Education and Theory+Methods Flashcards
(19 cards)
What influences choice of research area and method?
- time and money available
- whether the research is ethical
- values of researcher
- usefulness of research
- availability of secondary data and other primary research
- whether area is one of interest for financial backers
What is a participant?
An individual being studied.
What is quantitative data?
Numerical data.
What is qualitative data?
More in-depth data, which contains opinions and longer answers.
Why is time and money a practical issue?
Different methods require different amounts of time and money e.g. large-scale surveys may employ dozens of interviewers and data-inputting staff and cost lots of money.
Why is research opportunity a practical issue?
Sometimes the opportunity to carry out research happens unexpectedly, so it is not possible to use structured methods like questionnaires as they take longer to prepare.
Why is subject matter a practical issue?
It may be harder to study a particular group or subject by one method than by another e.g. difficult for a male sociologist to study an all-female group by participant observation.
Why are personal skills and characteristics a practical issue?
Each sociologist has different personal skills; this may affect their ability to use different methods e.g. participant observation requires the ability to mix easily with others and good observation and recall.
Why are requirements of funding bodies a practical issue?
Organisations that provide funding for research may require results to be in a particular form e.g. government funding research into educational achievement may have targets for pass rates, so require quantitative data to see if these targets are being reached.
Why is informed consent an ethical issue?
Research participants should be offered the right to refuse, and the researcher should tell them about all relevant aspects of the study so they can make an informed decision; consent must be obtained before the study starts.
What is covert research?
When a researcher’s identity and research purpose are kept hidden from participants.
Why is covert research an ethical issue?
It is impossible to gain informed consent and creates serious ethical issues such as lying to people to gain information.
Why are vulnerable groups an ethical issue?
Special care should be taken e.g. when studying children, researchers should have a regard for issues of child protection; they should obtain the consent of the child and parent, and should provide information in a way the child understands.
Why are effects on research participants an ethical issue?
Researchers need to be aware of possible effects of their work on participants and should try and anticipate and prevent such harmful effects e.g. police intervention, social exclusion, psychological damage etc.
Why is confidentiality and privacy an ethical issue?
The identities of participants should be kept secret in order to prevent negative effects on them, and personal information concerning participants should be kept confidential.
What is a valid method?
One that produces a true or genuine picture of what something is really like.
Why is validity a theoretical issue?
Many argue that qualitative data such as participant observation gives us a more valid or truthful account of what it’s like to be a member of a group than quantitative methods like questionnaires can.
What is a reliable method?
One which when repeated gives the same results.
Why is reliability a theoretical isssue?
Quantitative methods like written questionnaires tend to give more reliable results than qualitative methods like unstructured interviews.
