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Sociology Paper 1: Studying society Pt 1 (Sociological research (Selecting…
Sociology Paper 1: Studying society Pt 1
Unstructured interviews
Less planned and they have some promp questions to help the interview go on like a guided conversation
Disadvantage - It is time consuming and expensive, the interviewer can effect the interviewee and you would need a skilled interviewer to open the person up
Advantages - It is a real discussion and the interviewer is able to rephrase questions so the interviewee can reply in a more in-depth way
Participant observation
Overt means that the researcher comes clean and the group is aware of the research
Covert means that the researcher joins the group and observes them without informing them of the research
Disadvantages - It may be difficult to gain the groups trust and the observer being there may result in the observer effect or the researcher may find get drawn into the groups activities also it is very hard to replicate
Advantages - it allows the study of the group in their natural everyday setting
Non-participant observation
The researcher is like a fly on the wall observing the groups activities without participating
Disadvantages - Difficult to see the world through the eyes of group members and the observer effect
Advantages - The research is more likely to be objective as they wont be drawn into the groups activites
Structured Interviews
Advantages - Interviewer can explain questions
Disadvantages - It is expensive and takes a lot of time also the interviewer can influence the interviewee through the interviewer effect
It is a questionnaire that is held face to face with he interviewee
Sociological research
Selecting A sample
Rather than study the whole population, a researcher often selects a sample that is smaller than the whole population
Collecting data
Sociologists collect data using primary research techniques such as questionnaires and they could also use secondary sources to add to their research
Carrying out a pilot study
A pilot study is a small-scale trial run carried out before the main research
Analysing the data
Data analysis involves interpreting or making sense of the information and presenting the main findings or results
Developing research aims and hypotheses
Research aims set out what the researcher intends to investigate and and they provide the study's focus. A hypothesis is an informed statement it will either be supported or proved wrong
Evaluating the study's aims, methods, findings and conclusions
Sociologists write articles about their research and this in turn is evaluated by other sociologists
Primary data includes questionnaires,interviews and observation
Secondary data includes official statistics,letters and news reports
Advantages - Quicker and cheaper and there is a wide range of data available which helps with triangulation and the data is often quantative
Disadvantages - You need to sort out permission issues and the date of the information could make the research useless also there is the dark figure of crime
Culture - The whole way of life of a group of people passed down from one generation to the next
Gender - This describes the the social and cultural differences between males and females
Role - Patterns of behaviour expected of people in differant situations
Law - A set of written rules regulating what may or may not be done by members of society
Values - The belief held by a person or social group that helps to build up a set of norms
Secondary Socialisation - This is the learning of the culture and behaviour of our society later in childhood and throughout our adult lives
Agencies of socialisation - These are groups or institutions that influence peoples socialisation, e.g. families,parents and peer groups
Gender socialisation - This describes the process whereby people learn the expected norms and behaviour of their sex
Reliability - Whether another researcher could get the same results
Predetermined - These are questions that have been decided in advance
Standardised questions - All respondents answer the same question
Comparative studies - Comparing studies
Longitudinal study - The study of a group of people over a long period of time