Key Terms

• Anthropology


  the study of humans, past and present. Historically, anthropologists mostly studied traditional (e.g. tribal) cultures using participant observation as its main method, however, more recently anthropologists have increasingly focused much a greater array of aspects of culture within modern and post-modern societies using a more diverse range of methods. One of the key aims of anthropology is to explore and explain the enormous diversity as well as the commonalities within and between human cultures.
• Attrition rate


  the percentage of respondents who drop out of a research study during the course of that study. This can often be a problem with longitudinal research.
• Bias


  where someone’s personal, subjective feelings or thoughts affect one’s judgement.
• Case study


  researching a single case or example of something using multiple methods, for example researching one school or factor
• Closed Questions


  Questions which have a limited range of answers attached to them – such as Yes/ No or Likerhert Scale answers
• Confidentiality


  the idea that the information respondents give to the researcher in the research process is kept private. This is usually achieved through anonymity.
• Covert research


  where the researcher is undercover and respondents do not know they are part of a research study. The opposite of covert research is overt research – where respondents know they are part of a research study.
• Dependent and independent variables 

  a dependent variable is the object under study in an experiment, the independent variables are what the researcher varies to see how they effect the dependent variable
• Ethnography


   an in-depth study of the way of life of a group of people in their natural setting. Ethnographies are typically long-term studies (over several months or even years) and aim for a full (or ‘thick’), multi-layered account of the culture of a group of people. Participant observation is typically the main method used, but researchers will use all other methods available to get even richer data – such as interviews and analysis of any documents associated with that culture.
• Ethics/ ethical factors


  ethics means taking into consideration how the research impacts on those involved with the research process. Ethical research should gain informed consent, ensure confidentiality, be legal and ensure that respondents and those related to them are not subjected to harm. Ultimately research should aim to do more good than harm to society.
• Experiments 


  experiments aim to measure the effect which one or more independent variables has on a dependent variable. Experiments typically start off with a hypothesis, and a good experiment will be designed in such a way that objective cause and effect relationships can be established between variables, so that the original hypothesis can verified, or rejected and modified.
• Extraneous variables 


  undesirable variables which are not of interest to the researcher but might interfere with the results of the experiment.
• Field diary 


   A notebook in which a researcher records observation during the research process. One of the key tools of Participant Observation
• Field experiments


  experiments which take place in a real-life setting such as a classroom, the work place or even the high street. See experiments and related terms for a fuller definition.
• Focus groups


   a type of group interview in which respondents are asked to discuss certain topics.
• Formal content analysis


   a quantitative approach to analysing mass media content which involves developing a system of classification to analyse the key features of media sources and then simply counting how many times these features occur in a given text.
• Going native


   where a researcher becomes biased or sympathetic towards the group he is studying, such that he or she loses their objectivity.
• Group interviews 


  where an interviewer interviews two or more respondents at a time.
• Hawthorne effect


  where respondents alter their behaviour because they know they are being observed. This is one of the biggest disadvantages of overt laboratory and field experiments.
• Hypothesis 


  a theory or explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. A hypothesis will typically take the form of a testable statement about the effect which one or more independent variables will have on the dependent variable.
• Imposition problem


  the imposition problem limits the validity of social surveys. It is where respondents may not be able to express their true feelings about the topic under investigation because the questions (and the range of possible responses) which have been pre-chosen by the researcher limits what they are able to say, and may not reflect the issues that respondents themselves feel are important.
• Informed consent 


  where the respondent agrees to take part in a research study with full awareness that research is taking place, what the purpose of the research is and what the researcher intends to do with the results.
• Interpretivism

  an approach to social research which tries to understand human action through the eyes of those acting. Interpretivists want to know the meanings actors give to their own actions, what their own interpretation of their action is. They thus emphasise respondent-led qualitative methods to achieve insight, in-depth explanations and empathy, in order to realise a humanistic, empathetic understanding from the respondents’ point of view.
• Interviews


   a method of gathering information by asking questions orally, either face to face or by telephone. Interviews can be individual or group and there are three main types of interview – structured, unstructured and semi-structured.
• Interviewer bias


  where the values and beliefs of the researcher influence the responses of the interviewee. If an interviewer feels strongly about a subject, then he or she might ask leading questions, or even omit certain questions in order to encourage particular responses from a respondent.
• Interview schedule 


   A list of questions or topic areas the interviewer wishes to ask or cover in the course of an interview.
• Laboratory experiments


  experiments which take place in an artificial, controlled environment, such as a laboratory. See experiments and related terms for a fuller definition.
• Leading questions 


  questions which subtly prompt a respondent to provide a particular answer when interviewed. Leading questions are one way in which interviewer bias can influence the research process, reducing the validity of data collected.
• Life documents 


  written or audio-visual sources created by individuals which record details of that person’s experiences and social actions. They are predominantly qualitative and may offer insights into people’s subjective states. They can be historical or contemporary and can take a wide variety of forms.
• Longitudinal studies


   a study of a sample of people in which information is collected from the same people at intervals over a long period of time. For example, a researcher might start off in 2015 by getting a sample of 1000 people to fill in a questionnaire, and then go back to the same people in 2020, and again in 2025 to collect further information.
• Likert scale


  used to measure strength of opinion or feeling about a statement in social surveys. For example respondents might be asked whether they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with a particular statement.
• Multistage sampling


  with multistage sampling, a researcher selects a sample by using combinations of different sampling methods. For example, in Stage one, a researcher might use systematic sampling, and in Stage two, he might use random sampling to select a subset for the final sample.
• Non-participant observation


  where the researcher observes a group without taking part with that group. This method can either be overt or covert, and data may be recorded quantitatively or qualitatively. Probably the most commonly experienced example of non-participant observation is the OFSTED inspection.
• Objective knowledge


   knowledge which is free of the biases, opinions and values of the researcher, it reflects what is really ‘out there’ in the social world
• Official statistics


  numerical information collected and used by the government and its agencies to make decisions about society and the economy. Examples include the UK National Census, police recorded crime and data on educational achievement.
• Open-ended question


   questions for which there are no set answers. Open questions allow individuals to write their own answers or dictate them to interviewers. For example ‘have you enjoyed studying Sociology this year?’
• Operationalising concepts 


  the process of defining a concept precisely so that it can be easily understood by respondents and measured by the researcher. The term may also be applied to the process of determining variables in experiments.
• Participant observation 


  involves the researcher joining a group of people, and taking an active part in their day to day lives as a member of that group and making in-depth recordings of what she sees.

  Participant Observation may be overt, in which case the respondents know that researcher is conducing sociological research, or covert (undercover) where the respondents are deceived into thinking the researcher is ‘one of them’ and do not know the researcher is conducting research.
• Personal documents


  first-hand accounts of social events and personal experiences, which generally include the writer’s feelings and attitudes about the events they think are personally significant. Examples of personal documents are letters, diaries, photo albums and autobiographies.
• Pilot study


  a test study carried out before the main research study and on a smaller scale, to uncover and iron potential problems which may occur in the main programme of research.