Topic 2 Research context

Question 1

What are the strengths of using qualitative data?

Answer 1

• gives detailed insight in to the world of those being researched
• allows for empathetic understanding (verstehen)
• they provide rich descriptions of people’s lives
• they provide (validity), truthful data

Question 2

What are the limitations of using qualtitative data?

Answer 2

• not representative (small scale)
• very hard to replicate - not reliable
• people may act differently if they know they are being watched (hawthorne effect)

Question 3

What are the strengths of using quantitative data?

Answer 3

• large scale data that allows for generalisations to be made - representative
• easy to replicate as standardised method - reliable
• the researchers own vales do not influence the research - it is objective - they don’t get involved so there’s no bias in the data

Question 4

What are the limitations of using quantitative data?

Answer 4

• lacks detail and depth
• you cannot get an understanding of how people think or feel - lacks verstehen
• only shows a snapshot in time and not necessarily a real version of events - not valid
• the researcher is a hired hand and doesn’t build rapport with those being researched

Question 5

Which methods do positivists favour?

Answer 5

• structured interviews
• statistics
• experiments
• questionaires

Question 6

Which methods do interpretivists favour?

Answer 6

• observations
• unstructured interviews
• documents
• group interviews

Question 7

Do interpretivists want subjective or objective data?

Answer 7

interpretivists want subjective data that is rich in description and detail