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A Research Method (The process of research (Samples and sampling -…
A Research Method
The process of research
Formulating an aim or hypothesis - Most studies either have a general aim or a specific hypothesis. A hypothesis is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence. Discarding a hypothesis might seem bad but means that we have made progress. The advantages of them is that it gives direction to our research. it will give focus to our questions, since their purpose is to gather information that will either confirm or refute the hypothesis.
Operationalising concepts - definition of our key ideas. in this case social class. the reason is simple. then we need away of measuring what class each pupil belongs to. most sociologists would probably use parental occupations. we then start devising questions that measure it.
The pilot study - Sociologists who use social surveys often carry out a pilot study before conducting their main survey. this involves trying out a draft version of the questionnaires or interviews schedule on a small scale. The basic aim of the pilot study is to iron out any problems refine or clarify questions.
Samples and sampling - Sociologists often aim to produce generalisation that apply to all cases of the topic they are interested in. The basic concept of sampling is usually to ensure that those people we have chosen to include in the study.
The sampling Frame - To choose a sample, we first need a sampling frame. this is a list of all members of the population we are interested in studying.
Sampling techniques - various sampling techniques to obtain a representative. Random sampling is the simplest techniques, where the sample is selected purely by chance. Quasi-random or systemic sampling is where every nth person in the sampling frame is selected. Stratified random sampling the researcher first stratifies the population in the sampling frame by age, classes, gender. Quota sampling The population is stratified as above, and then each interviewer is given a quota of say. Twenty females and twenty males, which they have to fil with respondents who fit these characteristics.
Non-representative sampling - As we have seen, the purpose of sampling is usually to ensure that the people we include in our study are representative of the research population. However for both practical and theoretical reasons, not all studies use representative sampling techniques.
Practical reasons - there are several practical reasons why it may not be possible to create a representative sample. the social characteristics of the research population, such as age, gender and class, may not be known. It may be impossible to find or crate a sampling frame for that particular research population. Potential respondents may refuse to participate.
Snowball sampling involves collecting a sample by contacting a number of key individuals, who are asked to suggest others who might be interviewed. Although it is not representative, this can be useful to contact a sample of people who might otherwise be difficult to find. Opportunity sampling Sometimes called convenience sampling, involves choosing from those individuals who are easiest to access.
Theoretical reasons - Even where it is possible to create a representative sample, some researchers may not choose to do so, because of their methodological perspective.
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Primary and secondary data - Primary data is information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purposes. first hand data. Secondary data is information that has been collected or created by someone else but they use it to research the topic.
Quantitative and qualitative data - There are two different kinds of data, Quantitative refers to information in a numerical form. and Qualitative data it is information about people feelings.