1
Q
what is quantitative data?
A
data produced in numerical format, that produces numbers, statistics and percentages, where comparisons can be made, and trends and patterns can be seen
2
Q
who uses quantitative data?
A
positivists, as it’s more scientific
-eg- Structuralists using macro scale
3
Q
what is qualitative data?
A
data that produces words, about feelings, emotions and experiences, understanding the reasoning
4
Q
who uses qualitative data?
A
interpretivists, not scientific, want to interpret feelings
eg- Actionists using micro scale
5
Q
what is a hypothesis?
A
prediction that you test to prove or disprove the hypothesis
-‘hunch’
6
Q
what is a pilot study?
A
a trial run of a study, that is a small scale test that saves time and money, to see the impacts of the possible study and to change anything if needed.
7
Q
what is primary data?
A
data you receive/collect yourself, so it is ‘first hand’ data (research, data, conduct and analyse it yourself)
8
Q
what is secondary data?
A
data that already exists, done by someone else, from an outside source, so it is ‘second hand’ research, that you can build on
9
Q
what are the three letters you must never forget in research?
A
P, E, T
10
Q
what does PET stand for?
A
P= practical factors E= ethical factors T= theoretical factors
11
Q
what is meant by practical factors/issues?
A
the hurdles of the research to consider and overcome, it links to the easiness of the research
12
Q
what are the 5 factors to consider within practical factors, and explain these?
A
- TIME= how much time will research take? must be seen as realistic before it starts.
- FINANCE/FUNDING BODY= how research will be funded/paid for, from funding body
- ACCESS= how method will access those who need studying, sometime a gatekeeper is needed to grant permission to study more difficult to access groups
- PERSONAL SKILLS= skills needed for research methods, some needing more than others, and so training may be needed to build relationships, or to correctly communicate and analyse data
- PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS= such as race and gender, characteristics can have an impact on participants, so risk assessments and dangers need to be considered.
13
Q
what is meant by ethical factors/issues?
A
the moral guidelines that should be followed, researches have a duty of care to act morally and responsibly.
14
Q
what are the 9 factors within ethical issues?
A
- informed consent
- right to withdraw
- deception (no lying)
- protection from harm
- vulnerable groups
- privacy
- confidentiality
- anonymity
- debrief
15
Q
what is meant by theoretical factors/issues?
A
methodological preferences of sociologists when conducting research, which leads to reliability and validity.
16
Q
who are positivists?
A
sociologists who study society and it’s people using quantitative data on a macro scale, so that scientific data is produced
17
Q
who are interpretivists?
A
sociologists who study humans and interpret their feelings, using qualitative methods/data, that produces words about feelings, emotions and experiences, to understand reasoning, on a micro scale
18
Q
what are the 2 Rs that link to positivists?
A
- RELIABILITY
- REPRESENTATIVENESS
19
Q
what are the 2 Vs that link to interpretivists?
A
- VALIDITY
- VERSTEHEN
20
Q
what are the two things that interpretivists use and bring about?
A
- empathy
- rapport
21
Q
less reliability means what for representativeness?
A
less reliability = more representativeness, vice versa
22
Q
why do sociologists use research?
A
to create evidence that can be tested and to uncover social facts
23
Q
what are the two types of data that sociologists use?
A
- statistical
- in depth opinions and thoughts (of people)
24
Q
what are some examples of primary, quantitative data?
A
- closed-ended questionnaires
- structured interviews
- experiments
25
what are some examples of primary qualitative data?
- open-ended questionnaires
- unstructured interviews
- observations
26
what are some examples of secondary quantitative data?
- official statistics
| - public documents
27
what are some examples of secondary qualitative data?
- personal
| - personal documents
28
what is a questionnaire?
a list of pre-set questions that are asked in a standardised way, then completed by a large sample of participants.
29
what are the two types of questionnaires, and who uses each one?
- closed-ended, positivists
| - open-ended, interpretivists
30
what are closed-ended questionnaires?
structured questionnaires with closed questions, where answers are simple/multichoice, which provides quantitative data.
31
what are open-ended questionnaires?
participants are free to answer the given questions how they wish, so they may interpret them in different ways, and so qualitative data is produced.
32
what are the two key points about questionnaire design and explain these?
- simplicity= kept simple, short as possible, clearly laid out, good quality printing, clear instructions provided by researcher
- language= simple questions, simple answers, phrased neutrally to avoid leading questions, every-day, non-technical language.
33
name 5 positives about questionnaires?
- macro, large sample possible, so generalisations can be made (theory), representativeness is high
- respondent can easily be kept anonymous (ethical)
- standardised, objective can be repeated again and again with similar results being produced (theory)
- consent is given, so respondents do nit need to answer every question (ethical)
- not time-consuming, well-planned questionnaires do not take long to fill out, quick responses compared to interviews (practical)
34
name 5 negatives about questionnaires?
- language barriers may be an issue, as people may not understand questions or may respond in an inappropriate way (practical)
- do not know who actually fills it out, there is no guarantee that the intended person is completing the questions, and so results may not be accurate or fair (practical)
- snapshots, only give a picture of social reality at the time the questions are answered, and so the results can only be used for a certain amount of times, until they may change (theory)
- researcher bias, researcher has chosen the questions, of what is important and what is not important (theory)
- poor response rate, may not good results and so representativeness is lower, and money may be used to send out more questionnaires (practical)
35
what are the four types of interviews?
- structured
- unstructured
- group
- semi-structured
36
what are the reasons why interviews are better than questionnaires?
- can see expression/body language, more personal
- reduces detachment, grows trust, higher response rate
- can be more in depth
- tackles representativeness, can see who is answering questions
37
describe a structured interview?
- pre-planned questions (standardised approach)
- formal interview, follow interview schedule, so no clarity can be asked by participants
- questions asked in order with an answer code
- this is therefore, quick, easy and creates quantitative data.
38
who uses structured interviews?
positivists
39
describe a unstructured interview?
- open ended questions that produce qualitative data
- not pre-coded, so plan can change
- informal approach, in depth (feelings/emotions)
- like a guided, free-flowing conversation, 'DIscovery Interview.'
- small-scale
40
who uses unstructured interviews?
interpretivists
41
describe a group interview?
- more than 1 participant, access to a wide range of views at once, saving time/money
- however, interviewees may influence each other (peer pressure), easier to go off topic, people's voices get 'lost in the crowd'
42
what are the strengths of structured interviews?
- high response rate (macro-scale), quick to complete (P)
- standardised questions makes them easy to analyse, so little researcher skills needed.
- permission given prior, know they are being researched (E)
- higher reliability
43
what are the strengths of unstructured interviews?
- data is rich in detail, high validity
- any uncertainties can be clarified
- a strong Rapport is built between participant/interviewer
- free-flowing, see world through their eyes, verstehen is developed
- high response rate (P)
- permission prior (E)
44
what are the weaknesses of structured interviews?
- affects validity, as questions cannot be clarified
- inflexible, pre-made questions
- schedule means that there is a tight time limit for each interview
- unreliable
- interviewer effect, may lie
- small sample, findings do not represent society as a whole
45
what are the weaknesses of unstructured interviews?
-very time-consuming
-care must be taken not to cause psychological harm
-success of interview relies on researcher skills
-difficult to collate open answers
-small sample, low representation
any answer can be given, effecting reliability
46
what are experiments?
- a type of research, designed to test hypothesis, where all variables are controlled.
- involves the manipulation of an independent variable (cause), and the observation of a dependent variable (effect).
47
who favours experiments and why?
- positivists
| - popular in natural sciences
48
how can an experiment be conducted well?
- a control group, where no variables are changed
- an experimental group, where at least one variable is changed
- this is so that results can be compared
49
what are the two types of experiments?
- laboratory experiments
| - field experiments
50
what did GIDDENS say about experiments?
'an experiment can be defined as an attempt within artificial conditions established by an investigator, to test the influences of one or more variables upon others.'
51
what are laboratory experiments?
involves setting up an artificial situation, allowing the control and experimental group to be created, with observations and measurements occurring and then these being accurately recorded, so effect can be analysed
52
what are laboratory experiments used for?
used to establish correlations
- if changes in one variable are due to changes in another variable, then this is seen as a correlation between the variables
- therefore, these are often used in psychology, rather than sociology
53
what are field experiments?
where researches attempt to control and measure variables in a natural environment, conducted in normal social situation.
54
what is one of the most important variable in an experiment?
the idea of the Hawthorne Effect, as the researcher cannot control if the group are aware of the research project.
55
what are 3 examples of experiments?
- SISSONS' Paddington Train Station experiment
- ROSENTHAL and JACOBSON's Teacher Expectations
- ZIMBARDO's Prison experiment
56
give detail on Sissons' experiment?
- used to explore perceptions of social class
- business man (suit/bowler hat) vs manual labourer (overalls)
- asked for directions in same way + same wording
- more people stopped and helped business man, while labourer was ignored/received negative response
- 80% told after about experiment, one was angry
57
give detail on Rosenthal and Jacobson's experiment?
- class of students, IQ test, with results supposedly identifying students who have an academic growth spurt
- 20% labelled as high flyers vs 80%= less able, when they were all in fact of similar ability
- positive teacher interaction based on labels, and so the 20% achieved higher at the end compared to the 80%
58
give detail on Zimbardo's experiment?
- mock prison to explore the darker side of human nature, plus how far people would conform to given roles
- prison guards vs prisoners, 24 male participants, paid $15/day
- prisoners searched and stripped, participants psychologically abused each other
- day2= prison riot, day3= prisoner released due to sever depression/uncontrollable crying, day6= experiment stopped over a week early.
59
what is an observation?
the watching and listening towards a group, and the recording of what is observed over time.
60
who favours observations?
INTERPRETIVISTS
61
what are the four types of observations?
- participant (joins in, walks a day in their shoes)
- non-participant (observes without taking part, watches from the sidelines)
- overt (participants are aware)
- covert (participants are unaware, undercover)
62
what do overt observations cause? add evidence?
the Hawthorne effect, so people change how they behave, as they know that they are being observed.
EVIDENCE= Whyte- 'we only let you see what we wanted you to see.'
63
what did Barker do to overcome the Hawthorne Effect while observing?
= he observed for over 7 years
64
what is a key study of a covert, participant observation?
John Howard Griffin's 'Black like me.'
65
give details on the 'Black like me' observations.
- white man dyed his skin black to get closer to the black community, in search of social justice, 1960s
- wanted to experience firsthand, the obstacles/hardships of being black in America, lived with them, used their bathrooms/water fountains, and sat with them on public transport
- releases the hardship they go through everyday, constant oppression
- positive aspect= generosity and sense of black solidarity
66
what are some of the practical issues with observations?
1- researcher characteristics, can prove as an obstacle, so must be matched.
2- access to the group, can be difficult, so must gain permission from key member, known as the gatekeeper.
67
what did Sarah Thornton say about on rave culture and her researcher characteristics?
'I quickly out-aged my participants.'
68
what are some of the problems with staying in the observation?
- researcher skills, must have specific knowledge of group, intra-group characteristics, and find a secret way of recording data, to prevent from blowing cover.
- detachment, remain unbiased and prevent over identifying with group, avoids going native.
- guilty knowledge, observing something that puts them in a moral dilemma.
69
what is the main issue when getting out of a observations?
breaking ethical guidelines.
70
what are four examples of observations conducted, and what type of observations were these?
- James Patrick, Glasgow Gang= covert, participant
- Eileen Barker, making of the moonies= covert, participant
- Hobbs, petty criminals and police= covert, participant.
- Polsky, hustlers, beats and other= covert, participant
Sociology Theory and Methods
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