research methods Flashcards
quantitative data methods
official statistics, questionnaire, surveys
qualitative data methods
observations, diaries, personal documents, case studies, ethnography, focus group
The big 4
Validity, reliable, representativeness, generalisability
validity
if research gives a true insight of what is being studied
reliable
if the data is replicable
representativeness
the groups characteristics are representative to the population being studied
generalisability
you are able to make wider claims about the population based on studying a smaller sample
strengths of questionnaires
cheap, quick, large sample, quantitative data, easy to avoid emotional harm, anonymous. reliable
weaknesses of questionnaires
low validity, low response rate, answers may be biased, no room to expand or for support, high dropout rate
what are ethics
moral principles that govern human behaviour or the conducting of an activity.
what is operationalisation
the process of defining a concept so that it’s measurable
what is rapport
the ability to relate to others to create a level of trust and understanding
what is verstehen
empathetic understanding of human behaviour
what is reflexivity
an awareness that values will always affect research findings and validity. This could be through respondent validation
what are ethics government by in sociology and what do they cover
the British sociological Association and cover issues such as confidentiality, protection from harm and informed consent
Structured interviews
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
Semi Strcutred interviews
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
Unstructured interviews
informal interview as a guided convo
A:qualitative data, high verstehen and validity
D: hard on large sample or if quantified data needed
focus group
People getting together to discuss an issue
A: qualitative data, range of opinions to be discussed
D: takes long time, unsuitable for sensitive issues
positivism
prefers quantitative data as easier to analyse and compare
prefers objective data in controlled conditions to ensure neutrality and reliability of results
interpretivism
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
hawthorne effect
the participants will behave differently if they know they are being observed which decreases validity
demand characteristics
participants change their behaviour based on their interpretation of the aims of the study decreasing validity
social desirability bias
participants change their behaviour to act in a socially acceptable way decreasing validity
going native
the researcher begins to participate like any other group member and may miss out important info, or loose perspective
researcher bias
the researchers beliefs influence the research design or data collection process, reducing the accuracy of the research
confirmation bias
tendency to seach for info in a way that confirms ones beliefs, misinterpreting the data so not getting a true insight to participants opinions
interpretation bias
info processing bias where the researcher interprets data in a way the participant did not intend, decreasing validity
rapport
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
practical issues of social research
time
cost
subject matter
social characteristics of researcher and those being researched
access
what is operationalising and why is it needed
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
what is a gatekeeper
a person who has contact with a relevant or appropriate set of individuals
what is a random sample
every member of the research population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
avoids researcher bias but could lack representativeness
what is a non random sample
deliberately targeting specific groups rather than randomly selecting a sample from the general population
e.g quota sampling, purposive sampling, snowball sampling
systematic sampling
randomly choosing a number between 1-10 and picking every nth number to avoid researcher bias, but may not guarentee representative sample
stratified sampling
dividing the research population into groups then into sub groups and selecting participants from each
ensures each group is represented but time consuming
quota sampling
the researcher goes out and finds people in each category until the quota is full
more representative but may be affected by researcher bias
snowball sampling
one contact will recruit others to get involved in the research
good for hard to access groups and allows large sample but reduced representativeness
opportunity sampling
researchers choose individuals that fit the nature of the research
easy and goof if specific type of person needed but biased
volunteer sampling
an advert is placed and people put themselves forward to take part in research
easy and quick but reduced representativeness
three issues with research methods
theoretical
ethical
practical
core ethical guidelines
confidentiality
privacy
anonymity
right to withdraw
avoiding harm
informed consent
ensuring legality
.
triangulation
design to improve research by cross checking validity by using more than one method
reflexivity
keeping track of the strengths and weaknesses of the research to evaluate their work and improve validity
respondant validation
technique to check the results from participants viewpoint by returning results to check it accurately reflects their experiences/views.
methological pluralism/ mixed methods
methods are combined to provide a fuller and more detailed, comprehensive picture of the topic
(combines both qualitative and quantitative methods)
