Methods

• primary data: information collected and created by someone else for their own purpose
• methods of gathering primary data

  • Social survey
  • participant observation
• secondary data: information collected and created by someone else for their own purpose
• sources of secondary data

  • official statistics
  • photographs
• primary data

  ADVANTAGE:

  sociologists able to gather precise information

  DISADVANTAGE:

  time consuming
• secondary data

  ADVANTAGE:

  quick and cheap

  DISADVANTAGE:

  can’t get exact information
• quantitive data

  ADVANTAGE:

  easy to use

  DISADVANTAGE:

  not as detailed
• qualitative data

  ADVANTAGE:

  more detailed

  DISADVANTAGE:

  hard to interpret
• quantitive data: refers to information in a numerical form
• qualitative data: gives a “feel” for what something was like
• positivism:

  • wants to identify the underlying causes of people’s behaviour
  • data collected is quantative
• Interpretivism:

  • wants to understand how people give meaning
  • the data collected is qualitative
• Sampling frame

  1. research population
  2. Sampling frame
  3. The sample
  4. The respondants
• sociologist perspective:

  the sociologist theoretical perspective is a major influence on choice of research topic

  E.G(new right researchers may study the effects of welfare benefits on the growth of lone parent families)
• practical factor:

  practical factors such as inaccessibility of certain situations to the researcher may also rest the topic they are able to study
• societal views:

  sociologists themselves are apart of the society they study and thus are influenced by its values
• funding bodies :

  most research requires funding from an external body, these bodies include: government agencies, the economic and social research council, charities. as the funding body is paying for the research, it will determine the topic to be investigated
• random sampling :

  simplest technique - people choose at compete random
• quasi- random or systematic sampling - go for the 9th person in the sampling frame
• stratified random sampling - break down whole population find sample with the same proportions
• quota sampling- the population is stratified as above and then each interviewer is given a quota