Research Methods - GCSE Sociology AQA

• The research process in sociology

  1. Reviewing the existing literature

  2. Developing research questions, aims or hypotheses

  3. Choosing a research method or methods

  4. Carrying out a pilot study

  5. Selecting a sample

  6. Collecting the data

  7. Analysing the data

  8. Evaluating the research
• Literature review


  Reading up on the available literature (e.g. studies published in books or journals) relevant to the research area
• Purpose of literature review

  • Becomes familiar with key concepts, theories, research methods and findings from previous studies
  • May spot a gap in the literature and identify new research questions
  • May help develop new research questions
• Research questions


  Questions about the social world that sociologists address during the research process
• Research aims


  Set out what the researcher is planning to investigate and provide the study with a clear focus
• Hypothesis


  A supposition, hunch or informed guess that can be tested and either supported or refuted by the evidence
• Sociologists must define key terms or concepts in their research questions, aims or hypotheses</b>
• Sources of research questions, aims and hypotheses include: previous studies, literature review, new developments, personal interests, pressing social problems
• Positivism

  The idea that the only way to obtain knowledge about the world is through scientific methods
• Positivist approach

  • Focus on behaviour that can be observed and measured rather than on people's feelings or emotions
  • Use methods like large-scale surveys to generate hypotheses and test them
• Interpretivism


  The approach that aims to understand human behaviour and action by exploring what it means to those involved
• Interpretivist approach


  • Use methods like in-depth interviews and participant observation to collect rich, detailed accounts and see things from the participants' point of view
• Mixed methods approach


  Combines both quantitative and qualitative methods in one study
• Advantages of mixed methods

  • Develop a more complete picture of the topic
  • Build on the different strengths of quantitative and qualitative methods
  • Cross-check findings through triangulation
• Pilot study


  A small-scale trial run carried out before the main research to check the proposed methods and identify potential problems
• Pilot studies can save time, money and effort in the long run by allowing the researcher to pre-test the proposed methods
• Pilot studies can help identify and overcome potential problems with things like wording or order of questions
• Kate Zebiri's plans changed over time
• Researchers found it difficult to persuade some people to fill in a questionnaire
• Interviews


  Advantages over questionnaires in this context
• Pilot study


  Enables the researcher to trial the chosen research methods and ensure that these are appropriate and cost-effective
• A pilot study enables the researcher to trial the chosen research methods and ensure that these are appropriate and cost-effective
• Advantage of using a pilot study

  • It allows the researcher to identify and address any problems with the research methods before the main study is conducted
• A sampling frame is a full list of all members of the population
• If the sampling frame is inaccurate, the sample drawn from it may not be representative of the population
• Representative sample

  A smaller version of the population that is typical of its wider population
• An unrepresentative sample will make it difficult to generalise from the findings
• Probability (or random) sampling techniques

  • Simple random sampling
  • Systematic random sampling
  • Stratified random sampling
• Non-probability sampling techniques


  • Snowball sampling
  • Quota sampling
  • Purposive sampling
• With probability (or random) sampling, each member of the sampling frame has a known chance of being selected
• Non-probability sampling is used where a sampling frame is unavailable
• Simple random sampling


  Each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
• Systematic random sampling


  Taking every 'nth' item from the sampling frame
• Stratified random sampling


  Dividing the population into strata (layers or subgroups) and randomly drawing a sample from each subgroup in proportion to their numbers in the population
• Snowball sampling

  The researcher contacts one member of the population, gradually gaining their confidence until they are willing to identify others in the same population who might cooperate
• Quota sampling


  Interviewers have to interview an exact quota (number) of people from categories such as females or teenagers, in proportion to their numbers in the wider population
• Purposive sampling


  The sample is selected according to a known characteristic
• Quantitative data is presented in numerical form
• Qualitative data is presented in visual or verbal form, for example as words or quotations, rather than numbers
• Sociologists generate quantitative primary data in their own research using standardised, large-scale methods such as questionnaires