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Sociology A level > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What does PET stand for?

A

PRACTICAL

  • Time
  • Access
  • Cost
  • Researcher Characteristics e.g age, ethnicity, class etc.

ETHICAL

  • Moral Principles
  • Participants cannot be harmed
  • Must give consent (and Anonymity)
  • Honest reporting and Findings

Theoretical
- Positivism with scientific approach, ‘social facts’ etc.
(QUANTITATIVE DATE).

  • Interpretivism with focus on interactions which help us ‘understand the world around’
    (QUALITATIVE DATE).
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2
Q

What area the advantages of self-completed questionnaires?

A

ADV
(P) Relatively Cheap
(P) Gather data quickly
(P) Easy to access population being studied

(E) Few ethical issues

(T) Reliable, higher chance of being respresentative.
(T) If closed questions area asked data could be easily quantified.

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3
Q

What area the disadvantages of self-completed questionnaires?

A

DIS
(P) No certainty if the correct person has completed the questionnaire
(P) Cost as you may need to provide an incentive

(E) Few ethical issues - ensure consent and anonymity

(T) Low response rate which might distort the data.
(T) If closed questions are asked data may lack depth and risk of the imposition.

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4
Q

What was a study that used self-completed questionnaires?

A

Callender and Jackson 2005:
Researched attitudes towards debt and thier decision whether or not they would go uni.

+ Data = measurable
+ Created statistical data
+ Able to study a large area/group.
- Low response rate -55%

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5
Q

What are the different types of interviews?

A
  1. Formal, structured
  2. Informal, unstructured
  3. Semi-structured - open and closed
  4. Group Interviews.
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6
Q

What key issues with interview effects?

A

The influence of the interviewer on the interviewee.

  • Age, Class, Power Dynamic.

To avoid this use skilled interviewers and match social characteristics.

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7
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews?

A

ADV
(P) Gather in-depth data
(P) Study large amounts of people/areas etc.
(E) Few ethical issues.
*Can also ask follow up question and more flexible.

DIS
(P) Cost - employing the interviewers.
(P) Unable to collect statistical data and time consuming
(E) Ensure consent and anonymity
(T) Not reliable and may lack representatives.

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8
Q

What is an example of an unstructured interview study?

A 
Ruth Lupton (2004) - investigating the relationship between poor neighborhoods and underachieving schools.
\+ Build rapport = opened up
- Hard to compare responses
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9
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of Structured Interviews?

A

ADV

  • Easily quantifiable
  • ability for statistical data
  • Higher response rate as the interviewer is present.

DIS
(P) May be costly to train interviewers
(P) Time consuming
(T) Reduced validity due to restricted answers.

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10
Q

What is an example of a structured interview study?

A

Farkas & Beron (2001) - study verbal skills of parents and children
+ Produced quantitative data
- May be biased as the researcher could impose their ideas

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11
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of group interviews?

A

ADV

  • More open discussion
  • Able to observe interactions and body language
  • Participants can throw ideas around which helps thinking.

DIS

  • People may dominate the group.
  • Possible disruption
  • Peer pressure - reduces validity
  • Loss of focus
  • Interviewer effects.
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12
Q

What is an example of a structured group interview?

A

Paul Willis (1997) - why w/c children get w/c jobs
+ Observe body language and interactions
+ Acted naturally
- Time consuming

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13
Q

What are the two different forms of participant observation?

A

Overt - Reveal Identity

Covert - Hide Identity

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14
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of participant observation?

A 
ADV
(P) Build rapport and gain trust
(P) No training needed
(T) Retain objectivity
(T) Flexibility - no fixed hypothesis
(T) Watch body language - high validity

DIS
(P) Time consuming
(P) Requires interpersonal skills
(E) Deceives the people involved.
(T) Lack of representatives - group studied are generally smaller.
(T) Low reliability
(T) Interviewer effect - behavior may change & may become too involved.

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15
Q

What is an example of a participant observation study?

A

Natalie Joly - Amish Community
- Gained access through a ‘gatekeeper’

Simon Winlow (2001)
- How societal changes have affected masculinity and the role of violence/crime in w/c culture
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16
Q

What are advantages of non-participant observation?

A

(P/O) - Researcher doesnt need to put on an act.
(P/O) Can’t take notes openly
(P/O) Won’t be involved in illegal activites
(P/C) No risk of Hawthorne Effect
(T) Valuable to study micro level interactions.
(T) Remained unbiased
(T) Can analyse social interactions in many contexts.

17
Q

What are disadvantages of non-participant observation?

A

(P/O) Cost as you may need to pay those participating/ travel long distances.

(P/O) Risk of Hawthorne effect as those that know they are being observed may behave differently

(P/C) Cost of travel

(P) Time consuming

(E) May have moral duties e,g report crime

(T) Lack of reliability and representatives.

18
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of Lab experiments?

A

ADV

  • Control the variables
  • No personal feelings involved (detached method)
  • Reliability - repeated with the same variables.
DIS
(P) - Can't be used to study the past
(E) - Hard to gain consent
(E) - Deception
(E) - Psychological/psychical harm 
(T) - Small samples
19
Q

What are advantages and disadvantages of Field experiments?

A

ADV
(P) - Easy to analyse and to present finding
(P) - Context based in social settings
(E) - Able to debrief participants and they have the right to withdraw.

DIS
(P) - Time consuming and expensive 
(E) - Could cause harm and hard to debrief if they are passers by
(T) - Low representatives
(T) - Hard to replicate
20
Q

What is an explanation of lab experiment case study?

A

Milgram (1974) - obedience study

  • Links to ethical issues
  • Deception - lied about the purpose of the experiment.
  • Physical and psychological harm
21
Q

What is an example of a field experiment case study?

A

Emile Durkheim (1897) - compare rates of suicide between Catholics and Protestants and found Catholics had a lower suicide rate.

22
Q

What type of data is Documents and Official statistics?

A

Secondary data

23
Q

What are examples of documents?

A

Government reports and public websites (Public)

Diary, Letters (Private)

24
Q

What are examples of official statistics?

A

Quantitative data produced by the government or an official body.

(P) - ‘social facts’ with true and objective measures and you can spot patterns.

(I) - the ‘constricts’ don’t represent ‘social facts’ they are social constructed

25
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages documents?

A 
ADV
(P) - Easy access - widely available
(P) - Authentic documents - in-depth
(E) No harm and consent already given
(T) - Quantitative data - generalizations and trends.

DIS
(P) - Time consuming - read through the documents.
(E) - May be risk of emotional harm
(T) - Reduced validity - not everything is reported - not widely representative in some respect.

26
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages official statistics?

A

ADV
(P) - Saves time and money
(P) - Easily accessed
(T) - Highly representative as they will cover a very large sample.
(T) - Highly reliable - follow set procedures.

DIS
(P) - Not always on every topic you want to look at
(T) - Difficult comparisons if definitions change.
(T) - Not everything is reported such as crimes

Sociology A level (36 decks)

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