RESEARCH AND METHODS

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  • Created by: AnnabellP
  • Created on: 17-10-17 10:33

SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE 3 AIMS WHEN COLLECTING AND USING

  • SOCIOLOGISTS TRY TO MAKE THEIR RESEARCH RELIABLE AND VALID
  • RELIABLE RESEARCH CAN BE REPEATED TO GET THE SAME RESULTS - RELIABLE DATA IS DATA THAT ANOTHER RESEARCHER WOULD BE ABLE TO GET BY USING THE EXACT SAME METHODS - SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ISNT GENERALLY AS RELIABLE AS RESEARCH IN THE NATURAL SCIENCES
  • VALID DATA IS A TRUE PICTURE OF WHAT THE RESEARCHER IS TRYING TO MEASURE - RELIABLE DATA ISNT ALWAYS VALID
  • THERE ARE SEVERALREASONS WHY RESEARCH MAY NOT GIVE A TRUE PICTURE:

1) RESPONDENTS IN AN INTERVIEW MAY FORGET THINGS, EXAGGERATE OR LIE

2) ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT THEIR ATTITUDES TO AN EVENT A LONG TIME AFTER OFTEN ISNT VALID - THEY CAN CHANGE

  • YOU CANT RESEARCH THE WHOLE POPULATION, SO YOU HAVE TO TAKE A SAMPLE. SOCIOLOGISTS TRY TO MAKE THEIR SAMPLES REPRESENTATIVE - REFLECTIVE OF THE POPULATION AS A WHOLE. TO DO THIS, IT NEEDS SIMILAR PORPORITIONS OF DIFFERENT AGES, GENDERS, CLASSES AND ETHNIC GROUPS. IF A SAMPLE IS REPRESENTATIVE THEN SOCIOLOGISTS CAN GENERALISE - I.E. CONCLUDE THAT THE RESULTS ARE LIKELY TO APPLY TO THE ENTIRE POPULATION
  • SOCIOLOGISTS AIM TO BE OBJECTIVE AND AVOID BIAS
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PRIAMRY DATA IS COLLECTED FIRST-HAND

  • THE RESEARCHER COLLECTS PRIMARY INFORMATION FIRST-HAND - THEY FIND IT THEMSELVES. YOU COULD USE METHODS LIKE INTERVIEWS, QUESTIONNAIRES, OBSERVATIONS OR EXPERIMENTS. YOU GENERATE QUANTITATIVE OR QUALITATIVE DATA.

1) PRIMARY DATA IS OBTAINED FROM FIRST-HAND REASERCH. IT DOESNT RELY ON ANOTHER SOCIOLOGIST'S RESEARCH AND YOU CAN CAREFULLY CHOOSE YOUR METHOD TO MAKE YOUR DATA AS VALID AND RELIABLE AS POSSIBLE

2) PRIMARY DATA IS ALWAYS BRAND NEW AND BANG UP TO DATE

3) SOME METHODS OF GETTING PRIMARY DATA CAN BE EXPENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING

4) SOME METHODS MAY PUT THE RESEARCHER IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION

5) SOME METHODS MAY BE UNETHICAL IF YOU DON'T GIVE INFORMED CONSENT

6) THE RESEARCHER'S OWN VALUES MAY MESS WITH THE RESEARCH PROCESS. THIS CREATES BIAS

7) YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET ACCESS TO THE GROUP YOU WANT TO STUDY

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SECONDARY DATA IS EXISTING INFORMATION

  • SECONDARY DATA SOURCES INCLUDE OFFICIAL STATISTICS, DIARIES, LETTERS, MEMOIRS, EMAILS, TV DOCUMENTARIES AND NEWSPAPERS. BUT YOU DONT GENERATE THE DATA

1) YOU CAN QUICKLY AND EASILY COLLECT SECONDARY DATA

2) YOU CAN EASILY USE SECONDARY DATA TO COMPARE DIFFERENT SOCIETIES

3) WITH SECONDARY DATA YOU CAN STUDY PAST EVENTS AND SOCIETIES. COMPARE PAST AND PRESENT

4) YOU DONT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT INFORMED CONSENT

5) THE EXISTING DATA MAY NOT BE VALID OR RELIABLE - YOU'RE STUCK WITH THE WAY THE RESEARCH WAS ORIGINALLY DONE

6) DOCUMENTS MAY NOT BE AUTHENITC, REPRESENTATIVE OR CREDIBLE. OFFICIAL STATISTICS CAN BE BIASED

7) YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO FIND THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED FROM EXISTING DATA.

8) YOUR VALUES DON'T INFLUENCE THE COLLECTION OF THE DATA, BUT THE RESEARCHER'S VALUES MIGHT HAVE RUINED THE VALIDITY OF THE ORIGINAL RESEARCH. YOUR VALUES CAN GET IN THE WAY OF HOW YOU ANALYSE THE DATA.

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QUANTITATIVE DATA CAN BE RELIABLE BUT NOT VERY VAL

  • QUANTITATIVE DATA IS NUMBERS AND STATISTICS. YOU CAN EASILY PUT QUANTITATIVE DATA INTO A GRAPH OR A CHART
  • THERE ARE SEVERAL ADVANTAGES OF USING DATA IN SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

1) WITH QUANITITATIVE DATA, YOU CAN TEST YOUR HYPOTHESIS AND LOOK FOR CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS

2) YOU CAN COMPARE YOUR STATISTICS AGAINST EXISTING STATISTICS, AND LOOK FOR TRENDS OVER TIME AND BETWEEN SOCIETIES

3) IT'S EASY TO ANALYSE TABLES, CHARTS AND GRAPHS - ESPECIALLY LINE CHARTS, BAR GRAPHS AND PIE CHARTS.

4) YOU CAN REPEAT QUESTIONNAIRES AND STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS TO TEST RELIABILITY

5) QUANTITATIVE METHODS ALLOW LARGE SAMPLES, SO THE FINDINGS CAN REPRESENT THE GENERAL POPULATION

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QUANTITATIVE DATA CAN BE RELIABLE BUT NOT VERY VAL

1) STATISTICS CAN HID REALITY. CATEGORIES IN INTERVIEWS OR QUESTIONNAIRESW CAN DISTORT THE TRUTH

2) STATISTICS DON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT THE MEANINGS, MOTIVES AND REASONS BEHIND BEHAVIOUR - THERE'S NOT MUCH DEPTH AND INSIGHT INTO SOCIAL INTERACTION

3) STATISTICS CAN BE POLITICALLY BIASED. THE METHOD MAY HAVE BEEN CHOSEN IN ORDER TO GET THE 'RIGHT' DATA.

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QUALITATIVE DATA CAN BE VALID BUT NOT VERY RELIABL

  • QUALITATIVE DATA GIVES A DETAILED PICTURE OF WHAT PEOPLE DO, THINK AND FEEL. IT'S SUBJECTIVE - IT INVOLVES OPINIONS, MEANINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS. YOU CAN'T EASILY TURN QUALITATIVE DATA INTO A LIST OF NUMBERS OR A GRAPH
  • THERE ARE PLENTY OF REASONS WHY USING QUALITATIVE DATA IS A GOOD IDEA

1) QUALITATIVE SOCIOLOGICAL DATA GIVES INSIGHT INTO SOCIAL INTERACTION. IT'S A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

2) QUALITATIVE DATA LETS YOU FIND OUT THE MEANINGS AND MOTIVES BEHIND BEHAVIOUR

3) YOU DON'T HAVE TO FORCE PEOPLE INTO ARTIFICIAL CATEGORIES LIKE IN QUESTIONNAIRES.

4) QUALITATIVE METHODS LET YOU BUILD UP TRUST AND RESEARCH SENSITIVE TOPICS.

  • THERE ARE ALSO DISADVANTAGES

1) QUALITATIVE INVESTIGATIONS ARE DIFFICULT TO REPEAT - THEY AREN'T VERY RELIABLE

2) THE RESEARCH IS OFTEN ON A SMALL SCALE - SO THE FINDINGS MIGHT NOT REPRESENT THE WHOLE POPULATION

3) POSITIVISTS SAY QUALITATIVE RESULTS LACK CREDIBILITY BECAUSE THEY'RE SUBJECTIVE AND OPEN TO INTERPRETATION.

4) THE RESEARCHER CAN GET THE WRONG END OF THE STICK AND MISINTERPRET THE GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL THEY'RE STUDYING

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