Research Process And Methods Flashcards
Key Concepts:
Reliability
Objectivity
Validity
-Reliability=The extent to which the Research Process used is standardised so that they can be repeated to ensure results are consistent
-Objectivity=Research Methods and Findings have been influenced by personal interests.
-Validity=Provides a ‘True’ picture of what is being studied.
Key Concepts
Practicality
Representativeness
Generalisability
-Practicality=Refers to the time,cost and logistics of undertaking the research methods used in the Research Process to collect data.
-Representativeness=Extent which the individual,group or situation being studied is typical of the rest of the target population.
-Generalisability=Extent to which it is possible to apply the findings from the research sample to the rest of the wider target population.
Key concepts:
Researcher Imposition
Hawthorne effect
Social Desirability Effect (SDE)
-Researcher Imposition=The ways in which the Researcher unknowingly influences the data they collect.
-Hawthorne Effect=A situation where an individual or group of people know they are being observed so change their behaviour.
-Social Desirability Effect (SDE)=The interviewee will be influenced by the presence of the interviewer,and may give responses they think are desired,rather than their honest view.
Key Concepts:
Respondent Validation
Verstehen
Access
Gatekeeper
-Respondent Validation=Process by which the researcher’s findings,interpretation and understandings are checked and discussed.
-Verstehen=(Weber)-Used to suggest that the role of Sociology is to understand by seeing through the eyes of those being studied.
-Access=Gaining entry to a group or research situation.
-Gatekeeper=An individual who can give the Researcher access to a group or social situation.
Key concepts:
Operationalism
Ethics
Reflexivity
-Operationalism=Process of defining the key terms and concepts which form rhetorical basis of the research into a measurable form.
-Ethics=Moral Implications involved in conducting research,such as informed consent,deception and confidentiality.
-Reflexivity=A form of Self-Evaluation that involves researchers reflecting critically on how they organised the research process.
Research Approach-Positivism
-Positivists argue that social behaviour is the product of social forces beyond the control of the individual.
-Scientific Approach-Quantitive Approach
Therefore easy to generalise,identify Patterns and correlations.
Research Approach-Interpretivism
-Don’t believe that Human Behaviour is predictable or that is shaped by social laws.
-They prefer Qualitative data taken directly from the participant.
-Establishes rapport with participants to gain more honest and detailed,more valid data.
Stages In Research Process
-Selecting a topic-Any aspect of Social Life that can be explained Sociologically.
-Selecting Research Methods-
-Aims & Objectives
-Operationalism
-Sampling
-Pilot Study
-Respondent Validation & Data Interpretationo
Primary Data
Adv+Disadv
-Advantages:
-Always brand new and up to date,and therefore more Reliable and valid.
-Disadvantages:
-Some methods are Expensive and time consuming.
Longitudinal Surveys/Studies
Adv+Disadv
-Systematic collection of mainly Quantitive Data from a fairly large number of people normally through Structured Interviews and Questionnaires.
-Tend to be used by Positivists.
-Advantages:
-Provide us with a clear image of changes in attitudes and behaviour over a number of years.
-Allows tease arch to look in detail.
-Disadvantages:
-Highly Expensive
-Respondents may drop out or researchers may lose contact with participants.
-Researcher may lose Objectivity over time.
Questionnaires
Adv+Disadv
-List of pre-set questions asked in a fixed order by a researcher.
-Can be done through face-to-face interviews or sent via email to be completed independently.
-Advantages:
-Less Time-Consuming and Cheaper than other methods.
-Can be used to reach larger and more representative samples of people.
-Disadvantages:
-Low Response Rate
-Interpretivists argue that they have low Validity as real life is too complex to categorise in closed questions and responses.
Structured Interviews
Adv+Disadv
-Researcher reads out a list of closed questions from an interview schedule.
-Advantages:
-Positivists regard them as scientific.
-Easy to graph and find patterns and trends.
-Can be conducted quite Quickly,less time consuming.Which means it could be more Representative from which generalisations can be made.
-Disadvantages:
-Structured interviews and inflexible because schedule interview is drawn up in advance.
-Structured Interviews are only snapshots taken at one moment in time and they fail to capture dynamic and changing nature of social life.
Unstructured Interviews
Adv+Disadv
-Some pre-set questions but more conversational or more lead by the respondent.
-Advantages:
-Rapport built,which is more likely to generate honest answers.
-Very Flexible
-Disadvantages:
-Expensive as training is required.
-Lower sample so harder to generalise.
Focus Groups
Adv+Disadv
-Participants are encouraged to talk to each other.Small group of respondents discussing and exploring a non-sensitive topic.
-Advantages:
-Less Time-Consuming so a larger Sample Size can be reached.
-Higher Validity as Topics are prioritised by the group.
-Disadvantages:
-Respondents may not disclose sensitive material.
-Social Desirability Effect is not eliminated.
Semi-Structured Interviews
Adv+Disadv
-Verbal Conversation between Researcher and The Participant.
-A list of areas for investigation and discussion is drawn up in advance,rather than pre-set questions.
-Advantages:
-Combination of Qualitative and Quantitative Data.
-High Validity.
-Disadvantages:
-Low Reliability ,Probing may occur.
-Small Sample Size.
Ethnography
Adv+Disadv
-Small-Scale Fieldwork that would produce Qualitative data.
-Advantages:
-High Validity.
-Rapport built.
-Disadvantages:
-Lack of Reliability.
-Not Representative.
Non-Participant or Direct Observation
Adv+Disadv
-Researcher sitting and observing an activity form the outside.
-Advantages:
-Researcher is detached and therefore Objective.
-Group should not be influenced by the observer.
-Disadvantages:
-Hawthorne Effect.
-Doesn’t give a reason why people behave the way that they do.
Participant Observation
Adv+Disadv
-Researcher immerses themselves in the group they wish to study.
Two types:Overt-Researcher joins but all participants know they are being observed.
Covert-Researcher immerses themselves without the group knowing they are doing research.
-Advantages:
-Levels of Validity are further enhanced in observation studies as the sociologist can see what people really do.
-Covert Observation may be the only practical method available to research hard-to-reach groups.
-Disadvantages:
-Low Reliability
-Potential for Bias if researcher becomes too involved.
Statistics (Official & Unofficial)
Adv+Disadv
-Numerical Data collected and produced by the government.
-Advantages:
-High in Practicality-Easy+Cheap.
-High in Representativeness.
-Disadvantages:
-Low in Validity.
-Official Statistics are open to practical abuse;Statistics can be manipulated by governments for political advantage.
Content Analysis
Adv+Disadv
-Quantitive-Involved counting the frequency of certain images of words contained in newspaper articles and headlines.
-Qualitative-Involves looking for themes and meanings in media and documents.
-Advantages:
-High in Practicality.
-High in Reliable.
-Disadvantages:
-Low in Validity.
-Low in Objectivity.
Mixed Methods-Triangulation+Methodological Pluralism
Adv+Disadv
-Triangulation-Combining methods that result in Quantitative and Qualitative Data in order to Check and Verify Validity and Reliability of the data collected by each method.
-Methodological Pluralism-Combining of Different Research Methods in an order to build up a fuller picture of what is being studied.
-Advantages:
-High in Validity
-Advantages of one method may help compensate for the limitations of another.
-Disadvantages:
-Low in Practicality
-Priority given to one method over the other.
