research methods and understanding social inequalities Flashcards
(132 cards)
1
Q
what are social facts?
A
values, customs, beliefs and societies that can be measured objectively and can be quantified
2
Q
what is a correlation?
A
it measures the relationship between two variables and the strength of that relationship eg. high levels of sunshine and feeling happy
3
Q
what is causation?
A
if there is a strong correlation between two variables then it could be deduced that one is causing the other to occur. however, this could also be due to a third factor
4
Q
how do positivist sociologists believe that sociology should be studied?
A
in a similar way to natural sciences by using lab tests and statistical data rather than subjective data (eg. opinions).
5
Q
positivist sociologists would conduct research by…
A
- identifying patterns in data
- making comparisons in data
- large scale data collections
- operationalise key variables and concepts
- use quantitative data instead of qualitative
- pilot study
- graphs and charts with numerical data
6
Q
state the disadvantages of positivism.
A
- cannot be studied in the same way that a natural science can
- positivists ignore the fact that humans have free will
- tends to ignore the subjective experience of individuals
- only focus on objective approach (dont take emotions or opinions into account)
- only focuses on numbers, facts and figures not meanings and interpretations
7
Q
what is an advantage of using statistical data?
A
it relies on facts rather than opinions - which can be quite subjective. this makes statistics more reliable.
8
Q
what is a problem of using statistical data?
A
the sample size of the data may not be known which could affect results. also, the people used for the research may only be from one demographic type which could lead to biased or unbalanced results. depth, meaning and reasoning are ignored.
9
Q
what is an advantage of using experiments (lab and field)?
A
the controlled conditions of a lab allows researchers to isolate variables which may not be otherwise possible in the real world. this allows you to measure the exact effect.
10
Q
what is value freedom?
A
the researchers keep their own values, opinions and beliefs to themselves, so that they don’t influence their research or study.
11
Q
what is a disadvantage of using experiments (lab and field)?
A
it can lead to artificial situations which means that people behave unnaturally
12
Q
what is an advantage of using correlations?
A
it allows researchers to determine the strength and direction of relationship which may make it easier for them to come to a final conclusion
13
Q
what is a disadvantage of using correlations?
A
a third factor may be involved which could skew the results. an outside source could affect the correlation between two variables
14
Q
who are the two sociologists associated with positivism?
A
comte & emile durkheim
15
Q
what is positivism?
A
a method of study based on directly observable facts which can be objectively measured, from which it is possible to identify cause and effect relationships. uses quantitative data eg. statistics and facts
16
Q
what is interpretivism?
A
interpretivists focus on qualitative, detailed data collection. the data is high quality and focuses on meanings, motives and interpretations, which would not involve numerical data.
17
Q
is interpretivism a subjective or objective approach?
A
subjective - results is based on opinions and how participants think, feel and act
18
Q
why is the interpretivism approach not reliable?
A
results are not easily replicated / duplicated with the same results, as it is subjective. this makes it not reliable.
19
Q
what does verstehen mean?
A
(understanding) develop a rapport or good relationship with their participants so that qualitative and meaningful data can be collected
20
Q
who do positivists criticise?
A
interpretivists
21
Q
who do interpretivists oppose?
A
positivists
22
Q
why do interpretivists believe that it is impossible to study cause and effect?
A
because human behaviour is unpredictable
23
Q
why do interpretivists believe that it is important to gain a rapport?
A
it increases validity as you are able to measure the aim well and gain understanding (verstehen)
24
Q
why do interpretivists aim to be reflective?
A
so that they can examine the extent to which participants behaviour during the research will change as a result of being investigated
25
what is reflexivity?
when the researcher stands back from research and considers it from their own perspective. they self search and examine their own assumptions and pre conceptions and how they affect their research.
26
why might verstehen not be possible in some situations?
some participants may not be able to build a good rapport with researchers due to differing personalities, which limits understanding (verstehen).
27
list the ten main stages of the research process.
1. area of interest
2. background research
3. research question & hypothesis
4. choice of research method(s)
5. detailed planning of your research
6. pilot study
7. revise and amend methods
8. conduct research
9. analysis of results
10. conclusions
28
state one advantage of using informal interviews.
high in validity as answers are more likely to be truthful. this is because it allows the sociologists to build up a rapport and a level of trust with the participant.
29
state one disadvantage of using informal interviews.
ethical issues. subjective interpretations from answers. could be biased as opinions and emotions involved.
30
what did dobash and dobash investigate?
domestic violence
31
who investigated the glasgow gangs?
james patrick
32
who investigated the tearoom trades (homosexuality)?
laud humphreys
33
who investigated the new wave girls and youth subcultures?
blackman
34
state the advantages of lab experiments.
- variables can be controlled, making it better than observations
- positivists would advocate their use as they are used in natural science and deemed reliable
35
state the disadvantages of lab experiments.
- expts not suitable for studying human behaviour
- setting is usually artificial, meaning less validity as people don't act normally
- open for demand characteristics
36
complete the table.
37
state the disadvantages of field experiments.
- results can be inaccurate as there is less control
- hawthorne effect (demand characteristics) means that people are aware that they are being studied and alter their behaviour accordingly
- experimenter bias means that the characteristics of the researcher can affect the behaviour of the people taking part in the study
38
state the advantages of case studies.
- can be used to prove or disprove a hypothesis
- give new info and insights into a topic
39
state the disadvantages of case studies.
- can be limited and unrepresentative of general population
40
what is a lab experiment?
experiments conducted in a lab using scientific equipment in order to test a hypothesis. results are quantified by numbers which means that results are reliable.
41
what is a field experiment?
experiments conducted in a natural setting eg. classroom. behaviour can be studied with some form of control, but not as much as lab experiments.
42
what is a case study?
they examine one specific case. a life history of an individual is a good example.
43
what is an ethnographic study?
when you observe as a participant in their real life environment
44
give ethical considerations for collecting primary data.
- fully informed consent
- protection from harm
- respect of privacy
- safeguard confidentiality of data
- avoid deception
- awareness of consequences of publishing
45
what are the main sources of official statistical data?
government departments :
- department of education and skills
- home office
- social services
surveys :
- office for national statistics
- census
46
state the disadvantages of official statistics.
- might not be valid and might not be measuring what they intend to eg. annual crime statistics do not include unreported and unrecorded crime
- open to misuse and can be manipulated
- political bias to fit agenda as gvt collects and collates statistics
- can be misunderstood and misinterpreted, meaning becomes distorted and inaccurate
- numerical data lacks meaning so low in validity
- secondary data so can be costly to access
47
state the advantages of official statistics.
- usually readily available for access
- representative samples used and samples are large
- well planned, organised, detailed
- some are conducted regularly (high temporal validity)
- patterns and trends easy to identify
- can be used again and again, so research has multiple uses
48
what are non official statistics?
statistics that are not compiled or owned by the government but are collected by independent companies, researchers or academic institutions.
49
what are family histories?
method involves using recorded histories by those who have experienced past events. can take the form of recordings, film or photos.
50
what is previous sociological research?
rich sources of information collected by previous sociologists. can examine the research topic, aim and results and deicde to replicate the study or extend the research topic into a new area.
51
who provided guidelines to evaluate secondary sources?
john scott (1990)
52
what are the guidelines to assess secondary sources?
- authenticity
- credibility
- representativeness
- meaning
53
what are accounts?
observations that sociologists take from witnesses at the event.
54
what is a longitudinal study?
a study carried out over a period of weeks / months / years in order to study changes of developments over a period of time. can be used to identify causal relationships and correlations. eg. health and class
55
how can longitudinal studies take place?
* panel studies : data collected from a sample selected from sampling frames.
* cohort studies : when you study people with the same social characteristics eg. age
56
state three research methods used in longitudinal studies.
* interviews
* surveys / questionnaires
* observations
57
how would we get people to participate in longitudinal studies?
* financial incentives
* provide flexibility and freedom
* legal contracts
58
state four advantages of longitudinal studies.
* effective in determining patterns and trends over time, making them highly valid for seeing long term changes
* provides significant verstehen as lots of rich, detailed and insightful info about behaviour
* can identify correlations between variables eg. health and class
* highly flexible which means that different parts of the participants life can be focused on
59
state five disadvantages of longitudinal studies.
* small scale samples can't be generalised to whole population and may not necessarily be reliable
* large sample size can be hard to obtain and can be expensive. many resources are needed
* time consuming – it takes up many years if your life. no guarantee that sociologist will live to end of study
* participants can drop out which can skew results and leave sample size too small. makes results inaccurate
* demand characteristics might occur, which means that they guess the aim and then attempt to behave accordingly
60
what is social policy?
the actions (or inactions) of the gvt in relation to the lives of the population. this refers to laws and decisions in the housing, taxation, employment and social security sectors.
61
define population.
everybody in the group that you wish to study
62
define sample.
the selection of people from the population. a sample is necessary as researchers don't have time or money to study everyone.
63
define representative.
the sample of people studied should have the same characteristics as the population as a whole. this allows for generalisations to be made to the whole population.
64
define sample unit.
members of the population that you wish to study
65
define sampling frame.
a list of members from the population that you wish to study.
66
state 8 types of sampling techniques.
* random
* systematic
* stratified
* snowball
* volunteer
* opportunity
* purposive
* quota
67
what is a random sample?
every member of the sampling frame has an equal chance of being selected. for example, drawing names out of a hat
68
what is a systematic sample?
this method systematically selects people from the sampling frame. for example, every 2nd person, every 5th person. number your sample from 1 to ?, and choose the sample accordingly. this becomes the sampling unit.
69
what is a stratified sample?
this method provides a representative sample of the population. the population is split into strata (eg. age, gender, ethnicity) which is according to the population
70
what is snowball sampling?
the researcher finds someone who is willing to take part in their research. the participant is then asked to find another person to participate in the research. this builds a whole network of participants, like a snowball.
71
what is a volunteer sample?
this method gains participants by relying on volunteers. this is advertised by using leaflets, posters, radio or TV broadcasts. this can inform people about the opportunity to partiicpate and volunteer their time to the research.
72
what is an opportunity sample?
this method involves selecting participants because it is convenient to do so. sociologists might have easy access to a group of peoplle, which makes it convenient to study them. it is also known as convenience sampling.
73
what is a purposive sample?
a method used when researchers know what type of sample they are looking for, and therefore go search for that specific group of people. for example, the researcher wants to study 40-50yr olds golfers, so they go directly to a golf course to find their sample.
74
what is a quota sampling?
this is when a researcher conducts their research in public and look for people to partake. an example is a researcher who needs to find 20 males who are aged 25-40 who work part-time. the researcher then uses the first 20 willing 25-40 males who work part-time.
75
what is access?
this is how the sociologists will gain access to the sample that they want to study. sometimes there is a gatekeeper who will control the access to the group.
76
what is a gatekeeper?
people who will control access to the sample. gatekeeper might know the sample directly and can therefore grant permission for the sociologist to study them.
77
what are two positive points of pilot studies?
- ensures that any problems or issues can be amended before the main study
- can evaluate the usefulness of the data collected before main study
78
what are two negative points of pilot studies?
- funding can be an issue and is also time consuming
- inaccurate assumptions made during pilot study. could cloud judgement
79
who provides sociologists with the ethical guidelines?
BSA (British Sociological Association)
80
who provided the principles of ethical research in 2001?
bulmer
81
what are the 7 ethical considerations made by bulmer?
1. informed consent
2. respect for privacy
3. protection from harm
4. safeguarding by the confidentiality of data
5. avoid deception
6. awareness of the consequences of publication
7. right to withdraw
82
what ethical guidelines are being broken during undercover research?
1. no fully informed consent gained
2. the participants are being deceived
3. privacy is invaded
83
what are the different types of questionnaires?
- structured
- unstructured
- semi structured
84
what three main principles should closed questions follow?
- exhaustiveness
- exclusiveness
- balancing
85
what is an advantage of a self completion questionnaire?
reduces feelings of pressure or judgement from the researcher
86
what is a disadvantage of self completion questionnaires?
no one to consult if there is confusion. low return rate.
87
what is an advantage of internet based questionnaires?
convenient for participants as they can fill it anywhere and at anytime. time and money efficient compared to postal
88
what is a disadvantage of internet based questionnaires?
not everyone has internet access. may believe that it is spam / junk
89
what is an advantage of hand delivered questionnaires?
personal obligation to return as they come directly to your address
90
what is a disadvantage of hand delivered questionnaires?
very time consuming
91
what is an advantage of face to face questionnaires?
having a physical person makes participants inclined to answer (high response rate)
92
what is a disadvantage of face to face questionnaires?
possible experimenter bias. demand characteristics / hawthorne effect
93
what approach does a structured interview take?
positivist
94
what are the disadvantages of structured interviews?
1. interviewer effect
2. social desirability bias
3. feminist sociologists argue that the participant is being exploited
4. not very representative (may all be confident and outgoing)
5. interviews are costly in money and time
6. fails to capture the the dynamic nature of the interviewees entire life (only gets a snapshot)
7. interviews lack freedom as they are structured. interviewer cannot explore any new topic areas that the participant may be willing to speak about
95
what are the advantages of structured interviews?
- quantitative, so easy to analyse and compare
- easy to adminster, so large sample size can be obtained
- higher response rate (more representativeness)
- less social interaction (less interviewer bias)
96
what approach does an unstructured interview take?
interpretivist
97
what are the advantages of unstructured interviews?
- data has high validity
- good rapport established between researcher and interviewee
- can research senstive topics that involve empathy and trust
- verstehen and insight can be gained
- clarification of questions can be sought by interviewee
98
what are the disadvantages of unstructured interviews?
- very low reliability
- time consuming
- small sample (not representative)
- cause and effect can't be established
- interviewer bias can occur
- social desirability bias can lower validity
99
what is content analysis?
it is used to analyse the content of a text or source. it is a way of quantifying data in the form of pictures or writing. it aims to quantify content in terms of pre-determined catergories in a systematic and replicable manner.
100
does content analysis seem a reliable research method? why?
no. data may not be reproducible because it is a single person completing the content analysis. other researchers may utilise different categories which can change results.
101
what are the advantages of content analysis?
1. reliable as it follows a systematic procedure
2. quantitative and qualitative data can be collected. suitable for realists.
102
what are the disadvantages of content analysis?
1. can be extremely time consuming if most of the answers are qualitative rather than quantitative
2. interpretations and subjective assumptions are made from the data which can make it unreliable
3. categories may be limited or biased
103
how does content analysis work?
a key variable within the hypothesis / topic needs to be operationalised so that it can be measured
104
what is a covert observation?
this is when sociologists aim to observe a person / group but the sociologist doesn't reveal their true identity. the researchers idea stays covert / covered.
105
what are the advantages of covert observation?
1. no effect of demand characteristics, so participants are less likely to alter their behaviour. this ensures high validity
2. can gain great insight and verstehen of behaviour because it is natural
106
what are the disadvantages of covert observation?
1. ethical issues. no informed consent so can be deemed unethical. participants are unaware. form of deception?
2. time consuming to take a large sample so may not be able to generalise to whole population
107
what is an overt observation?
this is when the sociologist aims to observe a person / group and the sociologist does reveal their true identity. the sociologist will tell the participants that they are really a researcher who wishes to observe their behaviour. the sociologists true identity is open and not covered.
108
what are the advantages of overt observations?
1. ethical. participants are fully informed and no form of deception
2. observer can freely take notes. much more accurate than covert therefore
109
what are the disadvantages of overt observation?
1. very high chances of demand characteristics, so participants are likely to change behavior
2. social desirability bias can reduce validity
3. less valid than covert. lacks verstehen
110
what is participant observation?
when sociologists join a group and observe them. they can participate in their daily activities and observe their words and actions. this method only works if the researcher can gain access into the group and be accepted.
111
what are the advantages of participant observation?
1. data gained is usually very valid and measures what it set out to
2. reveals a great deal of insight and fresh information that is less likely to come from questionnaires and interviews
3. verstehen is high
4. reveal true behaviour and actions of participants as it is in their natural environment
5. useful for some topics as it is only method that can be used. eg. groups closed off to outsiders (gangs)
6. can be conducted by a single researcher while doing limited preparation.
7. less demand characteristics so high in validity (covert)
112
what are the disadvantages of participant observation?
1. time consuming
2. researchers life can be disrupted
3. practical difficulties in recording data and observations
4. small sample (lacks generalisation)
5. impossible to gain access to some groups
6. subjective interpretation
7. low reliability
8. unethical (no informed consent)
9. positivists see method as unscientific
113
what is ethnography?
it is the study of the way of life of a group of people, their culture and the structure of their society. researchers aim to "walk in their shoes" so that they can understand their experiences and gain meanings.
114
what is the most effective method used for ethnography?
participant observation. although ethnography does involve a selection of other research methods as well.
115
what does go native mean?
when the sociologist becomes too heavily involved in the group being researched, so loses sight of the aim and loses objectivity (since they are gaining sympathy towards the group)
116
what are the advantages of ethnography?
1. participants can be directly observed so we can gain primary data about their behaviour and actions
2. data collected will be very rich, detailed and high in validity
3. data will be high in ecological validity (can generalise the results to different settings and contexts)
4. provides sociologists with a holistic understanding of human behaviour
5. allows researchers to gain empathy with the participants and a high level of verstehen
117
what are the disadvantages of ethnography?
1. low in reliability. difficult to repeat the study and get the same / similar results in the future
2. ethical issues. lack of fully informed consent, deception etc.
3. can be problematic to gain access to a certain group
4. tend to be small scale, so cannot be generalised to wider population
5. often involves the researcher having inside information about the group they want to study. might result in the researcher being too subjective and biased
118
give an example of an ethnographic study.
“working as a bank cashier in HSBC bank, London” (2004) - S Child
119
what is methodological pluralism?
mixed methods. an approach which uses more than one method of data collection or which mix and blend elements of quantitative and qualitative data methodology.
120
why is using methodological pluralism better than using just one method?
one method’s strength makes up for another method’s weakness
121
state two advantages of using mixed methods.
- one method’s strengths can make up for another’s weakness
- blend of qualitative and quantitative data which increases reliability and validity. has a positivist and interpretivist approach.
122
state two disadvantages of mixed methods.
- time consuming to carry out and collate all data, which can be a waste of valuable resources
- can be difficult to handle data if each method provides conflicting evidence. disrupts validity and reliability of data.
123
what is triangulation?
involves the use of more than one method or source of data in the study. this allows for results to be cross checked.
124
how can quality of research be enhanced?
by collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. this improves validity and reliability.
125
what are the three types of data triangulation?
1. data triangulation
2. investigator triangulation
3. methodological triangulation (within & between)
126
what is data triangulation?
when you collect data at different times from different people in different places. it can also combine primary and secondary data and serves as a cross check for validity.
127
what is investigator triangulation?
involves the use of different researchers. it checks for observer and interviewer bias, and can be conducted by using researchers from different social backgrounds.
128
what are the two types of methodological triangulation?
- within method triangulation
- between method triangulation
129
what is within method triangulation?
it uses a variety of techniques within the same method, for example open and closed questions in a questionnaire. asking similar questions in a variety of ways can check the validity and reliability of the method and answers.
130
what is between method triangulation?
the combination of a number of research methods. eg. questionnaires, interviews, observations etc. the data produced can be cross checked by comparing it with data produced by other methods.
131
what is fitness for purpose?
how well suited the research method is to the aim and whether it effectively collected valid data
132
state three ways to know whether a method has good fitness for purpose.
1. whether you are able to form a substantiated conclusion / judgement from the data related to your aim
2. little inconsistencies within data
3. validity of data?
