sociology exams unit 1

Question 1

Official statistics

Answer 1

Official statistics consists of numerical data produced by national and local governemnts and official bodies.

Hard statistics are those that should be completely accuate, apart from any errors. Soft statistics depend on people making decisions about what to record and how.

Question 2

strengths and limitations of official statistics

Answer 2

strengths:

• readily available, free of charge and on the internet, so is cheap and easy to use
• usually produced by research that is well planned and organised, using large samples. they are likely to be reliable and representative so they can indentify patterns
• often repeated every year so they show changed over time and is possible to indentify trends
• allow researchers to make comparisons

limitations
- lack validity, reducing everything to numbers and not showing any detail or reasons behind respondents’ actions
- official statistics do not always mean what they mean and dont always show the full truth.
- statistics are rarely as complete and accurate as they claim to be
- official statistics have been produced by others and are unlikely to contain what a sociologist might like to know.

Question 3

digital sources

Answer 3

digital sources include webpages, blogs, vlogs, forums etc. they can be used as a form of secondary data, either as a type of personal document because of social media posts or because of the source of information about what if happening in society and all around the world

Question 4

strenths and limitations of digital sources

Answer 4

strengths:
- a vast range of information is available at a very low cost with easy access
- they are global making it easier to get information about different parts of the world

limitations

• some are misleading, biased or have incorrect information
• important context may be missing making it different to access validity
  -access to digital sources in controlled by the government in some countries

Question 5

media content

Answer 5

the ways in which certain social groups behave on the media is of interests to sociologists because they can affect people’s views and attitudes.

Question 6

strenghts and limitations of media content

Answer 6

strengths:
- readily available and a source of information on many topics
- can be a useful starting point
- can be studied easily

limitations
- difficult to access validity of media content
- may be subjective and biased
- quantitative analysis of media content might miss wider context lacking validity

Question 7

Interpreting and evaluating evidence from qualilative sources

Answer 7

1. who produced the source? it is important to evaluate whose point of view is promoted and take into account groups of whose point of view is not available.
   2.why was the source produced? was it intended to be read by others?
2. was the author in a position to know about the things they describe?
3. does the source seem biased?
4. is the author likey to have same views as other people in that time?
5. are they other sources to contradict or elevate this source?
6. is it clear how the author meant for this to be interpreted?

Question 8

stages in research design

Answer 8

1. indentifying a topic
2. aims and hypothesis
3. target population
4. methods
5. operationalisation
6. pilot studies

Question 9

1. selection of topic

Answer 9

sociologists should identify a problem that seems like a puzzle, like why girls do better than boys at school. when deciding what to research, sociologists may be influenced by factors such as:
- their personal interests or experiences
- what they already know and what they dont know
- societal changes and developments
- whether funding is available or enough
- will it be possible to indetify and contact respondents
- what ethical issues will be raised

Question 10

2. aims and hypothesis

Answer 10

next is to review available evidence (in books or academic jouranls) to find out what is already known, who else has indentified the problem and how they invesigated it (literature review) and can indentify the aims of their research.

a hypothesis is a prediction or statement that the research will attempt to find evidence to support or disapprove.

Question 11

3. target population

Answer 11

the whole group of people the research is about and the people whom the findings will be applied to. because the target population will be quite broad, a sample of people will be selected to represent the target population and the research will focus on the sample.

Question 12

4. methods

Answer 12

sociologists have to choose from the various methods and their choice will be influenced by practical, ethical and theortical issues. the methods chosen must be able to produce data that will provide evidence supporting or disapproving the hypothesis and achieving the aim.

Question 13

5. operationalisation

Answer 13

the aims or hypothesis will contain or refer to some socioligcal key terms or concepts that may be abstract therfore the researcher needs to finds ways to ask questions about them or to measure or observe them.

Question 14

6. pilot studies

Answer 14

whatever method is chosen, it is sensible to test it before starting the main research. the research methods are tested with a small number of respondents in a limited way to see if there are any flaws in the design or if the research plan can be imporved.

Question 15

sampling frame: a list of all or most of the people in the target polutation

Answer 15

electoral roll: a list of everyone registered to vote during elections, many countries have one and contain most adults living in the countrym if the target population is adults living in the country then electoral roll is a good choice

school registers: a list of school learners including information about them like their gender, are only available to genuine researchers and need to seek permisiion from someone in authoourity. if the target population is all leaners in a particular school then this is a good sampling frame

Question 16

random sampling

Answer 16

everyone in the sampling frame has an equal chance at getting picked, one way of doing this is ballots. they are not always representative, like if the sampling frame contains equal amount of boys and girls random selection might pick mostly boys than girls. the researcher has no control over this

Question 17

systematic sampling

Answer 17

this has a regular patern of choice, like, every tenth name in the sampling frame is chosen. the researcher still has no influence over this and may not be representative of the target population.

Question 18

stratified sampling

Answer 18

stratified sampling can be divided into section (strata) and a sample is selected from each section. this ensures right proportion of each type of person chosen. it can be stratified into age, gender, ethnic group etc. this is likely more representative of target population

Question 19

snowball sampling

Answer 19

this is contacting people when other sampling methods will not work, usually because the target population is very specific. you find one respondent and ask them to put you in touch with others, this is mostly used for interviewing criminals

Question 20

quota sampling

Answer 20

the researcher is sent out with instructions to find people will certain charasteristics: 10 learners aged 16 taking IGCSE sociology.

Question 21

surveys

Answer 21

surveys techniques include questionaires and structured interviews and tend to be carried out on large scale. they usually generate quantitative data.

Question 22

questionnaires

Answer 22

respondents answer the questions with no additional guidance from the researcher who is not present. questionnaires sent by post/internet can reach large numbers of people so you have a large sample which is representative, however, the response rate may be low and this can make the final sample less representative.

Question 23

to improve response rate:

Answer 23

• send a letter explaining the research in detail
• sending an evelope in which the completed questionaire can be returned or calling to collect it
• reminding those who do not respond
• making it short and easy
• giving clear instructions and having questions that are likely to be of interest
• isng people’s names to make them feel more involved
• offering the chance of a prize if filled out

Question 24

structured interviews

Answer 24

usually involved closed questions with a limited range of answers and creates quantitative data read out by the researcher and records participants responses.

Question 25

unstructured interviews

Answer 25

interviewer only has a set of prompts to breif over, the interviewee is to talk freely so the interviewer will avoid saying much except encourge the interviewee or ask them to explain further.

Question 26

semi structured interviews

Answer 26

interviewer has a guide rather than standardised list of questions, the interviewer can change order of questions or miss out questions that have already been covered, most contain open questions so prdouce qualilative data

Question 27

participant observation

Answer 27

researchers put themselves in same position as people they’re studying.

getting in: a researcher adopt an overt role, telling the group exactly who they are and what they’re doing, or a covert role, conceiling their identity, or produce a cover story, explaining they’re a researcher but still conceiling some elements. the researcher also needs to share charasteristics with members of the group.

staying in: they continue to participate and observe to gain their trust. they need to learn listen and get a sense of what is going on. they may need to participate in acts they may not agree with

getting out: researcher needs to leave the group without damaging relationships and must also be detached enough to write an accurate account making sure members of the group are not identified.

Question 28

open questions

Answer 28

Open questions are used to explore in detail why people believe or do particular things. An open question allows the respondent to explain or expand on their answer, rather than giving them a limited range of responses to choose from. The answers to open questions create qualitative data. It is unusual to include many open questions in a questionnaire. This is partly because people are less likely to write lengthy answers, and also because most questionnaires are designed to obtain quantitative data.

Question 29

closed questions

Answer 29

Closed or fixed-response questions invite a limited range of answers (such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’) or ask the respondent to choose one or more answers from a list provided. Each answer is coded The advantage of this is that it makes it easy to analyse the results and produce statistical tables. The disadvantage is that some respondents may want to give answers that are not allowed by the options provided. To avoid this problem, the researcher might include an ‘Other (please specify)’ option.

Question 30

multiple choice questions

Answer 30

Multiple-choice questions are a type of closed question. They have several alternative answers from which the respondent has to choose. There is one correct answer, known as the key. Multiple-choice questions are often used in assessments in education.

Question 31

scaled questions

Answer 31

Scaled questions are a type of closed question with a range of possible answers, these are close-ended questions where the possible answer could cover a range of statements or opinions such as
strongly agree
agree
neither agree nor disagree
disagree
strongly disagree.

Question 32

theoretical issues

Answer 32

Researcher perspective
This is a theoretical issue affecting research. The researcher will have a particular perspective which will influence the research they choose to do and the methods they use. You have a value for eg. positivism, feminism, interpretivism

Access to sample
This is a practical issue affecting research. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to gain access to a sample of the target population. Access to samples in sociology refers to obtaining permission and entry to study individuals or groups.

Time: it may be out of date, longitudinal studies r time-consuming and quantitative r less time consuming

Response rate
it can affect the representativeness of the findings. Response rates to questionnaires are often very low; for example, many postal questionnaires are not completed or returned.

Funding/cost
To carry out a research project, a researcher will need a source of funding, such as a research grant from a government body. Preferably using the positivist approach Many researchers work at universities or organizations. Funding is limited, so all researchers need to control costs. This will affect the research design;

Question 33

Ethical issues

Answer 33

Ethical issues involve decisions about values - what is right and wrong. If a researcher makes the wrong decisions, their research might harm people or damage the reputation of the university or organization they work for, or of sociology as a discipline and legality. For this reason, the main professional associations in sociology have codes of conduct to guide researchers through these difficult areas.

Some of the main ethical guidelines that almost all researchers follow are:
The participants must not be harmed - either physically or psychologically.
The participants must give their informed consent.
The researcher should not invade the participants’ privacy.
Participants should not be deceived.

The researcher must also ensure that, as far as possible and whenever appropriate, the research is:
anonymous - for example, the participant’s name (or any other information that might identify them) does not appear on the questionnaire. This is not always done if it might be necessary to contact someone again for more information.

Informed consent: The respondents must agree to take, having fully understood what is involved. Informed consent includes explaining the purpose of the research, when and where the findings will be available, and what they might be used for.(people have the right to say no and not take part)

However, the rule of obtaining informed consent means that covert observation is not an ethical research method.

privacy/ confidentiality: The researcher must respect the participant’s privacy, even when they have given their informed consent. The participants might have agreed to be interviewed, but they can still refuse to answer particular questions that they see as invading their privacy. (e.g. ones that ask about their earnings or their religious beliefs.)

Deception; the researcher can or may disquise their research. This can involve lying or giving incomplete more naturally. (e.g. a researcher observing in a classroom may tell the learners that they are helping the teacher when they are researching the children’s behavior. This is deception.)

Prevention of harm: it is wrong to harm participants in a study, but it is not easy to decide what harm means or to know in advance whether harm will be caused. Harm doesn’t have to be physical.
It might include:

Making Participants feel angry or upset, referred to as psychological harm
This can happen if they are asked about something that disturbs them. this can be difficult to avoid because researchers cannot know what might upset a particular person.

Confidentiality can protect participants from harm when the research findings are published.