CHOICE OF METHOD Flashcards
What is primary data?
Results the sociologist gets first-hand.
What is secondary data?
Already been collected by others (people who are not sociologists).
What are theoretical factors?
The choice of research method is likely to be influenced by the position of the researcher as positivist or interpretivist.
What are the four main practical factors influencing research?
- Cost
- Time available
- Subject matter of the research
- Social characteristics of the researcher and research subjects.
How can cost influence research?
The choice of method and the size of the research team will depend on how much funding the research team has managed to secure.
How can the time available impact research?
Depends to a large extent on funding. If money is available over years, then the sociologist may carry out a longitudinal study.
How can the subject matter of research affect research?
Some areas of social life are more accessible to researchers than others.
How can the social characteristics of the researcher and research subjects affect research?
Their age, ethnicity, social class etc. The status of the researcher in the eyes of the subjects.
Who lays out ethical guidelines in the study of sociology?
BSA: British Sociological Association
Give two of the ethical guidelines set out by the BSA.
1) Research subjects should be fully aware that they are part of a sociological research project.
2) Privacy of research subjects should be safeguarded as much as possible.
What is a hypothesis?
An informed guess that the researcher thinks might be true and can be tested by breaking it down into aims and objectives.
What is operationalisation?
Break down the hypothesis or research aim into concrete things that can be observed or measured.
