Research Methods
Types of data
-Primary data: information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purpose. This may be to obtain a
‘first-hand’ picture of a group or society or to test a hypothesis.
-Social surveys: these involve asking people questions in a written questionnaire or an interview.
-Participant observation: the sociologist joins in with the activities of the group they are studying.
-Experiments: sociologists rarely use lab experiments, but they sometimes use field experiments and the
comparative method.
-Advantage: sociologists are able to gather precisely the information they need to test their hypothesis.
-Disadvantage: the process can be costly and time consuming.
-Secondary data: information that has been collected by someone else for their own purpose, but which the
sociologist can then use.
-Official statistics: produced by the government on a wide range of issues. Ex. crime, divorce, health,
unemployment as well as other statistics produced by charities, businesses, churches etc.
-Documents: letters, diaries, photos, official reports, novels, newspapers and TV broadcasts.
-Advantage: quick and cheap to obtain
-Disadvantage: those who produce it may not be interested in the same questions as the sociologist and
therefore they may not provide exactly the information needed.
Quantitative & Qualitative data
-Quantitative: information in numerical form. Ex. official statistics, information gathered by opinion polls and
market research surveys.
-Qualitative: gives a feel for what something is like and goes more in depth. Ex. what it feels like when a
marriage ends. Gathered by in-depth interviews or participant observation.
What influences our choice of method? PET
Practical
-Time & money
-Requirements of funding bodies (they may need data in a specific format)
-Personal skills & characteristics
-Subject matter
-Research opportunity
Ethical
-Informed consent
-Confidentiality and privacy
-Effects of research on participants
-Vulnerable groups (ex. Children, disability, elderly)
-Covert research
Theoretical
-Can we obtain an accurate, truthful picture of society?
-Validity: a method that produces a true or genuine picture of whatever is being studied. It allows researchers to
get closer to the truth.
-Reliability: also known as replicability. A reliable method is one that can be repeated by another researcher to
obtain the same results.
-Representativeness: are the people you study a typical cross-section of the population you are interested in?
You need to select an appropriate sample size.
-Methodological perspective: what sociologists are influenced by.
Positivists & Interpretivists
-Positivists prefer quantitative data (questionnaires, structured interviews, official statistics)
-They seek to discover patterns of behavior.
-See sociology as a science.
-Functionalists and Marxists.
-Interpretivists prefer qualitative data (participant observation, unstructured interviews, personal documents).
-Seek to understand social actors’ meanings.
, -Reject the view that sociology is a science.
-Interactionists.
The research process
1. Choose a topic.
2. Determine aims and hypotheses.
3. Operationalise concept.
4. Pilot study.
5. Select a sample.
-Hypothesis = an untested theory or explanation expressed as a statement which a sociologist will set out to
investigate.
-An advantage of a hypothesis is that it can give direction to research.
-Hypotheses are preferred by interpretivists.
-Aim = a general statement about the purpose of the research.
-Aims are preferred by positivists.
-Operationalising concepts = to turn a sociological theory or concept into something measurable.
-A pilot study is a draft or small scale study prior to the real thing, a trial run which helps to identify any issues
that there may be within the study so that they can be fixed.
-Used to fix issues such as:
Ironing out any errors / mistakes, such as grammar errors
To check if it is fit for purpose
To see how long it is going to take
To see how much it will cost you to run
Types of sampling
-Sample = a smaller sub-group of individuals which are drawn from the wider population we are interested in.
-Sampling frame = a list of all the members of the population we are interested in studying.
-Random sampling = selected purely by random choice, each individual has an equal chance of being selected.
-Quasi-random sampling = similar to random, every 10th or 100th name is selected.
-Stratified random sampling = you first divide up the population and then select the same proportion of each at
random.
-Quota sampling = much like stratified random, except researchers go out looking for a certain number (quota)
of each sort of person, ex. 10 boys, 10 girls.
-Opportunity sampling = using individuals who are easy to access at the time of the study taking place.
Problems with representative sampling
-The exact characteristics of a population may not be known.
-It may be impossible to find a sampling frame ex. All criminals - may not all be convicted.
-Therefore researchers may use snowball sampling - researcher contacts 1 person involved and asks them to
suggest others who may be relevant.
Reasons for not using representative data
-Ethical = may go against a researcher's methodological perspective. Ex. Interpretivists believe it's more
important to obtain valid data and an authentic understanding of social actors' meanings.
-Practical = potential respondents may refuse to participate.
Experiments
-Lab experiment
-Always has 2 groups.
-The experimental group = the group where changes in variables can be applied and results measured.
-The control group = the group that remains the same / unchanged and results are measured.
The researcher can manipulate the variables to establish a cause and effect.
It’s a reliable method as it can be easily replicated by following the same procedures.
They can generate quantitative data.
Fairly easy to control variables - increases validity.
Small scale means results may not be very representative.
Lacks validity (interpretivists therefore dislike lab experiments).
Types of data
-Primary data: information collected by sociologists themselves for their own purpose. This may be to obtain a
‘first-hand’ picture of a group or society or to test a hypothesis.
-Social surveys: these involve asking people questions in a written questionnaire or an interview.
-Participant observation: the sociologist joins in with the activities of the group they are studying.
-Experiments: sociologists rarely use lab experiments, but they sometimes use field experiments and the
comparative method.
-Advantage: sociologists are able to gather precisely the information they need to test their hypothesis.
-Disadvantage: the process can be costly and time consuming.
-Secondary data: information that has been collected by someone else for their own purpose, but which the
sociologist can then use.
-Official statistics: produced by the government on a wide range of issues. Ex. crime, divorce, health,
unemployment as well as other statistics produced by charities, businesses, churches etc.
-Documents: letters, diaries, photos, official reports, novels, newspapers and TV broadcasts.
-Advantage: quick and cheap to obtain
-Disadvantage: those who produce it may not be interested in the same questions as the sociologist and
therefore they may not provide exactly the information needed.
Quantitative & Qualitative data
-Quantitative: information in numerical form. Ex. official statistics, information gathered by opinion polls and
market research surveys.
-Qualitative: gives a feel for what something is like and goes more in depth. Ex. what it feels like when a
marriage ends. Gathered by in-depth interviews or participant observation.
What influences our choice of method? PET
Practical
-Time & money
-Requirements of funding bodies (they may need data in a specific format)
-Personal skills & characteristics
-Subject matter
-Research opportunity
Ethical
-Informed consent
-Confidentiality and privacy
-Effects of research on participants
-Vulnerable groups (ex. Children, disability, elderly)
-Covert research
Theoretical
-Can we obtain an accurate, truthful picture of society?
-Validity: a method that produces a true or genuine picture of whatever is being studied. It allows researchers to
get closer to the truth.
-Reliability: also known as replicability. A reliable method is one that can be repeated by another researcher to
obtain the same results.
-Representativeness: are the people you study a typical cross-section of the population you are interested in?
You need to select an appropriate sample size.
-Methodological perspective: what sociologists are influenced by.
Positivists & Interpretivists
-Positivists prefer quantitative data (questionnaires, structured interviews, official statistics)
-They seek to discover patterns of behavior.
-See sociology as a science.
-Functionalists and Marxists.
-Interpretivists prefer qualitative data (participant observation, unstructured interviews, personal documents).
-Seek to understand social actors’ meanings.
, -Reject the view that sociology is a science.
-Interactionists.
The research process
1. Choose a topic.
2. Determine aims and hypotheses.
3. Operationalise concept.
4. Pilot study.
5. Select a sample.
-Hypothesis = an untested theory or explanation expressed as a statement which a sociologist will set out to
investigate.
-An advantage of a hypothesis is that it can give direction to research.
-Hypotheses are preferred by interpretivists.
-Aim = a general statement about the purpose of the research.
-Aims are preferred by positivists.
-Operationalising concepts = to turn a sociological theory or concept into something measurable.
-A pilot study is a draft or small scale study prior to the real thing, a trial run which helps to identify any issues
that there may be within the study so that they can be fixed.
-Used to fix issues such as:
Ironing out any errors / mistakes, such as grammar errors
To check if it is fit for purpose
To see how long it is going to take
To see how much it will cost you to run
Types of sampling
-Sample = a smaller sub-group of individuals which are drawn from the wider population we are interested in.
-Sampling frame = a list of all the members of the population we are interested in studying.
-Random sampling = selected purely by random choice, each individual has an equal chance of being selected.
-Quasi-random sampling = similar to random, every 10th or 100th name is selected.
-Stratified random sampling = you first divide up the population and then select the same proportion of each at
random.
-Quota sampling = much like stratified random, except researchers go out looking for a certain number (quota)
of each sort of person, ex. 10 boys, 10 girls.
-Opportunity sampling = using individuals who are easy to access at the time of the study taking place.
Problems with representative sampling
-The exact characteristics of a population may not be known.
-It may be impossible to find a sampling frame ex. All criminals - may not all be convicted.
-Therefore researchers may use snowball sampling - researcher contacts 1 person involved and asks them to
suggest others who may be relevant.
Reasons for not using representative data
-Ethical = may go against a researcher's methodological perspective. Ex. Interpretivists believe it's more
important to obtain valid data and an authentic understanding of social actors' meanings.
-Practical = potential respondents may refuse to participate.
Experiments
-Lab experiment
-Always has 2 groups.
-The experimental group = the group where changes in variables can be applied and results measured.
-The control group = the group that remains the same / unchanged and results are measured.
The researcher can manipulate the variables to establish a cause and effect.
It’s a reliable method as it can be easily replicated by following the same procedures.
They can generate quantitative data.
Fairly easy to control variables - increases validity.
Small scale means results may not be very representative.
Lacks validity (interpretivists therefore dislike lab experiments).
