Research methods sociology

• Laboratory experiments


  Favoured by positivists, test hypothesise in a controlled environment where the researcher changes the independent variable and measures the effect on the dependent variable
• Advantages of laboratory experiments

  • Highly reliable- the original experiment can specify precisely what steps were followed in the original experiments
  • Can easily identify cause and effect relationships
• Disadvantages of laboratory experiments

  • Artificiality - lab experiments are carried out in a highly artificial environment and may not reveal how people act in the real world, any behaviour in these conditions may be artificial
  • The Hawthorne effect - a lab is not a formal or natural environment - If people know they are being studied, they may act differently
  • Ethical issues - the researcher needs informed consent of the participants - this may be difficult to obtain
  • Unrepresentative: the small-scale nature of lab experiments reduces their representativeness
  • It would be impossible to identify and/or control all the variables that might exert an influence on certain social issues (Eg. a child's education)
• Field experiments


  Take place in the real social world, whereby the sociologist either creates a situation or adapts a real-life situation to their research purpose. Those involved are usually unaware of the research taking place.
• Field experiments


  • Less artificiality - they are set in real-world situations
  • Validity - people are unaware of the experimental situation (no Hawthorne effect) and are in their usual social environment, they will act normally
• Field experiments


  • Ethical issues - involves carrying out an experiment on people without their informed consent
  • Less control over variables
  • Limited application - they can only be applied to a limited number of social situations
• Questionnaires - Favoured by positivists, written or self-completed questionnaires are a form of social survey and can be distributed in a range of ways - notably, via post, email or handed out in person. Questionnaires are typically a list of pre-set questions that are closed-end questions with pre-coded answers.
• ADVANTAGES

  Practical - questionnaires are cheap and quick

  ​

  Quantifiable data

  ​

  Representative - reach a geographically widespread research sample

  ​

  Reliable - the questionnaire can be easily repeated due to how the questions are pre-set

  ​

  Limited ethical issues - the respondent is under no obligation to answer the question
• DISADVANTAGES

  Response rate - postal questionnaires, in particular, obtain a very low response rate, which may hinder the representativity.

  ​

  Low validity - People may be more willing to lie.

  ​

  Unrepresentative  - You are likely to get a certain group of people, for example, the unemployed or elderly that answer the questionnaire as many other people might be too busy, and so you won’t get a particularly representative sample.

  ​

  The interviewer isn’t there to ask follow-up questions and explain questions the participants if they don’t understand
• Interviews - In sociological research, there are different types of interviews: structured interviews and unstructured interviews (including group interviews). Sociologists sometimes use semi-structured interviews to combine the elements of both. Structured interviews are favoured by positivists because they are rich in reliability and representativity, whereas unstructured interviews are favoured by interpretivists because they are rich in validity
• Structured interviews


  The positivist favoured method involving face-to-face or over-the-phone delivery of a questionnaire with a list of pre-set questions designed by the researcher and asked of all interviewees in the same way
• Unstructured interviews


  The interpretivist favoured method of unstructured interviews mainly ask open-ended questions that produce qualitative data rich in meaning
• Relationship between interviewer and interviewee


  Strong, which means the data is more likely to be valid
• semi-Structured interviews

  A qualitative method of inquiry that combines a pre-determined set of open questions (questions that prompt discussion) with the opportunity for the interviewer to explore particular themes or responses further.

  ​

  ADVANTAGES

  ​

  Large amount of detail generated.

  ​

  Fairly flexible and sensitive.

  ​

  Easier to analyse than unstructured interviews.

  ​

  DISADVANTAGES

  ​

  Can't guarantee honesty of participants.

  ​

  Cause and effect cannot be inferred.

  ​

  Flexibility of interview may lessen reliability.

  ​

  Open-ended questions are difficult to analyse.

  ​

  Difficult to compare answers.
• Participant observation


  • Researcher is directly involved
  • Gives a direct insight into social behaviour
  • Likely to produce the Hawthorne effect
• Non-participant observation


  • Researcher is not directly involved
• Covert observation


  Research group are aware the observation is taking place
• Overt observation


  Research group do not know they are being researched
• Participant observations


  The researcher joins in the activities of the group they are researching
• Advantages of participant observations

  • Valid - groups are observed in a natural and authentic setting, therefore the data is more likely to be a true account of the group's behaviour
  • Valid - data generate is richly detailed and offers insight into social behaviour
• Disadvantages of participant observations

  • Unreliable - being open-ended and subjective research, there is no fixed procedure or standardised system of measurement and cannot be replicated
  • Unrepresentative - most participant observations investigate small-scale groups that are not representative of the wider population
  • Not valid - the Hawthorne effect, due to how the observer is likely to affect the group's behaviour, and the researcher is at risk of 'going native', meaning the researcher over-identifies with the group
  • Ethical issues - it is difficult to ensure anonymity of participants
  • Practical issues - there are issues with getting into the group, staying in the group and/or leaving the group
• non-participant observations

  The observer avoids any direct involvement with the research group.

  ​

  ADVANTAGES

  ​

  Valid - limited risk of the researcher ‘going native’.

  ​

  DISADVANTAGES

  ​

  Not reliable - each observation will be subjective, and therefore cannot be repeated.

  ​

  Not representative - involves a small-scale research sample.
• overt observations

  The researcher explains their research intention to the group, so the research subjects are aware they are being observed.

  ​

  ADVANTAGES

  ​

  Less ethical issues than covert because the participants know they're being researched.

  ​

  Higher level of reliability than covert.

  ​

  The observer can openly take notes.

  ​

  Allows researcher to use interview methods too.

   

  DISADVANTAGES

  ​

  Practical - Time consuming.

  ​

  Lacks validity - Hawthorne effect.

  ​

  Less reliable - Difficult to repeat.

  ​

  Not always representative.
• Covert observations

  The researcher keeps their real identity and purpose secret from research subjects.

  ​

  ADVANTAGES

  ​

  More valid than overt because there is lack of the Hawthorne effect.

  ​

  Research obtained is more valid because you have a first-hand insight.

  ​

  Find out more in-depth detail about why, who, where, when etc.

  ​

  DISADVANTAGES

  ​

  Ethical issues - it is immoral to deceive people.

  ​

  Researcher has to gain trust and acceptance (this may be time consuming).
• Official statistics are quantitative data collected by government bodies. This method is favoured by positivists because data is quick, cheap and easy to access, and it covers a wide range of social issues.
• advantages

  Practical - cheap, easy to obtain and easy to access. For example, through the Office of National Statistic's website.

  ​

  Collected at regular interviews, so you can compare trends over time. For example, the census is completed every 10 years.

  ​

  Representative - official statistics often cover large groups of people. For example, crime statistics are compiled by police across the entire country.
• disadvantages

  The government collects these statistics for its own benefit, so they may not cover what sociologists specifically  want to study.

  ​

  Definitions may be different. For example, what the government considers 'poverty may not be the same as a sociologist.
• Documents are secondary data, favoured by interpretivists, which are created by individuals, groups and organisations. They mainly contain qualitative data that expresses beliefs and meanings held by an individual and/or organisation. Different types of documents include personal private documents and historical documents
• Personal documents


  Diaries, memoirs, autobiographies and letters
• Advantages of personal documents

  • Valid - Written for personal purposes so will have a high degree of validity and provide an in-depth and genuine insight into people's attitudes
  • Practical - They are cheap and save researcher's time
  • Illuminates many areas of social life
  • Can be used to confirm or question other interpretations and accounts
• Disadvantages of personal documents

  • Some groups are unlikely to produce personal documents such as letters and diaries and so their views aren't represented while those with time and literacy skills may be over represented
  • Personal documents such as letters are written with an audience in mind and may affect what is being recorded
  • Personal bias is likely to be present
• Historical documents

  • Provide evidence from the past
• Advantages of historical documents

  • Allow comparisons over time (for example birth, death and marriage rates)
  • Useful when assessing the outcomes of various social policies (Eg. raising the school leaving age)
• Disadvantages of historical documents

  • Un-representative - some documents may have been lost or destroyed
  • The validity of the documents are open to question as they may have been written selectively
  • The authenticity of a document is open to question as it might not have been written by the person it is attributed to, therefore undermining its reliability