Research Methods

• Quantitative data

  A research method that produces data of a numerical kind.
• Qualitative data

  A research method that produces data of a written kind.
• Representativeness

  How well the sample used mirrors the group the researcher wants to study.
• Reliability

  The extent to which results stand up to re-testing.
• Validity

  The extent to which the results paint a true picture of real life behaviour.
• Verstehen

  A German word meaning 'empathy'; the extent to which the researcher can empathise with a person's behaviour by putting themselves in their place.
• Positivism

  The view that science can be studied as a science, uses quantitative research methods.
• Interpretivism

  The view that science cannot be studied as a science, uses qualitative research methods.
• Operationalisation

  The process by which a sociologist defines or measures key variables precisely e.g. social class might be measured in terms of occupation.
• The Hawthorne Effect


  When participants know they are being watched and change their behaviour because of this.
• Triangulation

  This is where sociologists use a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
• Ethical issues

  What is morally right or wrong to do in relation to studying people?
• Hypothesis

  A prediction to be tested i.e. a cause and effect statement, favoured by Positivists.
• Aim

  A broad idea of what they want to find out of the investigation, favoured by Interpretivists.
• Random sampling

  When every person in a target population has an equal chance of being selected in the sample.
• Systematic sampling

  Where every nth person in the sampling frame is selected e.g. every 3rd person on a register.
• Quota sampling

  The researcher decides how many respondents of a particular type are required (i.e. a quota).
• Stratified (stratified - random) sampling

  Split the sample down into groups (e.g. gender, class, age) and randomly select from these groups.
• Snowball sampling

  Using personal contacts to build up a sample ('friend telling friend').
• Convenience/opportunity sampling

  Selecting those who are conveniently available to the researcher.
• Official statistics

  Quantitative data gathered by the government or other official bodies. e.g. births, deaths, educations, crime and health statistics.
• Non-official statistics

  Published by non-government organisations e.g. trade unions and churches.
• What are two ways to collect official statistics?

  Registration (e.g. parents having to register births by law).

  Official surveys (e.g. the Census and the General Household Survey).
• Emile Durkheim

  Studied suicide statistics to try and compare the suicide rates between Protestants and Roman Catholics, only discovered the more a person is socially controlled they are more likely to commit suicide.
• How do Interpretivists see official statistics?

  As social constructions e.g. police statistics do not record all crime.
• Laboratory experiment

  Method where the researcher manipulates the independent variable and measures a dependent variable, experimental & control groups are created and treated differently. Artificial environment.
• Example of a Lab experiment

  Philip Zimbardo's Stanford Prison, Milgram's obedience study
• Field experiment

  Researcher manipulates independent variable and measures a dependent variable in a natural environment. e.g. takes place in a pps natural environment, such as a school or workplace.
• Example of a field experiment?

  Jane Elliot's racism study in a school (blue and brown eyes), Rosenthal and Jacobson's labelling in schools study.
• Comparative method

  'Thought experiment' that doesn't involve experimenting on real people but making comparisons between individuals, groups or societies through time. Data used mainly comes from official statistics.
• Example of a comparative method?

  Durkheim comparing the suicide rates of Protestants and Catholics.
• Public documents

  Produced by organisations such as the government departments, charities, schools etc. E.g. OFSTED reports, school websites.
• Personal documents

  First person accounts of social events e.g. letters, diaries, photographs, paintings, autobiographies. (a famous example is Anne Frank's diary)
• Historical documents

  Personal or public documents created in the past. e.g. Laslett looked at the Parish records to study family structure in pre-industrial & Aries looked at old child rearing books and paintings to study the rise of childhood.
• Content analysis

  Method for dealing systematically with the contents of documents, often used to analyse mass media. The researcher defines a set of categories and then counts how many times the material is classified under that category. E.g. Manstead and McCulloch studies how TV advertisers portray men and women in adverts.
• Informal interviews

  Open ended questioning lasting a long period of time, few or no pre-set questions and is recorded. Usually one on one.
• Example of an informal interview

  Dobash and Dobash (feminists) conducted 104 informal interviews studying domestic violence. Some on them lasted over 12 hours and they spoke about the women's entire lives rather than just the abuse.
• Group interviews

  In depth interviews with a small group of people.
• Example of a group interview

  Willis' group interviews to uncover the counter school subculture of the 'lads'.
• Covert observation

  undercover, no one in the research group knows what they are there for