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sociology research methods - Coggle Diagram
sociology research methods
types of data
Primary data is data that is collected firsthand, by sociologists themselves for their own purposes
Secondary data is data that has already been collected by someone else
practical factors
time
finance
source of funding
personal factors
research opportunity
ethical factors
informed consent
confidentiality
effects in research subjects
vulnerable groups
theoretical factors
reliability
validity
representativeness
sampling
systematic
stratified
quota
random
laboratory experiments
problems
artificial
ethical problems
the hawthorne effect
identifying and controlling variables
strengths
highly reliable
can easily identify cause and effect relationships
Laboratory Experiments take place in an artificial, controlled environment
field experiments
strengths
ecological validity
people do not know they are in an experiment so there will be no hawthorne effect
take place in a real world context
problems
less control over variables
limited application are many situations cannot be adapted to become a field experiment
do not gain consent from those who are involved
observations
participant
advantages
groups are observed in their natural setting which improves the validity
the data gathered is rich in detail as the observer was there
disadvantages
unreliable and unrepresentative
lack of standardisation removes any chance of the data being reliable
The Hawthorne effect - due to how the observer is likely to affect the group's behaviour,
the researcher is at risk of ‘going native’, meaning the researcher over-identifies with the group
non participant
advantages
There is limited risk of the researcher ‘going native’
disadvantages
Each observation will be subjective, and therefore the results cannot be repeated
They generally use a small-scale research sampl
overt
advantages
participants know they are being researched
Higher level of reliability than covert
The observer can openly take notes
disadvantages
They can be relatively time consuming
Hawthorne effect.
difficult to repeat
usually small sample size
covert
advantages
there is no hawthorne effect
disadvantages
ethical issues- it i immoral to decieve people
researcher has to gain trust and acceptance which may take time
researchers
positivists
the view that can and should use the methods of the natural sciences
interprevists
empasises the need to understand beliefs, motives and reasons of social actions in order to understand social reality
3 key concepts
validity
Research is valid if it represents an accurate picture of what is happening. In other words, how true the data is.
reliability
if research is repeated and you get the same or similar results
representativeness
Research is representative if it can be generalised to fit the wider population. This is important as it’s rarely possible to study an entire population
official statstics
Quantitative data collected by government bodies
strengths
usually free
carried out over periods of time therefore you can see trends
cover the country
weaknesses
The government collect statistics for their own benefit, so they may not cover exactly what you are looking to study.
Definitions of key concepts may be different
documents
either personal or public
qualitative data
can be statistical
personal documents
These can be letters, diaries, memoirs, autobiographies, notes and photographs
strengths
As they are usually written for personal purposes, usually very high in validity
They are usually cheap and quick
weaknesses
Not all groups produce personal documents
Hindsight may change data
public documents
These can be reports from governments, charities and businesses
strengths
They are usually cheap and quick to access
usually rich in detail
weaknessses
The author is aware the documents will be public, so there may be bias in selection and presentation of data
interviews
structured: an interview that follows a list of pre set questions
strengths
reliable as they are a fixed set of questions
relatively quick to conduct, which means the interviewer can get a large sample
cheap
disadvantages
Employing interviewers incurs a cost
They lack validity because the questions and responses are already predetermined, so may not fit what the interviewee actually thinks.
Not useful for many situations (eg. sensitive subjective topics)
unstructured: an interview that does not follow a list of pre set questions and there is room for follow up questions
strengths
informal so the participants are more likely to open up
interviewers can add questions to find out more
weaknesses
not reliable
too much data
expensive
not always relevant
methods in context
pupils
less power and status than adults
varying levels of ability
specific laws
vulnerable
teachers
increased power and status
impression management
need to be in lessons at specific times
classrooms
extra surveillance
gatekeepers and access
peer pressure
schools
the law -- captive population
gatekeepers
organisations
parents
how they bring up children
involvement in education
consumers of education
quesitionnaires
advantages
cheap compared to interviews
quick to conduct compared to interviews
quantitive data which is easy to compare
disadvantages
No way of stopping research if someone is upset
Questions may be misunderstood
data lacks detail