Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Sociology > Research methods > Flashcards

Research methods Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

which methods do positivists prefer?

A
  • ‘social facts’ that can be studied objectively using scientific techniques
  • lab experiements, social surveys, structured questionnaires,structured interviews, non-ppt observation, official stats, content analysis
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

which methods do interpretivists prefer?

A
  • people have a consciousness involving personal beliefs and meanings that influence the way they act
  • researcher should gain an in-depth understanding of the world around them by putting themself in position of person being studied
  • uncontrolled field experiments, open questionnaires, unstructured interviews, overt or cover ppt observation, personal documents
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

examples of practical issues

A
  • time and funding
  • access
  • researcher’s personal skills or characteristics to carry it out (desire to prove hypothesis)
  • availability of existing data
  • career interests and need for researchers to meet deadlines (desire for career success)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

examples of ethical issues

A
  • avoiding harmful consequences
  • deception
  • informed consent
  • respecting privacy and anonymity
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

examples of theoretical issues

A
  • whether a marxist, functionalist or feminist approach is used and how it will influence the topic
  • whether a positivist or interpretivist approach is used - qualitative or quantitative methods
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

reliability

A

whether the method can be replicated by others to check results

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

generalisability

A

whether the method enables findings to be generalised to similar groups

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

validity

A

whether the method provides a true, genuine picture of what is being studied
- qualitative data usually has high validity but is less reliable

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

strengths of secondary data

A
  • may be only available data in an area
  • readily available and cheap
  • often representative - official stats
  • may cover long time span - show trends over time
  • qualitative data eg. personal diaries, letters, newspapers - give interpretivists insight into ideologies of those who produced them
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

weaknesses of secondary data

A
  • may not be representative
  • official stats may lack validity eg. being manipulated by government to avoid political embarrassment
  • difficulties in deciding if data is; authentic, credible - biased, representative of wider social group, same meaning as time it was produced, collected using sound methods
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Hawthorne effect

A
  • presence of a researcher changes the behaviour of the group
  • affects validity of research
  • eg. people not telling the truth in questionnaires or interviews or ‘playing up’ for the researcher in ppt observation
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

laboratory experiment

A

all variables or causes are under control of researcher

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

field experiment

A

conducted in real world under normal social conditions but follow similar procedures to lab experiments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

strengths of lab experiments

A
  • controlled conditions
  • easy to isolate and manipulate variables to identify causes of events
  • enable comparisons between other experimental research
  • detached, objective and scientific
    (positivists)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

strengths of field experiments

A
  • not artificial situations so more valid
  • ppts may not be aware researcher is present so avoid Hawthorne effect
  • producing more valid info than lab experiments
    (interpretivists)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

weaknesses of experiments

A
  • in sociology it’s hard to isolate particular cause of social issue
  • ethical issues - need to treat one group different from the other eg. Rosenthal and Jacobson
  • people may not consent to being experimented on and if researcher carries on it will be deception
  • often only possible on small scale settings - unrepresentative
  • risk Hawthorne effect
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

the comparative method

A
  • researcher collects data about different societies then compares them to identify conditions present in one but lacking in the other as a way of explaining some social event
  • positivists - isolates causes
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

random sampling

A

every individual in population has an equal chance of being picked

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

systematic sampling

A

names selected from sampling frame at regular intervals until desired size is reached

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

stratified random sampling

A

sampling frame is divided into subgroups based on characteristics according to proportions of population and random sample is taken from each group

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

quota smapling

A

population is stratified, interviews find a quota of people who fit into certain categories

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

snowball sampling

A

researcher find one or two people with desired characteristics and asks them to introduce them to others willing to cooperate, then asks them to find others and so on#
- not random or representative

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

what does a survey need?

A
  • hypothesis
  • to operationalise concepts - putting an abstract idea into a form which is measurable
  • pilot study
24
Q

longitudinal studies

A

an on-going survey where people are selected and data is collected at regular intervals over a period of years eg. 7 up

25
Q

longitudinal studies strengths

A
  • ethical issues avoided as requires informed consent of selected ppts
  • positivists - can compare data over time - discover patterns
  • more valid - data about the past doesn’t rely on memory
26
Q

longitudinal studies weaknesses

A
  • funding - long term financial commitments
  • getting sample of ppl willing to participate over time is difficult, may drop out
  • Hawthorne effect
27
Q

the imposition problem

A

risk of researchers imposing their own views on the ppts

28
Q

closed questionnaires weaknesses

A
  • interpretivist - The Imposition problem - researchers may be imposing their own views by only giving set choice of answers that may not apply to ppt
  • literacy
  • questions may not be clear to ppts
  • extra questions can’t be asked to explain fully
29
Q

strengths of closed questionnaires

A
  • quick and cheap
  • produces easily classified quantitative data - positivists
  • high reliability
  • enable comparisons between groups - answering same questions
  • few ethical problems
30
Q

strengths of open questionnaires

A
  • more valid - can use their own words to express what they mean - interpretivists
  • more detailed
31
Q

weaknesses of open questionnaires

A
  • lots of different answers - hard to quantify/compare results
  • meaning of answers unclear
32
Q

strengths of postal questionnaires

A
  • cheap - large representative sample
  • results quickly
  • people reply at their leisure - more thoughtful answers
  • more likely to get answers on sensitive subjects
  • no interviewer bias
  • positivists - detachment and objectivity
33
Q

weaknesses of postal questionnaires

A
  • low response rate
  • those who respond may be unrepresentative - more educated, interested in topic
  • no one present to explain questions
  • no way of knowing right person completed it
34
Q

strengths of structured interviews

A
  • good response rate - persuade to answer questions
  • reliable - results compared, replicated
  • positivists - quantitative data
  • reduced risk of interviewer bias as little involvement with ppt
  • few ethical problems - choice
35
Q

weaknesses of structured interviews

A
  • time consuming, costly, interviewers trained and paid - smaller less representative sample
  • interpretivist - imposition problem - reduces validity
  • interviewer bias
36
Q

strengths of unstructured interviews

A
  • interpretivist - flexibility enables greater insights and opportunity for ppts to be more open
  • questions can be clarified
  • interviewer can change direction if new ideas come to mind
  • rapport can be built up - more valid answers on sensitive topics
37
Q

weaknesses of unstructured interviews

A
  • time-consuming, costly, takes longer to analyse
  • time/cost may mean fewer interviews
  • positivists - less reliable, not standardised
  • success depends on personality and skills of interviewer
  • positivists - hard to compare and measure responses
  • group interviews - peer pressure
38
Q

practical issues with ppt observation

A
  • being accepted into group
  • overt: helps gain info that may be hidden if they had something to gain in the group, ask direct question
  • covert: reduces Hawthorne effect, hard to gain insight without raising suspicion, ethics
  • risk of getting involved in acts they don’t agree with
  • note-taking
  • leaving group without damaging relationships
  • becoming detached to write an impartial account
  • confidentiality of group
39
Q

ethical issues with ppt observation

A
  • observing and reporting activities in secret (if covert) without informed consent
  • deception can be overcome afterwards
  • deception may be justified to protect researcher eg. Patrick - Glasgow gang
40
Q

theoretical issues with ppt observation

A
  • reliability - positivists - data rarely quantifiable, depends on personal characteristics of researcher so hard to replicate
  • validity - relies on memory, observational and interpretive skills of observer, selective observation - their interpretation of what is significant in a group
41
Q

strengths of ppt observation

A
  • studies normal everyday behaviour over time rather than the ‘snapshot’ of questionnaires or interviews
  • in-depth, valid qualitative data
  • hypotheses can emerge as research goes on
  • insight into meanings of social activity by seeing it through their eyes
  • only practical method for researching closed groups eg. gangs, religious sects
42
Q

weaknesses of ppt observation

A
  • time-consuming, expensive
  • stressful
  • positivists - data lacks validity and reliability, no way of checking findings, evidence is subjective
  • overt roles - hawthorne effect
  • ‘going native’ - too involved, objectivity is lost
  • covert - ethically unsound
43
Q

strengths of non-ppt observation

A
  • less time-consuming, cheaper
  • replicate and check findings
  • reduced risk of hawthorne effect - researcher is detached
  • positivists - comparisons can be made - qualitative data
  • consent can be gained
44
Q

weaknesses of non-ppt observation

A
  • not practical to observe all groups - hard to observe all incidents
  • categorisation of behaviour is subjective
  • presence of observer - hawthorne effect eg. ofsted
  • covert - ethics, spying
  • only small group can be observed - lacks representativeness
45
Q

case study

A
  • an in-depth study of a single example
  • eg. Willis - anti-school subculture
  • interpretivist qualitative methods most common eg. unstructured interview, ppt observation
46
Q

life history

A
  • case studies of the overall life of an individual or small group
  • favoured by interpretivists - emphasis on person’s own interpretations and explanations
47
Q

case studies strengths

A
  • can be used to study wider theories
  • useful for generating new hypotheses
  • valid, in-depth detail and understanding from POV of individual or group
  • can be collected by positivist or interpretivist techniques
48
Q

case studies weaknesses

A
  • not representative - positivists - findings not generalisable
  • not reliable or valid - eg. life histories view the past from POV of present, facts may not be recalled correctly, might generate reinterpretation of past
49
Q

personal documents

A
  • usually private documents for a person’s own use
  • eg. diaries, letters, emails, photos, videos, school reports, medical files
50
Q

public documents

A
  • produced for public knowledge available to all
  • eg. government, charity, council, businness and media reports - newspapers, TV, novel, autobiography
51
Q

criteria for judging value of documents

A
  • authenticity - is it genuine or forgery?
  • credibility - is it honest, biased, exaggerated? Who is it written for?
  • representativeness - is it typical for the time? is there any missing, does it reflect a minority who can read and write?
  • meaning - do they have the same meaning now as when they were produced?
52
Q

content analysis strengths

A
  • cheap - readily available documents
  • reliable - quantitative statistical data easily checked
  • enables discovery of things not obvious or considered
53
Q

content analysis weaknesses

A
  • positivists - not reliable - depends on categories they choose and how they interpret, differs between researchers
  • describes what’s being studied, doesn’t explain it
54
Q

official stats strengths

A
  • useful for evaluating social policies
  • may be only source for particular area
  • cheap easy to access
  • positivists - objective and reliable - usually collected with statistical rules publicly available
  • cover long time-span, use large samples or whole population - discovery of patterns
  • useful for time or cultural comparisons
  • useful background data eg. poverty and exam results
  • publicly available - ethical
55
Q

weaknesses of official stats

A
  • collected for administrative purposes not sociological - definitions and classifications may not be suitable
  • produced by state - biased to avoid political embarrassment
  • may not be accurate or complete - not valid picture
  • interpretivists - not objective, simply social constructs, product of process of interpretation, decision making by authority eg. crime stats - unreported crimes

Sociology (5 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions