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A-Level Socio > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

Who are positivists?

A

Sociologists that prefer scientific, quantitative data.

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2
Q

Who are interpretavists?

A

Sociologists that prefer in-depth, qualitative data.

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3
Q

What are some PET issues?

A
  1. Practical
    Money, time and access.
  2. Ethical
    Informed consent, confidentiality, psychological harm.
  3. Theoretical
    Reliability, validity and representativeness.
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4
Q

What is a hypothesis?

A

A possible explanation.
Positivists - as it gives a cause and effect relationship / direction of focus.

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5
Q

What is an aim?

A

Attempting to achieve something.
Interpretivists - see what is important later = open-minded.

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6
Q

What does it mean to operationalise concepts?

A

Make a concept measurable so it is clear to other researchers.

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7
Q

What is a pilot study?

A

Mini-scale replica of study carried out beforehand to iron out any problems and/or clarify question = finalise everything.

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8
Q

What are the 3 problems when researching pupils?

A

Hill - 3 major differences between a child and adult.

Power and status - young = difficult to state attitude openly when challenging adults.

Ability - limited for abstract ideas.

Vulnerability - child protection issues. Consent of both parent and child.

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9
Q

What is the problem when researching teachers?

A

May put on a ‘show’ to look better and profesional = protect careers.

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10
Q

What is the problem when researching classrooms?

A

Highly controlled setting –> difficult to uncover real attitudes.
+ pupils may need to conform to peers in a classroom.

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11
Q

What is the problem when researching parents?

A

Parents may undergo impression management –> to shine a positive light by exaggerating their involvement with their kids.
+ difficult to contact without school’s cooperation.

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12
Q

What is the problem when researching schools?

A

A closed and hierarchical organisation.
Gatekeepers (headmasters, etc.) may say no to hide poor control –> keep reputation.
+ school records are confidential = no access.

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13
Q

What are experiments?

A

Studies conducted in highly controlled environments like a lab where the IV can be manipulated.

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14
Q

What is a laboratory experiment? Favoured by ___

A

Controlled environment where IV is changed/manipulated.
Positivists

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15
Q

What are the advantages of a lab experiment?

A
  1. Highly reliable –> can be repeated (T)
  2. Can establish cause and effect relationships.
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16
Q

What are the disadvantages of a lab experiment?

A
  1. Artificial environment –> may not reflect real world (T)
  2. Hawthorne effect (T)
  3. Informed consent (E)
  4. Deception (E)
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17
Q

What are field experiments?

A

Done in the real world where a situation is created or adapted.

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18
Q

What are the advantages of a field experiment?

A
  1. Less artificial –> more generalisable to real life settings (T).
  2. No Hawthorne effect –> higher validity (T)
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19
Q

What are the disadvantages of a field experiment?

A
  1. No informed consent (E)
  2. Less control over variables so cause and effect relationship may not be accurate (T)
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20
Q

What are questionnaires? Favoured by ______.

A

Written, self-complete, social survey questions handed out via post, email or hand outs.
Positivists

21
Q

What are the advantages of using questionnaires?

A
  1. Cheap and quick (P) - no need to recruit and train interviewers.
  2. Representative - large geographical widespread (T).
  3. No obligation to answer (E)
  4. Highly reliable - easily repeated with pre-set questions. (T)
22
Q

What are the disadvantages of using questionnaires?

A
  1. Poor response rate –> low representativeness (T).
  2. Unrepresentative as certain type of people may answer - e.g., unemployed as they have time (T).
  3. Low validity - may lie or exaggerate (T).
  4. If participant doesn’t understand question –> incorrect answer.
    + If research cannot understand an answer, they cannot ask any follow up questions.
23
Q

Name and explain the 3 types of interviews.

A
  1. Structured - same, standardised set of questions.
  2. Semi-structured - set of questions but can probe for more info.
  3. Unstructured - complete freedom with questions.
24
Q

Structured interviews are favoured by ___. What are the advantages?

A

Positivists
1. Training interviewers is cheap and easy (P).
2. Representative - geographically wide sample (T).
3. Easily repeated = reliable (T).

25
Q

What are the disadvantages of using structured interviews?

A
  1. Lack of validity –> interviewee may not be able to express their ideas (T).
  2. Low validity –> interviewees may lie or exaggerate (T).
26
Q

Unstructured interviews are favoured by ___. What are the advantages?

A

Interpretivists.
1. Rapport (trust) is built –> better relations = more open up.

  1. Validity –> like a conversation so people are more likely to be truthful (T).
  2. Flexibility –> interviewer can come up with questions on the spot to check understanding or investigate new ideas.
27
Q

What are the disadvantages of using unstructured interviews?

A
  1. Expensive and time-consuming to train interviewers + more time for each interviewee (P).
  2. Not reliable –> cannot be repeated by another researcher (T).
  3. Unrepresentative –> typically smaller sample size (T).
28
Q

What are the advantages of semi-structured interviews?

A
  1. Large amount of detail (T)
  2. Easier to analyse than unstructured (P).
  3. Fairly flexible.
29
Q

What are the disadvantages of semi-structured interviews?

A
  1. May lie or exaggerate = lower validity (T).
  2. Difficult to compare answers.
30
Q

Interviews are a social interaction.
Through this ^ what are the ways validity can be threatened?

A
  1. Interviewer bias: leading questions un/consciously influence answer.
    Through tone and body language.
  2. Cultural differences: misunderstandings of the same word + culture gap –> interviewers difficult to tell if they’re being lied to.
  3. Social desirability effect: seek approval –> best and favourable answers to shine light on good behaviour.
31
Q

Name and explain the 4 types of observations.

A
  1. Participant - takes part in activities.
  2. Non-participant - simply observes.
  3. Overt - true identity and aim.
  4. Covert- undercover.
32
Q

What are the advantages of participant observations?

A
  1. Insight info on motives and reasons (5 W’s) rich detail (T).
  2. High validity –> first-hand, authentic and natural setting (T).
33
Q

What are the disadvantages of participant observations?

A
  1. Unreliable –> cannot be repeated (T).
  2. Hawthorne effect –> low validity (T).
    3.Problems getting in, staying and leaving (P).
34
Q

What are the advantages of non-participant observations?

A
  1. Valid –>limited risk of researcher ‘going native’ - learning and accepting group’s way so they stay.
35
Q

What are the disadvantages of non-participant observations?

A
  1. Not reliable –> cannot be repeated (T).
  2. Not representative –> small sample (T).
36
Q

What are the advantages of overt observations?

A
  1. Informed consent (E).
  2. Can openly take notes (P).
  3. Can use interviews for more info. (T)
37
Q

What are the disadvantages of overt observations?

A
  1. Time-consuming (P)
  2. Hawthorne effect –> low validity (T)
38
Q

What are the advantages of covert observations?

A
  1. More valid than over as there is no Hawthorne effect (T).
  2. More insight and in-depth detail (T)
39
Q

What are the disadvantages of covert observations?

A
  1. Deceive people (E)
  2. Have to gain trust and acceptance into group –> may be difficult and time-consuming (P)
40
Q

What are secondary sources? Examples.

A

Research and info. collected by others.
Documents and official statistics.

41
Q

What are official statistics? Favoured by _____.

A

Quantitative data gathered by the government bodies.
Positivists

42
Q

What are the advantages of using official statistics?

A
  1. Cheap and easy to access –> usually free through Office of National Statistics website (P)
  2. Representative –> covers whole nation (T).
  3. Can compare trends over time (e.g. census every 10 years).
43
Q

What are the disadvantages of using official statistics?

A
  1. Used for government’s own benefit –> may not cover what sociologist wants.
  2. Definitions may differ (e.g. what government defines poverty vs sociologist).
  3. Low validity –>dark figure on soft statistics like crime.
44
Q

What are soft and hard statistics?

A

Hard - births, deaths, divorces. Is recorded.
Soft - crime, petty theft. Dark figure. Not all recorded.

45
Q

What are documents? Types?

A

Written text like diaries, newspapers, letters, etc.
Personal or historical.

46
Q

What are the advantages of using personal documents?

A
  1. Valid –> genuine insight for personal reasons (T).
  2. Cheap and quick (P).
47
Q

What are the disadvantages of using personal documents?

A
  1. Some groups may not produce –> e.g. no literacy skills or time (T).
  2. Personal bias (T).
48
Q

What are the advantages of using historical documents?

A
  1. Allows for comparisons over time.
  2. Useful when assessing outcomes of various social policies.
49
Q

What are the disadvantages of using historical documents?

A
  1. Unrepresentative –> there may be lost or damaged material (T).
  2. Authenticity –> is it valid. Who wrote it? Are there errors or missing pages?

A-Level Socio (4 decks)

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