Research Methods

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  • Created by: Emily
  • Created on: 17-04-13 12:32

Data...

Data can come from two sources.

  • Primary data - Data which is collected by the researchers themselves.
  • Secondary data - Data used by sociologists but collected by other peopel.

There are two types of data. 

  • Quantitative data - statistical charts, tables etc. 
  • Qualitative data - data in the form of obsrevation, published or broadcast sources.

Qualitative
data 

Quantitative 
data 

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Key Terms

Bias where the views of the researchers affect the research.

Causual relationship where there is a relationship between two social events with one causing the other. 

Data the information uncovered by research.

Generalizability if the group sociologists choose to study are representative of the population as a whole, then they will be able to make generalizations about the whole society. If the group is not representative, they will only be able to speak about the particular group studied.

Methodology the process of undertaking research using the appropriate sociological methods.

Objectivity quality achieved when a reseracher's values do not affect their work.

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Key Terms

Reliability quality of repeatability: if the same piece of research were repeated by different sociologists, then it should produce the same results. 

Representativeness situation where the people sociologists study are a cross section of the group they whish to generalize about.

Validity  the extent to which data give a true pictures of the subject being studied. 

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