Research Methods- Choosing a research topic Flashcards
What does PET stand for?
- Practical
- Ethical
- Theoretical
What things do you have to consider to be ‘practical’?
- The cost / funding
- How much time you have
- Subject matter
- Social characteristics
- Access to participants
- Gatekeeping
What may you need money for? (P)
Salaries, living expenses, travel, and computer resources.
What are social characteristics? (P)
Age, race, ethnicity, gender…
When may a ‘gate keeper’ be needed? (P)
- joining exclusive groups that tend to shut out outsiders.
- excessing victims of domestic violence
- world of deviant crime
What things do you have to consider to be ‘Ethical’?
The BSA:
- Informed consent
- Anonymity/confidentiality
- Morality
- Protection from harm
- Protecting researchers
What is the BSA? What do they point out? (E)
-British Sociological Association. They provide ethical rules and point out that research subjects are people with rights.
What is ‘informed consent’? (E)
Research subjects need to be fully informed on the purpose of the research, so they can make an informed choice as to whether they would like to take part.
How can the privacy of the research subject be safe guarded? (E)
- Keeping the identity of the research participants secret
- Information they give should not be traceable.
How may a researcher harm the research subject? (E)
- Asking questions which may trigger memories
- Harm the reputation of the people who take part
What is ‘guilty knowledge’? (E)
Knowledge of crimes committed in the past or future intentions to commit a crime.
What is primary data? (T)
Going into a community with a research method, and persuading a sample of the group that they are interested to take part.
What is secondary data? (T)
Data collected by others in the form of secondary sources.
