Choosing a research method Flashcards
(20 cards)
What are the two main types of data?
Primary data and secondary data.
What is primary data?
Information collected by the researcher themselves.
Sources include social surveys, participant observation, and experiments.
What is an advantage of using primary data?
Researchers can gather precisely the information they need.
What is a disadvantage of using primary data?
It can be costly and time-consuming.
What is secondary data?
Information that has been collected by someone else and used by the researcher.
What is an advantage of using secondary data?
It is a quick and cheap way to gain information.
What is a disadvantage of using secondary data?
It may not provide the exact information needed for the study.
What are the two types of data further differentiated?
Quantitative data and qualitative data.
What is quantitative data?
Data in numerical form.
Examples include official statistics and percentages.
What is qualitative data?
Data that comes in written form and expresses thoughts and feelings.
Examples include unstructured interviews and participant observations.
What are practical issues influencing choice of methods?
Time and money, requirements of funding bodies, personal skills and characteristics, subject matter, and research opportunity.
How do time and money influence research methods?
Different studies require different amounts of time and money.
What might funding bodies require from researchers?
Results in a specific way, such as quantitative data for certain studies.
How do personal skills affect research methods?
Different sociologists have varying skills that may affect their ability to use certain methods.
What is an ethical issue in research?
Informed consent, deception, confidentiality and privacy, and special care for vulnerable groups/protection from psychological harm.
What is informed consent?
Participants should know the purpose and the nature of the experiement and consent must be obtained before the experiment starts.
What are theoretical issues in research?
Representativeness, reliability, and validity.
What does representativeness refer to?
Whether the sample is representative of the group of interest.
What is reliability in research?
A study is reliable if it can be repeated and yield similar results.
What is validity in research?
A study is valid if it produces a true picture of what something is really like.
