research methods

Question 1

quantitative data methods

Answer 1

official statistics, questionnaire, surveys

Question 2

qualitative data methods

Answer 2

observations, diaries, personal documents, case studies, ethnography, focus group

Question 3

The big 4

Answer 3

Validity, reliable, representativeness, generalisability

Question 4

validity

Answer 4

if research gives a true insight of what is being studied

Question 5

reliable

Answer 5

if the data is replicable

Question 6

representativeness

Answer 6

the groups characteristics are representative to the population being studied

Question 7

generalisability

Answer 7

you are able to make wider claims about the population based on studying a smaller sample

Question 8

strengths of questionnaires

Answer 8

cheap, quick, large sample, quantitative data, easy to avoid emotional harm, anonymous. reliable

Question 9

weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 9

low validity, low response rate, answers may be biased, no room to expand or for support, high dropout rate

Question 10

what are ethics

Answer 10

moral principles that govern human behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

Question 11

what is operationalisation

Answer 11

the process of defining a concept so that it’s measurable

Question 12

what is rapport

Answer 12

the ability to relate to others to create a level of trust and understanding

Question 13

what is verstehen

Answer 13

empathetic understanding of human behaviour

Question 14

what is reflexivity

Answer 14

an awareness that values will always affect research findings and validity. This could be through respondent validation

Question 15

what are ethics government by in sociology and what do they cover

Answer 15

the British sociological Association and cover issues such as confidentiality, protection from harm and informed consent

Question 16

Structured interviews

Answer 16

Interviews using closed questions using ticks on pre set categories.
A:quantitative data, quick, easy, large sample
D:not appropriate for sensitive issues, low in validity

Question 17

Semi Strcutred interviews

Answer 17

A mix of mainly closed and some open questions
A: flexible allows for a rapport, increased verstehen and validity
D: hard for large sample or for comparing data

Question 18

Unstructured interviews

Answer 18

informal interview as a guided convo
A:qualitative data, high verstehen and validity
D: hard on large sample or if quantified data needed

Question 19

focus group

Answer 19

People getting together to discuss an issue
A: qualitative data, range of opinions to be discussed
D: takes long time, unsuitable for sensitive issues

Question 20

positivism

Answer 20

prefers quantitative data as easier to analyse and compare
prefers objective data in controlled conditions to ensure neutrality and reliability of results

Question 21

interpretivism

Answer 21

prefers qualitative data as provides reasons for behaviour to understanding social groups
wants high verstehen and rapport where the researcher can have a relationship to develop understanding of interactions

Question 22

hawthorne effect

Answer 22

the participants will behave differently if they know they are being observed which decreases validity

Question 23

demand characteristics

Answer 23

participants change their behaviour based on their interpretation of the aims of the study decreasing validity

Question 24

social desirability bias

Answer 24

participants change their behaviour to act in a socially acceptable way decreasing validity

Question 25

going native

Answer 25

the researcher begins to participate like any other group member and may miss out important info, or loose perspective

Question 26

researcher bias

Answer 26

the researchers beliefs influence the research design or data collection process, reducing the accuracy of the research

Question 27

confirmation bias

Answer 27

tendency to seach for info in a way that confirms ones beliefs, misinterpreting the data so not getting a true insight to participants opinions

Question 28

interpretation bias

Answer 28

info processing bias where the researcher interprets data in a way the participant did not intend, decreasing validity

Question 29

rapport

Answer 29

ease of relationship between the researcher and their subjects, bad rapport may mean the participant doesnt feel comfortable sharing opinions, good rapport may mean there is a loss of objectivity

Question 30

practical issues of social research

Answer 30

time cost subject matter social characteristics of researcher and those being researched access

Question 31

what is operationalising and why is it needed

Answer 31

to define a concept so you can accurately measure it it ensures validity so the researcher and respondents share the same understanding of what concepts and key terms actually mean

Question 32

what is a gatekeeper

Answer 32

a person who has contact with a relevant or appropriate set of individuals

Question 33

what is a random sample

Answer 33

every member of the research population has an equal chance of being included in the sample avoids researcher bias but could lack representativeness

Question 34

what is a non random sample

Answer 34

deliberately targeting specific groups rather than randomly selecting a sample from the general population e.g quota sampling, purposive sampling, snowball sampling

Question 35

systematic sampling

Answer 35

randomly choosing a number between 1-10 and picking every nth number to avoid researcher bias, but may not guarentee representative sample

Question 36

stratified sampling

Answer 36

dividing the research population into groups then into sub groups and selecting participants from each ensures each group is represented but time consuming

Question 37

quota sampling

Answer 37

the researcher goes out and finds people in each category until the quota is full more representative but may be affected by researcher bias

Question 38

snowball sampling

Answer 38

one contact will recruit others to get involved in the research good for hard to access groups and allows large sample but reduced representativeness

Question 39

opportunity sampling

Answer 39

researchers choose individuals that fit the nature of the research easy and goof if specific type of person needed but biased

Question 40

volunteer sampling

Answer 40

an advert is placed and people put themselves forward to take part in research easy and quick but reduced representativeness

Question 41

three issues with research methods

Answer 41

theoretical ethical practical

Question 42

core ethical guidelines

Answer 42

confidentiality privacy anonymity right to withdraw avoiding harm informed consent ensuring legality .

Question 43

triangulation

Answer 43

design to improve research by cross checking validity by using more than one method

Question 44

reflexivity

Answer 44

keeping track of the strengths and weaknesses of the research to evaluate their work and improve validity

Question 45

respondant validation

Answer 45

technique to check the results from participants viewpoint by returning results to check it accurately reflects their experiences/views.

Question 46

methological pluralism/ mixed methods

Answer 46

methods are combined to provide a fuller and more detailed, comprehensive picture of the topic (combines both qualitative and quantitative methods)