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Sociology Alevel > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

1
Q

Name the sampling methods

A 
Simple random 
Stratified 
Snowball
Volunteer
Opportunity 
Quota 
Systematic
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2
Q

Explain simple random sampling

A

Selecting names from a list at complete random

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3
Q

Explain stratified sampling

A

Splitting the group into smaller groups of gender, age etc and then picking one from each group at random

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4
Q

Explain snowball sampling

A

Ask one person to participate and then asking them to find others

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5
Q

Explain volunteer sampling

A

Letting people know or putting up an advert and seeing who comes forward

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6
Q

Explain systematic sampling

A

Choosing every nth from a list

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7
Q

Explain quota sampling

A

Opportunity sampling but ensuring you pick a range of people

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8
Q

Explain opportunity sampling

A

Approaching/asking people to participate

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9
Q

Give 2 pros of simple random

A

No bias

Quick, simple, inexpensive

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10
Q

Give 2 cons of simple random

A

Requires a sampling frame

Not representative

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11
Q

Give 2 pros of stratified

A

No bias

Representative

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12
Q

Give 2 cons of stratified

A

Requires sampling frame

Time consuming

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13
Q

Give 2 pros of snowball

A

Access without sampling frame

No bias

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14
Q

Give 2 cons of snowball

A

Time consuming

Not representative

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15
Q

Give 2 pros of volunteer

A

Access without sampling frame

No bias

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16
Q

Give 2 cons of volunteer

A

Not representative

Time consuming

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17
Q

Give 2 pros of systematic

A

Representative

No bias

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18
Q

Give 2 cons of systematic

A

Requires a sampling frame

Not easy/simple

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19
Q

Give 2 pros of quota

A

Access without sampling frame

Representative

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20
Q

Give 2 cons of quota

A

Time consuming

Biased

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21
Q

Give 2 pros of opportunity

A

Access without sampling frame

Quick, inexpensive, simple

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22
Q

Give 2 cons of opportunity

A

Not representative

Biased

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23
Q

Name the primary research methods

A 
Questionnaire 
Structured interview 
Unstructured interview 
Semi-structured interview 
Focus group 
Non-participant observation 
Participant observation
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24
Q

Name the secondary research methods

A

Official statistics
Personal documents
Mass media

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25
Explain questionnaires
Written down closed questions given out to participants
26
Explain structured interviews
Asking pre-prepared questions face to face with participants
27
Explain unstructured interviews
Asking non pre-prepared questions, more open ended and conversation like
28
Explain semi-structured interviews
Asking pre-prepared but open ended questions and adding questions as you go
29
Explain focus groups
Interviewing a group of people at the same time
30
Explain non-participant observations
Researcher is present with the group but not actively participating
31
Explain participant observations
The researcher is active in the group, almost becomes a member of the group while researching
32
Explain official statistics
Data from the government e.g. crime/work/unemployment/births/deaths
33
Explain personal documents
Diaries/letters/photos from people who have experienced events
34
Explain mass media
Newspapers/TV/radio reports of events
35
Give 2 pros of questionnaires
Quick/cheap | It collects standardised answers so patterns/comparisons can be made
36
Give 2 cons of questionnaires
Lacks verstehen | Questions may be misinterpreted
37
Give 2 pros of structured interviews
Questions can't be misinterpreted | The answers can still be standardised
38
Give 2 cons of structured interviews
Lacks verstehen | The researchers presence can lead to participant lying
39
Give 2 pros of unstructured interviews
Has verstehen | The questions can't be misinterpreted
40
Give 2 cons of unstructured interviews
Time consuming | Answers can't be standardised
41
Give 2 cons of semi-structured interviews
Answers can't be standardised | Time consuming
42
Give 2 pros of focus groups
Has verstehen | Being in a group can encourage more conversation
43
Give 2 cons of focus groups
Requires highly skilled researcher | Time consuming
44
Give 2 pros of non-participant observations
Authentic data | Researcher less likely to be involved in illegal behaviour
45
Give 2 cons of non-participant observations
Hawthorne effect may occur | Deception
46
Give 2 pros of participant observations
Has verstehen | Researcher can ask questions
47
Give 2 cons of participant observation
Hawthorne effect can occur | Researcher could be involved in illegal behaviour
48
Give 2 pros of official statistics
Can see patterns/make comparisons with data | Big sample - more representative
49
Give 2 cons of official statistics
Can't explain why something happens | May not correspond with sociologists research
50
Give 2 pros of personal documents
Useful for events that happened in the past | Not overly expensive
51
Give 2 cons of personal documents
Can be misinterpreted | Not representative - not everyone keeps personal documents
52
Give 2 pros of mass media
Not overly expensive | Good for quantitative and qualitative data
53
Give 2 cons of mass media
May not correspond with researcher | Reports could be exaggerated
54
Name the practical issues
Time/money Personal characteristics/skills Subject matter
55
Name the ethical issues
``` Intrusion of privacy Deception Informed consent The right to withdraw Protection from harm ```
56
Name the theoretical issues
Validity/verstehen Reliability/objectivity Representative/generalisable
57
Explain the time/money issue
Large scale research can be costly and time consuming | Ethnographic research is time consuming
58
Explain the personal characteristics/skills issue
Some methods e.g. participant observations and focus groups require good social skills Bias can affect observations/unstructured interviews
59
Explain the subject matter issue
Sensitive subjects discussed in ethnographic approaches
60
Explain the intrusion of privacy issue
Asking too in-depth questions | Ensuring confidentiality
61
Explain the deception issue
Lying about what the research is used for/whether researcher is who they say they are
62
Explain the informed consent issue
Ensuring the participants are consenting to being researched - covert studies
63
Explain the right to withdraw issue
Participants shouldn't be pressured/coerced into completing/taking part in the research
64
Explain the protection from harm issue
Includes researcher and participants - not partaking in illegal behaviour
65
Explain validity/verstehen
Viewing the world from the point of view of the participants Researcher should spend lots of time with participants Lengthy interviews - detail - qualitative
66
Explain reliability/objectivity
All participants tested in the same way - closed and standardised questions Can be repeated and get similar results Quantitative Longitudinal
67
Explain representativeness/generalisability
Range of groups No bias in selection of participants High response rate and sufficient size sample - quick method needed
68
Give 2 pros of semi-structured interviews
Has verstehen | Questions can't be misinterpreted
69
How do you write a research proposal
T - topic aims. Explain what you set out to do and justify using either quantitative or qualitative method O - operationalise the concepts given in the question M - method of research S - sampling method A - analysis P - practical issues E - ethical issues T - theoretical issues
70
What are the types of analysis
Interpretivist - for qualitative methods, noting down themes, make transcripts Positivist - for quantitative methods, noticing patterns and trends, making graphs from data
71
Explain methodological pluralism
2 different types of research repeated to check results are the same
72
Explain triangulation
2 of the same types of research repeated to check the results are the same

Sociology Alevel (7 decks)

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