Research Methods Flashcards
(27 cards)
Summarise Barker’s ‘Moonies’ Study
Barker used PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION, alongside UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWS and QUESTIONNAIRES to study the religious cult ‘Moonies’ and see if the media representations of them as a ‘brainwashing sect’ were true.
Summarise Bowles and Gintis’ ‘Labelling: In School Processes’ study
Bowles and Gintis (1976) found through QUESTIONNAIRES that grades were awarded more to students with perseverance/punctuality than students who were creative/independent. It was a reasonably large sample size which increased generalisability.
Summarise Fuller’s ‘Girls and Ambitions’ study
Fuller conducted LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH, using PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION, FOCUS GROUPS and STRUCTURED/SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS and found 3 types of students: Low Aspirers (poor achievement and self-esteem), Middle Aspirers (intended to continue vocational work rather than academic) and High Aspirers (intended to go to uni and were often in top sets)
Summarise Griffin’s ‘Black Like Me’ study
A white journalist dyed his skin black using medication and sun lamp treatment. He experienced prejudice and oppression everywhere and was shocked at the extent of it, it was impossible to find a job or restroom which accepted black people. He returned, having stopped darkening his skin, and immediately noticed change, but also noticed change from black people who’d previously warmly accepted him.
Summarise the GUMG’s study into the Miner’s Strike
The GUMG used CONTENT ANALYSIS to research media bias against trade unionists when reporting actions such as strikes
Summarise Hargreaves’ ‘Set and Streams’ study
Hargreaves studied in secondary schools through OBSERVATION and TEACHER INTERVIEWS that students in lower streams who were labelled as troublemakers were more likely to rebel against the values of the school and developed a non-conformist delinquent subculture that valued rebelling against school rules
Summarise Milgram’s ‘Shock Experiment’ study
Milgram (1963) recruited volunteers for a CONTROLLED EXPERIMENT to see how far people would go in obeying instruction if it involved harming another - the participants were instructed to administer an electric shock to a person if they made a mistake on a question.
Summarise the ‘Millennium Cohort Study’ (2000-2011)
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY which was conducted through INTERVIEWS with parents and teachers and COGNITIVE TESTS on the children to provide insight into how differences in early socialisation affected child development.
Summarise Mirza’s ‘Labelling and Institutional Racism’ study
Mirza used a mixed ethnographic approach and a combination of OBSERVATIONS and QUESTIONNAIRES, and found there were 3 types of teacher racism: Colour Blind Teachers (who seen the students as equal but allowed racism to occur), Liberal Chauvinists (had lower expectations for black students due to their backgrounds) and Overt Racists (discriminated against black pupils and believed they were inferior)
Summarise O’Brien’s ‘Security Gaze’ study
Kate O’Brien is a feminist researcher who used COVERT PARTICIPATION to explore gender. She because a licensed bouncer for the study. She was unable to record observations while on the job. She observed bouncers verbally abuse, strip search and humiliate a young male out of view of CCTV.
Summarise Patrick’s ‘Observing Gang Life’ study
Patrick OBSERVED gang life in Glasgow, he spent just under 120 hours in the field. He was offered 2 pills at a party and hid them in his cheek until he was able to spit them out. He used a pseudonym to ensure his safety and waited a few years before publishing his work to avoid exacerbating the gang situation in Glasgow.
Summarise Pearson’s ‘Blackpool Football Club’ study
Pearson carried out COVERT PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION to study Blackpool F.C due to its reputation of having issues with football hooliganism. Pearson committed minor offences in order to avoid suspicion and maximise research opportunities.
Summarise the Perry Pre-School ‘Poverty and Underachievement’ study
The Perry Preschool Project was a LONGITUDINAL STUDY that provided high-quality preschool education to 3/4 year old African American children who lived in poverty and were assessed to be at high risk of school failure. The school provided weekday morning sessions and provided home visits for each child to involve parents in the learning.
Summarise Rosenthal and Jacobson’s ‘Pygmalion Effect’ study
Rosenthal and Jacobson gave false information to primary school teachers about the IQ of pupils. This study was a FIELD EXPERIMENT as the researchers found that pupils believed to have a high IQ made greater progress than those believed to have a lower IQ regardless of their actual IQ. This suggested a self-fulfilling prophecy can occur as the teachers put more effort into the children they believe to have a high IQ.
Summarise Sisson’s ‘Field Study’
Sissons (1970) FIELD EXPERIMENT arranged for an actor to dress in a suit and bowler hat and ask for directions in a train station. The same actor then repeated the questions wearing the clothes of a labourer. Sissons found that people were less likely to help the man when he dressed as a labourer.
Summarise Sullivan’s ‘Cultural Capital’ study
Alice Sullivan (2001) aimed to assess Bordieu’s theory of cultural reproduction that m/c were advantaged as they possessed cultural capital. She used QUESTIONNAIRES to assess children on topics such as reading, tv, if they visited museums/art galleries/theatre, vocabulary and knowledge of cultural figures.
Summarise Sutton et al ‘Experiences Of Education’ study
Pupils between ages 8-13 were INTERVIEWED about their experiences in education. A group of pupils from a disadvantaged housing estate had issues with discipline and recieved frequent detentions, while a group of pupils who attended private school described a much richer experience inside and outside of the curriculum.
Summarise Thomas and Znaniecki’s ‘Polish Migration’ study
The study used a range of both PERSONAL DOCUMENTS and PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, such as letters between Polish immigrants and their families, aswell as several personal diaries. The documents revealed themes of crime, prostitution, alcoholism and the problem of social happiness in general.
Summarise Thompson’s ‘Hells Angels’ study
Thompson spent a year completing a PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION with a gang. He was upfront about his role as a journalist. After a while, his relationship with the gang deteriorated and he was beaten by several members of the gang after making a remark about one of the Angels beating his wife. Thompson stated “I was no longer sure whether I was doing research on the Hell’s Angels or being slowly absorbed by them”, an example of ‘going native’.
Summarise Venkatesh’s ‘Gang Leader For A Day’ study
Venkatesh used OVERT PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION to conduct INTERVIEWS of the gang and experience what their lives were like. Venkatesh’s research is sometimes criticised as the observer’s presence is likely to have an effect on people’s behaviour (Hawthorne Effect).
Summarise Willis’ ‘Learning to Labour’ study
Paul Willis (1977) was a Marxist who used OBSERVATIONS and INTERVIEWS to study a group of w/c boys who misbehaved and had a negative attitude towards education. They had formed what Willis called an ‘anti-school subculture’ and were more concerned with ‘having a laff’ than succeeding in school. Willis’ work has been criticised that the boys may have acted up due to Willis’ presence (Hawthorne Effect).
Summarise Zimbardo’s ‘Stanford Prison’ study
Zimbardo (1973) conducted a LABORATORY EXPERIMENT to examine behaviours displayed in prisons. Participants were allocated roles and responsibilities of either Prisoner or Guard. The experiment was terminated after 6 days despite being set to run for 2 weeks, Zimbardo was convinced to as the conditions of the experiment was inhumane. Zimbardo concluded people quickly conformed to social roles even when it went against their moral principles.
Summarise the ‘7-Up’ Study
The 7-Up study was a LONGITUDINAL STUDY which conducted INTERVIEWS with a group of children every 7 years. This study had many difficulties with the risk of participants withdrawing over time and the time for the research to conclude.
Give examples of Practical Issues
- Time/Duration
- Finance/Cost
- Funding
- Research Opportunities
- Researcher Skill
- Note Taking
- Location
