Date post: | 13-Apr-2017 |
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METHODS - KEY TERMSSample – small number of people selected for the study from the overall target populationTarget Population – the overall group to be studiedSampling Frame – complete list of all the members of the target populationOperationalisation – defining a concept so it is measurableImposition – the selections a researcher makes in their studyPrimary Research/Data – research that didn’t pre-exist and is collected by the researcher themselvesSecondary Research/Data – pre-existing research that the research finds as collected by someone elseOvert Observation – participants know they are being studiedCovert Observation – participants don’t know they are being studied, uninformed of the purpose of the researchEthnography – the study of a group of people’s way of life and their cultureGatekeeper – someone who knows you are a researcher and keeps you safe
SAMPLING METHODSQuota – researcher looks for people who fit the imageSnowball – participants introduce researcher to new people who are suitable for the studyStratified- dividing the population up into categoriesCluster – selecting sample from hotspots of activity that match the researcher’s studySimple Random – picking names out of a hatSystematic – picking the nth name from a listOpportunity – select people who fit the criteria of the target population from around youVolunteer – participants offer to take part in the study in response to ads
Non-Random Sampling Random Sampling
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONAdvantages Disadvantages
Produces strong qualitative data, uncovers meanings and achieves verstehen
Researcher risks going native if they become too involved with the participants
Can provide great insight into the participants’ lives
Hawthorne Observer effect
Flexibility Can be time-consuming and costlyPractical, some social groups closed to
outsiders so PO may be the only method to give researcher access to them
Gaining access
Participants often deceived, covert observations require studying people without
consent
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
QUESTIONNAIRESAdvantages Disadvantages
Can cover a wide audience on a geographical scale
Low response rate
Cheaper, no need to train an interviewer Unable to answer questions participants may have, define concepts if they haven’t already
been, lack validityPilot surveys iron out any problems with the questions before they are properly released
Cannot achieve verstehen
Closed questions can easily be analysed by a computer
Closed questions don’t allow the participant to elaborate or explain their opinions, reduces
validityAnonymity may encourage participants to give
honest and controversial opinionsNo way of checking if the intended person filled
in the questionnaireCan easily be repeated by other researchers when questions are posed in the same order
No interviewer bias
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
FORMAL STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS
Advantages DisadvantagesHigher response rate than postal
questionnairesMore expensive, have to train interviewer
Interviewer can explain questions and concepts Interviewer biasProduces scientific and objective quantitative
dataInterpretivists say it’s impossible to achieve
verstehen More reliable than qualitative data, can be
repeated by other researchersClosed questions don’t allow the participant to
elaborate or explain their opinions, reduces validity
Can develop correlations Operationalising concepts doesn’t allow people to reveal their attitudes in their own way
Representative sample means data easy to generalise
Answers easy to quantifyQuicker than unstructured interview, specific
agenda, no digression
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
INFORMAL UNSTRUCTURED INTERVIEWSAdvantages Disadvantages
Researcher can establish rapport and trust with sensitive groups, e.g. victims of rape or
domestic violence
Digression means it’d be hard to replicate the interview by other researchers, lacks reliability
and comparabilityValidity and depth Interviewer bias
Uncovers meanings and attitudes, participants aren’t restricted by closed questions
Researcher may lose the detachment and make the research less scientific because of
becoming personally involved with participantCan generate hypotheses and theories the
researcher might not have thought ofInterviewer needs to be skilled and well-
trained, expensiveVery time-consuming
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
GROUP INTERVIEWSAdvantages Disadvantages
Can uncover group dynamics Dominant speakers obstruct some participants from voicing their opinions
Participants may feel more comfortable being with others, be more open and increase validity
of research
Peer pressure may influence what the participants say, may not be entirely open or
may exaggerate the truth to bow to social desirability
Participants share ideas and stimulate one another's way of thinking
Data generated from a group interview more complex to analyses, reduces reliability
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
CONTENT ANALYSISAdvantages Disadvantages
Cheap Unobjective, researcher chooses what categories to count
Reliable Incredibly time-consumingRepresentative samples analysed, generalisations can easily be made
Doesn’t reveal meanings behind the data
Easy to gain access to media
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
DOCUMENTSPersonal Documents Public Documents
Diaries Government reportsMedical records Parish registers
Letters NovelsBank statements Newspapers
Shopping lists MapsPhotographs
Paintings/drawingsPupils’ work Train timetables
School reports written about pupils School websitesGraffiti School prospectus
Letters from parents OFSTED inspection reportsText messages between pupils School textbooks
QualitativeQuantitative
OFFICIAL STATISTICSAdvantages Disadvantages
Availability Definitions used in the original research may not be the same, lacks reliability
Can examine trends and changes over time Political biasScientific, allows objectivity Cannot uncover meanings behind data
Representativeness The Dark Figure, lacks validityMake comparisons, before and After studies Support ruling class/patriarchal ideology
Cheap and quickTest hypotheses and measure correlations
PracticalEthicalTheoretical
LAB/FIELD/COMPARATIVE EXPERIMENTSAdvantages Disadvantages
Highly reliable, other researchers can repeat the test
Social life can’t always be reproduced artificially in a lab
Scientists are detached from study, objective Highly expensive and time-consumingExperimental effect (laboratory experiment)
Hawthorne effect (Field experiment)People may act differently depending on the
social characteristics of experimenterDeceptionConsent
Subjects who take part might not be representative of the population
Difficult to find experimental and control groups that are alike in every aspect
Possible psychological side-effects left with participants
PracticalEthicalTheoretical