Research Methods Flashcards

Question

What are the theoretical strength of questionnaire?

Answer 1

Detailed data. Reliable. Large sample. Easy to quantify and analyze (closed) Detached and objective.

Answer 2

Can build rapport flexible (structured). Can clarify questions.

Answer 3

Time-consuming. Training of interview is costly. Requires interviewers skills.

Answer 4

Rosenthal and Jacobsen. Bandura

Answer 5

Controlled variables. Real life environment (field).

Answer 6

Time consuming. Cost for training. Cost of hiring value (lab). Access.

Answer 7

Consent from gatekeepers

Answer 8

Harm to participants. Lack of anonymity. Deception.

Answer 9

In depth data Reliable (lab) Quantitative Gains cause and effect

Answer 10

Validity Small sample Hawthorn effect Research effect

Answer 11

Participants can lie. Someone else may answer the questions. Social desirability. Lack of rapport.

Answer 12

Good for sensitive topics Can explain to get informed consent

Answer 13

Harm caused from sensitive topics Can’t be anonymous Peer pressure (focus group)

Answer 14

In depth data Reliable (structured) Qualitative data

Answer 15

Demand characteristics Unreliable Small sample Peer pressure Hawthorne effect

Answer 16

Informal group interview. Group of people gathered together and asked to discuss a particular issue

Answer 17

Humphires, pretended to be gay voyeur, studied homosexual activity in public toilets

Answer 18

Flowers, got a job as a telephone sex line worker, studied how women learned to mask feelings when talking to clients.

Answer 19

Mirza and Reay, observed classes in 2 African Caribbean supplementary schools

Answer 20

Lyng, studied skydivers, and motorcyclist to find out why they participate

Answer 21

Flexible Researcher can ask questions (overt) Only way to research some groups

Answer 22

Time Costly Researcher effect Need skilled researchers Relies on memory (covert) Some groups hard to access

Answer 23

Can inform the consent (overt) Findings can be kept anonymous

Answer 24

Lack of informed consent (covert) Breach of privacy Going native Harm to researcher or participants Illegal act No confidentiality when in research Gatekeepers

Answer 25

In depth data Verstehen Build rapport for more honest response Small scale Qualitative

Answer 26

Hawthorne effect Hard to quantify Small sample Unreliable

Answer 27

Blackman, young homeless people, can use gatekeepers. Bennett, local Breakdancer help to get into the hip-hop scene

Answer 28

Moore, young people, unable to gain full acceptance due to age, but overcame by using young female researchers

Answer 29

Patrick, left the study quickly due to high violence Can be difficult to fully leave again once joined and may go native

Answer 30

Hargreaves-setting and streaming Wright-classroom observation Willis-Lad study Fuller-high, low, middle aspires in inner London school Gilborn-Race, ethnicity, and education Evans-W/C values of education

Answer 31

Secondary data Published by gov, organizations, etc. E.g. British crime survey Gov favors as help to gain political positions

Answer 32

Cost a little or nothing Often large sample sizes Well planned Often conducted regularly May only be the major source of info on specific topic Favored by positivist Establish correlation between different times, societies, etc.

Answer 33

Produced by the state, not a full image. Interpretivist reject this as it is socially constructed. Collected for administrative purposes rather than for sociological research.

Answer 34

Qualitative data, express beliefs and meanings held by individuals and organizations

Answer 35

+ Detailed data Ethnographic Cheap Easy to access - Subjective Unrepresentative Unreliable Validity

Answer 36

+ Standardized reliable research method Try to be objective Easy to access and cheap Quick Avoid potential bias - May lack authenticity. Difficult to vertify content. Official documents may be censored. May not exist in all areas of research. Subjective interpretations. Lack reliability and representativeness. Content likely to be selective and presented with a particular bias. Difficult to interpret. Can be destroyed, or an incomplete picture. Positivist dislike.

Answer 37

Compare differences across societies or group or time

Answer 38

Durkheim, compared different levels of suicide in societies, concluded specific cultural differences motivate people to commit suicide

Answer 39

Durkheim. Control people through institutions. Top down structural theory. Individuals are passive. Useful to understand why people are positive.

Answer 40

Durkheim. Maintain social order and control. Primary and secondary socialization, prevent revolution, same n+v. Useful to explain why crime occurs. Explains why there’s social order in society with lack of revolution against capitalism.

Answer 41

Parsons Society is made up of social institutions. Institutions are heavily interlinked. Ensures the needs are met and maintain social order. Useful to understand how social order is maintained through all institutions. Explains how we work as a whole.

Answer 42

Parsons. Adaptation, economic function, society provide a adequate standard of life for survival. Goal attainment, political function, societies must develop ways of making decisions. Integration, social harmony, each institution develop in response to particular functions but they may conflict. Latency, individual beliefs and values, how individuals cope, divided into pattern maintenance and tension management. Explains how society functions.

Answer 43

To deterministic. Consider society through rose tinted glasses and ignore damage of social institutions. Outdated.

Answer 44

Economy was the driving force in society. Determines the nature of social institutions and peoples values and beliefs. Divided into 2, economic base and superstructure: Economy base-underpin a determing everything else in society include means relations of productions. Superstructure-social institutions are primarily influenced by economic system, maintains capitalism. Explains how capitalism is maintained through institutions.

Answer 45

W/C unaware exploitation. For true equality there needed to be a communist revolution. Achieved through social institutions. Explains why W/C accept and maintain their position and why institutions are passing on the n+v.

Answer 46

Maintain calculation through private ownership and exploitation. W/C offer society their labor to survive. Ensure business maximizing their profits and wealth gap. Move production abroad who have limited protection rights for workers. Explains why inequality is caused.

Answer 47

Outdated. Economically deterministic, everything revolve around money. Ignores role of women. Society doesn’t always operate in the interest of R/C

Answer 48

Gramsci criticize Marx for giving economy too much importance instead superstructure has relative autonomy so not completely dominated by the economy. Capitalism is maintained and has much control due to dominate hegemony. R/C dominance is maintained due to coercion, forced people to accept their position and through concent, ideas are used to legitimize U/C power and justify it.

Answer 49

Althusser 3 structure levels, RSA, ISA and economy, each influence each other. Work together to maintain capitalism. Representative state apparatus – armed bodies of men force people into compliance. Ideological state apparatus-ideologically manipulate W/C into accepting capitalism as a legitimate. Useful theory as explain relationship between different bodies within society and how they relate to help maintain capitalism. Explains why capitalism is maintained.

Answer 50

Classical Marxist, having a more social action approach to society than being structuralist. Classical Marxist, developments not particularly new, Marx himself recognized importance of cultural institutions in creating false class consciousness. Overemphasize role of ideas and underemphasize role of state coercion and economic factors. Althusser simply replaced economic determinism with a structural determinism.

Answer 51

Patriarchy is most fundamental form of inequality. All women have shared interest in challenging men. Men are the key instruments of all women’s oppression. Patriarchal power found in all public and private spheres of life. Firestone and Ortner, women’s subordination is due to biology e.g. pregnancy and childbirth so artificial wombs needed. Live separately from men through separatism and lesbianism.

Answer 52

Women’s inequality arise primarily from sexiest stereotyping, general socialization, primary responsibility, lack of positive role models and the sex discrimination through outdated loss and attitudes. Oakley research on housework and Sharpe on gender socialization shows inequality. Reform measures challenges male prejudice and discrimination.

Answer 53

Gender unique quality arise primarily from nature of capitalist society. Capitalism intensifies patriarchal equality. Cheap labor force, reserve army of labor. Women’s expressive role is to absorb man’s anger, takers of shit (Ansley). Barrett and Mclntosh, ideology of cereal packet family is patriarchal and harmful to women. Improve woman’s position involves fundamental challenge to capitalism and class in equality and patriarchal ideology. Capitalism is the root cause of women’s oppression.

Answer 54

Capitalism and patriarchy are two separate systems, interact with each other and both leads to women being sub ordinate of society. Triple shift, reserve army of labor. Serves need of capitalism for a cheap and expendable paid labor force and free reproduction of labor power. Patriarchal and capitalist structures combine with other factors to generate multiple causes for subordination.

Answer 55

Ignore the fact of the men are also used for domestic labor and women are increasingly independent. Early feminist theories ignore other important social factors. Ideologically driven, fails to take into account competing theoretical ideas. Liberal feminism merely deals with reducing effects of subordination rather than challenge in fundamental causes, over optimism.

Answer 56

Micro. Bottom up. Individuals have free will. Society shaped by our choices and actions and meanings. Human produce meaning to form the basis of their understanding of the social world. Human don’t experience world that directly in an objective way. Actively create meanings.

Answer 57

Sociology studies social action between individuals. Individuals construct their own meanings and these constructions shape interaction. Both structural and social action theories are needed to develop a full understanding of human behavior. 2 explanations: Level of cause (macro)-structural factors shapes peoples behavior. Level of meaning (micro)-subjective meaning individuals attach to their actions.

Answer 58

Protestant reformation introduced a new belief system Calvinism. This change the peoples worldview lead to changes in behavior. Promoted a work ethic that brought around the rise of capitalism. Believe they had a predetermined role in heaven and luxury products gives a bad impression to God so they reinvest the money which creates more capitalism. Macro, work ethic changed peoples worldview. Micro, put meaning onto buying luxury so they don’t do such interactions.

Answer 59

Instrumental rational action-social actors works out the most efficient way to achieve a goal. Value rational action-action towards a goal that’s seen as a desirable for its own sake. Traditional action-routine, customary or habitual actions that are done without thoughts or choices, we have always done this. Affectual action-expresses emotion, important in religious and political movement with charismatic leaders that attract the followers based on emotional appeal.

Answer 60

+ Takes both structural and action factors into account. - Schutz, explanation is too individualistic. Advocated use of verstehen but we can’t actually be that person and understand the true motive.

Answer 61

Actively working on relationships and creating and responding to symbols and ideas. 4 key ideas: Symbol, self, game playing/role taking and interaction. We respond to world by giving meanings to things that are sig to us, not shaped by fixed instincts. Create a world of meanings by attach symbols (labeling). We interpret others’ meaning by taking role of other that’s developed through social interaction.

Answer 62

1-Actions based on the meanings we give to situations. 2-Meaning come from interactions in the past and they can be changed and negotiated depending on the situation. 3-Meaning we give our mainly the result of taking the role of others and reflecting on past experiences. Although actions based meaning sweet gift to situations people are kind of predictable as we internalize expectations.

Answer 63

Definition of the situation-labeling something affect how we act. Looking glass self-self-concept comes out of our ability to take the other role, guess how others would interpret us. Career-typically apply to individual progress in their occupation and it becomes part of how they see themselves but can also apply to delinquents and deviance, master status.

Answer 64

Presentation of the self-split into front and back stage. Impression and management-use lang and gestures to pass the image that we want audience to see, requires constantly read audiences responses and adjust our performance accordingly. Roles-gap between who we really are and role we play, roles are loosely scripted by society so have freedom to play how we want.

Answer 65

Our lives are like a theatrical performance, we are actors who are constantly changing characters by moving back and forth between being frontstage and backstage.

Answer 66

Failed to explore wider social factors. No explanation of where the symbolic meanings originate. Use methods that rely on subjective interpretation. Small and unrepresentative sample.

Answer 67

No definite knowledge of what the world outside of mind is really like, all we know is what our senses tells us

Answer 68

World only makes sense as we impose meanings and order by constructing mental categories that used to classify and file info coming from senses. Only gain knowledge through our mental act of categorizing and giving meaning to experiences.

Answer 69

Developed Husserl’s idea further. Way we categorise is not unique, meaning are shared and influenced by social contexts. Typifications enable us to organize experiences into a shared world of meaning. Shared typifications allow effective communication helps maintain social order. Recipe knowledge, shared assumption about the way things are, what certain situations mean and what’s the motivations.

Answer 70

Berger and Luckmann, although reality is socially constructed, It takes all the life of its own and becomes an external reality eg religious ideas may start off in our consciousness but become embodied in powerful structures like churches which then constraints us.

Answer 71

Looking specifically at how social order is created through people having shared understandings of social situations as it affects the meaning.

Answer 72

Social order is bottom up. Social old is created by maintaining common sense knowledge. Members create and apply common sense knowledge to every day lives.

Answer 73

He got his students to act as a lodgers or haggle price at a supermarket. Aim was to disrupt people sense of order and challenged their reflexivity. Many in the experiment were uncomfortable about the change in social order. Shows order of social life is not fixed but achieved by everyone working together using common sense knowledge.

Answer 74

+ Focus on how we actively construct order and meaning rather than being passive. - Craib, Seem to spend a lot of time uncovering take her for granted Reus that’s no surprise to anyone. Assumes structure of norms really exist beyond these context.

Answer 75

Duality of structure, structure and action are 2 sides of the same coin, neither can’t exist without the other. Through our actions we produce and reproduce structures overtime in space, while these structures are what make of action as possible in the first place (relationship structuration) eg lang

Answer 76

+ Attempt to overcome division between structure and action in sociological theory. - Underestimated the capacity of structures to resist a change, implies that actress can change the structure simply by deciding to do so. Craib, It’s actually not a theory at all as it doesn’t explain why actually happens in society instead just describes the kind of things we find when we study society.

Answer 77

Technology. Economic change. Political change. Culture and identity change. Interconnectedness.

Answer 78

Post modern society characterized by instability and fragmentation. Led to images and reality become interlinked. Now define who we are by what we consume.

Answer 79

No such thing as truth in today. Allows marginalized groups to be heard and doesn’t dismiss wider views of life like other theories.

Answer 80

Society based on buying and selling of knowledge. Signs stand for nothing (simulacra). Hyper reality

Answer 81

Narratives are equally valid, there is no one single truth

Answer 82

In post industrialization, rapid intro of new goods and services with much wider consumer choice. Manual work replaced by service economy and flexible work practices are common, jobs for life have disappeared.

Answer 83

No longer a major factor in shaping social life. Life changes and cultural identities now also shaped by other structures.

Answer 84

Blurred traditional cultural boundaries. Identity formed based on the range of structures. Cultural forms like conceptual art and many new music genres are based on mixing the old with new. Cultural diversity and pluralism exist in a range of social context.

Answer 85

Giddens, late modernity. Beck, second modernity, face risk and uncertainty. Philo and Miller, ignore power and inequality in society. Best and Kellner, not explaining the cause. Rustin criticize that it was capitalism not technology that caused an inc risk.

Answer 86

Social facts. Social behavior can be measured objectively. Society is an objective reality made up of social structures. Believe sociology can be a science. Researchers values should not impact research. Links to functionalism, Marxism and feminism.

Answer 87

Methods used in actual science. Hypothetical deductive model. Macro. Quantitative. Experiments. Comparative method. Social surveys. Structured questionnaires. Structured interviews. Non-participant observation.

Answer 88

Interpretivists, Doesn’t produce a true account of society, simply impose researchers own framework and assumptions. Lack of rapport.

Answer 89

Understand meanings individuals gift to situations. Inductive approach. Verstehen Society is a social construction of meaning. Social action theories.

Answer 90

Qualitative. Field experiments. Unstructured/semi structured interviews. Focus groups. Participant observation. Sociologists values should be involved. Sociology cannot and should not be scientific.

Answer 91

Difficult for other sociologists to check the findings or repeat the research. Small scale lack generalizability.

Answer 92

Value free sociology is impossible and unsociological. Social issue is a sociological issue. 3 areas where sociology can’t be value free include choice of subject or topic, funding and methodology.

Answer 93

Impossible as a sociologist has their own values. Should be guided by their values and experiences to ensure quality of findings.

Answer 94

In evitable that sociologists take side. Should take side of the underdog.

Answer 95

Use their values heavily. Sociology should be driven by the desire to make society better and used to highlight injustice.

Answer 96

Aim to be objective. Uncover truth. Needs to be scientific for people to believe it and make changes. Acting in the interest of society.

Answer 97

Behavior is directed by society that exist independently of the mind. Society is made up of social facts just as the natural world is made up of physical facts. Value free sociology is desirable and possible, should aim to uncover these social facts.

Answer 98

Possible to be value free as can follow same structure as natural science. Ensure social facts are actually gained.

Answer 99

Scientifical logic can and should be used to progress humanity. Get rid of capitalism and values to uncover facts.

Answer 100

Areas can be value free:data collection. Areas can’t be value free:choice of topic and interpretation of data.

Answer 101

Empirical Testable Theoretical Cumulative Objective

Answer 102

Sociology, inferior as does it make the same predictions as natural science but natural science may not be as value free and objective. Scientist try to falsify hypothesis or adapted results around the scientific law so it’s socially constructed

Answer 103

Certain knowledge Generalizable Cause and effect Make predictions Replicated Reliability

Answer 104

Natural science methods. Human react to external forces that can be measured to form a causal relationship. Quantitative. Scientific approach. Human behavior response to observable social facts lead to cause and effect.

Answer 105

Suicide study. Used positivist methods to create and establish social facts. Society can be studied scientifically. Used official stats of suicide rates to find patterns to establish why people committed suicide. Aim to create reliable data and gain a large sample size.

Answer 106

People in society should be studied using scientific principles. Good social science like sociology should use a hypothesis to guide the study of society.

Answer 107

Similarities between sociology at the natural science depending on the level of control over variables. 2 types of system within science: closed and open.

Answer 108

Sociology is an open system Sociology is a science as follows scientific methods but open system of science that’s unpredictable.

Answer 109

Hypothesis formation. Falsification. Use of empirical evidence. Replication. Accumulation of evidence. Prediction. Theory formation. Scrutiny.

Answer 110

Theories and statement are unable to be falsified eg false class consciousness. But it could be a science as it’s capable of producing testable hypotheses.

Answer 111

Feyerabend, no scientific model suitable for all times. Kaplan, many scientific discoveries are made by accident. Scientific logic often imposed after or during write up process which can affect and manipulate result making them less accurate but fit with pre-existing scientific laws.

Answer 112

Scientist work within paradigms. Influence what researchers think they should look for.

Answer 113

Rarely question and encourage to fit into the paradigm. Only change when there’s dramatic leap. Scientific knowledge is socially constructed.

Answer 114

No single paradigms. No fundamental agreements. Pre paradigmatic. Could be a science if it develops single fundamental belief system.

Answer 115

Sociology and science differ on 2 major areas, observable and unobservable, consciousness

Answer 116

Humans don’t react in a causal way and behaviors can’t be predicted. Should a try to gain verstehen. (Weber) Gain in depth valid data. (Dobash and Dobash) Ethical issue would arise if sociology was a science. Value laden. Social world is socially constructed.

Answer 117

Suicide study in reaction to Durkheim. Interpretivism methodology. People have freedom and free will. Unstructured interviews and studied of suicide notes to find out why people committed suicide.

Answer 118

Criticize science for claiming a monopoly on the truth. No one metanarrative to explain the world so science is to reductionist. Not in the interest of sociology. Scientific knowledge is subjective and reflect views of the powerful.

Answer 119

Electoral popularity. Ideological and policy preferences? Cost of funding. Globalization.

Answer 120

Antisocial behavior, crime and policing act (2014)-tackle antisocial behavior and provide better support for public. Online safety act (2023)-keeps the Internet safe for children and give adult more choices over what they see online.

Answer 121

State act in the interest of society. Social policies help society to run smoothly and efficiently. Sociologists should investigate social problems and provide explanations and solutions.

Answer 122

Should be actively involved in making social policy recommendations. Giddens, 1 of Tony Blair advisors influenced welfare and social policy for recent labor gov, sociology can help in our everyday lives. Sociologists and gov departments review effectiveness of policy and potential changes.

Answer 123

Social policies reflect the interest of R/C. Provide ideological justifications to mask capitalist exploitation. Maintain labor force and prevent revolution. Sociologist should review the unpleasant truth about capitalist policies

Answer 124

People should be self reliant. State should not interfere too much. Social policy should aim to restore peoples sense of responsibility.

Answer 125

State and society is patriarchal. Feminist research has had an impact in a number of policies? But they often seen as reflecting the liberal feminist view not radical a Marxist.

Answer 126

Support policies that promote diversity and choices. Late modernist, social policies need to adapt constantly to globalization.