Section One- Sociological Methods

Question 1

Research Methods

Question 2

Primary research

Answer 2

First hand data, interviews, questionnaires and experiments.

Expensive and time consuming.
Researchers values create bias.

Question 3

Secondary Research

Answer 3

Second hand research statistics, documentaries and diaries.

Access data quickly, may not be accurate.
Compare past and present data.

Question 4

Quantitative data

Answer 4

Numbers and statistics.

Compare statistics and compare trends overtime.

Easy to analyse tables,charts,graphs

Question 5

Qualitative data

Answer 5

Detailed idea how people feel, opinions.

Meaning and motives behind behaviour.
Small scale, not represent whole population.

Question 6

Theoretical issues that affect choice
Of method

Answer 6

Positivism- institutions in society. interpretivism- individual called microsociology.

Question 7

Positivists use Quantitative data

Answer 7

Behaviours influenced by external social factors, scientific and analyse ‘social factors’.

Question 8

Interpretivists use Qualitative data

Answer 8

Understand individuals behaviour, not
Like ants in a farm.

Question 9

Practical issues Impacts on methods

Answer 9

Time- more time depending on methods
Money-pay for resources
Characteristics and skills-at a desk or dangerous situations.
Access and opportunity- researchers access

Question 10

Ethical issues on methods

Answer 10

Consent-agree to take part
Avoidance of deception- open and honest
Confidentially- participants confidential and private.
Avoidance of harm- not be physically or psychologically harmed.

Question 11

Laud Humphreys’ “Tearoom Trade (1970) was a covert observation of secretive homosexual activities

Answer 11

Homosexual activities in public places(toilets), secretive against the law.

Humphrey posed as someone who watches homosexual acts to gain trust and observe actions. Many sociologists disagree with his decision.

Question 12

Milgram (1974) not honest with participants in his obedience experiment.

Answer 12

Volunteers administered electric shocks (to an actor) when they failed the memory test

Told volunteers it’s an experiment on memory, shocks weren’t real.

Shows people are ready to obey authority without question.

Question 13

Respondents right to confidentiality

Answer 13

Researcher breaches trust and confidentiality its affects potential participants taking place

Question 14

Justify bending or breaking Ethical rules

Answer 14

“James Patrick” (1973) false name given to a researcher conducting a study in violent gangs in Glasgow- to ensure researchers safety.

Question 15

Research design

Question 16

Sociologists pick a topic based on preference/knowledge

Answer 16

Steve Bruce specialises in religion

Question 17

Impact of funding on research

Answer 17

Joseph Rowntree foundation funded by industry and government.

Question 18

Researcher’s career selecting a topic

Answer 18

Researches look to conduct a study to improve their employability and getting work published.

Question 19

Reviewing is crucial to good research

Answer 19

Reviewing and critiquing existing data requires researcher to spend time reading articles

Question 20

Hypotheses

Answer 20

Statement that makes a prediction, starting point for research aims to show true or false (two factors).

Question 21

‘Democracy’ made measurable

Answer 21

Tricky to measure democracy, so end up measuring something else that’s linked sociologists call it an indicator. ‘Operationalising’ finding way to measure.

Question 22

Triangulation’s combining methods or data

Answer 22

More detailed picture so allowed to check different sets of data, more valid.

Question 23

Pilot study- small practice run

Answer 23

Accuracy and problems and test technical problems in research design.

But can be time consuming and expensive

Question 24

Representative sampling

Answer 24

Random sampling- picked randomly.
Systematic sampling- Random starting point, go down every 5th

Question 25

Representative sampling

Answer 25

Multi-stage- selecting a sample from another, sample opinion polls.
Stratified random- segments called ‘strata’ based on gender,age,income.
Quota- not random interviews asks for 20 women,25-34, bias aim for attractiveness.

Question 26

Non-representative sampling

Answer 26

Populations maybe hard to access, criminal very young/old.

Question 27

Non-representative sampling

Answer 27

Snowball- finding initial contacts, getting names for research.
Purposive-
Opportunity-‘captive audiences’ groups gathered for another reason

Question 28

Field experiments

Answer 28

Done in natural settings, real life.

But Can’t control variables like a lab experiment.

Question 29

Lab experiments

Answer 29

Quantitative data

Artificial,hard to reproduce real social situations.

Question 30

Participant observation

Answer 30

Researcher gets first-hand insight of people in natural real-life settings.
But hardworking, time consuming and expensive.

Question 31

Non-participant observation

Answer 31

Researcher isn’t drawn into the group so they can be more objective about the group’s behaviours.
But observing from the outside stops you getting where the action is.

Question 32

Case studies

Answer 32

Detailed investigations of a specific thing, person, group, institution or an event.

Question 33

Longitudinal Studies are social surveys overtime

Answer 33

Analyse change and make comparisons overtime.
But hard to recruit a committed sample who’ll want to stay with the study.

Question 34

Ethnography studies way of life of a group

Answer 34

Scientific description of a specific culture by someone with first-hand experience.

Produces qualitative data

Question 35

Sociologists comparing Secondary documents

Answer 35

Durkheim (1987) used comparative method on suicide. Rates of suicide in European countries, constant overtime but varied between societies and varied for different groups.