T H E O RY &
METHODS
SOCIOLOGY PAPER 3
, Preferred by positivists – mo
scientific, objective truths,
cause-and-effect relationship
QUANTITATIVE Methods:
METHODS • Lab experiments
• Field experiments
• Comparative method
• Questionnaires
• Structured interviews
• Official statistics
, ADVANTAGES
• Reliable –
DISADVANTAGES
• Practical - Not
LABORATORY
replicated suing
same method,
detached and
valid, cannot
study past,
only small
EXPERIMENTS
objective samples, can’t
• Laboratory – experimental v control
• Positivists study open
favour systems group, manipulates variables to
• Ethical – lack
of informed discover effect
consent,
deception and • Milgram’s study – participants told to
harm (Milgram
study) send electric shock when ‘learners’ got
• Hawthorne
Effect – (Mayo) it wrong, not real learners, deception
artificial
and harm
behaviour
• Interpretivists –
ignores free
will
METHODS
SOCIOLOGY PAPER 3
, Preferred by positivists – mo
scientific, objective truths,
cause-and-effect relationship
QUANTITATIVE Methods:
METHODS • Lab experiments
• Field experiments
• Comparative method
• Questionnaires
• Structured interviews
• Official statistics
, ADVANTAGES
• Reliable –
DISADVANTAGES
• Practical - Not
LABORATORY
replicated suing
same method,
detached and
valid, cannot
study past,
only small
EXPERIMENTS
objective samples, can’t
• Laboratory – experimental v control
• Positivists study open
favour systems group, manipulates variables to
• Ethical – lack
of informed discover effect
consent,
deception and • Milgram’s study – participants told to
harm (Milgram
study) send electric shock when ‘learners’ got
• Hawthorne
Effect – (Mayo) it wrong, not real learners, deception
artificial
and harm
behaviour
• Interpretivists –
ignores free
will
