The Research Process Flashcards
What 5 things influence the researchers choice of topic?
1) sociologist’s perspective
2) society’s values
3) funding bodies
4) practical issues
5) personal variables/characteristics
1) sociologists perspective
A sociologists theoretical perspective has a major influence on the researchers choice of topic.
- a feminists researcher is more likely to choose to study subject choice in education, as opposition to gender inequality and oppression lies at the heart of the feminists theory
2) society’s values
The part of society they study and thus are influenced by its values.
As these values change so does the focus on research
3) funding bodies
Most research requires funding from an external body
- government agencies, charities, businesses
As the funding body is paying, it will determine the topic to be investigated
What is an example of how funding bodies influence the research process?
major concerns of New Labour governments after 1997 was the ‘underachievement’ of disadvantage groups in education. As a result government departments were keen to fund research projects to investigate the causes and effects of underachievement in education
4) practical issues
practical factors such as the inaccessibility of certain situations to the researcher, may restrict what topic they are able to study.
- criminals, vulnerable groups, children, mentally ill
5) personal variables/characteristics
- age, gender, ethnicity may affect their accessibility to certain social situations and people
- may be difficult for a man to research into women’s experiences of domestic violence
What are the stages of the research process?
1- select a topic
2- review existing literature
3- devise R Qs, aims, hypothesis
4- operationalise concepts
5- collect data using suitable methods
6- analyse and interpret data
7- present findings
What is an aim in research?
A statement that identifies what a sociologist intends to study and hopes to achieve by carrying out the research
What is a hypothesis?
More specific than an aim, it is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove it true or false
What does operationalise mean?
Ensuring a concept is converted into something that can be measured
What are respondants?
People the sociologists decide to contact
What is a sampling procedure?
The number of ways of selecting respondents, how you get your sample
What is the total/target population?
People you are interested in studying
What is the sampling frame?
A list of people whom you are going to select your sample from- never anyone in your total population as you cannot get hold of all of them
- school register
What is a sample?
The final group of people who take part in the research
What is a pilot study?
mini version of the full scale study (feasibility study)
- improve upon the study prior to conducting the full scale research project
What are the non-random sampling techniques?
- non-random sampling
- purposive
- opportunity
- snowball
- quota
- volunteer
What are the random sampling techniques?
- random
- systematic
- stratified
What is non-random sampling?
When you can’t get hold of a sampling frame
Ways of finding the respondents, because the sample is not selected at random, the results no longer represent results from a larger group.
What is purposive sampling?
Respondents are selected because they seem a good example of the type of people you want to research
What is opportunity sampling?
Choosing from individuals who are available at the time you need them
- passers by on the street
What is snowball sampling?
Want to study a group with a common interest, who may not want to be found
- find one willing participant, ask them to help find other people within that group
What is quota sampling?
Similar to stratified
- R divides population into which category they want to study
- go out looking for the right number (quota of each sort of person required for each category)
What is volunteer sampling?
Advertise for volunteers and take whoever comes
What is random sampling?
Simplest technique
- selected purely at random chance
- drawing names out of a hat
What is systematic sampling?
- ‘quasi-random’ sampling
- simple technique, R decides they are going to choose every 10th name on a list
- Young n Wilmott used every 36th name on an electoral register for their general sample
What is stratified sampling?
- divide (stratify) population into whichever category you are wanting to study (men n women)
- then take a certain percentage from each category
- this ensures the sample is representative of the population as a whole
What is random sampling used for?
To produce representative samples
These are good for quantitative researchers because they want their data to represent as many people as possible
What is Purposive sampling used for?
Used by qualitative researchers because they wish to research particular issues in great depth
What are other sampling procedures used for?
Often chosen for practical reasons
- time, costs, access to respondents
