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Sociology Methods > Methodology > Flashcards

Methodology Flashcards

1
Q

Quantitative Approach

A
  • Data is often numerical and expressed in the form of statistics
  • High R/ Positivists
  • Behaviour shaped by factors that are observable/ Collect social facts
  • The most common RM is a social survey; closed-question questionnaire or structured interview, existing research and official stats.
  • Favoured by those studying trends or statistical truths.
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2
Q

Qualitative Approach

A
  • Words
  • Interpretivist
  • Weber
  • Motives and meanings behind people’s experiences and exploring their behaviour and feelings
  • Partipant Observations and Unstructured Interviews
  • Subjective/how people feel
  • Rich in detail, the heart of the matter, high V
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3
Q

Durkheim (1897)

A

-Collected quant data through positivism in his study of suicide.
It was a ground-breaking analysis of statistical data from which Durkheim concluded that social factors rather than individual personalities caused suicide.
Later, interpretivists argued that Durkheim’s positivistic approach overlooked the meanings that lay behind not just suicidal behaviour but also how statistics were interpreted by people such as coroners.

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4
Q

Structuralism Approaches

A
  • Consenus: Functionalism

- Conflict: Marxism/Feminism

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5
Q

Social Action Approaches

A

Interactionalism, Labelling Theory, Feminism

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6
Q

Primary Data

A
  • First-hand data
  • Unique sociological research, specific research questions and tailors RM to answer
  • Social surveys (questionnaire), interviews, experiments and observations.
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7
Q

Secondary Data

A
  • Collected by previous researchers or organisation (government)
  • Official government statistics (Quant)
  • Government reports, newspapers, personal documents such as diaries as well as audio-visual content (Qual)
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8
Q

Adavantages and Disadvantages of Primary Data

A

+Gathered first hand, operationalisation of variables and using chosen procedures.
+Geater validity. Objective, with planning, sampling, controls. Scientifically gathered for aim. More credible.
-Expensive, as all steps must be conducted (ppts + Ethics)
-Limited to the time, place and number of participants

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9
Q

Advantages and Disadvantages of Secondary Data

A

+Saves time and costs
+A lot of information available to researchers
+Documents and official stats, researching the past. Comparisons over time.
+Freely available
-Not rep of the wider population
-Not specific, so have to generalise
-Bias and do not know the data collection methods

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10
Q

Theoretical Perspective: Positivism

A
  • Methodological approach of natural sciences; rigorous, objective and based on empirical evidence
  • Advocated by Comte
  • Evidence subject to verification
  • Macro-level; it does this by observing how the social structures of social influence and shape the behaviour of individuals/ Deterministic
  • Natural laws governing the behaviour of these natural phenomena, (Durkheim called these ‘social facts’) shaping and determining the social actions of people
  • ‘science of society’ and behaviour can be objective and scientifically measured
  • The hypothetico-deductive approach, begin by making observations, leading to hypotheses or conjectures.
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11
Q

Postisim View on Data

A
  • Reliable. Scientific accuracy. Objective or value-free
  • Rep: Pttps have characteristics that are typical of the larger population being studied. So Gen
  • Quant Data: Compared to establish correlations between aspects of the social structure (s/c) and behaviour.
  • Scientific approach can produce scientific laws of human behaviour: ‘social laws’ or ‘social facts’.
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12
Q

Theoretical Perspectives: Interpretivism

A
  • Meanings and motives
  • Non-Scientific, Value-Laden, Subjective, Qual Data and High Validity
  • Weber: Sociology is not a science. Humans have consciousness and are aware of when they are studied and don’t behave when they are aware/advocated ‘verstehen’ (understand). Understand human behaviour by putting ourselves in the shoes of those we are studying and by focusing on interpreting the meanings behind people’s actions.
  • ‘action theory’ focuses on the micro-level of social life, the way in which individuals behave with one another.
  • Behaviour is shaped by personal choice as opposed to being constrained by structures.
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13
Q

Interpretist View on Data

A
  • Empathetic understanding
  • Validity over objectivity and reliability. As that can result in researcher imposition; sociologist thinks over ppt
  • Ethnographic
  • Rapport, so that a true picture of their lives is constructed.
  • Qual data: a way of life in own words rather than numbers. ‘speak for themselves ‘ in that they are often verbatim accounts of the social world
  • Unstructured interviews. Are also keen on secondary data in which the research subjects’ interpretation of reality is paramount (diaries, letters and autobiographies)
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14
Q

How is Research Evaluated

A

Three essential ways research is evaluated and judged by sociologists:

  1. ) Reliability
  2. ) Validity
  3. ) Representatives
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15
Q

Reliability

A
  • Someone else repeats the research with the same population and achieve the same results.
  • Difficult because groups and attitudes change or because of issues like being aware of the study
  • High R RM: Experiments, structured interviews and questionnaires
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16
Q

Validity

A
  • The extent to which the data gives a true picture of what is being studied. Accurate measurement of the concept being investigated.
  • High V research comes from qual data as they tend to use small samples and take detailed accounts of emotions and feelings but may not be truthful. Notions of truth.
  • RM: Unstructured interviews or Participant Observations
17
Q

Representativeness

A
  • Group of people being studied shares the characteristics of the larger group or target population. Findings of the research can be applied to them.
  • Choosing the type and size of the sample carefully, researchers ensure good quality research
  • Gen: information that is collected about a small group can be applied to larger groups. Only if r, v, rep.
18
Q

3 Influences on the Research Method Chosen

A

Practical Factors.
Theoretical Factors.
Ethical Factors.
-Importance of each is debated. (Money)

19
Q

Practical Factors

A
  • Pragmatic issues may affect the ability to research.
  • Considered prior. Plan and find solutions.
  • Include: Funding, Academic Specialism, Personal values, methodology, accessibility to sample, Recording
20
Q

Things to consider when Choosing a RM

A

Proving hypothesis/Funding/Interest/Usefulness/Promotion or Career Impact/Time/Ethics/Ease/Previous work/Theoretical Implications

21
Q

Practical Issue: Funding

A
  • Essential
  • Done out of public service or for personal benefits (private company)
  • Can have a significant influence
  • A lack will mean research does not go ahead/might compel to use cheaper methods. (qs because interviews are expensive)
  • Compelled to do research for which funding is available rather than what they would personally like to investigate.
22
Q

PC: Sources of Funding

A
  • Sources of Funding: government, charitable or corporate
  • University-based is funded by the Social and Economic Research Council (SERC), the Higher Education Funding Council and gov departments (Home Office)
  • Businesses may also do research, self-interested agenda such as improving their image or selling more products.
  • Sustainable funding is required for research to be undertaken with confidence.
  • Researchers need to know they will be able to see their research through to completion. (Longitudinal studies need long-term funding to get results)
23
Q

PC: Conflicts of Interest (Funding)

A

-Business and Marxist sentiment or anti-capitalist findings may be suppressed in corporate-funded research.
-The extent of freedom given to the researcher over the design and nature of research will vary depending on the requirements of the funding organisation
=Joseph Rowntree: Poverty and Inequality
=Runnymede Trust: Ethnic minorities (Politically motivated so only support)
=Centre for Social Justice: Cofounded by Ian Duncan Smith (NR) so reports that family and marriage are under threat and welfare dependency is a major issue.

24
Q

PC: Personal Interests and Values of the Researcher

A

=Feminists focus on Women and Exploitation (Patriarchy)
=Marxist focus on inequalities in wealth and problems generated by capitalism.
=Townsend was committed to eradicating poverty and conducted studies on the elderly and the poor
-Research by these sociologists isn’t biased.
-Difference between sociologists and journalists: newspapers that have a political viewpoint. The Times and the Sun are right-wing newspapers. Journalists working for these newspapers must write RW to keep jobs.
-Sociologists must conduct a fair and balanced enquiry and not allow their own values to affect
-Values may influence their choice of topic but the methods should be free of bias.

25
Q

PC: Appropriate Methods

A
  • RM is dictated by the situation
  • Large pop use questionnaires and interviews
  • Small pop use in-depth interviews
26
Q

PC: Access to Research Subjects

A
  • Pttps have the power to negotiate the terms of the research, not automatically be willing to participate
  • Power to resist the attention, (thousands of surveys of the poor but there are few studies on the rich. Use their authority to deny access to their world) / (Educational studies are of comprehensive schools rather than private. Few studies of head teachers or governors but hundreds on pupils)
  • Research is filled by those who are powerless and who are unable to resist the charms. powerful and elite, that run society and benefit from doing so are off-limits
  • Groups that are in closed institutions such as prisons/ mental hospitals are difficult to access.
27
Q

PC: Access and Gate-Keeping

A
  • Exclusive or deviant groups tend to shut out ‘outsiders’. Needs to be sensitive to maintain ethics and safety.
  • ‘gate-keeper’
  • GK access the world of crime and deviance. Involves people who are conventionally powerful (judges, police officers) but it also includes people who are potentially dangerous and can do sociologists harm if they discover that they are subject to sociological study.
  • Gate-keepers can help sociologists to gain access to the criminal world by negotiating. However, finding such gate-keepers is not easy. Getting criminals to agree to be the subject of sociological research is less easy. Few studies of working criminals. Easier for a sociologist to access a prison and to interview convicted criminals than it is to access an organised criminal gang.
28
Q

Ethical Considerations

A
  • Professional ethical guidelines
  • Published by the British Sociological Association that provides codes of conduct and research is underpinned by moral principles
  • Important to consider ethical issues, before and after
  • BSA: ppts are people with rights and it is the responsibility of the researcher to ensure they are not exploited or harmed.
  • Six ethical guidelines
29
Q

EP: Informed Consent

A
  • Ppts should be aware that they are part research.
  • Informed on the purpose of the research
  • Make an informed choice as to whether they want to take part. ‘informed consent’.
  • If can’t then presumptive consent can be given
30
Q

EP: Deception

A
  • BSA insists that researchers should not deceive
  • Researchers must never lie about the purpose of the research.
  • BSA noted that it is especially deceptive to establish friendships with people in order to manipulate data from them.
  • Some argue that deceit can produce data that cannot be produced under more honest circumstances, and the value of such data is worth the ethical costs.
31
Q

EP: Confidentiality

A
  • Privacy of subjects should be safeguarded but ociological research is intrusive.
  • BSA suggests that maintaining privacy can be strengthened by keeping anonymity.
  • Disguise the identity of individual participants.
  • Guarantee of confidentiality may result in more validity as they may be more willing to reveal personal and private information
32
Q

EP: Protection From Harm

A
  • Research subjects protected from harm.
  • Emotional or psychological (questions that trigger bad memories)
  • Also, harm the reputation of ppts. Misrepresented and/or exposed to ridicule. May face punishment (lose their job because of a published an account of their activities)
  • Researchers need to avoid putting themselves in situations where they are at risk of physical harm.
33
Q

EP: Legality and Immortality

A
  • Sociological researchers need to make sure that their behaviour is never illegal or immoral. (commit crimes or assist or witness deviant acts)
  • Some sociologists argue that if a sociologist comes into possession of ‘guilty knowledge’ (knowledge of crimes committed in the past or future intentions to commit) They should inform the relevant authorities.
34
Q

EP: Effects

A
  • Consider the effects
  • Ppts or family
  • Victims of crime may not want name associated with details or hear them
35
Q

Theoretical Factors

A 
-Should strive for objective and neutral but bias does influence researchers approach to research, method choice and interpretation of results but agendas exist.
=Marxists and Feminists are openly political and want to make the world more equal in regards to class and gender 
=Functionalists use evidence selectively in order to reinforce their consensus view that a common set of values exists in society
36
Q

Structurcal Approach

A

-The order and predictability of social life by seeing human behaviour as learned behaviour shaped by external forces. -Macro-theories which adopt a top-down approach because of their large-scale vision of seeing society-wide structures or institutions as the starting point for explaining human behaviour.
-Structures would be family, education, religion, work and the State.
=Examples of macro perspectives: Functionalism/New Right, Marxism/ neo-Marxism and some aspects of feminism.
-Quantitative methods aimed at generating facts and statistics.

37
Q

Social Action Approcah

A

-Weber
-Individuals engage in an infinite number of meaningful encounters. These encounters are meaningful to the people concerned that they create social order
-Society is generated by the sum of social actions, in which people actively interpret and give meaning to social encounters.
-Focus on the individual as the starting point from which to make sense of human behaviour
-Micro-theories, generating a bottom-up, small-scale view
=Interactionism, postmodernism, and some elements of feminism.
-Qualitative methods aimed at understanding the meaning behind the behaviour

38
Q

Theoretical Conclusion

A
  • It is rare in contemporary research for researchers to be constrained into either a purely positivistic or interpretivist approach.
  • Significant amounts of research involve a triangulation or realist approach, collecting quantitative and qualitative data.

Sociology Methods (13 decks)

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