research methods Flashcards
what are questionaires?
list of questions subject to self completion. questions can either be open or closed
what is content anyalysis?
this is the number of times a sign, symbol, word, picture etc is used weithin a media text
what is structured interviews?
the reasearcher reads a list of closed questions and ticks boxes of pre-coded responses
what is a semi-structured interview?
the researcher has some set/pre coded questions however they are able to probe respondednts and ask extra questions if needed or some semi structured interviews have some set themes which are then discussed
what is an unstructured interview?
the researcher may have some themes to cover but no pre-determined questions or rigid themes that they should follow. these interviews take a conversational flow
what are focus groups?
an unstructured interview directed to a group of respondents who are encouraged to discuss each other. the interviewer will set up themes and questions and manage the responses from participants
what is a group interview?
are often set up with a researcher and a panel of participants- the presence of another participant can be seen as less threatening, therefore meaning they feel more comfortable to participate
what are non participant observations-overt?
the participants know they are being studied but the researcher is not involved with the group being researched.
what are non-participant observations-covert?
the reasearcher is not fully participating with the group and the participants are unaware they are being studied
what are participant observations-overt?
the participants know they are being studied and the researcher is fully involved in the group being researched
what is participant observation-covert?
the researcher is participating with the group and the participants are unaware they are being studied
what is an ethnography?
involves the researcher immsering themselves into the natural setting of social group being studied, and participating in and observing their daily activities
what are official statistics?
quantitative data collected by the government which is often gathered through other research methods such as questionaires. two of the biggest sources of official statistics come from the office for national statistics and the census
what is a longitudinal study?
research designed to collect data on a sample (of people/documents) on at least two occasions. the research is carried out over a long period of time
what is methodological pluralism/mixed methods?
a mixed method approach where methods are combined to provide a fuller and more detailed, comprihenisve picture of the topic
what is triangulation?
the use of more than one method, usually one or more that collects quantitative data and one or more that collects qualitative data to cross check the data being collected, to counter the bais of using a single method or to increase confidence in findings
what is reflextivity?
this is genrally used by interpritivists where they keep track of the strengths and weaknesses of the research. this is to evaluate their work with th eaim of improving its validity
what is respondent validation?
this is when the researchers interpretations of an event or situation is checked with that of those who took part in the event. feedback is taken to check the accuracy of the data
what are the practical strengths of questionaires?
can be distributed to a large geographical area/sample therefore likley to access the participants required for the research which increases the representativeness of the research as it refelects the characteristics of the target population
what are th ethical strengths of questionaires?
due to the fact that they are subject to self completion informed consent is given which can increase validity as the participants feel comfortable answering the questions meaning they are more likely to be honest and give a trueu insight into the topic being researched
what are the theoretical strengths of questionaires?
standardised questions and the potential to pre-code data makes this method replicable and therefore more reliable meaning positivists would like this method
what are the practical weaknesses of questionaires?
questionaires can be subject to low response rates,therefore reducing the overall sample size.this can affect the generalisibility of the data as wider claims might not be made about the whole popualtion
what are the ethical weaknesses of questionaires?
if the topics is of a sensitive nature some respondents may feel some form of emotional harm an dcould potentially lie to give socially desirable responses. this can impact validity as it does not give a true insight
what are the theoretical weaknesses of questionaires?
due to the standardised nature of the questions the respondent may select the nearest answer thay describes their situation but this may not be fully relevant. the respondents cannot explain meetings behind their answers leading to interpretivists not liking this method as it is low in validity
what are the practical strengths of content analysis?
this is a cheap method to carry out and therefore easy to access a range of data on the research topic. this will increase the representative of th eresearch as you will be able to collect in the data that reflects of characteristics of the group you are interested in
what are the ethical strengths of content analysis?
no participants are required, therefore meaning that ethical considerations and guidelines set out by the BSA are easy to follow. this means issues surrounding the validity of the research are not a concern as the content can be accuratley represented
what are the theoretical strengths of content analysis?
produces quantitative data and is regarded as reliable as it can be carried out again and data can be cross checked.therefore positivists would favour this method
what are the practical weaknesses of content analysis?
is often a time consuming method. this means that you cannot collect data on a large amount of content. this can reduce the genralisibility of the research as you will not be able to make any wider claims about how a group has been represented based on a small amount of data
what are the ethical weaknesses of content analysis?
this can be a subjective approach at times and some sociologists could analyise text out of context. this could cause emotional harm to the groups being researched if they are not presented fully/fairly. this will reduce the validity of the research as an accurate insight is not gained
what are the theoretical weaknesses of content analysis?
interpretivists would state that statistics provide little information about human stories or behaviour as no meanings/feelings/opinions are given. this decreases validity
what are the practical strengths of structured interviews?
due to the interviews being pre-arranged with the interviewee, you are able to gain access to the required participants for the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population
what are the ethical strengths of structured interviews?
the interviewer can explain the aims and objectives of the research which should lead the participants to feel more comfortable and rapport can be built up. this encourages informed consent to be given. this can increase validity of the research as particpants are more likely to answer honestly
what are the theoretical strengths of structured interviews?
the use of closed and standardised questions and responses means the data collected is likley to be objective,numerical and therefore this data has value freedom from researchers own biases. these are reasons why positivists would like this method
what are the parctical weaknesses of structured interviews?
interviews can be more time consuming than methods such as questionaires. this means that it can be difficult to access a large sample of participants. this would impact on the genralisibility of the research as wider claims cannot be made to all who hold the characteristics being researched
what are the ethical weaknesses of structured interviews?
if the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional harm and safeguarding issues. due to the lack of conversational flow participants may not state that they feel uncomfortable and therefore may no tfeel they have the full right to withdraw. this can impact the way they answer questions as they may lie and give socially desribale responses which will impact the validity of the research as they may not provide a true insight into their lives
what are the theoretical weaknesses of structured interviews?
interpretivists would critique this method as they would suggest that its not suitable when researching sensitive issues. particpants acnnot expand on their responses which reduces the validity of the research as a meaningful insight cannot be gained
what are the practical strengths of semi structured interviews?
due to interviews being pre arranged with the interviewee, you are able to gain access to the required participants for the research and the response rate is likley higher. this will increase representativeness of the reasearch as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population
what are the ethical strengths of semi structured interviewed?
these interviews have more chance for rapport to be built than in a structured interview. this encourages informed consent to be given. This can allow for more empathy and understanding of sensitive topics being discussed by the participant. this could lead to them being better safeguarded and therefore potentially feeling more confortable to answer honestly which increases the validity
what are the theoretical strengths of semi-structured interviews?
interpretivists would like the unstructured elements of the interviews as it can produce data that is more qualitative. the nature
what are the practical weaknesses of semi structured interviews?
interviews can be more time consuming. this means that it can be difficult to access a large sample of participants. This would impact on the genralisability of the research as wider claims cannot be made to all who hold the characteristics being researched
what were the ethical problems with semi structured interviews?
if the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional harm and safeguarding issues. this can decrease the validity of the research as the respondent may feel they have to provide socially desirable responses. interviewer effect can also lead to this
what were the theoretical weakness of semi structured interviews?
positivits would not like the flexibility of this method and would argue that if rapport builds then the interviewer can become biased and lose objectivity and therefore impacting on the reliability of the research data and findings, as it makes it difficult to replicate
what are the practical strengths of unstructured interviews?
due to interviews being pre-arranged with the interviewee, you are able to gain access to the required participants for the research and the response rate is likley to be higher. this will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics o fthe target population
what were the ethical strengths of unstructured interviews?
informed consent will be given and participants can build rapport can be built between the researcher and participant meaning that a conversational flow can occur meaning they would not feel emotional harm. this means the particpants are genrally more comfortable, meaning they will answer honestly which increases validity
what are the theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews?
this method leads to lots of in-depth data collection as the interviewer can probe and ask extra questions. rapport and verstehen can also be built. this dramatically increases the validity meaning the interpretivists would like this method
what are the practical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
interviews can be informed consent so only a small sample is gathered. this decreases the genralisisbility as wider claims cannot be made
what are the ethical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
if the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional harm and safeguarding issues. this can decrease the validity of the research as the respondent may feel they have to provide socially desirable responses. the interviewer effect can also lead to this
what are the theoretical weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
positivists would not like the lack of structure of this method and would argue that if rapport builds then the interviewer can become biased and loss objectivity and therefore impacting on reliability of the research data and findings, as it becomes difficult to replicate
what are practical strengths of focus groups?
due to focus groups being pre-arranged with the respondednts you are able to gain access to the required participants for the research an dthe response rate is likley to be higher. this will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target