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research methods - Coggle Diagram
research methods
questionnaires
self-completion
postal
participant posts responses back
response shared via post
online
accessible using the internet
interviewer present
interviewer asks structured questions
responses are recorded
comparisons can be drawn between data sets
question types
open
participant can elaborate
allows for accurate insight
closed
comparisons can be drawn
fixed numer of options to choose from
evaluate
+p- cheap to conduct
+t- open questions are high in validity
+t- closed questions are high in reliability
+t- comparisons can be drawn
+e- easy to obtain consent
+e- unlikely to deceive
-p- imposition problem with interviewer present questionnaires
+p- can receive responses quickly
-p- may suffer low response rate
examples
Sullivan pupil cultural capital
Interviews
structured
participants are all asked same questions
researcher follows interview schedule
comparisons can be drawn between data
unstructured
behaves more as a guided conversation
participants can be more accurate about experiences
researcher asks follow up questions to gain better understanding
group
researcher has a conversation with multiple participants
Can analyse group dynamics
examples
Willis 'the lads'
Ann Oakley housewife study
CSEW
evaluate
-p- expensive to hire interviewers
-p- group discussions may be dominated
+t+ high in validity
+t- high in reliability
+p- comparisons can be drawn
+e- easy to obtain consent
+e- no deception
official statistics
publicly available data
used to identify trends and patterns
examples
Durkheim suicide study
evaluate
+p- easily accessible
+p- cheap
-p- limited to statistics available
-t- bias
+e- no consent needed
+e- no deception
+t- reliable
-t- lacks validity
+p- from reliable sources
secondary sources produced from reputable sources
sampling
random
systematic
stratified
quota
longitudinal studies
studies conducted over a long period of time
allows changes to be established over time
examples
willmott and young symmetrical family
10 year census study
evaluate
-p- difficult to obtain funding
-p- samples may be difficult to obtain due to commitment
+t- high in validity
+e- easy to obtain consent
+e- right to withdraw
+t- representative
research considerations
practical
time
access
money
hawthorne effect
imposition problem
interest in topic
reseacher characteristics
ethical
consent
harm
deception
right to withdraw
legality
social sensitivity
theoretical
validity
reliability
representability
generalisability
researcher perspective
experiments
field
experiment takes place in real world setting
more relaxed variables
examples
Rosenthal and Jacobson pygmalion effect
bystander effect experiment
evaluate
-p- hawthorne effect
-e- difficult to obtain informed consent
-e- deception
+t- increased validity
+t- high in reliability
lab
highly controlled environment and variables
used to test hypotheses in the natural sciences
evaluate
-e- involves deception
-e- preferential treatment
+t- high in reliaiblity
-p- hawthorne effect
-t- lacks validity
-e- difficult to obtain informed consent
examples
Milgrim shock experiment
Bandura BoBo doll
content analysis
public documents
using documents in the public domain
understand historical or social events
examples
Aries childhood study
evaluate
+p- easily accessible
+p- usually free to access
+e- no associated ethical issues
-t- possible bias
+t- reliable
private documents
personal documents used to gain insight
may be only available source to understand an event
examples
Durkheim suicide study
evaluate
+p- may be only available source
-p- difficult to access
-e- consent
+t- high in validity
-t- possible bias
observations
overt
researcher is open about the research they are conducting
observe interactions
examples
willis 'the lads'
evaluate
-t- hawthorne effect affects validity
-p- expensive to pay researchers
+e- informed consent
+e- avoids deception
+e- lack of legal issues
-p- hard to access closed communities
covert
researcher adopts a cover to analyse
partakes in group activities
examples
Patrick glasgow gangs study
humphrys tea room observation
evaluate
+t- high in validity
-t- small scale - representability
-p- getting in, staying in and getting out
-p- going native
-e- informed consent
-e- deception
-e- what if a crime is commited?
-p- time consuming