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Positivist and Interpretivist Methods, Field Experiments, Laboratory…
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Field Experiments
Less Artificiality - They are set in real-world experiments
Validity - 'Participants' are unaware of the experiment, so there will be no Hawthorne Effect (behaving differently when becoming aware that you're being observed)
As a result, they'll behave normally
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- Take place in the real world
- The sociologist either creates a situation or adapts a reaL life situation to their research
- Those involved are usually unaware of the research taking place
Laboratory Experiment
Experiments that take place in controlled environments and aim to use the scientific method to test a specific hypothesis
Highly Reliable - They can be repeated exactly allowing previous findings to be checked
Have high accuracy and precison
Hawthorne Effect - If people know they are being studied, they may act differently, as they are not in a natural or formal setting
Artificiality - Carried out in a highly artificial environment and may not reveal how people act in the real world, therefore the behaviour is likely to be artificial
Un Structured Interviews
Rapport (bond) - Having informality allows the interviewer to develop a relationship
Flexibility - Having unstructured questions allows for no restriction, not fixed
Validity - Participants can be more truthful as it is flexible (more friendly environnment)
Practical - Time Worthy: Typically unstructured interviews will be longer, as they consume more time
Unrepresentative - Small research sample, so the data is not representative of wider society
Ethical Issues - May be difficult for the interviewer to not ask senstive questions
- Asking open questions which can allow for more data
- A strong relationship is built between the interviewer and participant
- Becoming close can allow for better validity of the data
Participant Observation
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Unreliable - There is a risk of providing bias data, as the researcher may begin to sympathise
Un Representative - Tends to be done on small-scale groups, not representative on the wider .,society
Valid - The participants are in a natural/authentic setting, it'll be a true account of the group's behaviour
Insight - By acting as a member can get insight into their meanings, view points, values and problems - gives authentic data
Practical advantages - Access to more suspicious groups as can gain rapport and trust - helpful when studying groups like gangs
Personal Documents
Some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents (letters/diaries) and so their views aren't represented
These can take the form of diaries, memoirs, autobiographies and letters.
Practical - They are cheap and can save the researcher's time
Confirmation - Can be used to confirm questions or interpretations made
Illustrates many areas of social life
Questionnaires
Practical - They are quick and cheap
Representative - Reach a geographically widespread research sample
Reliable - The questions are pre set, so they can easily be repeated
Limited Ethical Issues - The participant is not obliged to complete it
Response Rate - To post the questionnaires may result in a low response rate, hindering the representativity
Low Validity - Participants can lie about their answers
Un Representative - There will be one group more willing to answer it, than others
The interviewer cannot ask follow-up questions or explain the questions if need be to the participants.
Historical Documents
They allow for comparisons over time (marriage, birth and death rates)
Unrepresentative - Documents may have been lost or destroyed
Validity - The document may not have been written by the person it's attributed to
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