What are practical, ethical and theoretical issues in research?

• Considerations that sociologists need to make when conducting research or choosing a topic:

  • Practical refers to the logistics of conducting the research

  • Ethical refers to the moral and ethical conduct of the researcher and potential participants

  • Theoretical refers to some of the preferences that researchers display towards researching society- this includes their perspective on society and how it should be studied

Practical issues in choosing a topic and method:

• Funding bodies- who is going to pay for research? What criteria might they place upon the research? What are their interests?

  • Governments, businesses, charities, universities

• Access to participants- how easy will it be to study the target group?

• Impact of research- will it advance our understanding of society?

• Opportunity to conduct research- will it be feasible for the researcher to conduct research on that topic?

• Time- How long will it take to conduct the research? How long will it take to collect and interpret data? Will additional training be needed?

• Cost- What costs will the research incur? Will the research require multiple researchers? Will there be hidden costs?

• Participants- What sampling methods will be used to select participants? Will permission be required from a gatekeeper for access to participants?

Ethical issues in selecting a topic and method:

• Ethical guidelines provided by the British Sociological Association. Research proposals are submitted to the ethics committees

• Security- All data must be kept in accordance with GDPR guidelines

• Confidentiality- Will the research expose issues of confidentiality? How will participants react to disclosing information that could threaten their jobs or safety?

• Deception- Are we being honest with participants? Is there a need to hide the fact we are conducting research from them?

• Informed consent- Are participants aware of the aims of the study? Are they aware they are part of the research?

• Protection from harm- Are participants of research likely to be placed in physical harm?

Theoretical issues in choosing a topic and method:

• Sociologist’s values- What is their theoretical perspective? What are their personal interests or involvements in the topic?

• Aim of the research- Is the research being used to further knowledge or inform social policy?

• Methodological preferences- What methods are preferred by the researcher conducting the research?

• The type of data being collected- Is the research going to be repeated by others?

• Reliability- Is the applicability important? Is the research going to be repeated by others?

• Validity- Is the purpose of the research to gain an understanding of human behaviour in a specific context?

• Representativeness- Is the research meant to represent society as a whole or be a window into the lives of individuals?