Research Methods

Advantages - 

• highly reliable - QN data and other sociologists can produce the same experiment with the same variables.
• objective - personal feelings should not affect the outcome. 
• can identify cause and effect relationships - can control all other variables to increase validity.

Disadvantages - 

• Interpretivists reject this since it cna produc invalid data due to aritifical setting (Hawthorne effect).
• cannot be used to study the past.
• small sample so less representative. 
• hard to obtain informed consent. 
• potential for psychological and sometimes physical harm. 

Milgram

• investigated obedience and authority by asking participants to administer shocks to other participants.
• this caused psychological harm and physical since 65% were willing to adminster shocks of 450 volts. 

Advantages - 

• natural surroundings - natural behaviour so likely to be more valid. 
• participants are generally not aware they arebeing observed so Hawthorne effect takes less effect. 
• can produce QL data so can be liked by interpretivists.

Disadvantages - 

• difficult to obtain informed consent - especially if senstive topic. 
• unable to control variables so how does the researcher know if the behaviour is due to what they assume?
• how does the researcher measure the behaviour or data if QL?
• can be subjective if QL.

Rosenthal and Jacobson:

• invetigated the self fulfilling prophecy by telling teachers invalid IQ scores that were opposite to the truth.
• by the end the students who were lowest ability but were told to be the best came out with the best grades. 
• this caused a form of harm because the students who were said to be lower ability ended up with lower grades despite natural ability. 

Advantages - 

• quick and cheap.
• large sample can be gathered which increases representativeness.
• if closed-ended questions - data easily analysed since easy to quantify (positivists prefer this)
• highly reliable.
• can identify cause and effect relationships.
• objective.
• self-compelted so if sensitive topic the respondent has no obligation to complete it.

Disadvantages - 

• data tends to be limited since it needs to be brief (reduce the detail - interpretivists reject them because of this).
• low response rates since not everyone can be bothered or, if sensitive, will want to.
• once questionnaire is finalised, cannot change questions to explore change of interest. 
• lack of contact to rectify any confusion of respondents.
• if closed questions, this can be hard for respondetns to elaborate opinions (invalid).

Advantages - 

• quick and cheap.
• easy to quantify due to standardised questions.
• have higher response rate.
• reliable.

Disadvantages -

• training interviewers can be expensive.
• little freedom to deviate, especially if interviewee probes other areas of interest.
• hard to clear misunderstandings. 
• people could lie (reduce validity).
• time consuming so may not reach a large sample (less representative).

Advantages - 

• develops rapport between interviewer and interviewee.
• more freedom and flexibility. 
• can get in depth insight to attitudes and opinions (interpretivists).

Disadvantages - 

• unreliable since no standardised questions.
• takes a skilled interviewer to come up with questions. 
• imperfect recall.
• time consuming so smaller sample (less representative).
• has the potential for leading questions since they are not pre-set and bounce of the respondent.

Advantages - 

• participant may feel more comfortable due to presence of others - more likely to open up.
• can stimulate others thinking.
• researcher can deviate and form discussion.
• interpretivists like this.

Disadvantages - 

• some may dominate so not all can share views (less representative and valid).
• potential for peer group pressure. 
• data can be difficult to analyse (QN data).
• researcher may not be able to keep up with discussion and miss some parts.

Advantages - 

• can pre-determine categories to standardise behaviour (positivists like this). 
• less time consuming so can collect data from larger samples (more representative).
• participant may not know they are being studied (covert) so this can reduce the Hawthorne Effect.
• researcher could carry out observation for a sustained period of time to see behaviour develop.

Disadvantages - 

• ethical issues with covert since did not obtain informed consent of participant. 
• Hawthorne Effect if overt. 
• subjective - type of behaviour shown by participant may be seen differently by different researchers so less reliable. 
• hard to detect particular variables or factors leading to behaviour. 
• if something sensitive or dangerous occurs the researcher may want to step in.
• if covert, will have to keep up an act or role. 

Advantages -

• can see behaviour and attitudes first hand.
• if covert, potential for no Hawthorne effect.
• flexible to allow researcher to find out about new areas of info.
• can gain empathy through personal experience.

Disadvantages - 

• time consuming and researcher needs to be trained to recognise data.
• data may be perceived differently by another researcher (unreliable).
• sample is usually small so not very representative. 
• researcher could potentially be involved in deviant behaviour.
• if covert, researcher must take up convincing role and needs to think about getting in, staying in and getting out of a group.

Advantages - 

• free source and quick.
• large sample since collected by government so very representative.
• positivists like this because you can easily identify trends and cause and effects.
• easy to analyse since QN.
• reliable.

Disadvantages - 

• government collect data for their own purposes so may not be what sociologist is looking for.
• definitions may be different.
• if sensitive topic, government may leave out some parts.
• public may not be entirely reliable. 
• interpretivists do not like them since they do not find out reasons for these trends.

Advantages - 

• cheap and quick.
• can be reliable depending on the document.
• personal documents can give in depth insight.
• sometimes only source of information from the past. 
• documents can be used to double check primary data.

Disadvantages - 

• personal documents can be biased.
• may be hard to access sensitive documents.
• need to evaluate: credibility, authenticity (who wrote it?), representativeness and meaning (need skills to establish the findings).