Documents

A
  • These could be things such as:
    personal diaries, government reports, medical records, novels, newspapers, letters, emails, web pages etc.
  • Public documents are produced by organisations such as government departments, schools, etc .
  • Some of this output may be available for researchers to use. It includes documents such as Ofsted reports of school inspections, etc
  • Public documents also include the official reports of public enquiries such as the Black Report into inequalities in health. - became a major source
74
Q

historical documents

A
  • A document created in the past.
  • historical documents are usually the only source of information
  • The study of families and households illustrates some of the types of historical documents that have been used:
  • Ariès used child-rearing manuals and paintings of children in his study of the rise of the modern notion of childhood.
75
Q

Assessing documents

criteria

A

Criteria: authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning.
- some information might be missing/ may not be able to understand / different interpretations = meaning may change overtime
- is the document believable? Free from errors? Was the author sincere (emotions may influence) = credibility is undermined
- can’t make generalisation = lack representativeness - cant take it at face value

76
Q

MIC

Using official statistics to investigate education

A
  • Ethnicity, class, gender and educational achievement
  • School attendance, truancy and inclusion
  • League tables, marketisation and school performance
  • Gender and subject choice
  • Education, work and training.

Practical
- Much of this data is published and thus available to the sociologist, saving them both time and money.
- it would be too costly and time-consuming for a sociologist to gather information on so many schools themselves.
- Educational statistics allow sociologists to make comparisons between the achievements of different social groups based on ethnicity, gender and social class.
- Also, because educational statistics are collected in the same way = can make comparisons over time. For example,** annually gathered exam statistics** enable the sociologist to see trends in results.

sociology (8 decks)

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