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sociology > research methodology (the theory) > Flashcards

research methodology (the theory) Flashcards

1
Q

why sociologists research society

A

social= society
issue= problem of mass concern
- social issues threaten society - solutions can only come through understanding - understanding can only come through research
- a social issue is any problem that has negative consequences for society as a whole
- examples of social issues: domestic violence, effects of divorce, single parents, lack of effective socialisation

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2
Q

what are ‘social facts’

A
  • durkheim (one of the 1st sociologists) taught that humans are subject to external forces that shape their behaviour
  • he called these external forces ‘social facts’ as you can’t escape/ deny them
  • example: norms and laws
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3
Q

the theory: academic tribes and their territories

A
  • there are 2 different ways of thinking about society and how to do social research
  • positivists VS interpretivists
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4
Q

difference between positivists and interpretivist researchers

A

positivists= are scientific in their approach (hence term social science)
interpretivists= prefer to take a detailed look at individual experience

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5
Q

pluralists

A

combine positivist and interpretivists research approaches

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6
Q

positivists

A
  • earliest sociologists believed people were a product of society
  • for example: they would say humans have morals because society forces it on us through socialisation
  • all humans exposed to same socialisation, living in same society, experiencing same ‘social facts’
  • this means people’s actions can be explained and predicted by looking at factors such as their gender, social class and ethnicity
  • the point of systematic research is to unclogs laws that govern human behaviour
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7
Q

social facts

A

durkheim taught that humans are subject to external social forces that shape their behaviour, he called these external forces ‘social facts’ as you can’t escape/ deny them

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8
Q

social issues

A

any problem that has negative consequences for society as a whole e.g. domestic violence, effects of divorce, single parents

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9
Q

verstehen

A

empathetic understanding, listening to the participants views

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10
Q

valid

A

claims to give a true and full picture of people’s experiences - interpretivist research

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11
Q

generalisable

A

claims to be made and assumed to be true for most people

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12
Q

representative

A

the large scale nature means the results characterise the rest of the population

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13
Q

reliable

A

positivists conduct studies that can be replicated, with same results

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14
Q

systematic

A

a following of logical process in research used by positivists

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15
Q

triangulation

A

using more than one approach/ research method in one study

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16
Q

micro study

A

looks in detail at individuals/ a small number of people - usually used by interpretivist researchers

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17
Q

macro study

A

draws from a large number of people - usually positivist researchers

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18
Q

qualitative data

A

based on words, description and aims to produce deeper data

19
Q

quantitative data

A

based on numerical data, stats and graphs are used to gather and show results

20
Q

value free

A

ability of researcher to keep their own personal biases out of the research which they’re doing

21
Q

subjective

A

aim to be neutral but interpretation means analysis of results can carry bias

22
Q

objective

A

a neutral, unbiased opinion - usually held by positivist researchers

23
Q

interpretivist

A

study of individual experience

24
Q

positivist

A

study of society that relies on scientific evidence

25
Q

durkheim’s study of suicide (1897)

A
  • aim of study: try establish sociology as an academic discipline
  • research approach: activist
  • type of data collected: quantitative
  • findings: found consistent variations in the suicide rate between social facts. found that suicide rates were higher in protestant countries than catholic ones and that married people were more prone to suicide and especially women who had been childless for a long time
  • weaknesses: shouldn’t treat all suicides as same act without analysing
  • improvements that could be made: could have researched with more primary than secondary research methods
26
Q

interpretivists

A
  • could be considered anti positivists, they take a view that humans can’t be studied scientifically
  • max weber (marxist) was the first known sociologist to criticise a scientific approach to researching society
  • he pointed out that people are individual human beings with minds of their own and aren’t puppets of society
  • he believes research should consider individual responses to socialisation and experienced using non scientific methods
  • weber promoted the need for verstehen (empathetic understanding) encouraging others to use the method
  • weber wasn’t entirely interpretivist as he combined positivist and interpretivist methods
27
Q

tearoom trade study (1970)

A
  • humphrey went to washington uni
  • wrote a book called tearoom trade, homosexual encounters in public places
  • went undercover in loos (tearooms)
  • told people in the loos that he was a sociologist which was unethical and blows his cover
  • observed by gay men having sex and how they found pleasure being watched
  • tracked down the men and followed them to their homes
  • made them do a survey (do they have kids etc)
  • results went against what everyone thought about men
  • 54% were suburban husbands
  • 38% were catholics
  • rest were openly homosexual
  • went back to uni to display study to the board and they were split on opinions - half were interested and the other thought it was unethical
28
Q

patrick, glasgow gang (1973)

A
  • researcher, james patrick, spent 4 months with a gang in the late 1950’s
  • a member of the gang got him in and protected him which was important when another gang member got suspicious that james was an infiltrator of a rival gang
  • at one point they held him captive to get info from him
  • he witnessed violence and drugs in study
  • he left the gang because it got too dangerous to continue
29
Q

debates about objectivity, subjectivity and value freedom

A
  • early 20th century positivists lived in a world where science had gained high prestige, to give sociology the same prestige they felt it was vital to keep their own values cut out of their social research
  • personal values were irrelevant because science is concerned with matters of fact do sociologists should remain morally neutral - value free
  • gouldner argued sociologists had become ‘spiritless technicians’ and their research into society was devoid of any moral obligation/ responsibility
  • this was also webber’s criticism, he felt sociologists should take moral responsibility for the result of their work
  • functionalists seem to take the side of the establishment rather than individuals
30
Q

oakley (1980) towards a sociology of childbirth

A

research aim:
- is a critical examination of the medicalisation of child birth
- about meaning of childbirth and how it’s interlocked with society’s attitudes towards women
- contains a critique of social and psychological research and shows how it’s proved inadequate in understanding childbirth
- includes feminism, maternity care activism, the increasing medicalisation of childbirth and evidence based health care
research methods:
- researched how pregnant women were treated in and out of the hospital
- ‘what i was getting was a picture that the point at which women’s lives really changed was not marriage but the birth of the first child “. after that it became much more difficult to manage an equal partnership and i think it’s still true today’ - ann oakley
research process:
- 55 women were interviewed x4
times from early pregnancy through to 5
months post birth (qualitative data)
- there was a participant observation in the hospital from the interview sample was drawn and oakley attended 6 of the 55 births
- oakley researched how pregnant women were treated both in and out of hospital
- oakley analysed how a women’s life changed after childbirth in comparison to how it changed at the start of marriage/ partnership

31
Q

research design

A

the practical, ethical and theoretical (PET) consideration influencing choice of topic, methods and conduct of research

32
Q

step by step research planning

A
  1. identity your interest
  2. change your area of interest into a researchable question
  3. carry out a literature review, read and write a report about similar research
  4. formulate a hypothesis or write an aim
  5. choose your research methods
  6. choose your participants
  7. sampling techniques
  8. practicalities (time, cost, access)
  9. ethical considerations
  10. theoretical considerations
  11. conduct a pilot study
  12. conduct your study
  13. analyse findings
  14. come to a conclusion either based on your hypothesis or your aim
33
Q

hypothesis

A
  • more objective and targeted, helps provide focus on data to be collected
  • the aim is more straight forward, gather evidence to confirm/ reject the hypothesis
  • positivists favour hypothesis as a starting point for research
34
Q

aim

A
  • more general and open ending, identifying what we propose to study and hope to achieve
  • aim is less straightforward, collect data on anything that can be interesting for the topic
  • interpretivists favour broad aims as they’re interested in understanding a social actors meaning
35
Q

types of data

A

primary
secondary
quantitative
qualitative

36
Q

primary data

A

evidence of info collected directly by the sociologist doing the study
normally done to get a first hand picture
control over data collected
costly and time consuming

37
Q

secondary data

A

evidence or info collected by someone else but can be used by the sociologist
quick and cheap
may not be ideal data

38
Q

quantitative data

A

evidence or info in numerical form
useful for comparing trends and patterns

39
Q

qualitative data

A

evidence or info in written, descriptive form
useful for understanding the meanings behind something

40
Q

factors that influence choice of methods - ethical issues

A
  • you just gain informed consent
  • you must ensure confidentiality and privacy
  • you must ensure that there will be no harm to research participants
  • you must consider vulnerable groups and gain permission from gatekeeper
  • you should aim to avoid cover research
41
Q

triangulation

A
  • term used to describe the approach of combining multiple methods in a given study
  • triangulation refers not only to research methods but also to multiple data sources
  • multiple data sources includes persons, situations and contexts
  • studies use more than one method to give the research greater validity
42
Q

testing your hypothesis

A
  • rejecting hypothesis isn’t failure but progress
  • rejecting a hypothesis can be beneficial
  • other researchers don’t have to test the same hypothesis again
  • might provide the researchers with the conclusion needed
  • research can focus on other possible causes
43
Q

operationalisation

A
  • once the hypothesis is formulated, sociologists need to operationalise the concepts of the research
  • most concepts studied in sociology are abstract so they need to be converted into something measurable
44
Q

the pilot study

A
  • is a small draft version of a social survey that is trialled on a small sample before the actual research
  • the purpose: to identify problems in the survey, refine and clarify questions, correct wording mistakes and provide experience to the interviewer

sociology (11 decks)

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