Research Methods

Question 1

Qualitative Data

Answer 1

-Information giving ‘feel’ for what something is like.
-Collected through words and letters.
-Collected through unstructured interviews, diaries, letters etc.

Question 2

Give 2 advantages and disadvantages of using qualitative data.

Answer 2

-Provides detail in-depth insight.
-Enables research on sensitive topics, allows sociologists to analyse meanings.

-Very time consuming.
-Usually only possible to study a small sample and so findings are usually unrepresentative.

Question 3

Quantitative Data

Answer 3

-Information in numerical form.
-Collected in a systematic and structured way.
-Social surveys, official statistics, graphs etc.

Question 4

Give 2 advantages and disadvantages of using quantitative data.

Answer 4

-Easy to analyse and to identify trends and patterns.

-Methods used to produce quantitative data often involve having large samples and so findings are likely to be representative.

-This type of data lacks depth and fails to give an insight into the meanings of behaviour, therefore lacks validity.

-Interpretivists argue that quantitative data such as official crime statistics can be politically biased.

Question 5

Primary Data

Answer 5

Evidence that is collected firsthand by the sociologist and did not exist prior to the conduct of the research.

Question 6

Secondary Data

Answer 6

Evidence that already exists from other sources prior to the conduct of the research.

Question 7

Advantages and disadvantages of primary data.

Answer 7

-The researcher can ensure their method will be conducted to answer their hypothesis.
-There is no reliance on the research skills of other sociologists.

-There are ethical limitations in terms of gaining informed consent.
-There are practical limitations in terms of cost, time and access.

Question 8

Advantages and disadvantages of secondary data.

Answer 8

-Data can be collected very quickly.
-Researcher does not have to worry about gaining informed consent, nor do they have to worry about encountering dangerous environments.

-Official statistics and existing statistics may be politically biased and so lack reliability and validity.
-It may be difficult to access specific information such as diaries.

Question 9

Positivism

Answer 9

-Scientific approach.

-Believe society shapes and determines our behaviour.

-Research should seek to uncover the patterns and objective laws which determine our behaviour.

-They want to be able to predict behaviour and come up with solutions to improve society.

-Use quantitative data.

Question 10

Interpretivism

Answer 10

-Believe only society exists in the minds of individuals. Each individual has their own ‘universe of meaning’.

-Research should uncover these meanings via methods which give insight into pps world.

-Believe we must access individual subjective realities of each pp.

-Use qualitative data.

Question 11

Random sampling + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 11

Computer is used to randomly select names of sample.

-Easy to conduct as computer is used, cheap and simple.
-No bias.

-Sample may not be representative.

Question 12

Systematic sampling + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 12

Selects names from a sampling frame at regular intervals.

-Easy and practical.
-No bias.

-Not representative due to it being random.

Question 13

Stratified sampling + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 13

Sampling frame is divided into different stratas, random sample size is then drawn from each strata.

-Representative sample.

-Time consuming.

Question 14

Quota sampling + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 14

Finding people who fit different categories.

-Easy to do however there may be bias.

Question 15

What are the two non-random sampling techniques.

Answer 15

Snowball sampling and opportunity sampling.

Question 16

Snowball sampling + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 16

Pps selected from an initial contact of the researchers who puts them in touch with other pps.

-Can be used when researching illegal activity.

-There may be bias and sample is likely to be unrepresentative.

Question 17

Opportunity sampling + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 17

Selecting those people who are available at the time.

-Quick and practical.

-Sample is likely to not be representative.

Question 18

Lab experiments.

Answer 18

Scientist manipulates the independent variable in a setting which they are interested in. Highly controlled, artificial environment.

Question 19

Field experiments.

Answer 19

Researcher manipulates the independent variable in the pps natural surroundings such as school or workplace instead of an artificial lab. No hawthorne effect as pps usually do not know they are being studied - this produces more authentic behaviour that would actually occur in real life.

Question 20

Questionnaires + advantages and disadvantages.

Answer 20

Social surveys which consist of a series of pre set questions used to gather data on people’s lives, attitudes and behaviour.

+Quick and cheap to gather large amounts of data.
+No need to recruit and train interviewers.
+Standardised procedure so high reliability.
+Large scale as they can be distributed quickly so representative (POSITIVISTS)

-May be a low response rate meaning it will be unrepresentative.
-May need to offer incentives to persuade pps to complete it.
-Some questionnaires produce quantitative data which interpretivists do not like.

Question 21

Questionnaire studies.

Answer 21

Conner and Dewson: Posted nearly 4,000 questionnaires to students at 14 higher education institutions around the country in their study of factors influencing the decisions of working class students to go to university.

Question 22

Structured interview.

Answer 22

Interview is carried in same standardised way each time.

Question 23

Group interview.

Answer 23

Twelve or so people will be interviewed at the same time and researcher will ask them to discuss certain topics and will record their views.

Question 24

Unstructured interview.

Answer 24

The interviewer has a selection of topics for discussion and has complete freedom to vary their wording, tone etc.

Question 25

Semi-structured interview.

Answer 25

Each interview has the same set of questions in common, but the interviewer can probe for more information if necessary.

Question 26

Overt observations.

Answer 26

Researcher is known by the group. Non-participant - Observers from a distance and remains detached from the group. Participant - Researcher takes an active role in the activities of the group.

Question 27

Covert observations.

Answer 27

Researcher is unknown - remain hidden or appear to be present for another reason. Non-participant - Observer is literally hidden or claims to be present for another reason. Participant - Researcher takes a false identity and role, usually posing as a genuine member of the group.

Question 28

Official statistics + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 28

Figures collected by the government. +Free source of huge amounts of quantitative data. +Collected at regular intervals so shows trends and patterns. +Provide a representative sample as they are very large - often covers an entire population. -Government created them for their own purposes so may not answer questions or have information the sociologist is interested in. -Interpretivists argue that official statistics are social constructs that represent the labels officials attach to people and so are not real.

Question 29

Content analysis + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 29

Used by sociologists to investigate the content of documents to discover how particular issues and social groups are represented. Can be both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative +Objective and so more valid as it does not involve interacting with other people and so no influences. -Lacks validity, simply counting how many times something appears gives you no real insight or meaning. Qualitative +High validity, more detail and access to meanings. -Positivists argue validity is low as it relies on the sociologist's interpretation which may be incorrect.

Question 30

Public, personal and historical documents + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 30

Public - Produced by societal organisations. Personal - Items that are first person accounts of events and experiences. Historical - A personal or public document that has been created in the past. +May be the only available source of info. +Valid as documents can give researcher a valid picture of actor's meanings, interpretivists favour. -Documents are not standardised and so lack reliability. -Not always possible to gain access to them.

Question 31

Longitudinal research + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 31

Research conducted over a long period of time at regular intervals. +High in validity as depth, detail and insight are gained. +Researcher is able to track individuals as time progresses. -Can take a very long time to complete and is expensive. -Generates a very large amount of data which can be hard to analyse.

Question 32

Case studies + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 32

A detailed in depth study of a particular individual, group or event. +Detailed understanding and new insights. +Can be used to prove or disprove existing theories. -Unrepresentative.

Question 33

Triangulation or Methodological pluralism + advantages and disadvantages

Answer 33

When sociologists use a combination of 2 or more methods. +By using more than one method, the methods compliment one another and overcome any weaknesses. -Can be very time consuming.

Question 34

Evaluate lab experiments

Answer 34

Milgram.

Question 35

Evaluate field experiments

Answer 35

Hofling et al (hospital study) 21 out of 22 nurses conformed.

Question 36

Evaluate questionnaires

Answer 36

Connor and Dewson -Posted nearly 4000 questionnaires to students at 14 higher education institutions around the country in their study of factors influencing the decision of working class students to go to university. practical advantages, representative sample and able to analyse cause and effect relationship.

Question 36

Evaluate questionnaires again.

Answer 36

Hite -Study of love, passion and emotional violence in America. -Sent out 100,000 questionnaires directed at women in the USA. -Findings were based on 4.5 percent of the questionnaires that were returned. -Sample was volunteer. Large sample however low response rate so not representative, low in reliability.

Question 37

Evaluate structured interviews.

Answer 37

Willmott and Young -Researched extended families in East London. -Sample of 933 people, only 54 refused to participate. -Interviews were formal and standardised. -Questions were on straightforward topics. -Each interview took between 10 minutes and half an hour.

Question 38

Evaluate unstructured interviews.

Answer 38

Dobash and Dobash -Interviewed 109 women who reported domestic violence to the police. -Questions were not as straightforward and interviews consumed a lot of time. Trained interviewers would have been needed - practical disadvantages, adds to cost. interviewer bias, more expensive as a trained interviewer was needed however, an insight was gained along with a large amount of sensitive info.

Question 39

Evaluate non participant observations.

Answer 39

King -Wanted to observe infant school children behaviour towards the teacher in the classroom. -Felt the children were too young to be interviewed and so tried to blend in with background - done this by spending short periods of time in the classroom and avoiding eye contact. no training needed, more objective and detached. Interpretivists prefer participant observations.

Question 40

Evaluate participant observations.

Answer 40

Griffin -A white man who used medication and sun lamp treatments to change his skin colour and pass as black. -Became friends with a black informant who helped him gain access to their way of life. -Travelled around the USA and experienced firsthand racism. study conducted in 1959 so there was no communication between the two ethnic groups and so this was the only available method, validity through involvement, lacks reliability and no protection from harm.

Question 41

Evaluate official statistics.

Answer 41

Laslett -Wanted to examine the effect that industrialisation had on the family and so looked at the parish records of a number of villages. -Attempted to find a correlation between industrialisation and the record of nuclear and extended families. -Found that there were some records missing and so only focused on those villages which had completed records. Access to huge amounts of data, collected at regular intervals however records missing so unrepresentative. Interpretivists argue that official statistics are not real and view that as social constructs that represent the labels officials attach to people.

Question 42

Evaluate secondary data.

Answer 42

Aries -In order to support his theory that childhood was a recent social construction, he drew on a variety of historical documents such as paintings and diaries. Paintings are subjective and can lack credibility as artist may depict child in a more positive light. Positivists argue documents are unrepresentative and unreliable. Oakley -In her study of the social construction of the housewife role, she was able to trace the changing position of women in British society from the industrial revolution to the 1970s by drawing on diaries and novels. -Showed that the notion of a housewife is relatively recent. May have been difficult to access documents, did not receive informed consent however, easy to make comparisons over time.

Question 43

Grounded theory

Answer 43

Interpretivists argue that the researcher should not have a fixed hypothesis at the start of the interview but rather modify the hypothesis and build it up throughout the interview.