Research Methods Key Terms

Anthropology

The study of humans, past and present. Historically, anthropologists mostly studied traditional (e.g. tribal) cultures using participant observation.

Attrition rate

The percentage of respondents who drop out of a research study during the course of that study. This can often be a problem with longitudinal research

Bias

Where someone’s personal, subjective feelings or thoughts affect one’s judgement

Case study

Researching a single case or example of something using multiple methods, for example researching one school or factor

Closed Questions

Questions which have a limited range of answers attached to them – such as Yes/ No or Likerhert Scale answers

Confidentiality

The idea that the information respondents give to the researcher in the research process is kept private. This is usually achieved through anonymity

Covert research

Where the researcher is undercover and respondents do not know they are part of a research study. The opposite of covert research is overt research – where respondents know they are part of a research study

Dependant Variable

The variable that is measured or observed in an experiment, which is affected by changes in the independent variable.

Independent Variables

Factors in an experiment that are manipulated to observe their effect on dependent variables.

Ethnography

An in-depth study of the way of life of a group of people in their natural setting. They are typically long-term studies (over several months or even years) and aim for a full (or ‘thick’), multi-layered account of the culture of a group of people

Ethics/ Ethical factors

Taking into consideration how the research impacts on those involved with the research process

Experiments

Aim to measure the effect which one or more independent variables has on a dependent variable

Extraneous Variables

Undesirable variables which are not of interest to the researcher but might interfere with the results of the experiment

Field Diary

A notebook in which a researcher records observation during the research process. One of the key tools of Participant Observation

Field Experiments

They take place in a real-life setting such as a classroom, the work place or even the high street

Focus groups

A type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics

Formal content analysis

A quantitative approach to analysing mass media content which involves developing a system of classification to analyse the key features of media sources and then simply counting how many times these features occur in a given text

Going native

Where a researcher becomes biased or sympathetic towards the group he is studying, such that he or she loses their objectivity

Group interviews

Where an interviewer interviews two or more respondents at a time

Hawthorne effect

Where respondents alter their behaviour because they know they are being observed. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of overt laboratory and field experiments

Hypothesis

A theory or explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation

Imposition problem

It limits the validity of social surveys

Informed consent

Where the respondent agrees to take part in a research study with full awareness that research is taking place, what the purpose of the research is and what the researcher intends to do with the results

Interpretivism

An approach to social research which tries to understand human action through the eyes of those acting

Interviews

A method of gathering information by asking questions orally, either face to face or by telephone. Interviews can be individual or group and there are three main types of interview – structured, unstructured and semi-structured

Interviewer bias

Where the values and beliefs of the researcher influence the responses of the interviewee. If an interviewer feels strongly about a subject, then he or she might ask leading questions, or even omit certain questions in order to encourage particular responses from a respondent

Interview schedule

A list of questions or topic areas the interviewer wishes to ask or cover in the course of an interview

Laboratory experiments

Experiments which take place in an artificial, controlled environment, such as a laboratory

Leading questions

Questions which subtly prompt a respondent to provide a particular answer when interviewed. Leading questions are one way in which interviewer bias can influence the research process, reducing the validity of data collected

Life documents

Written or audio-visual sources created by individuals which record details of that person’s experiences and social actions

Longitudinal studies

A study of a sample of people in which information is collected from the same people at intervals over a long period of time

Likert scale

Used to measure strength of opinion or feeling about a statement in social surveys

Multistage sampling

With multistage sampling, a researcher selects a sample by using combinations of different sampling methods

Non-participant observation

Where the researcher observes a group without taking part with that group

Objective knowledge

Knowledge which is free of the biases, opinions and values of the researcher, it reflects what is really ‘out there’ in the social world

Official Statistics

Numerical information collected and used by the government and its agencies to make decisions about society and the economy

Open-ended question

Questions for which there are no set answers

Operationalising concepts

The process of defining a concept precisely so that it can be easily understood by respondents and measured by the researcher

Overt Research

Where respondents know they are part of a research study

Participant observation

Involves the researcher joining a group of people, and taking an active part in their day to day lives as a member of that group and making in-depth recordings of what she sees

Personal documents

First-hand accounts of social events and personal experiences, which generally include the writer’s feelings and attitudes about the events they think are personally significant

Pilot Study

A test study carried out before the main research study and on a smaller scale, to uncover and iron potential problems which may occur in the main programme of research

Positivism

An approach to social research which aims to be as close to the natural sciences as possible

Practical factors

They include such things as the amount of time the research will take, how much it will cost, whether you can achieve funding, opportunities for research including ease of access to respondents, and the personal skills and characteristics of the researcher

Pre-coded or closed questions

Questions where the respondent has to choose from a limited range of responses

Primary data

Data collected first hand by the researcher herself

Public documents

They are produced by organisations such as government departments and their agencies as well as businesses and charities and include OFSTED and other official government enquiries

Qualitative data

Refers to information that appears in written, visual or audio form, such as transcripts of interviews, newspapers and web sites

Quantitative data

Refers to information that appears in numerical form, or in the form of statistics

Quota sampling

In this method researchers will be told to ensure the sample fits with certain quotas, for example they might be told to find 90 participants, with 30 of them being unemployed

Random sampling

Everyone in the population has the same chance of getting chosen

Rapport

A close and harmonious relationship between researcher and respondents, such that both parties understand each other’s feelings and communicate well

Reliability

If research is reliable, it means if someone else repeats the same research with the same population then they should achieve the same results

Representativeness

The research sample reflects the characteristics of the wider target population that is being studied

Research sample

The actual population selected for the research – also known as the respondents

Sampling

The process of selection a section of the population to take part in social research

Sampling frame

A list from which a sample will be drawn

Secondary data

Data that has been collected by previous researchers or organisations such as the government

Self-Selecting sample bias

Where individuals choose whether they take part in the research and the results end up being unrepresentative because certain types of people are more willing or able do participate in the research

Semi-structured

Those in which researchers have a pre-determined list of questions to ask respondents, but are free to ask further, differentiated questions based on the responses given

Snowball sampling

With this method, researchers might find a few participants, and then ask them to find participants themselves and so on

Social surveys

Typically questionnaires designed to collect information from large numbers of people in standardised form

Socially constructed

The result of the subjective decisions made by the people who collect them rather than reflecting the objective underlying reality of social life

Stratified sampling

This method attempts to make the sample as representative as possible, avoiding the problems that could be caused by using a completely random sample

Structured or formal interviews

Those in which the interviewer asks the interviewee the same questions in the same way to different respondents. This will typically involve reading out questions from a pre-written and pre-coded structured questionnaire

Subjective knowledge

Knowledge based purely on the opinions of the individual, reflecting their values and biases, their point of view

Systematic sampling

Picking every Nth person on a list or register

Target population

All people who could potentially be studied as part of the research

Textual analysis

Involves examining how different words are linked together in order to encourage readers to adopt a particular view of what is being reported

Thematic analysis

Involves trying to understand the intentions which lie behind the production of mass media documents by subjecting a particular area of reportage to detailed investigation

Theoretical factors

Validity, reliability, representativeness and whether research is being carried out from a Positivist or Interpretivist point of view

Transcription

The process of writing down (or typing up) what respondents say in an interview. In order to be able to transcribe effectively interviews will need to be recorded

Triangulation

The use of more than one method in social research. For example a researcher might combine structured questionnaires with more in-depth interviews

Unstructured interviews

Also known as informal interviews, are more like a guided conversation, and typically involve the researcher asking open-questions which generate qualitative data

Validity

Research is valid if it provides a true picture of what is really ‘out there’ in the world

Value Freedom

Where a researcher’s personal opinions, beliefs and feelings are kept out the research process so that data collected is not influenced by the personal biases of the researcher

Verstehen

A German word meaning to ‘understand in a deep way’ – in order to achieve ‘Verstehen’ a researcher aims to understand another person’s experience by putting themselves in the other person’s shoes