section A Flashcards
positivists view
humans are treated like objects who are born, live and then die, durkheim and marx were influenced by this view.
they support quantitive data
interpretevists view
humans can’t be treated like objects, they have free will and are conscious of their own choices, max weber is the main founder of this way of thought
they support qualitive data
quantitive data
data expressed in numbers, can be expressed in charts, graphs, tables etc, supported by positivists
qualitive data
data expressed in words, can be expressed through interviews and observations, supported by interpretevists
validity
the extent to which the research provides a true picture of the social reality of what is being studied, this is particularly important to interpretevists (QUALITIVE DATA USUALLY)
reliability
if the research was done again then similar results are likely to be found, particularly important to positivists
(USUALLY QUANTITIVE DATA)
representativeness
the idea that the group or individuals being studied are a fair reflection of the target population, particularly important to positivists (USUALLY QUANTITIVE DATA)
generalisability
generalisability is the extent to which it is possible to apply the findings from the research sample to the wider target population, particularly important to positivists (USUALLY QUANTITIVE DATA)
value freedom
the idea that sociological study should be free from personal prejudices, opinions or political values that could influence the study
operationalism
breaking down the aims and hypothesis into something that can be consistently measured
reflexivity
researchers influence self reflect if their work is objective or not. like if a really sophisticated guy interviews a football hooligan the football hooligan will try and look smart cos he feels like the sophisticated guy is judging him. particularly important to interpretevists, USUALLY QUALITIVE DATA
verstehan
learning to see the world from the standpoint of the participation, particularly important to interpretevists, USUALLY QUALITIVE DATA
designing a research topic
- aims and hypothesis, researcher will have an aim of the research and a hypothesis- a broad guess of what will happen
- primary and secondary data, the researcher will decide which type of data they use and how to collect it
- operationalism, converting the hypothesis into something that can be measured
- pilot study, questionaire or interview carried out
- data collection, this can be quantitive or qualitive, a sample will have been identified
- respondant validation, making sure the those being researched agreed with what was happening, bryman notes that the point of this is to avoid any bias
- interpretation of data, positivists use quantitive, interpretevists use qualitive
A-aims and hypothesis
P-primary and secondary data
O-operationalism
P-pilot study
D-data collection
R-responant validation
I-interpretation of data
A-ah,
P-poulton
O-operating
P-polotic
D-data
R-revision.
I-incredible!!!
random sampling techniques
(random selection from sample frame)
systematic random sampling-involves picking respondants from a random number, EG every 7th person selected from the list
stratified random sampling-dividing the research into a number of different sampling frames and then using systematic random sampling to select the group
Pros: no researcher bias
Cons: no guarantee the sample is representative
non-random sampling techniques
(deliberate targetting of specific groups
quota sampling-researcher goes out and finds the right people EG 20 females over 21
snowball sampling-interview one person and ask the respondant to refer others on. usually for groups difficult to access
purposive sampling-researcher chooses a particular group or place to study as they know.
opportunity sampling-making the most of situations or opportunities in which the researcher population is likely to be founded, EG going to church to research religious people
volunteer sammpling- to access volunteers an advertisement may be placed on a website or newspaper
pros: less time consuming, easier to access a more sensetive topic
cons: more likely researcher bias
