AQA Sociology A level Paper 1: Research Methods with Methods In Context (Topics 1 - 7)

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ CHOOSING​ ​A​ ​RESEARCH​ ​METHOD
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​✽​ ​Sociologists​ ​use​ ​a​ ​range​ ​of​ ​different​ ​methods​ ​to​ ​collect​ ​data​ ​about​ ​society​ ​✽
PRIMARY​ ​SOURCES SECONDARY​ ​SOURCES

✽​ ​Researchers​ ​collect​ ​themselves,​ ​to​ ​test​ ​a​ ​hypothesis. ✽​ ​Info​ ​that’s​ ​been​ ​collected,​ ​created​ ​by​ ​someone​ ​else
~​ ​Social​ ​surveys.​ ​Ask​ ​people​ ​Q’s​ ​in​ ​written ~​ ​Official​ ​Stats.​ ​Produce​ ​by​ ​govs.​ ​E.g​ ​crime,​ ​divorce.
questionnaire/interview. ~​ ​Documents.​ ​Letter,​ ​email,​ ​photographs,​ ​internet.
~​ ​PP​ ​Observation.​ ​Join​ ​the​ ​activities​ ​of​ ​the​ ​group​ ​their +​ ​Quick,​ ​Cheap​ ​-​ ​someone​ ​has​ ​already​ ​done​ ​it.
studying. -​ ​Research​ ​may​ ​not​ ​be​ ​precisely​ ​for​ ​their​ ​research​ ​=
~​ ​Experiments.​ ​Field​ ​experiments,​ ​+​ ​comparative​ ​methods. may​ ​not​ ​provide​ ​the​ ​exact​ ​infor​ ​they’re​ ​looking​ ​for.
+​ ​Can​ ​precisely​ ​get​ ​the​ ​info​ ​they​ ​need​ ​to​ ​test​ ​hypothesis.
-​ ​ ​Costly​ ​+​ ​time​ ​consuming.


QUANTITATIVE​ ​DATA QUALITATIVE​ ​DATA

✽​ ​Numerical,​ ​e.g​ ​official​ ​stats,​ ​opinion ✽​ ​Studies​ ​in​ ​depth,​ ​they​ ​way​ ​people​ ​think/feel.
polls,​ ​Divorce​ ​stats,​ ​questionnaires. E.g​ ​PP​ ​observation,​ ​unstructured​ ​interviews.​ ​Letters,​ ​newspaper​ ​articles.




​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​FACTORS​ ​INFLUENCING​ ​CHOICE​ ​OF​ ​METHODS​ ​(PET)

​ ​(PRACTICAL​ ​ISSUES)
Time​ ​&​ ​Money.
✽​ ​Depends​ ​on​ ​the​ ​methods.​ ​E.g​ ​large-scale​ ​surveys​ ​=​ ​have​ ​to​ ​employ​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​people​ ​=​ ​money,​ ​but​ ​quicker.

Requirements​ ​Of​ ​Funding​ ​Bodies.​​ ​Sociologists​ ​have​ ​to​ ​use​ ​a​ ​certain​ ​method​ ​to​ ​produce​ ​data​ ​the​ ​organisations​ ​want
them​ ​to,​ ​because​ ​they​ ​fund​ ​them.​ ​E.g​ ​Gov​ ​department​ ​funding​ ​research​ ​into​ ​educational​ ​achievement​ ​require
quantitative​ ​data.

Personal​ ​Skills​ ​&​ ​Characteristics.​ ​May​ ​affect​ ​how​ ​they​ ​use​ ​their​ ​methods.​ ​E.g​ ​Building​ ​a​ ​good​ ​rapport​ ​for​ ​interviews.
Not​ ​all​ ​sociologists​ ​have​ ​these​ ​qualities​ ​=​ ​may​ ​have​ ​difficulty​ ​using​ ​these​ ​methods.

Subject​ ​Matter.​ ​May​ ​be​ ​difficult​ ​to​ ​study​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​group​ ​by​ ​certain​ ​methods.​ ​E.g​ ​using​ ​questionnaire​ ​to​ ​study​ ​those
who​ ​can’t​ ​read/write​ ​is​ ​useless.

Research​ ​Opportunity.​ ​The​ ​opportunity​ ​to​ ​conduct​ ​research​ ​may​ ​occur​ ​unexpectedly​ ​TMT​ ​it​ ​may​ ​not​ ​be​ ​possible​ ​to
use​ ​structured​ ​methods.​ ​E.g​ ​questionnaires,​ ​because​ ​it​ ​takes​ ​longer​ ​to​ ​prepare.​ ​E.g​ ​Glasgow​ ​gang​ ​leader​ ​offered
James​ ​Patrick​ ​the​ ​chance​ ​to​ ​spend​ ​time​ ​with​ ​his​ ​gang.​ ​TMT​ ​Patrick​ ​had​ ​little​ ​time​ ​to​ ​prepare​ ​+​ ​had​ ​to​ ​use​ ​pp
observation.


(ETHICAL​ ​ISSUES)​ ​-​ ​Moral​ ​issues​ ​of​ ​right/wrong.​ ​The​ ​BSA​ ​sets​ ​out​ ​ethical​ ​guidelines​ ​for​ ​conducting​ ​research.
Informed​ ​Consent​ ​-​ ​PPs​ ​should​ ​have​ ​the​ ​right​ ​to​ ​refuse​ ​to​ ​participate.​ ​Research​ ​should​ ​tell​ ​them​ ​about​ ​the​ ​research.

Confidentiality​ ​+​ ​Privacy​ ​-​ ​The​ ​identity​ ​of​ ​PPs​ ​should​ ​be​ ​kept​ ​a​ ​secret,​ ​to​ ​prevent​ ​possible​ ​-ve​ ​effects​ ​on​ ​them.
Personal​ ​information​ ​of​ ​pps​ ​should​ ​be​ ​kept​ ​confidential.

Harm​ ​To​ ​Research​ ​PP​ ​-​ ​Need​ ​to​ ​be​ ​aware​ ​the​ ​possible​ ​effects​ ​of​ ​their​ ​work​ ​on​ ​pps.​ ​E.g​ ​social​ ​exclusion.

Vulnerable​ ​Groups​ ​-​ ​Special​ ​care​ ​should​ ​be​ ​taken.​ ​These​ ​groups​ ​include​ ​disability,​ ​mental​ ​health.​ ​They​ ​should​ ​obtain
consent​ ​+​ ​provide​ ​information​ ​in​ ​the​ ​language​ ​the​ ​pps​ ​can​ ​understand.

Covert​ ​Research​ ​-​ ​Researchers’​ ​identity​ ​are​ ​hidden​ ​from​ ​pps​ ​being​ ​studied​ ​=​ ​ethical​ ​issues​ ​e.g​ ​deceiving.​ ​It’s
impossible​ ​to​ ​gain​ ​consent​ ​with​ ​these​ ​research,​ ​but​ ​researchers​ ​say​ ​it​ ​allows​ ​them​ ​to​ ​have​ ​access​ ​to​ ​certain​ ​groups.
E.g​ ​dangerous​ ​powerful​ ​groups.

,(THEORETICAL​ ​ISSUES)​ ​Whether​ ​we​ ​can​ ​obtain​ ​an​ ​accurate​ ​picture​ ​of​ ​society.​ ​This​ ​will​ ​effect​ ​the​ ​methods​ ​we
choose​ ​to​ ​use.

Validity​ ​-​ ​A​ ​method​ ​that​ ​produces​ ​a​ ​true​ ​picture​ ​of​ ​what​ ​something​ ​a​ ​like.​ ​Closer​ ​to​ ​the​ ​truth.​ ​Methods
include​ ​qualitative​ ​data,​ ​e.g​ ​PP​ ​observation​ ​-​ ​greater​ ​insight.

Reliability​ ​-​ ​Replicability.​ ​Able​ ​to​ ​repeat​ ​the​ ​research,​ ​to​ ​get​ ​same​ ​results.

Representativeness​ ​-​ ​Whether​ ​the​ ​pp​ ​we​ ​study​ ​reflect​ ​the​ ​population​ ​we’re​ ​interested​ ​in.​ ​It’s​ ​time
consuming​ ​to​ ​study​ ​every​ ​child,​ ​for​ ​example.​ ​Large​ ​samples​ ​that​ ​have​ ​good​ ​sampling​ ​techniques​ ​produce
representative​ ​data.

Methodological​ ​perspective​ ​-​ ​Choice​ ​of​ ​method​ ​is​ ​influenced​ ​by​ ​sociologist's​ ​perspective.



POSITIVISTS INTERPRETIVISTS

✽Society​ ​has​ ​an​ ​objective,​ ​factual​ ​reality. ✽​ ​We​ ​construct​ ​reality​ ​through​ ​the​ ​meanings​ ​we
✽​ ​Society​ ​has​ ​an​ ​influence​ ​over​ ​its​ ​members, create.
shaping​ ​their​ ​behaviour​ ​patterns. ✽​ ​Our​ ​actions​ ​are​ ​based​ ​on​ ​meanings,​ ​they’re​ ​not
✽​ ​Use​ ​quantitative​ ​data​ ​to​ ​measure​ ​these​ ​patterns. the​ ​product​ ​of​ ​external​ ​forces.
✽​ ​By​ ​using​ ​these​ ​methods,​ ​they​ ​can​ ​discover​ ​the ✽Qualitative​ ​data​ ​to​ ​uncover​ ​the​ ​meanings.
objective​ ​scientific​ ​laws​ ​of​ ​cause​ ​+​ ​effects. ✽​ ​By​ ​using​ ​these​ ​methods​ ​-​ ​can​ ​gain​ ​a​ ​subjective
✽​ ​Include​ ​experiments,​ ​official​ ​stats,​ ​structured understanding​ ​of​ ​actors’​ ​meanings.
interviews. ✽​ ​Include​ ​pp​ ​observation,​ ​unstructured​ ​interviews
=​ ​Reliable​ ​+​ ​Representative. =​ ​Valid​ ​data.



​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​FACTORS​ ​INFLUENCING​ ​CHOICE​ ​OF​ ​TOPICS
✽​ ​Several​ ​factors​ ​influence​ ​their​ ​choice​ ​when​ ​deciding​ ​what​ ​topic​ ​they​ ​wish​ ​to​ ​study.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​#​ ​The​ ​Sociologist’s​ ​Perspective:​ ​Theoretical​ ​perspective​ ​is​ ​a​ ​major​ ​influence.​ ​A​ ​feminist​ ​research​ ​is​ ​more
likely​ ​to​ ​choose​ ​to​ ​study​ ​domestic​ ​violence,​ ​because​ ​gender​ ​inequality​ ​is​ ​their​ ​main​ ​concern.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​#​ ​Society’s​ ​Values:​ ​Society's​ ​values​ ​change​ ​+​ ​so​ ​will​ ​the​ ​focus​ ​of​ ​the​ ​research.​ ​E.g​ ​rise​ ​of​ ​today’s
environmentalist​ ​concerns​ ​have​ ​created​ ​an​ ​interest​ ​in​ ​green​ ​crimes.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​#​ ​Practical​ ​Factors:​ ​Inaccessibility​ ​of​ ​certain​ ​situations​ ​may​ ​restrict​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​they​ ​plan​ ​to​ ​study.​ ​E.g
Studying​ ​global​ ​corporations​ ​+​ ​their​ ​decisions.

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​#​ ​Funding​ ​Bodies:​ ​Most​ ​research​ ​need​ ​funding​ ​from​ ​an​ ​external​ ​place.​ ​E.g​ ​government​ ​agencies​ ​+
businesses.​ ​As​ ​the​ ​funding​ ​body​ ​is​ ​paying​ ​for​ ​the​ ​research,​ ​it’ll​ ​determine​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​to​ ​be​ ​investigated.



TRIANGULATION.
✽A​ ​combination​ ​of​ ​methods.
✽Use​ ​2​ ​or​ ​more​ ​sources​ ​to​ ​have​ ​a​ ​more
rounded​ ​picture​ ​by​ ​studying​ ​the​ ​same​ ​thing
from​ ​more​ ​than​ ​1​ ​viewpoint.
✽​ ​So​ ​methods​ ​can​ ​complement​ ​each​ ​other.

,THE​ ​PROCESS​ ​OF​ ​RESEARCH.

1)​ ​MAKING​ ​AN​ ​AIM/HYPOTHESIS.
Hypothesis. Aim.
✽​ ​Most​ ​studies​ ​will​ ​have​ ​a​ ​general​ ​aim/hypothesis ✽​ ​More​ ​general.
--​ ​(an​ ​explanation​ ​that​ ​can​ ​be​ ​tested) ✽​ ​Shows​ ​what​ ​we​ ​intend​ ​to​ ​study.
✽​ ​Can​ ​formulate​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​hypothesis​ ​as​ ​a​ ​C+E +​ ​Open​ ​ended​ ​-​ ​not​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​prove​ ​a​ ​particular
statement. hypothesis.
✽​ ​The​ ​the​ ​hypothesis​ ​is​ ​false,​ ​we​ ​must​ ​discard​ ​it. +​ ​Can​ ​gather​ ​any​ ​data​ ​that​ ​is​ ​interesting​ ​about​ ​a
+​ ​gives​ ​direction​ ​to​ ​our​ ​research.​ ​Will​ ​know​ ​if​ ​the situation.
information​ ​gathered​ ​will​ ​confirm​ ​or​ ​disprove​ ​hypothesis. ✽​ ​Favoured​ ​by​ ​interpretivists,​ ​as​ ​they’re​ ​interested​ ​in
✽​ ​Positivists​ ​favour​ ​this​ ​-​ ​can​ ​seek​ ​C+E​ ​relationships. understanding​ ​actor’​ ​meanings.



2)​ ​OPERATIONALISING​ ​CONCEPTS.
✽​ ​The​ ​process​ ​of​ ​turning​ ​a​ ​sociological​ ​theory​ ​into​ ​something​ ​measurable.​ ​E.g​ ​A​ ​sociologist​ ​studying​ ​the​ ​effect​ ​of​ ​social
class​ ​on​ ​educational​ ​achievement​ ​might​ ​use​ ​parental​ ​occupation​ ​to​ ​measure​ ​the​ ​theory​ ​of​ ​‘social​ ​class’.
✽​ ​Once​ ​they’ve​ ​operationalised​ ​the​ ​concept,​ ​they​ ​start​ ​to​ ​think​ ​of​ ​questions​ ​that​ ​measure​ ​it.​ ​E.g​ ​‘What​ ​is​ ​your​ ​job?’.
✽​ ​Positivists​ ​are​ ​concerned​ ​to​ ​operationalise​ ​concepts,​ ​because​ ​testing​ ​the​ ​hypothesis​ ​is​ ​important.


3)​ ​PILOT​ ​STUDY.
✽​ ​Do​ ​this​ ​before​ ​conducting​ ​the​ ​main​ ​survey.
✽​ ​Do​ ​a​ ​draft​ ​version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​method​ ​on​ ​a​ ​small​ ​sample.
✽​ ​This​ ​is​ ​so​ ​any​ ​issues​ ​will​ ​be​ ​detected​ ​+​ ​can​ ​be​ ​‘ironed​ ​out’.​ ​TMT​ ​the​ ​actual​ ​survey​ ​goes​ ​as​ ​smoothly​ ​as​ ​possible.
✽​ ​It​ ​may​ ​reveal​ ​questions​ ​that​ ​are​ ​baly​ ​worded,​ ​or​ ​the​ ​answers​ ​are​ ​hard​ ​to​ ​analyse.​ ​TMT​ ​carrying​ ​out​ ​a​ ​pilot​ ​study​ ​should
be​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​finalise​ ​the​ ​method.


4)​ ​SAMPLES​ ​&​ ​SAMPLING.
✽​ ​It’s​ ​not​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​include​ ​every​ ​single​ ​person​ ​in​ ​our​ ​study,​ ​so​ ​we​ ​have​ ​to
choose​ ​a​ ​sample​ ​of​ ​people​ ​to​ ​include.
✽​ ​Sample​ ​-​ ​a​ ​smaller​ ​sub-group​ ​taken​ ​from​ ​the​ ​wider​ ​group​ ​we’re​ ​interested​ ​in.
✽​ ​Sampling​ ​-​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​creating​ ​a​ ​sample.
✽​ ​Sampling​ ​occurs​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​the​ ​people​ ​we’ve​ ​chosen​ ​represents​ ​the
people​ ​who​ ​we​ ​couldn’t​ ​include.
✽​ ​If​ ​the​ ​sample​ ​is​ ​representative​ ​=​ ​generalisable.​ ​(What​ ​positivists​ ​favour)

Sampling​ ​Frame.
✽​ ​1st,​ ​need​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​all​ ​the​ ​members​ ​of​ ​the​ ​population​ ​they’re​ ​interested​ ​in​ ​studying.
✽​ ​It’s​ ​important​ ​the​ ​list​ ​that​ ​is​ ​used​ ​as​ ​a​ ​sampling​ ​frame​ ​is​ ​accurate​ ​+​ ​up​ ​to​ ​date.
✽​ ​Once​ ​there​ ​is​ ​a​ ​sampling​ ​frame,​ ​they​ ​choose​ ​the​ ​sample.

Sampling​ ​Techniques.
Random​ ​Sampling:​ ​Simplest​ ​technique.​ ​Sample​ ​is​ ​selected​ ​by​ ​chance,​ ​e.g​ ​names​ ​being​ ​drawn​ ​out​ ​of​ ​a​ ​hat.​ ​Everyone
has​ ​an​ ​equal​ ​chance​ ​of​ ​being​ ​selected.

Quasi​ ​-​ ​Random/Systematic​ ​Sampling:​ ​Every​ ​nth​ ​person​ ​in​ ​the​ ​sampling​ ​frame​ ​is​ ​selected.​ ​E.g​ ​using​ ​every​ ​36th
name​ ​on​ ​a​ ​list.

Stratified​ ​Random​ ​Sampling:​ ​The​ ​researcher​ ​breaks​ ​down​ ​the​ ​population​ ​in​ ​the​ ​sampling​ ​frame​ ​by​ ​age,​ ​class,
gender.​ ​The​ ​sample​ ​is​ ​then​ ​created​ ​in​ ​the​ ​same​ ​proportions.

Quota​ ​Sampling:​ ​The​ ​population​ ​is​ ​stratified​ ​+​ ​then​ ​the​ ​interviewer​ ​is​ ​given​ ​a​ ​quota​ ​e.g​ ​20​ ​females.​ ​The​ ​research​ ​has
to​ ​try​ ​to​ ​find​ ​the​ ​respondents​ ​who​ ​fit​ ​this​ ​category.​ ​The​ ​interviewers​ ​we’ll​ ​keep​ ​doing​ ​this​ ​till​ ​their​ ​quota​ ​is​ ​filled.

, Non-representative​ ​Sampling.
✽​ ​Not​ ​all​ ​studies​ ​use​ ​representative​ ​sampling​ ​techniques,​ ​because​ ​of​ p
​ ractical​ ​+​ ​theoretical​ ​reasons.

{Practical​ ​Reasons}
-​ ​The​ ​characteristics​ ​of​ ​the​ ​research​ ​population​ ​e.g​ ​age​ ​may​ ​not​ ​be​ ​known​ ​=​ ​impossible​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​sample
that​ ​exactly​ ​reflect​ ​the​ ​research​ ​population.
-​ ​May​ ​be​ ​impossible​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​sampling​ ​frame​ ​for​ ​that​ ​particular​ ​research​ ​population.​ ​E.g​ ​Not​ ​all​ ​criminals​ ​are
convicted​ ​ ​=​ ​no​ ​complete​ ​list​ ​to​ ​select​ ​a​ ​sample​ ​from.
-​ ​Respondents​ ​may​ ​refuse​ ​to​ ​participate.​ ​E.g​ ​some​ ​criminals​ ​may​ ​refuse,​ ​as​ ​their​ ​responses​ ​may​ ​be​ ​passed​ ​to
the​ ​police.

If​ ​it’s​ ​not​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​obtain​ ​a​ ​representative​ ​sample..​ ​They​ ​use​ ​snowball​ ​or​ ​opportunity​ ​samples.
-​ ​Snowballs​ ​Sampling:​​ ​Collecting​ ​sample​ ​by​ ​contacting​ ​specific​ ​individuals,​ ​who​ ​are​ ​asked​ ​to​ ​suggest​ ​other​ ​who
might​ ​be​ ​interviewed​ ​+​ ​so​ ​on.​ ​Not​ ​representative,​ ​but​ ​can​ ​contact​ ​a​ ​sample​ ​of​ ​people​ ​who​ ​might​ ​be​ ​difficult​ ​to​ ​find.​ ​E.g
criminals.
-​ ​Opportunity​ ​Sampling:​​ ​Choosing​ ​individuals​ ​who​ ​are​ ​easiest​ ​to​ ​access.​ ​E.g​ ​choosing​ ​people​ ​from​ ​passer-by​ ​in
the​ ​street.

{Theoretical​ ​Reasons}
-​ ​Some​ ​researchers​ ​may​ ​choose​ ​not​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​representative​ ​sample,​ ​because​ ​of​ ​their​ ​methodological
perspective.
-​ ​Interpretivists​ ​think​ ​it’s​ ​more​ ​important​ ​to​ ​have​ ​valid​ ​data​ ​+​ ​a​ ​deep​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​social​ ​actors’​ ​meanings,
than​ ​to​ ​find​ ​general​ ​laws​ ​of​ ​behaviour.
-​ ​They’re​ ​less​ ​concerned​ ​to​ ​make​ ​generalisations,​ ​so​ ​may​ ​opt​ ​for​ ​unrepresentative​ ​samples.​ ​E.g​ ​Case​ ​studies.

>>>>>>>>>​ ​Once​ ​we’ve​ ​selected​ ​the​ ​sample,​ ​we​ ​can​ ​begin​ ​to​ ​collect​ ​data​ ​about​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​<<<<<<<<