Sociology - Research Methods

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Pre-coded or closed questionnaires - ADVANTAGES

  • Easy and quick to answer
  • Response choice can clarify the question text for the respondent
  • Improves consistency of responses
  • Easy to compare with other respondents or questionnaires
  • Easier, quick, and less costly to analyze
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Open-ended or open questionnaires - ADVANTAGES

  • The participant isn’t limited by set answers, so they can express what they really mean and explain why they think this
  • The interviewer can follow up with more questions, meaning you get richer data
  • In general you get richer data because the answers will be longer and more in depth
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Pre-coded or closed questionnaires - DISADVANTAGES

  • You cannot explain a questionnaire to a participant so it could be confusing
  • You cannot follow up with extra questions to gain richer data
  • The participant might not agree with any of the answers they have to choose from
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Open-ended or open questionnaires - DISADVANTAGES

  • You get qualitative data, which is hard to quantify and analyse
  • This makes it hard to compare one set of data with another
  • The interviewer has to interpret the data, and they could interpret it differently to how the participant meant it.
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Structured Interviews - ADVANTAGES

  • Interviewer can explain the questions and overcome illiteracy problems
  •         Data can be seen as reliable as all the participants are answering the same questions
  •         The interviewer has little interaction with the participant so there is less chance of interviewer bias than in unstructured interviews.
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Structured Interviews - DISADVANTAGES

  • The structure of the interview means the interviewer can’t probe and ask further questions, so the data isn’t as rich
  •           They are more time consuming and expensive than other methods such as postal questionnaires
  •            There is still the risk of interviewer bias
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Unstructured Interviews - ADVANTAGES

  • The interaction between the participant and the interviewer allows for richer, more valid data. This is because the interviewer can ask follow up questions
  • Also the interaction allow the interviewer to develop a relationship with the participant which could mean they are more open and honest with their answers
  • Ambiguities in an answer can be probed to further understand the meaning of that answer
  • The interviewer can change the questions if, over the course of the study they think the hypothesis should change or they want to take the study in a new direction

 

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Unstructured Interviews - DISADVANTAGES

  • With unstructured interviews you need a trained interviewer who can only interview one participant at a time, this means this method is time-consuming and costly
  • The interviewer won’t ask exactly the same question every time, so it could be said that this method is less reliable
  • The changing questions also mean it is difficult to replicate the study.
  • The data is qualitative which means it is hard to analyse and compare with other pieces of data
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Participant Observation - ADVANTAGES

  • You get a primary source of data. It’s first-hand information which hasn’t been interrupted by anyone else.
  • The participants are likely to develop a relationship with the researcher so are more likely to be truthful and honest
  • You gain rich, insightful qualitative data as you are effectively finding out more information the whole time you are observing the participants
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Participant Observation - DISADVANTAGES

  • Gaining entry to the group and being accepted by the other members of the group can be difficult
  • The presence of the researcher may affect the behaviour of the group. This is also known as the Hawthorne effect and is a big problem with overt observations
  • The observations may lack structure, this means the quality of the observations by sociologist rely upon their skill as an observer.
  • This lack of structure also makes the method unreliable as it is difficult to replicate
  • Only a small number can be observed at one time, this could mean the sample may be unrepresentative
  • There are also ethical issues, especially with covert observations as you will normally have to lie to the participants to ensure you remain undercover
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Non-Participant Observation - ADVANTAGES

  • By reducing the level of interaction between the researcher and the participants you can reduce the risk of the Hawthorne effect. However, this only happens if the observation is covert.
  • It is also easier to record information and observations if you do not are not participating, so you can record data more easily
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Non - Participant Observation - DISADVANTAGES

  • If the observation is overt you are more at risk from the Hawthorne effect as people know they are being watched
  • You do not gain as much information as participant observations as you are not so submerged in the group you are observing
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Case Studies - ADVANTAGES

  • High in validity
  • Possible to gain verstehen
  • Can provide an insight to difficult groups such as deviant groups
  • Can be conducted by one researcher
  • Can be used to generate a hypothesis
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Case Studies - DISADVANTAGES

  • Researcher imposition - can be solved through respondent validation
  • Risk of over-involvement
  • Not representative
  • Not generalisable
  • Small sample
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Lab Experiments - ADVANTAGES

  • Cheaper and less time consuming than other experiments.

  • Has more use of complex equipment in experiments.

  • Variable can be altered to see if there are any changes and effects.

  • Possible to look at the cause and effect within the experiment.

  • Taking place in a highly controlled environment.

  • Can collect a large amount of data that is in detail.

  • Quantitative data

  • Ethical issues

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Lab Experiments - DISADVANTAGES

  • Has an artificial environment.

  • Demand characteristics – participants might be aware of the experiment so might change their behaviour.

  • We cannot generalise results from a single experiment.

  • Lab experiments are harder to control.

  • validity

  • Sample


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Field Experiment - ADVANTAGES

  • Natural

  • Realistic

  • Results are more Valid

  • People may behave more natural in a field experiment compared to a lab experiment.

  • Naturalist observations are a very useful research tool when investigating and studying a new area.

  • Can control the conditions more which make the experiment more reliable.

  • Less chance of demanding characteristics

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Field Experiments - DISADVANTAGES

  • Unethical due to deception and a lack of consent.

  • Harder to repeat experiment.

  • May be harder to check reliability and validity of the findings found within the experiment.

  • Validity of tasks

  • Ethical issues ( informed consent/confidentiality)

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