Methods and Research

Question 1

What are the qualities of survey research?

Answer 1

1. Quantitative
2. Systematic data collection with standardised questions.
3. interview/postal/telephone

Question 2

What is a sample?

Answer 2

a selection of people from the target population

Question 3

What is a sampling frame?

Answer 3

complete list of the population

Question 4

What types of sampling allow probability of repetitiveness to be calculated? (5)

Answer 4

1. Simple
2. Stratified
3. Systematic random
4. Cluster
5. Multistage

Question 5

Forms of sampling which do not allow probability to be measured? (4)

Answer 5

1. Convenience
2. Purposive
3. Quota
4. Snowball

Question 6

How can ideas and concepts be operationalized?

Answer 6

Empirical measures and indicators

Question 7

Qualities of official statistics (4)

Answer 7

1. Important sources of data produced for administrative and political purposes.
2. Constructed by social processes of definition and decision making (Interactionist claim)
3. crimes may not be reported, recorded, taken seriously, detected and convicted
4. Problems overcome by self-report studies and other research.

Question 8

What is ethnographic research?

Answer 8

The study of small scale settings or groups

Question 9

How is ethnographic research conducted?

Answer 9

Participant observation, face to face interviews and documentary analysis

Question 10

What sort of data does ethnographic research collect?

Answer 10

Qualitative: rich, detailed, meaningful descriptions

Question 11

What does ethnographic research aim to do?

Answer 11

Understand the world from the insider’s perspective

Question 12

Qualities of documentary research

Answer 12

1. Text can be inscribed on paper, film, computer files, stone, clay, canvas…
2. Documents include:
   letters, diaries, newspapers, videos, pictures, photographs, stamps, maps, official records

Question 13

What are Scott’s (1990) 4 criterias for evaluating documents

Answer 13

1. Authenticity
2. Credibility
3. Representativeness
4. Meaning