Research Methods - Types

Question 1

Structured Interview

Answer 1

Pre-written questions (closed)

Question 2

Unstructured Interview

Answer 2

Questions not set just topic

Question 3

Semi-structured Interview

Answer 3

Mix of open and closed questions

Question 4

Group Interview

Answer 4

Unstructured Interview but with groups

Question 5

Non-participant Observation

Answer 5

Observer plays no active role in the group

Structured- behaviour observed, coded and quantified (positivist)

Hawthorn effect - change behaviour cus someone’s watching

Question 6

Participant Observation - Covert

Answer 6

Driven from the inside - full immersion and undercover

Theoretical:
\+ verstehen - empathise with group
\+ high validity
\+ truth is more likely to be observed 
\+ can form rapport with group 
\+ only/best method to use with some groups
- loss of objectivity 
- no reliability 

Practical:
\+Flexible in approach and behaviour towards group
- Time consuming 
- costly (money and personal)
- difficult to record data

Ethical:

• no consent
• no privacy and confidentiality
• no protection from harm
• possibility for illegal/immoral activity
• deception

Question 7

Participant Observation - Overt

Answer 7

Driven from inside - identity known

Theoretical:
\+ high reliability (schedule used)
\+ produces quantitative data (positivist)
- Hawthorne effect - reduce validity 
- lack of qualitative data

Practical:
\+ able to record data
- lack of flexibility (if schedule used)
- time consuming 
- costly

Ethical:
+ infomed consent
+ no deception - able to brief/debrief participant
+ lower risk of researcher harm
+ lower risk of witnessing/ participating in illegal/immoral behaviour
- no privacy/confidentiality

Question 8

Questionnaires

Answer 8

Quantitative data

Non-sensitive topics

Theoretical:
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Question 9

Official statistics

Answer 9

Secondary

Produced and published by government

Surveys - census, British crime survey
Records - crime/unemployment/health/exam stats

Theoretical:
+ large samples thus generalisable (postivist)
+ produced regularly allows trends over time
+ reliable can be checked anytime(positivist)
- no reasons for trends. Low validity
- agrue not facts just results

Practical:
+ readily available (no time)
+ cost little to use
+ can be reused to test different variables

Ethical:
- deception - created by government, can be manipulated to show them in good light

Question 10

Personal documents

Answer 10

Secondary

Letters, diaries, journals and photographs

Theoretical:
+ personal - a true picture of their life
+ detailed therefore valid and interpretivist
- biased to the person’s opinion
- subjective
- qualitative data therefore not reliable
- may not be the full truth

Practical:
+ not costly
- time consuming

Ethical:
+/- informed consent if permission is received
+ there is no manipulation
- how it is obtained (privacy and confidentiality)
- possession of illegal or immoral knowledge

Question 11

Content Analysis

Answer 11

Used to analyse content of any text, a way of quantifying data.
Set predetermined categories and count the times a section of the text fits into each one of these categories.

Theoretical:
+ follows systematic process, therefore reliable
+ can be used in a variety of secondary sources
+ can uncover and quantify hidden messages and ideas
- doesn’t look in depth and meaning of the text - validity
- words and phrases can be analysed out of context
- relies on good initial coding, bad categories result in little usefulness
- relies on some subjective interpretation to fit the categories

Practical:
+ cheap and easy to conduct
+ quick

Ethical:
+ already available to public - confidentiality, deception and informed consent all met
- they manipulate results.

Question 12

Triangulation/ methodological pluralism

Answer 12

Combine methods that result in quantitative and qualitative data in order to check and verify the reliability and validity of the data.

More representative and builds a fuller picture of what is being studied.

Theoretical
+ produce quantitative and qualitative data
+ fuller picture of what is being studied
+ increases validity and reliability
+ allows researcher to produce representative data which can be generalised
- can produce contradictory findings

Practical:

• can be expensive
• produces lots of qualitative data which is time consuming to analyse

Ethical:
- priority is given to one method, allowing researcher bias

Question 13

Random Sampling

Answer 13

Probability - every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
eg pulling names out of a hat
+ large samples; provides the best chance of an unbiased, representative sample
- large populations, time consuming to create a list of every individual

Question 14

Stratified Sampling

Answer 14

Probability - divide target population into important subcategories, selecting members in the proportion they appear in the population.
+ deliberate effort is made to make the sample representative of the target population
- time consuming as subcategories have to be identified and proportion is calculated

Question 15

Quota Sampling

Answer 15

Non-probability - like stratified sampling but goes out looking for the right number of people instead of using a sampling frame
+ often used for opinion poles and market research, it is simpler, quicker and cheaper than stratified sampling
- is less likely to produce a sample which is representative of the target population
- the researcher chooses who to sample which leads to bias

Question 16

Systematic Sampling

Answer 16

Probability - choosing your participants from a sample frame using a system, eg every 1/3
+ a bit like random sampling therefore can give unbiased samples from large populations
- in some situations, using a system can make the sample biased

Question 17

Purposive Sampling

Answer 17

Non-probability - researcher chooses individuals that fit the nature of the research. Researcher chooses a particular group of place to study because it is known to be the type that is wanted.
+ quicker and cheaper
- unrepresentative as it leads to bias

Question 18

Opportunity Sampling

Answer 18

Selecting those people who are available at the time.
+ quick, convenient and economical - the most common type of sampling
- very unrepresentative and often biased by the researcher who will likely choose people who are helpful

Question 19

Snowball sampling

Answer 19

Participants are selected from an initial contact, who puts the researcher in touch with other possible participants.
+ its a useful way of finding participants with certain attributes who might not wish to be found otherwise such as cult members or drug users
- can be very biased, people with more friends are more likely to be selected as participants
- some people might not want to be found

Question 20

Volunteer Sampling

Answer 20

Sociologists advertise for research volunteers in magazines, newspapers, university noticeboards or via the internet.
+ faster method to obtain sample and one which is ethical as the respondents choose to take part
- could lack representativeness as people taking part may not be representative of the target population