Research Methods Sociology
- Created by: aaapx
- Created on: 22-01-13 14:15
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- Overt
- May be a problem of protecting research subjects' identity.
- Lack of informed consent from subjects.
- Access
- May be denied if group refuses to be involved in research.
- Hard to gain entry - need similar social characteristics to group.
- Membership
- Once accepted into group, easy to retain membership while conducting the research.
- Constant risk of being discovered (cover blown)
- Research Methods
- Surveys and Sampling
- Written questionnaires
- Advantages: Reliable. Cheap and quick. Useful for testing hypotheses. Detachment. Representative.
- Interviews
- Structured
- Advantages: Reliability. Representative. Cost. Interviewer-interviewee contact. Limited 'interviewer effect'.
- Disadvantages: Lack of validity. Reliability. Cost. Sensitive issues.
- Advantages: Reliability. Representative. Cost. Interviewer-interviewee contact. Limited 'interviewer effect'.
- Unstructured
- Advantages: Qualitative data- more detailed responses. More like a conversation-more comfortable, more truthful answers. High in validity.
- Disadvantages: Lack of reliability. Lack of representativeness. Unsuitability for sensitive issues. Cost. Relevance. Group interviews.
- Advantages: Qualitative data- more detailed responses. More like a conversation-more comfortable, more truthful answers. High in validity.
- Structured
- Types of samples:
- Random: equal chance of being selected
- Quasi-random (systematic): selecting every nth person in sampling frame
- Stratified: population groups (age,gender) in proportion with whole target population
- Quota: groups (same as stratified) quota (20females, 10 60+) fill with respondents who fit those characteristics
- Written questionnaires
- Official Statistics
- Hard: Birth and deaths. Soft: More easily manipulated - crime rates.
- Advantages: Availability. Representative-ness. Coverage. Prompts to research. Background data. Comparability of data. Reliability.
- Disadvantages: Definition and measurement. Reliability. Social construction. Political bias. Male bias.
- Documents
- Personal Documents
- Advantages: High degree of validity. Genuine insight to people's attitudes. Cheap and saves time
- Disadvantages: Certain groups unlikely to produce personal documents. Created after the events. Personal bias present. Letters written with an audience in mind, may affect what is recorded.
- Advantages: High degree of validity. Genuine insight to people's attitudes. Cheap and saves time
- Public documents
- Historical documents
- Advantages: Only way to study past societies (no survivors etc)
- Disadvantages: Meaning of words change. May be lost or destroyed. Incomplete and unrepresentative picture of the past.
- Advantages: Only way to study past societies (no survivors etc)
- Historical documents
- Personal Documents
- Surveys and Sampling
- Types of Data: Primary, Secondary, Qualitative and Quantitative.
- Research Methods
- Surveys and Sampling
- Written questionnaires
- Advantages: Reliable. Cheap and quick. Useful for testing hypotheses. Detachment. Representative.
- Interviews
- Structured
- Advantages: Reliability. Representative. Cost. Interviewer-interviewee contact. Limited 'interviewer effect'.
- Disadvantages: Lack of validity. Reliability. Cost. Sensitive issues.
- Advantages: Reliability. Representative. Cost. Interviewer-interviewee contact. Limited 'interviewer effect'.
- Unstructured
- Advantages: Qualitative data- more detailed responses. More like a conversation-more comfortable, more truthful answers. High in validity.
- Disadvantages: Lack of reliability. Lack of representativeness. Unsuitability for sensitive issues. Cost. Relevance. Group interviews.
- Advantages: Qualitative data- more detailed responses. More like a conversation-more comfortable, more truthful answers. High in validity.
- Structured
- Types of samples:
- Random: equal chance of being selected
- Quasi-random (systematic): selecting every nth person in sampling frame
- Stratified: population groups (age,gender) in proportion with whole target population
- Quota: groups (same as stratified) quota (20females, 10 60+) fill with respondents who fit those characteristics
- Written questionnaires
- Official Statistics
- Hard: Birth and deaths. Soft: More easily manipulated - crime rates.
- Advantages: Availability. Representative-ness. Coverage. Prompts to research. Background data. Comparability of data. Reliability.
- Disadvantages: Definition and measurement. Reliability. Social construction. Political bias. Male bias.
- Documents
- Personal Documents
- Advantages: High degree of validity. Genuine insight to people's attitudes. Cheap and saves time
- Disadvantages: Certain groups unlikely to produce personal documents. Created after the events. Personal bias present. Letters written with an audience in mind, may affect what is recorded.
- Advantages: High degree of validity. Genuine insight to people's attitudes. Cheap and saves time
- Public documents
- Historical documents
- Advantages: Only way to study past societies (no survivors etc)
- Disadvantages: Meaning of words change. May be lost or destroyed. Incomplete and unrepresentative picture of the past.
- Advantages: Only way to study past societies (no survivors etc)
- Historical documents
- Personal Documents
- Surveys and Sampling
- Research Methods
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