Practical, Ethical and Theoretical Issues

What are the practical issues in research?

It refers to the logistics of conducting the research

What are the ethical issues in research?

It refers to the moral and ethical conduct of the researcher and potential participants

What are the theoretical issues in research?

It refers to some of the preferences that researchers display towards researching society- this includes their perspective on society and how it should be studied

What are the practical issues in choosing a topic and method?

• Funding bodies- who is going to pay for research? What criteria might they place upon the research? What are their interests?

  • Governments, businesses, charities, universities

• Access to participants- how easy will it be to study the target group?

• Impact of research- will it advance our understanding of society?

• Opportunity to conduct research- will it be feasible for the researcher to conduct research on that topic?

• Time- How long will it take to conduct the research? How long will it take to collect and interpret data? Will additional training be needed?

• Cost- What costs will the research incur? Will the research require multiple researchers? Will there be hidden costs?

• Participants- What sampling methods will be used to select participants? Will permission be required from a gatekeeper for access to participants?

What are the ethical issues in choosing a topic and method?

• Ethical guidelines provided by the British Sociological Association. Research proposals are submitted to the ethics committees

• Security- All data must be kept in accordance with GDPR guidelines

• Confidentiality- Will the research expose issues of confidentiality? How will participants react to disclosing information that could threaten their jobs or safety?

• Deception- Are we being honest with participants? Is there a need to hide the fact we are conducting research from them?

• Informed consent- Are participants aware of the aims of the study? Are they aware they are part of the research?

• Protection from harm- Are participants of research likely to be placed in physical harm?

What are the theoretical issues in choosing a topic and method?

• Sociologist’s values- What is their theoretical perspective? What are their personal interests or involvements in the topic?

• Aim of the research- Is the research being used to further knowledge or inform social policy?

• Methodological preferences- What methods are preferred by the researcher conducting the research?

• The type of data being collected- Is the research going to be repeated by others?

• Reliability- Is the applicability important? Is the research going to be repeated by others?

• Validity- Is the purpose of the research to gain an understanding of human behaviour in a specific context?

• Representativeness- Is the research meant to represent society as a whole or be a window into the lives of individuals?