Research methods Flashcards
(26 cards)
What it a non - participant observation?
Where the reasearcher observes the group/event without taking part in it.
Which theorist supports non-participant observations?
positivists (as it is a quantitative method and objective)
What is a participant observation?
Where the researcher takes part in an event or the everyday life of a group while observing it.
Which theorist favours participant observation?
Interpretivists (produce valid data)
What is an overt observation?
Where the researcher makes their true identity and purpose known to those being studied and they are open about what they are doing.
Which theorist favours overt observation?
Interpretivists (as it allows them to develop and understand the world from the viewpoint of the subjects of research).
What is a covert observation?
Where the study is carried out ‘under cover’. The researchers real identity and purpose are kept concealed from the group being studied. They instead take on a false identity and role where they usually act like a genuine member of the group.
Which theorist favours covert observations?
Interpretivists (as the method is respondent led and allows respondants to speak for themselves).
What is a laboratory experiment?
An experiment that is carried out in a highly controlled setting to establish how changes in the independant variable affects the dependant variable, to test a scientific hypothesis.
Which theorist favours laboratory experiments?
Positivists (it is a scientfic method).
What is a field experiment?
An experiment that uses some controlled elements of traditional lab experiments, but takes place in natural, real world settings.
Which theorist favours field experiments?
Interpretivists (natural environment - believe that it is impossible to recreate authentic social scenarios in a lab).
What is a questionnaire?
They are used to collect data in the form of a list of questions in a written format. Its purpose is to gather info from respondants.
Which theorist favours questionnaires?
positivists (prefer quantitative methods - can find cause and effect relationships).
What is a structured/formal interview?
Very similiar to questionnaires, the interviewer is given strict instructions on how to ask and what questions to ask. It’s conducted in the same way each time, each interviewee gets asked the same questions.
Which theorist favours structured/formal interviews?
positivists (like to conduct quantitative, objective data, they are high in reliability and representativity).
What are unstructured/informal interviews?
More like a guided conversation. The interviewer has compelete freedom to vary the questions and can ask follow up questions to probe interviewees on saying further information. (Can be called discovery interviews).
Which theorist favours unstructured/informal interviews?
Interpretivists (it discusses the topic more in depth and are high in validity)
What is a semi-structured interview?
Where each interview has the same set of questions, but the interviewer can also probe for more information.
Which theorist favours semi-structured interviews?
Positivists (it is high reliablity and represntativeness).
What is a group interview?
Where the interview has multiple people involved - not just one body one on one - may be called focus groups. Not all participants may answer as much as others, but peer group pressure may lead the group to conform to eachothers views.
Which theorist favours group interviews?
Interpretivists (produces qualitative data and the finding are more valid)
What are official statistics?
Secondary data - a set of data that is collected by the government or other official body. They can be in the form of either registration (the law requires parents to register births) or official surveys (a Census or the General Household survey).
Eg, statistics on birth, marriage and death or health or exam results.
Which theorist favours official statistics?
Positivists (like to collect quantitative and objective data - it produced quantifiable data and uncovers patterns of behaviour which can be analysed for patterms and trends).
