Content

• Strengths of Questionnaires:

  • Informed consent is easily obtained through the participants being asked to take part in the research 
  • High in reliability, easily repeated for comparisons 
  •  High in validity, anonymous therefore participants more likely to answer truthfully 
  • Very representative, large sample size / large geographical area can be covered 
  • Positivists favour questionnaires as they produce quantitative data
• Weaknesses of Questionnaires :

  • Impersonal method when looking into sensitive topics 
  • Responses are fixed, less scope for respondents to supply answers which reflect their true feelings on a topic.
  • People may lie, give the desired answer 
  • Representativeness is reduced due to low response rate 
  • Time consuming, expensive & hard to process large quantities of data.
  • Interpretivist would argue that questionnaires provide a small snapshot - little qualitative data can be collected 
• Strengths of Interviews

  • Informed consent is easily obtained
  • No deception
  • High validity, participants able to answer in their own words & due to the face to face nature it may be more difficult to lie → more likely to be truthful
  • High representativeness due to high response rates
  • Appropriate way to look into sensitive topics
  • Very flexible, allows the researcher to adapt to the participants needs
  • Interpretivist would argue that the production of rich qualitative data leads to Verstehen (empathy towards participants)
  • High reliability as it can be repeated and produce similar answers
• Weaknesses of Interviews

  • Hard for someone to withdrawal
  • Inappropriate methods for sensitive topics
  • Low reliability as questions are unplanned, producing different answers
  • Reduced validity because of the face to face nature leading to the halo effect/interviewer effect → changing behaviour and answers
  • Lack of representativeness as researcher have to be there physically → this limits time & geographical area that can be covered
  • Positivists see that interviews are unable to form trends and patterns
  • Interpretivists argue that structured interviews give shallow data & lack of qualitative results
• Strengths of Observations


  • Allow researchers to study social behaviour in natural settings, providing rich understanding
  • Provide detailed insights into social interactions that may not be captured through other methods
  • High validity as they involve direct observation of social behaviour, reducing bias
  • Often key components of ethnographic research, involving immersing oneself in a social group to understand its culture/practices
  • Used with other methods such as interviews or surveys to enhance the validity and reliability through triangulation
• (Covert) Observations


  May not alter their behaviour as there is no researcher present (hawthorne effect) → leading to more authentic observations, valid
• Strengths of Observations



  • Allow researchers to study social behaviour in natural settings, providing rich understanding
  • Provide detailed insights into social interactions that may not be captured through other methods
  • High validity, direct observation of social behaviour, reducing bias
  • Key components of ethnographic research, involving immersing in a social group to understand its culture
  • Used in triangulation
  • May not alter their behaviour as there is no researcher present (H effect) → leading to more authentic observations, valid
• Weaknesses in Observations :

  • Presence of observer can influence behaviour introducing bias, reduce validity 
  • Often conducted in specific settings with specific individuals → difficult to generalise findings
  • Time consuming, especially when studying complex or long term behaviours 
  • May rise ethical concerns,when privacy and informed consent are not addressed 
  • Interpreting and analysing data can be subjective → impacting reliability of the research 
  • May not be feasible or practical for certain socials settings 
• Strengths of Secondary data :

  • Provides a broader perspective on the topic
  • Cost effective and time saving 
  • Can be used to validate primary data 
  • Can be used to study rare or inaccessible populations 
  • Can be used to conduct comparative research 
  • Provides a foundation for hypothesis 
  • Allows for research that would be unethical if investigated through primary data 
  • Allows to examine long term trends and patterns 
• Weaknesses of Secondary data :

  • May lack reliability if data was collected for a different purpose 
  • Can be outdated 
  • May have limited availability depending on the source 
  • Could be bias / incomplete as it reflects perspectives of original researcher 
  • Challenging to verify the quality of the data 
  • May lack in detail needed for specific analyses 
• Ethical Issues : 


  • Deception
  • Protection from harm
  • Informed consent
  • Confidentiality
  • Right to withdrawal
  • Gatekeeper
• Practical Issues :


  • Time
  • Money
  • Accessibility of participants
  • Skills
• Sampling Methods : 


  • Random
  • Stratified
  • Systematic
  • Volunteer
  • Quota
  • Snowball