Strengths and limitations on research methods

Question 1

What are laboratory experiments ?

Answer 1

• Take place in strictly controlled conditions
• Involve the creation of an artificial setting in which the researcher manipulates a variable to measure its effects
• A control group based on comparison
• Favoured by positivists

Question 2

Strengths of laboratory experiments

Answer 2

Theoretical : high reliability, produces quantitative data so cause and relationship can be seen, highly detached so the researchers opinions don’t influence and can assume the results aren’t affected by extraneous variables

Practical : Easy to attract funding because of the prestige of science, takes place in one setting so researchers don’t need to chase respondents

Ethical : Most laboratory experiments seek to gain informed consent, lab experiments rarely ask participants to do anything illegal + benefits can be found to benefit society

Question 3

Limitations of laboratory experiments

Answer 3

• Practical limits : unsuitable for studying society as it is impossible to control everything, individuals are complex and it is impossible to match experimental and control groups
• Ethical limits : cannot achieve informed consent and subjects may be harmed
• Theoretical limitations : Small samples are used so lacks representativeness, Hawthorne effect, expectancy effect and it has an artificial nature

Question 4

What are field experiments ?

Answer 4

• The manipulation of a variable but these take place in a natural setting.
• People are unaware they are being studied
• This method is preferred by positivists

Question 5

Strengths of field experiments

Answer 5

-Theoretical : no Hawthrone effect which increases validity, natural setting makes it more realistic and the covert nature makes it more valid

Question 6

Limitations of field experiments

Answer 6

• Practical limitations : not always straightforward to set up + variables cannot always be controlled
• Ethical limitations : Participants are deceived due to the covert nature and participants may be harmed
• Theoretical : Small samples so lacks representativeness, lack reliability as the study will be different every times and there is no way of knowing if what I observed is due to the experiment or other variables

Question 7

What are questionnaires ?

Answer 7

• Form off self completion survey
• Researcher distributes them and the participant fills them out privately
• Close ended questions through there can be odd open-ended questions
• Preferred by positivist researchers

Question 8

Strengths of questionnaires

Answer 8

• Practical : quick, cheap, no need to train and data is easily analysed
• Ethical strengths : highly confidential
• Theoretical: can identify cause and effect relationships, highly reliable, can reach large sample sizes so highly representative + detached/objective

Question 9

Limitations of questionnaires

Answer 9

• Practical : restricts the detail that people give, may be necessary to offer incentives for people to complete them, no way of knowing if the right person has filled it in, low response rate + only a snapshot of a person’s feelings at that exact moment
• Theoretical limitations : cannot ensure participants have understood questions (reduces validity), people may lie or exaggerate (reduces validity) and questions may be be leading, technical or vague

Question 10

What are structured interviews ?

Answer 10

• The questions are delivered by the researcher rather than answered privately
• Strictly sticks to a schedule and monitors the tone of voice, wording etc to ensure the delivery is the same
• Preferred by positivists

Question 11

Strengths of structured interviews

Answer 11

• Practical : quick and cheap type of interview, can interview more people than with other interview methods, data is easily analysed and there is a higher response rate than for questionnaires
• Theoretical strengths : can identify the cause and relationship, highly reliable, large sample size so representative, detached and objective

Question 12

Limitations of structured interviews

Answer 12

• Practical : restricts the amount of detail that people can give + only paints a snapshot of a person’s feelings at that exact moment
• Theoretical : Restricted responses can reduce the validity of the answers, little freedom to clarify misunderstandings, feminists regarded this as patriarchal as the researcher has dominance over the participant, people may lie and interview bias my be an issue

Question 13

What are Unstructured interviews ?

Answer 13

• Like guided conservations, there will be questions and prompts but they do not strictly need to stick to It, method is led by the participant in whichever direction they please
• Preferred by interpretivists

Question 14

Strengths of unstructured interviews

Answer 14

• Practical : researcher can build up a rapport
• Ethical : Good for studying sensitive topics
• Theoretical : high in verstehen (participants POV), can develop new ideas and hypotheses depending on the direction the interview takes, high in validity as the participant can speak from their heart, can check questions are understood and feminist value it as it is empowering and collaborative

Question 15

Limitations of unstructured interviews

Answer 15

• Practical : time consuming, training is required for interviewers which can be expensive + data is difficult to analyse
• Theoretical limitations : not reliable, cannot be quantified so cannot identify trends, lacks representativeness, small samples are used interview bias and the researcher can get too involved

Question 16

Semi-structured interviews

Answer 16

• combination of open and closed questions

- Combination of strengths of unstructured and structured

Question 17

What are observations ?

Answer 17

• Participant observation is the most used method, when the researcher joins the group they are studying and actively participate in the same activities.
• Can be overt or covert
• Preferred by interpretivists

Question 18

Strengths of observations

Answer 18

• Practical : Covert observation may be the only way of studying certain topics and groups, first hand insight and highly flexible which can be adapted
• Ethical : if overt ethical standards can be maintained
• Theoretical strengths : Highly valid as it takes place in a natural setting, flexible so allows the researcher to generate new theories, achieves verstehen and behaviour can be assumed to be realistic

Question 19

Limitations of observation

Answer 19

• Practical : challenges with regards to getting in, staying in and getting out and hard to record data if done covertly
• Ethical : large no. of ethical issues attached to covert method
• Theoretical : small samples are used so lacks representativeness, lacks reliability as it will be different every time, can get too involved going native, Hawthorne effect can occur, researchers may be selective about what they record + if done overtly the researchers can ask further questions to better their understanding

Question 20

Non-participant observation

Answer 20

• Strengths and weaknesses are similar but no verstehen and no concerns regarding going native
• May be more likely to take an overt approach

Question 21

What are official statistics ?

Answer 21

• Form of quantitative secondary data
• Come from government sources / similar official bodies
• Used to supplement first-hand research
• Preferred by positivists

Question 22

Strengths of official statistics

Answer 22

• Practical : free and easy to access from the internet, can easily look for trends, up to date and can be used to study trends over time
• Theoretical : Highly representative, presumed to have come from reliable sources and hard statistics eg registration data are highly valid

Question 23

Limitations of official statistics

Answer 23

• Practical : cannot trust the authenticity + accuracy of government data, cannot always be compared to different sets of statistics + definitions may be different to that used by the government
• Theoretical : official statistics are a social construction + not objective facts, soft statistics eg truancy records are used on decisions of a governing body and may be inaccurate + conflict sociologists see official statistics as created by the state for ideological reasons

Question 24

What are documents ?

Answer 24

• Form of qualitative secondary data
• Eg personal, media and public documents
• Preferred by interpretivists

Question 25

Strengths of documents

Answer 25

• Practical strengths : cheap and easy to access, can provide an insight into the past and can be used to study changing social interests over time
• Theoretical strengths : presumed to be highly valid, personal document are high on verstehen, media + public documents represent social issues which are important at particular times and documents can be used for content analysis

Question 26

Limitations of documents

Answer 26

• Practical : some documents may be hard to access and some may contain irrelevant information
• Theoretical : may not be authentic as it may lack validity, possibility that the author lied or exaggerated, documents can be misinterpreted, lack reliability, information in documents cannot be generalised to the wider population and their can be a biased interpretation of information