research methods Flashcards
(56 cards)
what is primary data
researcher collects for themselves, first hand, timely and costly
what is secondary data
data that already exists, quick and cheap
what is q’n data
data in numerical form, favoured by positivists. tend to be large scale
find correlations and cause and effect
what is q’l data
data on a smaller scale, more in-depth. empathy, versthn = to get meanings and motives. favoured by interpretivists.
practical: RM
- time and money: large scale surveys need staff that’s costs a lot
- personal characteristics: of the researcher can affect the study
- subject matter: harder to study diff groups. eg. male researcher w a female group
ethical: RM
- consent: p’s can refuse. c needs to be obtained.
- confidentiality: p’s identity kept anon to avoid negative backlash
- protection from harm: r should protect p from harm and understand potential effects on p
- vulnerability: age, disability. DA victims need rapport, dobash and dobash
theoretical: RM
representative: if the study is typical of others then an assumption can be made. q’n= positivists.
reliable: consistency of results. q’n=positivists.
validity: true and genuine picture. true reflection?
eg of unethical study
humphrey’s tearoom trade
- pretended to be gay and find out about casual sex in male toilets
- got license plates for name and address
- went back a year later disguised for interview
- deception, exploitation, illegal
aims and hypothesis
step one of research process
hypothesis: an explanation that can be tested by evidence to prove it true/false
- gets cause and effect
- q’n methods
- positivists
aim: identifies what we need to find/intend to study
- meanings and motives
- actors pov
- intepretivists
operationalising concepts
step two of research process
•before a concept in a RM can be studied, it needs to be defined so that everyone understands what it means
pilot study
step three of research process
•small scale of real study
- avoids wasting time and money
- checks all questions
- determines whether research goes ahead
samples/sampling
step four of research process
-sociologists make a sample of pop. to make it representative and allows generalisations
types of sampling
target pop=the group the R is interested in
sampling frame=relevant members of the research pop
sample= smaller sample from large pop
sampling unit= members within the pop
types of questionnaires
face to face
telephone
postal
internet
adv and disadv of face to face
adv- interviewer can clarify meaning
disadv- expensive, time consuming
adv and disadv of telephone
adv- high response rate, cheap
disadv- time consuming
face to face and telephone questionnaires are ?
structured
adv and disadv of postal
adv- cheap, wide geographical area
disadv- low response rate
adv and disadv of internet
adv- cheap, wide geographical area
disadv- low response rate
postal and internet questionnaires are ?
self completed, unstructured
types of questions
closed and open
brief explanation of closed and open questions
closed. adv- collects info quickly, easy to quantity, reliable. disadv- limited response level: positivists.
open. adv- find out meanings and motives, more complex, valid, able to elaborate: interpretivisists
adv of questionnaires
- reliability: if repeated and similar results
- representative: collects from a large number of ppl, can make generalisations
disadv of questionnaires
- response rate: low can be a problem
- inflexible: w close ended questions
- practical: data can be limited
