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research methods Flashcards

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1
Q

primary sources

A

first hand data generated by the researcher themselves
- observations
- questionnaires
- interviews

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2
Q

strengths of primary data

A
  • fit for purpose
  • researcher is aware of any problems
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3
Q

weaknesses of primary data

A
  • more costly
  • more time consuming
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4
Q

secondary sources

A

involves researcher taking advantage of data which already exists
- official statistics
- public/personal documents
- media

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5
Q

strengths of secondary data

A
  • cost and time efficient
  • may be the only source of information for historical topics
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6
Q

weaknesses of secondary data

A
  • not fit for purpose
  • researcher unaware of problems with the data
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7
Q

quantitative data

A

data that revolves around counting or measuring things
- official statistics
- closed ended questionnaires
- experiments

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8
Q

strengths of quantitative data

A
  • fairly easy to analyse with objective procedures
  • easy to make comparisons
  • usually collected in a systematic, objective way
  • can be more representative
  • tends to be reliable
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9
Q

weaknesses of quantitative data

A
  • lacks detail
  • may not be totally objective if sociologist displays bias
  • tends to lack validity
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10
Q

qualitative data

A

data which takes the form of words
- unstructured interviews
- open ended questionnaires
- participant observation

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11
Q

strengths of qualitative data

A
  • more in depth and detailed insight into meanings and motives
  • tends to be more valid
  • allows new insights
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12
Q

weaknesses of qualitative data

A
  • lacks reliability
  • more difficult to analyse so costly and time consuming
  • may be unrepresentative
  • it is subjective
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13
Q

factors affecting the choice of a topic

A
  • personal reasons
  • availability of data
  • funding/policy issues
  • interests of society
  • theoretical perspective of the researcher
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14
Q

longitudinal research

A

where individuals are researched at intervals over a long period, sometimes even a lifetime

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15
Q

example of longitudinal study

A

Parker - studied drug use in a group of 1125 teenagers over 4 years from 14-18 and found that the types of drugs used changed over time and that w/c people experimented from an earlier age but by 18 the m/c had caught up

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16
Q

strengths of longitudinal studies

A
  • can observe changes in a group over time
  • eliminates the problem of individual differences
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17
Q

weaknesses of longitudinal studies

A
  • panel attrition (people dropping out)
  • keeping in touch with participants
  • difficulties of analysing large amounts of data
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18
Q

cross sectional studies

A

where different groups of individuals are compared at different stages of their lives
- eg compare a group of 15 year olds with a group of 20 year olds with a group of 25 year olds

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19
Q

practical factors of research methods

A
  • time
  • cost
  • subject matter
  • personal characteristics
  • hardship/danger
  • recording data
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20
Q

ethical factors of research methods

A
  • informed consent
  • deception
  • privacy
  • confidentiality
  • harm
  • guilty knowledge
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21
Q

theoretical factors of research methods

A
  • validity
  • reliability
  • representativeness
  • positivism v interpretivism
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22
Q

validity

A

truthful, meaningful and accurate reflection of reality and what it set out to measure

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23
Q

reliability

A

data is reliable if a piece of research is reproduced with the same methods and findings are consistent and replicable

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24
Q

representativeness

A

would like research to be representative of wider society, a larger or more diverse group will be more representative

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25
Q

positivism

A

believe sociology should be like the natural sciences and human behaviour should be studied in a non-biased and objective way

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26
Q

interpretivism

A

believe sociology is nothing like the natural sciences because what it studies is very different and therefore cannot be non-biased and instead subjective

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27
Q

example of positivist research

A

Durkheim suicide statistics - used official statistics to find out precise links between suicide rates in different social groups

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28
Q

example of interpretivist research

A

Atkinson suicide interviews - interviewed coroners and found that they have a picture of a typical suicide and suicide victim (eg road deaths are rarely classed as suicide but hanging, drowning or drug overdose are)

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29
Q

overt observations

A

the researcher is honest and the group knows they are observing

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30
Q

strengths of overt observations

A
  • direct questions
  • more ethical
  • easier note taking
  • less danger of hostility if cover is blown
  • easier to get in and out
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31
Q

weaknesses of overt observations

A
  • may still remain an outsider to secrets
  • hawthorne effect
  • some groups may not allow entry
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32
Q

covert observations

A

researcher observes the group without them knowing

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33
Q

strengths of covert observations

A
  • forbidden fruit (accepted and trusted into all secrets)
  • less risk of hawthorne effect
  • sometimes no other way
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34
Q

weaknesses of covert observations

A
  • less ethical
  • guilty knowledge
  • harder to get in and out
  • harder note taking
  • danger of hostility if uncovered
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35
Q

participant observations

A

involves the researcher joining a group and their daily activities, covertly or overtly

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36
Q

non-participant observation

A

researcher observes the group from the outside and doesn’t join in

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37
Q

ethnography

A

an in depth study of a group or culture which tries to gain insight into the way of life of a group of people

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38
Q

example of covert participant observation

A

Humphrey’s tea room trade:
- adopted the role of ‘watch queen’ for homosexual men in public toilets to get to know the gay community then pretended to conduct a survey on health based on this information and found that over 50% were married in tried to live a respectable life style that didn’t reveal their homosexuality (this was the 1970s when it was not acceptable to come out)

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39
Q

example of overt participant observation

A

Venkatesh gang leader for a day:
- spent nearly 10 years conducting overt observation on a crack gang in Chicago, giving him guilty knowledge of the crimes they carried out (first day he approached the gang leader with a questionnaire and was held at knife point but managed to befriend them despite his research being overt)

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40
Q

strengths of participant observation

A
  • only way to study difficult areas
  • confidant/rapport
  • ethical considerations depend whether overt or covert
  • verstehen (empathetic understanding of seeing the world)
  • getting to the truth
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41
Q

weaknesses of participant observation

A
  • time consuming, expensive and dangerous
  • hawthorne effect if overt
  • ethical issues if done covertly
  • going native (judgement becomes clouded within group perspective)
  • lack reliability and representativeness
  • can be subjective
  • observer characteristics can influence behaviour
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42
Q

strengths of non-participant observation

A
  • more cost/time efficient
  • possibility of using quantitative data and more reliable
  • more ethical (not invading privacy)
  • objectivity as not participating
  • reduces hawthorne effect
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43
Q

weaknesses of non-participant observation

A
  • may not be practically possible on some groups
  • causes ethical issues
  • lacks validity as outsider perspective
  • observer characteristics can influence participants
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44
Q

case studies

A

a detailed examination of a single sample of something such as an institution, social group or even an individual

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45
Q

strengths of case studies

A
  • really in depth and provide rich and valid data
  • can generate new hypotheses to be further tested later
  • good for providing new insights into a subject
  • can prove or disprove a general statement
  • may be the only way to study a historical topic
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46
Q

weaknesses of case studies

A
  • unrepresentative
  • unreliable
  • time consuming and expensive
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47
Q

experiments

A

the main idea is to prove or disprove a hypothesis made at the start of an experiment

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48
Q

dependent variable

A

the factor measured in an experiment

49
Q

independent variable

A

the factor changed or manipulated in an experiment

50
Q

control variable

A

the factor kept the same in an experiment

51
Q

confounding/extraneous variable

A

the factor that is failed to be control and influences an experiment

52
Q

lab experiment

A

conducted in an artificial, controlled setting and preferred by positivists

53
Q

field experiment

A

conducted in a real life setting where individuals are often unaware they are participating and preferred by interpretivists

54
Q

example of a lab experiment

A

Zimbardo Stanford Prison experiment:
- involved 24 male volunteers in an artificial prison setting in Stanford university split into guards and prisoners, but they found each group took their roles too seriously, with prisoners experiencing punishment and degradation while the guards took their roles too seriously

55
Q

example of a field experiment

A

Rosenthal and Jacobson Pygmalion in the Classroom:
- labelled random 20% of children as ‘spurters’ to teachers and found that this group experienced higher growth in IQ due to labelling and teacher expectations

56
Q

strengths of lab experiments

A
  • high control
  • can be ethical due to consent
  • positivists say they are objective and scientific
  • reliable
57
Q

weaknesses of lab experiments

A
  • society cannot be replicated in the lab
  • unrepresentative sample
  • can be unethical if harmful
  • lack validity as artificial
  • hawthorne effect
  • may bring experimenter bias due to characteristics or mannerisms
58
Q

strengths of field experiments

A
  • may be the only way to study complex situations
  • less artificial
  • reduced hawthorne effect
59
Q

weaknesses of field experiments

A
  • less control
  • can be less ethical
  • less reliable
60
Q

pilot studies

A

small scale preliminary study conducted before the main research to check feasibility of a study and improve its design

61
Q

key stages in carrying out a social survey/questionnaire

A
  1. aim and hypothesis formation
  2. operationalising concepts
  3. questionnaire design
  4. administering questionnaires
  5. questionnaires and validity
62
Q

examples of questionnaire based research

A

Cumberbatch - horror films:
- gave young people questionnaires based on what horror films they had seen and many reported seeing ones which did not exist due to social desirability bias
S. Hite - sex survey:
- sent out 100,000 sex survey questionnaires and only received a 4.5% response rate

63
Q

strengths of questionnaires

A
  • quick and cheap way of gathering a lot of data
  • no need to train interviewers for self-competition questionnaires
  • quick and easy to analyse sets of data
  • few ethical problems
  • tend to be reliable
  • objective
64
Q

weaknesses of questionnaires

A
  • may be incomplete, illegible or incomprehensible
  • data tends to be limited and superficial
  • don’t know if intended person filled it in
  • low response rate
  • volunteer bias
  • inflexible
  • may lack validity if answers are fixed or participants aren’t honest
  • subjective as researcher interprets data themselves
65
Q

group interviews/focus groups

A

some interviews take place with one interviewer and a group of interviewees to observe the group context

66
Q

example of a group interview

A

Willis ‘the lads’:
- interviewed the w/c boys in a group to understand normal interactions in their school activities

67
Q

strengths of group interviews

A
  • rapport due to informal environment
  • open up and bounce off ideas
68
Q

weaknesses of group interviews

A
  • may find conformity to others
  • may find dominator of group
  • lack anonymity/confidentiality
  • exaggeration/embarrassment
69
Q

structured interviews

A

orally administered questionnaire with pre-defined questions

70
Q

example of structure interview

A

Wilmott and Young - Bethnal Green:
- used structured interviews on their study of family life in Bethnal Green and found only 54/933 did not participate

71
Q

strengths of structured interviews

A
  • higher response rate
  • use with low literacy
  • more representative
  • informed consent
  • more reliable
  • clarify questions and answers
72
Q

weaknesses of structured interviews

A
  • more expensive as have to train interviewers
  • more pressured to respond
  • structure limits validity
  • interviewer bias
  • social desirability, ‘screw you’ and ‘right answerism’
73
Q

unstructured interviews

A

the interview is much more open ended, maybe with a list of topics they want to explore but no list of questions

74
Q

strengths of unstructured interviews

A
  • rapport
  • informed consent
  • freedom to express themselves
  • clarify meanings
  • flexible
75
Q

weaknesses of unstructured interviews

A
  • time consuming to conduct and analyse
  • may produce irrelevant content
  • over confide leaving guilty knowledge
  • unreliable
  • interviewer bias from relationship
  • social desirability, ‘screw you’ and ‘right answerism’
76
Q

example of unstructured interviews

A

Dobash and Dobash - domestic violence:
- found it a useful method when researching such a sensitive subject as the rapport that developed conveyed the true horror of domestic assaults which quantitative data diminished

77
Q

sampling frame

A

a list of all member of the target population you are interested in studying

78
Q

random sampling

A
  • manual selection - members are given a number and numbers are drawn out like the lottery
  • computer selection - members’ names are stored electronically and computer software generates a random sample
79
Q

advantage of random sampling

A

should produce a bias free cross section of a population

80
Q

disadvantage of random sampling

A

does not guarantee a representative sample

81
Q

stratified sampling

A

target population is sampled according to known criteria of different groups within that population (if 60% of population are female then 60% of sample is female)

82
Q

advantage of stratified sampling

A

sample is representative of other factors within the population

83
Q

disadvantage of stratified sampling

A

problem of deciding what categories to us and measurement of these categories

84
Q

quota sampling

A

similar to stratified sampling in that they decide how many individuals from a social group are required and stops drawing them once a particular quota is met

85
Q

advantage of quota sampling

A

if they are aware of the makeup of a general population they can use this as a guide to produce a representative sample

86
Q

disadvantage of quota sampling

A

bias could creep into sample and there is possibility of members of quota not being representative of general population

87
Q

self-selecting/volunteer sampling

A

individuals will directly volunteer to take part in research

88
Q

advantage of self-selecting/volunteer sampling

A

easy to gain willing participants

89
Q

disadvantage of self-selecting/volunteer sampling

A

can account volunteer bias in the type of people who volunteer

90
Q

snowball sampling

A

sample created by contact with one member of a population who suggest other individuals who may be willing to participate

91
Q

advantage of snowball sampling

A

good for gathering participants when studying a sensitive subject matter or an issue with few people involved

92
Q

disadvantage of snowball sampling

A

high likelihood of unrepresentative or biased sample

93
Q

cluster sampling

A

where a cluster of individuals within a population are targeted, such as one area of a town or even one street in a w/c area

94
Q

advantage of cluster sampling

A

sometimes the only suitable type because a population spread over such a large area

95
Q

disadvantage of cluster sampling

A

highly likely to be unrepresentative

96
Q

theoretical sampling

A

some argue it is best to have a non-typical sample to illustrate particular theoretical insights (feminists have studied societies where women have not traditional gender roles to demonstrate sex roles are socially constructed)

97
Q

advantage of theoretical sampling

A

can be the only way to illustrate particular theoretical standpoints

98
Q

disadvantage of theoretical sampling

A

almost impossible to generalise from them to typical groups

99
Q

opportunity sample

A

researcher just uses individuals that are ready to hand to take part

100
Q

advantage of opportunity sampling

A

easy to gain willing participants

101
Q

disadvantage of opportunity sampling

A

taking advantage of available participants is unlikely to be a representative sample

102
Q

pro-large samples

A

some researchers believe that the larger a sample size is the better it is as bias is less likely to enter as well as the sample being more representative

103
Q

anti-large samples

A

large samples can be expensive and time consuming and disguise important trends within the sample

104
Q

public documents

A

official publications:
- official statistics
- government reports
- media
- historical documents

105
Q

personal documents

A

not official publications:
- diaries
- letters
- text messages
- emails
- blogs
- suicide notes
- photos
- oral/family histories

106
Q

strengths of historical/government documents

A
  • only source of historical information
  • cost and time efficient
  • few ethical issues
  • verstehen (insider perspective)
  • government research is on a larger scale so representative
107
Q

weaknesses of historical/government documents

A
  • no data available on some subjects
  • problems with accessing data
  • problems analysing lengthy documents
  • problems of interpreting different cultures or eras
  • may have been manipulated
  • authenticity problems
  • source may not be credible
  • may be unrepresentative and not give full picture
108
Q

example of document research

A

Laslett - marriage and families in the past:
- used church records from the 17th/18th centuries to find that family size and age of marriage were roughly the same as in the 1960s

109
Q

strengths of personal documents

A
  • only way to gain insight if involved cannot be interviewed
  • verstehen (insight into how people felt)
  • can be valid as personal and not written for a particular audience
110
Q

weaknesses of personal documents

A
  • difficulty accessing
  • ethical issues consent and harm with private information
  • could lack authenticity
  • personal bias
  • misinterpretation
  • subjective
111
Q

quantitative content analysis

A

researcher develops a number of categories and counts how frequently material fits in with these categories

112
Q

example of content analysis

A

Lobban - primary school reading:
- looked at primary school reading schemes and the roles taken my males and females and found females were more often found in domestic tasks

113
Q

qualitative content analysis

A

semiotics or thematic analysis where the researcher describes what they think the media is showing

114
Q

strengths of content analysis

A
  • cost/time efficient as media available
  • fewer ethical issues
  • objective if quantitative
  • reliable if strict coding scheme
115
Q

weaknesses of content analysis

A
  • problems getting representative sample
  • can be time consuming
  • problems of interpretation
  • may be problems with quantification or using coding schemes
  • subjective if qualitative
  • interpretivists say it tells us nothing of the media’s meaning
116
Q

official statistics

A

quantitative data gathered by the government or other agenices

117
Q

example of official statistics in research

A

Durkheim’s study of suicide

118
Q

strengths of official statistics

A
  • cost and time efficient
  • easy comparison of trends between groups and time
  • fewer ethical issues
  • representative sample
  • believed to be credible and valid
  • reliable
  • positivists see statistics as social facts
  • objective
119
Q

weaknesses of official statistics

A
  • not fit for purpose
  • problems with definitions
  • may have been manipulated to make government look better
  • may contain inaccuracies or missing information
  • ‘soft’ statistics lack validity
  • socially constructed and subject to a variety of biases
  • subjective when interpreted by sociologist

sociology paper 1 (7 decks)

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