Things to consider when choosing a research method - practical issues

P

E

T

Practical

Ethical

Theoretical perspective (interpretivist/positivist)

P

E

R

V

E

R

T

Practical

Ethical

Reliable (replicable)

Valid (true picture)

Evidence (case studies, examples)

Representative (generalisations)

Theoretical perspective (interpretivist/positivist)

6 things to consider re. practicality

1. Research opportunity

• Can you easily access the group or would it be one-off?

2. Cost

3. Requirements of funding bodies

• Less socially desirable projects that may reflect badly on the funding body are likely to be denied funding

4. Time

5. Personal skills/characteristics

• If you’re terrible at building a rapport with people you don’t know, maybe interviews aren’t the best method

6. Subject matter

Practical issue surrounding studying W/C people + methods

• Issue: lack of time due to working long hours and multiple jobs

• Method: observation

  • Less demanding of them - doesn’t require their time

• Financial incentive could make the research worth their while

Practical issues surrounding studying recent migrants to the UK + methods

• Issue: language barrier, personal characteristics (they may want to speak to someone with similar experiences to them)

• Method: questionnaires - easy to translate responses and questions

  • Interviews and observations would be difficult to translate as an interpreter couldn’t keep up

Practical issues surrounding studying sub-cultural groups + methods + solution

• Issues: access (especially to deviant groups), personal characteristcs (they may be distrustful of someone outside their circle)

• Methods: covert observation (but could become stalking), snowball sampling

• Solution: need a gatekeeper - somoeone with better access

Practical issues surrounding studying victimes of DV + solution

• Issue: personal characteristics (gender) can be a sensitive issue

• Solution: female researcher

Impacts of practical issues on choice of method - time

• Less time = smaller or geographically limited sample size

• Issues

  • Not as representative - more people = closer to true value

    • Unable to generalise

  • Less reliable results

Impacts of practical issues on choice of method - funding

• Less funding = smaller sample size

• No incentive = lower response rate

  • Unrepresentative, may miss important voices

    • Unable to generalise

Impacts of practical issues on choice of method - access to participants

• Illiteracy = inability to conduct surveys

  • Method has to be verbal

• Different languages = need for translator

  • Increases cost and time

Impacts of practical issues on choice of method - opportunities to conduct research

• Gatekeepers may change their mind about access = could curtail research

• Could be given access unexpectedly and have no time to select methods or prepare

  • Patrick (1973) - 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 gang

Impact of practical issues on choice of method - personal characteristics of researcher

• Gender/religion = discomfort with male researchers

  • Researcher has to be female

• Marginialised or deviant groups = suspicion of researcher

  • May need to be part of the same community as the participant, or share similar experiences

    • Shared identity can foster trust

    • Background knowledge enhances understanding

    • Increases comfort of, and therefore information from the participant

• Research may need different skills in different situations e.g. build a rapport, mix with new people, observe and recall