Research methods Flashcards
Questionnaires and social surveys
A list of standardised questions - self completion.
Questions can either be open, closed or scaled and questionnaires can be handed out , posted, emailed etc. usually quantitative data is gathered.
Strengths:
Practical - cheap and easy to do so easy to reach a large geographically diverse sample which increases the representativeness and generality.
Ethical - minimum contact with the researcher - reduces chance of researcher imposition (bias or effect)
- if there is no researcher present then sensitive topics can be asked - especially if anonymous - increases the validity
Theoretical - Positivists favour this method because of the standardised nature of the questions - allows for objectivity and reliability. Statistics will be generated which can be correlated - patterns and trends can be observed
Weaknesses
Practical - can suffer from poor question design - leading questions/ poor wording or grammar, lack of clear operationalising which decreases the validity
Ethical - standardised questions - not a true reflection of complex lives - many give socially desirable answers which reduces validity
Theoretical - interpretivists -producing data low in validity with limited verstehen
Statistical data
Official - numerical data collected by the government usually through surveys carried out by state agencies (ONS)
Unofficial - numerical data which is often gathered by non- government sources (employers, charities)
Strengths -
Practical - cheap and easy to access data - up to date data. Means that method is reliable to due to scientific and objective nature.
Ethical - No p’s are required, therefore ethical considerations are easy to follow. High reliability as easy to replicate
Theoretical - Positivists favour this method because it’s objective and value free (increasing reliability)
Weaknesses -
Practical - statistics show trends but not deeper explanations about why correlations are this way - validity is reduced
Ethical - statistics are open to ‘political abuse’ - can be manipulated incorrectly - group being researched not presented fully/fairly. Impacts on validity - may cause harm. Researcher had no influence over how data was collected - unethical?
Theoretical - interpretivists - statistics provide little info about human behaviour - no verstehen - decreases validity
Content analysis
Used to research media and how many times it covers certain topics and how it represents groups
Strengths
Practical -cheap method - could easily be replicated by other researchers (reliability is high)
Ethical - no participants are required- easy to follow ethical restrictions (increases reliability- easily replicable)
Theoretical - positivists would favour this method- quantitative data - objective and reliable/value free data can be cross checked
Weaknesses
Practical - often time consuming - not easily replicable for some - reliability reduced a bit
Ethical - sociologists could analyse the text out of context (group not fairly/fully presented) - impacts on verstehen- validity - may cause offence
Theoretical - interpretivists - would not favour as statistics provide little info on human behaviour. Reduce validity as not a true representation.
structured interviews
Closed/fixed questions and answers - interviewer not allowed to deviate from interview schedule - quantitative
Strengths -
Practical - quantitative data gathered- easy to see correlations and increases reliability.
Ethical - interviewers can explain the aims and objectives of the research which increases the validity
- clear instructions - reduce non response rate - increases representativeness and generalisability
Theoretical - Positivists - standardised questions- allows for objectivity and reliability - stats- see trends
Weaknesses
Practical - inflexible - can’t make it interesting - only measures what researcher thinks is important - not P’s experiences - decreases validity
Ethical - ‘interviewer bias’ - tone of voice/look of approval or disapproval
Theoretical - interpretivists would not favour - no verstehen
Semi- structured interviews
same for unstructured
researcher has some pre- coded questions - able to probe and ask extra questions if needed
- qualitative
Strengths-
Practical- flexible structure allows respondents to develop answers and interviewer to probe further which increases validity
Ethical - can get informed consent from the particiapnts- build up a rapport - data will be high in validity
Theoretical- interpretivists would favour as can get meanings and feelings, empathy and verstehen and can build up a rapport- increasing the validity
Weaknesses
Practical - can be time consuming - small sample lowers rep and gen
Ethical - if rapport builds then the interviewer can become bias and lose objectivity. Ps may give socially desirable answers. They may also feel and though their privacy is being invaded and therefore won’t reveal the truth - decreases validity
Theoretical - positivists - no standardisation - cannot find patterns/trends/correlations - lacks objectivity and is low in reliability
Ethnography
combined use of observation and unstructured interviews.
Strengths
Practical - provides good holistic understanding of the group being studied (can observe and experience the aspects of their behaviour ) - empathy and verstehen - increased validity
Ethical -can get informed consent from P’s and build up a rapport - increasing validity
Theoretical - interpretivists - can get meanings/ feelings/empathy and build up a rapport which increases validity
Weaknesses
Practical - can only be conducted on small groups of people - difficult to access therefore not representative and can’t be generalised from
Ethical - as researcher becomes heavily involved- may feel privacy is being invaded and won’t reveal the truth - decreasing validity
Theoretical - positivists - no standardisation/patterns/correlations - lack of objectivity and low in reliability
Focus group interviews
an unstructured interview directed to a group - encouraged to discuss
Strengths-
Practical - questions and themes will be tailored to specific group needs - creating a relaxed and informal setting - increasing validity as p’s feel more relaxed and comfortable to answer honestly- pre arranged, increased response rate - increased representativeness
Ethical - rapport can build between the p’s due to relaxed environment- more rich and valid data
Theoretical - Interpretivists - would favour as rich/in depth discussions are encourage (increases validity)
Weaknesses -
Practical - data recording and analysis can be difficult - all will give various opinions - lowering reliability as method is not easily replicable
Ethical - p’s may feel uncomfortable if sensitive topics arise of if others dominate the conversation - don’t input as they naturally would no - decreasing validity
Theoretical- if rapport builds the interviewer may become bias and lose objectivity - reliability decreased - positivists don’t like it.
