Research Methods Flashcards
What is Positivism?
An Approach to research within sociology that involves treating people like an object whose behaviour can be directly observed.
-Patterns and trends
-Quantitive data
-Objective and value-free
What is Reliability?
CONTEXT OF RESEARCH
If the same study were to be repeated by other researchers ,it would produce the same result.
What is Validity?
Valid research that reveals a true picture .
Tends to be represented in qualitative data .
Described:”Richly Informative”
What is Representativeness?
To save money and time,Sociologists will take a sample of the larger group to research .Research becomes representative if the sample reflects the characteristics of the wider target populations.
Research can be bias and invalid if it fails to represent.
What is Generalisability ?
Researchers will be generalise from data collected.
What is Interpretivsm?
An approach to Sociology that focuses on meanings and interpretations individuals and groups develop in understanding the sociology world .The role of sociologists is to uncover the shared interpretations or meanings .
Who Is Max Webber?
A sociologist who disagreed with the Positivist view.He noted that people are active ,conscious beings with free will who are aware of what is going on in social situations,and therefore capable of making choices about how to behave.
What is Rapport?
Relationship between the researcher and their subjects.
More used in Interpretivism /qualitative data.
Important when it comes to getting people to open up as it gives confidence to speak at lengths.
What is Researcher Imposition?
Interpretivists argue that the researcher should always be aware of how their presence influences the behaviour of the research subjects.
If the research tool undermines the validity of the data.
What is Subjectivity?
However ,some question whether sociology can ever be entirely objective, as researchers’ views and values are likely to affect their choice of topic.
What is Rexlexivity?
The process of self-reflection by sociologists carrying out research.
Many researchers , discuss how their interaction with their research subjects may have influenced the research process.
It is a process aimed at achieving objectivity and minimising bias.
What is Verstehen + Empathy?
When a sociologist employs a method that helps them to see the world through the eyes of the group being researched.
What is Ethnography?
Aims to understand social phenomena from the ‘inside’.Does this by observing and participating in social activities by talking to people in their “natural” setting.Helps develop an understanding.
