Research Methods Key Terms

Question 1

What is a research method?

Answer 1

The different ways of collecting data used by sociologists.

Question 2

What is primary research?

Answer 2

Information that the researcher gathers themselves e.g. questionnaires.

Question 3

What is secondary research?

Answer 3

Information that already exists and has been collected by other people e.g. official statistics.

Question 4

What is quantitative data?

Answer 4

Numerical data expressed in numbers and quantities e.g. official statistics.

Question 5

What is qualitative data?

Answer 5

Non-numerical data such as words and images e.g. the transcript from an interview.

Question 6

Who are research participants?

Answer 6

The people that take part in the research e.g. complete the questionnaires.

Question 7

What is a research aim?

Answer 7

This sets out what the researcher wants to investigate and provides a focus - often a question e.g. What are the biggest causes of poverty?

Question 8

What is a hypothesis?

Answer 8

An informed guess written as a testable statement that can be proven true or false e.g. Teenagers are impacted greatly by social media usage.

Question 9

What is a pilot study?

Answer 9

A practice run of a piece of research.

Question 10

What are practical issues?

Answer 10

Things which affect how easy or difficult the research is to do.

Question 11

What are funding bodies?

Answer 11

Organisations which pay for sociological research e.g. governments, charities, businesses and universities.

Question 12

What are researcher characteristics?

Answer 12

The personality, age, gender, ethnicity, social class, accent etc of the researcher that may help or hinder their research.

Question 13

What are research ethics?

Answer 13

The problems that relate to the morality of your research or research methods e.g. whether it is morally right or wrong to do the research.

Question 14

What is informed consent?

Answer 14

The research participant agrees to take part in the research once the sociologist has explained what the research is about and why it’s being carried out.

Question 15

What is confidentiality?

Answer 15

The idea that information participants give to the researcher will remain private and anonymous.

Question 16

Reliability

Answer 16

If a method is reliable, it means that it can be repeated and, if done correctly, it ought to get the same results every time.

For example, questionnaires.

Question 17

Validity

Answer 17

A measure of how true or genuine something is. Valid data is usually qualitative.

Question 18

Positivism / Positivists

Answer 18

An approach or group of sociologists that believe society should be studied using methods similar to those that are used in the natural sciences. Positivists favour reliable, quantitative data.

Question 19

Interpretivism / Interpretivists

Answer 19

An approach or group of sociologists that believe society cannot be studied in the same way as a natural science. Instead, sociologists should try to understand the experiences of people and the meanings they attach to their behaviour. Interpretivists favour qualitative, valid data.

Question 20

Research population

Answer 20

The wider group of people that you are interested in researching (e.g. Year 10 students at HGS).

Question 21

Sample

Answer 21

A sub-group of your research population (e.g. 20 year 10 students at HGS).

Question 22

Sampling frame

Answer 22

A list which you select your sample from.

Question 23

Representative

Answer 23

When the sample accurately reflects the research population.

Question 24

Simple random sampling

Answer 24

Selecting people at random from a sampling frame.

Question 25

Systematic sampling

Answer 25

Selecting every nth person from a sampling frame.

Question 26

Stratified random sampling

Answer 26

Divide the population into subgroups according to characteristics (e.g. age, gender, ethnicity) and take a random selection from each group.

Question 27

Snowball sampling

Answer 27

The researcher makes contact with one person from the research population and asks them for the names of other contacts.

Question 28

Quota sampling

Answer 28

The researcher is required to find an exact quota (number) of people from particular categories to represent the wider population.

Question 29

Purposive sampling

Answer 29

When the sample is selected according to a known characteristic (e.g. being a Headteacher, 6th form student).

Question 30

Researcher bias

Answer 30

When a researcher consciously or unconsciously influences the research/sample.

Question 31

Questionnaire

Answer 31

A list of questions used to gather data from respondents about their attitudes, experiences, or opinions.

Question 32

Open questions

Answer 32

Questions that allow respondents to put forward their own answer in their own words, rather than choose from a pre-set answer.

Question 33

Closed questions

Answer 33

A fixed-choice question that requires the respondent to choose from a number of given answers (e.g. Yes or No).

Question 34

Leading questions

Answer 34

A question which is worded in a way which suggests a desired answer e.g. do you agree that...

Question 35

Interviewer

Answer 35

The person conducting the interview (researcher).

Question 36

Interviewee

Answer 36

The person answering the questions (participant).

Question 37

Structured interview

Answer 37

The interviewer asks the respondent a pre-written set of questions in the same order. Questions are mostly closed.

Question 38

Unstructured interview

Answer 38

A guided conversation. The interviewer has questions or themes to explore, but does not stick to these strictly. Questions are mostly open.

Question 39

Semi-structured interview

Answer 39

Includes both closed questions and opportunities for the participant to develop their answers.

Question 40

Group interview

Answer 40

Two or more people are interviewed at a time, are usually unstructured.

Question 41

Focus group

Answer 41

A group interview that focuses on one particular topic.

Question 42

Participant observation

Answer 42

The researcher joins in with the activities of the group they are researching.

Question 43

Non-participant observation

Answer 43

The researcher does not join in with the activities of the group they are researching.

Question 44

Covert observation

Answer 44

The group do not know they are being observed, the researcher hides their identity - they are undercover.

Question 45

Overt observation

Answer 45

The group know they are being observed, the researcher is open about who they are and what they are researching.

Question 46

Hawthorn effect

Answer 46

When a participant's behaviour changes because they know that they are being observed. This affects the validity of the research.

Question 47

Ethnography

Answer 47

The study of people's culture and behaviour in everyday settings.

Question 48

Longitudinal study

Answer 48

A study of the same group of people over a long period of time.

Question 49

Official statistics

Answer 49

Statistics produced by government departments and agencies (e.g. ONS).

Question 50

What are non-official statistics?

Answer 50

Statistics that are produced by non-governmental organisations e.g. charities and businesses.

Question 51

What is content analysis?

Answer 51

Involves looking through a document for themes and recording a tally of how frequently the theme occurs.

Question 52

What are personal documents?

Answer 52

Private documents for a person's own use e.g. diary entries, letters, medical reports.

Question 53

What are public documents?

Answer 53

Documents produced for public knowledge e.g. OFSTED reports, annual reports from the Department of Health.

Question 54

What is triangulation in research?

Answer 54

Combining research that creates both quantitative and qualitative data to obtain reliability and validity.