Research Methods Flashcards
Qualitative data:
Data that is in the written form which can show meanings and reasons
Quantitative data:
Data in a numerical form that can show patterns in society
Primary data:
Information collected by the researcher for their own purpose
Secondary data:
Information that has already been collected or created by someone else for their own purpose
Positivist:
They study society scientifically and objectively, looking for patterns to prove social facts
Interpretivist:
They study society through individual meanings and reasons to help interperate human behaviour
Use valid methods to give qualitative data
Important to uncover meanings of actions and behaviour
Social facts:
Positivists like to collect data and then establish facts about the topic of study
Verstehen:
Interpretivists like to show understanding and empathy towards the subject matter
Define Practical issues:
The basic practicality of doing the research
Define ethical issues:
The moral conduct of the research, this protects the integrity of the researcher and the safeguard of the participants
Define theoretical issues:
The value of the research towards society
Define hypothesis:
A possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove it true or false
Define the research aim:
The researcher identify’s what they intend to study and hope to achieve by doing the research
Operationalising concepts:
The process of converting a sociological concept into something you can measure
Define pilot study:
The creation of a small sample of people so they can make sure they aren’t wasting money
Define sample:
A smaller sub-group drawn from the wider group of people
What is a sample frame?
A list of people applicable for the study
Random stratified sampling:
A representative sampling technique where a sample is broken down into population frames and then taken proportionally
Random sampling:
A presentation sampling technique where everyone has an equal chance of being selected
Systematic sampling:
A representative sampling technique where every nth person in a sample frame is selected
Snowball sampling:
Non-representative sampling technique where they ask one person to recommend people that may be applicable for the study
Questionnaires:
They are a method of research where you ask the participant to answer pre-set questions
Open questions:
The participants get asked questions with no pre-selected answers
Closed questions:
The participants get asked to answer questions with pre-selected answers
Interviews:
An interview is where the researcher has social interaction between them and the interviewee
Structured interview:
This is where the interview is conducted in the same way, with the same question each time
Unstructured interview:
This is where the interview has no question order and the interviewer has the freedom to ask different questions
Rapport:
Where the interviewer and interviewee create a relationship between each other
Participant observation:
This is the method where the researcher takes part in the event or everyday activities of a group and observes their actions
Non-participant observation:
This method is where the researcher doesn’t take part in the activities and only observes the group
Overt:
This is where the participants know the full aim of the research and that they are part of it
Covert:
This is where the real identity and purpose of the researcher is hidden from the participants
Structured observation:
The researcher creates a pre-determined schedule that the observation keeps to
Unstructured observation:
This is where researcher lets people do things like normal and builds up their theory from that
Laboratory experiments:
This type of experiment is where the participants are put into a artificial environment where the researcher can manipulate the variables
Independent variable:
The thing you can change and manipulate to see how it effects your dependent variable
Dependent variable:
The thing that the researcher measures to see the effect on the independent variable
Experiment group:
The group of participants that will be involved in the research
Control group:
Group of participants that aren’t effected by the research and are just used for comparison
Field experiment:
This type of experiment is where you study someone in their natural environment, with or without their knowledge
Comparative method:
This method doesn’t actually include any people and is a thought experiment carried out by the sociologists
Official statistics:
This is quantitative data that has been collected by the government or other official bodies
Document method:
This can included any visual, auditory, imagery or written form of communication
Content analysis:
This is the analysis of documents produced by the mass media
What does PERVERT mean?
Practical Ethical Representativeness Validity Examples Reliability Theoretical
Key facts about interpretivists:
Study individuals to understand meanings behind data
Use qualitative data to achieve validity
Don’t think you can observe society as a whole
Key facts about positivists:
Use scientific data
Use quantitative methods
Need data to be realistic and reliable
Key for it be representative and generalisable
View society as a whole
Observe trends and patterns
What type of data do questionnaires use?
Quantitative data
Advantages of questionnaires:
Reliable
Normally done on a large scale so is representative
Relatively inexpensive
Disadvantages of questionnaires:
Respondents can lie
Can be misinterpreted
May be challenging to answer
What data do interviews collect?
Qualitative data
What are interviews?
Conversation between researcher and respondent
Can be structured or unstructured
Structured interviews are:
Questionnaires given face to face
Same questions to each respondent
Follow question list so can’t ask for more details
Unstructured interviews are:
Informal - no rigid structure
Take a long time to write up
Methods that interpretivists like to use:
Unstructured interviews
Participant observation
As they look out for individuals in society - micro scale
What are questionnaires?
Mainly closed or multiple choice
Reliability and validity depend on design
Methods positivists like to use:
Questionnaires
Official statistics
As look at institutions in society - macro scale
What is quantitative data?
Numbers and statistics
Advantages of quantitative data:
Can look for cause and effects - find trends
Allows for easy analysis
Disadvantages of quantitative data:
Can hide reality
Don’t tell meaning and motive
Can be politically biased
What is qualitative data?
Opinions and talking
Advantages of qualitative data:
Gives insight to social interactions
Tells meaning and motives
Doesn’t force people into artificial categories
Disadvantages of qualitative data:
Difficult to repeat
Often done on a small scale so are not representative
What are observations?
Watching behaviour in a real life setting
Can be either covert research (group is unaware they are being observed) or overt research (participants are aware of researcher)
What is participant observation?
Researcher is actively involved
Advantages of participant observation:
No misinterpretation
Witness groups daily activities
Disadvantages of participant observation:
Can cause horthorne effect
Can’t be repeated
Practical access issue
What is non participant observation?
Researcher is not actively involved
Advantages of non-participant observation:
Researchers values are not compromised
No horthorne effect
Disadvantage of non participant observation:
Not aware of meanings behind actions
Can be unethical if published without participants consent
What is primary data?
Collected first hand
Advantages of primary data:
Up to date information
Don’t have to rely on another researcher
Relevant to researcher questions
Disadvantages of primary data:
Potential for horthorne effect
Can be expensive
What is secondary data?
Existing info
Advantages of secondary data:
Quick to collect
No Hawthorne feet
Disadvantages of secondary data:
May be outdated
may not be authentic or credible
What type of data do experiments get?
Quantitative data
What are lab experiments?
Controlled environment
Researcher changes independent variable and observes effect of dependent variable
Advantages of lab experiments:
Can control experiment
Can replicate research
Disadvantages of lab experiments:
Hard to recreate real life situations
Moral/ethical issues
Difficult to isolate single variables
What are field experiments?
Take place outside the lab in real life situations
Advantages of field experiments:
More life like
Show hidden meanings of everyday social interactions
Disadvantages of field experiments:
Can’t control variables
Ethical issues as respondent are unaware
May change behaviour if they are aware they are being watched
