research methods

Question 1

what does Research mean?

Answer 1

to study something

Question 2

what are research methods?

Answer 2

techniques that sociologists carry out to study and produce facts about the world

Question 3

what is the point of social research

Answer 3

• explores and highlights social issues
• governments discuss data and make decisions and laws to deal with the issues
• social policy

Question 4

what are interviews?

Answer 4

the researcher is in direct contact with the respondent
often face to face but could be over the phone

Question 5

what is a structured interview?

Answer 5

• questions are all pre-set and every interviewee will be asked exactly the same questions in the same order.
• The researcher cannot ask an extra question based on an interesting point made by the interviewee.

Question 6

what is an unstructured interview?

Answer 6

• in this type of interview the researcher will have decided on the topic and may have a starter question, but the next question will be based on the response made by the interviewee.
• This means that each person interviewed will have a different set of questions and it is the interviewee who directs discussion.

Question 7

what is an experiment?

Answer 7

An experiment is a method of research which takes place in a laboratory. All variables other than the independent variable and the dependent variable are controlled.

Question 8

what is an example of an experiment?

Answer 8

• The psychologist Bandura wanted to find out if children would copy aggressive behaviour shown by adults towards an inflatable doll.
• Bandura changed the aggression so that some children would see aggressive behaviour and some wouldn’t see aggressive behaviour.
• Did children imitate the aggressive behaviour? The findings were that children who saw aggressive behaviour imitated aggressive behaviour.

Question 9

what is a questionaire

Answer 9

• a survey method that is used to collect large amounts of information from a group of people.
• The researcher must design a set of questions that the respondents will answer.
• There are different types of questions that can be used on a questionnaire. Each type produces a different type of information.

Question 10

what are closed questions?

Answer 10

• questions where the range of possible answers is determined by the researcher. - The respondents are required to tick a box or underline/circle the answer that fits their response.

Examples of closed questions are:
Are you female? Yes/no
Do you watch TV? Never/sometimes/often

Question 11

what are open questions

Answer 11

• questions where the respondent can write an individual answer and they are given space to do this.
• The answers to these questions provide lots of detail. The respondents are able to explain their answers so they feel less frustrated than when they have to choose an answer that might not fit exactly what they want to say.

Examples of open questions are:
1) What kinds of TV programmes do you watch and why do you choose these
2) Why do young enjoy playing videogames?

Question 12

what are observations?

Answer 12

• a method where the researcher watches behaviour of other people.
• Researchers want to be certain that the behaviour they are observing is ‘normal’ behaviour and seeing the behaviour happen naturally is one way of making sure this is the case.
• In most natural observations, people are observed in their natural environments and the researcher does not interfere with the location at all.

Question 13

what is an example of research carried out by observation?

Answer 13

• While on duty a nurse received a telephone call from a ‘doctor’ in psychiatry who instructed the nurse to give medicines to a patient on the ward. - - The researchers watched the nurse to see if she obeyed the illegal instruction or refused. (Nurses are not allowed to give medication if the instructions come form a phone call).
• As far as the nurses in the study were concerned, the setting was their normal place of work, so their behaviour was natural.

Question 14

what are case studies?

Answer 14

• A case study is an in-depth investigation of a particular institution. Case studies are carried out by sociologists on institutions such as schools, hospitals, prisons or therapy centres.
• The case study method may include using other research methods such as interviews and questionnaires.

Question 15

what is secondary data

Answer 15

• Refers to any ‘second hand’ information not collected but used by a sociologist for their research.
• This includes: data from previous research, Official government statistics, Newspapers, Documents, Letters & diaries, Films.
• Secondary sources can often be quick and easy to obtain (e.g. many official statistics are available online). However, secondary data can be misleading e.g. letters could be forged but we do not realize.