research methods Flashcards
subjective knowledge
values, experience and beliefs
objective knowledge
opinion, prejudice, bias
positivism
value free sociology
treating humans like test subjects
interpretivism
sociology cannot be value free
humans studying humans
quantitative
numbers as a result
qualitative
answers as a result
primary data
collected data from the subject by the researcher
secondary data
collected data from diaries, documents, statistics
grepooverel
generalize
representative
operational
valid
ethical
reliable
generalisability
apply the results of your study to a broader context
representativeness
representativeness simply means the extent to which a sample mirrors a researcher’s target population and reflects its characteristics.
operationalisation
operationalisation is the process in which sociologists define concepts and ideas in order to measure them
validity
true and understood
ethics
comfortable and polite
reliability
repeatable
Eileen Barker Making of a Moonie
who and how they become moonies
Zimbardo Stanford Prison Study
pretend prison turns into psych ward
Bandura Bobo doll
tea party vs boxing class
Paul Willis – Learning to Labour
how working class kids get working class jobs
Humphreys – Tearoom Trade
gay sex in public places
James Patrick – A Glasgow gang observed
Patrick’s’ findings relate to social conditions that led to such a gang forming and becoming so intense in their behaviour
sampling
is how we get participants who take part in a study.
target population
is the group we are interested in studying
A Sampling Frame
is a list of the target population from which we randomly select our sample
gate keeper
someone who controls who can access information such as a headteacher of a school
probability or random
random, systematic, stratified
non probability or non random
quota, snowball, purposive / volunteer
quantitative methods
Social Surveys
Structured Interviews
Statistical data
Questionnaires
Experiments
Content analysis
Jane Elliot brown eyes blue eyes.
study of prejudice and discrimination
qualitative methods
Observation
Documents
Ethnography
Interviews
Focus Groups
