Research Methods Flashcards
Social surveys features
Variety of formats (self completion questionnaires, face-to- face surveys)
Number of methods (postal, online, telephone)
Used to find correlation between factors and their link to crime
Open and closed questions
Little to no room for variation of questions or tangents
Social surveys advantages
Vast quantities of quantitative data are produced quickly and easily
The same questionnaire can be used by different researchers due to limited interaction between researcher and participant
For self- completion, sensitive data can be collected
Open answers opportunity to express wide variety of answers
Social surveys disadvantages
Depth and detail cannot be captured (researcher discovered what- through stats- but not why)
Social surveys ethics
Confidentiality is essential but easy to maintain
Informed consent is necessary, people must be aware of what they are agreeing to
The right to withdraw
Protection from harm is easy due to not in person
Postal surveys advantages
Respondents have more time to reflect, more detailed responses
Postal surveys disadvantages
Typically low response rates
Relies on literacy and English skills of the individual in the household therefore unrepresentative sample and raises ethical concerns
No control over who answers the questionnaire in the household
No opportunity for respondent to clarify or be provided with further info, respondent could misinterpret the question therefore potentially leading to incorrect info
Online surveys advantages
Offers respondents more time to reflect, more detail responses
Opportunity to survey diverse collection of people from wide location base, benefitting international comparison/ viewpoints
Online programmes will analyse results quickly and easily
Postal surveys disadvantages
Not all respondents have access to internet, limiting representativeness of the sample
Telephone surveys advantages
Data can be generated from a range of geographic locations
Substantial number of people at low cost
Respondents have opportunity to clarify or provide further info
Telephone surveys disadvantages
Refusal rates may be high (inconvenient phone time)
Increasing numbers of population no longer have landline, limits representative sample
Social surveys examples
The National Opinion Research Centre conducts research on demographic characteristics, behaviours and resident attitudes. This is used in order to explain a variety of trends and provide critical understanding of social changes and public opinion on a wide range of issues. The topics covered include politics, religion, education, work and social well-being
Official statistics features
Quantitative
Classed as a form of primary research although you do not actually generate the statistics yourself
This cannot be any statistics they have to be gathered from an official source and referred appropriately
ONS typically gathers stats on behalf of the UK govt
Official statistics advantages
Produced by a reliable source
Widely available and generally easy to locate online
Usually free to download so no cost involved
Typically large representative sample
Official statistics disadvantages
Can be biased
Can be manipulated by govt
Can be misinterpreted
Official statistics examples
Scottish Crime and Justice Survey
The Scottish Govt
Office of National Statistics(ONS)
England and Wales Crime and Justice Survey
Official statistics ethics
Permission to produce
Informed consent
Representative data production
Focus groups features
Typically small group taking part in discussion used to highlight the opinions, feelings, and preferences of group members
Focus groups advantages
Detailed feedback can be given to the organisation
Effective qualitative data generated through group discussion
Participants more likely to give better feedback as they agreed to take part
Quick and cheap
Moderator can interact with participants, allows for follow up questions/ clarification
Quicker than individual interviews
Focus groups examples
“Young people and territoriality in British cities”- focus group used to investigate territorial behaviour by young people to see whether it poses significant constraints on their lives and to consider the implication of this kind of behaviour for communities.
This study used 15 focus groups with young people, including those involved with the “anti- territorial” projects and those who were not
Focus groups disadvantages
Requires trained moderator
Quality and usefulness of discussion depends on skill level of the moderator
Data difficult to analyse
Sample may not be representative
Less control over data collected
Lack of confidentiality and anonymity for participants
Focus groups ethics
Those including young people:
Parental consent, know what they are getting into, fully aware
Confidentiality and anonymity potentially problematic, researchers limited control of “what is said in the group, stays in the group”
Consent
Group context sense of public vulnerability
Case studies features
Focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews, observations and analysis of primary and secondary sources
Primary and secondary source
Case studies advantages
Ability to see relationship between situational context and people
Flexibility to collect data through various means
Capture context and lived reality of participants
Flexibility to be used at various points in a research project
Case studies disadvantages
Results can be difficult to replicate
Expensive and time consuming
Researcher bias (allow feelings to influence case study)
Lack scientific methods and rigor to protect accuracy of data
Case studies examples
Study of people in a certain setting or look at en entire community
Psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there
Case studies ethics
Informed consent (purpose, procedures etc)
Voluntarily agree to participate without coercion
Confidentiality and privacy
Avoidance from harm
Integrity and honesty
Longitudinal studies features
Researchers repeatedly examine the same individuals to detect any changes that might occur over a period of time and the causes of these changes or differences in outcomes
Investigations vary enormously in size
Longitudinal studies advantages
Provide data on the same subject over time, allowing for a deeper understanding of how and why change occur
Establish order of events which is crucial for making conclusions
Longitudinal studies disadvantages
Very time consuming and expensive as they require a lot of time and finance
Over time participants may drop out which can result in selection biases and inconclusive results
Longitudinal studies examples
The Up! Series- 14 English children from a variety of backgrounds starting at 7 years old to study how their class and upbringing affects their future outcomes. This takes place every 7 years, following the participants from age 7 to 14, to 21 and on.
Longitudinal studies ethics
Informed consent- purpose, duration, potential risks or benefits.
Right to withdraw- given long term nature participants should be aware they can withdraw at any time with no repercussions
Privacy and confidentiality- privacy must be granted due to often sensitive data gathered through these studies. Researcher must ensure safety of data storage.
Cultural sensitivity- researchers should be sensitive to cultural differences and changes, ensuring the study remains relevant and respectful to all participants
Observation features
Yields valid data compared to most
Involves researcher participating in the day to day lives of the respondents
Takes place over extended period of time
Can be both overt and covert observation
Observation advantages
Extended close contact time period allows in depth qualitative data and gain full understanding
Flexibility due to being respondent led
Observation disadvantages
Extremely time consuming- months or years
Inaccurate or bias data if participant behaviour is altered due to researcher presence
Expensive
Challenging to carry out
Observation examples
James Patrick 1960s gang study to understand violent behaviours of teens in Glasgow 4 months
Observation ethics
Lack of informed consent if non- participant observation
Obtaining informed consent from all participants
Protecting privacy and confidentiality
Researcher may be involved in illegal activities if involved in certain groups
Interviews features
3 forms of interviews; structured, semi- structured and unstructured.
CAPI may be used for surveys conducted in someone’s home or elsewhere. Involves a person responding to survey or personal questions online, more comfortable than speaking face-to-face
Structured interviews is where the researcher asks a list of pre-prepared, close ended, questions in a set-order. The respondents answer is expected to be short.
Semi-structured interviews consist of a researcher having a list of planned questions which are not in any set order and can be selected on which are asked
Unstructured interviews are more conversational and allow the researcher to ask what they want with follow up questions. The questions are open ended and allows for flexibility in the interview
Structured Interviews advantages
Personal
Valuable qualitative data
Relevant information
Contextual
Unstructured Interviews advantages
Friendly and flexible conversation, flexible atmosphere created leading to more honest answers
Personal
Qualitative
Interactive
In-depth
Contextual
Interviews examples
“Reluctant gangsters” Youth gangs in Waltham forest
Interviews ethics
Confidentiality
Of age, parental consent
Informed consent (know what answering)
Right to withdraw (uncomfortable answering questions can exit at any time)
Structured interviews disadvantages
Rigid structure can lead to misinterpretation of questions leading to less usable info and inability to ask follow up questions to clarify answers
Unstructured interviews disadvantages
Lack of structure can lead to tangents and irrelevant information
