Studied by 4 people
structuralism
an approach focusing on the large scale social structures in which people play defined roles
macro approach
focus on the large scale of whole societies
micro approach
focus on small-scale social interaction
correlation
when two variables are related to each other but causation cannot be proved. For example: being sick is related to poverty but not all poor people are sick and people who are not poor can get sick.
causation
when a strict link can be proved by variables in a time sequence
interpretivism
approaches that start at the level of the individual, focusing on small-scale phenomena and usually favouring qualitative methods
identity
how a person sees and how others see them
perspectives
ways of viewing social life from different points of view
consensus
basic agreements on a set of shared values
positivism
an approach to sociology based on studying society in a scientific manner
quantitative data
information and facts that take a numerical form
bias
the prejudice that distorts the truth when research is influenced by the values of the researcher or by decisions taken about the research
objectivity
absence of bias; the researchers do not allow their values or feelings to influence the research
hypothesis
a theory or explanation at the start of the research that the research is designed to test
pilot study
a small-scale test of a piece of a research project before the main research
survey population
all those to whom the findings of the study will apply and from which a sample is chosen
sampling frame
a list of members of the population from which the sample is chosen
generalisability
when the findings of a sample can be said to apply to a larger group of people sharing their characteristics
random sampling
when each person has an equal chance of being selected
stratified sampling
when the sampling frame is divided
quota sampling
deciding in advance how many people with what characteristics to involve in the research and identifying them
snowball sampling
when one respondent puts the researcher in contact with others
sampling methods
the different ways in which the sampling can be created
ethical issues
issues that have a moral dimension
questionnaires
a standardised list of questions used in social surveys
social surveys
systematic collection of information from a sample
open questions
the respondent can reply in their own words to give their responses
closed/pre-coded questions
those where the researcher has set out which responses can be recorded
respondent
someone who provides information to the researchers usually used for surveys and interviews rather than other methods
qualitative data
information and facts (like attitudes or kinds of actions) that are not able to be presented in numerical form
self-completion questionnaires
questionnaires that are completed by the respondent on their own
postal questionnaires
self-completed questionnaires that are sent out and returned by post
response rate
proportion of responses obtained out of a sample
structured interview
an interview in which the questions are standardised and the replies codified to produce quantitative data
telephone questionnaires
when the researcher reads the questions to respondents over the telephone and records their answers
reliability
when the research can be repeated and similar responses will be obtained
validity
when the findings accurately reflect the reality that is intended to capture
unstructured interview
an interview without set questions that usually involves probing into emotions and attitudes, leading to qualitative data
semi-structured interviews
an interview with some standardized questions but allowing the researcher some flexibility on what is asked in what order
focus group
a group brought together to be interviewed on a particular topic
group interview
any interview involving a group interviewed together
interview data
intentional or unintentional effect of the way that the interviewer asks questions or interprets answers
interviewer effect
ways in which the interviewer may influence participants' responses by their characteristics or appearance
subjectivity
lack of objectivity. The researcher’s view influences approach taken
laboratory experiments
experiments taking place in a lab to exclude external variables
hawthorne / observer effect
unintended effects of the researcher’s presence on the behaviour or responses of participants
field experiments
experiments taking place in the natural setting of the real world
case study
a detailed in-depth study of one group or event
longitudinal survey
a survey taking place at intervals over a long period
overt participant observation
the group being studied is aware research is taking place
covert participant observation
group being studied is unaware of research and decieved
non-participant observation
when the researcher observes a group but doesn’t participate
content analysis
method of studying communication and media
triangulation
use of two or more methods in the same research project
representativeness
degree to which research findings about one group can be applied to a large/similar group
primary data
information collected by sociologist at first hand
secondary data
information collected earlier by others and used later on by sociologists
official statistics
produced by government and official agencies
non-official statistics
produced by other organisations
trend
change over time in a particular direction
comparative study
looking at two or more different groups or events in terms of similarities and differences
historical documents
a wide range of documents from the past
Conflict
Disagreements between groups with different interests
Note
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