research methods Flashcards
what is primary data?
information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes
what is a positive of primary data?
the researcher gathers the info needed to test their hypothesis
what is a con of primary data?
costly and time consuming
what is secondary data?
information collected by someone else
examples of secondary data
statistics produced by gov, documents
pros of secondary data
quick and cheap
cons of secondary data
may not provide exact information needed
factor influencing choice of methods?
time and money, requirements of funding bodies, personal skills and characteristics, subject matter, research opportunity
what is requirements of funding bodies?
research institutes, businesses and other orgs that provide funding fr research
what does personal skills and characteristics refer to?
each sociologist possesses different characteristics, may affect ability to carry out different types of research
