Research Methods- LT7- Other types of research

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  • Created by: Heather
  • Created on: 01-05-16 19:38
What are the five other types of studies?
-Longitudinal studies, -Case studies, -Life histories, -Ethnoghraphic, -Triangulation
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What is a longitudinal study?
When researchers study the same group of people at intervals over an extended period of time,
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Give an example longitudinal study and what was it studying?
-7UP, -Does social class pre-determined their future?
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When was the case active from and to?
1963 to the present,
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Who did the study begin with and what do they have to do?
The study began with 14 children from a range of social backgrounds who were to be looked at every 7 years,
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Who provides advantages for this study?
Interpretivists,
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What is a theoretical strength based on insight?
Longitudinal studies can provide valid and in-depth information and insight into people's lives,
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What is another strength based on over time developments?
They can exmaine developments over time rather than just offering a snap shot of one moment in time,
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For example, what has the British cohort study showed about mobility?
It has showed that Britian has one of the lowest levels of social mobility in the developed world,
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What is another theoretical advantage based on causes?
By making comparisons between groups over time means it is possible to identify causes,
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Give an example with what sociologist who found what were the causes of working class underachievement?
-Douglas, -Material and cultural deprivation,
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What is a practical advantage based on keeping the same group?
By keeping the same group the researcher can be sure that any changes in attitudes and behaviour aren't simply due to changes in the makeup of the sample,
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What effect does this have on the results?
Validity is increased,
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Who provides disadvantages?
Positivists,
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What is a theoretical disadvantage based on keeping the group?
Keeping the same sample of people over time iv very difficult,
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What effect occurs when people drop out of the original sample and what effect does this have on the sample?
-"Sample attrition", -Less representative,
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What is another theoretical criticism based on demographic changes?
Demographic changes in the general population may mean the sample is no longer representative to a target population,
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Give an example of why the demographic changes might occur?
Migration patterns alter the popilation and proportions of ethnic minorities,
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What is another theoretical criticism based on characteristics and repeated studies?
Demands characteristics arise when carrying out a repeated study,
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What effect does this have on the results?
Validity is lowered,
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For another criticism, what effect can occur which means what?
-The Hawthorne effect can occur, -Participants may change their behaviour because they are aware they are part of a long term study,
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What effect does this have on the results?
This lowers the validity of the findings,
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What is a practical criticism based on time and cost?
Longitudinal studies often cost a lot of time and money,
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Give an example with Parker's five year study on what?
-Illegal drug use among adolescents, -£380,000
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For case studies, what are case studies?
They are an indepth study of one 'unit'. This unit is normally an individual but it can also be a single group of people such as a school or a family,
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Give an example case study by which sociologist?
-Curtis, -Genie who was fiuhd at 13, locked in her bedroom and tied to a potty chair for her whole life,
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What was Curtis studying?
The effects of privation on a child
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Who provides support for case studies?
Interpretivists,
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Give a theoretical strength based on insight?
Provides an in-depth, detailed insight into specific unique cases,
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What is the effect on the findings?
Validity is increased,
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What 'V' is gained and what does this mean?
-Verstehen, -IT becomes possible to see things through the eyes of the case study participants and gain true empathy,
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What is another theoretical strength based on hypothesis and quantitative methods?
Useful for formulating a hypothesis which can be tested more scientifically using participants and quantitative methods,
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What is a practical advantage based on senstive subjects?
It makes it easier to study sensitive areas,
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What is another practical advantage based on exceptional cases?
Case studies are useful to study exceptional cases as few people go through them,
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Give an example with Genie?
In the case of Genie, she had been deprived of human contact for the first 13 years,
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Who has provides criticism of case studies?
Positivists,
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Give a theoretical criticism based on representativeness?
Case studies aren't representative as they are too small scale to mirror wider society.
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Therefore, can we generalise results from case studies?
No, it makes it impossible to generalise to a wider population,
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What is another theoretical criticism based on sample size?
It lacks reliability due to the small sample size,
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What is an ethical criticism based on exploitation?
They are often intrusive into an individuals life. Therefore, concerns about exploitation of participants becomes an issue,
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For life histories, what is it and how is it conducted?
When a person's experience of life is reocunted to the researcher or set down in the form of a tex
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For an oral account, what technique would be used?
It falls between a semi-structured interview so both structured and unstructured,
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Give an example case study?
-Hart, -Diary account of the life of a schizophrenic,
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Who provides advantages of life histories?
Interpretivists,
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What is a theoretical advantage based on insight over time?
it provides a detailed, rich and valid insight about how people's lives change over time,
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What is a practical advantage based on primary evidence?
It provides a first han account of people's experiences,
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What is another practical advantage based on verifying?
It can be used as a verification tool e.g. to check other sources of information,
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Who provides criticism for life history research?
Positivists,
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What is a theoretical criticism based on bias?
it can be a biased source as the person recounting could have their own agenda,
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What is another theoretical criticism based on generalisations?
It is difficult to generalise from because it is usually an individual historical account,
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What is another theoretical criticism of why it could be low in validity?
As there are difficulties recollecting information,
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What is a practical criticism based on time and cost?
It is time consuming and labour intensive.
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What is also required by the researcher?
Alot of skill is required to empathise with the participant,
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For ethnography, what is is?
'Trying to walk in someone else's shoes'
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What methods are often used to carry this out?
Participant observation but can include unstructured interviews, personal documents, life histories,
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Give an example study by Willis?
He studied counter school cultures and he used PO and non PO interviews,
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Who provides advantages of ethnomethodology?
Interpretivists,
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What is a theoretical advantage based on setting?
Researcher is often able to observe behaviour in a natural setting which increases validity,
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What is another theoretical advantage based on verstenhen?
It becomes possible to see things through the eyes of the case study participants and gain true empathy,
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What is another theoretical advantage based on insight?
The researcher gains detailed insight into feelings, meanings, motives and emotions, increasing validity,
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Who provides criticisms of ethnography?
Positivists
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Give a theoretical criticism based on sample sizes?
They are often based on small sample sizes and therefore it is difficult to generalise and reliability is lowered,
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What is another theoretical criticism based on subjectivity?
Research methods are often subjective which lowers validity,
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What is an ethical criticism?
it is often exploitative and often delves into people's personal lives,
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For triangulation, what is it?
The combination of different types of research methods, often quantitative and qualitative,
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Who studied the 'Moonies' and what methods did she combine?
-Barker, -Studied the Moonies and used both over PO and questionnaires,
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What was Barker investigating?
If people choose to become moonies or if they are brain washed,
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For theoretical advantages, what is a positivie about using a range of methods?
It means that both quantitative and qualitative data can be collected,
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What is another advantage based on weaknesses and strengths?
The weaknesses of one method are often eliminated by the strengths of another, gaining validity and relability,
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What is another theoretical advantage about testing each other?
Qualitative methods are useful for formulating a hypothesis which can be tested with more quantitative methods,
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For criticisms, why might some sociologists have problems with qualitative and quantitative data?
As some sociologists reject certain methods on the grounds of ethical or theoretical pespective,
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What is a practical criticsm based on time and cost?
To use a range of methods can be time consuming and expensive,
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