Research methods strengths and weaknesses

Practical strengths of questionnaires

Can be distributed to a large geographical area/sample therefore likely to ACCESS the participants required for the research which increases the representativeness of the research as it reflects the characteristics of the target population.

Ethical strength of questionnaires

Due to the fact they are subject to self completion informed consent is given which can increase validity as the participants feel comfortable answering questions meaning they are more likely to be true insites into what is being researched

Theoretical strengths to questionaires

It creates quantitative data with standardised questions and the potential to pre code data makes this method replicable and therefore more reliable meaning positivists would like this method

Practical weakness to questiona

Questionnaires can be subject to LOW RESPONSE RATES, therefore reducing the overall sample size. This can affect the generalisability of the data as wider claims might not be able to be made about the whole population.  

Ethical weaknesses with questionairs

If the topic is sensitive some respondents may feel some type of emotional harm and could potentially lie to give socially desirable responses. This can impact on validity as it doesnt give a true insight

Theoretical weaknesses of questionnaires

Due to the standardised nature of questions the respondant may select the nearest answer that describes their situation but this may not be fully relevant. The respondent cannot explain meanings behind their answers leading to INTERPRETIVISTS not liking this method as it is low in validity.

Practical strengths of content analysis

It is a cheap and easy method to carry out and therefore easy to access a range of data on the research topic. This will increase the representativeness of the research as you will be able to collect data that reflects the characteristics of the group your interested in

Ethical strengths of content analysis

There are no participants are required,therefore meaning that ethical considerations and guidelines set out by the BSA are easy to follow. This means issues surrounding the validity of the research are not a concern as the content can be accurately represented. 

Theoretical strengths of content analysis

It produces quantitive data and is regarded a s reliable as it can be carried out again and again and data can be cross checked therefor positivists will favour this method

Practical weakness of content analysis

This id often a time consuming method, eg watching films to count a sign/ symbol/word etc. thsi means that you cannot collect data on a large amount of content. This can reduce generalisability of the research as you iwll not be bale to make and wider claims about how a group has been represented based on a small amount of data

Ethical weakness of content analysis

This cna be a subjective approach at times and some sociologists could analyse text out of context. This could cause emotional harm to the groups being researched if they are not presented fairly. This will reduce the validity of the research as an accurate insight is not gained

Theoretical weakness of a content analysis

Interpretivist would state that statistics provide little information about human stories or behaviour as no meanings/feelings/opinions are given. This decreases the validity

Practical strengths of structured interviews

Due to interviews being pre arranged with the interviewee you are able to gain access to the requires participants for the research and the respondent rate is likely to be higher, this will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target p

Ethical strengths of structured interviews

The interviewer can explain the aims and objectives of the research which should lead the participant to feel more comfortable and rapport can be biult-8 up. This encourages informed consent to be given. This can increase validity of

Theoretical strength of structured interviews

The use of closed and standardised questions means that the data collected is likely to be objective and numerical and therefore this increases reliability as it is replicable, this can also help to endure that the data has value freedom from researchers own biases, these are reasons that positivists would like this method

Practical weakness of a structured interview

Interviews can be more time consuming that methods such as questionaires, this means that it can be difficult to access a large sample of participants. This would impact on the generalisability of the research as wider claims cannot be made to all who hold the characteristics being researched

Ethical weakness of structured interviews

If the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional harm and safeguarding issues, due to the lack of conversational flow the participants may not state they feel uncomfortable and therefore may not feel they have full right to withdraw, this can impact the way that they answer questions as they may lie and give socially desirable responces which will impact the validity of the research as they wont get a true insight into their lives

Theoretical weakness to structured interviews

Interpretivists would critique this method as they would suggest that it is not suitable when researching sensitive issues, participants cannot expand on their responces which reduces the validity of the research as a meaningful insight cannot be gained

Practical strength of semi structured interviews

Due to interviews being pre arranged with the interviewee you are able to gain access to the requred participant for the research and the response rate is likely to be higher, this will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population

Ehtical strength of a semi structured interview

- These interviews have more chance for rapport to be built up than in a structured interview.This encourages INFORMED CONSENT to be given. This can allow for more empathy and understanding of sensitive topics being discussed by the participant. This could lead to them being better safeguarded and therefore potentially feeling more comfortable to answer honestly which increases the validity.

Theoretical strengths of semi structured interview

INTERPRETIVISTS would like the unstructured elements of the interviews as it can produce data that is more qualitative. The nature of these interviews means that they are flexible. This means that themes can be explored by the interviewer if they find it interesting/relevant to the research aims. The unstructured questions means in-depth data can be gained increasing validity

Practical weakness of semi structured interviews

• Interviews can be more TIME CONSUMING. This means that it can be difficult to access a large sample of participants. This would impact on the generalisability of the research as wider claims cannot be made to all who hold the characteristics being researched.

Ethical weaknesses of semi structured interviews

• If the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional HARM and SAFEGUARDING issues. This can decrease the validity of the research as the respondent may feel they have to provide socially desirable responses. Interviewer effect can also lead to this. 

Theoretical weaknesses of semi structured interviews

POSITIVISTS would not like the flexibility of this method and would argue that if rapport builds then the interviewer can become biased and lose objectivity and therefore impacting on the reliability of the research data and findings, as it makes it difficult to replicate.

Practical strengths of unstructured interviews

Due to interviews being pre-arranged with the interviewee, you are able to gain ACCESS to the required participants for the research and the response rate is likely to be higher. This will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population. 

Ethical strength of unstructured interviews

• - INFORMED CONSENT will be given and participants can build rapport can be built between the researcher and participant meaning that a conversational flow can occur meaning they would not feel emotional HARM.  This means the participants are generally more comfortable, meaning they will answer honestly which increases the validity.

Theoretical strengths of unstructured interviews

This method leads to lots of in-depth data collection as the interviewer can probe and ask extra questions. Rapport and verstehen can also be built. This dramatically increases the validity meaning INTERPRETIVISTS would like this method.

Practical weaknesses of unstructured interviews

Interviews can be TIME CONSUMING so only a small sample is gathered. This decreases the generalisability as wider claims cannot be made.

Ethical weaknesses of unstructured interviews

 If the questions make the respondent feel uncomfortable this may lead to emotional HARMand SAFEGUARDING issues. This can decrease the validity of the research as the respondent may feel they have to provide socially desirable responses. Interviewer effect can also lead to this.

Theoretical weaknesses of unstructured interviews

• POSITIVISTS would not like the lack of structure of this method and would argue that if rapport builds then the interviewer can become biased and lose objectivity and therefore impacting on the reliability of the research data and findings, as it becomes difficult to replicate

Practical strengths of focus group interviews

Due to the focus groups being pre-arranged with the respondents, you are able to gain ACCESS to the required participants for the research and the response rate is likely to be higher. This will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population

Ethical strengths of focus group interviews

INFORMED CONSENT will be given and participants can build rapport can be built up with the participants, meaning they would not feel emotional HARM due to the relaxed environment. This means that the respondents will again provide more rich and valid data.

Theoretical strengths of focus group interviews

INTERPRETIVISTS would favour this method as rich and in-depth discussions are encouraged. The questions and themes set out will be tailored to specific group needs creating a relaxed and informal setting which increases validity as the participants feel more comfortable to answer honestly.

Practical weaknesses of focus group interviews

• Data recording and analysis can be difficult and TIME CONSUMING as all respondents will give varying accounts and opinions on the topics being discussed therefore sample size is likely to be small which will reduce the generalisability of the results as wider claims cannot be made about the whole population based on a small group of people.   

Ethical weaknesses of focus group interviews

• Respondents may feel uncomfortable if sensitive topics arise or if other respondents dominate the discussions. This could lead to others feeling uncomfortable, in some extreme cases they may also suffer emotional HARM, therefore meaning that they do not input as they naturally would which decreases the validity.

Theoretical weaknesses of focus group interviews

If rapport builds then the interviewer can become biased and lose objectivity. This will reduce the reliability  as it will be difficult to replicate the study in the same way. As a result, POSITIVISTS will not like this method

Practical strengths of overt non participant observation

The researcher is not involved in the group meaning that it is a fairly easy and cost effective method. As a result the researcher may be able to ACCESS more people to observe which can increase the representative and generalisability of the research.

Ethical of overt non participant observation

As the participants know they are being observed, INFORMED CONSENT is likely to be gained, this increases the validity as the participants will be more informed and should feel more comfortable to behave normally.

Theoretical strengths of overt non participant observation

•  INTERPRETIVISTS would favour this method as rich and in-depth insight can be gained which increases validity.

Practical weaknesses of vert non participant observations

Observations can be fairly TIME CONSUMING and therefore the researcher may not be able to carry out as many observations. As a result, this can reduce the generalisability as wider claims cannot be made based on a small number of observations.

Ethical weaknesses of overt non participant observations

Empathy and understanding may be reduced if the participants feel uncomfortable being observed. They may not display their true behaviour and could feel some form of emotional HARM if they feel this way. This reduces the validity of the findings as behaviour may not be natural and they may demonstrate social desirability.

Theoretical weaknesses of overt non participant observations

POSITIVISTS would not like this method as it is difficult to replicate, especially if there isn’t a coding scheme, meaning that reliability is reduced.

Practical strengths of covert non participant observations

 The researcher is not involved in the group meaning that it is a fairly easy and cost effective method. As a result the researcher may be able to ACCESS more people to observe which can increase the representative and generalisability of the research.

Ethical strengths of covert non participant observation

• The researcher is unlikely to influence the group studied. Also they are at less risk of HARM if they are not fully involved in the group. Therefore the group is less likely to change their behaviour increasing the validity of the data collected.

Theoretical strengths of covert non aprticipant observation

INTERPRETIVISTS would favour this method as rich and in-depth insight is gained which increases validity.

Practical weaknesses of covert non participant observations

• Observations can be fairly TIME CONSUMING and therefore the researcher may not be able to carry out as many observations. As a result, this can reduce the generalisability as wider claims cannot be made based on a small number of observations. 

Ethical weakness of covert non participant observation

• This method holds real ethical issues as no INFORMED CONSENT can be given if the participants do not know they are being observed. As a result, the researcher could hold prejudices/biases towards the group which could reduce the validity of the research. 

Theoretical weakness of covert non participant observation

The research would be hard to replicate reducing reliability. POSITIVISTS would not like this method as a result of this.

Practical strengths of overt participant observations

As the participants know that they are being observed and the researcher is part of the observation, they may be able to gain ACCESS to more participants through discussion. This can increase the representative and generalisability of the research.

Ethical strengths of an overt participant observation

The researcher can be fully immersed in the group to be studied and experience verstehen / understanding. This can mean that a really true insight into groups can be gained. As the participants know they are being researched, BSA ethical guidelines are followed and INFORMED CONSENT is likely to be gained, this increases the validity as the participants will be more informed and should feel more comfortable.

Theoretical strengths od overt participant observation

INTERPRETIVISTS would favour this method as rich and in-depth insight can be gained which increases validity.

Practical weaknesses of overt participant observations

Observations can be fairly TIME CONSUMING and therefore the researcher may not be able to carry out as many observations. As a result, this can reduce the generalisability as wider claims cannot be made based on a small number of observations.

Ethical weaknesses of overt participant observation

• Participants may feel uncomfortable being observed and this could lead to emotional HARM. They may treat the researcher as an outsider therefore this would reduce validity as they may not act naturally and display social desirability. 

By being immersed in the group the researcher has the potential to be at risk of HARM (depending on the group being researched) also they could become too involved meaning they present the group with bias which reduces the validity of the findings.

Theoretical weakness of overt parrticipant observation s

POSITIVISTS would not like this method as it is difficult to replicate, especially if there isn’t a coding scheme, meaning that reliability is reduced.

practical Strengths of covert paricipant observations

• As the researcher is part of the observation, they may be able to gain ACCESS to more participants through discussion. This can increase the representative and generalisability of the research.

Ethical strengths of covertpartivipant observations

The researcher can be fully immersed in the group to be studied and experience verstehen / understanding. This can mean that a really true insight into groups can be gained. This increases the validity as the researcher will have the opportunity to build up a rapport meaning the participants should feel more comfortable to act naturally. This leads to less risk of emotional HARM.

Theoretical strength of covert participant observations

INTERPRETIVISTS would favour this method as rich and in-depth insight is gained which increases validity.

Practical weaknesses of covert participant observation

• Observations can be fairly TIME CONSUMING and therefore the researcher may not be able to carry out as many observations. As a result, this can reduce the generalisability as wider claims cannot be made based on a small number of observations. 

Ethical weaknesses of covert non participant observations

• This method holds real ethical issues as no INFORMED CONSENT can be given if the participants do not know they are being observed. As a result, the researcher could hold prejudices/biases towards the group which could reduce the validity of the research. There is also a higher possibility of ‘going native’ or losing objectivity decreasing validity

Theoretical weaknesses of covert participant observations

The research would be hard to replicate reducing reliability. POSITIVISTS would not like this method as a result of this

Practical strengths of Ethnographic research

By immersing yourself with the group, you can gain ACCESS to a range of participants. This will increase the representativeness of the research as your sample will reflect the characteristics of the target population. 

Ethical strengths of ethnographic research

• Allows the researcher to gain INFORMED CONSENT from participants. This increases validity as the participants feel comfortable answering questions meaning they are more likely to be honest.

Theoretical strengths of ethnographic research

Ethnographic research is preferred by INTERPRETIVISTS sociologists as rapport can be built and verstehen can be gained which allows the researcher to access the ‘lived experience’ of particular social groups which increases validity as a true insight is gained.

Practical weaknesses of ethnographic research

• A good ethnographic research study will require a huge investment in the researcher's TIME, this means a small sample can only be researched which can decrease the generalisability of the research as wider claims cannot be made about the whole population.

Ethical weaknesses of ethnographic research

•  If sensitive topics are covered within the research, it may cause emotional HARM as participants may not feel comfortable to respond honestly. This will reduce the validity of the research.   

• Additionally if the participants are deemed as vulnerable (e.g under 18/ elderly) this could be a SAFEGUARDING ISSUES issue. They may not feel comfortable to respond honestly. This will reduce the validity of the research.  

As the researcher is immersed in the group - This type of research can be HAMRFULfor the researcher as they can put themselves in dangerous situation, e.g. when researching gang culture. Also they may go native or lose objectivity if they become too involved. This will decrease the validity as a true insight may not be shown.

Theoretical weaknesses of ethnographic research

– POSITIVISTS do not favour this type of research because quantitative data is not gained and therefore it will not be objective, or replicable which will decrease the reliability.

Practical strengths of official statistics

• As it is not a TIME CONSUMING method, a large representative sample can be accessed which can increase the generalisability of the method.

Ethical strengths of official statistics

As official statistics are secondary data, following ethical guidelines is not an issue as the research has already been done. The data also tends to be gathered by the government in the form of questionnaires which are likely to be ANONYMOUS. Therefore responses are likely to be honest which increases the validity.

Theoretical strengths of official statistics

POSITIVISTS like this method of data collection as it is very objective and has been collected in a systematic, scientific and standardised way increasing reliability as it can be replicated easily.

Practical weaknesses of official statistics

• They may not fully represent the whole picture of what is being researched as although data can be collected from a large sample, RESPONSE RATE CAN BE LOW and this can reduce the generalisability of the research as wider claims cannot be made about the whole population.  

Ethical weaknesses of official statistics

Official statistics are open to political abuse, which can be manipulated to look better, for instance to give a good impression of the government's economic policies. They could also lead to HARM as some groups may be misrepresented. This means the validity of the data is reduced.

Theoretical weaknesses of official statistics

Statistics are quantitative, and tell us nothing about the stories behind the statistics, INTERPRETIVISTS and feminists would therefore not like this method as a result. They would state that the research is low in validity as no verstehen can be gained.

Practical strengths of longitudinal studies

• The lengthy time spent researching means that it may enable good ACCESS to a wider range of participants as time goes on.

Ethical strengths of longitudinal studies

Regular contact with the sample can create trust and rapport increasing validity as they will feel more comfortable (and less risk of emotional HARM) leading to more honest responses.

Theoretical strengths of longitudinal studies

POSITIVISTS favour the statistical/numerical data that is used and the trends that are gained and would state that this increases the reliability of the data, meaning the same or similar results can be achieved each time

Practical Weaknesses of longitudinal study

HIGH ‘DROP-OUT’ RATE and obviously a TIME CONSUMING METHOD - Participants may get bored, move address, school and change friendship groups. Tracking the sample can be complex and the sample size may be reduced, which reduces the generalisability of the research.

Ethical weaknesses of longitudinal studies

If the research is of a sensitive nature, it could lead to EMOTIONAL HARM for participants if they are required to readdress issues surrounding inequality over a long period of time. Participants may change their answer or withhold information which could reduce the validity of the research. 

Theoretical weaknesses of longitudinal studies

INTERPRETIVISTS would be less likely to use longitudinal research because it often provides quantitative data to assess patterns and trends which is low in validity as deeper explanations are not gained.

Practical strengths of secondary data

• This method is extremely cheap and easy to access and are usually up to date. This means that this method is reliable as its scientific and objective nature makes it replicable.

Ethical strengths of secondary data

•  No participants are required, therefore meaning that ethical considerations and guidelines set out by the BSA are easy to follow. This can again increase the reliability as this method is easily replicable.

Theoretical strengths of secondary data

Positivists favour the statistical/numerical data that is used and state that this increases the reliability of the data, meaning the same or similar results can be achieved each time.

Practical weakness of secondary data

• Statistics can show trends and patterns but not deeper explanations about why correlations are this way meaning that validity is reduced. This is because an honest insight into the social reality isn’t gained.

Ethical weaknesses of secondary data

• Statistics are open to ‘political abuse’ meaning that they can be manipulated incorrectly. This means that the group/s being researched are not presented fully/fairly. This impacts on the validity of the data and may cause some involved harm. Also the researcher has not had control over how this data was collated - The participants may have suffered regarding ethical issues.

Theoretical weakness of secondary data

• Interprestivists would state that statistics provide little information about human stories or behaviour as no meanings/feelings/opinions are given. This decreases the validity.