factors affecting choice of research method

• theoretical factors - positivism

  positivists prefer quantitative methods and are more concerned with reliability and representativeness
• theoretical factors - interpretivism

  interpretivists prefer qualitative research methods and are prepared to sacrifice reliability and representativeness to gain a deeper insight which should provide higher validity
• three theoretical terms

  validity , reliability and representativeness
• validity

  research is valid if it provides a true picture of what is really out there in the world
• reliability

  it means that if someone else repeats the same research, they should be able to achieve the same results
• representativeness

  the research sample should reflect the characteristics of the wider population
• practical factors

  include such things as the amount of time the research will take, how much it will cost, whether you can achieve funding, opportunities for research including ease of access to respondents, and the personal skills and characteristics of the researcher.
• 5 practical constraints on social research

  time, money, funding, opportunity and access to respondents and personal situation/characteristics/skills of the researcher
• ethical factors

  focus on how the research impacts those involved with the research process
• five ethical factors

  informed consent, confidentiality, protection from harm, research shouldn't involve any law breaking behaviour and the research should aim to do more good than harm to society
• positivist view on ethical factors

  they argue that quantitative research that collects objective and generalisable data about the causes of social problems is best suited to improving society because governments can use this to look at society at a macro level
• feminist, interactionist, marxist view on ethical factors

  they would argue that the most ethical research is qualitative in nature