Sociology- Research methods

Research methods

Positivism

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• Involves collecting information about social facts which are aspects of behaviour that can be counted / measured. (Quantitative data)

• This approach mimics that which is used in science where they use data collected to identify relationships between social factors or whether they just coincide.

• They think about why.

Casual vs Non casual relationships (positivism)

A casual relationship is where one specific thing can happen which is said to make another thing happen.
Non casual relationships are when something doesn’t make another thing happen. (interpretivism)

Positivism examples: Emily Durkheim

• Theory of suicide using quantitative data: 4 types are egoistic (feeling alone), altruistic (feeling strongly and willing to sacrifice your life e.g. war) , anomic (struggles with experiencing sudden change) and fatalistic (feeling trapped).

• People with more support are less vulnerable.

• Look at social environment and mental issues, not just the individual.

Interpretivism

• Interpretivists look at qualitative data. They believe peoples behaviour is influenced by the interpretations and meanings they give to social situations.

• The resarcher must try to understand the meanings and how people see the world.

• E.G. Rather than counting how many people go to university (positivism) they look at why they go.

• They do not want to find casual relationships because they see human behaviour is different to the science approach; Humans find what means something to them and they decide how to act.

Interpretivist examples: Atkinson

Discovering suicide (1978)

• Critiqued official statistics: suicide statistics are not objective, coroners and officials have to make subjective judgements.-

• Social construction of suicide: suicide is a socially constructed activity. He critiques Durkheims approach arguing that the role of interpretation by social actors is important.

• Methological skepticism: Too many varied reasons (compares reasons to digging holes).

• Indicators and interpretation: Certain signs of suicide are open to interpretation.

• Impact on sociology: Focus on how social facts are constructed, sociology of deviance.

Realism

• Positivists are sometimes criticised because social research cannot mimic the approach of science.

• Humans are reflexive; things have meanings for us and we respond using emotions.

• It is clear that there are trends and patterns in social behaviour that can be observed and measured (crime rates etc.)

• Realists argue that the best way to approach research is by using both positivist and interpretivist approach. They select whatever one is relevant to what they are studying,

Selecting research methods: What to consider?

They must consider:

• What do they want to find out?

• What information is already available?

• Their preference for qualitative and quantitative data?

• How much time / money do you have?

Selecting research methods: Process of research.

• Setting out aims: All other decisions are made based of the purpose of the research.

• Operationalisation of key terms: The key terms will be defined to ensure clarity for the research. Many sociological debates are based on contested concepts.

• Select a method: Could be qualitative or quantitative depending on what is best to meet the aims.

• Ethical considerations: All possible sources of harm must be considered before officially starting and attempts should be made to avoid harm.

• Sample population and procedure: Different sampling processes are used for different research styles. Positivists will use a representative sampling process and interpretivists will choose a convenience sampling process.

• Pilot survey: More typical of positivist research where research methods are trailed before being rolled out to everyone.

• Process of research: The actual method chosen will be applied to the research

• Analysis of results: Positivist research will use statistical analysis whereas interpretivists will use patterns / points of significance.

Primary data vs secondary data

• Primary data is collected by sociologists themselves. Examples include surveys, questionnaires, interviews and observation. Jan Pahl used interviews to investigate how families made decisions.

• Secondary data is any data that already exists and collected by others. Secondary data may either be personal or public documents. Personal = private (e.g. personal photos, documents etc). Public=produced with public knowledge that it can be accessed by anyone (e.g. government statistics, Ofsted reports etc).

Positivist data

The data positivists like to use comes from government sources or official sources.

• Reliability: Government data is reliable because its based on large samples.

• Reliability: Government data sets are carried out over a long period of time so offer both patterns of behaviour and trends.

• Representativeness: Government data has the weakness that not all information is freely available.

• Availability: Sometimes not available so if hard to gain access to.

• Validity: government data will have the weakness of reflecting the political priorities of the time so data will vary.

• Validity: some data sets may lack precise detail e.g. much data on ethnicity use black, Asian and white as categories. This is not useful for detailed analysis.

Interpretivist data

Interpretivists may use material that is in the public domain such as published diaries or they may ask people for their private documents.-

• Validity: Diaries / autobiographies may have self serving bias because people want to portray the best of themselves and will not be the best of themselves.-

• Validity: Personal documents are often only presenting one side of the argument, so other points of views aren’t known.-

• Reliability: Conversations, events and actions cannot be reproduces.-

• Validity: Some material may not be authentic and sometimes even historical accounts were written after the described events.

General points:

• Its difficult to read through lots of documents and research, so researchers may be tempted to overlook material.-

• Truth fullness is dubious when looking at the media who tent to exadurrate. Stan Cohen, when studying moral panics, compares newspaper to the court account. Media was very exaugurated.

• If the data has been collected by others, it is cheaper for the researcher to use this than to complete the research from scratch.

Quantitative data

Based on the idea that research should be scientific (positivist).

Used to discover patterns in behaviour and identify casual relationships.

Can be expressed in numerical forms (charts, graphs tables etc.)

Examples include;

• Questionnaires

• Structured interviews

• Secondary data (statistics etc)

Qualitative data

Social research should seek meaning and understanding (verstehen)

Allows reaserch to understand what a group does, thinks or feels.

Interpretivists use this method because they aim to find out why people do what they do.

Methods include;

• Observations

• Interviews (unstructured and semi structured)

• Focus groups

• Secondary data from private sources (letters/diaries etc.)

Methodological pluralism

The belief no single research method is superior and that different methods can be valid depending on the context or research in question.

It embraces diversity in methods and aims to enrich understanding by allowing different methods to coexist.

From a philosophical stance different methods reveal different aspects of social reality.

E.g. a researcher studying education might use interviews, test scores and classroom observation without trying to compare them.

Triangulation

The use of multiple methods, data sources or theories to cross check and validate findings.

It seeks corroboration of results from different approaches and it aims to increase the validity and credibility of research and findings.

Data triangulation is using different sources of data.

Methodological triangulation is using different methods.

Investigator triangulation is involving multiple researchers.

E.g. a study on youth crime might use police records, interviews and surveys to get similar conclusions.

Pluralism is about accepting and integrating diverse methods.

Triangulation is about cross validating findings using multiple methods / sources. 

Surveys (primary research methods)

A survey refers to the whole process of collecting data. The term refers to a large-scale quantitative study rather than smaller scale qualitative research.

Data is usually collected through questionnaires or semi structured interviews.

E.g. the crime survey which provides important information about their experiences and attitudes towards crime.

Questionnaires (primary research methods)

A questionnaire is a list of questions on paper or online. 

The respondent will read and answer the question on their own with no need of the researcher being present. 

A large number of people can be surveyed quickly with no cost involved. 

Because the questions are the same, similar results can be expected if the same questionnaire was asked to another person. 

Used by positivists as the data can be easily quantified and can be analysed scientifically. 

It;

• Should be as short as possible

• Should have easy instructions for completion

• Should be easy to follow (questions should be easy to answer and understand)

• Should have as little questions as possible to keep up participant interest

• Should include a range of options for multiple choice questions (e.g. “I don’t know” should be an answer for multiple choice questions)

Questionnaires- Strengths vs weaknesses.

Strengths;

• Collects quantitative data which is preferred by positivists.

• Data is more reliable because questions are set.

• Anonymous = more honest answers.

• Given to a large sample meaning the data is more representative and easily generalised.

• Easy to compare.

• Can be repeated to provide statistics overtime and identify patterns.

• Examples include Eileen Barker (making of a Moonie) and The Welsh language survey.

Weaknesses;

• Less of an opportunity to explore meaning.

• Interpretivists prefer qualitative data.

• People may not feel comfortable disclosing sensitive information.

• Research cannot empathise with those being asked (weber).

• Response rate can be low and difficult to generalise.

• Has to have reference to studies to illustrate points made.

• No opportunity to explain answers.

Interviews- Structure interviews (primary research methods)

Interviews can be structrued, unstructured or semi structured.

• Structured interviews;

Very similar to a questionnaire. The interviewer will ask all of the respondents the exact same questions iand will not probe the repondent on what answer they give.

The interviewer will tick boxes or write down answers dependent on the style of question asked.

The interview can take place online and they are carried out quickly because they follow a pre set range of questions.

Mainly used to collect quantitative data.

Interviews- Unstructured (primary research methods)

• Unstructured interviews;

More like a conversation. The questions and answers don’t fit any fixed order.

Interviews will often take place in the interviewees natural environment so they feel more comfortable and can discuss their answers in detail. 

In- depth interviews allow the respondent to speak for themselves as they are not restricted by rigid questions. 

Questions can be asked to follow up on previous answers. This method is often used when discussing sensitive topics. 

Data can be recorded in words and allow researchers to gather qualitative data.

Unstructured interviews take place over a longer period of time and allows the interviewer to develop empathy and verstehen. 

Unstructured interviews- Strengths vs weaknesses

Strengths;

• Topics can be explored in detail as there’s no time restriction.

• Natural setting encourages honesty.

• Respondent can answer in their own words and body language can be observed.

• Can develop good relationships and build trust.

• Able to probe further and get more insight.

• Can adjust questions if needed. 

• Favoured by interpretivists.

• Examples include Venkatesh’s Gang leader for a day.

Weaknesses;

• Time consuming to conduct so smaller samples are used.

• Interviewer should be highly skilled.

• Every interview is different (less reliable)

• Interviewer bias- respondent may want to please the interviewer.

• Personal characteristics may affect the relationship e.g. gender etc.

• Hamid said “Unstructured interviews help elaborate participants choice [marriage and sexuality] and probed further their concern”

Interviews- Semi structured (primary research methods)

• Semi-structured interviews

This method of interview has less flexibility than unstructured but are less rigid than structured.

They consist of open ended questions that are often linked to isses the researcher wants to cover.

The interviewer can ask some set questions but have the ability to probe further and gain more insight.

They are used on their own or in combination with other qualitiative methods like participant observation.

The interviewer can develop empathy / verstehen towards the participant and observe their non-verbal communication.

Takes place in participants home to feel more comfortable.

Collect mainly qualitative data but may include some quantitative data.

Considered to be more valid than methods like questionnaires and structured interviews.

Semi-structured interviews- Strengths vs weaknesses

Strengths;

• Valuable to sociologists on their own.

• Flexibility; the interviewer can ask some set questions but gain further insight by asking open ended questions.

• Transcribed and expressed in words which provides descriptive insights.

• Interviewer has time to develop empathy and verstehen (Weber). Sensitive information can be discussed more comfortably.

• Examples include; Eileen Barker’s Making of a Moonie.

• Favoured by realist

Weaknesses;

• Not standardised (less reliable).

• Lacks scientific rigour (popper).

• Time consuming and costly e.g. Making of a Moonie took Barker 6-8 hours.

• If they don’t record the meeting then its challenging to transcribe as they rely on memory.

• Interviewer can easily influence the answers through tone and body language.

• Social desirability is a problem.

• Interviewer bias.

Focus groups

• Focus groups

A group of people will be encouraged to discuss an issue rather than answer specific questions.

The reasearcher acts as a facilitator who will keep the disussion on topic.

Discussion is recorded so note taking doesnt become a distraction.

Setting is more naturalistic than a one-to-one interview and responses can be more wide ranging.

Collects qualitative data.

Focus groups- Strengths vs weaknesses

Strengths;

• Flexibility; sociologist can ask set questions but ask other questions as well.

• Data is transcribed in words; more descriptive insight.

• Sensitive / controversial issues can be discussed.

• Pain et Al's study of the fear of crime used this format to generate lots of information quickly and, uncover more beliefs and ideas.

• Favoured by interpretivists.

Weaknesses;

• Other researchers cant replicate focus groups to check validity.

• Time consuming.

• Hard to manage dominant personalities.

• Researcher can influence answers.

• Janis described the ‘interview effect’ where the participants say what they think is the desired outcome, rather than what they really think.

• May reach a group consensus rather than individuals thoughts.

Observation

One of the main issues with interviews is that people may not say what they really think. Observation prevents this.

There are 2 main types of observation; Overt observation (open) or Covert observation (Seceret).

Involves immersing themselves into the culture. This is known as ethnographic research.

Favoured by interpretivists.

Participant observation

Sociologists try to become as much as possible a part of the group, method of ethnography.

Used by interpretivists where the researcher joins in with the groups activities and share experiences to understand their perspectives.

A covert role is more likely to be adopted in criminal activities where they may be seen as a threat and be unwelcome. May also adopt it if the participants are likely to change their behaviour if they know they are being watched (Hawthorne effect).

Overt research encourages group members to build more trust in the researcher and it is more ethical that they are aware of the researcher.

Non-participant observation

Researcher observes the group without actually becoming a part of it.

Observes from afar and avoids the Hawthorne effect. Observations are recorded systemically e.g. notes / recordings.

Goal is to observe people in their natural environment without influencing them.

If quantitative data is needed, non participant is preferred.

What is ethnographic research?

Qualitative study method where the sociologist immerses themselves in the social setting.

Understands the values, norms and behaviours of the group.

Conducted in real life and the researcher may participate in the activities of the group. Examples include Observation, field notes, visual methods and informal interviews.

Longitudinal studies

Most sociological research study a group of people for a short period of time, producing a snap shot of events. However, its difficult to study change overtime.

Longitudinal method attempts to overcome this issue by selecting a panel where data is collected and repeated at regular intervals.

This gives the researcher the opportunity to collect data from the same group of people which can be developed overtime.

Useful as long as the sample (cohort) remains the same.

Used by positivists and/or interpretivists as data collected could be either qualitative or quantitative.

Official statistics

• Most widely used secondary sociological research.

• Collected by national and local governments and other official agencies.

• Includes the census, statistics on births, marriages, social services, unemployment and education.

• Favoured by positivists.

• The national survey for Wales involves around 12,000 people per year. The survey is a key source of information for the Welsh Government, other public sector organisations and academics. It’s used by. The Welsh Government and its partners to assist in policy and decision making.

Official statistics - strengths vs weaknesses

Strengths-

• Frequently the only available source of data in some areas.

• Avoids ethical issues.

• Important for planning and evaluating social policies.

• Representative.

• Favoured by positivists.

Weaknesses

• Statistics are collected for administrative purposes so the definitions may be unsuitable for sociological research.

• Interpretivists may argue that statistics are not objective facts but social constructions.

• The categories used by Governments to define things like social class or poverty are not necessarily the same as those used by sociologists.