Research Methods 2.0 Flashcards
Interpretivists:
What are interpretivists?
Interpretivists are sociologists who believe that to understand society, we need to focus on people’s personal experiences and the meanings they attach to their actions.
Positivists:
What are positivists?
Positivists are sociologists who believe that the study of society should be based on scientific methods.
Quantitative data:
What is quantitative data and why do positivists prefer?
Information that can be measured in numbers (like how many, how much, or how often).
Positivists believe in studying society scientifically and prefer numbers because they can find patterns and make generalisations.
Qualitative data:
What is qualitative data and why do interpretivists prefer it?
Information that is descriptive and focuses on people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Interpretivists want to understand people’s personal meanings and perspectives, which can’t be captured by numbers. They use stories and descriptions to get a deeper understanding of social behaviour.
Practical issues:
What are practical issues?
The problems researchers face when doing their studies. These problems can make research harder to carry out e.g. time, access, money
Practical issues:
How can time affect choosing a research method?
Some research methods take a long time to complete (like interviews or observations), while others are quicker (like surveys).
If there’s limited time, a researcher might choose a method that’s faster, even if it means they can’t gather as much detailed information.
Practical issues:
How can money affect choosing a research method?
Some methods are expensive (like experiments or large surveys) because they need resources, travel, or paying participants.
If there’s a limited budget, a researcher might choose a cheaper method, like using existing data or doing a small-scale study.
Practical issues:
How can access effect choosing a research method?
Researchers need to get permission or access to the people or groups they want to study.
If it’s hard to access people (like in private organizations or dangerous areas), a researcher might pick methods like surveys or interviews where they can reach people more easily, rather than direct observation.
Ethical issues:
What are ethical issues?
Ethical issues in research are concerns about how to treat participants fairly and responsibly.
Researchers must ensure that their study does not harm participants and respects their rights.
Ethical issues:
How can informed consent affect when choosing a research method?
Informed consent means participants must know what the research is about and agree to take part.
If a method requires a lot of personal information (like interviews), researchers need to make sure participants fully understand the study before they agree to take part. This can limit some methods if participants are unwilling or need to be fully informed.
Ethical issues:
How can psychological harm affect when choosing a research method?
Psychological harm can occur if a study causes stress, anxiety, or emotional harm.
Researchers need to choose methods that minimize the risk of psychological harm, such as avoiding sensitive topics in interviews or ensuring participants are not placed in uncomfortable situations.
Ethical issues:
How can confidentiality affect when choosing a research method?
Confidentiality means keeping personal information private. If a method involves gathering sensitive data (like surveys or interviews), researchers must ensure participants’ identities and responses are protected.
This may influence the method chosen, as some methods require more personal information than others.
Theoretical issues:
How can reliability affect choosing a research method?
Reliability refers to how consistent and repeatable the results of a study are.
Researchers may choose methods that produce reliable results, like surveys with clear, structured questions, to ensure the findings can be trusted and repeated by other researchers.
Theoretical issues:
How can representativeness affect choosing a research method?
Representativeness means ensuring the sample of participants reflects the wider population.
If a researcher wants to generalize results to a larger group, they may choose methods (like surveys or experiments) that allow them to include a diverse group of participants.
Theoretical issues:
How can validity affect choosing a research method?
Validity refers to whether the research measures what it is intended to measure.
Researchers may choose methods that ensure the study measures real-world behaviour or attitudes, like detailed interviews, to get accurate and truthful results, ensuring that the findings are valid.
Experiments:
What are laboratory experiments and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What they are: Controlled studies where researchers manipulate one variable and observe its effect in a lab setting.
Sociologist Preference: Positivists prefer lab experiments because they aim to produce objective, measurable data to identify patterns.
Practical advantages of lab experiments:
What are two practical advantages of lab experiments?
Control: Researchers can control variables to get clear results.
Replicability: Lab experiments can be easily repeated under the same conditions
Practical disadvantages of lab experiments:
What are two practical disadvantages of lab experiments?
Artificial Environment: Results may not reflect real-life behavior.
Time and Cost: Setting up a controlled lab can be expensive and time-consuming.
Ethical advantages of lab experiments:
What are two ethical advantages of lab experiments?
Safety: Researchers can monitor participants and ensure their safety.
Informed Consent: Participants can be clearly informed about the study.
Ethical disadvantages of lab experiments:
What are two ethical disadvantages of lab experiments?
Deception: Participants may need to be misled about the purpose of the study.
Psychological Harm: Lab experiments may cause stress or discomfort to participants without them realizing the extent.
Theoretical advantages of lab experiments:
What are two theoretical advantages of lab experiments?
Cause-and-Effect: Helps establish clear cause-and-effect relationships.
Objectivity: The controlled environment reduces researcher bias.
Theoretical disadvantages of lab experiments:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of lab experiments?
Lack of Realism: Lab settings don’t always reflect real-world behavior.
Over-Simplification: The focus on a single variable can ignore complex social factors.
Field experiments:
What are field experiments and what type of sociologist likes to use them?
What they are: Experiments conducted in real-world settings where researchers manipulate one variable.
Sociologist Preference: Interpretivists prefer field experiments as they allow study of people in natural, everyday contexts.
Practical advantages:
What are two practical advantages of field experiments?
Real-Life Context: Results are more applicable to real-world behavior.
Natural Behavior: Participants behave naturally in their everyday environment.
Practical advantages:
What are two practical disadvantages of field experiments?
Lack of Control: Difficult to control all variables in a natural setting.
Replicability Issues: It’s hard to repeat the experiment in the same way.
Ethical advantages:
What are two ethical advantages of field experiments?
Less Deception: Participants are usually aware they are part of a study.
Informed Consent: Easier to inform participants about the research.
Ethical advantages:
What are two ethical disadvantages of field experiments?
Deception: Sometimes researchers may still need to deceive participants.
Psychological Harm: Harder to prevent potential harm in real-world settings.
Theoretical advantages:
What are two theoretical advantages of field experiments?
Authentic Results: Provides a more realistic understanding of behavior.
Real-World Testing: Helps test theories in natural environments.
Theoretical advantages:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of field experiments?
Lack of Control: Makes it hard to test cause-and-effect clearly.
Complexity: Social behavior is too complex to control in a field experiment.
Questionnaires:
What are questionnaires and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What they are: Surveys with a set of questions that participants answer.
Sociologist Preference: Positivists prefer questionnaires as they provide quantitative, measurable data.
Practical advantages of questionnaires:
What are two practical advantages of questionnaires?
Quick and Cost-Effective: Easy to distribute to many people at once.
Large Sample Size: Can collect data from a wide group of people.
Practical disadvantages of questionnaires:
What are two practical disadvantages of questionnaires?
Low Response Rate: Not all people respond, which can affect results.
Superficial Data: Answers may be brief or lack depth.
Ethical advantages of questionnaires:
What are two ethical advantages of questionnaires?
Confidentiality: Responses can be kept anonymous.
Informed Consent: Participants are clearly informed about the study.
Ethical disadvantages of questionnaires:
What are two ethical disadvantages of questionnaires?
Lack of Engagement: Some participants may not fully understand or be engaged in the questions.
Limited Follow-up: Can’t ask follow-up questions if the answers are unclear.
Theoretical advantages of questionnaires:
What are two theoretical advantages of questionnaires?
Quantifiable Data: Provides statistical data for testing sociological theories.
Wide Coverage: Can provide a broad overview of attitudes or behaviors.
Theoretical disadvantages of questionnaires:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of questionnaires?
Lack of Depth: Limited to the questions asked, no room for detailed responses.
Social Desirability Bias: Respondents might answer in a way they think is socially acceptable, not truthfully.
Structured interviews:
What are structured interviews and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What they are: Interviews where the researcher asks a set of pre-determined questions.
Sociologist Preference: Positivists like structured interviews as they provide standardized, reliable data.
Practical advantages of structured interviews:
What are two practical advantages of structured interviews:
Consistency: All participants answer the same questions, so the data is comparable.
Easy to Analyze: Responses are easier to code and analyze.
Practical disadvantages of structured interviews:
What are two practical disadvantages of structured interviews?
Limited Flexibility: No opportunity to explore new topics during the interview.
Time-Consuming: Conducting many structured interviews can take time.
Ethical advantages of structured interviews:
What are two ethical advantages of structured interviews?
Informed Consent: Participants are aware of what the interview will involve.
Confidentiality: Responses can be kept private.
Ethical disadvantages of structured interviews:
What are two ethical disadvantages of structured interviews?
Interviewee Bias: Participants may feel pressured to respond in socially acceptable ways.
Psychological Stress: Some may feel uncomfortable or pressured by rigid questions.
Theoretical advantages of structured interviews:
What are two theoretical advantages of structured interviews?
Reliability: Standardized questions make it easier to replicate studies.
Clear Data: Responses are consistent and can be compared easily.
Theoretical disadvantages of structured interviews:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of structured interviews?
Limited Depth: Doesn’t allow participants to explain answers in detail.
Doesn’t Capture Complexity: May miss nuanced social behaviors and experiences.
Unstructured interviews:
What are unstructured interviews and what sociologists prefer to use them?
What they are: Interviews with open-ended questions, allowing more freedom for participants.
Sociologist Preference: Interpretivists like unstructured interviews as they allow for deeper, more personal insights into people’s experiences.
Practical advantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two practical advantages of unstructured interviews?
Flexibility: Can explore unexpected topics or issues during the interview.
Rich Data: Provides in-depth, qualitative data.
Practical advantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two practical disadvantages of unstructured interviews?
Time-Consuming: Interviews can be long and take time to analyze.
Difficult to Analyze: Data is harder to compare and analyze systematically.
Ethical advantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two ethical advantages of unstructured interviews?
Genuine Understanding: Participants can express themselves freely.
Informed Consent: Participants can ask questions and feel more in control.
Ethical disadvantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two ethical disadvantages of unstructured interviews?
Bias: The interviewer’s personal opinions may affect how questions are asked or interpreted.
Psychological Harm: The depth of personal questions may make participants uncomfortable.
Theoretical advantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two theoretical advantages of unstructured interviews?
Depth: Allows a rich understanding of social phenomena.
Holistic: Helps capture the complexity of social behavior and experiences.
Theoretical disadvantages of unstructured interviews:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of unstructured interviews?
Subjectivity: Responses are influenced by the interviewer’s behavior, making findings harder to generalize.
Less Reliability: Difficult to replicate due to the open-ended nature of the interview.
Semi structured interviews:
What are semi-structured interviews and what type of sociologist prefers to use them?
What they are: The researcher becomes part of the group they are studying and observes their behavior.
Sociologist Preference: Interpretivists like participant observation because it offers a deep understanding of social groups from the inside.
Practical advantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are two practical advantages of semi-structured interviews?
Real-World Insight: Observing directly in a natural setting provides valuable data.
Genuine Interaction: Participating gives researchers a better understanding of social dynamics.
Practical advantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are two practical disadvantages of semi-structured interviews?
Time-Consuming: Requires long periods of observation.
Risk of Bias: The researcher may become too involved and lose objectivity.
Ethical advantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are two ethical advantages of semi-structured interviews?
Informed Consent: Participants may know they are being studied.
No Deception: Less need to deceive participants about the study’s aims.
Ethical disadvantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are the disadvantages of semi-structured interviews?
Deception: Sometimes the researcher must conceal their identity or role.
Psychological Harm: Participants may feel uncomfortable if they know they are being observed without their full consent.
Theoretical advantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are two theoretical advantages of semi-structured interviews?
Rich, Detailed Data: Offers deep insights into how groups function.
Contextual Understanding: Provides an understanding of social behavior in its natural environment.
Theoretical disadvantages of semi-structured interviews:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of semi-structured interviews?
Bias: The researcher’s personal involvement can affect findings.
Limited Generalization: Findings may not be applicable to wider groups due to the focus on a small sample.
Participant observations:
What are participation observations and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What they are: The researcher observes the group without actively participating in their activities.
Sociologist Preference: Positivists prefer non-participant observation for its objectivity and ability to observe without influencing behavior.
Practical advantages of participant observation:
What are two practical advantages of participant observation?
What it is: The researcher joins the group they are studying and participates in the activities.
Reason for Preference: Interpretivists. They value understanding social behavior from the inside, focusing on individuals’ personal experiences and subjective meanings.
Practical advantages of participant observation:
What are two practical advantages of participant observation?
In-depth understanding: Provides firsthand insights into group behaviors and interactions.
Rich data: Helps to understand unspoken norms, values, and interactions that may be missed by other methods.
Time-consuming: Requires the researcher to spend significant time with the group, which can be difficult to maintain.
Personal involvement: The researcher may find it difficult to stay objective due to emotional involvement with the group.
Ethical advantages of participant observation:
What are two ethical advantages of participant observation?
Trust-building: Participant observation allows the researcher to build rapport and trust with the group, leading to more authentic data.
Consent: If the group is informed, it can allow for a more ethical, participatory research approach.
Ethical disadvantages of participant observation:
What are two ethical disadvantages of participant observation?
Deception risks: In some cases, participants may not be fully aware of the researcher’s role, leading to ethical concerns about informed consent.
Impact on behavior: The researcher may influence the group dynamics just by being part of the group, even if they are not intentionally intervening
Theoretical advantages of participant observation:
What are two theoretical advantages of participant observation?
Contextual understanding: Enables the researcher to explore social behavior in its natural context.
Uncovers meanings: Allows the researcher to understand the subjective meanings behind actions, which is a key concern for interpretivists.
Theoretical disadvantages of participant observation:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of participant observation?
Contextual understanding: Enables the researcher to explore social behavior in its natural context.
Uncovers meanings: Allows the researcher to understand the subjective meanings behind actions, which is a key concern for interpretivists.
Non-participation observation:
What are non-participation observation?
Practical advantages of non-participant observation:
What are two practical advantages of non-participant observation?
Practical disadvantages of participant observation:
What are two practical advantages of non-participant observation?
Ethical advantages of participant observation:
What are two ethical advantages of non-participant observation?
Ethical disadvantages of participant observation:
What are two ethical disadvantages of non-participant observation?
Theoretical advantages of non-participant observation:
What are two theoretical advantages of non-participant observation?
Theoretical disadvantages of non-participant observation:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of non-participant observation?
Overt observations:
What are overt observations and what type of sociologist prefer them?
What it is: The researcher observes the group openly, with the participants’ knowledge and consent.
Type of Sociologist: Positivists
Why: Positivists prefer objective, systematic research methods that can be analyzed quantitatively to find patterns in larger populations.
Practical advantages of overt observations:
What are two practical advantages overt observations?
Easy to organize: Since participants are aware they are being observed, the process is straightforward and easier to carry out.
Ethical clarity: Participants give consent, eliminating ethical concerns around privacy or deception
Practical disadvantages of overt observations:
What are two practical advantages overt observations?
Hawthorne effect: Participants might alter their behavior because they know they are being observed, which may affect the validity of the data.
Limited depth: While useful for observing behavior, it may not capture the deeper motivations or meanings behind the actions.
Ethical advantages of overt observations:
What are two ethical advantages overt observations?
Informed consent: All participants are aware of the observation, ensuring ethical transparency.
Respect for participants: As participants give consent, their autonomy and rights are respected.
Ethical disadvantages of overt observations:
What are two ethical disadvantages overt observations?
Behavioral influence: Knowing they are being observed can change how people act, making the data less natural.
Privacy concerns: Even with consent, some may feel uncomfortable with the idea of being observed at all, potentially affecting their willingness to participate.
Theoretical advantages of overt observations:
What are two theoretical advantages overt observations?
Systematic data collection: Suitable for collecting objective, quantifiable data.
Generalizable findings: The method can be used to observe larger groups and generalize findings to broader populations.
Theoretical disadvantages of overt observations:
What are two theoretical disadvantages overt observations?
Limited insights into deeper meanings: The method may fail to capture the internal thoughts, meanings, and interpretations of participants.
Surface-level observations: It may focus only on observable behaviors, ignoring underlying social processes.
Covert observations:
What are covert observations and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What it is: The researcher observes the group without their knowledge, capturing natural behavior.
Type of Sociologist: Interpretivists
Why: They value authentic, unaltered data that reflects true behavior and subjective experiences.
Practical advantages of covert observations:
What are two practical advantages of covert observations?
Natural behavior: Because participants don’t know they’re being observed, their behavior is more natural and unaltered.
Insight into hidden behavior: Can uncover activities or behaviors that participants might not display if they knew they were being observed.
Practical disadvantages of covert observations:
What are two practical disadvantages of covert observations?
Risk of discovery: There’s always a risk of the researcher being found out, which could invalidate the data or disrupt the research.
Access issues: Gaining permission to observe covertly can be difficult, and the researcher may face resistance from participants if discovered.
Ethical advantages of covert observations:
What are two ethical advantages of covert observations?
Authentic data: Participants act naturally, so the data is more valid and reflects real behavior.
No impact on behavior: Since participants are unaware of being observed, their behavior is not influenced by the researcher’s presence.
Ethical disadvantages of covert observations:
What are two ethical disadvantages of covert observations?
Lack of consent: Ethical issues arise because participants are not aware of being observed, violating their right to informed consent.
Privacy invasion: Some might consider covert observation an invasion of privacy, leading to ethical concerns about the use of such methods.
Theoretical advantages of covert observations:
What are two theoretical advantages of covert observations?
True behavior: The researcher can capture unmodified, true behaviors and actions, making the data more valid.
Rich qualitative data: It helps the researcher understand real-world interactions and behaviors without interference from the researcher’s presence.
Theoretical disadvantages of covert observations:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of covert observations?
Ethical compromise: The lack of consent raises concerns about the legitimacy of using such data.
Selective observation: The researcher may miss key interactions or behaviors, as they cannot control the environment as they would in overt observation.
Official statistics:
What are official statistics and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What it is: Data collected by official bodies like the government (e.g., census, crime statistics).
Type of Sociologist: Positivists
Why: Positivists prefer large-scale, quantitative data that can be used to analyze patterns in society and generalize findings.
Practical advantages of official statistics:
What are two practical advantages of official statistics?
Easily accessible: Official statistics are often publicly available and easy to access.
Large-scale data: Provides data that can cover large populations, making it useful for examining broad social trends.
Practical disadvantages of official statistics:
What are two practical disadvantages of official statistics?
Lack of detail: These statistics may not offer detailed personal insights or context about individual experiences.
Limited scope: May only cover specific topics that fit the categories defined by official agencies, leaving gaps in understanding.
Ethical advantages of official statistics:
What are two ethical advantages of official statistics?
Public data: Since these statistics are publicly available, there are no concerns about gaining consent or privacy violations.
Transparency: Official statistics are generally considered credible because they are collected and verified by established bodies.
Ethical disadvantages of official statistics:
What are two ethical disadvantages of official statistics?
Selective reporting: The way data is collected and categorized may not reflect all social groups or perspectives.
Privacy concerns: Even though data is aggregated, individuals’ data might still be identifiable in certain circumstances, raising privacy issues.
Theoretical advantages of official statistics:
What are two theoretical advantages of official statistics?
Large-scale analysis: Official statistics are valuable for identifying societal trends and patterns that affect large populations.
Objectivity: Since they are typically collected by neutral parties (like the government), they can offer more objective data for analysis.
Theoretical disadvantages of official statistics:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of official statistics?
Lack of context: The statistical data may lack the nuanced understanding of why certain trends or patterns exist.
Bias in categorization: The data may be influenced by how it is collected or interpreted, leading to potentially biased or incomplete views of social issues.
Personal documents:
What are personal documents and what type of sociologist prefers them?
What it is: Private documents such as diaries, letters, autobiographies, or personal writings.
Type of Sociologist: Interpretivists
Why: Interpretivists focus on understanding the subjective experiences and personal meanings of individuals, which personal documents provide.
Practical advantages of personal documents:
What are two practical advantages of personal documents?
Rich detail: Personal documents offer in-depth, first-hand accounts of individuals’ experiences and emotions.
Access to unique perspectives: These documents provide insights that are not typically accessible through other research methods.
Practical disadvantages of personal documents:
What are two practical disadvantages of personal documents?
Practical Disadvantages:
Availability: Not all personal documents are publicly available or easily accessible, limiting the scope of the research.
Selective nature: Personal documents may only reflect certain aspects of an individual’s life and may not provide a complete picture.
Ethical advantages of personal documents:
What are two ethical advantages of personal documents?
Informed consent (if public): If the documents are already public (e.g., published autobiographies), there are fewer ethical concerns around privacy.
Respect for the individual: Since the individual created the documents for personal use, they may have voluntarily shared their inner thoughts and experiences.
Ethical disadvantages of personal documents:
What are two ethical disadvantages of personal documents?
Privacy concerns: If the documents are private and not meant for public consumption, using them without permission could be considered an invasion of privacy.
Bias or incomplete data: The documents may not provide a full or unbiased representation of the individual’s life, especially if selectively written or edited.
Theoretical advantages of personal documents:
What are two theoretical advantages of personal documents?
Deep insights into individual experience: Personal documents reveal the subjective meanings and personal views of individuals, which is important for interpretivist research.
Contextual understanding: These documents can offer rich contextual information that is not possible to get from surveys or statistics.
Theoretical disadvantages of personal documents:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of personal documents?
Researcher bias: The researcher’s interpretation of the document can be subjective, leading to potential bias in the findings.
Limited generalizability: The insights from a single individual’s perspective may not be applicable to larger populations or broader social patterns.
Official documents:
What are official documents and what type of sociologist prefers them?
Practical advantages of official documents:
What are two practical advantages of official documents?
Practical disadvantages of official documents:
What are two practical disadvantages of official documents?
Ethical advantages of official documents:
What are two ethical advantages of official documents?
Ethical disadvantages of official documents:
What are two ethical disadvantages of official documents?
Theoretical advantages of official documents:
What are two theoretical advantages of official documents?
Theoretical disadvantages of official documents:
What are two theoretical disadvantages of official documents?
Historical documents:
What are historical documents and what type of sociologist prefers them?
Practical advantages of historical documents:
What are the practical advantages of historical documents?
Practical disadvantages of historical documents:
What are the practical disadvantages of historical documents?
Ethical advantages of historical documents:
What are the ethical advantages of historical documents?
Theoretical advantages of historical documents:
What are the theoretical advantages of historical documents?
Theoretical disadvantages of historical documents:
What are the theoretical disadvantages of historical documents?
Interpretation Limitations: The meaning of historical documents may be difficult to interpret accurately without full context.
Incomplete Picture: Historical documents may not cover all aspects of society, leading to incomplete conclusions.
Method in context:
What are methods in context?
Themes in methods in context:
What are the main themes in methods in context?
Pupils (vulnerable group, may have difficulty understanding questions, influenced by peers)
Teachers (want to look professional, and are often busy)
Parents (hard to contact, have different levels of education themselves, want to appear as good parents)
Schools (large, protected environment)
Classrooms (small, protected environment)
