Strengths and weaknesses of revision methods

Question 1

Quantitative methods

Answer 1

• Official and non-official statistics
• Structured interviews
• Questionnaires
• Content analysis

Question 2

Qualitative methods

Answer 2

• Unstructured and semi-structured interviews
• Group and focus group interviews
• Ethnographic studies

Question 3

Strengths of questionnaires

Answer 3

• Used for reaching larger and more representative samples as it can be given to hundreds of people
• Postal questionnaires are useful when the research population is geographically spread out
• They are cheaper and less time-consuming than other methods

Question 4

Weaknesses of questionnaires

Answer 4

• Many people do not respond to questionnaires which can cause low response or no response and can undermine validity
• The questions can be biased or leading
• It is difficult to motivate people to return postal questionnaires

Question 5

Strengths of structured interviews

Answer 5

• Positivists regard the method as scientific as it primarily produces qualitative data
• The use of closed questions creates lots of quantitative data which can be converted into charts
• Because of the interview schedule, structured interviews are quick and can allow for a larger sample

Question 6

Weaknesses of structured interviews

Answer 6

• They are artificial and not in everyday life so may give false information as they are suspicious
• They are inflexible so sociologists cannot focus on other things if they hear something interesting
• Interpretivists believe they do not produce true data

Question 7

Strengths of unstructured interviews

Answer 7

• They allow the researcher to build rapport which allows the participants to open up more which can enrich data
• Unstructured interviews allow the researcher to explain more about the research so they are useful for researching unknown groups
• They provide richer, more detailed data which is highly valid

Question 8

Weaknesses of unstructured interviews

Answer 8

• They create a lot of data and require the researcher to be selective of what they publish
• The qualitative data is difficult to analyse as there are no pre-coded answers
• Studies that use unstructured interviews use less participants which undermines the representativeness to positivists

Question 9

Strengths of semi-structured interviews

Answer 9

• Allows the researcher to explain the research and gain informed consent so is ethical
• Interpretivists see the data as valid as it allows the researcher to understand the world through the participant’s eyes
• Feminists argue this method gives women an opportunity to express how they really feel

Question 10

Weaknesses of semi-structured interviews

Answer 10

• It is time consuming and expensive compared to other methods
• Not reliable as it is hard to replicate
• Positivists reject this see it as unscientific this method lacks objectivity and reliability and fails to produce representative data that can be generalised to the wider population

Question 11

Strengths of observation

Answer 11

• The researcher sees things through the eyes of the group so the researcher experiences ‘verstehen’ or empathy which results in highly valid data
• Often what people say and what they do is different, people may lie or not be aware of their actions in interviews
• Observation can be supplemented with unstructured interviews to add to the validity

Question 12

Weaknesses of observation

Answer 12

• Overt forms of research are subject to the researcher effect which may result in the group acting less naturally as the researcher is there which undermines the validity
• Some observers get too attached to the research group and show bias towards them reporting the data incorrectly and losing objectivity
• Covert observation is highly unethical

Question 13

Strengths of ethnography

Answer 13

• Ethnography is usually long-term and in-depth as well as qualitative so produces lots of rich data
• It allows the researcher to achieve verstehen with the group they study which means they are more likely to open up
• The rapport built means it is high in validity

Question 14

Weaknesses of ethnograpghy

Answer 14

• It usually is a study of a specific group and is therefore not representative of wider society
• It is subjective to the researcher’s opinions so could be biased
Positivists dislike the data as it is not reliable or analysable

Question 15

Strengths of content analysis

Answer 15

• It is very cheap as all that is needed is media products
• It is a comparative analysis that can be longitudinal
• Quantitative content analysis is reliable as it can be repeated by other sociologists

Question 16

Weaknesses of content analysis

Answer 16

• It can be very time-consuming
• It is very subjective as the categories depend on what the researcher thinks is important
• Sociologists have been accused of analysing text out of context

Question 17

Strengths of official statistics

Answer 17

• They are often extremely easy and cheap to access as they are usually online
• They are often up-to-date so give sociologists an understanding of modern behaviour
• They often form the basis of hypotheses that motivate research

Question 18

Weaknesses of official statistics

Answer 18

• They may not be representative of the wider population as they are collected by independent bodies
• They can be politically massaged to make a country look better
• They tell us very little about the human stories that underpin them so are disliked by interpretivists

Question 19

Strengths of triangulation

Answer 19

• The methods cancel out the disadvantages and allow sociologists to guarantee validity
• Can reveal new information and hypotheses
• Provides a better understanding of the problem

Question 20

Weaknesses of triangulation

Answer 20

• Can be expensive and time-consuming depending on the methods chosen
• The methods have to complement one another and cancel out the disadvantages
• More skills are needed to analyse the vast amounts of data