research methods

Question 1

reliability

Answer 1

same or similar results are produced

Question 2

verstehen

Answer 2

understanding

Question 3

rapport

Answer 3

a relationship which is built on trust and respect so in an interview the responses are more likely to be valid

Question 4

validitity

Answer 4

whether the research and its findings give a true picture of what is being studied

Question 5

hypothesis

Answer 5

a predictive statement

Question 6

aim

Answer 6

overall purpose of research

Question 7

primary data

Answer 7

data generated by the sociologist

Question 8

secondary data

Answer 8

data that has already been collected by another person

Question 9

quantitative

Answer 9

numbers normally converted into tables and graphs

Question 10

qualitative

Answer 10

information in a written form made up off personal accounts (opinions,feelings)

Question 11

official statistics

Answer 11

quantitative data produced by the government

Question 12

non official statistics

Answer 12

quantitative data produced by organisations outside the government

Question 13

structured interview

Answer 13

closed questions not much flexibility

Question 14

semi structured interview

Answer 14

open and closed questions

Question 15

unstructured interview

Answer 15

guided conversation but most questions are made up on the spot

Question 16

content analysis

Answer 16

analyse the media such as newspapers and magazines

Question 17

non participant observation

Answer 17

researcher observes but does not take part

Question 18

participant observation

Answer 18

researcher takes part

Question 19

pattern

Answer 19

link between variables

Question 20

trends

Answer 20

changes over time

Question 21

researcher imposition

Answer 21

where the personal characteristics of the researcher impact the validity

Question 22

subjectivity

Answer 22

the researcher interpreting something from their own viewpoint and getting personally involved

Question 23

reflexivity

Answer 23

researchers are aware of how their decisions and actions may impact on their social behaviour

Question 24

objectivity/value freedom

Answer 24

making sure what you are saying is unbiased, and independent of personal opinions or emotions when observing, analying, or presenting information.

Question 25

operationalisation

Answer 25

to break down the hypothesis into something that can be consistently observed or measured

Question 26

durkheim

Answer 26

examined nineteenth century suicide statistics and concluded that suicide was a social fact and that suicide behaviour was shaped by the nature of the society of which the individual belonged

Question 27

atkinson

Answer 27

looked at coroners decision making and how they interpret evidence such as suicide noted

Question 28

sampling frame

Answer 28

is a list of names of all or most of the people in a particular target population

Question 29

random sampling

Answer 29

selecting names randomly from a sampling frame

Question 30

systematic sampling

Answer 30

a system for selecting names such as every tenth or fourth name

Question 31

jagger

Answer 31

researched whether age is still an important part of identity and whether this varies by gender

Question 32

stratified sampling

Answer 32

involves diving the sample frame into a number of sections

Question 33

snowball sampling

Answer 33

involves finding and interviewing a person who fits the research needs and asking them to suggest another person who may be interested

Question 34

volunteer sampling

Answer 34

to access volunteers an advertisement could be placed on a website or in the newspaper

Question 35

opportunity sampling

Answer 35

choosing individuals who are avaliable at the time of the study

Question 36

purposive sampling

Answer 36

when a researcher choose specific people within the population to use for a particular study

Question 37

quota sampling

Answer 37

they select people by going to a public place such as a shopping centre and asking people they come across to take part

Question 38

informed consent

Answer 38

ensure the participant is fully aware they are part of the study and they should know the purpose of the research so they can say whether or not they want to take part

Question 39

no deception

Answer 39

sociologists should not keep information about the research or lie about the purpose

Question 40

privacy and confidentiality

Answer 40

the privacy of the research subject should be safeguarded as much as possible

Question 41

protection from harm

Answer 41

the researcher should not emotionally or physically affect the participant so the researcher should or ask questions that create anxiety or fear

Question 42

no illegality or immorality

Answer 42

make sure behaviour is never illegal or immoral sociologists need to avoid being drawn into situations where they commit crimes or assist or witness

Question 43

not put self at risk

Answer 43

researchers need to avoid putting themselves in situations which they r their research team are put at risk of physical harm

Question 44

strengths of random sampling

Answer 44

-less bias -everyone has equal advantage of being picked -higher in generalisability

Question 45

weakness of random sampling sampling

Answer 45

-might not be representatve -may not be able to get a sampling frame -time consuming and not easier so more expensive

Question 46

strengths of non random techniques

Answer 46

-dont need sampling frame-quicker -more practical cheaper

Question 47

weakness of non random techniques

Answer 47

-more bias -less generalisabity -not representative