The process of research

Question 1

The process of research

Hypothesis

Answer 1

Once chosen topic of research & a method for investigating it
then we have to formulate aim or hypothesis for research
* A hypothesis is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting eveidence to prove it true or false
*
e.g if suspect family size affects educational achievement -we can formulate specific hypothesis as a cause & effect statement ‘difference in family size causes differences in achievement’
we can collect evidence to test whether hypothesis is true if not true discard it

Question 2

Advantages of hypothesis

Answer 2

A hypothesis gives direction to our research
It gives a focus to our question
Positivists favour hypothesis -because they seek to discover cause & effect relationships e.g large family size causes underachievement

Question 3

what is a aim

Answer 3

an aim identifies what we intent to study
Advatage of aim is that it is more open ended -not like hypothesis
we can gather data on anything that appears interesting
Interpretivists favour a broad aim rather than hypothesis -since interested in understanding actors meanings

Question 4

Operationalising concepts

Answer 4

The process of converting a concept (such as class) into something we can measure is called operationalisation
Positivists are concerned to operationalise concepts because of importance they place on creating & testing hypothesis
Interpretivists -place less emphasise on operationalising concepts
Because they are more interested in actors own definition and understanding of ideas such as ‘class’ & ‘achievement’ than imposing their own definitions of these cocnepts

Question 5

What is a pilot study

Answer 5

sociologists who use social surveys(questionnaires & interviews) carry out pilot study before conducting main survey .
e.g trying out a version of a questionnaire or interview on a small sample
aim of pilot study is to avoid any problems and refine the questions & wording -so actual surveys go well

Question 6

Samples & sampling

Answer 6

purpose of sampling is to ensure ppl chosen to study are representative of target population
as long as sample is representative should be able to generalise findings to whole population
positivists favour sampling as achieve their main goal of representativeness

Question 7

The sampling frame

Answer 7

to choose sample, need a sampling frame
A list of all members of population interested in studyig

Question 8

Random sampling

Answer 8

When a sample is selected purely by chance.e.g names may be drawn out of hat
everyone has equal chance of beingf selected

Question 9

Systematic sampling

Answer 9

every nth person in sampling frame is selected

Question 10

Stratified random sampling

Answer 10

The researcher stratifies(breaks down) the population in the sampling frame by age,class & gender
The sample is created in same proportions e.g if 20% of population under 18, then 20% of sample has to be under 18

Question 11

Quota sampling

Answer 11

The population is stratified(broken down) first and then each interviewer is given quota of 20 females & 20 males which then have to fill with respondents who fit these characteristics

Question 12

Practical reasons for Non obtaining representative sample

Answer 12

• Social characteristics of research population such as age,gender & class may not be known
• impossible to create a sampling frame for particualr research population
• potential respondents may refuse to participate

Interpetvists believe it is more important to collect valid data then represntative sample

Question 13

Snowball sampling

Answer 13

Involves collecting a sample by contacting a range of individuals help recruit future subjects for research-not representative but useful way of contacting a sample of people

Question 14

Opportunity sampling

Answer 14

choosing individuals who are easy to access