Primary Data
- Created by: Jessica Speight
- Created on: 11-05-14 16:23
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- Primary Data
- Social Surveys
- Sampling
- Snowball sampling
- An initial contact is used to provide further contacts
- Systematic sampling
- Taking every NTH name from a list to produce a sample
- Quota sampling
- The researcher has a list of the number to be interview - used in market research
- Stratified sampling
- Target population is divided into groups E.g age, ethnicity, gender etc. then a random selection is made.
- Opportunity sampling
- Selecting those available at the time
- Random Sampling
- Everyone has an equal chance of being selected
- Volunteer sampling
- Individuals who have chosen to be involved
- Snowball sampling
- Closed Questions
- Respondent has to choose from a number of given answers.
- Open questions
- Allows the respondent to put forward their own answers.
- Cross-sectional social survey
- Large scale research technique taken as a snapshot using questionnaires and interviews
- CHUBB & MOE: created a survey from 60,000 students from low income backgrounds.
- Large scale research technique taken as a snapshot using questionnaires and interviews
- Longitudinal survey
- Is a survey which takes place over a number of years at regular intervals.
- DOUGLAS: created a survey on parents interest regarding education
- Advantages
- The sociologists can see how things have changed over time
- Avoids people relying on long term memory when answering questions
- Disadvantages
- People may drop out of the survey half way through creating inconclusive data
- Takes a long time
- Is a survey which takes place over a number of years at regular intervals.
- Census
- a survey which is issued every 10 years and funded by the government to find out birth/death/marriages etc.
- Hypothesis
- A hypothesis is statement which can be tested to see if it is true or false.
- Some hypothesis' may involve concepts which are difficult to measure such as social class. OPERATIONALISING is turning a sociological concept into something which can be measured.
- A hypothesis is statement which can be tested to see if it is true or false.
- Pilot study
- A small scale study in preparation for the real one
- WHEN USING SOCIAL SURVEYS, LINK IT WITH QUESTIONNAIRES AND INTERVIEWS AS THAT IS WHAT IS NORMALLY USED TO STUDY.
- Sampling
- Experiments
- Laboratory experiments
- Takes place in a closed environment where the variables are closely controlled.
- BERON & FARKAS: Collected data from 1000's of 3-14 year old's, given a vocabulary test of increasingly hard words, the tester had to read the word and the child had to point to the one that best described it.
- This experiment was to determine the oral vocabulary growth between social classes.
- BERON & FARKAS: Collected data from 1000's of 3-14 year old's, given a vocabulary test of increasingly hard words, the tester had to read the word and the child had to point to the one that best described it.
- Advantages
- can be internally valid within the lab.
- Has high reliability as it can be retested.
- Used to be able to test a hypothesis
- Disadvantages
- Lacks external validity as it is tested under lab conditions so people may act differently
- Hawthorne effect
- If they are unaware theyre being tested on it can lead to ethical issues
- ZIMBARDO: selected 21 students to participate in a simulated prison environment. 1 prison had to be released after 3 days due to depression. MAY CAUSE HARM TO THE PARTICIPANTS
- Takes place in a closed environment where the variables are closely controlled.
- Field experiments
- Field experiments take place in a social environment but still aims to control variables.
- ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON: Selected a random sample of students from a school in America and told their teachers that they should expect an increase in IQ of the students. They tested the IQ and retested a year later - there was a gain in IQ.
- Untitled
- ROSENTHAL & JACOBSON: Selected a random sample of students from a school in America and told their teachers that they should expect an increase in IQ of the students. They tested the IQ and retested a year later - there was a gain in IQ.
- Advantages
- Disadvantages
- If they are unaware theyre being studied it could lead to ethical issues
- Could lead to Hawthorne effect
- Could lack reliability as it could be difficult to control variables.
- Field experiments take place in a social environment but still aims to control variables.
- The Hawthorne effect
- MAYO & RESEARCH TEAM: set up an experiment in the Hawthorne plant and changed the variables such as light, humidity and hours of work.
- They concluded that the workers were responding to the fact they were being researched therefore they changed their attitude in order to please the research group.
- MAYO & RESEARCH TEAM: set up an experiment in the Hawthorne plant and changed the variables such as light, humidity and hours of work.
- Laboratory experiments
- Observations
- Key terms
- STRUCTURED OBSERVATIONAL SCHEDULE - a list of types of behaviours that the researcher uses to record their observations.
- GOING NATIVE - when the researcher becomes one of the group
- FIELD DIARY - detailed record of events kept by the researcher
- GATEKEEPER - somebody who provides access for the researcher to carry out their study
- VERSTEHEN - empathetic understanding
- ENTHOGRAPHY- the study of a way a group of people live usually through participant observation.
- participant observations
- Where the researcher is actively involved with the group
- Disadvantages
- Researcher could go native
- Used to study small groups so not representative
- the researcher may have to engage in illegal activities
- Advantages
- Used to obtain information from "hard to reach" groups E.g rich & powerful.
- Be able to get the truth by gaining trust of the participants
- High in validity as the researcher can see the point of others
- Disadvantages
- Where the researcher is actively involved with the group
- Non-Participant observations
- Observing the behaviour of those being studied without joining in.
- Advantages
- Researcher not making any decisions or joining in on activities
- Researcher will be less bias as they wont be drawn into the group.
- Disadvantages
- Hawthorne effect
- Just observing could leave the researcher on the outside looking in, maing the research superficial
- Advantages
- Observing the behaviour of those being studied without joining in.
- covert (undercover)
- Where the group is unaware that theyre being studied
- Advantages
- The group will act normally
- able to enter forbidden areas and be fully accepted and trusted
- Disadvantages
- Creates ethical dilemmas as it is wrong to study someone without permission
- Dangerous if the researcher is discovered
- Advantages
- Where the group is unaware that theyre being studied
- Overt (open)
- Where the group know theyre being observed
- Advantages
- Researcher can play a honest open role
- Researcher may become a trusted outsider which could lead them to receive confidents
- Be able to use triangulation
- Disadvantages
- The researcher may be left an outsider
- Advantages
- Where the group know theyre being observed
- Ethnographic research
- Ethnographic research usually involves observing target users in their natural, real-world setting, rather than in the artificial environment of a lab or focus group. The aim is to gather insight into how people live; what they do; how they use things; or what they need in their everyday or professional lives.
- Key terms
- Questionaires
- Types of questionnaires
- POSTAL: self completion which by post
- SELF-COMPLETION: filled in by respondent
- STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS: questionnaires which are read out by the interviewer
- Administration
- MULTIPLE CHOICE: respondent is given a choice
- SCALED: where there is a scale from 1-10
- OPEN ENDED: where the respondent can answer however they wish
- CLOSED: where the answer is fixed
- Key concepts
- If the research is to be valid then it is important that the questions are worded appropriately and that the researcher is objective and has little involvement
- Advantages
- 1) ALICE SULLIVAN used questionnaires of 465 pupils to test bordieus theory of cultural capital. She found a strong correlation between pupils CC and parental CC.
- 2) Questionnaires can be used to cover large geographical areas making the sample representitive
- 3) Positivist favour questionnaires as they are high in reliability and can be easily replicated.
- Disadvantages
- 1) postal questionnaires have a poor response rate leading to a lack of representativeness. SHERE HITE sent out postal questionnaires to 100,000 but only 4,500 responded.
- 2) may lack validity as you don't know whether the respondent understood the question or was honest.
- 3) interpretivists dont favour questionnaires as they lack validity as no opportunities to ask further questions.
- Types of questionnaires
- Social Surveys
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