Research methods

Types of data 

• Primary 
• Secondary 
• Quantitative 
• Qualitative 

Practical issues

• Time and money  
• Requirements of funding bodies - research needs to be funded 
• Personal skills and characteristics - If someone was shy they wouldn't chose interviews
• Subject matter - sensitive/personal topics
• Research opportunity - research where there is a gap in the market 

Ethical issues 

• Informed consent 
• Confidentiality and privacy  - give no name to participants 
• Effects on research participants - psychological harm?
• Vulnerable groups 
• Covert research  - no consent 

Theoretical issues 

• Validity- representative of life 
• Reliability  - a method thats easily replicated 
• Representativeness 
• Methological perspectives  - positivists or interpretivists 

Factors influencing choice of topic 

• Theoretical perspective  - what theory supports this?
• Society's views  - people's views change over time 
• Funding bodies - research won't be funded if it is pointless 
• Practical factors - researching children is sometimes unpractical 

Qualitative + Quantitative = Mix method approach  

Lab experiments  

• Experimental group (exposed to independent variable)
• Control group (not changed, but controlled)
• The researcher manipulates variables which they're interested in, to discover the effect they have 

Lab experiements - Advantages 

• Reliable - easiliy replicated 
• Positivist sociologists may use it - quantitative, easy to compare 

Lab experiments  - Disadvantages 

• Unethical to control variables and consent is needed 
• The Hawthorne effect - not a natural environment 

Lab experiments - Practical issues 

• Individuals are complex - it is hard to 'match' the members of the control group and the experimental group 
• The Hawthorne effect 
• Studying the past - cannot be used for the past as the variables cannot be controlled 

Lab experiments - Ethical issues

• Informed consent 
• Harm to subjects - everything including risks must be explained 

Theoretical issues 

• Positivists - experiments are good because of their reliability. This is because they can control the variables, produces quantitative data and is detached. However, it can't be representative 
• Interpretivists - experiments are bad because we are different from natural things. Our actions can only by understood by the choices we make

Field experiments 

• Try and control variables and establish cause and effect but take place in a natural environment 
• Participants unaware they are being studied 
• Cannot ensure that all variables are controlled meaning it is less valid 

Field experiments - Practical issues 

• Problems of access 
• Can the researcher control all the variables?
• Does the natural environment change the researched behaviour?

Field experiments - Ethical issues 

• Personal effects - the experiment may have affected the school life of other children told that they were not smart enough 
• Informed consent 

Field experiments - Theoretical issues 

• Positivists - they are not reliable as they cannot be repeated again as lab experiments can. They can produce quantitative data though but you cannot be in control of all the variables 
• Interpretivists  - can understand the meanings to some extent 

Structured interviews

• Questionnaires read out by an interviewer who records answers 
• Same questions in the same order for every respondent 

Structured interviews - Advantages 

• Training interviewer is straight forward 
• Cover large sample as they're cheap and quick 
• Good for…