the process of research

formulating an aim or hypothesis

what is a hypothesis

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• A hypothesis is a possible explanation that can be tested by collecting evidence to prove it true or false.

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• For example, we may suspect that what affects educational achievement.

• If so, we can formulate a specific hypothesis as a c____-and-e____ statement, such as:

*d____ in family size cause d____ in a____'.

• We can then do what to test whether or not this is true.

• what happens If the hypothesis turns out to be false

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• For example, we may suspect that family size affects educational achievement.

• If so, we can formulate a specific hypothesis as a cause-and-effect statement, such as:

*differences in family size cause differences in achievement'.

• We can then collect evidence to test whether or not this is true.

• If the hypothesis turns out to be false, we must discard it

formulating an aim or hypothesis-discarding a hypothesis

• Discarding a hypothesis might seem like a bad thing, but in fact it what does

• For example, if our research reveals no link with family size, we have learned something new

• so we can now do what

formulating an aim or hypothesis-discarding a hypothesis

• Discarding a hypothesis might seem like a bad thing, but in fact it means we have made some progress.

• For example, if our research reveals no link with family size, we have learned something new

• so we can now turn our attention to another possible cause instead - perhaps parental attitudes, or income

formulating an aim or hypothesis- ✓advantages of hypothesis

what is the advantage of a hypothesis

formulating an aim or hypothesis- ✓advantages of hypothesis

• The advantage of a hypothesis is that it gives direction to our research.

• It will give a focus to our questions, since their purpose is to gather information that will either confirm or refute (disprove) our hypothesis.

formulating an aim or hypothesis-

• which group favour a hypothesis as the starting point for research.

• This is because they seek to discover c____-and-e____ relationships - e.g. that large family size causes underachievement.

• Using q_____ methods such as questionnaires, they formulate q____ designed to discover what

formulating an aim or hypothesis-

• Positivists favour a hypothesis as the starting point for research.

• This is because they seek to discover cause-and-effect relationships - e.g. that large family size causes underachievement.

• Using quantitative methods such as questionnaires, they formulate questions designed to discover whether and why these factors are linked.

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• While a hypothesis is a what an aim is more what

• . It identifies what

• Often it will simply be to collect data on what, such as the way of life of a subculture.

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• While a hypothesis is a statement about a specific relationship ('A causes B'), an aim is more general

• . It identifies what we intend to study and hope to achieve through the research.

• Often it will simply be to collect data on a particular topic, such as the way of life of a subculture.

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• give an example of an aim in the context of family size and educational achievement

• Notice how this is more g____—it doesn’t say family size c____ achievement differences (which is a hypothesis).

• it simply states what without what

formulating an aim or hypothesis

• example :To investigate the relationship between family size and educational achievement

• Notice how this is more general—it doesn’t say family size causes achievement differences (which is a hypothesis).

• it simply states what you intend to research without assuming a cause-and-effect link.

formulating an aim or hypothesis ✓advantages of aims

• The advantage of an aim is that it is more o____-e____.

• We are not tied to trying to prove what instead we can g____ d____ on anything that appears i____ about a situation.

• why might This can be very useful at the start of our research

formulating an aim or hypothesis ✓advantages of aims

• The advantage of an aim is that it is more open-ended.

• We are not tied to trying to prove a particular hypothesis; instead we can gather data on anything that appears interesting about a situation.

• This can be very useful at the start of our research, when we know very little about the topic - since by definition, in this situation we would have no real idea about what hypothesis we wanted to test.

formulating an aim or hypothesis ✓advantages of aims

• which group would often favour a b____ aim rather than a hypothesis, since they are interested in what

• so the task is to find out what rather than to so what

formulating an aim or hypothesis ✓advantages of aims

• Interpretivists often favour a broad aim rather than a hypothesis, since they are interested in understanding actors' meanings,

• so the task is to find out what the actors themselves think is important, rather than to impose the researcher's own possible explanations in the form of a hypothesis.

operationalising concepts

• Suppose our hypothesis is that working-class pupils achieve lower qualifications because of lower parental income.

• Before we can test it, we what do we need

• and what is the reason for this

operationalising concepts

• Suppose our hypothesis is that working-class pupils achieve lower qualifications because of lower parental income.

• Before we can test it, we need a working or 'operational' definition of our key ideas - in this case, social class.

• this is because without a working definition, we won't be able to count the numbers of working-class pupils who have or don't have qualifications.

operationalising concepts

• 'social class' is a fairly a____ concept, so we need a way of doing what

• Most sociologists would probably use what as an indicator of a pupil's social class.

• This process of converting a s____ c____ (such as class) into what is called 'operationalisation'.

operationalising concepts

• 'social class' is a fairly abstract concept, so we need a way of measuring what class each pupil belongs to.

• Most sociologists would probably use parental occupation as an indicator of a pupil's social class.

• This process of converting a sociological concept (such as class) into something we can measure is called 'operationalisation'.

operationalising concepts

• Once we have operationalised our concept, we can start devising q____ that m___ it.

• For example, what question might we ask parents to see what class each pupil belongs to?

• We can then c____ this with information we collect about their q____ to find out whether our h____ is t____ or f____

operationalising concepts

• Once we have operationalised our concept, we can start devising questions that measure it.

• For example, we might ask parents, 'what is your job?' This will allow us to see what social class each pupil belongs to.

• We can then correlate this with information we collect about their qualifications to find out whether our hypothesis is true or false

operationalising concepts

what is a problem that can arise when operationalising concepts

operationalising concepts

• a problem can arise when different sociologists operationalise the same concept differently.

• For example, we might disagree about whether a routine office worker is working-class or middle-class. This can make it hard to compare the findings of different pieces of research.

operationalising concepts

• how would Positivists react to operationalising concepts

• By contrast, how would interpretivists react to operationalising concepts

operationalising concepts

• Positivists support operationalising concepts because they want to measure social phenomena scientifically, using clear, objective data to test hypotheses. Since they aim to study society in the same way scientists study the natural world, operationalising concepts helps them ensure their research is reliable, replicable, and based on observable facts—not vague ideas.

• By contrast, interpretivists put less emphasis on operationalising concepts. - This is because they are more interested in actors' own definitions and understandings of ideas such as 'class', 'achievement' etc, than imposing their own definitions of these concepts

the pilot study

what is a pilot study

the pilot study

a small-scale trial run of a research project done before the full research - a test version of your research to check if everything works properly.

the pilot study

• Sociologists who use social surveys (q_____ and s____ i_____) often carry out a pilot study before conducting their main survey.

• This involves trying out a d___ version of the q___ or i____ s—— (the list of interview questions) on a s____ s____

the pilot study

• Sociologists who use social surveys (questionnaires and structured interviews) often carry out a pilot study before conducting their main survey.

• This involves trying out a draft version of the questionnaire or interview schedule (the list of interview questions) on a small sample.

the pilot study

• The basic aim of the pilot study is to i___ ____ any p____, r____ or c____ questions and their wording and give interviewers what,

• so that the actual survey goes as s___ as possible.

the pilot study

• The basic aim of the pilot study is to iron out any problems, refine or clarify questions and their wording and give interviewers practice,

• so that the actual survey goes as smoothly as possible.

the pilot study

For example, Y____ and W____ (1962) carried out over how many pilot interviews to help them decide on what 3 things

the pilot study

For example, Young and Willmott (1962) carried out just over 100 pilot interviews to help them decide on the design of their study, the questions to ask and how to word them.

the pilot study

• A pilot study may reveal what

• After carrying out the pilot study, it should be possible to f___ the questionnaire or interview schedule

the pilot study

• A pilot study may reveal that some questions are badly worded and hard to understand, or that the answers are difficult to analyse.

• After carrying out the pilot study, it should be possible to finalise the questionnaire or interview schedule