research design

factors that affect the choice of topic

the sociologist’s perspective, society’s values, practical factors and funding can all affect the choice of topic in a sociological study

the sociologist’s perspective

the theoretical viewpoint of the sociologist will affect what they want to study e.g. Marxist's would be interested in class inequalities in society

society’s values

when values in society change so does the focus of the research sociologists undertake e.g. the increase of feminism in the 60s led to further research on gender equality

practical factors

accessibility can be a barrier to studying a topic e.g. studying global corporations may prove difficult to gain a sample and an insight

funding bodies

to undertake research sociologists often need funding to cover the costs of their study. there are funding bodies who can provide economic support such as the economic and social research council. as the funding body is paying for the research they may state what they want to be studied

the research process

when a sociologist conducts their research there are several stages that take place before the research is published

formulation of a hypothesis

hypotheses are general explanations that can be tested by collecting evidence that can be proved or disproved. it’s presented as a statement e.g. middle class students outperform working class students

the sociologist will then either confirm or disprove this

positivists favour this approach as it is scientific

formulation of an aim

more appropriate than a hypothesis in some research studies as it’s broader and outlines what the researcher intends to study

interpretivists favour this approach as it allows the research to be guided by the pps

choice of method

next a sociologist must choose their method

operationalising concepts

the concepts within the sociologist’s aim/hypothesis are broken down to identify how they will be measures

e.g. identify how the measure the concept of social class (access to FSM or household income)

pilot study

a draft version of the research which is carried out on a small sample

data collection

the research is carried out in full

publish findings

the sociologist interprets the data and analyses it to identify their conclusions

a report will be written that details the sociologist’s research process and their findings which will then be published