quantative research methods

What are official statistics?

Quantitative data collected by government bodies, favoured by positivists for being quick, cheap, easy to access, and covering wide social issues.

Why do positivists favour official statistics?

Because they are quick, cheap, easy to access, cover large populations, and allow analysis of social trends.

Name 3 practical advantages of official statistics

Cheap to obtain, easy to access, collected regularly for trend comparison.

How are official statistics representative and reliable?

They often cover large groups of people, and some data (like the census) must be filled out by law.

How can official statistics help in analysis?

They allow cross-examination and can help deduce cause-and-effect relationships.

Give 3 disadvantages of official statistics.

May be collected for government purposes (bias), definitions may differ from sociological ones, and errors can occur in coding or responses.

Why might official statistics be unreliable?

Census coders may make errors, or people may fill out forms incorrectly.

Why do positivists favour quantitative research methods?

Because they are objective, numerical, allow cross-examination to find cause-effect relationships, and enable generalisations

What is the main feature of quantitative research methods?

Data is numerical and objective.

Name 5 examples of quantitative research methods.

Laboratory experiments, field experiments, questionnaires, structured interviews, official statistics.

How does quantitative data help sociologists?

It allows patterns to be analysed and general conclusions to be drawn about society.

Why are laboratory experiments favoured by positivists?

They test hypotheses in a controlled environment, changing the independent variable and measuring its effect on the dependent variable.

What is the main advantage of lab experiments in terms of reliability?

They are highly reliable because the experiment can be repeated following the same precise steps.

How do lab experiments help identify cause and effect?

By controlling variables, researchers can see how changes in the independent variable directly affect the dependent variable.

What is a major disadvantage of lab experiments related to artificiality?

They take place in highly artificial environments, so behaviour may not reflect real-world actions.

What is the Hawthorne effect in lab experiments?

People may act differently because they know they are being studied in an unnatural setting.

Name some ethical issues in lab experiments.

Researchers need informed consent, which may be hard to obtain, and participants could be harmed psychologically or physically.

Why might lab experiments be unrepresentative?

They are usually small-scale and may not reflect larger populations.

What is a limitation of controlling variables in lab experiments?

It’s impossible to identify or control all variables that could influence complex social issues (e.g., a child’s education).

What are field experiments?

Experiments conducted in the real social world where the sociologist creates or adapts a situation, often with participants unaware of the research.

What is an advantage of field experiments compared to lab experiments?

Less artificiality – they take place in real-world settings, so behaviour is more natural.

Why do field experiments have high validity?

People are usually unaware they are being studied (no Hawthorne effect), so they behave normally.

What ethical issue arises in field experiments?

Participants may be studied without their informed consent.

What is a limitation of control in field experiments?

Researchers have less control over variables compared to laboratory experiments.

Why is the application of field experiments limited?

They can only be applied to certain social situations due to practical constraints.

What are field experiments?

Experiments conducted in the real social world where the sociologist creates or adapts a situation, often with participants unaware of the research.

What is an advantage of field experiments compared to lab experiments?

Less artificiality – they take place in real-world settings, so behaviour is more natural.

Why do field experiments have high validity?

People are usually unaware they are being studied (no Hawthorne effect), so they behave normally.

What ethical issue arises in field experiments?

Participants may be studied without their informed consent.

What is a limitation of control in field experiments?

Researchers have less control over variables compared to laboratory experiments.

Why is the application of field experiments limited?

They can only be applied to certain social situations due to practical constraints.

What are structured interviews?

Positivist-favoured method where a questionnaire is delivered face-to-face or by phone, using pre-set questions asked the same way to all participant

Why are structured interviews practical?

Training interviewers and administering the interview is easy and cheap.

How can structured interviews be representative?

They can reach a geographically wide sample of participants

Why are results from structured interviews easily quantifiable?

They use closed-ended questions with coded answers.

How are structured interviews reliable?

The structured process provides a clear ‘recipe’ that can be repeated.

What is the main disadvantage of structured interviews?

Lack of validity – participants may lie or exaggerate their answers.