Research Methods Topic 1 : Starting Research

Question 1

Types of data : primary

Answer 1

Collected first hand by sociologists

Participant observations, surveys, experiments

Question 2

Types of data : secondary

Answer 2

Collected by other people / institutions / companies and used by sociologists

Official statistics, school league tables, personal documents

Question 3

Types of data : qualitative

Answer 3

Descriptions, Observed not measured, Open questions, Unstructured , Smaller samples, Relies on language

Interpretivists / interactionists more interested in understanding behaviour

Question 4

Types of data : quantitative

Answer 4

Numbers, Measured, Closed questions, Structured, Large samples

Positivists more focused on trends and correlations

Question 5

P E T

Answer 5

Practical - time, cost, safety

Ethical

Theoretical

Question 6

Practical issues

Answer 6

Time and money - different RM use various amounts of resources (EG researcher may need to employ people - expensive - or participant observations take a lot of time)

Funding bodies - governments, businesses etc. may require different types of data and thus the researcher has limited choices

Personal skills and characteristics - researcher may need to blend in / skills / patience / memory

Subject matter - if topic requires opinion / feeling, or just plain facts and figures will affect method choice. Also sensitivity

Research opportunity - research opportunities may occur unexpectedly and thus affects researcher’s time and planning

Question 7

Ethical issues

Answer 7

Consent - participants must give informed consent and should be able to refuse being researched

Confidentiality and privacy - participant identities should be kept confidential to prevent any negative effects. Participants have the right to refuse information

Danger and harm - no psychological or physical harm should come to the participants. They should not be placed in any illegal / immoral situations

Vulnerable groups - extra care should be given to any participants that are deemed as vulnerable in terms of age, gender, disability, ethnicity or mental health

Covert research - when a researcher goes under cover creates ethical issues of deceit, lying, lack of consent etc.

Question 8

Theoretical issues

Answer 8

Reliability - will the same results be obtained when repeated by another researcher?

Validity - does the method produce a true picture of what is being studied

Representativeness - can it be generalised to the whole population?

Perspective - positivism (scientific) or interpretivism (empathy)

Question 9

What may influence the choice of topic?

Answer 9

Theoretical perspective - the perspective a researcher affiliates with (EG feminists may study division of labour or wage differences)

Societies values - social, political and economic climate of society might influence which topics get studied (EG climate change is a recent topic)

Funding bodies - research is expensive so it needs funding. Funding comes from universities, charities, governments etc. so they get to dictate what should be studied based on what they think is ‘worth’ studying

Practical factors - time, geography, accessibility

Question 10

Positivism - basic overview of what they believe and why they prefer their methods

Answer 10

Prefer quantitative methods - they have high reliability and representativeness

See society as shaping the individual and ‘social facts’ shape behaviour

Quantitative research gives an overview of society and uncovers social trends

We should use same methods used to study natural sciences - this way sociologists can uncover the laws that govern society

Correlations between two variables (comparative method)

Question 11

Interpretivism - basic overview of what they believe and why they prefer their methods

Answer 11

Prefer qualitative methods because we are not puppets who react to external social forces

People are complex and experience different things so there is no universal objective reality - so scientific methods are not appropriate

Criticise scientific sociology - many of the statistics it relies on are social constructs

We need to achieve Verstehen

Question 12

Features of structured interviews

Answer 12

Quantitative - providing statistical research

Interviewees are presented with the same questions

Closed questions - no room to elaborate

Large scale

Postivist

Question 13

Advantages of structured interviews

Answer 13

Training interviewers is mostly straightforward and inexpensive

Can cover large samples with limited resources - cheap and quick to manage

Easily quantifiable

High response rates (EG Young and Wilmott study - only 54 refused to answer out of 987)

Reliable - easy for the researchers to standardise

Question 14

Disadvantages of structured interviews

Answer 14

Only provides a small moment of someone’s life

Close ended questions limit validity

Standardised format - no freedom of expression which limits validity

People may lie / exaggerate

Interviewer bias - where values of the researcher interferes with the results

Question 15

Features of semi structured interviews

Answer 15

Quantitative and qualitative data

Interviewer has pre-set questions but tend to propose new questions depending on what the interviewee says

Depending on the direction of the interview, a rapport may develop

Question 16

Advantages of semi structured interviews

Answer 16

Provides quantitative and qualitative data, in depth and statistical findings allow for generalisations to be made

Easily quantifiable - suitable for hypothesis testing

Reliable to an extent as they are standardised to an extent

Higher validity as there is a better understanding of the individual’s life

Question 17

Disadvantages of semi structured interviews

Answer 17

Time consuming acquiring relevant information

Interviewer skills required to establish a rapport

Expensive to train

Semi standardised - harder to replicate (unreliable)

Interviewer bias distorts the data - less valid

Question 18

Features of unstructured interviews

Answer 18

Qualitative approach - provides meaningful information on findings

Questions are not pre-set, more like a conversation - space to elaborate

Rapport develops

Flexible

Question 19

Advantages of unstructured interviews

Answer 19

Higher validity - researcher deeply understands individual’s meanings

Rapport built - allows individual to feel comfortable to elaborate

Effective when researching sensitive topics

No set questions - more opportunity to express views

Flexibility allows interviewer to explore more information - new hypotheses can be tested

Question 20

Disadvantages of unstructured interviews

Answer 20

In depth explorations are time consuming

Training interviewer is required

Interviewer must have good interpersonal skills to establish a rapport

Non standardised format - unreliable (can’t be replicated)

Open ended questions - difficult to quantify and establish a cause and effect relationship

Interviewer bias distorts data - less valid

Question 21

Definitions of:

Sample size
Sampling frame
Sampling method

Answer 21

Sample size - the number of people being researched

Sampling frame - list of names of those in the survey population (EG doctor’s patients list)

Sampling method - techniques used to select subjects for research

Question 22

Definitions of:

Random sample

Stratified random sample

Systematic sample

Quota sample

Snowball sample

Opportunistic sample

Cluster sample

Answer 22

Random sample - each member has an equal chance of being selected (draw names from a hat)

Stratified random sample - (sample must reflect population, EG gender / age. Divide the sampling frame into these groups and take a random sample from each)

Systematic sample - every nth name from a sampling frame

Quota sample - interview people from certain groups / quotas

Snowball sample - ask one person who then puts you in touch with others

Opportunistic sample - give questions to anyone who is available

Cluster sample - certain areas chosen in UK and random samples taken in those areas

Question 23

AO2 of when sampling goes wrong

Answer 23

Election polls - did not have enough access to elderly voters who were more likely to vote conservative

Unrepresentative sample and wrong predictions

Question 24

Types of questions in questionnaires

Answer 24

Closed - fixed number of responses / pre coded / attitudes

Open - unique responses / qualitative / explains meanings

Question 25

Usefulness of questionnaires

Answer 25

Cheap and quick method

Less intrusive than methods like observations

Broad range of responses - representative

Respondents are familiar with questionnaires

Question 26

Practical issues with questionnaires

Answer 26

Response rates - if too low data becomes unrepresentative

Leading / ambiguous questions

Open questions can be time consuming to analyse

Question 27

Ethical issues with questionnaires

Answer 27

Potentially sensitive topics could cause distress

Recording of information must be kept in accordance with GDPR guidelines

Respondents may only give information if anonymity is maintained

May disclose immoral / illegal responses that require reporting

Question 28

Theoretical issues with questionnaires

Answer 28

Closed questions - lack validity due to fixed responses

Open questions - lack reliability as answers will be less likely to be repeated

Question 29

Operationalising definition

Answer 29

Making something measurable

Question 30

Response rate

Answer 30

Self completion often have low response rates

Interviews - higher response rates

Low response rates - unrepresentative sample

People who may respond may not be from a variety of groups - less valid (EG older people with more time - more likely to respond)

Question 31

Longitudinal research

One advantage

One disappointment

One example

Answer 31

Research done over a long period of time

Advantage - researchers can record social change over time

Disadvantage - practical issue of cost
= funding bodies may be unwilling to commit to a longitudinal project

Example - Millennium Cohort Study

Question 32

Millennium Cohort Study:
Who? What ages? Methods? What it proved?

Answer 32

Followed children born across UK in 2000-2001

Followed up to 5 times at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, 13

Methods: questionnaires, cognitive assessments (measured verbal, language and numerical abilities)

Proved how circumstances in early stages of life can influence later development

Question 33

Personal documents:

Examples and case studies

Answer 33

Examples:
Letters, diaries, photos, social media

Case studies:
Hey’s study : Ethnography of Girls’ Friendships
= examined notes girls passed between each other (about their relationships)

Znaniecki : The Polish Peasant in Europe and America
= letters between immigrants to US and their families - hopes, and emotional experiences

Question 34

Historical documents case study

Answer 34

Pearson’s ‘Hooligan’

Examines how hooligan behaviour has been around for centuries - draws upon articles, magazines and novels

Question 35

Official documents

AO1
AO2 / 3

Answer 35

Produced by the government on a wide range of issues

Useful as it tells us about education - relationship between CAGE and education

AO2/3 : not objective

Bias - government shows itself in a good light
Vaganay - studies on gov reports show there IS bias regularly

Question 36

Visual documents

Answer 36

Pictures, photos, paintings etc.

Content analysis - studying what the image shows
Semiotic analysis - study os symbols and how they create meanings
Sociological analysis - using CAGE

Question 37

AO3 : assessing documents

Answer 37

Scott - 4 quality control criteria

Authenticity - tampered with? Original?
Credibility - author being honest?
Representativeness - representative of opinions?
Meaning - does the reader know what it means?

Question 38

PERVERT

Answer 38

Practical

Ethical

Reliability

Validity

Example

Representativeness

Theoretical