Research Methods and Theory

• Introduction

  primary data : refers to information which was not present before the research began. Generated by the researcher during the actual process of research . Includes data produced by questionnaires interviews.

  secondary data : data which already exists . Historical records official statistics, diaries films newspapers
• Covert observation : researcher is apart of the group being observed but they are not aware they are a sociological researcher
• Overt Observation

  researcher joins the group but they are aware of his/her research and that they are being observed.
• Unstructured Interview

  in depth interview allowing interviewees to elaborate. Conversation rather than a formal set of questions and answers
• Structured Interview

  an interview in whuch as series of questions set by interviewer are answered in a structured order by the interviewer
• In depth (open) questionnaire

  series of questions usually answered without the presence of the researcher . Many questions will provide space so that respondents may answer
• Closed Questionnaire

  Answers will be based on a series of boxes to tick such a yes and no
• Content analysis

  analysis of content of the media . For example a study of tabloid newspaper focusing on racist or sexist material.
• Statistical Analysis

  Research based in data that has already been collected such as official statistics (league tables/divorce rate)
• Longitudinal Study

  researcg on a usually small group of society which is repeated at regular intervals
• What does PET stand for?


  Practical

  Ethical

  Theoretical
• Positivism

  See sociology as a science and therefore advocates the use of scientific methods to study society.

  Functionalists and Marxists see society as a large scale (macro level) structure that shapes the individuals behaviour. They tend to take the posivists view that sees sociology as a science .
• Positivism (2)

  Both favour methods that allow them to discover scientific laws explaining how society causes us to behave , how people across the world are socialised into following norms and values of their environment. Methods they favour include questionnaires, official statistics that provide quantitative data to measure the effect society has on us.
• Positivism (3)

  Based on this, Functionalists and Marxists therefore tend to use methods that:

  1. allow for the collection of data from a representative sample, so they can make generalisation to the whole of society and
  2. are reliable and produce objective facts.
• Interpretivism

  nterpretivism or social action theorists argue society cannot be studied scientifically. They reject the view that society has a clear structure that directs individuals to behave in certain ways (like functionalists and Marxists).

  Interactionists take a micro-level view of society, focusing on small-scale, face-to-face interactions such as those between teacher and pupil or police officer and suspect.
• Interpretivism (2)

  Rather than trying to discover scientific laws, interactionists take an INTERPRETIVIST approach - they try to interpret the meanings that social actors (individuals) give to actions and situations. For example, the meanings students attach to being labelled cannot be scientifically measured, but that doesn’t mean such a social phenomena has not occurred and is not a reality for that individual. Therefore, small-scale research is the only way to discover ‘social reality’.
• Interpretivism (3)

  To achieve this, they use qualitative methods, such as participant observation, unstructured interviews and personal documents. These methods allow the researcher to gain access to the actor's way of seeing the world. They favour methods that are valid and give a true insight into the actor's world.