Research methods - Definitions

Question 1

Positivism

Answer 1

Positivism is an approach in sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in the natural sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology

Question 2

Interpretivism

Answer 2

Interpretivism is an approach emphasizing that people have consciousness involving personal beliefs, values and interpretations, and these influence the way they act

Question 3

Social facts

Answer 3

Social facts are phenomena which exist outside individuals and independently of their minds, but which act upon them in ways which constrain or mould their behaviour (e.g. the law, the family, the education system and the workplace)

Question 4

Quantitative data

Answer 4

Quantitative data are anything that can be expressed in statistical or number form or can be measured in some way, such as age, qualifications, income or periods of ill-health

Question 5

Macro approach

Answer 5

A macro approach is one which focuses on large numbers of people and the large-scale structure of society as a whole, rather than on individuals

Question 6

Verstehen

Answer 6

Verstehen is the idea of understanding human behaviour by putting yourself in the position of those being studied, and trying to see things from their point of view

Question 7

Qualitative data

Answer 7

Qualitative data are concerned with the feelings and meanings people associate with, and the interpretations they give to, some event, and try to get at the way they really see things

Question 8

Micro approach

Answer 8

A micro approach is one which focuses on small groups or individuals, rather than on large numbers of people and the structure of society as a whole

Question 9

Ethics

Answer 9

Ethics concerns principles or ideas about what is morally right or wrong

Question 10

Informed consent

Answer 10

Informed consent is where those taking part in a sociological study have agreed to do so, and have given this consent based on a full appreciation and understanding of the nature, aims and purposes of the study, any implications or risks taking part might have, and the uses of any findings of the research

Question 11

Reliability

Answer 11

Reliability refers to whether another researcher, if repeating research using the same method for the same research on the same or a similar group, would achieve the same results

Question 12

Validity

Answer 12

Validity is concerned with notions of truth: how far the findings of research actually provide a true, genuine or authentic picture of what is being studied

Question 13

Primary data

Answer 13

Primary data are those which are collected by sociologists themselves - they only exist because the sociologist has collected them

Question 14

Secondary data

Answer 14

Secondary data are those which the sociologist carrying out the research has not gathered himself or herself, but which already exist

Question 15

Public documents

Answer 15

Public documents are those which are produced for public knowledge

Question 16

Personal documents

Answer 16

Personal documents are (usually) private documents for a person’s own use, which record part of a person’s life

Question 17

Hypothesis

Answer 17

A hypothesis is an idea which a researcher guesses might be true, but which has not yet been tested against the evidence

Question 18

Victim survey

Answer 18

A victim survey is one that asks people to say whether they have been a victim of crime, whether they reported it to the police or not

Question 19

Hawthorne effect

Answer 19

The Hawthorne effect is when the presence of a researcher, or a group’s knowledge that it is the focus of attention, changes the behaviour of a group

Question 20

Surveys

Answer 20

Surveys are a means of collecting primary data from large numbers of people, usually in a standardized statistical form

Question 21

Sample

Answer 21

A sample is a smaller representative group drawn from the survey population

Question 22

Representative sample

Answer 22

A representative sample is a smaller group drawn from the survey population, of which it contains a good cross-section, such as the right proportions of people of different ethnic origins, ages, social classes and sexes.

The information obtained from a representative sample should provide roughly the same results as if the whole survey population had been questioned

Question 23

Survey population

Answer 23

The survey population is the whole group being studied, and will depend on the hypothesis the researcher wishes to investigate

Question 24

Sampling frame

Answer 24

A sampling frame is a list of names of all those included in the survey population from which the sample is selected

Question 25

Sampling methods

Answer 25

Samplings methods are the techniques sociologists use to select representative individuals to study from the survey population

Question 26

Pilot survey

Answer 26

A pilot survey is a small-scale practice survey carried out before the final survey to check for any possible problems

Question 27

Imposition problem

Answer 27

The imposition problem refers to the risk that the researcher, when asking questions, might be imposing their own views or framework on the people being researched, rather than getting at what they really think

Question 28

Interviewer bias

Answer 28

Interviewer bias refers to the answers given in an interview being influenced or distorted in some way by the presence or behaviour of the interviewer

Question 29

Group interview

Answer 29

A group interview is an interview in which the researcher interviews several people at the same time, with the researcher controlling the direction of the interview, with responses normally directed to her/him

Question 30

Focus group

Answer 30

A focus group is a form of group interview in which the group focuses on a particular topic to explore in depth, and people are free to talk to one another as well as the interviewer

Question 31

Overt role

Answer 31

An overt role is one whereby the researcher reveals to the group being studied his or her true identity and purpose

Question 32

Covert role

Answer 32

A covert role is one where the researcher conceals from the group being studied his or her true identity as a researcher, to gain access to the group and avoid disrupting its normal behaviour

Question 33

Methodological pluralism

Answer 33

Methodological pluralism is the term used to describe the use by sociologists of a variety of methods in a single piece of research

Question 34

Triangulation

Answer 34

Triangulation is the use of two or more research methods in a single piece of research to check the reliability and validity of research evidence