A-Level Sociology AQA > Research Methods > Flashcards

Research Methods Flashcards

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1
Q

What types of interviews are there?

A
  • Structured
  • Unstructured
  • Semi-structured
  • Group interviews
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2
Q

What types of experiments are there?

A
  • Field
  • Laboratory
  • Comparative
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3
Q

What types of documents are there?

A
  • Content analysis
  • Thematic analysis
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4
Q

What types of official statistics are there?

A
  • Content analysis
  • Thematic analysis
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5
Q

What types of observations are there?

A
  • Covert
  • Overt
  • Participant
  • Non-participant
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6
Q

What does P.E.T stand for?

A
  • Practical
  • Ethical
  • Theoretical
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7
Q

What is a practical issue?

A

A barrier that exists physically whrn carrying out the research

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8
Q

What is an ethical issue?

A

What moral barries challenge researchers to conduct in a certain manner

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9
Q

What is a theoretical issue?

A

What affects how useful the research is to be used in society?

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10
Q

What are some practical issues?

A
  • Time and Money
  • Requirements of funding bodies
  • Personal skills and characteristics
  • Research opportunities
  • Access and characteristics of researcher
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11
Q

What are some ethical issues?

A
  • Informed consent
  • Confidentiality and privacy
  • Harm to participants
  • Vulnerable groups
  • Deception
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12
Q

What are some theoretical issues?

A
  • Reliability
  • Validity
  • Representativeness
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13
Q

What is reliability?

A

How well the research can be copied with the same results produced

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14
Q

What is validity?

A

How true the findings of the study are to real life

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15
Q

What is representativeness?

A

How well the sample represents the target population

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16
Q

What are the two main research approaches?

A
  • Positivism
  • Interpretivism
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17
Q

What does Positivism prefer?

A
  • Scientific testing
  • Objectivity
  • Quantative data
  • Macro sociology
  • Focus on patterns in society
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18
Q

What does Interpretivism prefer?

A
  • Non-scientfic testing
  • Qualitative data
  • Micro sociology
  • Focus on meanings within society
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19
Q

What are the different types of sampling?

A
  • Random
  • Systematic
  • Stratified
  • Quota
  • Snowball
  • Opportunity
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20
Q

What is systematic sampling?

A

Selecting people from the sample by choosing every 5th, 10th, ect person

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21
Q

What is stratified sampling?

A

The population is divded based on characteristics

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22
Q

What is quota sampling?

A

Researcher has a quote for different characteristics
(20 men, 20 women)

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23
Q

What is snowball sampling?

A

Asking participants to introduce the researcher to other people willing to particiapte
(Useful for people who are hard to get hold of, such as gangs)

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24
Q

What is opportunity sampling?

A

Choosing people who are the easiest to access

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25
What is a laboratory experiment?
- Highly controlled - Researchers manipulate variables to tests the cause and effect relationship between them - Dependent + Independent varibales
26
What is an experimental group?
The group that exposed to the independent variable in a laboratory experiment to see the effect on the dependent variable
27
What is the control group?
The group of participants in a lab experiment that are not exposed to the independent variable
28
What happened in Zimbardo's prison experiment?
- Random allocation of guards and prisoners - Degregation ritual + solitary confinement - Got more abusive daily
29
What was Zimbardo's sample?
24 male students who were volunteers
30
What was the environment in Zimbardo's study?
Unversity basement (Lab experiment = fake environment, impacts validity)
31
What were the results of Zimbardo's prison experiment?
- People broke down and became mindlessly obident - Roles were adopted quicklu and intensely - The environement influenced their behaviour
32
What are some ethical considerations of Zimbardo's experiment?
- Mental and physical harm to participants - Negatively impacted social status
33
What are some theoretical considerations of Zimbardo's experiment?
- Not very representative due to small sample, age range, and gender representation - Zimbardo was involved in the experiment - Some people admitted to playing characters, impacting validity
34
What is the Hawthorne effect?
A situation where an indivial or group is aware they are being observed so their behaviour changes accordingly
35
36
What was Elton Mayo's (1927) study on the Hawthorne effect?
- Researched productivity in a facory - The 5 participants knew they were taking part in an experiment - Despite negative conditions, their productivity increased because they knew they were being watched
37
What was Paul Piff's field experiment?
- Seeing if rich people were less giving than the poor - Observed how many expensive vs cheap cars stopped for padestrians
38
What P.E.T considerations are there aroudn Paul Piff's study?
Ethical - They weren't aware they were being studied Theoretical - Only done at one crosswalk, not every rich person has an expensive car
39
Differences bewteen lab and field experiments
Lab - More reliable, Hawthorne effect Field - Larger sample size, Real life setting, More valid
40
What is the comparative method?
The researcher collects data about different social groups and compares them
41
What was Durkheim's comparative study of suicide (1887)?
- Examined suicide rates between Catholics and Protestants - Found higher rates among Protestants - Argued this was due to less intergration but had no real evidence for this reasoning
42
What are the strengths of the Comparative Method?
- Can be used to study the past - Little/no ethical considerations
43
What are some limitations of the Comparative Method?
- May be other factors that explain the cause and effect - Lacks validity - Heavily reliant on secondary data
44
What are the 4 types of interviews?
- Structured interviews - Unstructured interviews - Semi-structured interviews - Focus group/group interview
45
Pros of structured interviews
- Reliable - Can cover large numbers of people - Inexpensive - Straightforward - Results are suitable for hypothesis testing
46
Cons of structured interviews
- Closed-ended questions - Little freedom to clarify misunderstandings - People may lie or exaggerate - Monotonus, makes people bored - Feminist Hilary Graham argues they are patriarchal and create an invalid picture of women's experiences
47
Pros of unstructured interviews
- Easier to explore unfamiliar topics - Highly flexible - Easier to check misunderstandings - Informality means people are more likely to open up - The interviewee has more chance to talk about what they feel is important - Produces fresh insights
48
Cons of unstrucutured interviews
- Smaller sample sizes - Less reliable - Lack of quantative data - Training is more thorough - Requires good people skills
49
Pros of group interviews
- Produces richer data - Participants may be more comfortable - The researcher is less involved
50
Cons of group interviews
- Data may be difficult to analyse - Some individuals may dominate the discussion - Peer pressure may stop some people from expressing their views
51
What type of interviews do feminists prefer?
Unstructured interviews as it removes male researchers from dictating the questions and patriarchal oppression
52
What are open-ended questons?
No restrictions on the answer given, qualitative
53
What are closed-ended questions?
Restricitve, quantitative
54
What are likert scales?
Use words to gauge opinions (Agree, Strongly Agree)
55
What are rating scales?
Judge opinions using numbers (1-10)
56
What are the pratical advantages of questionnaires?
- Quick and cheap - Widespread - No need to train interviewers - Data is easy to quantify
57
Why are questionnaires reliable?
- Can be made identical - Allow for comparisons
58
Who favours questionnaires?
Positivists
59
Why do positivists favour questionnaires?
- They are detached and objective - Limited involvement of sociologist with the respondants
60
How are questionnaires representative?
They can collect info from a large number of people, therefore it has a better chance of being representative of the target population
61
What should a questionnaire do to be ethical?
Get informed consent from the respondant and guarantee anonymity
62
What is a practical problem of questionnaires?
Most people need an incentive to complete it, which can be costly
63
Who is more likely to fill out a questionnaire?
Retired or unemployed people as they have more time on their hands, which can effect results
64
Why are questionnaires inflexible?
Once its finished it cannot be changed
65
Why do interpretivists argue questionnaires lack validity?
Because they are detatched and inflexible
66
What is a Participant observation?
Where the researcher interacts with the participant
67
What is a Non-participant observation?
The researcher does not interact with the participant
68
What is a Covert observation?
Where the researcher is undercover
69
What is an Overt observation?
Where the participant know the researcher's purpose
70
What is a pro of Participant observations?
Can ask for clarification about things
71
What is a pro and con of Non-participant observations?
Pro: Doesn't require people skills Con: May cause misinterpretations
72
What are the cons of Covert observations?
- Lack of informed consent - An act must be kept up - Deception - Hard to take notes
73
What are the pros and cons of Overt observations?
Pros: Take notes freely Cons: May be denied access, participants may change their behaviour (Hawthorne Effect)
74
Why is it hard to get into a group for an observation?
- Need the right connections - Good personal skills - Win trust and acceptance - May face suspicion and hostility
75
Why is it hard to stay in a group during an observation?
- Need to fight 'going native' - Must remain detatched - The longer in the group, the less strange things may appear
76
Why is it hard to get out of a group after an observation?
- Hard to return to normal life - May have loyalities to the group - Could be dangerous
77
What are Official Statistics?
Quantitative data that gathers info on a variety of issues
78
What are Hard Statistics?
Hard to dispute and widely regarded as valid
79
What are Soft Statistics?
More open to interpretation than hard statistics
80
How do Positivists see Official Statistics?
They uncover facts about society that are objectively true
81
How do Interpretivists see Official Statistics?
Stats are not factual, they instead just represent the labels that we put on individuals and actions
82
How do Marxists see Official Statistics?
They are made by the bourgeoisie and therefore have their interests at heart
83
What is a Document?
Anything in society that is written down or presented as some form of media, such as paintings, drawings, maps, photos
84
What are some issues around Documents?
- May not be authentic - May be untrue - It may not be typical of other documents of its time - Certain groups may be underepresented - Words change meanings overtime - Interpreted differently by other people
A-Level Sociology AQA
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