Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

Sociology > research methods > Flashcards

research methods Flashcards

1
Q

what is primary data?

A

data collected on your own

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what is secondary data?

A

using other people’s data for your own purposes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what is quantitative data?

A

numerical data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

what is qualitative data?

A

written data

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what are the practical factors influencing choice of methods?

A

1.time and money
2.requirements of funding bodies
3.personal skills and characteristics
4.subject matter
5.research opportunity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what are the ethical factors influencing choice of methods?

A

1.informed consent
2.confidentiality and privacy
3.harm to participants
4.vulnerable groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what are the theoretical factors influencing choice of methods?

A

1.validity
2.reliabilty
3.representativeness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what does validity mean?

A

how truthful the data is

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what does reliability mean?

A

is it repeatable data?

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what does representativeness mean?

A

is the data generalized? e.g mixture of ages and ethnicities

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what are the positivists views?

A
  • prefer quantitative data
  • see sociology as a science
  • they like their research to be reliable and representative
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

examples of positivists

A

functionalists: durkheim, parson
marxists: althusser, bowles and gintis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what are the interpretivists views?

A
  • prefer qualitative data
  • reject the idea of sociology being a science
  • they value validity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

examples of interpretivists

A

interactionalist: becker

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what are the different types of sampling?

A

1.random sampling
2.quasi-random sampling
3.stratified random sampling
4.quota sampling
5.snowball sampling
6.opportunity sampling

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

what is random sampling?

A

randomly selecting participants e.g out of a hat. each member of the target population have an equal chance of being picked

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what is quasi-random sampling?

A

a probability sampling method where researches select members of the population at a regular interval

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what is stratified random sampling?

A

method of sampling that involves the splitting of groups into sub-groups and then splitting them groups into even smaller groups

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what is quota sampling?

A

picking the people with the characteristics you want

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is snowball sampling?

A

where existing study subjects recruit future subjects from other people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

what is opportunity sampling?

A

where the researcher selects participants based on their availability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

what is meant by objective?

A

a researcher must not allow there thoughts and opinions to impact their research findings

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what is meant by subjective?

A

opinions based on personal impressions that are influenced by bias

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

what are official statistics?

A

a set of numerical data collected by the government and associated government agencies

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
practical advantages of lab experiments
funding bodies - fund the experiments personal characteristics - dont need characteristics as they are detached easy - sociologist just needs to follow instructions
26
ethical advantages of lab experiments
informed consent - requirement for funding legality - rarely ask participants to do anything illegal
27
theoretical advantages of lab experminets
reliability - easy to replicate as in a controlled environment
28
practical disadvantages of lab experiments
sample size - difficult to investigate large sizes time - some people have work, school etc money - its in a controlled environment
28
ethical disadvantages of lab experiments
deception - participants don't get told everything harm - harmful activities could take place
28
theoretical disadvantages of lab experiments
validity - information isn't detailed enough representativeness - the sample size is too small
29
practical advantages of field experiments
sample size - large sample sizes making it more representative money - cheaper as setting is natural
29
ethical advantages of field experiments
confidentiality and privacy - when collecting any identities as its all kept safe unintrusive - done without people having to change their daily routines
29
theoretical advantages of field experiments
validity - information is detailed representativeness - its a large sample size
29
practical disadvantages of field experiments
time - takes a long time to gain the right outcome cant control variable and environment as its real
30
ethical disadvantages of field experiments
consent - subjects aren't usually aware they are being studied, so need consent covert - the participants aren't aware
31
theoretical disadvantages of field experiments
reliability - data isn't repeatable
32
practical advantages of comparative method
money - it is a really cheap method , no statistics time - nothing needs to be set up
33
ethical advantages of comparative method
non
34
theoretical advantages of comparative method
reliability - its easy to repeat
35
practical disadvantages of comparative method
access - some data may be restricted language barriers - can misunderstand data
36
ethical disadvantages of comparative method
non
37
theoretical disadvantages of comparative method
validity - isn't enough detail representativeness - only looks at small groups
38
practical advantages of questionnaires
quick, cheap and efficient - can gather large amount of data in a short amount time training - no training is required as they just need to post them
39
ethical advantages of questionnaires
anonymity and confidentiality - details are keep safe, people don't have to answer every questions
40
theoretical advantages of questionnaires
reliability - numerical data that can be repeated representativeness - can gather data from a large population and can generalise it
41
practical disadvantages of questionnaires
money - if buying incentives inflexibility - cant change questions once printed
42
ethical disadvantages of questionnaires
sensitive data - some questions could be too uncomfortable for people to answer
43
theoretical disadvantages of questionnaires
low response rate - some people are too busy just a snapshot - only shows society at a specific time
44
practical advantages of structured interviews
fairly quick and cheap - set questions and answers so is quick training - isn't needed as they are just reading questions
45
ethical advantages of structured interviews
detachment - the interviewee and participant cant create a bond, so doesn't effect data
46
theoretical advantages of structured interviews
reliability - easy to be compared
47
practical disadvantages of structured interviews
inflexibility - questions cant be changed once printed
48
ethical disadvantages of structured interviews
rapport - unable to achieve one, so some questions might not get answered
49
theoretical disadvantages of structured interviews
validity - not enough detail within answers
50
practical advantages of unstructured interviews
flexibility - more topics can be explored
51
ethical advantages of unstructured interviews
rapport - building this will make the participant feel at ease and encourage them to open up
52
theoretical advantages of unstructured interviews
validity - as the data is detailed
53
practical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
time and cost - take longer to carry out, different questions and answers training - more is required which is added to the final cost
54
ethical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
harm - there could be some personal or intrusive questions asked making the participant feel uncomfortable interpersonal relationships - some people can become too friendly which can disrupt data collection
55
theoretical disadvantages of unstructured interviews
representativeness - its more time consuming so less people will get interviewed reliability - data is too detailed to be able to be compared
56
advantages of group interviews
- peers may feel more comfortable - many ideas created
57
disadvantages of group interviews
- one peer may take all the responsibility - peer group pressure can occur
58
practical advantages of overt observations
more likely to gain more access as they known what its about
59
ethical advantages of overt observations
no deception - participants aren't lied to physical safety isn't at risk
60
theoretical advantages of overt observations
can use follow up questions (open-ended) triangulation - more methods can be used aswell
61
practical disadvantages of overt observations
some people can refuse access time-consuming expensive - may need to buy equipment
62
ethical disadvantages of overt observations
people may feel quite uncomfortable
63
theoretical disadvantages of overt observations
hawthorne effect not always produce data that can be generalised
64
practical disadvantages of covert observations
time - consuming limited access
65
ethical disadvantages of covert observations
illegal activities
66
theoretical disadvantages of covert observations
note taking - they cant do it secretly so have to do it in specific areas. lowers validity
67
practical advantages of official statistics
free and easily available online allows comparisons
68
ethical advantages of official statistics
ethical guidelines have already been considered by the government
69
theoretical advantages of official statistics
high in reliability -can be replicated and compared representative - cover large number of people
70
practical disadvantages of official statistics
some information is kept private
71
ethical disadvantages of official statistics
some data may be manipulated to exaggerate certain issues
72
theoretical disadvantages of official statistics
lack validity - errors can be made when producing data
73
practical advantages of documents
cheap source of data easy to access
74
ethical advantages of documents
credibility - undergo peer review which enhance their credibility
75
theoretical advantages of documents
high in validity - produce qualitative data
76
practical disadvantages of documents
availability bias - can be influenced by funding, preferences and language
77
ethical disadvantages of documents
misinterpretation or misrepresentation
78
theoretical disadvantages of documents
low in reliability - because of biases
79
example of experiments
milgram's shock experiment - researcher gave electric shocks to the learners, when they answer a question incorrectly
80
example of interviews
dobash and dobash - they used unstructured interviews to research domestic violence and found they had built a rapport with the interviewees
81
example of observations
laud humphreys tearoom trade - he observed male public toilets, to see if men engaged in sexual activity
82
example of questionnaires
the census - it's given to the population every 10 years, to see who lives in that household
83
example of secondary sources
anne frank's diary

Sociology (10 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions