topic 1: main stages of research process + key terms + topic 3 Flashcards
4 stages of research process
- 💭 PLANNING (objectives, how, what data, who)
- 📨 INFO GATHERING
- 📝 INFO PROCESSING
- 🧐 EVALUATION: internal + external
5 factors influencing choice of research topic
- VALUES + EXPERIENCES OF SOCIOLOGIST (Abrams 2002 not accepted in working class sample bc middle class)
- THEORETICAL POSITION (Murray New Right)
- ACCESSIBILITY OF SAMPLE (Venkatesh gangs)
- PRACTICAL ISSUES (time, money)
- SOCIAL POLICY (government commission)
define hypotheses
statement that can be tested e.g. “people steal because they are poor”
favoured by positivists as it emulates natural sciences
define research question
alternative to hypothesis, a question that can be supported by research
favoured by interpretivists
e.g. Simpson “how do middle-aged gay men differentiate and negotiate relations in heterosexually defined spaces?”
define secondary data
data gathered by another researcher for another purpose e.g. previous studies, newspapers, official stats
define primary data
data collected first-hand by the researcher for that purpose e.g observation, interviews
advantages of secondary research
helps identify gaps in existing research
saves time and money
often bigger data sets than primary research
allows comparisons across time to be made
disadvantages of secondary data
validity is uncertain
may be out of date
may be difficult to find the specific research you need
advantages of primary data
can research exact topic area needed
more control over research validity etc
more up to date
disadvantages of primary data
expensive, time-consuming
define operationalising
determining what a key term means, clearly defining it, deciding how it will be measured
advantages of operationalising
— raises validity
— raises reliability
— CAN raise objectivity if done correctly
define pilot study
small-scale exploratory piece of research
done before actual research
designed to test and tweak the research design
4 advantages of doing a pilot study
— tests research methods and identifies problems, raising validity
— convinces funding bodies of research team’s competence, showing worth of study
— establishing appropriate sampling frame/size/technique
— determining level and extent of resources
how do positivists prefer data to be analysed and interpreted?
quantitative data from closed questions bc it can be analysed by a machine and generates large amounts of representative and generalisable data
how do interpretivists prefer data to be analysed and interpreted?
long answers that need to be transcribed, read, and interpreted by a sociologist (more time-consuming)
advantages of positivist approach to data analysis and interpretation compared to interpretivists
positivist approaches are less likely to have researcher value imposition
researcher imposition/interpretation leads to high amounts of bias with interpretivist approach (but this can be mitigated using reflexivity and respondent validation)
define reflexivity
researcher continually reflecting upon their values throughout research, constantly checking that judgements are value-free as possible
define respondent validation
checking with original sample that the conclusions/interpretations being made correlate with the sample’s perspective
define unstructured interviews
interviews with questions that haven’t been pre-planned
interpretivism
pros of unstructured interviews
high in validity (more detail)
ethical (consent)
cons of unstructured interviews
low reliability (difficult to repeat Qs)
low generalisability (small sample)
define official stats
quantitative data produced by official government bodies
positivist
pros of official stats
reliability (quantitative, easy to replicate)
representative (large sample)
cons of official stats
lacks validity (no detail and subjective meaning)
lowered objectivity (different governments operationalise concepts differently, bias)
define covert observation
drawing conclusions from observing sample without their knowledge
interpretivists
pros of covert observation
representative
validity (no Hawthorne effect)
cons of covert observation
ethical issues (no consent)
low objectivity (researcher bias)
define personal documents
secondary qualifitative data in form of documents e.g. diary entries, letters, photographs
interpretivist
pros of personal documents
high validity (high detail)
cons of personal documents
low generalisability
low objectivity
define semi structured interviews
interview in which some questions are pre planned but interviewer can deviate from them
interpretivists
pros of semi structured interviews
high in validity
high in representativeness
cons of semi structured interviews
low generalisability
low reliability
define content analysis
systematically studying the content of documents/media
interpretivist
pros of content analysis
reliable if operationalised well
cheap
cons of content analysis
time consuming
low objectivity
define structured interviews
interviews with pre planned questions
positivist
pros of structured interviews
reliable
representative
cons of structured interviews
low objectivity from leading Qs
low validity lack of detail
define ethnography
small scale study of a group
interpretjvist
pros of ethnography
validity (detail)
ethical (consent)
cons of ethnography
less representative
less generalisable
define closed questions
questions with predetermined set of answers
positivist
pros of closed questions
representative. Large sample
cheap
cons of closed questions
lacks validity lacks detail
less representative of respondents views
define overt participant observations
observing a group internally with the groups knowledge
interpretivists
pros of overt participant observation
Valid detail
ethical conswnt
cons of overt participant observant
low objectivity going native
less valid Hawthorne effect
define open questionnaires
questions with open ended answers
interpretivism
pros of open questions
ethical (consent)
validity (detail)
cons of open questionnaires
time consuming
less objectivity
what is positivism?
methodological position, has parallels with natural sciences, based on 3 principles:
deductivism (generating testable hypotheses)
objectivity (bias and value free)
scientific methodology
what is positivism?
methodological position applying methods of natural sciences, based on 3 principles:
DEDUCTION (generating hypotheses)
OBJECTIVITY
SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY
what is interpretivism?
research approach that rejects the natural scientific model, believing that humans are fundamentally different to matter so we should interpret the individual subjective meanings and motives
qualitative data
data is valid because:
— it’s ethnographic
— builds rapport
— has verstehen (empathetic understanding)
