A-level sociology: theories and methods

what are the limitation of a structured interview: practically?

no ability to reword

lack detailed responses

what are practical factors?

the ease of conducting research

eg: time, money, access

what are ethical factors?

the morality, issues of right and wrong

eg: informed consent, vulnerable groups

what are theoretical factors?

linked to the data generation and what positivists and interpretivists would look for

eg: quantitative, qualitative, valid, reliable

what is an aim?

what the researcher wants to find out

what is a hypothesis?

an informed guess which is tested (more than once)

what is a sample?

the population or group a sociologists wishes to study

what does reliable mean?

if the findings are consistent when using the method again

(it can be repeated)

what does representative mean?

if the sample or the group used in the research is representing the target population

what does validity mean?

a method that gives a true insight on behaviour

what does generalisability mean?

findings that can be generalised for the whole target population

what are positivists?

they believe society shapes an individual

what do positivists look for when choosing a method

they prefer quanitative data

want reliable & representative, very controlled data

patterns & trends to find cause & effect

official statistics

what are interpretivists?

they believe individuals shape society

what do interpretivits look for when choosing a method?

Prefer qualitative data that is valid

want to discover detail and understanding

personal documents

what type of methods do positivists prefer?

questionnaires

structured interviews

experiments

what type of methods do interpretivists prefer?

participant observation

unstructured interviews

what is a target population?

people who are relevant to the research topic

what is a sampling frame

a list of people

what is a sampling unit?

one of the people selected from the sampling frame

what is a sampling technique?

the method used to select a sample

what is a stratified random sample?

the population is divided into groups according to relevant characteristics. then a number of people are chosen from each group

what is a strength of a stratified sample?

more likely to generate a representative sample-allows generalisations to be made about the whole population

what is a limitation of a stratified random sampling?

must have a sampling frame

information isn't always available

sampling frame must provide details for it to be divided into sub-groups

what is random sampling?

where everyone of the target population has an equal chance of being selected

what is a strength of random sampling?

a large enough sample can mirror the target population so generalisations can be made

no bias

what are the limitations of random sampling?

there must be a sampling frame- not always possible

small samples are not guaranteed to be representative

what is systematic sampling?

a sample where every nth name on the list is selected

what is a strength of systematic sampling?

quick and easy to do

no bias

what are the limitations of systematic sampling?

must be a sampling frame

samples generated using this method are not guaranteed to be representative

what is quota sampling?

used when no sampling frame is available and researchers look in a public place for the right number of each sort of person required- dependant upon the target population

what is the strength of quota sampling?

no sampling frame is needed

quick and easy to do

what is a weakness of quote sampling?

potential bias from the researcher as they choose who to pick and may avoid some groups of people- could impact the validity and generalisability

what is snowball sampling?

the researcher starts with few people that they know are relevant to the research and ask them to ask other they may know who are able to help with the study- the sample gradually increases in size

what is a strength of using snowball sampling?

no sampling frame is needed- good for deviant groups who may not wish to share information with a stranger

what is a limitation of using snowball sampling?

may not be representative

all people in the sample have a link to the initial contact- could impact the validity and generalisability of the research findings

what are the 4 main types of questionnaires?

factual surveys

attitudinal surveys

social psychology surveys

explanatory surveys

what are factual surveys?

they gather information about features of peoples lives rather than asking for thoughts, feeling and opinions

what are attitudinal surveys?

they ask people their views on topics and issues

what are social psychology surveys?

they develop out of attitudinal surveys and try to group people into personality groups

what are explanatory surveys?

they find the why of the events by establishing the cause and effect relationships

what are the 2 ways in which questionnaires can be conducted?

1) self completion

2) interview questionnaires

what are the strengths of a closed question?

easy to analyse

provides quick data (quantitative, reliable)

what are the weaknesses of a closed question?

doesnt provide detail and understanding

may be interpreted differently

can lack validity

what are the strengths of a structured interview practically?

quick

cheap

less chance of interviewer bias

what are the limitations of a structured interview: practically?

no ability to reword questions

lack of detailed responses

what is a strength of a structured interview: ethically?

informed consent

right to withdraw

what are the limitations of a structured interview: ethically?

vulnerable groups- structure can make interview insensitive

what are the strengths of a structured interview: theoretically?

reliable

representative as a large sample can be used

quantitative data is used so easy to analyse for patterns

what are the limitations of a structured interview: theoretically?

invalid

lack of qualitative data so lack of insight

inflexible

what are the strengths of a semi-structured interview: practically?

quick

cheap

the researcher can reword questions

what is the limitation of a semi-structured interview: practically?

lack of detail

what are the strengths of a semi-structured interview: ethically?

informed consent

right to withdraw

what is the limitation of a semi-structured interview: ethically?

vulnerable groups

what are the strengths of a semi-structured interview: theoretically ?

quantitative data- can easily analyse patterns

increased validity

what are the limitations of a semi-structured interview: theoretically?

less reliable

not standardised

inflexible

lacks qualitative data- can't find understanding (insight)

what is the strength of an unstructured interview: practically?

flexible- questions can be adapted