PET Considerations

Question 1

What are the practical considerations?

Answer 1

-Access
-Researcher skills
-Time
-Cost
-Funding
-Research topic

Question 2

What are the Ethical considerations?

Answer 2

-Informed consent
-Participant wellbeing
-Anonymity
-Confidentiality
-Deception
-Researcher safety

Question 3

What are the Theoretical considerations for Positivists research?

Answer 3

-Quantitative data
-Objective
-Reliable
-Representative
-Generalsable

Question 4

Wha are the Theoretical considerations for Interpreivist research?

Answer 4

-Qualitiative
-Validity
-Verstehen
-Researcher Imposition
-Hawthorne effect
-Social desirability
-Demand characteristics

Question 5

Access

Answer 5

Some groups of people have the power to shut out sociologists eg head teachers, Some people easier to access than others.

Question 6

Cost/Funding

Answer 6

Some methods more costly than others eg observations. Governments? Funding bodies? Cost of equipment? Training costs? Pay participants?

Question 7

Researcher skills

Answer 7

Researcher needs correct skills to build trust and empathy with subjects? Collect and analyse right situations for right data? Now show emotions, approval or disproval of responses.

Question 8

Time

Answer 8

Longitudinal or short term study? How long to analyse data? Limited time period to conduct research?

Question 9

Subject topic

Answer 9

Is research method used suitable for topic being studied?

Question 10

Informed consent

Answer 10

Researcher must seek informed consent from subjects prior to research

Question 11

Participant wellbeing

Answer 11

Ensure no physical or mental harm comes to participants. Make sure researcher doesn’t influence educational achievement eg

Question 12

Deception

Answer 12

Researcher must be honest about how and why there researching the subjects to avoid deception.

Question 13

Confidentiality/ Anonymity

Answer 13

Researcher need to protect the identity and privacy of their subjects. If responses breach safeguarding then researcher must tell authorities.

Question 14

Researcher safety

Answer 14

Make sure researcher themselves don’t come under ant harm or put themselves in dangerous position just to collect data.

Question 15

Quantitative

Answer 15

Numerical data usually in the form of statistics, numbers, percentages.

Question 16

Objective

Answer 16

Making sure all sources of personal or subject bias is removed from research process.

Question 17

Reliability

Answer 17

Data is relabel if another researcher can repeat research using a similar sample and same method and consistently obtain similar results. (How accurate is research)

Question 18

Representative

Answer 18

Researcher uses a smaller sample of the research population

Question 19

Generalisability

Answer 19

Data found in a smaller group needs to be true of wider society

Question 20

Qualitative data

Answer 20

Non-numerical data, usually opinions, thoughts, feelings

Question 21

Validity

Answer 21

Whether research findings give a true picture of what’s being studied. Should reflect the reality of people being studied.

Question 22

Verstehen

Answer 22

Empathetic understanding - being able to see the world fro perspective of subject to gain a better understanding of responses.

Question 23

Researcher imposition

Answer 23

Researcher pre-write questions to be answers which could limit the responses and data collected for the topic as there predetermined.

Question 24

Hawthorne effect

Answer 24

When subjects change their behaviour due to the presence of a researcher.

Question 25

Social desirability

Answer 25

When respondents give answers to questions that they believe will make them look good to the researcher and conceal their true feelings, opinions and experiences.

Question 26

Demand characteristics

Answer 26

Subjects change their behaviour to fit the impression they think the researcher has of them