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Summary A-level Sociology Methods in context
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Detailed list of the research methods used in sociology and needed for the paper 1 exam.
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Methods in context:Practical issues with research:
Personal skills, time money and resources, funding, research opportunity,
the subject matter and access.
Ethical issues with research:
Informed consent, vulnerable groups, confidentiality and privacy, covert
research, and harm to/ effect on participants.
Theoretical issues with research:
Validity, reliability, sociological perspective, and representativeness.
Think about when conducting research:
Access, gatekeepers, time, language, vulnerability, ethics, sensitivity,
impression management, authority structures, peer pressure and
objectivity.
Experiments:
Laboratory- researcher create an artificial setting in a laboratory to try and
test what is happening by altering key variables.
Field- researchers attempt to alter and test key variables in a real-life
setting.
Comparative method- researchers attempt to identify variables by
analysing secondary data. May be known as thought experiment.
Positivists- allows the researchers to identify and measure behaviour
patterns quantitatively and to manipulate variables to establish cause and
effect relationships.
Interpretivists- free will, consciousness, and choice. Human behaviour can
never be predicted or understood in terms of cause and effect as we will
not all respond to the same issues in the same way.
Questionnaires:
Postal- these are questionnaires that are sent out via the postal service.
Web based- these are questionnaires that are sent out via the internet.
, Hand- these are given out in person by the researcher to the intended
participants.
Open- the questions allow them to explain their answers.
Closed- the questions are multiple choice.
Strengths Limitations
Reliable way of collecting data The wording of questions can also
because when repeated an impose the researchers meaning
identical questionnaire can be and this is likely to produce invalid
used. results.
They are quick to complete, cheap Faulty questionnaire design can
and easy method for gathering large affect the validity and
amounts of data. representativeness of the results.
Questionnaires can guarantee Can experience very low response
anonymity as the researcher rates.
remains detached.
Questionnaires are a detached and
objective method which allows the
sociologists personal involvement
to be kept at a minimum.
Positivists- reliability, representativeness, reliable, objective, quantitative
and cause and effect.
Interpretivists- lacks validity, inflexible, lack of depth, social world cannot
be fully understood through brief questions and answers.
Interviews:
Structured- interviewer given strict instructions on how to ask the
questions. Conducted in the same standardised way each time.
Advantages Disadvantages
Training interviewers is relatively Close ended questions.
simple. People may lie or exaggerate.
Can cover large areas of topics. Little freedom to explain.
Easily qualified. Inflexibility.
Large numbers can be surveyed. Questions may be leading.
Large response rate. Interviewee may lie to please the
Reliable. interviewer.
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