theorys and methods Flashcards
validity
the extent to which a concept is accurately measured
reliability
the extent to which, we’re the same study to be repeated, it would produce the same result
generalisation
application of the results from a study to the wider target population
ethics
concerned with morality, the standards of behaviour when sociologists carry out research
quantitative data
data that can be counted or measured in numerical values
strengths of quantitative data
• can be generalised for entire populations
•can be compared across population groups
• simple to analyse
• more objective and less open to bias
weaknesses of quantitative data
•much less narrower in meaning and detail
•may fail to represent real life
qualitative data
expressed in words and may take the form of a written description of the thoughts, feelings and opinions of participants
strengths of qualitative data
• more detail, participant has more opportunity to report their feelings
•greater external validity
weaknesses of qualitative data
•more difficult to analyse
•patterns and comparisons are hard to identify
•may rely on subjective interpretations of the researcher, leading to researcher bias
primary data
original data that has been collected specifically for the purpose of the investigation by the researcher
strength of primary data
collected for the purpose of that particular investigation
weaknesses of primary data
•time consuming
secondary data
data that has been collected by someone other than the researcher, this data already exits
strengths of secondary data
•inexpensive and easily accessed
•may find the desired information
weakness of secondary data
•time consuming and costly
•may not be suited to your exact research
practical issues with using methods
•Time available affects choice of method and scale of research.
• Finance affects the size of a research team, the number of respondents who can be contacted and the time available for research to be carried out in.
• Source of funding Research is sponsored by government, local government, businesses, voluntary organisations etc. and will inevitably reflect the concerns of these funding bodies.
• Access and the nature of the research subject Sociologists have to exercise a high degree of sensitivity towards research subjects. Every social actor and social group has both a public and a private face and some may not welcome intrusion into the latter.
• Research opportunity If the research is planned well in advance, any method could be used. Sometimes a research opportunity suddenly appears so the researcher is likely to employ open-ended approaches,
‘going with the flow’ of the research opportunity
key ethical considerations
•informed consent + guardianship
•if consent has not been gained and deception has been used
•The right to withdraw from the research
•Debriefing
•Anonymity and confidentiality
• Privacy
•Differentiation in groups
• Power relationships
• Potential implications of the research
representativeness and generalisations
•Most sociologists want to be able to generalise, the ability to make statements about the whole group, from this sample
• For this to happen, the sample has to be representative of the whole group.
• This means that the sample should have the same characteristics, in the same proportions, as the whole group. If the sample does not reflect the social make-up of the whole population then it will not be representative.
random sampling
where every member of the target population has an equal chance of being chosen.
how:
1. need a sampling frame, a complete list of all members of the target population is obtained.
2.all the names are assigned a number.
3.sample is selected randomly.
opportunity sampling
recruiting anyone who happens to be available at the time of the study, researcher goes somewhere they are likely to find their target population and ask people to take part
voluntary sampling
when people actively volunteer to be in a study by responding to a request which had been advertised by the researcher, participants self select by responding to an advert
stratified sampling
participants are selected from different subgroups in the target population, in proportion to the subgroups frequency in the population
snowball sampling
participants are asked to assist researchers in identifying other potential subjects
structured interview
relies on asking questions in a set order to collect data on a topic
advantages of structured interview
•more reliable as can be easily repeated
• will be a high response rate with more honesty answers - large numbers of people
disadvantages of structured interviews
• the interviewer must persist with set questions even if something interesting comes up
•time consuming and unlikely to get a large sample + interview bias
unstructured interview
an interview with no pre-planned questions
advantages of unstructured interview
•produces qualitative data
•higher validity
•interviews are bale to offer their subjects support and exercise sensitivity
disadvantages of unstructed interview
•time consuming and expensive
•require a skilled interviewer
•produce a large amount of text
•lacks reliability, unscientific
•demand characteristics
issues with interviewing teachers
•face practical problems of fitting interviews into teachers busy timetables and workloads
•head teachers responses may only allow interviews with staff who share their vision of how the school should be ran
•interview data may lack validity as teachers are unlikely to admit to unprofessional behaviour
research design
details of the method
eg pilot studies and sampling frame and size; defining and operationalising variables
operationalising variables
the researcher has a clear way of defining the factors that are under review and they can be actioned
pilot study
a small scale study that is conducted before the main collection of data
the research population
everyone in the group being researched
samples
•a smaller part of the whole group, often only a very small proportion of the target population being studied
• it is impractical for sociologists to investigate all members of a target population, limited by time, money ect
sampling frame
a full list of all those who make up the research population
practical issues/usefulness of questionnaires
issues:
•response rate if too low won’t be representative of the sample
•leading questions or ambiguous questions
•closed questions have imposition problem
•open questions can be time consuming to analyse
usefulness:
•relatively cheap and quick method to distribute
•less intrusive than methods such as observations
•broad range of respondents - increasing representativeness
•respondents familiar with questionnaires
Ethical issues with questionnaires
- potentially sensitive topics could cause distress
- recording of info must be kept in accordance with GDPR
-respondents may only give info if anonymity is maintained - may disclose responses that are immoral or require reporting to other bodies
Representativeness of questionnaires
- it can reach a wide range of people (especially online).
- sample is likely to be biased as people who answer the questionnaire will most likely already have an interest or involved in the topic and don’t exactly know who’s answering.
Validity of questionnaires
-some may fear that responses may be used against them resulting in them not telling the full truth.
- some students may not have the knowledge to complete questionnaires so their answers aren’t a truthful reflection.
- may not be them answering the questions
Reliability of questionnaires
- the questions are standardised, all respondents are asked exactly the same questions in the same order
- this means it can be replicated easily
- especially with closed questions
Participant observation
Observation where the sociologist participates in the activities of the research group
Non-participant observation
The researcher stands back and does not get involved with the research group
Overt observation
Participants know they are being observed
Covert observation
Participants don’t know they are being observed
Structured observation
When the observer records the a systematic fashion what they see is going on in the research group. This could be the development of categories that operationalise a concept to behaviours
advantages of participant observation
•By going to the group the researcher is able to observe the group in a way that does not affect their behaviour It has enabled sociologists to build rapport with groups and has proved a successful method when studying ‘outsider’ groups such anti-school subcultures
•Observing a groups normal social routines is likely to produce a more authentic account, you see what a group does rather than what it says it does.
•is a flexible approach in which the research process is directed less by the researcher and more by the researched and Sometimes a research opportunity will suddenly offer itself. (practical)
•Participant observation offers sociological insight. ‘Insight’ refers to the perceptions a sociologist can make when the layers of social norms and conventions are peeled back.
disadvantages of participant observation
•The presence of an observer will affect a group’s behaviour. The presence of a new member of the group can affect its activities and thus the advantage of naturalistic research is partly lost.
•The observer is also going to be affected by the group, identifying with them or being repelled by their actions. Either way, this will affect the observer’s interpretation of the group’s actions.
•Ultimately, all observation is limited by what the observer sees and how they interpret actions. How can the observer be certain that they have understood the meaning of events from the point of view of the research subjects?
•Lacks reliability because they are not replicable, nor would they necessarily produce the same results if carried out by different researchers.
•Unrepresentative/cannot generalise :Few participant observation studies make any attempt at being representative of a wider research population.
•They are very much one-off studies and there is no way of knowing how representative or not they are. Therefore no generalisations can be made on the basis of the data created.
•Costly/Time-consuming: It often takes a long time to study a social group in this way. Some PO studies take years to carry out. This creates a time-delay and makes it very intensive for the observer.
•difficulties in joining groups: Some groups are secretive, involved in fie
deviant actiyities etc and may be suspicious.
advantages of covert observation
•Does not disturb the normal behaviour of the group - leading to more valid data.
•Allows the observer to dig deeper into the group’s behaviour because of their status as a group member
•Access to certain areas of the groups’ behaviour may be only be possible in secret
disadvantages of covert observation
•If the real purpose of the observer is uncovered, the whole research may be jeopardised
•Ethical issues of trust, lack of informed consent etc. are raised by covert approach What about knowledge of rule breaking?
•Recording behaviour is difficult without raising suspicions
•Hard to sustain over any lengthy time period
• There may be an element of danger in trying to maintain a secret identity
• There may not be a suitable role
advantages of overt observation
•Can openly ask questions to clarify meanings
•Ethically sound approach because the observer gains the informed consent of those involved
•The observer may have more freedom in being able to join in or not join particular activities
disadvantages of overt observation
•The group may refuse access.
•Knowing the observer’s true identity/purpose may affect the group’s behaviour, reducing the validity of the data created
•Some aspects of the group’s behaviour may be closed to overt researchers
advantages of structured observation
•Creates quantifiable data
• Patterns and trends in behaviour can be identified
• Less time-consuming than unstructured observation
• Replicable
• Verifiable - two or more observers recording the same interaction to check each other’s results
• Much more reliable than unstructured observation
disadvantages of structured observation
•Can only really be done if the observer does not participate in the group’s activities - hard to maintain this distance
• Overt observation may change the behaviour of those observed
How valid is the data created? Recording in this way says little about meanings, motives etc.
• Categorising observed behaviour in this way still depends upon the interpretations made by researchers - different researchers may categorise the same event differently
• The categories used may overlap
• Deciding how to classify behaviour every few seconds or so is mentally demanding
lab experiments
behaviour is tested in a controlled environment.
the researcher identifies a variable believed to be causal (IV) and the outcome of its manipulation (DV) is measured to establish cause and effect relationships.
advantages of lab experiments
•Hypothesis testing, the ability to control variables and establish cause and effect relationships.
• High in reliability
• Sociology does ‘borrow’ some of the laboratory results from social psychology in areas of interest to them such as laboratory experiments examining media images and violence, responses to authority and so on.
disadvantages of lab experiments
•Artificiality: It is doubtful whether experimental results apply to the real social world. How people react in a laboratory may tell us little about the way they respond in real life situations.
• Identifying and controlling variables: The laboratory experiment only works if all variables that could influence the outcome of an interaction can be identified and controlled. There are simply too many variables in social life, some cannot always be identified and others cannot be controlled.
• Ethical problems: Most mislead people as to the real given. Most experiments involve some form of manipulation of those involved.
•’Experimental effect’: Even if research subjects are misled as to the real purpose of an experiment, the knowledge that they are involved in an experiment is likely to have an effect on their behaviour.
field experiments
the IV is manipulated but carried out in a natural environment, participants don’t know they are in an experiment.
advantages of field experiments
•environment is natural so higher ecological validity
•reduced demand characteristics
•practical- as everything is available in natural environment
disadvantages of field experiments
•ethical issues if participants unaware of being in an experiment
•less control of extraneous variables decreasing internal validity
• unreliable - cannot be replicated
personal documents
first hand accounts of social events and personal experiences, generally include the writers feelings and attitudes
advantages of personal documents
• high validity in researching worldview of an individual
•provides info that may not be covered in official documents
•easy to access - as long as person allows
disadvantages of personal documents
•interpretation bias
•time consuming to go through all information
•unrepresentative as only one individuals thoughts/point of view
•ethical issues if not intended for viewing
public documents
documents that are created by organisations such as government departments.
advantages of public documents
•information and is accessible for all
•wide variety
•produced by reliable sources
•likely to be representative
•few ethical issues as all information is freely accessible
disadvantages of public documents
•have to woke with existing data that may not be relevant
•time consuming to go through documents especially in detail
•include quantitative data.
historical documents
documents from the past
advantages of historical documents
•useful insight into the past, may be the only way of studying past events.
•easily accessible.
•can compare current issues and identify change.
disadvantages of historical documents
•words/meanings change over time
•documents may be missing/ damaged or kept private
•can be difficult to find or even access historical documents
official statistics
any set of data collected by the government or official body
advantages of official statistics
•involve a much larger sample size so representative
•free and accessible so practical
disadvantages of official statistics
•if the data is collected by someone else may not fully be the information you want and don’t know collection method
•can be manipulated for government advantage
positivism/ quantitative methodologies
•The Social world, physical world has an objective reality, external to individuals.
• External social forces direct behaviour, this is why we can see patterns in human behaviour
• The aim of research is to identify these patterns.
• This will reveal the social forces and cause-and-effect relationships behind them.
• Data which can be analysed for patterns and trends
• Data tends to be reliable
• Prefer to use surveys, structured interviews, experiments
interpretivism/qualitative methodologies
•The social world has no single
objective reality - each actor/group defines ‘reality’ differently.
• The aim of research is to uncover the meanings held by individuals and social groups.
• This involves going to the groups and allowing them to act or speak openly
• The data this produces will be qualitative.
• Data tends to be valid.
• Preference for participant observation, unstructured
