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AQA A-Level Sociology > Theory and Methods - Paper 1 > Flashcards

Theory and Methods - Paper 1 Flashcards

Paper 1

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What is reliability?

A

Can it be repeated? If so would it get the same result?

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2
Q

What is verstehen?

A

To understand

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3
Q

What is validity?

A

The true picture, is it measuring what it aims to measure?

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4
Q

What is representativeness?

A

Is it representative of the population, does it speak for everyone?

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5
Q

What are the 3 main ways of collecting primary data?

A

Social surveys, observation and experiments

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6
Q

What are the main types of secondary sources sociologists use?

A

Official statistics and documents

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7
Q

What are social surveys?

A

These involve asking people questions in a written questionnaire or interview

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8
Q

What are participant observations?

A

The sociologist joins in with the activities they are studying

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9
Q

What are official statistics?

A

Produced by the government on a wide range of issues such as education, crime, divorce, unemployment. They can also be produced by businesses, churches and charitable organisations

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10
Q

What are documents?

A

Letters, emails, diaries, photographs, official reports, novels, newspapers, the internet and TV broadcasts

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11
Q

What is quantitative data?

A

Refers to information in a numerical form

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12
Q

What is qualitative data?

A

Information which provides descriptions in word form

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13
Q

What are some quantitative primary sources?

A

Surveys with closed questions, structured interview and questionnaires

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14
Q

What are some quantitative secondary sources?

A

Office for National statistics

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15
Q

What are some qualitative primary sources?

A

Interviews which are open and unstructured and participant observation

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16
Q

What are some qualitative secondary sources?

A

Research papers, newspaper articles, interviews, letters

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17
Q

What are the Practical issues?

A
  • Time
  • Money (funding body
  • Access/gatekeeper
  • Background of researcher
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18
Q

What are the Ethical issues?

A
  • Informed consent
  • Deception
  • Confidentiality
  • Protection from harm (vulnerable groups)
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19
Q

What are the Theoretical issues?

A

Validity, verstehen, reliability and representative

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20
Q

What is the structure of PET questions?

A

Point
Explain
Evidence –> case study
Theory –> valid, verstehen, representative, reliable, positivist and interpretivist

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21
Q

What is positivism?

A
  • Like methods that are scientific
  • Quantitative data
  • Methods they would use: questionnaires, official stats, lab experiments. Like replicable, reliable and generalisable
  • Theories that are positivist: functionalist, new right, realists and marxists
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22
Q

What is interpretivism?

A
  • Like methods that allow for depth
  • Qualitative data
  • Methods they would use: observations, interviews, field experiments, case studies, documents - diaries and letters. Like valid and verstehen
  • Theories that are interpretivist: interactionist, feminist, Weberian
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23
Q

What is a pilot study?

A

This is a study before the real study takes place to iron out any issues and correct any mistakes. This costs money but can prevent issues with the credibility and validity of the study at a later date

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24
Q

What is a survey population?

A

The whole of the group that you want to study

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25
Q

What is a sample?

A

A group selected from the target population to take part in the study

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26
Q

What is a sampling frame?

A

A list of individual sampling units from which a sample is drawn e.g., the electoral roll

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27
Q

What should a good sampling frame be?

A
  1. Complete
  2. Without duplications
  3. Accurate
  4. Up to date
  5. All in one place
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28
Q

What are the different sampling methods?

A

Random, stratified, quota, opportunity, snowball and purposive

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29
Q

What is random sampling?

A

People selected randomly. Could be done by drawing names from a hat or by a computer program

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30
Q

What are the strengths of random sampling?

A

Everyone has an equal chance of being selected

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31
Q

What are the limitations of random sampling?

A

Chance of the sample not being fully representative of all groups

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32
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

The researcher divides the population into sub groups. Each strata should be represented in the sample

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33
Q

What are the strengths of stratified sampling?

A

Each sub group of the target population is represented

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34
Q

What are the limitations of stratified sampling?

A

We need to know a lot of information about the survey population in order to split them into subgroups

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35
Q

What is quota sampling?

A

Non-random form of sampling. The researcher decides the number of people they want from different categories and then finds the first people who fit

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36
Q

What are the strengths of quota sampling?

A

Easier sample to find because you don’t need a sampling frame or persuade those selected to participate

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37
Q

What are the limitations of quota sampling?

A

The type of sample you get can depend on where you look, the time of dat and your abilities to get people to take part. Researcher bias, less likely to be representative as random

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38
Q

What is purposive sampling?

A

The researcher picks a group of people specifically to study

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39
Q

What are the strengths of purposive sampling?

A

Lockwood and Goldthorpe chose a specific group of workers to test the idea that wealthy members of WC were developing MC aptitudes, picked highly paid car workers

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40
Q

What are the limitations of purposive sampling?

A

Researcher bias in selection

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41
Q

What is snowball sampling?

A

One of the least random sampling techniques. The researcher asks someone to take part then asks them to suggest someone else

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42
Q

What are the strengths of snowball sampling?

A

It snowballs and grows. Laurie Taylor studied professional criminals - used when no other method would work

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43
Q

What are the limitations of snowball sampling?

A

People are difficult to find so would be hard to access a sampling frame

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44
Q

What is opportunity sampling?

A

Most common form of sampling because of convenience - no sampling frame. These people that are able and willing to take part put themselves forward

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45
Q

What are the strengths of opportunity sampling?

A

Extremely quick and easy to conduct

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46
Q

What are the limitations of opportunity sampling?

A

May be difficult to generalise results as the group may not be representative

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47
Q

How are questionnaires distributed?

A

Post, given out, emailed, online, receipts

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48
Q

What are the practical strengths of questionnaires?

A
  • Quick/time efficient - closed
  • Accessible
  • Cheap - send online
  • No researcher bias and background of researcher doesn’t matter
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49
Q

What are the practical limitations of questionnaires?

A
  • Open take time to analyse qualitative
  • If sent online - digital divide
  • Time to wait for reply
  • Access - get a large distribution
  • Hard to get past gatekeepers
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50
Q

What are the ethical strengths of questionnaires?

A
  • Can provide info confidentially
  • Informed consent
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51
Q

What are the ethical limitations of questionnaires?

A
  • Protection from harm - if anonymous, hard to debrief and give help if difficult topic
  • Possible deception
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52
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of questionnaires?

A
  • Open questions can provide verstehen
  • representative - people can give out to certain groups so can generalise
  • Reliable as they’re standardised
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53
Q

What are the theoretical limitations of questionnaires?

A
  • Could have low response rate which reduces representativeness and validity because answers will lack depth and detail with closed questions
  • Imposition bias
  • May misinterpret questions
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54
Q

What are the two studies on questionnaires?

A

Connor and Dewson - Social class and higher education, Michael Schofield - Sexual behaviour of young people in 1965

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55
Q

What was Connor and Dewson’s study using questionnaires?

A

Conducted research to try and understand why some people from the lower classes don’t attend uni. They took a sample of individuals from higher and lower class backgrounds, studying 3 groups

Group 1 - Pre entry A Level students - using focus groups to ask about where they had applied

Group 2 - Current students - sent 4000 postal questionnaires to 23 unis; dealing with a gatekeeper in each. They then received 41% response rate; this had mainly closed questions

Group 3 - Non students - held phone surveys with 176 young people who had not gone to uni with mainly closed questions

Found that many issues affected an individual’s decision if to go onto HE such as future job security and self-worth. Main reason not to attend was debt; this meant choosing a local uni

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56
Q

What are the PET issues of Connor and Dewson’s questionnaire study?

A

P - background of researcher
E - protection from harm, informed consent
T - different methods so lacks reliability, looked at different amount of individuals so not valid, used closed questions in group 2 and 3 so no verstehen

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57
Q

What was Schofield’s study using questionnaires?

A

Schofield sent out a detailed questionnaire to teenagers aged 15-19 within schools to gain an insight into their sexual behaviour. This was sent a variety of class and ethnic backgrounds. It also covered both male and females and consisted of open and closed questions.

He asked “are you a virgin?” and one student responded “no not yet” which leads us to question the accuracy of the data.

He found people tend to bend the truth when it comes to sex, however it does give us an insight into what young people were willing to disclose. 20 years later his study has been replicated by the National Lifestyles Survey to gain comparable data

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58
Q

What are the PET issues of Michael Schofield’s questionnaire study?

A

P - Access and gatekeepers, under 18 and sent to schools
E - Some under 18 so need parental consent, asking vulnerable groups personal questions
T - Variety of class and ethnic backgrounds so representative, study replicated, open and closed questions

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59
Q

What is triangulation?

A

Using 3 different methods

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60
Q

What are the 4 types of interviews?

A

Structured/formal, unstructured/informal, semi-structured and group

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61
Q

What are structured interviews?

A

Similar to a questionnaire where the interviewer is given strict instructions on how to ask the questions. Interview is conducted in the same standardised way each time, asking each interviewee the same questions word for word. Provide RELIABLE DATA

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62
Q

Who favours structured interviews?

A

Positivists

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63
Q

What are unstructured interviews?

A

More like a guided conversation. Interviewer has complete freedom to vary the questions, their wording, order and so on from one interview to the next. The interviewer can ask follow-up questions

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64
Q

What are semi-structured interviews?

A

In between a structured and unstructured interview. Interview has the same set of questions, but the interview can probe for more information

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65
Q

What are group interviews?

A

Several people being interviewed together, at the same time. Focus groups are a form of interview where the interviewer asks the group to discuss a certain topic

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66
Q

Who favours unstructured interviews?

A

Interpretivists

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67
Q

Who favours semi-structured interviews?

A

Positivists and interpretivists

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68
Q

Who favours group interviews?

A

Interpretivists

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69
Q

What are the strengths of structured interviews?

A
  • Can easily compare answers
  • Retrieve answers you are looking for directly
  • Time effective
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70
Q

What are the limitations of structured interviews?

A
  • Cannot elaborate or give reasoning
  • May be confused by questions
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71
Q

What are the practical strengths of structured interviews?

A
  • CHEAP - training is simple as interviewer reads out standardised questions
  • ACCESS - response rate. Generally have a high number of respondents as Wilmott and Young found as they are quick to conduct
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72
Q

What are the practical limitations of structured interviews?

A
  • COST - although they are relatively cheap, they cost more than questionnaires
  • ACCESS - following up responses can be more costly and the researcher won’t be able to access as many participants as a survey would
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73
Q

What are the ethical strengths of structured interviews?

A
  • INFORMED CONSENT - there is no deception as people will only answer the questions if they want to
  • PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - the participant has the right to withdraw from the interview at any time
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74
Q

What are the ethical limitations of structured interviews?

A
  • PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - Feminists such as Graham argue that they are patriarchal and oppressive to women due to the nature of the questions and how the researcher (traditionally male) is in control and the female is subordinate
  • DECEPTION - if the true aim of the research is hidden
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75
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of structured interviews?

A
  • RELIABILITY - you can repeat the study easily because it is standardised and controlled
  • REPRESENTATIVE - as this method is easier to use with a larger sample, you are more likely to be able to generalise findings
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76
Q

What are the theoretical limitations of structured interviews?

A
  • VALIDITY - lacks depth and detail, also if the researcher wrote the questions with an idea of what answer they would like, this would be IMPOSITION BIAS. People may lie in their answers and are unable to elaborate on their responses due to the method being so inflexible
  • VERSTEHEN - can be subjective and lack empathetic understanding
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77
Q

Who did a study using structured interviews?

A

Young and Wilmott

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78
Q

What happened in Young and Wilmott’s structured interview study?

A

Study into WC families using structured interviews to investigate extended family in east London. 933 people interviewed. Interviews were formal and standardised, the questions precise and factual, with a limited range of alternative answers, on straightforward topic like people’s age, job, religion, birthplace etc. The interviewers’ task was to ring the appropriate code-number opposite the answer they received or, at a few points to the interview, to write in a fairly short and simple reply. Each interview took between ten and 30 mins, depending on the number of relatives possessed by a particular informant

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79
Q

What did Young and Wilmott study?

A

Working class families in east London

80
Q

What are the PET issues of Young and Wilmott’s study?

A

P - access of WC families (background of researcher. Consent - talking about other family
E - confidentiality of age, job, religion, protection from harm and distress from marginalisation
T - Formal and standardised - reliable. Closed q - limited range, validity or verstehen

81
Q

Who did a study using semi-structured/unstructured interviews?

A

Oakley, Dobash and Dobash

82
Q

What happened in Oakley’s study using semi-structured/unstructured interviews?

A

Carried out a series of intesnsive, onfiromal interviews with 66 young mothers before and after their babies were born. All the women were attedning the same London hospital. The women were all asked ‘can you describe your feelings when you first held the baby?’. The participants responded in detail and depth.
Feelings on first holding the baby:
Not interested - 70%
Amazed, proud - 20%
Euphoric - 10%

Interviewees are not passive respondents but asked questions back. At the end, she asked ‘Do you feel that being involved in this research has affected your experience of being a mother in any way?’
No - 27%
Yes - 73%
Thought about it more - 30%
Found it reassuring - 25%
A relief to talk - 30%
Changed attitude - 7%

Oakley asked some set questions in each interview, they were largely informal, flexible and focused on the interviewees themselves, as she wanted to establish a feel for their experiences

83
Q

What are the Practical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. CHEAP - it is cheaper than conducting longitudinal research/lab experiments
  2. ACCESS - people are more willing to open up about issues such as domestic violence due to the relaxed nature of the interview and interviewer
84
Q

What are the Practical limitations of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. TIME - takes a long-time to conduct and analyse as participants may drift off topic, and training of the interviewers takes time, limiting the number of people who can be interviewed
  2. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHER - the researcher needs certain characteristics and skills - need to be able to build a rapport
85
Q

What are the Ethical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. INFORMED CONSENT - the only respondent is in control so only volunteers the information that they are happy to
  2. PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - the relaxed environment of unstructured interviews makes interviewees feel more comfortable compared to alternative methods e.g., structured
86
Q

What are the Ethical limitations of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - there may be sensitive issues in the interview which may upset participants
  2. DECEPTION - if the true aim of the research is hidden
87
Q

What are the Theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. VALIDITY - as unstructured interviews are more flexible, respondents are more likely to open up, exploring unfamiliar topics
  2. VERSTEHEN - interviewers can build rapport and emphasise with participants due to the flexible and informal nature of questioning
88
Q

What are the Theoretical limitations of unstructured interviews?

A
  1. REPRESENTATIVENESS - the small number of participants involved means the results will be hard to generalise
  2. RELIABILITY - they are unreliable as the questions are not standardised and respondents can go ‘off-topic’ with their answers
89
Q

What did Dobash and Dobash study?

A

Research with women into domestic violence

90
Q

What happened in Dobash and Dobash’s study using unstructured interviews?

A

They interviewed victims of DV and people who had worked with and helped the victims. They used questions on a variety of aspects such as socialisation inot the use of violence. There were constant interviews between 2-12 hours, which took place within a few days after the women’s arrival at a DV refuge. They found that DV was more likely to take place if men felt that their authority had been threatened

91
Q

What are the Practical strengths of group interviews?

A
  1. ACCESS - may be easier to get people to take part if it is in a group
  2. FUNDING BODY - it should not be difficult to get funding in order to carry out the research, due to the method satisfying ethical and practical matters e.g., time
92
Q

What are the Practical limitations of group interviews?

A
  1. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHER - researcher needs the skills/ability to keep a large group on task
  2. TIME AND MONEY - data generated from group interaction is more complex and difficult to analyse, therefore costing more money and taking more time afterwards
93
Q

What are the Ethical strengths of group interviews?

A
  1. INFORMED CONSENT - the respondent may be more likely to be willing to do the research in a group environment
  2. PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - due to the fact there are other participants and witnesses present, it is more difficult for a group to be emotionally harmed
94
Q

What are the Ethical limitations of group interviews?

A
  1. CONFIDENTIALITY - there is no discretion or way of keeping your identity hidden as the rest of the group can see you answering questions
  2. VULNERABLE GROUPS - may be more inclined to ‘go with the flow’ and can be more easily manipulated in groups
95
Q

What are the Theoretical strengths of group interviews?

A
  1. VALIDITY - participants may feel more comfortable around others so more likely to open up
  2. REPRESENTATIVENESS - large numbers can be interviewed at once, so it has the potential of being more representative
96
Q

What are the Theoretical limitations of group interviews?

A
  1. REPRESENTATIVENESS - one or two individuals may dominate the discussion
  2. VALIDITY - peer group pressure may lead to socially desirable responses
97
Q

Who did a study using group interviews?

A

Willis

98
Q

What happened in Willis’ study on group interviews?

A

Studied: 12 working class boys and wanted to find out their experience of education
Part of his research required him to carry out focus groups with the boys
He wanted to find out if there was an anti-school subculture and if this was linked to social class

99
Q

What is interview bias?

A

A distortion of response related to the person questioning informants in research

100
Q

What is an issue with interview bias?

A

The idea that participants’ answers may be influenced by the behaviour, phrasing, background or mere presence of interviewer. To overcome interviewer bias, interviewers are trained to be non-directive

101
Q

Which researchers took measures to improve valdiity in their work?

A

Nazroo, Becker and Kinsey

102
Q

How did Nazroo improve validity of their work?

A

Conducted research into the health of Britain’s ethnic minorities and ensured interviews were conducted in participants’ language of choice, as well as matching the ethnicity of the interviewer to that of the participant

103
Q

How did Becker improve validity of their work?

A

Took an aggressive approach when interviewing schoolteachers, aiming to ‘squeeze’ information out of participants, ‘playing dumb’ and playing devil’s advocate

104
Q

How did Kinsey improve validity of their work?

A

In his research into sexuality, asked rapid questions, repeated questions later to check, and conducted follow-up interviews 18 months later

105
Q

Who are observations favoured by?

A

Interpretivists

106
Q

What are participant observations?

A

Involves researcher joining in with the activities of the group being studied

107
Q

What are non participant observations?

A

When a researcher simply watches a situation or interaction, and collects data from what they see, without interacting with the group being observed

108
Q

What are overt observations?

A

When the participants are aware that they are being observed, therefore they give consent

109
Q

What are covert observations?

A

When the group being observed is unaware that they are being researched, and the researcher has to adopt a cover story to explain their presence in that situation

110
Q

What are the Practical strengths of participant and non-participant observations?

A
  1. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHER - may be able to use their characteristics to get into a group
  2. MONEY - either type of observation does not require expensive lab equipment
111
Q

What are the Practical limitations of non-participant and participant observations?

A
  1. ACCESS - this may be difficult especially if attempting to research marginal groups e.g., criminals. May need a gatekeeper
  2. TIME - observations tend to be a very time-consuming method, especially if participant observations are used
112
Q

What are the ethical strengths of non-participant observations?

A
  1. PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - if non-participant then researcher will not be getting directly involved in participant behaviour
  2. CONFIDENTIALITY - researchers can ensure confidentiality as they can hide the names of those they are observing, especially if its non-participant
113
Q

What are the ethical limitations of non-participant and participant observations?

A
  1. HARM TO RESEARCHER - if participant, the researcher could be in danger, especially if covert participant e.g., observing criminal behaviour
  2. INFORMED CONSENT/DECEPTION - this can be an issue if the research is covert participant as the researcher will need a cover story and conceal their real motives
114
Q

What are the theoretical strengths of participant and non-participant observations?

A
  1. VALIDITY - researchers can see the participants ‘in action’, in their natural setting, and therefore are unlikely to lie/behave differently especially if covert
  2. VERSTEHEN - especially if participating as the researcher has the ability to see the world from the participant’s point of view
115
Q

What are the theoretical limitations of participant and non-participant observations?

A
  1. RELIABILITY - if participant, it can be virtually impossible to repeat this research to verify the findings due to the group and situation being observed being unique
  2. REPRESENTATIVENESS - observations especially participant tend to be focused on a small group within society therefore findings cannot be generalised
116
Q

What are the Practical strengths of overt observations?

A
  1. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHER - researchers’ characteristics will have less impact if it is overt
  2. MONEY - funding bodies may be more willing to support research that is overt as it is likely to be much more ethical
117
Q

What are the Practical limitations of covert observations?

A
  1. ACCESS - this may be difficult especially if covert, researchers will need to find a way into the group, they may need a gatekeeper
  2. TIME - covert observations can take a long time as researchers may need to gain trust before being accepted and may need to stay after to avoid suspicion
118
Q

What are the Ethical strengths of overt and covert observations?

A
  1. INFORMED CONSENT - this is gained if observation is overt as participants know they are being researched, therefore there is no deception
  2. CONFIDENTIALITY - researchers can ensure confidentiality as they can hide the names of those they are observing
119
Q

What are the Ethical limitations of covert observations?

A
  1. HARM TO RESEARCHER - if covert, the researcher could be in danger, especially if their cover story is blown and researching dangerous groups
  2. INFORMED CONSENT/DECEPTION - if covert then cannot be gained and therefore the participants are being deceived
120
Q

What are the Theoretical strengths of covert observations?

A
  1. VALIDITY - participants don’t know they are being researched so should act naturally
  2. VERSTEHEN - the researcher is fully immersed in the groups’ secret world and has the ability to see the world from their point of view
121
Q

What are the Theoretical limitations of covert and overt observations?

A
  1. VALIDITY - if overt, participants know they are being researched therefore could cause the Hawthorne effect. If covert, recording data at the time is difficult, they may have to write up findings later, possibly forgetting detail
  2. RELIABILITY - if covert then it will be very difficult to carry out the research again, unlikely to be accepted in the group and observe the same behaviour
122
Q

Who did overt participant observations?

A

Gang leader for a day and Willis - learning to labour

123
Q

What happened in the gang leader for a day study?

A

Originally entered the housing projects with the aim of conducting interviews with young black men living in property. The gang was reluctant to talk to him at first and he was met with open hostility and threats of violence. He was imprisoned by the gang, until JT agrees to the research. He befriended JT and gained trust to lead the group for a day
His research was regarded as highly valuable for the insight it gave into gang culture in America and the impact of a gang on area. The people int he area were aware that Venkatesh was from the uni and that he was observing lfie in their area. He was an overt observer, but kept the topic of research confidential.
Venkatesh found the structure of the gang was hierarchal and highly organised

124
Q

What happened in Willis’ learning to labour overt participant observation?

A

He studied 12 WC lads. He spent a total of 18 months observing the lads in school and then a further 6 months following them into work. The study aimed to uncover the question of how and why WC kids get WC jobs.
Willis concentrated on a particular boy’s group in a secondary school. They were all white, although the school also contained many pupils from West Indian and Asian background. With a small sample size, it would be relatively easy for people who knew them to guess which lads Willis and been focussing on
Willis attended all school classes, options and career classes which took place at various times. This allowed Willis to immerse himself into the social settings of the lads and gave him the opportunity to ask the lads questions about their behaviour that day or the night before encouraging them to explain themselves in their own words which included detailed accounts of the alds getting in trouble
The research was very time consuming - 2 years of research and then a further 2 years to write up the results. He witnessed the lads getting into fights, their racism and homophobia, as well as them vandalising school property

125
Q

Who did covert participant observation?

A

Black like me, a view from the boys

126
Q

What happened in the Black like me covert participant observation?

A

John Howard-Griffin, was a middle-aged white man living in Mansfield, Texas in 1959. Deeply committed to the cause of racial justice and frustrated by his inability as a white man to understand the black experience, Griffin decided to take a radical step: he decided to undergo medical treatment to change the colour of his skin and temporarily become a black man.

He found a contact in the black community and began a dermatological regime of exposure to ultraviolet light, oral medication, and skin dyes. Eventually, Griffin looked in the mirror and saw a black man looking back, he then set out to explore the black community.

Griffin expected to find prejudice, oppression, and hardship, but he was shocked at the extent of it: everywhere he went, he experienced difficulties and insults. The word “n*****” seemed to echo from every street corner. Over time, this racism started to cause Griffin psychological harm and he became depressed.
Once the research was complete, he stopped his medication entirely, permanently returning his skin colour to white. However, following the publishing of the research, in Mansfield, his hometown, the prevalent attitude was that of racism, and Griffin and his family became the subject of hateful reprisals.

127
Q

What are the PET issues of the Black like me covert participant observation?

A

P - access, background of researcher (cultural experiences as white man different, cost
E - Deception, unethical - he doesn’t have to face discrimination forever, didn’t consult black people
T - unreliable method of research, verstehen, validity, not representative - only one state so can’t be generalised

128
Q

What happened in the A view from the boys covert participant observation?

A

Parker covertly participated to find out about the lives of a criminal gang of adolescent boys from Liverpool. It is possible to see that it would have been difficult for Parker to have gained access to the group. However, he was easily able to gain access as he had met some of the boys previously at a country holiday centre set up for Liverpool’s deprived children, plus Parker’s appearance, “young, boozy and ungroomed, whilst knowing the score about theft behaviour and sexual exploits” helped him to gain acceptance.
Parker studied the group in great detail, over a period of time, gaining qualitative data. Parker defended his position as a covert participant observer, by fitting in with the gang that he would have not been able to do had he told them his real identity, stating “it would have been impossible to carry out the study in any other circumstance”.
Parker’s involvement with the gang (although covert) changed their behaviour not because of his presence in the group but because of his actions as part of the group. For example, Parker frequently tried to stop gang members from stealing cars. He also provided legal advice to gang members charged with theft, showing at times he lost sight of his research.

Parker frequently found himself in the position of engaging in criminal activity whilst in the gang, he joined in some of their activities and admits he got so involved that he actually kept watch while they stole car radios. Parker also chose to withhold some data from publication to protect the participants.

129
Q

What are the PET issues of the A view from the boys covert participant observation?

A

P - Access, time, background of researcher (didn’t have to go through gatekeeper bc of background)
E - No informed consent, illegal protection of researcher - he wasn’t observing
T - reduces validity and representativeness, verstehen, reduces reliability

130
Q

What are the overt non-participant observations?

A

Cecile Wright - The impact on children, OFTSED observations

131
Q

What happened in Cecile Wright’s the impact on children ONPO?

A

The study was based on the observation of four inner city primary schools, over 2 years, where it was implicated that teachers perceive and treat ethnic minority children differently. Wright needed consent from a gatekeeper and the parents of the children involved in the research.
Wright observed, at nursery level Asian children were expected to be linguistically backward and Asian girls were ignored. Afro-Caribbean children were expected to pose discipline problems and were likely to be punished more than white children for similar offences. Racism was prevalent among children and this was expressed outside the classroom when she observed the staff room behaviour.
At the time that Wright was carrying out her research (1992) there were few black teachers and she found her African Caribbean ethnicity produced antagonistic reactions from some white teachers. On the other hand, she found that many black pupils held her in high esteem and would ask her for support in the classroom.

132
Q

What happened in the OFSTED observations ONPO?

A

Another example of Overt non-participant observations that collect qualitative data (as well as quantitative data) is OFSTED inspectors in the classrooms. Schools and teachers are aware that the inspectors are in the classrooms as OFSTED inform the school prior to their visit
Observers do not get involved in the lessons as they do not want to disrupt teaching and learning, the behaviours they are there to watch.
As OFSTED are government funded and backed, they cannot be refused access. This method of observation is also reliable, in the sense that it can be repeated in different schools. Although when collecting qualitative data, it can be subjective to the inspector who is observing.

133
Q

Who did a covert non-participant study?

A

Humphrey - The tea room trade

134
Q

What happened in Humphreys’ the tea room trade CNPO?

A

In 1970 Laud Humphreys conducted research into gay men’s sexual encounters in public toilets and chose to use covert non-participant observation as his method claiming, ‘there is only one way to watch highly discreditable behaviour and that is to pretend to be in the same boat with those engaging in it.’ He played the non-participant role of the ‘watch queen’, the person responsible for alerting the participants if a stranger or police officer was entering the toilets.
Humphreys knew the locations of where these encounters occurred, and he was able to gain trust quickly, due to his gender and age.
Humphreys, while playing ‘watch queen’ was also able to record the registration plates of the men who visited the toilets and then, by using a cover story, request the home addresses of the men from police records. He then posed as a researcher, interested in family issues and visited the homes of the men in question in order to find out their true backgrounds. He discovered that many of the men in question were married with children and appeared to be living ‘double lives’! Humphreys’ research is one of the most controversial studies ever carried out.

135
Q

What is an example of a structured observation?

A

Flanders system of interaction analysis categories

136
Q

What happened in Flanders system of interaction analysis categories?

A

One example of a structured observational schedule favoured by positivists is the Flanders system of interaction analysis categories. This has been used to measure the pupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interaction quantitatively. The observer uses a standard chart to record interactions at 3 second intervals, placing each observation in one of the ten pre-defined behaviour categories. Observations can then be easily converted into quantitative data. Flanders (1970) found that in a typical American classroom, 68% of the time is taken up with teacher talk, 20% by pupil talk and 12% is lost in silence or confusion

137
Q

What is the independent variable?

A

The factor researchers change and manipulate to test the effect

138
Q

What is the dependent variable?

A

What researchers want to measure to see how it is affected by the IV. Researchers do not manipulate this

139
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

a prediction, or an educated guess about something. This is put to the test in an experiment

140
Q

Who did a lab experiment?

A

Bandura

141
Q

What happened in Bandura’s lab experiment?

A

During the 1960s, Albert Bandura conducted a series of experiments on observational learning, collectively known as the Bobo doll experiments. Bandura (1961) conducted a study to investigate if social behaviours (i.e., aggression) can be acquired by observation and imitation.
The researchers tested 36 boys and 36 girls from the Stanford University Nursery School aged between 3 to 6 years old. The researchers pre-tested the children for how aggressive they were by observing the children in the nursery and judged their aggressive behaviour on four 5-point rating scales. It was then possible to match the children in each group so that they had similar levels of aggression in their everyday behaviour.
In the experimental conditions, children were individually shown into a room containing toys and played with some potato prints and pictures in a corner for 10 minutes while either:
1) 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) watched a male or female model behaving aggressively towards a toy called a ‘Bobo doll’. The adults attacked the Bobo doll in a distinctive manner - they used a hammer in some cases, and in others threw the doll in the air and shouted “Pow, Boom.”
2) Another 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were exposed to a non-aggressive model who played in a quiet and subdued manner for 10 minutes (playing with a tinker toy set and ignoring the bobo-doll).
3) The final 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all.

Children who observed the aggressive model made far more imitative aggressive responses than those who were in the non-aggressive or control groups. The findings support Bandura’s (1977) Social Learning Theory. That is, children learn social behaviour such as aggression through the process of observation learning - through watching the behaviour of another person. This study has important implications for the effects of media violence on children.

142
Q

What are field experiments?

A

This type of experiment takes place in the real world, under normal social conditions, but follows similar procedures to the lab experiment

143
Q

What happened in Elliott’s field experiment?

A

Jane Elliott decided to teach her class about discrimination by splitting them based on their eye colour. She decided to base the exercise on eye colour rather than skin colour in order to show the children what racial segregation would be like.
On the first day of the exercise, she designated the blue-eyed children as the superior group. Elliott provided brown fabric collars and asked the blue-eyed students to wrap them around the necks of their brown-eyed peers as a method to easily identify the minority group. She gave the blue-eyed children extra privileges, such as second helpings at lunch, access to the new jungle gym, and five extra minutes at recess. The blue-eyed children sat in the front of the classroom, and the brown-eyed children were sent to sit in the back rows. The blue-eyed children were encouraged to play only with other blue-eyed children and to ignore those with brown eyes. Elliott would not allow brown-eyed and blue-eyed children to drink from the same water fountain and often told the brown-eyed students off when they did not follow the exercise’s rules or made mistakes. She often highlighted the differences between the two groups by singling out students and would use negative aspects of brown-eyed children to emphasize a point.
At first, there was resistance among the students in the minority group to the idea that blue-eyed children were better than brown-eyed children. To counter this, Elliott lied to the children by stating that melanin was linked to their higher intelligence and learning ability. Shortly thereafter, this initial resistance fell away. Those who were deemed “superior” became arrogant, bossy, and otherwise unpleasant to their “inferior” classmates. Their grades on simple tests were better, and they completed mathematical and reading tasks that had seemed outside their ability before. The “inferior” classmates also transformed – into timid and subservient children who scored more poorly on tests, and even during recess isolated themselves, including those who had previously been dominant in the class. These children’s academic performance suffered, even with tasks that had been simple before.
The next Monday, Elliott reversed the exercise, making the brown-eyed children superior. While the brown-eyed children did taunt the blue-eyed children in ways similar to what had occurred the previous day, Elliott reports it was much less intense.

144
Q

What is the comparative method?

A

Involves collecting data about different societies or groups in the real world and then comparing these to another group to identify conditions that may be present in on group, but not another, that could be used to explain the cause of a social event

145
Q

What happened in Durkheim’s comparative method?

A

Durkheim conducted a study in 1897 of suicide. He used the comparative method to do so. Durkheim hypothesised that low level integration of individuals into social groups caused high rates of suicide. Durkheim analysed differences between Protestants and Catholics. He found a lower rate of suicide among Catholics, and hypothesised that this was due to stronger forms of social control and cohesion among them than among Protestants.
Durkheim tested this by comparing the suicide rates of Catholics and Protestants who were similar in all other respects in terms of where they lived marital status etc. His prediction was supported by official statistics on suicide and showed Catholics have a lower rate of suicide therefore his hypothesis was correct.
Additionally, Durkheim found that suicide was less common among women than men, more common among single people than among those who are romantically partnered, and less common among those who have children. Further, he found that soldiers commit suicide more often than civilians, and that curiously, rates of suicide are higher during peacetime than they are during wars.
Based on what he saw in the data, Durkheim argued that suicide can be caused by social factors, not just individual psychological ones. Durkheim reasoned that social integration in particular is a factor. The more socially integrated a person is-connected to society and generally feeling that they belong and that their life makes sense within the social context- the less likely they are to commit suicide.

146
Q

What was Rosenthal and Jacobson’s experiment in education?

A

*These sociologists wanted to test whether teachers’ expectations had an effect on pupils’ achievement.
*They told teachers that 20 of their students had been found to have high levels of intelligence and were now expected to make rapid progress in their education.
*These students were actually chosen randomly and were no different to the others in the class.
*At the end of the year, these 20 students had made much more progress than the rest of the class.
*Rosenthal and Jacobson said that the teacher’s expectations had influenced the achievement of these students.

147
Q

What is secondary data?

A

data that has already been collected by other researchers

148
Q

What are some examples of some quantitative secondary sources?

A

Crime statistics, suicide statistics

149
Q

What is Police Recorded Crime? (Crime stats)

A

These are offences either detected by or reported to the police and recorded by them. There is a ‘dark figure of crime’, those that go unreported and unrecorded. Victim surveys try to address this problem. Only about 3% of all crimes are estimated to result in an offender being convicted

150
Q

What are Victim Surveys? (Crime stats)

A

These survey the victims of crime and include unreported and unrecorded crime. They give a more accurate picture than police recorded crime. From the CSEW, it emerges that only about a quarter of all crimes get reported, so there is a lot more crime than police statistics show. An example of this is the CSEW

151
Q

What are Self-report studies? (Crime stats)

A

These are anonymous questionnaires in which people are asked to own up to committing crimes, whether or not they have been caught. An example of this is the Home Office’s Offending, Crime and Justice survey. These surveys can only use participants that are aged 16 and over; this age group is often a high crime group

152
Q

What are court and prison records and records on police cautions? (Crime stats)

A

These reveal some of the characteristics of offenders who have been caught

153
Q

How are stats socially constructed?

A

Many say crime stats aren’t reliable as there may be inconsistencies.

154
Q

What is Durkheim’s study on suicide?

A

Used suicide statistics across different countries in Europe to discover the following: religion, family size, political/national crises, economic conditions, occupational groups and the divorce rate

155
Q

How could religion increase and decrease suicide rate?

A

Increase - if a religion is against homosexuality, someone who is may feel their only choice is to commit suicide because their family believe it is wrong
Decrease - in christianity it says you should not commit suicide

156
Q

How could economic conditions increase suicide rates?

A

Increase the suffering from not being able to afford food, shelter etc. may drive someone into depression causing them to commit suicide

157
Q

How could family size decrease suicide rates?

A

You have a higher chance of being able to speak to someone about suicidal thoughts, reducing chances of being alone and thing it’s the only option

158
Q

What was Atkinson’s study on statistics?

A

They argue that statistics tell us more about the decision-making process of the living than the intentions of the dead, and the real number of suicides. Coroners cannot ask dead people if they meant to kill themselves, so they can only guess at the truth by looking for ‘clues’ in the circumstances surrounding the death. Atkinson has suggested that there are 4 main factors that coroners take when deciding on whether a death is suicide or not:
1. Whether there was a suicide note.
2. The way the person died; for example, by hanging, drowning or a drug overdose. Death in a road accident rarely gets categorised as suicide.
3. The place the death occurred and the surrounding circumstances. For example, a drug overdose in a remote wood would be more likely to be categorised as suicide than if it occurred at home in bed.
4. The life history and mental state of the dead person, such as the state of their health or whether they had debt problems, failed an exam or got divorced.
Coroners do not always agree on the way they interpret these clues, e.g. One coroner placed importance on clothes been neatly folded on the beach, in a drowning incident, whereas another coroner did not place any importance on this.

159
Q

What are the qualitative secondary sources?

A

Contain non-numerical data. These can be in the form of diaries, letters, documents, reports and much more

160
Q

What are public documents?

A

Produced by organisations such as government departments, schools, welfare agencies, businesses and charities. Some of this output may be available for researchers to use e.g., OFSTED reports

161
Q

What are personal documents?

A

Include items such as letters, diaries, photo albums and autobiographies. These are first-person accounts of social events and personal experiences, and they generally also include the writer’s feelings and attitudes

162
Q

What are historical documents?

A

A personal or public document created in the past. If ew want to study the past, historical documents are usually the only source of information.
Aries - was interested in how society changed its perception of children from the Middle Ages to present day. He analysed historical documents including paintings from historical periods of time to analyse how children were viewed

163
Q

What did Scott find when assessing documents as a method of research?

A

Authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning

164
Q

What is the authenticity in documents?

A

Is the document what it claims to be? Are there any missing apges and is it a copy? is it free from errors? Who actually wrote the document?

165
Q

What is credibility in documents?

A

Is the document believable? Was the author sincere? Politicians may write diaries intended for publication that inflate their own importance. Polish migrants may have lied in their letters home to ensure their families did not worry about them

166
Q

What is representativeness in documents?

A

Is it typical of the population at that time? If not, we cannot know if it is safe to generalise the information to the rest of the population. Not all documents survive – are the surviving ones typical of others? Not all documents are available – 20-year rule (some government documents only get released to the public after 20 years) / some may be classified / some private documents may never become available. Therefore, the evidence in the documents we DO have access to may not be representative of the ones we DON’T have access to.

167
Q

What is meaning in documents?

A

Researcher may need special skills to understand the document – e.g., a translator or understanding of how the meanings of words change over time. Different sociologists may interpret same documents differently

168
Q

What are the practical strengths of documents?

A
  1. ACCESS - a lot of documents will be available online therefore easy to access
  2. MONEY - documents will only need to be printed off so therefore will be quite cheap to use
169
Q

What are the ethical strengths of documents?

A
  1. INFORMED CONSENT - no need to gain consent especially with public documents as consent has already been granted
  2. PROTECTION OF PARTICIPANTS - researchers can ensure confidentiality as they can change the names of individuals
169
Q

What are the practical limitations of documents?

A
  1. ACCESS - personal documents such as diaries may be difficult to gain access to
  2. BACKGROUND OF RESEARCHER - they may lose objectivity if the topic is personal to them. May need skills to interpret and understand the documents
170
Q

What are the ethical limitations of documents?

A
  1. CONFIDENTIALITY - do people always know that their documents are being used in a study
  2. VULNERABLE GROUPS - documents containing information or photographs involving children need to have consent
171
Q

What are theoretical strengths of documents?

A
  1. VALIDITY - may give more depth and insight into a particular event or time period, not obtainable by any other method
  2. VERSTEHEN - documents can give a real understanding about what life is like, especially if they are historical
172
Q

What are theoretical limitations of documents?

A
  1. RELIABILITY - if they are personal, they can be hard to replicate as each one is unique to the individual e.g., diaries
  2. VALIDITY - it is hard to check the authenticity of some documents. It may be possible that some of the information is incorrect/biased or has been manipulated
173
Q

Who analysed documents?

A

Thomas and Znaniecki (Polish letters) and Hey (School girl letters)

174
Q

What happened in Thomas and Znaniecki’s polish letters document study?

A

An interactionist study of migration and social change which used a variety of documents. These included 764 letters written by the Polish migrants to their families back home, detailing their experience of moving to America. Also, they analysed autobiographies, newspaper articles, court and social work records. They used the documents to reveal the meanings individuals gave to their experience of migration and any events that they may have been involved in.

175
Q

What happened in Hey’s school girl letters document study?

A

Carried out a study about the formation and thoughts concerning school girl friendships. Hey used notes the girls passed to one another in lessons and their diaries. In order to collect this data, Hey gained the trust and friendship from the girls and even swapped her own personal diaries in order for the girls to share their thoughts

176
Q

What was Stein’s study on the internet as a secondary sources?

A

argues that there is very little vetting of the information on these internet sites. Unlike most written publications, there is no need for submissions of proposals to publishers and editors. For this reason, internet sources should be used with caution. He suggests that the following criteria need to be considered when using the internet as a secondary source: authorship, authority of the author, authority of the material, authority of the organisation, currency and objectivity

177
Q

What is authorship with the internet as a secondary source?

A

They need to consider if the authorship is clear or whether the author is different to the person or company that compile the page

178
Q

What is authority of the author with the internet as a secondary source?

A

How credible are they in terms of qualifications and previous publications?

179
Q

What is authority of the material with the internet as a secondary source?

A

The material has more authority if there are references to sources etc.

180
Q

What is authority of the site or organisation with the internet as a secondary source?

A

There is a reasonable assumption that information on a site such as a university site has much more authority than a personal website. Even the most reputable companies’ web pages should be used with caution.

181
Q

What is currency with the internet as a secondary source?

A

must consider if the page is up to date and accurate.

182
Q

What is objectivity with the internet as a secondary source?

A

As is the case of other secondary sources, we need to ensure we remember the interests of those who have produced the work as it could be biased. However, this does not mean it will not be useful.

183
Q

What is content analysis?

A

A method of dealing systematically with the contents of documents. Qual –> quant

184
Q

What did Gill say about content analysis?

A

Describes how content analysis works as follows. Imagine we want to measure particular aspects of a media message; for example, how many female characters are portrayed as being in paid employment. We decide categories, then tally the number of times each one appears

185
Q

What are case studies?

A

An exploratory, descriptive or explanatory analysis of a person, group or event

186
Q

What are some examples of case studies?

A

Little hans and Willis’ learning to labour

187
Q

What are longitudinal studies?

A

Attempts to overcome this problem by selecting a sample sometimes called a panel and collecting data from them over a period of years

188
Q

What are some examples of longitudinal studies?

A

The census and parker et al - studied illegal drug use among 1125 people aged 14 for 5 years between 1991 and 1996 using a combination of self-completion questionnaires and interviews

189
Q

What is triangulation?

A

Involves a researcher having 3 or more different methods or sources of data. This tends to result in a researcher using two primary research methods, as well as a secondary source

190
Q

What are the reasons for triangulation?

A

Cross checking answers, facilitation and complementary

191
Q

What is cross checking?

A

Check answers using a variety of methods e.g., the responses from questionnaires by conducting interviews

192
Q

What is facilitation?

A

Using one method to develop another method e.g, using in depth interviews to devise questionnaire questions

193
Q

What is complementary?

A

Combining methods to gain data for different aspects of research - questionnaires discover the pattern, and observations are then used to reveal the reasons behind this pattern

194
Q

How did studies using triangulation?

A

Wright and Hobson

195
Q

What was Wright’s study using triangulation?

A

*Combined four methods to investigate racism in primary schools
*She observed the teachers’ behaviour in the classroom (overt non-participant)
*She examined documents to discover the effect of racism on test results (secondary sources)
*She interviewed head teachers to discover schools’ anti-racism policies and she held informal interviews to discover teachers’ unobservable attitudes.

196
Q

What was Hobson’s study using triangulation?

A
  1. He used questionnaires to obtain over 300 trainees views
  2. He then used informal interviews with 20 of the trainees.
  3. He used observations to watch the training process.
  4. He also used secondary stats to check the success of the course.

AQA A-Level Sociology (5 decks)

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