sociology paper 1 key people research methods

young and wilmott

structured interviews for family life research

young and wilmott strengths

reliable

easy to analyse

young and wilmott weaknesses

limited depth compared to unstructured

willis

12 lads

ethnographic study

willis strengths

rich qualitative data

willis weaknesses

small sample, low generalisability

dobash and dobash

unstructured interveiws studying DV

dobash and dobash strengths

gained sensitive insights

dobash and dobash weaknesses

not reliable

subjective

oakley

unstructured interveiws of womens experience with housework

oakley strengths

empathetic feminist approach

oakely weaknesses

hard to generalise

venkatesh

gang leader for a day

overt observation of gang life

venkatesh strengths

high validity, insider insight

venkatesh weaknesses

safety and ethical risks

griffin

covert observation of teenage boys in public spaces

griffin strength

natural behaviour observed

griffin weaknesses

ethical issues (no consent)

flanders

non-participant observation of pupil-teacher interactions

flanders strengths

objective classroom data

flanders weaknesses

lacks student perspectives

bandura

lab experiment with kids and bobo doll

bandura strengths

controlled conditions means high reliability

bandura weaknesses

artificial setting

rosenthal and jacobson

field experiment

shows teacher expectations effecting achievement

rosenthal and jacobson strengths

demonstrates self-fulfilling prophecy

rosenthal and jacobson weaknesses

deception, ethical issues

durkheim

comparative method in suicide study

durkheim strengths

good for large-scale patterns

durkheim weaknesses

overlooks individual meaning

merton

using comparative method to test theories scientifically

merton strengths

systematic theory testing

pollock

using personal documents like diaries for insights

pollock strengths

deep valid understanding

pollock weaknesses

authenticity questionable

ofsted reports

use public documents for analysing schools

ofsted reports strengths

official and accessible

ofsted reports weaknesses

could reflect policy bias