topic 2

• theoretical perspectives view on lap experiments

  positivists

  strengths- reliability, objective, favour them as they achieve positivist goals

  weakness- often impossible or unethical, not representative

  interpretivists

  weakness- reject lab experiment as it fails to achieve main goal of validity - artificial situation producing unnatural behaviour

  use milgrim's study of obedience
• field experiment


  not aware participating - no hawthorne effect

  natural environment
• example of field experiment

  rosenthal and jacobson experiment on teacher's expectations

  strength - less likelihood of HE affecting results, covert study

  strength - reliable, simple and easy to replicate - has been 242 times
• disadvantages of questionnaire studying bullying in primary

  operationalisation of concepts-

  • children find hard to understand sociological concepts
  • produce answers based on misunderstanding questions
  • sociologists may over simplify questions

  samples and sampling frame-

  • school children open to peer pressure and hard to prevent pupils completing questionnaire from discussing response
  • formal doc might be off putting to primary kids