QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Question 1

What are the Practical Advantages of Unstructured Interviews?

Answer 1

+ informality allows interviewer to develop a rapport and encourage the interviewee to open up especially when researching sensitive topics.
+ makes it easier to clarify questions or answers
+ flexible as the interviewer doesn’t have to follow a set structure
+ useful for subjects that are not known a lot, is a good starting point as questions are open ended

Question 2

What are the Practical Disadvantages of Unstructured Interviews?

Answer 2

• requires thorough training and an interviewer with understanding of sociology and good interpersonal skills.
• takes a long time therefore the sample might be smaller
• analysis and categorisation of the large amount of data collected is time consuming

Question 3

What are Theoretical advantages of Unstructured Interviews according to Interpretivists?

Answer 3

+ produces valid data as it gets close to people’s experiences and meanings by building a rapport
+ Glaser and Strauss argue that it is important to approach the research with an open mind particularly when investigating unfamiliar topics.
+ gives the researcher freedom to raise issues and discussions about what is important to them
+ open ended questions allow interviewee to express themselves freely

Question 4

What are Theoretical issues with Unstructured Interviews according to Positivists?

Answer 4

• unreliable as there isn’t a standardised measuring instrument and each interview is unique and can’t be replicated.
• open ended questions produce answers that are difficult to categorise, making them less useful for testing hypotheses and establishing a cause-effect relationship
• they take longer and use smaller samples making them less representative, making it difficult to generalise about the wider population
• interaction between interviewer and interviewee undermined validity as the rapport that is built may distort the information obtained.

Question 5

How is Participant Observation Classified?

Answer 5

• non participant observation: the researcher observes the group without taking part
• participant observation: the researcher takes part in the life of the group while observing it
• overt observation: researcher reveals their true identity and purpose to those being studied and asks their permission
  covert observation: researcher conceals their true identity and purpose to those being studied, usually posing as a genuine member of the group

Question 6

What are the Practical Advantages of Participant Observation?

Answer 6

+ allows the sociologist to gain empathy and subjective understanding through first hand experience
+ allows the building of a rapport with the members of the group and gain insights into their way of life, meanings, values and problems
+ produces large amount of rich and detailed qualitative data
+ sometimes it might be the only way of accessing groups such as deviant groups
+ flexibility allows development of ideas throughout rather than starting with a set hypotheses

Question 7

What are the Practical Disadvantages of Participant Observation?

Answer 7

• very time consuming, may even take years
• large amounts of qualitative data is hard to categorise and analyse
• personally stressing and demanding for the researcher
• requires training and understanding of sociology, interpersonal skills, and observational skills
  may cause harm to the researcher

Question 8

What are the Theoretical Advantages of Participant Observation according to Interpretivists?

Answer 8

+ close involvement with participants create valid data as a deep understanding of their reality is developed
+ long time spent with participants allows understanding of their meanings rather than ‘snapshots’

Question 9

What are the Theoretical Issues with Participant Observation according to Positivists?

Answer 9

• not representative as the group being studied is usually small and not reflective of the wider population, doesn’t allow generalisation
• success depends heavily on the skills of the researcher and the lack of a standard measuring instrument makes it difficult for the research to be reliable
• qualitative data makes comparison difficult
• close involvement risks the researcher becoming over identified with the group and becoming biased and sympathetic and may create loyalty towards them, leading to concealment of information which undermined validity
• hawthorne effect may undermine validity as the observer’s presence may encourage the subjects to act differently

Question 10

What are Ethical Issues with Covert Participant Observation?

Answer 10

• it is unethical to deceive people by pretending to be their friend
• no informed consent is obtained
• may require lying to leave the group when the research is ended
• might require them to participate in immoral or illegal activities
• might cause harm to researcher as well as participants especially if their identities are revealed

Question 11

What are Documents?

Answer 11

• secondary source of data:
• written texts
• public documents
• personal documents
• historical documents

Question 12

What are the Practical Considerations with Documents?

Answer 12

+ might be the only source of information eg. when studying the past
+ free or cheap source of information
+ saves time
- not always possible to gain access
- documents created for individual or organisation’s purposes therefore may lack answers to the sociologist’s questions

Question 13

What are Theoretical Advantages of Documents?

Answer 13

+ personal documents eg. diaries provide insights to individual’s reality, increasing validity
+ personal documents are generally not written with the sociologist in mind, so they may be authentic and valid.

Question 14

What are Theoretical Issues with Documents?

Answer 14

• validity may be undermined by unauthentic data, uncredibility eg. when politicians write diaries intended for publication, and misinterpretation of what was intended.
• unreliable as data is qualitative and uncategorizable, doesn’t allow comparison
• representativeness is undermined as some groups may not be represented in documents
• not all documents survive or are available