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Main Stages of the Research Process (ethical factors influencing the…
Main Stages of the Research Process
factors influencing the choice of research topic
interests and values of the researcher
current debates in the academic world
funding
access to research subjects
if they want to research criminals - will not be practical as criminals may be unco-operative
practical factors influencing the choice of research methods
cost and funding
questionnaires are a cheap method rather than hiring interviewers
group interviews are cheaper than individual
secondary data = a free source
time available
structured interviews or survey questionnaires = completed relatively quickly
no time pressure = participant observation (immersion of researcher) or unstructured interviews
longitudinal study = over years
participants required
some research subjects may reject due to their power (policeman, judges) or because they are deviant (criminals)
large number required = questionnaires or structured interviews
qualitative data = unstructured interviews or participant observation
subject matter of the research
female victims of sexual harassment may be more likely to open up to female researchers due to more empathy
sensitive topics such as discriminatory behaviour = questionnaires for anonymity and confidentiality
if research is about racism against black and asian people - researchers should be within this ethnic category so the subjects don't feel threatened
ethical factors influencing the choice of research subject / research method
important that the research subjects are aware of the research being carried are that they are aware of its aims and objectives
sociologists should avoid deception = shouldn't lie to or mislead the research subjects
research subjects should be offered anonymity and should be assured of confidentiality
should avoid harm to research subjects
physical harm - if a gang member exposes and isn't anonymous they could be threatened by their gang members with violence
emotional harm = should avoid opening old emotional wounds and shouldn't cause any further trauma
professional harm = if a research subject can be identified, they may lose job or reputation may be damaged
sociologists should not break the law when carrying out research
interpretivists = covert participation observation = pretending to be a member of a group who aren't likely to be co-operative otherwise = they believe deceit (lying) is justified due to validity of results
aims and hypotheses
aims
overall purpose of research
compromise broad statements or research questions about the desired outcomes of research
a research project usually has one or two aims which are incorporated into a hypothesis
hypothesis
proposition or an inspired guess based on observation of phenomena that can be scientifically tested to work out whether something is true
also known as a conjecture
independant variable = cause of a change
dependant variable - the effect
primary and secondary data
primary
collected first hand - questionnaires and interviews
secondary
data collected by other people - official stats collected by govt
mass media report, documents, diaries, autobiographies
private documents
diaries
public documents
formal reports usually based on evidence submitted by various expects into specific events or problems
public reports = police mishandling of the murder of the black student - Stephen Lawrence
operationalisation
the process of converting the hypothesis, concept or theory into something that can be measured
ex; a standardised questionnaire which measures the influence of cultural capital
pilot studies
'a dress rehearsal'
a questionnaire is given to a few individuals or a couple of interviews are conducted
in order to uncover potential research problems relating to response rates, method design, sample suitability . and interviewer efficiency
advantages
response rate
check leading questions
representative sample?
interviewers skills
data collection
quantitative data
collected through primary methods
numerically presented = graphs
qualitative data
written form
respondent validation
researcher obtaining feedback from those who are being researched in order to make sure that they are in agreement of whats happening
interpretation of data
positivists
data needs to be objectively converted into graphical form so correlations or cause and effect can be established
interpretation fo data must avoid subjective bias - data should still be included even if it doesn't it the hypothesis
should not be selective with data
interpretivist
aware of dangers of subjectivity so use reflexivity and respondent validation
relationship between sociology and social policy
social policy = attempts by govt to influence how society is organised and how members of society should behave by bringing in new laws, guidelines and controls
aimed at bringing out social change
immediate effects or gradual influence
social problem
any type of social behaviour which causes friction and misery; crime, poverty -- social policies to tackle them
sociological problems
focus on all relationships that members of society enter into; marriage -- why marriage is more popular than open uncommitted relationships === marriage is a sociological 'problem' which requires an explanation
aimed at solving social problems or explaining social problems
sociological research may result in sociologists recommending a social policy but it may be unpopular with voters