Unit 3 Section A Flashcards
Research Methods
Positivists
Believe research should focus on measurement. Priorities objectivity & Reliability. Like quantitative data to see patterns and trends to be seen
Interpretivists
Aim to understand the meaning and experiences of respondents. Prefer qualitative research methods because they are high in validity. Seek to gain verstehen (understanding)
Qualitative data
Data from words, descriptive dialogue & texts
Rich & detailed
Preferred by interpretativists
Quantitative data
Numerical statistic
shows patterns & trends
Preferred by positivists
Primary Data
Data collected by researcher 1st hand specific for the study
Secondary Data
Data that already exists from another study used by research for other study
Validity
Accurate representation of what is being studied
Reliability
Consistency and replicability of research results
Representative
Sample reflecting the target population
Generalisability
Ability to make broader claims about the target population
Pilot Studies
Small-scale practice runs to identify potential issues
Hypothesis
Clear prediction of research outcome
Operationalising
Defining a concept for accurate measurement
Gatekeeper
Contact person facilitating access to research participants
Target Population
Social group selected for research purposes
Random Sample
Participants selected with equal chance from the target population
Non-random sample
people in target population don’t have an equal opportunity to be picked
Sample Frame
List of individuals matching target population criteria
Random Sampling
Participants chosen randomly from the sample frame
Systematic Sampling
Selecting every ‘nth’ individual from the sample frame
Stratified Sampling
Dividing participants by characteristics before sampling
Quota Sampling
Sampling based on predetermined criteria
Snowball Sampling
Participants recruiting others for the study
Purposive / Opportunity Sample
Researcher has an idea of the sample so chooses participants available who match the criteria
Volunteer Sampling
Participants put themselves forward to be studied
Hawthorne Effect
Altered behavior due to awareness of being observed
Demand Characteristics
Participants altering behavior based on perceived study aims
Going Native (researcher)
Researcher fully immersing in the studied group
Rapport (Researcher)
Positive relationship between researcher and participant
Researcher Bias (researcher)
Researcher’s beliefs influencing study design or data interpretation
Confirmation Bias (researcher)
Seeking information to confirm preconceptions
Social Desirability Bias
Participants changing behavior to align with social norms
Practicalities of Research M.R C.A.T
How easy it will be to do research
Also influences researchers choice for method
Matter (M)
Subject matter researched (topic ease to study)
Researcher & Participants (R)
Social characteristics - status of researcher may impact participants
Cost (C)
Is funding needed, afford whole study
Access (A)
to participants, need gatekeeper?
Time (T)
How long will it take
Particpants may leave
More time = more cost
Ethics
Guidelines ensuring participant safety and rights of participants (P.A. C.A.R P.I.E.S)
Privacy (P)
Protecting participant information and boundaries
Anonymity (A)
Ensuring no identifiable participant information
Confidentiality (C)
Keeping personal participant data secure
Avoiding Harm To Participants (A)
Preventing physical, emotional, or psychological harm
Right To Withdraw (R)
Participants can stop participating at any time
Protecting A Vulnerable Group (P)
Ensuring safety of vulnerable participants
Informed Consent (I)
Participants make informed decisions on participation
Ensuring Legality (E)
Adhering to legal requirements in research
Safeguarding (S)
Protecting the interests of those involved in the study
Sociology & Social Policy
Sociology - examines society & human behaviour
Social Policy - focusing on & creating plans for social welfare
Sociology Finds the Problem
Social Policy Fixes it
Content analysis Definition
Quantitative
Counting number of times a sin/symbol/word/picture ect is used in media text
Content analysis Strengths
Theory / Ethics/ Paracticality
T) Positivists: quantitiative/ scientific/ objective data/ replicable (reliable)
E)No particiapnts required (no participant ethics)
P) cheap / can be done multiple times
Content analysis Weaknesses
Theory/Ethics/Practicality
T) lacks validity/ lacks verstehen (interpritivists don’t like it)
E) potentail copyright
P) Time consuming / harder to replicate (not imposable)
Questionnaires / Surveys
Definition
Quantitative
List of questions subject to self-completion
Questions can either open or close
Questionnaires / Surveys Strengths
Theory/ Ethics / Practicality
T) Positivists: quantitative / objective / scientific / reliability / statistical data
E) Anonymity can be maintained / No researcher effect due to minimum contact
P) Cheep / Quick / Representative (large sample size)
Questionnaires / Surveys Weakness
Theory/ Ethics / Practicality
T) Data lacks validity / limited Verstehen (interpritivists don’t like) / researcer bias - misinterpret results
E) Topic may cause harm / Results may be socially scensity (negative effects on minority groups)
P) Matter of researcg may impact participant responces / people might not fill out questionair - low responce rate
Structured Interviews
Definition
Quantitative
Research reads list of closed questions & ticks boxes of pre-coded responses
Structured interviews Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Positivists: Quantitative data / reliable / scientific / objective
E) Informed consent / Right to withdraw (it is easy to)
P) Access (easy to get participants [represntive]) / quick (structure increases representive)
Structured interviews Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Lacks valitity / lacks Verstehen (interpretivists don’t like)
E) Protection from harm (participants may be distressed by topic
P) other topics surrounding matter can’t be explord
Semi Structured interviews
Definition
Qualitative & Quantitative
Researcher has pre-set coded questions BUT
can probe respondents / ask extra questions
Structured interviews Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivists: validity / Versthen / easy to build rapport / subjective
E) Informed consent / right to withdraw
P) Research matter can be expanded on
Structured interviews Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) qualitative data can’t find patterns & trends / cant be replicated (Positivists don’t like)
E) Protection from harm (participants may be effected by topic) / Privicy (researchers may probe for more answers
P) long time (restricted sample size & lowering generalisability) / research status may effect participant
Interpretation Bias (researcher)
Misinterpreting data unintentionally
Unstructured Interviews
Definition
Qualitative
Researcher may cover some themes but no pre-deturmined questions or rigid themes that they should follow - taking convosational flow
Unstructured Interviews Strength
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpretivists validity / subjective / verstehen / can build rappot
E)Informed consent
P)Research matter can be expanded on
Unstructured Interviews Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) low in reliability / not standardised / objectivty / not scientific (positivists don’t like it)
E) Privicy (particpants may feel pressued to talk about something they aren’t comfortable talking about
P) Time consuming (may effect sample size)
Focus Groups
Definition
Qualitative
Unstructured interviews directed to a group of respondents who are encouraged to discuss with each other. Interviewer sets themes & questions & managing responses
Focus Groups Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivies: high validity/ subjectivity / has verstehen
E) Informed consent because its a group
P) Quicker than interviews / large sample / less likely to have researcher effect / quite cheep
Focus Groups Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) low in reliability / not objective (positivists not like) / rapport harder to build
E) Protection from harm (participants may get distressed at topics)
P) might not reflect the matter
Overt Non-Participant Observations
Definition
Qualitative
Participants know they are being studied but researcher is NOT involved with group researched
Overt Non-Participant Observations Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpretivests: validity / subjective
E) legality (not illigal to watch people)
P) low in cost / researcher effect researcher & participants don’t interact
Overt Non-Participant Observations Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) low in reliability / not objective / not scientific (positervists don’t like)
E) Privercy / confidentiality
P) time consuming / potenially small sampel (lacks representivness
Covert Non-Participant Observations
Definition
Qualitative
Researcher dosnt participate with the group & participants don’t know they are being watched
Covert Non-Participant Observations Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivists: qualitative / validity // Hawthorn effect (dont know being watched wont change behaviour)
E) Legality (not illigal to watch people) / protection from harm / protecting vulnerable groups / confidentiality
P) Easy to access / researcher effect / cheep / useful for research matter
Covert Non-Participant Observations Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Researcher Bias (misinterperate data to get aims. not scietnific / lacks reliability
E) informed consent / right to withdraw / privicy / anonimity/ safe guarding not considered
P) Time
Overt Participant Observations
Definition
Qualitative
Researcher participate with the group & participants know they are being watched
Overt Participant Observations Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivists - subjective / Verstehen / qualitative
E) Consent / right to withdraw / protection from harm / confidentiality
P) Cheep / good at reflecting subject matter
Overt Participant Observations Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Hawthorn effect (change behaviour) -validity- / researcher bias [Misinterpreting to get aims] / lacks reliablity / not scientific (positivists dont like it) / going native
E) ANonimity (giving away identifying futures)/ safe carding . protection from harm (situation potentially dangerous) / Legality (may have to do criminal acts)
P) time / hard to access particpants / researcher effect
Covert Participant Observations
Definition
Qualitative
Researcher participate with the group & participants don’t know they are being watched
Covert Participant Observations Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivists - subjective / Verstehen / qualitative / hawthorn effect (validity)
E) Right to withdraw / protection from harm / confidentiality / legality (not illigal to watch people
P) Cheep / good at reflecting subject matter / researcher effect (participants dont know being watched
Covert Participant Observations Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Researcher bias [Misinterpreting to get aims] / lacks reliablity / not scientific (positivists dont like it) / going native
E) Infromed consent (not gained) / right to withdraw (not knowing they are observed) / ANonimity (giving away identifying futures)/ safe carding . protection from harm (situation potentially dangerous) / Legality (may have to do criminal acts)
P) Time
Ethnography
Definition
Qualitative
Researcher immersing self into natural setting of social group studied & participating & observing daily activities
Ethnography Strength
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Interpritivists: Subjective / Qualitiative / Raport /
validity / Verstehen
E) Consent (agree to partake) Confidentiality (hide privet)
P) Useful for subject matter
Ethnoraphy Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Positivists don’t like: not replicable (reliability) / scientific / risk of going native
E) To keep cover doing illigal activities / protection from harm (seperationg may cause distress) / anonimity (may be hard to avoid identifying factors
P) Time / cost / Researcher effect / access
Offcial Statistics
Definition
Quantitative
Date collected by the governemnt (often using questionaires)
Office for National Statistics & Census
Official Statistics Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Positiervists: Objective / scientific / quantitative/ reliability. Participant bias canceled out
E) No Participants - protection from harm
P) Time / cheep / No access needed (no researcher effect) / generalisable to remainder of population
Official Statistics Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Researcher Bias (misinterperate data to get aim). Interpritivists don’t like: validity / subjective
E) Legality (copywrite) / Socially Sencitive (findings could be used for negitive
P) Might not reflect research matter
Non-Official Statistics interviews
Definition
Quantitiative
Data collected by non-government source
Questionairs
Non Official Statistics Strength
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Positiervists: Objective / scientific / quantitative/ reliability. Participant bias canceled out
E) No Participants - protection from harm
P) Time / cheep / No access needed (no researcher effect) / generalisable to remainder of population
Non - Official Statistics Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Researcher Bias (misinterperate data to get aim). Interpritivists don’t like: validity / subjective
E) Legality (copywrite) / Socially Sencitive (findings could be used for negitive
P) Might not reflect research matter
Longitudinal Study
Definition
Quantitative
Data collected on multipul occations (same sample)
Longitudinal Study Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Positivists: Objective / quantitative data
Interpritivists: Raport / Versthen
E) right to withdraw / informed consent / safegaurding / confidentiality
P) Useful for research matter
Longitudinal Study Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T) Researcher \ Particpant dia (changing responces \ misinterpriting to get aim)
E) Protection from harm (seperation may cause distress / Socially sensitve
P)
Secondary Data
Definition
Secondary Data Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Secondary Data Weakness
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Triangulation
Using Multiple research methods/sources to study 1 topic
i.e. surveys, interviews & observations
Reduces bias & strengthening findings
Triangulation Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Triangulation Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Respondent Validation
Participates review & confirm the findings
Increasing validity
- Deeper insights
- Clarify any misunderstandings
- Strengthening credibility
Respondent Validation Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Respondent Validation Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Methodoloical Pluralism
Using multiple research methods to study
Combining quantitative & qualitative data
Deeper understanding & reducing bias
Methodoloical Pluralism Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Methodoloical Pluralism Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Reflexivity
Reflexivity Strengths
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
Reflexivity Weaknesses
Theory / Ethics / Practicality
T)
E)
P)
