methods Flashcards
(129 cards)
1
Q
what are the 4 types of data
A
primary, secondary, quantitative qualitative
2
Q
what is primary data
A
data that was not present before the study began- interviews surveys observations
3
Q
what is secondary data
A
already exists, may have been produced for different reasons. newspapers diaries ect, quick fast and cheap
4
Q
what is qualitative data
A
all non numerical data, sources, quotes ect, rich and more depth, MICRO, preferred by interpretivists
5
Q
what is quantitative data
A
numerical form MACRO, official stats and league tables, preferred by positivists
6
Q
what is validity
A
data is valid if it presents a true and genuine picture. it allows the researcher to get closer to the truth
7
Q
what is reliability
A
different researchers using same method get the same results
8
Q
what factors impact on choice of research method
A
practical, ethical and theoretical
9
Q
what are some examples of practical issues
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time and money, funding body, personal skills and social status, research opportunities
10
Q
what are some examples of ethical issues
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informed consent, confidentiality and privacy, protection, vulnerable groups
11
Q
example of ethical breech
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Laud Humphreys 1970 ‘tearoom trade’
12
Q
positive theory
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sociology as a science, top down society, measure society’s impact on people, detached objective data, MACRO, quantitative
13
Q
interpretivist theory
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reject sociology as a science, bottom up approach, social actors meanings, understanding behaviours, MICRO, qualitative data
14
Q
types of representative sampling
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random sampling, quasi random/ systematic, quota
15
Q
random sampling
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chance, drawn out of hat- not all samples are large enough
16
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quota sampling
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need 20 males and 20 females- fill with people who fit
17
Q
quasi random/ systematic sampling
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every nth person is selected
18
Q
types of non representative data
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snowball sampling, opportunity sampling
19
Q
snowball sampling
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key number of individuals suggest others to participate- lots of similar people
20
Q
opportunity sampling
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choose those who are easiest to access- unlikely to be representative
21
Q
issues researching schools
A
different types of schools- undermines representation, heads may deny permission, data may be confident
schools are data rich environments and have a premade sampling frame
22
Q
issues researching parents
A
P- not in one place, sample may be unrepresentative
E- some parents may only give informed consent if they benefit from research
T- manage impressions, exaggerate positives
23
Q
issues researching teachers
A
P- accessible, in one place, but may lack time to respond/ partake
E- confidentiality, incriminating evidence
T- unwilling to admit to bad behaviour, unrepetitive
24
Q
issues researching classrooms
A
P- closed setting, more control
T- hawthorn effect, student or teacher behaviour may change
25
issues researching students
P- easy access as they have to legally attend school, lots of records, may be reluctant to admit behaviour, time consuming
E- vulnerable group, informed consent, report abuse, no harm
T- power difference, hog limelight peer pressure undermines validity
26
comparative method
thought experiment, carried out in mind of sociologist, designed to discover cause and effect relationships. ethical and avoids artificially, can only be used to observe past events.
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what does the comparative method entail
identify 2 groups of people alike apart from what we want to look at
compare 2 groups, do their difference have any effect
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lab experiments
scientists can examine cause and effect relationships, easy to replicate and identify patterns and trends. detached, reliable and valid. favoured by positivists
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field experiments
natural environment, valid and realistic, less control, subjects are generally unaware they are being observed- ethically questionable
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lab in context- harvey and slatin 1976
teacher expectations- found teacher are prejudice and label different social classes
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lab in context- mason 1973
impact of positive and negative expectations, he found negative expectations had more affect than positive
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issues regarding field experiments in education
E- deception of students, CPO, informed consent
reliability-easy to repeat,
broader focus- number of teachers opinions rather than just one, many elements to look at
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concerns regarding lab experiments in education
E- working with young people, but most do not involve real children
narrow focus- usually examines one aspect of behaviour
P- teacher expectations, uncontrollable variables
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field in context- rosenthal and jacobson 1967
labelling and SFP
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what are questionnaires
list of predetermined questions, handed out, posted or online, they are a MACRO method and are preferred by positivists
36
closed questions
pre determined answers (ticky box) these produce quantitative data
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open questions
own words, freedom and detail, these produce qualitative data
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practical advantages of questionnaires
quick and cheap, no need to recruit and train people, easily quantifiable. Dewson, posted nearly 4000
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questionnaires- reliability
standard and fixed yardstick, all asked the exact same question. easily repeatable, ne researcher present to influence
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questionnaires- detachment and objectivity P
remove interviewer bias, preferred by positivists, detached
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questionnaires- hypothesis testing
measure cause and effect relationships with ease, scientific approach- positivists
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questionnaires- representative
large sample size, allows findings to be generalised
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questionnaires- ethical issues
may ask intrusive or personal questions, but under no obligation to answer and anonymity is assured
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questionnaires- practical problems
limited and superficial, brief. was it completed by who it says?
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questionnaires- low response rate
example
100,000 sent out but 4.5% returned. those who took the questionnaire may be very different to those who didn't- un representative
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questionnaires- inflexibility
new areas of interest cant be explored, surface level answers
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questionnaires- detachment I
interpretivists, sociology is not a science. no way to clarify meaning or probe deeper
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questionnaires- lying forgetting and right answerism
saying what they think is right, respectable answers rather than the truth
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questionnaires- imposing the researchers meaning
wording of questions , what questions are included- what is important
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questionnaires methods in context- practical advantages
easily compared and gather data from different schools
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questionnaires methods in context- sampling frames
ready made sampling frames, school already has lists of all pupils
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questionnaires methods in context- response rate
higher, authority and students are used to completing survays
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questionnaires methods in context- researching pupils
short attention span, limits and influences ability to gather info
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questionnaires methods in context- operationalising concepts
turning abstract concepts into manageable form- make children understand
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what are interviews
compromise between more structured research (questionnaires) and unstructured, in-depth methods (PO)
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questionnaires methods in context- validity
unable to answer questions so may not be a good result
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types of interviews
structured/ formal
unstructured/ informal
semi- structured
group interviews
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structured/ formal interviews
verbal questions, same questions same tone, objective
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unstructured/ informal interviews
variety of questions and wording
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semi- structured interviews
same set of questions, but interviewer can probe for more detail
'how do you mean' cicorel and kituse
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structured/ formal interviews advantages
higher response rates, large sample, good for hypothesis testing, fast and efficient, reliable
62
group interviews
12-15 people, focus groups discuss topics and record views
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structured/ formal interviews disadvantages
closed questions lack validity, may not be representative, more expensive than questionnaires, participants may be atypical, females may feel intimidated
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unstructured/ informal interviews disadvantages
time consuming, unable to generalise as sample will be small. cannot be replicated or quantified, interviewer bias, hawthorn effect
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group interviews advantages
help people not feel singled out, casual setting comfort, quicker as multiple people at once, more inclined to share- piggyback response
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unstructured/ informal interviews advantages
rapport, comfortable and honest- tackle sensitive topics and hard questions. probe deeper and formulate new ideas, MICRO
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group interviews disadvantages
may be reluctant to answer, intimidated by group setting. conform with dominant response. social status difference
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advantages of unstructured interviews in education
overcomes power and status inequality, sensitive topics such as bullying made approachable, can clarify, rapport, space and time to talk, probe further
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disadvantages of unstructured interviews in education
change answers for approval, cannot be standardised or replicated, long and can be too demanding for children
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advantages of structured interviews in education
less time consuming than UI and less disruptive easy to replicate, more success than questionnaires as better verbal than literacy
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disadvantages of structured interviews in education
power inequalities- seeking adult approval, parental permission, unable to clarify
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what are the 4 different types of observation
non participant observation- researcher observes without taking part
participant observation- researcher joins group while observing
cover observation- 'undercover' real identity and purpose concealed
overt observation- true identity is known and the subjects know they are being studied
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overt non participant observation
observation with consent, sit with observation schedule and systematically record observations without pre empting what to look for
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strengths of ONPO
repeatable, ethical, un obtrusive, researcher can stay detached- field work. valid findings
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weaknesses of ONPO
can result in the Hawthorn effect and invalid data
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participant observation- getting in
to study a group the sociologist must gain access to them, age nationality, class ect can impact their ability to get in
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participant observation- staying in
danger of staying in the group- going native or getting over involved. over identifying leads to biased results, can also be over detached and not understand what they are observing
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participant observation- getting out
it can be difficult as you are re entering society, loyalty to cause may lead to researcher being unwilling to disclose information
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advantages of interviews as a social interaction
can relate to interviewee, personal questions, follow up questions, can culturally match interviewees
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disadvantages of interviews as a social interaction
may change answers to gain approval, power inequality, interviewer bias
81
issues of CO
P-requires S to keep up an act, cover can be easily blown, cannot make notes. presence of new member can affect behaviour
E-immoral to deceive people, immoral to partake in illegal activities to keep cover
82
advantages of PO
validity- what people say in interviews is not always true, po shows truth
insight- best way to understand is to experience it (verstehen)
flexibility- no fixed hypothesis, open mind
practical- only viable method, rapport, reveal realities
83
disadvantages of PO
P- time consuming, personally stressful and demanding
E- cpo is deceiving people and participating in illegal activities
representativeness- small sample, no bias for generalisation, valid but cant generalise
84
quote about flexibility of PO
WHYTE 'i learned answers to questions i would not have had the sense to ask'
85
methods in context practical issues of structured PO
class room is well suited, short lessons, quicker cheaper but schools have many personalities
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methods in context reliability of structured PO
range of classroom behaviour limits reliability
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methods in context validity of structured PO
interviews lack in validity as it can only fit into a number of predetermined categories
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methods in context observer presence of structured PO
presence of stranger can be off putting
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methods in context practical issues of unstructured PO
schools are complex places and it may take weeks or years to understand functions, less disruptive than interviews but restricted by timetables ect
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methods in context ethical issues of unstructured PO
pupils are vulnerable and may not give informed consent- poor reputation for school
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methods in context validity of structured PO
overcome status differences, rapport however may be invalid as scared of researcher
92
what are official statistics
quantitative data collected by the government- births deaths, marriages, divorces, exam results, suicide, unemployment ect
93
2 ways of collecting OS
registration and official survays
94
registration
law requires parents to register their children at birth (marriages and deaths too)
95
official surveys
census or general house hold survey
96
practical advantages of secondary data
free source of huge amount of data, compels citizens to answer, patterns and treads and easy comparisons
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practical disadvantages of secondary data
may not be available on some topics- definitions can change over time
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representativeness of secondary data
large numbers, representative sample, hypothesis testing, stats are soft so less
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reliability of secondary data
generally reliable, completed in a standard way but subject to human error
100
validity of secondary data
does it measure what it claims to?
hard stats- yes
soft stats- no
101
positivists and secondary data
valuable source of data, true and objective, test hypothesis comparative methods
102
marxists and secondary data
OS serves the interest of capitalism, the state is not neutral,
103
interpretivists and secondary data
regard OS as lacking validity, social construct and subjective
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methods in context, practical issues of OS
gov already collects stats, cheap and readily available
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methods in context, validity of OS
social construct, school may manipulate stats, undermining their validity
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methods in context, reliability of OS
replicated by gov each year, easy comparison
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methods in context, representativeness of OS
all state schools have to do one 3 times a year, virtually every pupil is seen
108
what is a document
any written text- personal diaries, gov reports, novels, letter, blogs ect
109
public documents
produced by organisations such as gov departments, schools ect. some of these may be available for sociological use
110
personal documents
includes letter, diaries, photo albums. first person accounts of events. 'the polish peasant in europe and america'
111
historical documents
personal or public, if studying the past this is usually our only source. parish records, census or parliamentary reports
112
assessing documents
scott puts forward criteria for a good document- authenticity, credibility, representativeness and meaning
113
assessing documents authenticity
are they who they claim to be, free from errors, missing pages?
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assessing documents credibility
author sincere, accurate, eg politicians may inflate their importance with the intent of publishing
115
assessing documents representativeness
is the evidence typical, can it be generalised. 30 year rule, those who dont write may be un represented
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assessing documents meaning
may need special skills to interpret, bias and subjective interpretation
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advantages of documents
personal docs allow insight into social actors reality, rich source of qualitative data. cheap and time efficient, checking results against primary methods
118
what is content analysis
systematically dealing with documents, allows S to produce quantitative data
119
methods in context, documents, practical issues
publicly available as schools produce them to compete with others
120
methods in context, documents, ethical issues
few ethical concerns, public docs but there is a problem with using personal documents
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methods in context, documents, reliability
systematic so researchers can draw direct comparisons
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methods in context, documents, credibility
public docs give official picture of what happens- most positive light- makes them less valid
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methods in context, documents, validity
insight into meanings held by teachers and teachers, more valid- but open to interpretation
124
what is a longitudinal study
sample of people over an extended period of time. research and collect data at regular intervals
125
7 up study
douglas, 5632 pupils born in the first week of march 1946. studied at 7 year intervals
126
positives of longitudinal studies
ethical as participants are aware, easy to compare and see patterns and trends, insight into life of children, long lasting effects, MICRO
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negatives of longitudinal studies
long and costly, limited and small sample- cant generalise, could lose contact as participants can change their minds
128
case studies
examines a single case or place. good way to research social phenomena, not representative
129
triangulation
using more than one, typically 3 methods to study a case. methodological pluralism. enables a method to overcome the shortcoming of another
